Back on the Broomstick Again

[Griffin McGuinness]

Exams were finally, mercifully, over. Griffin had never studied so hard in all his life. Well, to be fair Griffin had never really studied before at all but he had been studying quite hard for his Hogwarts exams. Despite all the studying Griffin was still dumbfounded by his marks. How in Merlin's name did I actually manage to pull off O's? Griffin pondered as he made his way down to the Quidditch Pitch. With exams behind him it seemed time for some hard earned flying.

Though it seemed strange for this time of year to the Irish native summer was coming into full swing. The weather was beautiful, warm, but with a few puffy white clouds to cut down the glare of the sun. Perfect flying weather. Arriving at the pitch griffin closed his eyes and turned his face toward the sun, letting the warmth wash over him as he inhaled deeply. If you would have asked him, Griffin would have said the air smelled like sunshine, though he was not quite sure how that was possible.

Griff sighed as he mounted his broom. It felt good to have his old broom stick in his hand, to be back on the pitch about to take off and fly. It seemed like ages since he'd flown. The young boy kicked off the ground in a fluid motion, rising smoothly into the air. Griffin took a few leisurely laps around the Quidditch pitch, simply enjoying the feeling of flying. Flying was one of the few things that made Griff feel completely content and at peace. Since his dad had walked out it seemed as if the Gryffindor was always angry or sad, but not when he was flying. When he was flying he felt whole. Griffin continued to fly enjoying himself as he let the stress of exams melt away.

 

[Kyle Cavanaugh]

In a way Kyle was happy that all the Qudditch games were scheduled to take place in the next term because that had allowed him to work hard on his studies and finally he had been able to turn his grade in Herbology from a Pass to an Outstanding. He couldn't wait to tell his father and show him that he could get Outstanding grade in all his subjects and still be a chaser on the Gryffindor Qudditch team. Once they were done with the exams all his friends were too tired or busy preparing for the Yule Ball. Luckily he had managed to ask Sarah Keith, a second year Hufflepuff and she had agreed to go with him. His friends Rose and Hayley seemed lost these days and he did not want to go all by himself and be bored at the dance. But that was all the preparation he needed. Dressing up would take him five minutes max so there was no point in locking himself indoors from now. He grabbed his Scarlet Streak from his trunk and said goodbye to his friends as he mounted his broomstick and flew out of his dorm. He did not fly out from the window, no that was was too common. He planned to draw some eyes and fly through the castle and out of the main gates to the pitch. Even if the Qudditch practice had not begun in full swing many knew that he was one of the permanent Gryffindor chaser this year and as some shouted supporting comments while others wished him to fall off his broom, he just grinned as he flew like a flash through the castle and then finally he was out in the open.

He had missed this so much. Lately he had packed himself in the library or his room studying all day and night. The sky was perfect, sunny with just a few clouds. It was summer here in New Zealand and he knew tomorrow morning he would be packing and off to the winter of London were his family would be waiting to celebrate Christmas with him. Frankly the only person he missed the most was his mother and then followed by his uncle Dietrich and aunt Genna. His father was the last person he wanted to see but family was a packaged deal, he could not choose. The waters of the lake seemed welcoming as he flew past them peering into the depths to see if he could spot a mermaid or maybe even the Giant Squid but he wasn't so lucky. Maybe if he had company and did not have a broom he could even had a quick dip in the warm welcoming waters. As he finally turned his broom and started flying towards the Qudditch pitch he spotted a familiar looking figure flying in laps. Kyle had ditched his cloak but he was still wearing his Gryffindor house shirt, tie and the school trousers because he did not want to waste time in changing. There were not many people out on the pitch because most of them were getting ready for the Yule Ball. By the looks of the boy Kyle recognized him as a first year Gryffindor. Wasn't he excited for the ball like the other first years he had seen chatting excitedly just in the common room a few minutes ago. "Hey there" he said with a smile as he finally brought his broom to fly at his height and slowed down to match his speed. "You're Griffin, right?"Kyle asked hoping he had remembered the younger boy's name correctly.

 

[Griffin McGuinness]

Flying was just what Griffin had needed to relax after the challenging weeks that had seemed to fly by. His mum had seemed very proud of him in her last letter. Griff could easily imagine the look on her face as she read over the letter he'd sent her telling her of the marks he'd received. First, there would be disbelief and shock. She had likely murmured something along the lines of, "My Griffin? O's?! Really." before breaking out into a huge smile and going off to tell his Grandma and Grandpa Flaherty. He knew she'd told them, and likely just about everyone else she knew, because he'd received a long letter from his Grandparents congratulating him and hinting at a rather extravagant present he'd be receiving for Christmas. In a way, Griff felt a bit guilty. Sure, he'd tried very hard after his mum had practically begged him to at least attempt not to fail his classes, but he hadn't exactly been a model student. All the attention from his family was making him a bit uncomfortable, but if he was setting a good example for Lonan and Mavis that was all that really mattered. His younger siblings meant the world to Griffin. Nearly every good thing he did these days was to make sure they'd have a decent male role model in their lives. Merlin knew his father wasn't filling that position. It would be wonderful to see his family again during the upcoming holidays. He couldn't wait to give Mavis the doll he'd purchased for her.

As Griffin continued to fly his thoughts eventually turned to the Yule Ball. For a wonder, Griffin would actually be attending. He had asked the only person he really knew at Hogwarts, and Margo had agreed, in turn inviting him to go with her and a group of her friends. Griffin wasn't ecstatic like many of the other first years, it was just a dance after all, but he did really need to start making some friends. He didn't exactly have a good track record with getting to know his fellow students at Hogwarts. The Yule Ball would be a chance to start changing those circumstances. It was too bad he was actually going to have to dress up, or it might actually seem like fun. That was something Griffin dreaded, the dressing up. To him, taking time to get ready for any event seemed akin to torture.It reminded him of the snooty upscale events he'd occasionally been forced to attend at his paternal Grandparents house. Now those really had been torture.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that Griffin never noticed the other boy approaching. It was only Griffin's exceptional skill on a broom that saved him from toppling off his broom and having a rather nasty fall. Recovering quite smoothly from his startled jump Griffin laughed ruefully at himself before turning to face the elder boy. "Merlin Mate, you gave me a fright. Nearly fell off my broom." Griffin told the boy cheerfully, his Irish accent strong. The boy wore a Gryffindor uniform and after a moment Griff recognized him as one of the teams chasers thanks to Margo's incessant chatter about Quidditch and how excited she was to get to know her team mates. The girl had literally pointed out every single player to him one day during breakfast. It had seemed annoying at the time but Griffin was glad for it now. He was shocked that the elder Gryffindor knew his name and would have felt a bit guilty if he'd known nothing about the boy. Holding out his hand, Griffin nodded. "That's right, Griffin McGuinness. You're one of our teams chasers, yeah? Good on ya. Sorry, but your names escaping me at the moment," Griffin replied, waiting for the other boy to introduce himself.

 

[Kyle Cavanaugh]

Kyle had not meant to scare the younger boy but the sight of him slightly startled was entertaining nevertheless. Kyle did his best to hide his grin as his eyes carefully noticed how easily the boy managed his broom and did not fall off. Kyle had seen some people fall off their brooms if they were scared or lost even a little bit of focus but Griffin proved to be better. Kyle knew the first years had just given their Flying tests and he could really see that Griffin had grabbed all the content of the Flying lessons and was applying it in the right way. "But you didn't" Kyle said with a grin trying to give Griffin an apologetic smile. Kyle continued flying around the pitch on his broom allowing the fresh warm air to rush into his face. If one had asked Kyle what season he liked the best he would not have been sure. He liked summer because it was best for flying but he liked winter because it meant making snowman and snow-fights. Plus Christmas in the North always came with winter so that was a sweet treat. Kyle could not believe that most of the students would rather be locked inside the castle than enjoy this fine breeze outside and the view of the grounds and the lake.

Kyle's smile widened as Griffin recognized him as one of the chasers on the Gryffindor team. The match season had not even begun yet as it was going to start after the holidays but Kyle felt happy that people knew he was on the team. He hoped that this year he would impress Ms.Snow and work hard and next year he would be in the team once again. "I'm pleased to meet you Griffin" Kyle said with a smile. Kyle knew that many of the students that attended Hogwarts New Zealand did not come from New Zealand. Kyle himself was from London but as Hogwarts Scotland was full he had to come to this branch of Hogwarts. Griffin's accent clearly isolated him from the usual accent of the students and Kyle recognized it as somewhere from Ireland."Yes, I am a chaser on the team" Kyle added letting Griffin know that he had identified him correctly. "I'm Kyle Cavanaugh, Second year" he said introducing himself to the younger Gryffindor. He turned his broom to keep it circling the pitch. "So how do you like Hogwarts so far?"Kyle asked the boy wondering what this batch of first years thought about the school. Kyle had loved it since he got here and he had made quite a few friends. His friends had made him love the school even more but he could not expect everyone to see it from that perspective.

 

[Griffin McGuinness]

Griffin nodded at Kyle's comment before joking, "This is true. Obviously I have mad skills on a broom, which is good, because Margo would have killed me if I broke a leg right before the ball. For such a small thing, that girl can be scary when she wants to be." Griff even managed to laugh a little at that before seeing Kyle's apologetic smile and continuing, "Seriously though, it's no big deal. I'm just a bit jumpy. Everyone was so quite before and during exams that I almost forgot what a human voice sounded like." This statement was entirely true. Hogwarts had been eerily quite during exams. The students who usually filled the halls with noisy chatter had been locked up in dorms and common rooms with their noses buried in books. The return to normalcy was almost as jarring as the silence had been.

Griffin continues to fly around the pitch with Kyle, glad to have some male company for once. He hadn't made a single male friend since coming to Hogwarts. Truthfully, he hadn't really made any friends since coming to Hogwarts. Griffin was glad to see that Kyle seemed happy the younger boy had recognized him as a Chaser. Though he would never admit it, Griff liked to make others happy. That characteristic just usually stayed hidden behind the walls he'd built up to protect himself. Griffin had to think about Kyle's question for a bit. If he'd been asked that same question only a month ago Griffin would have said he'd rather be home. Now, despite the fact that the school was keeping Griffin from what he saw as his duty, the place was starting to grow on him. Thoughtfully, Griffin answered, "It's a cool place actually. I'm not as thrilled as a lot of the other first years to be here, but I think that's my own fault. I'm not all enthralled with learning magic because it's just all the same stuff I've been seeing all my life so far, and I haven't really gotten to know anyone that well so far, so that puts a bit of a damper on things. I think I just need to start having a better attitude to be honest." Griffin cut himself off, stunned at how much he'd just revealed to a relative stranger. A bit bashfully Griffin added, "Wow, sorry, I guess I missed talking more than I thought."

 

[Kyle Cavanaugh]

Kyle laughed after he heard Griffin talk about the girl he seemed to be going to the ball with. She seemed fun. "Is Margo the girl who was with the Hufflepuff boy when the pulled the gender fudge prank on Halloween?" Kyle asked Griffin curiously. He remembered seeing a young enthusiastic Gryffindor first year girl around the common room from time to time. He was quite sure she was called Margo. Flying in laps was always the usual warm up for the chaser but after a while it was no fun. He wondered if Griffin was maybe considering trying out next year. He could be an asset to the team because he seemed to be picking up things at a good rate. "Tell me about it" Kyle admitted as Griffin mentioning how silent the castle had been during the exams. Kyle was usually among the people who talked a lot but lately he had been so much into studies. He was glad the exams were finally over. He had a lot of catching up to do with his friends and especially with his close friend Rose Bellard. Tomorrow they were leaving for France and he was so delighted to meet Rose's father and also his aunt Genna.

When Griffin replied to Kyle's question, Kyle nodded understanding the younger boy's situation. It was different from when Kyle had entered Hogwarts. He had just started off with a blast and friends. "I think you'll do just fine with friends. You don't have an attitude" Kyle said honestly. Griffin seemed an okay guy and they were chatting and flying and what else did okay guys do? "I'm from a wizarding family too but I was super excited to learn everything. Still am" Kyle admitted with a grin. Sometimes he considered himself as a nerd but he was just cooler than other nerds. He laughed as Griffin apologized for talking a lot. "You don't need to apologize. I need the company and I'm all ears" he said with a smile as he pointed to the big trunk where the three types of balls for a Qudditch game were safely put. "You fancy doing some passes? Or chasing the snitch perhaps?" Kyle asked hoping to make the flying activity more exciting.