Encounters with Bludgers

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn could just about stand the sight of his own blood, but if it belonged to somebody else, a mere drop could make him feel dizzy. Visibly broken bones or dislocated joints were even worse. Miserable as he'd felt when he fallen off his broom during his Quidditch tryout, in hindsight, he was relieved not to have made the team. A teeny, tiny part of him - the part that wasn't happy and proud - wished Leda hadn't made it either, so that he wouldn't have to watch her dodge bludgers every time Slytherin played. As a seeker, she was perhaps the beaters' most targeted player. That was how it had felt today, anyway.

Standing outside the hospital wing door, Mervyn ground his teeth. He knew, logically, he didn't have to be frightened. By now everybody's injuries had surely been tended to, all dislocated arms popped back into place. He shuddered, leaning back against the wall and clenching his hands into fists. You're pathetic, he told himself, resisting the urge to kick or punch something. What kind of friend was he, that he couldn't even support his best friend when she got hurt? Hearing footsteps approach the door, Mervyn quickly straightened up and smiled, ready to appear nonchalant in case it was Leda.

 

[Leda Layton]

Leda was still pretty mad that she hadn't seen the snitch before October did, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it now. She knew that her sister and best friend had been watching her too and that had been the hardest thing to come to terms with. Not only had she let her team down but she let them down too. After being hit twice by a bludger she'd reluctantly taken herself to the hospital wing before finding Mervyn, not wanting to see anyone while she wallowed in her own self pity. She hadn't broken anything, luckily, but her arm was bruised where she'd made contact with the ball, and her pride had been wounded along with it.

Leaving the hospital wing a short while later, she wanted nothing more than to go to bed for a while, but no sooner had she rounded the corner did she see a family sight. She paused and looked at him for a moment, wondering how long he'd been lurking outside, and whether he was waiting for her, although feeling as though if she got talking about the most obvious subject then all she'd hear would be a torrent of comments about how she did her best and how she was going to improve. "Leave it Mervyn." she said quietly, edging round the boy and continuing down the corridor. She would see him tomorrow in classes no doubt.
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[Mervyn Strangewayes]

It was Leda. Mervyn expected her to be in a bit of a bad mood, what with losing her first game and getting hit by two bludgers, but he didn't expect her to completely blow him off. They were besties! They talked about everything together - the good, the bad, the ugly - all of it. Stunned, he turned to watch her walk away. Had something else happened up in the air that Mervyn hadn't seen? What was her problem? Snapping back to his senses, he hurried after her. "Oi," he said, as he reached her side, holding onto her sleeve in case she tried to make a break for it. "Woss wrong? It ain't the end o' the world, you know. S'only Quidditch. 'Choo upset for?"

 

[Leda Layton]

Leda yelped as Mervyn caught hold of her sleeve, her bad arm being moved unexpectedly wasn't exactly comfortable and it was going to take a few days to feel back to normal. She turned to reluctantly face her friend, her eyes narrowed at him but only because she was trying to suppress the tears that lay behind them. With her brows furrowed, she listened to her friend talk about it like it was nothing. "Only Quidditch!" her voice unnaturally squeaky as her emotions lay so close to the surface, "It's about..seeker...Odette.." her voice moved into sharp torrents of words that were only audible to mice, her face screwing up a little as she was unable to stop what she'd started. "And now there's Olive.. and I can't do it.." She didn't even know where all of this had come from, but as she stood in the corridor squealing through her words, continuing not to let any tears fall although obvious in a little pain both physically and mentally, she really hoped no one else would be passing them by soon, and even felt a little strange that her best friend had managed to catch her out.
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[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn had never heard a noise anything like the one that proceeded to come from Leda's mouth. He could barely make out anything she was saying, catching just the odd word between garbled squeaks. Immediately feeling concerned, and aware that they were not in the most private place, Mervyn ushered Leda toward the nearest door and pushed it open. Great. A broom cupboard. Still, it was better than the corridor. He dragged Leda inside and let the door swing shut on them, lighting his wand so that they wouldn't trip over anything in the pitch darkness. "Sorry," he said. "Didn't know it was a cupboard. Anyway, calm down - deep breffs - and then start again. Slower, like. Didn't 'ear a word o' that."

 

[Leda Layton]

Having Mervyn pull her into a dark broom cupboard had never really been on her bucket list, but once they were inside and she saw his little face peering at her through the light of his wand, she knew had chosen well in her company three years ago and he was just trying to help. She looked at the floor for a moment, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to compose herself. "They know I'm new, and that's fine. I'm an inexperienced Seeker so I'm going to be terrible. But Odette trusted me and I should be better. Olive was a seeker too at Hogwarts. She could do it. She joined when she was my age and she won. I just lose. I always just lose." She'd spent years listening to her older sister as they'd grown up together, the tales from her time at the school passed down to the younger Layton sibling, and Leda was completely oblivious to the fact most of her renditions were fictitious, and unaware she was trying to compete with a lie she'd come to admire. Leda just wanted to be like Olive, popular and fun and making people proud of her, but instead she was just letting them down. She would never be as good as her sister, how could she?
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[Mervyn Strangewayes]

It took Mervyn every ounce of self-restraint he had not to interrupt Leda before she was done. "Don't be daft!" he said finally, using his free hand to take her shoulder and give it a gentle shake. "You ain't let nobody down, Leda, not by 'arf. I don't give a monkey's wot your sister did, cos she ain't you, 'n' you ain't 'er, and I wouldn't be your best friend if you was." He sighed, wishing Leda could see herself in his eyes, or, at the very least, that he could articulate how amazing he thought she was. "Everyone loses," he said. "I fell off me bloody broom in tryouts, so you're already better than me. You gotta get back on the 'orse, innit? Well - the broom. 'Ave anuvver go. Show 'em wot you're made of. Come on, Leeds - chin up. I 'ate it when you're not 'appy. Frownin' don't suit you." Mervyn grinned. "Please? For me? A li'l smile?"