Training

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Standing at the door to the Kingsleys house, a lot of things about the current situation felt surreal to Lizzie. When Jacob had invited her to his house for some Quidditch training she had agreed in a heartbeat, and it had only struck her as the owl was soaring away from her house with its message that this would mean going to her Head of House's home. Lizzie had always liked Professor Kingsley, but just the thought of seeing her outside school felt deeply strange, actually visiting her house was an entirely new level of bizarre. It felt almost illicit, to be seeing how her teacher lived outside of school, even if practicing with Jacob was the focus of the visit.

It also felt deeply strange to be in a position of mentorship. Lizzie had taught other people bits and pieces about Quidditch and flying at school, but this felt different. Jacob was a housemate, likely intending to go up for the team in the same position Lizzie played, and could be taking her place when she graduated. She was almost exactly on the other side of the dynamic she had shared with Archie when he had been captain, mentoring a younger player, and the thought of how much she had grown since her struggles in second year sent a strange pang through her heart. It was also strange to think that hopefully she would soon be doing this for a whole team, with James graduating. Lizzie could only hope to live up to the standards of the people who had mentored her as she was growing up, do her best to become someone they could be proud of. With a blend of strange and poignant emotions running through her, Lizzie took a deep breath and put on a bright smile to hide her inner struggles as she knocked on the door.

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi Kingsley was standing right beside the door, so she ignored her son's shouts that he was going to get it and opened the door right up after yelling back to him that she was already at the door and it made no sense. "Sorry for the yelling" she said as the door opened to reveal one of her Gryffindors. "Come in, Lizzie. Have you had a good break so far? Jacob will be right - ah, here he is" the woman stated, stepping away from the door. It would shut itself. "Jak- Jacob, don't forget to offer Lizzie a snack later, ok?" she said, ruffling his hair as she walked past. "Have fun, you two. Don't stay out too long or you'll end up with colds. I'll be in the kitchen with Ellie if you need me" she added before disappearing into another room.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob had tried his best to hover by the door but, of course, Lizzie showed up when nature had called. Of course. Jacob rushed down after, cringing away from his mom as she ruffled his hair. "Okay mom" Jacob groaned, grateful when she finally disappeared into the kitchen to keep his little sister busy. "Hey Lizzie. You can, uh, follow me to the backyard unless you want a tour or something " he said, a bit nervous. Jacob had never had a guest over, and he wasn't sure whether she would want to get straight to business or not. Asking her for help had happened on a whim. He hadn't really expected her to say yes though he was ecstatic she had. He'd left his broom right by the back door, and he hoped it was there and Eleanor hadn't messed with it.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

With all the faint yelling going on, Lizzie hadn't been sure exactly what she expected to see upon the door opening, but the sight of her head of house was still shocking. She tried not to let the surprise show, giving her teacher a quick, bright smile. "Hi! Er, I mean, hello Professor." She smiled nervously, stepping into the house. "I'm having a great holiday, thanks. Um, I hope you are too." Lizzie didn't really know where to look or what to do with herself. Seeing a teacher outside of school was... bizarre wasn't a strong enough word. Professor Kingsley felt as much like part of the fabric of the school as the portraits and staircases - thinking about her existing outside was deeply strange. As much as Lizzie liked her teacher it was a relief when the woman stepped away, and Lizzie didn't have to think about her teachers as people outside of school anymore.

Seeing Jacob she gave the younger boy a friendly smile, pleased to see him. It was flattering, to be asked to help out a younger student like this, and she was excited to see what Jacob could do. "Hey Jacob!" She said happily, and shook her head in response to his offer for a tour. "Nah, let's get right to practicing, I miss flying." That was a bit of a lie... Lizzie often had opportunities to play Quidditch with guests of the lodge, but she had been spending a lot more time recently running ski lessons, and she was itching to get in some proper practice. "I can't wait to see what you've got."

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob was glad when Lizzie said that she wanted to get right to flying, and he visibly brightened. The Gryffindor wasn't sure exactly how to be a good host to a teenaged girl, but flying was something he was comfortable with. "Come on!" he waved for her to follow as he jogged towards the small hallway that led to the back door and backyard. His broom was right where he'd left it as was a trunk that his mom had charmed to be light enough for him to carry. Not being able to use magic during the break was even more terrible than his brother had mentioned. Picking up the trunk, which was still plenty heavy for an almost twelve year old boy, Jacob, used his back to hold open the door to the Kingsley's backyard. "This way" he added, still quite excited.

The garden section was closest to the house, small saplings and assorted flowers sending their fragrance into the air. Jacob ignored it all as he moved further in, the rest of the backyard clear, a smaller scale version of a quidditch hoop set up on the far side. Jacob's family was really, really into quidditch. He had grown up watching his mother and Aunt Kiera practice every now and then, and his cousins and brother joining when they were old enough. Dropping the trunk with a thud, Jacob winced at the sudden relief of pressure on his arms. He hoped Lizzie didn't notice. He didn't want her thinking he wasn't strong enough to be a good Beater. "Ok, let me just grab my broom" he shouted as he raced back to the door to grab his broom and quickly returned. "I'm ready" he added when he'd returned, holding the broom like it was his most prized possession.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie tried not to look around the house too much as she followed Jacob down the hall. It was hard not to be curious about how her Head of House lived, but Lizzie didn't want to be a snoop. She smiled a little at the sight of Jacob trying to carry the hefty trunk by himself, trying not to laugh. It was sweet, seeing him work so hard. "Here." Lizzie said gently, coming over to help Jacob with the case. She followed him outside and looked around, eyes catching immediately on the Quidditch setup as soon as it came into view. It was a nice backyard set and she whistled, impressed. "Nice!" Lizzie commented, helping Jacob set the trunk down.

Lizzie watched, a little amused, as Jacob ran back to get his broom. She had her own tucked under her arm, but she set it down for the moment, waiting for Jacob to rejoin her. Once he returned, she smiled, clapping her hands together. "Right! Well, I think we should actually start on the ground first, just so you can get a bit of a feel for aiming for a moving ball." Lizzie smiled, hoping he wasn't too disappointed. "You've gotta be able to hit it from standing before you add flying into the equation."

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob hoped that Lizzie could tell just how excited he was. He really, really was though he wasn't too enthused about not hopping onto his broom right away. He wanted to show her how good he was at flying. But he realized he could show her his other skills as well and he nodded, regaining his enthusiasm. "Ok!" he replied, gently putting his broom on the ground. "Like baseball?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. His grandad was a Muggle, and when he'd gone to visit him in the United States, they would sometimes go to baseball games. Jacob thought the sport was a little boring to watch, but he had always liked playing catch in the backyard. They hadn't done anything like that lately. Last Jacob heard, his grandad was here in New Zealand helping his Uncle Carter with the babies. The younger Gryffindor smiled. He was ready for whatever Lizzie wanted to do.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie was glad that Jacob didn't seem too disappointed to be starting the practice on the ground, nodding encouragingly in response to his question. "Yeah, exactly." She said happily, picking up a practice bludger. "I'll throw you a few and you show me your swing to start with." Lizzie grinned, backing off a little to get a good distance from him. It reminded Lizzie a lot of her first practice with Hayley, but this time she had to be a lot more careful to make sure she was paying attention to the boy's actual technique. Once she had backed off now Lizzie held up the ball, calling out to Jacob, "Ready?", before throwing it, not putting her full strength in for the first throw.