Light With a Sharpened Edge

[Nixon Mercury]

After being rejected from the Hufflepuff quidditch team at the beginning of the year, Nixon had avoided the quidditch pitch and flying in general. What was something that he always admired from a distance when he was younger but unable to take part in himself because of his parents' hectic schedules, had become a love of his ever since he learned how to fly in his first year. Something he thought would make him feel happy with himself and the world around him as he soared around in the skies, with no where to go but up. It made him look forward to try out for his house's team when his second year began, so he could feel accomplished in his successes as a player, experience popularity in the school from winning points for his house and most importantly so he could gain a sense of belonging from being part of a team. A sense that he was never truly alone if he had a team to back him up. But after try outs ended and he was left out without an explanation, with nothing to tell him why he wasn't chosen, he could only draw the conclusion that there was something inherently wrong with him. That here was something missing about his very being that made him unworthy of a spot somewhere he so desperately wanted to belong. Worst of all, it had been a reminder that he did not have anywhere to belong in the first place and of everything he did not have. Thus being the reason stepping onto the quidditch pitch, or even the stands, made him feel sick to his stomach with a mix of pure fear and inadequacy. At least until that morning.

It was summer still, meaning the sun rose early and Nixon could get out of bed undetected by the boys in his dorm and sneak out to the grounds for a walk. He had simply wanted to wander aimlessly and wake up to the day and therefore was not expecting his feet would lead him to the pitch, but that was where he ended up. When he stopped, feeling his shoes graze the grass on the pitch, he balled the sleeves of his hoodie into fists, then crossed his arms over his torso as he looked around. What he did expect was that the pitch would be empty and at least that did not surprise him. He was almost tempted to throw caution to he wind, get a school broom and fly around the pitch on his own but his fear was stopping him. The last thing he wanted would be to reignite his love for flying just to have it taken away, and for his worst fears to be realized all over again.​

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

With so much going on this year, Geo had definitely been making the most of the early mornings as her time to relax. She and Ursula often ran together in the mornings now, but Geo had combined her morning efforts with flying practise since joining the team. Despite the loss of the first game, Geo was still particularly hopeful of their success. Clearly James was just understandably more experienced of a seeker than April, but her best friend would one day be even better than the seventh year. The morning were for Geo the time of day that she didn't have to worry about lessons and classes and any outstanding homework. Flavio had been a tremendous help to her, and she wanted to make sure he knew she appreciated his efforts of help g her while studying for his own Owls at the dame time. Dressed in simple black sport leggings, grey cropped sweater and her trainers, she walked I st to the pitch after her run, considering what she could do or get for Flavio, when she spotted a student already checking the grounds out.

"Hi," she gave the boy a smile, wondering whether he actually wanted someone to practise with. She didn't recall him from try outs and wondered if he was a first year that was too shy to get involved. "Do you want some help?" She offered, pausing on route to the broom cupboard. "My name's Geo. We could fly together if you want to practise?" She continued, moving round the boy to look at him properly. His large hazel eyes reminded her of sparkling planets in the sky, and she smiled warmly at him, wondering how she'd managed to miss him in the past.
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[Nixon Mercury]

Thinking about flying caused a shudder to run down Nixon's spine, making him cross his arms tighter as he looked out to the pitch. When a voice roused him from his thoughts he was almost happy for the distraction, knowing that talking to someone would keep him from a back and forth argument in his head about whether flying again was a smart decision or one that would make him feel more worthless than he did already. Though as he turned to see who spoke to him his soft expression turned to a frown. It was just his luck to run into someone from the Hufflepuff quidditch team, and worse so that it was one of the people offered a position at the same try outs where he was rejected. Considering her worth in comparison to his, it surprised him she was speaking to him at all but it did not surprise him that she offered him help as if he was too incompetent to help himself. The entire hufflepuff quidditch team thought they were better than everyone else, keeping their praises within the group and thinking themselves generous for spending time with anyone outside their team of elites, using it to boost their already large egos. Nixon was certain that moment was no different, and this Geo girl wanted to think of herself as some heroic charity worker to the less fortunate players, the ones that weren't good enough for the team.

After eyeing her up and down with a look of disdain Nixon responded to her, making no effort to keep up his regular happy go lucky facade when he felt nothing but bitter. "Why are you talking to me?" He waited a moment for his question to sink in. Insults towards her and her team were on the tip of his tongue but he bit them back, knowing it would be a waste of his breath and his energy to say everything that was on his mind. If the captain of the team did not think his words were worthy of listening to, there was no way in hell that one of the alternates would.​

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo wasn't sure why the boy looked so angry, but she was certain that if she could get him in the air it would no doubt lift his spirits. Playing Quidditch was a stress reliever to her and she loved that now she was on the team, she had another reason to practise so often. After her introduction though he seemed less than impressed that she was talking to him, and she realised perhaps she'd been wrong after all to think he wanted a friend out on the field. Taken a little aback, she rested a hand on her hip, wondering why he was hostile so quickly. "Why shouldn't I be?" she asked, after all, it wasn't as though she should have ignored him. If he wanted to be alone he should just say so rather than stringing her along anyway. "You're in Hufflepuff too right?" she asked. She didn't know his name but she recognised him from somewhere, "Look if you want to just stand there be my guest, but if I'm just saying the offer of having someone to practise flying with is there, okay?" she added, not wanting to push him if he really didn't want to, but never letting go of the hope of making another friend.
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[Nixon Mercury]

The girl, Geo, was completely ignorant to what Nixon really thought about her and the Hufflepuff quidditch team full of egocentric elitists. Even if the rational part of his mind knew this was expected as she could not read his thoughts, and it was silly of him to think his attendance and participation in the try outs was memorable if he wasn't good enough to make the team, the resentful part of his mind was louder and it did not take long for her string of clueless questions to cause the insults hanging on the tip of his tongue to spill out as he said what he truly thought of her. "Shut up. I know you and the rest of the hufflepuff team think you're better than me. Offering to help me fly is just a way for you and the others to convince yourselves you're more generous and kind than you really are." The frown on his face deepened as he continued to speak, not thinking about anything else other than how angry he was at his situation and the fact one of the alternates wasted their time keeping up the fake nice facade just like everyone else on the team did. "I don't want to fly with you, especially not when you're only offering to lie to yourself that you're nice." He looked away from her and out to the pitch, angry that he wasted his breath and what had been a nice morning thus far by speaking to her. "I'm not a charity case for you to pretend you're not a bad person. Go away." He assumed his words would be enough to convince her to let him continue his morning in peace, and expected that she would walk away and leave him alone.​

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo had be willing to give this boy a helping hand, but no sooner had she offered her assistance was she told to shut up. She may have been a Hufflepuff, but she'd grown up around a large number of children her whole life, and arguing wasn't something that was a particular challenge for her. She had an impatient fuse which ran out when the boy finished his ramblings about how what she was doing was fake and for no one's benefit but her own, and she quickly went from having a pleasant day to overwhelming angry when he suggested that she was a bad person. "How dare you. I'm out here because I'm trying to actually help my house rather than hinder them. I don't know what you have against me or anyone else on the team, but we certainly don't need you looking down on us." She took a few steps closer to the boy, she didn't even know his name. "Most other students in the school, Hufflepuff or not, don't need to pretend to be a good person." Plenty of people had hearts of gold, and it was more of a rarity to find someone who actually tried to put others down. "It wouldn't hurt for you to consider how you talk to people, I'm not sure everyone is going to take well to your bitterness." Part of her wanted to just turn away and head into practise, but it wasn't everyday she had the chance to try and alter someone's misconceptions and besides, she didn't really like his tone.
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[Nixon Mercury]

After that encounter all Nixon had wanted was to be left alone to his thoughts, but it seemed that he was too optimistic in thinking Geo would actually go away like he wanted her to. She instead began to talk back to him instead of walking away and he felt anger continue to rise in his chest, at both the fact she thought she was in the right and that she was now going out of her way to convince him he was the problem person instead of her. He wasn't going to pretend to be nice to her, or offer to fly with her like she was some sort of charity case in the same way she offered to help him. So even if his actions were far from acceptable, he was at least being honest about his intentions. He wasn't about to hide his bitterness and pretend to be nice when it would do nothing but drain his energy and that was why to him it was the quidditch team that were the villains. No matter how much he directly insulted her or the rest of them, he would never be as elitist and fake as he believed they were because he was honest about his feelings.

Nevertheless, with all he wanted to say out in the open he did not see the point in responding to her again in as much detail as before, especially when he knew he was right and she was clearly adamant he deserved her unwarranted help. So instead of insulting her again he sighed, saying a short and simple "Are you done?" and hoping that she was indeed finished because his patience and energy were wearing thin. It was still early in the morning and he had an entire day ahead of him, he didn't need this situation with Geo to continue longer than it needed to. His opinion on the quidditch team was not going to change because one of the members that was chosen over him told him it should, so it was pointless and a waste of both their time for her to continue.​