Magical Badminton

[Perry Wyatt]

Perry couldn't go a day without doing some kind of muggle sport. His trunk was filled two thirds with sports equipment and maybe one small third of his clothing. He didn't need that many sets of clothes anyway, students were required to wear robes most of the time. So he had enough space for his sports goods. Today he decided to do some badminton, he hadn't done it in a while and he got tired of playing soccer with himself. It wasn't that much fun and badminton was different. He had even brought a rolled up net, so he could also use it for volleyball if he wanted. Perry grabbed two rackets, a shuttle and his rolled up net and walked outside to the Great Lawn.

Perry found two trees and bound the net between them. He gave the net a pull and it didn't budge so it meant it was holding for now. Perry smiled and dumped one racket next to the tree. He just decided to try out some fancy techniques to get the shuttle over the net. Each time it would fall over the net and Perry ran around the trees to grab his shuttle, it sure was some nice psychical activity for him.

 

[April Ward]

No matter the weather or season, April preferred being outside. She loved the Hogwarts grounds, often spending hours on end just wandering around outside, exploring. Today was one of those days, though she had taken her broom. Now that she was the seeker of the Hufflepuff team, April felt like she had to practice a lot more. She needed to help their team reach victory, something she had failed to do last year. As she wandered with her broom over her shoulder, she noticed something unusual. A net between two trees that definitely hadn't been there before. Curiously, she moved closer, grinning when she noticed Perry. The two had had some fun playing soccer before, and it seemed like the Gryffindor boy wanted to bring more muggle sports to Hogwarts. As the shuttle landed, April quickly picked it up. "Hey Perry! Can I play?" She asked, putting her broom down on the ground. "I bet it's more fun together than on your own!"

 

[Perry Wyatt]

Perry was getting bored from playing badminton by himself. He had forgotten you definitely needed two or more players to play the game properly. It looked very stupid when the shuttle landed over the net and he had to bend down get it and repeat the process. He just didn't really know anyone that would enjoy a match of badminton. Perry started to think he should let his muggle sport addiction go and join the Quidditch obsession that was very much alive with Gryffindors. Each time they won a match there would be a gigantic party in the common room. When Perry wanted to grab the shuttle once more he noticed it was gone. Mid search he heard a familiar voice, he remembered it as April he had player soccer with her as well. When he looked up and saw Aprils face Perry smiled broadly. He had missed being around people and being social he needed this more than she knew. ''Yeah please do, it is way more fun with you'' Perry laughed and threw a racket to the girl. He knew she could catch it easily, she was the seeker of the Hufflepuff team for a reason. Perry readied himself and then noticed the broom, he hoped he wasn't holding her of an important Quidditch practice. ''If you had planned something else today, we can always play another time'' Perry wanted to play now, but he always cared for people more than for his own feelings.

 

[April Ward]

April was happy Perry recognized her and wanted to play with her. They'd had a lot of fun playing soccer together last year, and this seemed like fun too! As much as April loved being at Hogwarts, it sometimes made her miss the muggle world. She liked how Perry brought small parts of that world with him to Hogwarts, though April still missed technology the most. She grinned as she caught the racket, tossing back the shuttle at him so he could start. "Yay! I used to be great at this, but I haven't played it in ages!" She said, then smirked. "Bet I'm still better than you, though." April's competitive nature was what had gotten her into Quidditch, but it applied to every part of her life. Perry's question wasn't strange, as she had taken her broom with her, but April shook her head. "Nah, I can practice anytime." She said, hoping Ares wasn't somehow nearby enough to hear her say that so flippantly. "Though it's a shame you don't have a broom with you. Imagine how much more fun this game would be in the air!" But then she shook her head. "It's really fun to play sports on the ground too, though. Not everything needs to be on brooms."

 

[Perry Wyatt]

Badminton was weird and people were staring. He didn't care at all since he was used to being the odd duck in the bunch. He didn't want to lose his muggle heritage in this magical world. Becoming a wizard was something, but he was still going to be a muggle as well. Perry caught the shuttle and immediately played it back over the net so April could get used to the racket. When April said she had done it before and she was probably going to beat him Perry smiled. ''I like to see you try'' Perry was ready to use some tricks he had learned from years playing the game. Although he wasn't the best at it and he mainly played it when his family would go camping. When April said she could practice anytime Perry felt a feeling of happiness come over him. He liked to play with April, she was so free and bubbly. Playing badminton with a broom would ruin the muggleness of it, but it could be a fun playstyle. ''You would need a higher and bigger net the playing field is too small for a broom'' In his mind it looked really funny and Perry laughed. Ruining his concentration. ''Isn't Quidditch already lots of muggle sports in one'' Perry was just thinking ''Beaters basically do bits of baseball and the keeper is already in lots of muggle sports so are chasers, only the brooms are new'' It was something Perry hadn't really thought of it and it was maybe the smartest thing he had come up with in a while. ''What would the seeker be in muggle sports?'' Perry asked April, he had no clue.

 

[April Ward]

April barely noticed anyone staring at them, too excited to play the game. If she caught anyone's gaze, she assumed they were probably jealous they hadn't joined before April had. But there were only two rackets, so it was too bad. April hit the shuttle back and grinned when Perry challenged her, nodding. "I'll show you." She said with a small laugh. April was very competitive, which was why she liked sports so much. Perry talked about her idea of playing on brooms, raising some valid concerns. "I guess." She said. "It would still be fun." His vision of Quidditch gave her pause, but then she laughed. "You're right! I bet wizards borrowed elements from muggles." She said, smiling. Maybe her mother would like to hear about that. "The seeker in muggle sports," she said, tilting her head to the side, is obviously simply the best player on the team." She teased.

 

[Perry Wyatt]

The fact that April accepted almost every challenge you could throw at her made her awesome. Perry smiled and played the shuttle back over the net. ''If we would use brooms you would probably win by way too many points, I haven't flown since the first year.'' Although Perry liked quidditch, he loved muggle sports way more. He sometimes cheered on the Gryffindor team, but that was about it. Perry laughed when April said he was right. ''Wizards were probably jealous they didn't have any sports and just copied some muggle sport elements'' Wizards weren't people that would ask, they would just steal since they thought they were superior. ''Hmhmh, that is true, you are the best of the team'' Perry laughed, he would only be a fair beater he would totally suck as a seeker. Perry was amazed how good April actually was in badminton. ''Is there a sport you don't excel at?'' Perry smiled she picked up soccer incredibly fast and the fact that she was the seeker of the hufflepuff team said enough.

 

[April Ward]

April couldn't believe Perry hadn't flown since the first year, and the shock from that declaration nearly made her miss the shuttle. She hit it at the last second, but knew it would be an easy hit for him because she hadn't really thought of where she was aiming. "You should fly! We should go together." She said, nodding firmly as if that sealed the deal. "It's way too much fun to ignore for so many years." First year was ages ago. This couldn't stand. April laughed a little at his theory about muggle sports. "Maybe! I don't think wizards are very creative." She said, shrugging. In all honesty, she didn't really care about the actual history. She smiled when Perry called her the best of the team, a little embarrassed. It was one thing to jokingly say a thing like that herself, but to hear it coming from a boy was kind of odd. "I'm not that good at sports, I'm just fast, that usually helps." She said, though she usually liked to brag. Somehow, it felt strange to get these compliments and it embarrassed her. "You're still way better than me at this." She said quickly.

 

[Perry Wyatt]

When Perry had made the comment about not having flown since the first year April looked shook. Perry smiled and since it had thrown April of he could easily hit the shuttle back over the net. When April asked if he wanted to fly with her he smiled. ''Sure, I don't even know if can still do it though.'' He wasn't completely awful at flying, but he sure was rusty. ''Wizards still live in the middle ages with most things'' Perry laughed it was true, the money was outdated the coins were heavy and there still wasn't any paper money. The hospital was filled with magic and herbs, but there wasn't any real medicine around. ''Don't lie, without you the game would continue for ages'' The seeker was the most important player by far, without a seeker the game would never end. ''Because I have been a muggle for way longer than I have been a wizard.'' Not only that he was also addicted to most muggle sports and played them every free minute he had. ''I just had too much time and being from a muggle upbringing helps, I can hardly play Quidditch in my backyard.'' His neighbors would probably call the police and then they would have to be obliviated.

 

[April Ward]

April hit the shuttle back, trying to focus on both the game and the conversation happening. "If you have trouble I can help you! It'd be fun." She said, eager to go flying with a friend. Especially if said friend wasn't very good at it, she would look really good in comparison. "I guess so, but they are very effective with most things. Like, everything can be fixed with magic." She said, shrugging. "I guess they're all about not fixing it if it isn't broken, you know?" She guessed the spells that worked now worked hundreds of years ago too. Though she had to admit she liked the way muggle stuff changed all the time. Back home, she loved it when she had a new phone or some other gadget that just came out. The wizarding world was unchanging for the most part. She grinned at the idea of playing Quidditch in the backyard of a muggle home. "I can't play Quidditch at home either, we live in a city." She told him with a sigh. "I always miss it a lot."