"But if we cannot win, let us break a few heads"

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella first week of her seventh year had flown by in what seemed to be merely moments. Throughout all of this time she had been avoiding Jaken, and while she had had success so far she knew that she had to face him sooner or later. She didn't want to keep stringing him along after all. What she was going to do when she did meet up with him was yet to be determined- she would take action when the particular situation came along.

The Ravenclaw seventh year wanted some time to herself. While she hadn't received many assignments as of yet, she could feel the pressure of the rest of the term coming on. Just the other day she had caught a third and fifth year doing. Professor Manteia had taken away 40 points from Slytherin for this offense, and last the girl had heard the house was in the negative where points were concerned. As much as she wanted Ravenclaw to win the house cup, Estrella found herself feeling sympathetic towards Manteia and the other Slytherins.

She made her way up to the North Tower with nothing in mind except sinking into a good book. The girl had brought along a copy of The Beater's Bible. The girl was of course Ravenclaw's keeper, but she didn't mind expanding her horizons when it came to the world of literature. Maybe she would learn something. Improving her arm strength would never hurt.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner didn't think the school year could have started better even if he'd planned on it. He'd come back to school filled with a deep and burning anger and bitterness that erupted into a short yet satisfying fist fight. And he'd managed to fit his first snog in between. His eyes took on a star struck kind of vacant quality. He sighed. Kat. Just thinking of her beautiful face and deep blue eyes.

He'd come up to the North Tower to get away from his rowdy house mates and their bleedin' immature antics in the common room. How was a mate supposed to study in that erratic din? "Damn." He tossed his book aside on the stone bench he'd been sitting on. Thoughts of Kat were detrimental to his study habits. He smirked and got out his beaters bat from his back pack.

Giving it a few test swings he whirled around and gave a good solid whack toward the doorway.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella had reached the top step when something attacked her out of nowhere. It was hard and traveling at such a velocity that she didn't have time to duck. A swear word that wasn't befitting for a Head Girl- or even a sailor, for that matter- erupted from her throat and echoed throughout the small room. It was a wonder that she hadn't taken a trip down the winding staircase.

All luck put aside, her head still throbbed like someone was taking whacks at it with a hammer. Her brown eyes had started to water in pain. Through her tears she could only see the blurred form of another. She slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, clutching her head with one hand and the other falling to her side. She recognized the form of a beaters bat next to her.

"Merlin's nutsack, are you practicing an audition for the Falcons or what?"

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner jumped and swore. He stood there in shock for a moment. Great going idiot. You've damaged the Head Girl. He shook himself and ran to her aide. He meant to ask her if she was alright but what came out of his mouth was, "You're a Falcons fan?" He grimaced. "I mean, damn, are you alright?"

Groaning inwardly he thought of what his Head of House would say, let alone do if they learned he'd wrecklessly injured a fellow house mate. Twenty detentions ought to do it he thought with no touch of self pity.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella's head was pounding in pain. This had to be the worst headache she had ever had. Even though she was struggling to focus, her hearing was perfectly clear. Did he seriously just ask me if I'm a Falcons fan? Whether she just thought it was funny or that she was suffering from a mild concussion she started to snort. Her giggles ruptured into a full out peal of laughter. She was giggling so hard that the wind had been knocked out of her. Struggling for breath, she gasped, "As alright as I," she snorted, "Can be when my brain is threatening to come out through my skull." The Ravenclaw girl had to stop and breath before she could speak again. "And yes, I'm a Falcons fan, true to the bone."

The seventh year's mouth was lopsided in amusement. The other student hadn't maliciously thrown the bat at her, she could tell that much. He seemed genuinely apologetic, even though he hadn't offered up an apology. Estrella was convinced that this bout of misfortune had been nothing but an accident. She did not recognize his voice, however. Wiping at her dripping eyes with her shirtsleeve, she opened her mouth to speak again, this time in a more composed manner.

"Who are you, again? I can't say if we've met or not."

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner stared at the fallen older girl for a moment. Oh no. I've cracked her nutty. Her laughter although became infectious and he found himself starting to chuckle with her. "It was a pretty dumb thing to ask wasn't it?" he murmured. "I remember seeing you in one of the shops, I'm Sumner." He held out his hand to help her up and smirked. "And I'm sorry I cracked your skull. Though being in Ravenclaw, we have pretty thick ones."

He hoped she wouldn't try to hex him in retaliation. Although he'd probably stand there and let her get a good shot in to even the score. He wondered if she was a friend of Kat's and if she'd hear about this embarrassing turn of events.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella sniggered again, covering her mouth lightly with her palm. "It was," she replied with a slight groan, "But hey, I'm not alone in appreciating the greatest team that Quidditch has ever seen! That's gotta be a plus." At least, he sounded like a Falmouth Falcons fan. "Sumner, Sumner... are you a fifth year? I'm Estrella." She thought that she remembered the younger Ravenclaw a little bit. "And thick skulls is damn straight, although I'd daresay it's not due to lack of intelligence."

She grinned a little dopily, although that could probably be attributed to the fact that a small goose egg was now forming on her forehead. "What are you doing with a beater's bat if you're not on the pitch? sh1t, you should be on the house team." Merlin knew that Estrella would never want to be on the nasty side of that swing.

 

[Sumner Drage]

"Damn right they're the best team ever," Sumner snorted, his mouth twitching. She sure was taking this rather well. He grinned. Laughter and jokes were much better than receiving hexes. "Yeah, fifth year, transferred here last year. It's good to meet you Estrella." He laughed. "Although I wish it were under better circumstances."

He got up and bent down to swipe up his bat. To be safe he hurriedly stored it in his back pack. "I am," he grinned. "Scored a Beaters position from Lily Potter. Are you on the team?"

 

[Estrella Drage]

Glad that reverence of the Falmouth Falcons was mutual between them, Estrella smiled. Laughing and talking made her think less of the current headache that plagued her. Rubbing at her temples, she replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you too. Where did you transfer from?" With new students pouring in every year, the seventh year Ravenclaw was finding it more and more difficult to remember names, houses, and even less, former places of education. "Well hey, at least I didn't go tumbling down the staircase, right?"

She watched as the boy picked up the beater's bat and cautiously put it away. He wasn't half bad looking, although he was much too young for her. "I think Lily will be pleased to know that you have a wicked strong swing." She remained on the floor, not entirely ready to stand yet. "I'm Keeper- though I can't say we've played much. Hopefully Quidditch will pick up this year, it's always been kind of slow."

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner cautiously sat on the floor a few feet from her, crossing his legs 'indian' style. He leaned his elbows on his knees and studied her quietly. "Hogwarts in Scotland. My um stepfather took a promotion over here so here I am." He was starting to like this school more and more as the school year had only just begun. It sure wasn't dull by any standards.

"Lily seems a good sort. I hope she doesn't regret her decision," he said evasively, his eyes shifting. Back in Scotland he'd been pulled off the pitch for unneccessary roughness-although it was always warranted-and didn't exactly have a pristine record. Even for his young age back at his other school he'd been regarded as an out of control beater although they could not deny his skill. He just happened to like defending his teammates--and bloodying up the competition while he was at it.

"The season can't start soon enough. I want to see what we're made of and the other teams of course." He grinned a slow feral grin. "Plus it's been a while since I've intentionally cracked some heads."

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella grinned. "Is it similar to this school?" she asked. The girl hadn't conversed with a lot of people from Hogwarts Scotland. She had run into more Durmstrang transfers than anything. Her father and his siblings had gone to the original branch of Hogwarts, but she had barely heard anything about it.

Pleased that the boy seemed to want to stay around and talk- she didn't get that from a lot of the younger students- she was more than eager to engage in conversation. It wasn't long before she was forgetting that she had been hit in the head with a hard object at all. "I'm sure that if you use the arm strength you did earlier, you'll be just fine!" Snorting, she added, "We could use a beater that we know is not going to let us be bludgeoned to bits." She had noticed how sly the boy was about the whole idea, and she had him pegged as a rough player. That wasn't always a bad thing. How could you even see it that way if you liked a team as violent as the Falcons?

"Oh, I agree. I've got so little classes these days I'm bored all the time," Estrella added, "Just make sure if you're going to knock out anyone's brains from now on, that they're not those of your teammates!" Crossing her legs in a similar fashion, she asked, "So, how did you get into the Falcons anyway?"

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner glanced around the stone tower and thought of the castle and grounds. "Surprisingly it's similar enough to not make me so homesick," he admitted grudgingly. "What I've seen of it so far anyway." It helped too that he hadn't had many friends back there. He was slowly starting to not call it 'home' which came as a revelation. Had his time there been so immaterial or had such a small impact on his life? He supposed he'd been a social invert in Scotland. The only time he really came alive had been on the Quidditch Pitch. Other wise he was sitting in a corner with his nose in a book.

He grinned at her joke. "I'll make sure you lot never feel the sting of a bludger again. Or fall off my broom trying," he swore, his hand over his heart. He snorted. "I'll do my level best. If they behave," he winked.

"My dad took me to see them when I was little," he said, unaware he'd referred to his stepfather as his dad. "Mother bought the tickets and since she couldnt' go, persuaded him to take me." He smiled and glanced at the window. "Just watching how intensely they played, their intent pure and violent. It made me want to play professionally ever since." He looked back at her somewhat shyly. Thinking on that one outing his stepfather had taken him on was bitter sweet. It'd been the only time he'd done something like that with Sumner. The man was always too busy with politics and traveling to pay him much attention. Foolishly he'd thought the experience had bonded him to the man whom he'd then thought was his real father. But nothing ever had or ever would.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella brought her hand to her forehead, confirming that there was indeed a small goose-egg there. She would have to head down to the Hospital Wing later. For now, she was content to just sit and talk. "Well, it's neat that the transition wasn't horrible," she said with a small smile. "And I take you like it here?" Sumner seemed to be a happy enough person, at least in Estrella's opinion.

She raised an eyebrow. "I hope so! I wouldn't want to be on the other team, that's for sure." The Ravenclaw girl grinned wickedly. Rather amused at this point, she added, "Don't go swearing on your heart too often, or you'll have none of it left!"

"Really? I've never seen them play a game," Estrella replied, her voice trailing off. "I've seen them in pictures in the Daily Prophet and such. My dad got me into them when I was really little and they've been my favorite team ever since. I would like to see a professional Quidditch game one day." She smiled. "So is that what you want to do after school, then? Professional quidditch?"

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner nodded and hooked his thumbs into the loop holes of his pants. "Think I'll do that first but have a fallback. You know, in case of injury," he chuckled. Any Quidditch player worth their salt knew that one bludger or fall too many would take them permanently from the game.

"Uh, speaking of that I've got to grab some food and get back to studying." He cocked his head a bit to the side and rubbed his neck. "You uh want me to escort you to the hospital wing?"