Open A Burden

[April Ward]

April was sitting sideways on her broom, hovering a few feet above the Quidditch pitch. She was dressed in her Quidditch robes, but hadn't actually gotten any practice in. Instead, she was floating, not that far above the ground, deep in thought. Her final year had started, and April had gotten a new responsibility. A captain's badge had arrived for her in the mail over break, and she had been very surprised. She was happy about it, but nervous as well. As seeker, she already felt like she had the largest responsibility on the team. As captain, that would only get worse. April sighed and looked up at the sky. She wished October was here, her sister had gotten the same responsibility last year. Maybe she could have helped April? But October had graduated, and while she could write, she just wanted to talk to her. She knew she shouldn't be moping. She should probably be setting things up for tryouts and thinking of captain-y strategies, but she was worried. Usually some flying took her mind off things, but today it hadn't really helped.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had decided he'd rather not have the first time he flew on his own broom be during try-outs and had headed down to the pitch, broom clutched nervously in hand. The entire trip out of the castle he felt like someone was going to look at him weird for walking around with a broom and had to repress the urge to try and hide it somehow. Other people did this all the time, he assured himself, it was fine.
Getting onto the pitch, Elliot froze, spotting someone else already hovering nearby. He had hoped he might be able to get some time in before anyone else really settled in after the holiday, but maybe that had been naive. On closer inspect he recognized the figure as April Ward, Hufflepuff's current seeker, and nervously made his way over. If anyone would be good to talk to about getting on the team, it would be their seeker. "April, hi, do you uh, mind if I join you?" He asked, suddenly feeling awkward standing there just holding a broom while she was flying. April looked a little distracted though, so Elliot hoped he wouldn't be intruding.

 

[April Ward]

April's legs swung back and forth as she sat on the broom, t really staring at anything. She blinked when she noticed a boy had approached, and quickly gave him a smile. He knew who she was, which made her pretty happy. Though she had no idea what his name was. Hopefully he didn't mind. "Oh, hi! Of course not. I was just thinking, really. I was intending to do some flying, you can do that too if you want." She told him with a smile. "Sorry, I don't know your name." She added, deciding to be honest. He was one of the younger Hufflepuffs, and she recognized him, but they had never talked as far as she remembered.

 

[Elliot Briar]

He wasn't surprised that April didn't know his name, he hadn't exactly done much of note at school. "No uh, it's okay, I'm Elliot," He said, hesitantly swinging a leg over his broom and kicking off. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now Elliot was starting to wish he had just decided to leave and come back later. The idea of the team seeker potentially watching him fly around was making him self-conscious and Elliot was suddenly worried he'd do something stupid like fall off his broom. He'd even thought he could maybe ask April for some advise, but the idea now made him feel a bit sick. "You're sure I'm not interrupting?" He asked again, just in case. "You seemed kinda.. focused?"

 

[April Ward]

April watched the younger boy get up into the sky with her, and in response she adjusted her seat on the broom so she could fly better herself, a leg on either side. She smiled. "Nice to meet you Elliot. Are you thinking of trying out for the team?" She asked him. She knew he was in Hufflepuff and knew he wasn't currently on the team, so it wasn't a bad guess if she said so herself. April nodded when he asked if she was sure he wasn't interrupting, and then she laughed. "Focused? That's new." She didn't think anyone had ever called her focused before. "I was just having some thoughts. Worrying about being captain, between you and me. I'm just hoping I won't mess up." She then realized that maybe she shouldn't share that worry with a boy who potentially wanted to be on her team. Would he still want to if he knew the captain was unsure about her position? Oh well, it was said and she couldn't take it back now.

 

[Elliot Briar]

April looked so at ease on her broom and Elliot tried to subtly adjust his own grip to match her. "Uh, yeah, a little bit," Elliot said when she asked about try-outs, focusing on keeping his hands and legs in the right place to keep his balance. He couldn't decide if it would be weird or not to ask April for seeking tips, since he was a bit embarrassed at the idea of having to potentially do anything in front of the current team seeker. It was a surprise when April admitted she'd been worried about messing up being captain. He didn't think the older students ever got too worried about anything except maybe exams and Elliot actually looked up, a bit surprised. "I'm sure you'll do fine.." He offered. "You always seem so confident on the pitch, even if you're faking, I bet it helps the team too." He said, finding he really meant it. Elliot didn't know April very well as a player, but after two years of watching her play, he'd definitely noticed her energy during games.

 

[April Ward]

April smiled in amusement as Elliot said a little bit. "You've been thinking about it a little bit, or you're going to try out a little bit?" She asked him teasingly. "You should give it a shot. No guarantees, but you never know." April shrugged. "Quidditch has been great for me, for the most part. Though I think my dad will be glad when I stop playing. He's not a big fan of the bludgers." She told him with a small smile. Her father hadn't really said anything bad about her playing Quidditch, but she knew he would be relieved she wasn't going to pursue it after Hogwarts. The boy's reassuring words made April smile. "Oh, thanks. I am usually pretty confident, but it's been a while since the team won." She said a bit sadly. "And that's on me already because I'm the seeker, and now it's like... double on me if we do badly. Because of the captain thing." She shrugged again. "But you're right, gotta just look confident so the rest of the team won't doubt." She flew a little closer to him with a conspiratorial smile. "Which means you shouldn't tell them I was ever nervous." She added, though she didn't really mean it that seriously. It wasn't like the team would lose faith just because April had a bit of doubt.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot dipped his broom a bit, embarrassed at April's teasing. That had been a dumb thing to say. "Uh yes. I mean," Elliot shook his head a bit, "Yeah. I wanna try out," He tried to say it confidently, appreciating April's encouragement. "I don't think I'm a fan of bludgers either, to be fair," He admitted. The idea of them scared him more than he realized. After watching Lars play last year the idea of getting hit was suddenly a lot more of a solid reality. "But yeah.. I love watching everyone play and I think I'd like to also. Eventually," Elliot was kind of relieved the team already had a well established seeker. That way if he did somehow make the team, he didn't have to worry about actually playing for a little while.

"You guys have been working hard, though. I think it shows," Elliot shrugged, tilting his broom in a slow turn as they talked. He needed to work on his maneuverability a little. "And congratulations on being captain," Elliot finally looked up from where his hands had been on his broom to give April a hesitant smile. "I promise," He said with a nod. "But uh. I don't suppose you mind giving me some seeking tips?" He'd been nervous to ask in the first place, but even more so now that he'd found out April was the captain this year too. That meant it was extra important he impressed her.

 

[April Ward]

April smiled at the boy encouragingly, feeling a bit bad for teasing him now. He didn't seem like he had a lot of confidence already. "You should try out. I'm sure you'll do well." She said with a nod. "No one is a fan of bludgers, but it's part of the game." She added with a small shrug. April smiled as Elliot mentioned wanting to play. "Well if you make alternate, you'll have to take over if I'm taken out. It's happened a few times already." She winced at the memory. Some were especially painful because Hufflepuff had lost right after. "Seekers tend to be targeted." She said. Maybe she should have been nicer about it, but if he was going to be on the team he should know this. A laugh escaped her when he said their hard work showed. "Compliments will give you everywhere." She teased. "Thank you!" The kid was very nice, and April wanted to help him. "Yeah, sure!" She told him. "How about we fly a lap together? Give me an idea of how you fly?"