Practicing with Crispin

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Katrina Redding

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Ebony Wand 15" Essence of Phoenix Talon
Katrina walked down to the pitch, her Firebolt resting on her shoulder and her Quaffle under her arm. She noticed that Crispin wasn't there yet, so she put down the Quaffle and mounted her broom. Kicking off the ground, she quickly flew a few laps around the pitch. The cool autumn air biting her skin as her hair whipped around her face. She always felt so free when she was up in the air. Away from her parents oppression and the stress of classwork. She kept glancing down at the field, looking for Crispin as she flew through the hoops.
 
Crispin hurried down to the Quidditch pitch, Katrina's note clasped in his hand. He tucked it away so he could carry his Firebolt better and have a hand free just in case the Snitch in his pocket tried to escape.

"Whoa." He shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand and watched Katrina do a few laps through the goals. "No way will I get that good in time for Saturdays game." He felt his confidence plummet. He didn't want to let down the team. Especially when he was just filling in for Zoe.

He mounted his broom, took a deep breath and kicked off the ground. He clasped the Firebolt and marveled at the easy handling. He flew around a couple times until he came up to Katrina.

"Hey,"he said nervously.
 
Katrina pulled up on the handle of her broom when she heard Crispin's voice close by. She smoothed her hair as she floated above the ground and smiled at the dark haired boy. "Hey. I'm glad you got my letter, I wasn't sure if you had." She was still a little nervous around him, but didn't really feel uncomfortable when on her broom. She smiled widely at him. "So, I heard you would be playing the game with us this Saturday." She wasn't sure how to start a conversation, but thought she would start off with talking about Quidditch.
 
Crispin made the mistake of looking down. He swallowed repeatedly then stared straight up. "Yeah, I guess Zoe couldn't play. It's great though,"he said, still looking up. "Just great. Gives me a great chance to play with the team." He laughed a little too heartedly, vowing to never look down again.
 
Katrina suppressed laughter. She had never seen or heard of a Quidditch player who was afraid of heights. Still smiling widely she realized he must be filling in as seeker. "So you're filling in for Zoe then? She's seeker. Have you ever played Quidditch before?" She was remembering his lack of saying his blood status in the Great Hall, and wasn't sure if he was a mudblood. She knew better than say that out loud, but couldn't help but think it.
 
"Well sure," Crispin said, glancing over at her. "Loads of time. Back at home--and by myself," he mumbled, embarrassed.
 
"Um, I used to want to be a Beater but since it was just me, I played Seeker. Which is good, I guess," he grinned, starting to feel better. He ventured to look at Katrina and carefully kept his eyes off the ground.
 
Katrina nodded her head. "Well, I have a Quaffle with me; well, not technically with me, but it's on the ground. Do you happen to have a snitch?"
 
"Oh, um, yeah." Crispin scrambled to dig into his jacket pocket. He knew he had to look a mess without his Quidditch gear, he hoped his hoodie and jeans would do for now.
"Here it is." He held it tight in his hand. The small fluttering of the wings made him feel better. Maybe if he pictured the field to be the field at home? He became less tense and started to look at this with a bit more enthusiasm.
 
Katrina smiled, happy that he would be able to practice. "Well, there's not much I can do to help you practice with the snitch. So did you want to start with the snitch now, or would you like to throw around the Quaffle a bit?" She kept glancing at him and noted that he seemed a little more comfortable on the broom.
 
He thought about it for a minute. "How about the Quaffle first?" That sounded like fun. He'd never got to play Quidditch with anybody. He was glad he had something new to practice to occupy his mind--that way he wasn't so nervous around Katrina.
 
Katrina smiled and nodded at him. "Great, well, would you like to throw it back and forth or take turns playing keeper?" She clapped her hands in a gesture of 'let's go' and she feigned a surprised look on her face and dove her broom downward. She laughed to herself as she swooped down toward where the Quaffle sat on the field. When she was about ten feet from the ground she pulled up and her feet grazed the grass as she leaned over and scooped up the Quaffle.

Leaning forward on her broom, she flew back up and joined Crispin.
 
Crispin yelled and reached out when Katrina went spiraling down. He grabbed his broom tightly to keep from falling and heard her laughing. He watched her expert flying and the way she grabbed the Quaffle.

His mouth was still open when she reached him.
 
Katrina laughed heartily; the first real laugh all year. She tossed Crispin the Quaffle, not thinking that he would drop it.
 
Crispin fumbled the ball but caught it with his fingertips. He clutched it to him, feeling daring all of a sudden. Something about her uncontrolled laugh made him want to do something to impress her. He soared down the field, leaned forward to go faster. He came up to the goal and threw it in, zipping around to the back to catch it.

When he realized what he'd just done, he stopped and swung around towards her, a dumb founded expression on his face.
 
Katrina cheered despite herself. She flew quickly to the end of the pitch that he was on and stopped right beside him. "That was great! You should be a Chaser, like me!" She was genuine and happy that he was going to be on their team for the upcoming game.

She flew a distance away and put her hands out, indicating he throw it to her.
 
Crispin's chest puffed out at her praise, a slow grin growing on his face. He chuckled and tossed the Quaffle to her.
 
Katrina smiled wider. "Great throw! You really would make a great Chaser." She flew back over next to him and floated. "So, do you want to toss the Quaffle around or do you want to take turns being keeper or do you want to practice a bit as seeker?"
 
"Thanks!" Crispin brushed his hair out of his eyes. "How 'bout Seeker practice? I'm still kinda nervous about playing tomorrow."
 
Katrina smiled and nodded. She blushed a little for no reason when he brushed his hair out of his face, and she looked down quickly so he wouldn't see. "Um, well, there's not much I can do to help you practice with the snitch, so if you want, you can go ahead and let it go and I will fly a few laps and practice throwing the Quaffle through the hoops." She was talking too fast. She knew it, but all the sudden she wanted nothing more than to fly very fast.
 
Crispin's mis colored eyes narrowed slightly in confusion when she blushed. He looked up at the sun and didn't think it was really warm out. All of a sudden, his grandfather's voice popped into his head; Crispin had overheared him talking about his grandmother and how she used to blush prettily when he'd compliment her new hat at Sunday school.

Crispin's ears turned pink and his voice squeaked when he said, "Yeah, sure." He cleared his throat. "Um, yeah, I'll go do that and you go do that and we'll, uh, meet up back here when we're done." He fumbled with the Snitch and with a last glance at her, let it out of his hand.

The chase was on.
 
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