“Good night, everyone!”
“Night, guys.”
“Wake me up at 7, alright?”
Laura sighed as she pulled her covers over her, unable to sleep. Though her body was sore all over from weeks upon weeks of practice, she couldn’t find solace in her piles of pillows and blankets. The first Quidditch match of the season was coming up, and she always got extremely antsy the night before a game. She knew she needed the rest if she wanted to function well tomorrow, but no matter what position she turned, the girl still couldn’t sleep.
Darn it, this isn’t going to work, she thought as she finally gave up and got out of bed. Careful not to wake up or disturb the other girls in her dormitory, Laura crept around the room, putting on her robes and shoes before leaving the basement, broomstick in hand. Crawling around school, she made sure to avoid nuisances like professors, other students, and Peeves; occasionally, she saw a couple of ghosts, but they were usually too busy doing their own thing or didn’t care if she was out of bed past curfew.
When she finally made it to the field, Laura was already pretty tired from all the sneaking, and wondered if it was worth it. No, it didn’t matter; she was already here, and she would do whatever she came here for. Mounting her broom, the girl kicked off the ground, letting the cool air calm her nerves down as she lazily flew in and out of the hoops.
“Hey, what’re you doing up right now?”
Laura suddenly stopped mid-flight, her heart beating quickly. Did someone catch her? She looked down, and saw a tiny figure waving back up at her. It was too dark for her to make out who it was, but she was too scared to actually go down to see. What if they were a prefect or teacher and, when they find out it was her, she’d get expelled? But then, the other figure zoomed closer to her, and she recognized the all-too familiar face. She sighed with relief. “Bradley, you scared the living daylights out of me!”
Bradley Goldberry, a fellow Hufflepuff and one of the Beaters on her team, merely grinned back at her. “Sorry about that, Laura. Thought it was just kind of odd to see you flying around so late.”
“Wait, you knew it was me?” she asked, bewildered.
Her teammate shrugged. “It’s not like there are many other people in school who can fly as well as you and are as small as you, really.” He got a small punch in the arm from that, and Bradley’s smile only grew.
“I just couldn’t sleep, I guess,” she said, leaning as far back as she could without making her broom shoot upwards. “You know how I am before a game.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling. You get all excited and nervous and anxious all at the same time, and it’s just hard to keep still, right?”
“Speaking of which…” Laura tilted her head, an inquisitive look on her face. “Why are you up, then?”
“Oh, me? I was practicing with Tony until a few minutes ago. He said he wanted to sleep or something.”
“You mean you dragged Anthony out to have some bro talk before the games.”
Bradley chuckled to himself. “Well, I do admit we did have some nice bro talk, though you know he doesn’t exactly talk much” he said. He looked at Laura, and asked, “But really, are you okay? I don’t want you getting sick or something before a game.”
The girl nodded, though she thought back to all the previous years she had played for her house. Though she had gotten the Snitch a fair number of times, she never felt like she was good enough and never lived up to her own expectations. She knew her brother had stopped watching the games since her third year, and she wondered if it was because she was getting worse, or if he was trying to avoid her. Neither of them sounded good, though, and Laura found herself feeling even more distressed with the situation. “I’m fine,” she managed to say, and she wondered who she was lying to at the moment: her teammate, or herself.
She could tell Bradley didn't believe her, but he left the conversation at that. She was glad for the silence, for it allowed her to concentrate on the task at hand. The two of them flew around a bit, looping around and between the hoops and circling the field a few times in silence, and Laura felt herself relax as the night air whooshed around her like the water from a river, relieving her body and her mind. A few minutes later, or maybe an hour later, Bradley finally said, “We should probably go back. Don’t want to be sleep deprived for the big day.”
“You’re right, let’s go.” The two of them flew back down towards the school, landing softly and dismounting from their brooms. As they approached the common room, Bradley suddenly turned towards her, still smiling. Puzzled, she quietly asked, “I-is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he whispered back, “but, well, you should be more confident in yourself. At least, you should go around school like you’re on your broom. You’re kind of cool when you’re in the air.” And with that, he climbed into the room, leaving Laura unsure what to make of his words.
“Night, guys.”
“Wake me up at 7, alright?”
Laura sighed as she pulled her covers over her, unable to sleep. Though her body was sore all over from weeks upon weeks of practice, she couldn’t find solace in her piles of pillows and blankets. The first Quidditch match of the season was coming up, and she always got extremely antsy the night before a game. She knew she needed the rest if she wanted to function well tomorrow, but no matter what position she turned, the girl still couldn’t sleep.
Darn it, this isn’t going to work, she thought as she finally gave up and got out of bed. Careful not to wake up or disturb the other girls in her dormitory, Laura crept around the room, putting on her robes and shoes before leaving the basement, broomstick in hand. Crawling around school, she made sure to avoid nuisances like professors, other students, and Peeves; occasionally, she saw a couple of ghosts, but they were usually too busy doing their own thing or didn’t care if she was out of bed past curfew.
When she finally made it to the field, Laura was already pretty tired from all the sneaking, and wondered if it was worth it. No, it didn’t matter; she was already here, and she would do whatever she came here for. Mounting her broom, the girl kicked off the ground, letting the cool air calm her nerves down as she lazily flew in and out of the hoops.
“Hey, what’re you doing up right now?”
Laura suddenly stopped mid-flight, her heart beating quickly. Did someone catch her? She looked down, and saw a tiny figure waving back up at her. It was too dark for her to make out who it was, but she was too scared to actually go down to see. What if they were a prefect or teacher and, when they find out it was her, she’d get expelled? But then, the other figure zoomed closer to her, and she recognized the all-too familiar face. She sighed with relief. “Bradley, you scared the living daylights out of me!”
Bradley Goldberry, a fellow Hufflepuff and one of the Beaters on her team, merely grinned back at her. “Sorry about that, Laura. Thought it was just kind of odd to see you flying around so late.”
“Wait, you knew it was me?” she asked, bewildered.
Her teammate shrugged. “It’s not like there are many other people in school who can fly as well as you and are as small as you, really.” He got a small punch in the arm from that, and Bradley’s smile only grew.
“I just couldn’t sleep, I guess,” she said, leaning as far back as she could without making her broom shoot upwards. “You know how I am before a game.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling. You get all excited and nervous and anxious all at the same time, and it’s just hard to keep still, right?”
“Speaking of which…” Laura tilted her head, an inquisitive look on her face. “Why are you up, then?”
“Oh, me? I was practicing with Tony until a few minutes ago. He said he wanted to sleep or something.”
“You mean you dragged Anthony out to have some bro talk before the games.”
Bradley chuckled to himself. “Well, I do admit we did have some nice bro talk, though you know he doesn’t exactly talk much” he said. He looked at Laura, and asked, “But really, are you okay? I don’t want you getting sick or something before a game.”
The girl nodded, though she thought back to all the previous years she had played for her house. Though she had gotten the Snitch a fair number of times, she never felt like she was good enough and never lived up to her own expectations. She knew her brother had stopped watching the games since her third year, and she wondered if it was because she was getting worse, or if he was trying to avoid her. Neither of them sounded good, though, and Laura found herself feeling even more distressed with the situation. “I’m fine,” she managed to say, and she wondered who she was lying to at the moment: her teammate, or herself.
She could tell Bradley didn't believe her, but he left the conversation at that. She was glad for the silence, for it allowed her to concentrate on the task at hand. The two of them flew around a bit, looping around and between the hoops and circling the field a few times in silence, and Laura felt herself relax as the night air whooshed around her like the water from a river, relieving her body and her mind. A few minutes later, or maybe an hour later, Bradley finally said, “We should probably go back. Don’t want to be sleep deprived for the big day.”
“You’re right, let’s go.” The two of them flew back down towards the school, landing softly and dismounting from their brooms. As they approached the common room, Bradley suddenly turned towards her, still smiling. Puzzled, she quietly asked, “I-is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he whispered back, “but, well, you should be more confident in yourself. At least, you should go around school like you’re on your broom. You’re kind of cool when you’re in the air.” And with that, he climbed into the room, leaving Laura unsure what to make of his words.
