Practicing

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera had gotten up early to head down to a flat soft patch of grass just outside the gardens. It was 6:30 am. She planned on practicing early so that it would be cool enough for her. Kiera had just completed her mile run warm up. Two days ago, Alex had caught her outside practicing after she had run 5 miles. That day had worn her out. Kiera had over done it and regretted it the next day. Kiera was trying desperately to keep up with her competitive world of gymnastics. She wanted to get first place in at least one competition this summer. It was hard for her to keep up with the other girls in her ranking since she only competed in summer competitions and the odd Christmas one. Very few people knew her background of competitive gymnastics though Kiera thought most of them would look down on it. It was a muggle sport after all. Before Kiera had come into Hogwarts, she had been ranked high in her age group. Top three. Now, she would jump in the ranks every time she competed before settling back down just shy of top ten. It really irked Kiera that she fell so far in the rankings.

Kiera was dressed in workout clothes that displayed her fit figure. Kiera was all muscle in her slight frame. She decided that since there was no one about she would do a few simple moves to warm up with. Kiera wanted to run work on her competition routine this morning. She started off with a roundoff back handspring tuck. She had been able to do this since she was five. It was an easy move that she nailed. Kiera grinned as she landed it. She moved on to a more complex skill she had master at age six. A round off handspring full. Kiera laughed as she landed it perfectly. She looked around wondering if anyone else had seen it.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi tossed in bed one final time and then decided to get up. It was an obscenely early hour and she couldn't believe that she was already awake. Sighing, she tossed the covers off of herself and stood up. As she looked over at her sleeping roommates, Cyndi was surprised to see that one of the beds was already empty. Kiera was already gone. Dressing as quietly as she could in a pair of sweatpants, a long-sleeved shirt and sneakers, Cyndi made her way out of the room and downstairs to the lawn.

The grounds were pretty quiet at this early hour. This was one of Cyndi's favorite times to be outside because although she loved being around everyone in her house and her dorm, there were times when she liked things to be a tad quieter. Making her way towards the gardens, Cyndi heard what sounded like someone running and then jumping. As she got closer, she saw a girl from afar as she ran and did some kind of gymnastics move that Cyndi herself would never be able to do. Then, with barely a second to spare, she did another even more difficult move.

With her mouth open, Cyndi approached the girl, realizing that it had to be Kiera, which was confirmed as she drew nearer. She clapped emphatically as the girl turned to see if anyone was watching. "And all I want is to be able to do a simple old cartwheel" she laughed as she reached Kiera's side.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera was surprised that she actually did have an audience at this time in the morning. She saw it was Cyndi. Kiera pretended to bow as the older girl clapped for her. Kiera grinned and waved her over. She laughed as she heard Cyndi's comment. "Oh I can teach you that." she said to her. "I was just warming up. I need to start to practice my competition routine at least on floor. I want to win this summer. I keep falling in the rankings." she said, her face slipping into a pout. "Alex watched me for a bit the other morning but I over did it." she said, hoping that wouldn't happen today. "It helps to have someone watch."

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi giggled as Kiera bowed and then moved closer. She couldn't believe that Kiera was only warming up and wondered what else the girl could do. She had seen a few gymnastics competitions on television when she was younger and knew that those girls moved across the floor, barely allowing themselves to land on the ground before jumping into the air and beginning their next move. Since Kiera was nationally ranked, Cyndi knew that she was that good and was eager to see her do something more.

She was surprised to hear that her friend was falling in the ranks and smiled sympathetically, wondering how she could help. As Kiera told her that it was better to have someone watch, she smiled. "I would love to watch you" Cyndi said eagerly. It wasn't every day that she got to see a nationally ranked competitor practice. "Just tell me what I have to do...besides stay out of the way of course."

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera laughed as Cyndi sounded so eager. She was glad for the enthusiasm. Kiera was only around 15th in the nation right now which was not good in her opinion she expected much more from herself. Gymnastics had always just clicked with her. That's why she had spend around 30 hours training per week since she was 5, though she had started small training at late 3. Kiera sometimes felt like she had missed out on a childhood until she came to Hogwarts New Zealand.

Kiera grinned at Cyndi. "I am going to do one more warm up pass. Then, when I start my routine I need you to watch and make sure that I look like I am doing everything correctly. Tell me if something doesn't look pretty or should be changed." She instructed her friend and roommate. "If that is alright with you?" Kiera said smiling.


Kiera walked to where she had been previously. She took a breath. This move was a bit harder but not as hard as her routine. Kiera did a roundoff handspring double full. Kiera grinned at Cyndi as she tailed the move. "Ready? I will do my routine now." she said as she sprinted to her starting position. Kiera took a deep breath before beginning her routine. Kiera stood up after her finishing move. She had a worried look on her face. "What did you think?" she asked Cyndi.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi nodded and stepped back to sit down on the ground, safely out of Kiera's way. "Ok...that sounds simple enough" she said as she made herself comfortable and waited patiently. She watched as Kiera performed another stunt and then began her routine.

As she watched Kiera began, Cyndi was surprised at the amount of power that her gryffindor friend put into every move that she did. From the beginning, her jumps were much higher than the average person and at times she seemed to go even higher than she expected. She could only watch in awe as Kiera did 1, 2, 3 jumping splits in a row. Every move looked so lyrical and beautiful. The grand finale of the routine was awesome too as Kiera ran as fast as she could and then did a somersault followed by another flip and another flip.

As she looked worriedly toward Cyndi for an opinion, the older gryffindor shook her head. "That was soo cool! You'll definitely move up in the ranks with that" she said excitedly. "What was that last move you did called? You seemed to float in the air for a second. It was like...like...magic" she said with a small chuckle, unable to figure out another word to use.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera smiled at Cyndi as her friend complimented her routine. She shook her head. "I'm not so sure. You haven't seen some of the girls I compete against." she said with a small laugh. Kiera was very nervous about her upcoming meet. But at least she would have Alex to cheer her on. "The last pass was a round off handspring double pike." she said answering Cyndi's question, then laughing at the awe inspired look.

Kiera typical never got those looks from her family. They were usually just exasperated she wanted to continue to compete. It was nice to have a cheering section. An idea popped into Kiera's head. "Cyndi you can come to the competition at the end of the summer if you want. Alex will be there. Its always nice to have a support section." she said brightly.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi shrugged, knowing that even though she hadn't seen anyone else, she still thought Kiera was really good. When her friend invited her to the competition this summer, Cyndi nodded her head without hesitation. "That would be so cool!" she said and then added with a sly smile, "Did you say Alex would be there? So, did you tell him you liked him?"

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera smiled broadly as Cyndi said she would come this summer to her competition. Kiera hugged her friend. "Thank you!" she said excitedly. "My family doesn't show proper enthusiasm for my competitions." she said, rolling her eyes. Kiera blushed as Cyndi asked about Alex. "Yes I told him. He's my boyfriend now." she said, her face turning an even deeper shade of red than it already was. She really liked Alex and things were going good for the two of them so far.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi returned Kiera's hug. "Thanks for inviting me!" As Kiera blushed and told Cyndi that her and Alex were going out, Cyndi pumped her hand in the air. "I knew it would happen! Maybe I'm a seer." she said with a laugh. She was glad that Alex liked Kiera as much as Kiera seemed to like Alex.

"So...how does this competition work?" Cyndi asked curiously.

 

[Ginny Porter]

Ginny was just up and needed some air desperately before she passed out from nausea. As Ginny slipped on a baggy jumper and her purple leggings, she walked out onto school lawn. In the distance she saw a girl doing a gymnastics routine and it looked pretty neat in her opinion. Though her hands could use a bit of flexibility. As she hugged her jumper a bit closer to her , she decided to go over to them before realizing it was Kiera and another girl. She gave them a small wave before standing next to the stranger. 'Hello. It's a bit early today,' she greeted them before taking her brushed hair and pulling it into a loose bun behind her.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera was just about to answer Cyndi's question when Ginny approached the two girls. Kiera grinned at her other friend. "Hey Ginny." she greeted. "It is a bit early but its the best time to practice my routine." she said to her. Kiera didn't think Ginny knew about her competitive gymnastics but then again she might. Kiera returned to Cyndi's previous question. "Well there are four parts, beam, bars, floor and vault. You can win in each category or you can win all around. I am hoping to win all around." she said determined that she would win this competition. No matter what it took.

 

[Ginny Porter]

Ginny nodded slightly as Kiera explained the competitive gymnastics parts. 'Yes, but the vault is always the hardest I think,'she added, smiling at Kiera. 'Those were some nice round offs before. Though, your hands were looking slightly out of place. Stiff, you know what I mean,'she told Kiera just as some positive criticism. 'If you don't mind, I'll try show you what I mean,' she offered, glad she had worn a tank top under her jumper.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera smiled as Ginny said the fault was the hardest part. It was Kiera's weakest area. It sounded like Ginny had been around gymnastics before. Kiera looked at Ginny, not believing the younger girl was tell her what to do. She had no idea anyone at Hogwarts had any clue about Gymnastics. Kiera had been nationally ranked for years and even competed in a few world competitions. True her ranking was dropping, but she had been doing round offs since she was three.

Kiera nodded her head. "Of course you can show me. I can use a bit of coaching before I go home. My coach is going to rip me apart if I don't keep on my game." she said laughing. Then she remembered Ginny didn't know much about Kiera. "I am competing in Nationals this summer." she explained. "Last Nationals I got third, but I tore my ACL apart during the floor routine. James Potter healed it for me after school started." Kiera said blushing slightly when she said James's name. Kiera had a momentary fling with him at the start of the school but hardly anyone realized it much to her delight. "But, I missed competing during Christmas because I couldn't explain the miraculous recovery to the media." Kiera said frowning. It still irritated her that she had to miss out on the practice. Kiera was determined to win this year no matter what.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi waved to the girl who had come down from the castle to join them. She didn't know her at all, but Kiera seemed to and she picked up that her name was Ginny. Cyndi then turned to Kiera who was explaining the different parts of the competition. It sounded like a lot of work to Cyndi, especially since Kiera seemed to want to go for the all-around, which meant she would have to do everything. It was also something she seemed happy doing.

When Ginny said that the vault was the hardest, Cyndi figured that she must know something about gymnastics. "Is vault the part when you jump over that thing" she said, not knowing what it was called, "and then you do a bunch of flips?" She recalled having seen it once and it did seem difficult because it was so quick. "Do you compete too?" Cyndi asked Ginny, wondering since the girl seemed to know a lot about gymnastics.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera realized that she hadn't introduced the two girls. "Oh by the way, Ginny this is Cyndi. Cyndi this is Ginny." she said, slightly embarrassed at her bad manners. Kiera nodded her head at Cyndi as she asked about the vault. "Yes, the vault is where you run down a blue strip of carpet to the Vault. You jump on the spring board and push yourself over the vault with your hands." Kiera said, semi explaining it. It was hard to explain if you hadn't ever seen it before. Kiera listened to Cyndi ask Ginny if she competed. If Ginny had, she hadn't been in the same level as Kiera. Kiera knew all the girls in her class.

 

[Ginny Porter]

Ginny smiled as Kiera didn't seem to mind her showing her some moves. She loved doing gymnastics but never would she do a competition. She just didn't like showing off her talents for the criticizers. She didn't like being judged at all. Ginny nodded somberly as Kiera talked about her ACL being torn. She wondered how that could of felt, seeing as she hadn't had that happened to her. She smiled though, knowing Kiera must be so good for getting third in the nationals. They were big after all.
'Cyndi,'Ginny stated happily, giving her a little kirtsy as a joke. 'Umm, no. I don't like the big crowds,'she replied, lying slightly. 'Anyway, coming back to this round off,'she replied, getting off her. She pulled her jumper, showing her blue tank top. She walked backwards until she had a nice run up space. 'Now, I'll show you what you did as best as I can and then I'll just do the same move but the way I do it,'she told Kiera before taking a deep breath. She leant back on to her left foot before running a few steps and coping Kiera on her last run up. She held her hands in place on the round off before landing.
She smiled at the girls before repeating the main bits before the round off. Ginny had always been weird with her hands this way but she let them flow with the movement, almost like a ballerina. Keeping them a second behind this made them more relaxed but also, kept them closer to the body, increasing the speed. She landed on her feet and bent her knees slightly before skipping back over to them. 'Notice the difference?'she asked them, wondering if Cyndi would of noticed anything as well.

(sorry, was at camp. just got back. feel free to shoot me )

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera nodded. "I see the difference but I'm used to a bouncer floor than this. All our competitions as well as practices are on spring floors." she told Ginny. Not sure if the girl had ever had formal gymnastic training. She was good, but Kiera was better. There were harder passes in her routine that Kiera felt positive the girl couldn't do. Heck, some of the girls at Kiera's level couldn't master them. That's why she had spent weeks and months alone practicing them. "I believe the major difference between your version and mine are where your power comes from. I have to put my hands like that because all my power tends to come from my legs and flow through to my arms." Kiera said wondering if she made sense to anyone but herself. People's eyes usually glazed over when she got technical with gymnastics.

 

[Ginny Porter]

Ginny nodded as Kiera mentioned it was springier floors in the actually shows and practices. This was a fact she had never known before though, having not been in a training room ever before. She wondered how it actually felt having an extra help with the spring floors, having thought it was just a mat for all these years. Ginny smiled slightly wider as Kiera started saying where the power came from. 'Yeah. I was always criticized for relying to much on power coming from speed half the time,' she said, laughing slightly. It was more a private joke to her though, having been called a stunt specialist in the making before because of her addiction to speed, it just felt too coincendental with the criticism.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera grinned. She was glad Ginny didn't talk any offense with what Kiera had said. Ginny was a new friend of Kiera's so she didn't know how she would react. Kiera nodded her head. "That makes sense." she said, smiling. "Did you ever have any type of training?" Kiera asked, wondering. The girl had to have learned the tricks somewhere.

 

[Ginny Porter]

Ginny shook her head smiling warmly. 'No, no. I just learnt them at school, in the playground. I learnt some here as well, on my first year and stuff with umm Lily and stuff,' she told the girl. She bent down on to a crouched position quickly and picked her jumper up, straightening up again. Pulling it over her head, she straightened up again, and sorted out her jumper, placing her toned arms into the sleeves. She loved her baggy jumper so much. It just made her look so nice and skinny than Ginny was, and even though she was fine in size, she always thought she'd look nicer skinnier.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera nodded at Ginny's answer. It was obvious the girl had talent. Kiera smiled at her. "You know, I don't mind teaching you a few things if you ever want to learn." she offered. Kiera thought for a minute before continuing. "And Alex, Cyndi, and maybe Bellatrix are coming to my competition at the end of the summer. You are welcome to come if you want." she offered. Ginny was obviously into gymnastics.

 

[Ginny Porter]

Ginny gave Kiera a warm grateful smile before shaking her head. 'Maybe another summer, eh? I planned on spending this summer with my family. And besides, the farm where I live will need to be harvested and that takes all the hands you can use,' she replied, before hiding a yawn.
'So can you do any tricksters Cyndi? I'm sorry. I just stole the whole conversation didn't I?' Ginny asked the older girl, just realizing what she had done. How rude she was, honestly, she couldn't believe she had done that. And they had just met too.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi watched Ginny do the move that she had been talking to Kiera about and noticed that there was a difference. She couldn't quite put her finger on what the difference was, but something about Ginny's looked smoother and her arms looked more in place somehow. She nodded slowly as the girl asked whether she had noticed a difference, but didn't say anything. Instead, she listened to the girls speak about gymnastics stuff. It was all very fascinating to Cyndi, who had seen but never tried any gymnastics herself.

When Ginny asked whether Cyndi could do any tricks, she shook her head emphatically. "Nope. The only time my feet leave the ground is when I'm on a broom" she joked. "And, you didn't steal the conversation. It was interesting to hear you guys talk gymnastics. I certainly don't know enough about it to carry a conversation and Kiera was looking for tips anyway." Cyndi smiled at the girl as she finished to prove that there were no hard feelings

 

[Ginny Porter]

Ginny smiled at Cyndi. She was glad she didn't think she had stolen the convo. She hated it when people chose not to invite her for things when she accidently did that. 'Cool. I always have my feet off the ground most of the time. Hate the feeling of gravity a lot,' she told them honestly, laughing. It was true. She always sat cross legged on chairs or with one leg kicking and her other underneath her like an extra pillow.