Heartbeats: Fred Weasley x Reader

Childhood Practice

••• 11 years later •••

You were sleeping soundly in your bed. Your bedroom walls were covered by a sea of posters, all showing various witches and wizards flying on broomsticks. One was of Karl and Kevin Broadmoor, the two brothers who played beaters for the Falmouth Falcons. Another showed Glynnis Griffiths, seeker of the Holyhead Harpies, diving for and catching the golden snitch. The one next to Glynnis Griffiths was of Josef Wronski, the inventor of the infamous Wronski Feint.  Other quidditch supplies were placed throughout the room, including a broomstick and a quaffle. The room was perfectly unorganized, giving a feeling of homeliness. It was almost 5:00 a.m. in Scotland and you were deep in a dream.

The door to your room softly creaked open. A 12-year-old boy stood in the doorway. He was dressed in a quidditch sweatshirt and had a helmet on his head that was a bit big for him. The boy held a broom in one hand and had an excited gleam in his eye. He walked over to your bed and shook you awake. You opened your eyes, looked at the boy, and rolled over.

"Ollie, it's too early. It's literally the first day of summer break," you muttered, pulling the covers over your head.

"It's not THAT early. It's only 5:00 am," said Oliver Wood. Oliver, who you called Ollie, was your older brother in every sense but by blood. You were adopted by the Wood family the day after you were born and they treated you like you were their own. Oliver was two years older than you and you usually stuck together like glue when he was home from Hogwarts. Except when he came and woke you up to practice quidditch at 5:00 am. Oliver grabbed your blanket and pulled it away.

"Oliver!" you snapped and sat up, glaring at your brother, "What was that for?"

"To get you up! Come on, Y/N, I'll be able to try out for the Gryffindor team this year and I've GOT to practice,"

"You'll be fine," you tried to bury your head into your pillow as Oliver opened your blinds and let the sunrise into your room.

"You'll understand in a two years when you're a second year!" he called, rolling you over and trying to hold your eyes open so they could adjust to the sunlight. It was true. You had one more year at home before you could attend Hogwarts and another year after that you could try out for your house team. You and Oliver had talked about being on a house team since before you could remember. Your adopted father, Bennett Wood, told you stories about flying as a chaser on for Gryffindor team constantly. Adelaide Wood, your adopted mother, was the Gryffindor seeker for a few years as well. Quidditch was very important in your family. You only hoped you would also be sorted into Gryffindor and be able to play as a chaser on the house team, just like your father.

You pushed your older brother away and got out of bed.

"Fine," you said.

"Yes!" cheered Oliver. He ran out of the room, telling you to meet him outside. You smiled and pulled on a sweatshirt similar to your brother's and put your hair into a ponytail. Before you walked out of your room, you grabbed your broomstick and the quaffle. You ran down the stairs and opened the backdoor. Oliver was already warming up, diving and swooping. You quickly hopped onto your broom and flew up to meet him.

•••

You and Oliver practiced for several hours. You were both quite good. Your father put Oliver and you onto a broom right after both of you started walking, ensuring that you would never be afraid of flying. A chaser at heart, you would fly with the quaffle. Oliver was your keeper and would fly around the goalposts in your backyard. Your mother and father had given you and Ollie them for Christmas when you were five. During this makeshift practice, you would try to score on your brother; it was a fifty-fifty chance that you would get the quaffle through one of the hoops. Since you and Oliver were so close, you both knew each other's moves by heart. It was hard to trick the other. Once it was 9:00 am, you both landed back on the ground.

"Nice work, Ollie," you said, turning to look at him. His face seemed rather glum.

"What's wrong?" you asked, concerned. Oliver sat down, looking down at the ground.

"What if I don't get on the team?" he asked you. You went and sat down next to him.

"If you don't get on the team, that team captain is BLIND. You're the best keeper I know. I mean, I don't know too many, but you're really good and even Dad says so. He can barely score on you. You'll be fine," you said firmly. Oliver broke into a smile at these words.

"I guess we'll just have to practice every morning to make sure," he said. You rolled your eyes.

"You're obsessed, Ollie," you laughed.

"Maybe,"

You then had a thought.

"Oliver," you said, "What if I'm not sorted into Gryffindor?" Your brother looked at you, shocked.

"You'll definitely be a Gryffindor," he said, "Besides, can you imagine if we played against each other in Quidditch? What would Mum and Dad do?" You laughed and nodded, a few of your fears dampened.

"C'mon, Mum probably has breakfast by now," you said. You and Oliver raced back to your home.

•••

Author's Note:
ONE MORE INTRO CHAPTER AND THEN WE'LL BE AT HOGWARTS DURING POA!