Closed All These Little Clues

[Harper Alston]

It wasn't unusual for Harper to come back from school breaks a little football-obsessed, and this year was no exception. Between playing with her club and obsessively following the Women's World Cup, her winter had mostly been devoted to the sport, and she wasn't quite ready to let it go. Unfortunately, this past season had made it increasingly clear that she would likely have to give up the sport eventually. Everyone else was getting better, and it was becoming harder and harder to keep up. She only hoped that day wouldn't come soon.

Thankfully, Nikko was usually willing to practice with her, and Harper had roped him into playing some one-on-one. They'd been at it for some time when she stopped the ball. "You still good or should we take a break?" she asked, dribbling it over to where he was standing. She didn't really want to stop, and not just because she felt a pressure to constantly keep training during the off-season. It was easier to act normally around Nikko and ignore the butterflies he gave her when she was focused on trying to score goals on him. After all, Harper had always felt most like herself while playing football. But she also knew he wasn't quite as obsessed with the sport as she was, and she didn't want to inadvertently push him past the point of exhaustion.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko had been eager to get back to school for probably the first time ever. Spending time with his parents was always nice but the no talking about magic rule had left him with little to say to his dad except the same safe conversation topics. Thankfully his mom loved to hear stories about school and his friends there. Things were a bit trickier with his old school friends. It had always been so easy to fall back in with them when he was home for break but this time felt different. He guessed it was part of growing up but it had left him with few people to play soccer or go surfing with.

At least he had Harper who was always willing to put him in his place. Nikko had never been a star player but he had always been good enough. But when he played against her he started to doubt he had ever even kicked a ball before. He jogged up to where she had stopped the ball, breathing hard. He laughed at her question. "I could use a break." he said, not too proud to admit he needed at least some water. "You must have been training. You look like you've hardly even started." he said as he sat down on the grass and took a long drink of water.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper felt a little bad that she hadn't called for a break earlier. She had been so focused on her own playing to notice much of anything else. At Nikko's comment, she smiled and tried to tell herself that it was perfectly normal to feel warm after receiving a compliment and after running around in the sun. It definitely wasn't because of anything else.

She followed his lead, grabbing her water bottle and taking a seat in the grass. "Well I did have to cram about a year's worth of training into the break." It would be another four months before she got to play a proper game again. "And there's not much else to do during the day when everyone else is in school," she said with a shrug. Sometimes, she wished the Hogwarts calendar followed the normal New Zealand academic calendar. But she also knew that if it didn't, she wouldn't have been able to play football. "Don't worry, give me a few weeks, and I'm sure I'll get worse," she joked before taking a sip of water. Though Harper was careful to keep her tone light, she couldn't help the pang of sadness knowing that her prediction would likely come true.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko took a long drink of water that left him breathing harder than before. He nodded as Harper explained herself. "It's really cool that you keep up with it." he said sincerely. He had always liked soccer but he had never been that driven to keep it up since coming to Hogwarts. "I know I couldn't." Nikko added with a shake of his head. But maybe that wasn't exactly right. Instead of practicing over break he would cram every year from the moment he got back to the castle to get back up tp speed before quidditch try outs. Making up for a few weeks wasn't nearly the same as making up for months but it was more similar of a situation than he realized before. He had gotten lost in his own thoughts for a bit but Nikko frowned when Harper made a comment about getting worse. "I doubt it." he said, sounding very sure of himself. "Natural talent." he teased and poked her in the shoulder before laughing.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper smiled softly. She appreciated the comment though she didn't think it was that remarkable. She'd been playing since she was three; she couldn't just stop. At Nikko's insistence that he couldn't do the same, she gave him a curious look. "You still surf during the breaks, right? And you keep up with Quidditch," she pointed out. "That's the same thing — harder, even, since you can't surf here or fly at home." At least she could still kick around a ball at Hogwarts. She couldn't imagine being completely cut off from her favorite sport for several months at a time.

At his touch, she flinched slightly and could feel her face grow warm. Harper winced internally. Why couldn't she just act normally around him? Lately, it felt like she had to think twice before every comment or gesture. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see," she said lightly, forcing a smile. Talent without practice would only get her so far. Not wanting to dwell too long on that unfortunate reality, she decided to change the subject. "Anyways, how was your break?"

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko let out a soft laugh and leaned forward to try and touch his toes. "Yeah." he admitted. "But it's not like I'm entering any surfing competitions. It's just for fun." he pointed out. It didn't hurt that he lived so close to the beach. But it was true that he had to practice extra hard to get back into shape for quidditch every year. He shrugged when Harper asked about his holiday. She seemed to change the topic quickly and he was worried that he upset her somehow. "It was fine." he said and stretched again and this time managed to brush the tips of his shoes. "Some of my cousins came around for my birthday." he said with a shrug. It was pretty much a tradition now that he was gone so much for school. "What about you?"

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper shrugged, leaning back. "Even if it's just for fun, isn't it harder to get back into it after a break?" She no longer competed in gymnastics, but she still felt a bit sad when she thought of all the skills she'd lost from lack of practice. Trying to maintain those skills could be a pain — literally. She assumed surfing was the same way, but maybe it was easier to keep your skill level if you weren't doing fancy tricks. "And you definitely have Quidditch competitions... well, matches," she pointed out.

She was grateful when the subject turned to their breaks. "Oh, happy belated birthday!" she said with a small grin. "That's nice that you got to celebrate with your cousins." During primary, Harper had always felt bad for the people with birthdays over the break since no one at school ever remembered them. But now that she attended a boarding school, she wasn't so sure. It had been years since she'd gotten to celebrate her own birthday with her family. At Nikko's question about her break, Harper held up the ball and gave him a wry smile. "Well you already know what I did for most of it." She set it back down and gently rolled it toward Nikko. "My parents did try to take us on a family road trip, but it was a complete mess. Our car broke down and one of my brothers almost lost all his luggage," she said with a laugh.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

oops

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko nodded reluctantly in agreement. He didn’t like to admit it but he was always a bit wobbly on the waves for the first few days he was home. It usually took him a few good falls for him to find his balance on the board again. He chuckled as she struggled for the right word when she brought up quidditch. “You mean games?” he suggested. “And yeah, those are a bit more important.”

“Thanks.” he said and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't consider his birthday to be a big deal, especially with it being over the break. But he appreciated it. "Yeah it was fun. My mom has a lot of siblings so I have a lot of cousins." he explained. Nikko listened as Harper explained what her break had been like and he couldn't help but laugh. "Oh no." he said sympathetically as he imagined how her brother's luggage almost met it's fate. "At least you made some memories." he joked before stretching one last time. "Well I think you've slacked off enough for my sake." he teased and nudged her leg with his knee before standing up. "I think I might win this time." Nikko said with a laugh and held out his hand to help Harper up.

 

[Harper Alston]

"How many cousins do you have?" Harper asked curiously. He had mentioned them several times, and she wondered what it was like to have a large extended family. Her own parents had been only children — which was perhaps why they'd decided to have five kids. "That's true," she admitted, when he pointed out that the trip must have at least been memorable. "And now I know way too much about the village of Heriot, so if you ever end up there, let me know," she joked.

It was the lightest touch, and yet she couldn't help the way her stomach flipped. Harper took Nikko's outstretched hand and stood up, knowing her face was growing warm again. She needed to do something before he noticed. Darting forward, Harper easily stole the ball she had rolled in his direction. "You sure about that?" she teased, juggling it up into the air — both to show off a little and because it was easier to concentrate on this and not the zippy feeling she got whenever Nikko smiled at her.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko had to stop and count when Harper asked how many cousins he had. "Uh, ten." he said after ticking them off on his fingers. "The last one was born, three years ago. I think." he explained and made a face when he couldn't remember how old the youngest was. Being away from home didn't make it easy to keep up with them all. He laughed at her suggestion. "You'll be the first one I call." he said reassuringly as he easily helped her up off the ground.

Before he could do anything Harper stole the ball and started doing some tricks. Slack jawed, Nikko stared after her. "Ok that's not fair." he said and pointed an accusing finger at her. "I wasn't ready." he laughed. He stood there watching her for a moment with his hands on his hips, waiting for the ball to fall and he could steal the ball back, but she was better than he expected. "Now you're just showing off." he said with an eyebrow raised.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper's eyes widened as Nikko started to count off his cousins — and kept counting. "Ten?" She had always thought she had a big family what with four siblings, but that was nothing compared to ten cousins plus aunts, uncles, and grandparents. "Family reunions must be a lot of fun." The face Nikko made while trying to recall the age of his youngest cousin was all too familiar. How many times had she struggled to remember details about family and friends back home?

Their little break ended, and Harper laughed lightly at Nikko's indignation. "I thought you said you were going to win this time around," she teased. It was a little hard to juggle the ball while keeping up with the conversation, but Harper managed to keep it aloft. "I'm just waiting for you to come steal it," she said innocently when he accused her of showing off. After a moment, Harper let the ball fall to the ground and tried to kick it past him.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko couldn’t help but smile when Harper seemed genuinely shocked to hear how big his family was. He nodded his head to confirm he wasn’t joking or lying. He shrugged when she mentioned family reunions. They didn’t happen very often and the last one he went to was before he had started Hogwarts and had stayed glued to his mom’s side nearly the whole day. He wasn’t sure how he would feel going to one now. He was a completely different person, almost an adult with a whole secret magical life.

He was grateful for the distraction as Harper teased him. “I have to warm up again.” Nikko complained with a smile. He waited for a moment knowing she was bound to mess up her trick eventually. He didn't reply to her comment about waiting for him to steal the ball but was watching for her next move and caught her as she tried to kick it past him. He moved fast and stopped the ball and dribble it ward her and was able to get past her with a little fancy footwork and scored. He let out a victorious cheer and looked back at her with his face flushed and chuckling. “What was that?” he asked playfully. “Was that what you were waiting for what?” he laughed.