Turning A New Page

[Rhys Graves]

Rhys slowly walked down to the quidditch pitch, his Emerald Streak in his hand, resting over his shoulder, hus mind lost in deep thought. He wore his Slytherin quidditch robes, and carried a quaffle in his free hand. The sun was setting, but it was still a good hour or two away from dark, and he hadnt been hungry when dinner had rolled around. His mind had been lost in thought all day, and he had finally decided that sitting around stressing wasnt going to help. He was worried. And worried was starting to become an understatement as he very slowly became more and more stressed. He had made the quidditch team. Even though he had been so confident that he would, and he had only made alternate mind you, but the realisation had only finally hit him. There was a major difference between playing muck around with his brother, and playing in a proper game in front of hundreds of his fellow students, and actually representing his house. Doubt had clouded his mind, and the worry had seeped in enough to make him start to panic. What if he messed up? What if Slytherin lost the game because of him? He was already struggling to make friends at the school, but the thought of being the reason of losing the game was too much for him to bare, and the thought of having to then trying to make friends whilst being labelled the reason the team had lost made him almost want to cry. He was the youngest person on the team, and the only first year to have made any of the teams so far as he had managed to find out. And that reality had all but destroyed his confidence.

He sighed to himself in relief as he walked into the stadium, and saw that it was empty. He had been worried that someone might have been using the pitch. He figured majority of the school would have been at dinner, but one could never tell. Dropping the quaffle on the ground, he mounted his broom and kicked off, flying up and over the pitch. He stopped his rise after he thought he had gone far enough, and sat hovering high above the pitch. The air was warm, and the sight of the dying sun was like something out of a movie. There was a small breeze, but it was warm as it pressed against his face. He often found that being in the air helped him think, but now all it did was reinforce his fears. He ran a hand through his hair to try and calm his thoughts, but it did little to help. "I dont want to mess this up." he admitted to himself, his voice croaky. He hadnt realised how dry his throat had been until he had spoken. What was happening to him?

 

[Paige Rivers]

Paige was wearing her emerald Slytherin robes, a Quaffle was tightly clutched under her right arm and in her left hand was her broom. She was still a chaser and that without a try-out, she loved being a chaser for the Slytherin Quidditch team and she hoped that they would win again this year. Being a chaser wasn't that bad and if she screwed up there were two other chasers to take over, a keeper or a seeker had one job and they had to do it good otherwise a whole team would be mad. Paige her flying skills had improved over the summer and today she wanted to put them to the test. What Paige did not know was that another Slytherin had also chose this day to practice his flying. When Paige arrived at the Quidditch Pitch she saw a boy already high up in the air practicing Quidditch. Paige had seen this boy at Quidditch try-outs and was trying to recall his name, after a minute or so it clicked and Paige knew that his name was Rhys. He was just still in mid air and now and then some sounds could be heard coming from him.

The Quaffle would not come in use today and so she threw the Quaffle to the side of the pitch. Firstly she wanted to properly meet this boy and maybe train with him after. Paige took her broom and took of from the ground. He was not really high in the sky and there was a slight breeze in the air and the sun was making place for the moon. Paige did not want to scare this boy and he was a first year after all, he could fall of his broom and we would we without a keeper. When Paige flew towards the boy, she ended up in front of him. ''Hello,'' Paige muttered ''Congratulations on your place on the team.'' Paige her English accent showed trough everything she said and her cheeks turned a faint pink because of it. ''Your name is Rhys right?'' Paige did not want to impolite, some first years already hated her and she did not want add more to that list.

 

[Rhys Graves]

Rhys has been completely lost in thought to even notice the girl approach on foot or fly up towards him. He supposed it was his own fault for not being more alert, but when one was that suffocated in self doubt and worry, it was hard to take notice of much else. He blinked, slightly shocked, when the girl drifted up in front of him. He hadn't expected anyone to come to the pitch at this time of the afternoon, especially when dinner was in full swing. It took him a moment to find his voice, and when he did, he blushed softly, slightly embarrassed. "Hello!" he called back, still slightly shocked, his cheeks still burning red. Rhys was starting to come into the age of being attracted to women, and suddenly found himself face to face with a very attractive girl a few years older than him. This was probably not the best time to become a shy, giggling twit. "Um, thankyou," he said in reply to her congratulations. He suddenly felt all the nerves rush to his stomach again all at once. He felt slightly sick, but held it all in to make sure he didnt give anything away to the girl. There was no way in hell he was letting any of the Slytherin team know how he felt. He would likely be kicked off and teased. He nodded awkwardly when she confirmed his name, and he quickly remembered back to the list of players that he had stared at when he had first realised he'd made the team. "You must be Paige?" he asked, assuming that this was the girl he was facing, and hoping to god that she wasnt one of the others on the team. That would be even more embarrassing.

He glanced around the ground beneath them to see if anyone else was about to fly up towards him. When he realised that he and the girl were alone, he frowned slightly. It was weird for her to be out and up here by herself at this time of the afternoon. "What are you doing up here? Are you by yourself?" he asked her curiously, wondering what she was up to. He noted that she was in her quidditch robes, which indicated she was obviously here on purpose. And there was no way she was up here feeling the same way that he was. What could she be doing?

 

[Paige Rivers]

Paige her icy blue eyes focused on the boy, he looked embarrassed which Paige found extremely cute. The boy was a first year and he should be lucky he got a spot on the team. Some first years could not even fly, so Paige wondered where this boy got his skills from, but this was not the time nor the place to ask him. ''Yes, I am Paige.'' Paige could not hide her blush this time, her hair was for once not covering her face. Every Quidditch practice she tied her hair backwards in a ponytail, she did not her long hair in her face while flying on a broom. This boy was not ugly and Paige was only two years older than him, but quite honestly though she was not a giant flirt and her emotions had gone funky last year. Paige was wearing her emerald robes so Rhys should not be worried that she wanted to see how the new players of Slytherin were doing. She would never do such thing, it seemed unfair in all ways.

He was looking down to see if she was alone, was he thinking she was going to ambush him or something? Paige had just wanted to practice, use some new tactics and try to score the Quaffle in the left hoop for once. ''I wanted to improve my flying and Quidditch skills, I have gotten quite rusty over the summer.'' Paige had spent the whole summer in New Zealand and it was hard to practice Quidditch when there was a Muggle Village close by. Paige her flying skill had improved she had just secretly flown in her backyard, but Quidditch could not be practiced that easily. ''And to answer your second question, I am alone.'' Paige found it weird that he asked for that she was alone, this was no ambush and first years tasted funny. Not that she ate humans, the thought just moved into her head. A stray hair had flown into her face and awkwardly she tried to move it back behind her ear. ''What are you doing here?'' Paige asked politely, not wanting to hurt his feelings or scare him away.

 

[Rhys Graves]

Rhys smiled at her when she confirmed that he had gotten her name right. To say that he had been relieved was an understatement. He was still getting to know faces and names around Hogwarts, but he was extremely glad that he now knew hers. He didnt quite understand why, but he felt a certain attraction to the girl, like she was something fascinating that he simply had to get more of. "Well, its lovely to meet you, officially," he said, remembering that she had been at his try out. He wondered if she had watched him try out. She obviously knew that he had made the team, so his guess was that she had watched him. That made him a little more embarrassed, though he tried his best to hide it. As he studied her face, he thought he noted just the slightest bit of a blush on her cheeks. 'Is she blushing?' he thought to himself, studying her face a bit more thoroughly. She was. Rhys couldnt believe it. This girl was actually blushing over him. And in that instant, he shot the thought down just as it had even popped into his head. There was no possible way that this girl was blushing over him. No way in hell. This girl was stunning, in all senses of the word. And he was, well, him.

He listened to her reason for being here, and shrugged mentally. It was the same thing he was doing, to an extent. He was here trying to practice and get himself in the mindset of playing in the team, and not letting people down. She was here to hone her skills. They both seemed like logical answers. "So you played in last years team?" he asked in awe. He was very impressed at that. When she answered his second question, he blushed again. He felt silly for asking, as it had definitely been a bit of a nosy thing to ask. "Sorry. I just, you know, thought it was weird that a girl like you was out here alone." he said, and then wished that he hadn't as soon as the words had left his mouth. What was he even saying!? This was probably the worst time to say getting socially retarded and saying things that were way out of bounds. He didnt want his teams mates, and especially Paige, thinking he was retarded. "I, um..." he said in reply to her last question. How did he answer this? "Im just getting used to playing on a full pitch. My brother had taught me on alot smaller a pitch then this." he explained. It wasnt exactly a lie. It just wasnt the full truth.

 

[Paige Rivers]

The fact that Paige had remembered his name was not coincidence it was her memory that remembered everything that it had seen before. His name was not that hard either just four letters to remember, she could remember potions and other classwork easily so the name was really not that hard. ''Likewise Rhys.'' Paige did not really know how to respond, after everything went down with her boyfriend Alan, she had not spoken to any other boy anymore. The fact that she was blushing was utterly pathetic, she needed to stop it immediately. ''He is eleven for god sake.'' she thought to herself, trying to remove the images that her mind conjured up somehow. The boy was not bad looking, but Paige could not handle another boyfriend and she was certainly not ready for it. Paige her emotions had gone over the roof, since she broke up with Alan and all the things that happened with her friends.

''Yes, I play as a chaser.'' Paige said with a sweet tone in her voice, she always had to make this sweet tone, since her voice sounded cold somehow. Trying to be nice was the new motto for Paige, it always was hard somehow trying to hold in those pestering comments about people. Was he now saying sorry for that she wanted to be alone, she actually was starting like him so no hard feeling here. ''It is no problem and a girl like me?'' Paige said this in a sarcastic voice, it was more of a rhetorical question that did not needed an answer. The boy was pretty cute, trying to come up with the right words. ''Is your brother also on Hogwarts?'' Paige had listened to his story, but she did not want to come over that she liked his brother more. She wasn't that much of a talker and it always seemed hard to start a conversation with new people. ''What is your position in the team?'' Although Paige already new this, she wanted to hear it from the boy himself, maybe he would explain why he had chosen this position.

 

[Rhys Graves]

Rhys smiled at Paige. 'Likewise Rhys.' Just her saying his name was enough to make him blush again> Why was he acting like such a child? This was just a girl. A girl. The thought make him nervous again. She wasnt just a girl. He was an older girl. And an attractive girl. He had obviously spoken to other girls, like Francis for instance. But that was different. He liked Francis, and she was a really good friend. But she was his age and had never made him feel as awkward as Paige. He knew it was simply because this girl was older and made him nervous, that he was feeling this way. But he couldnt help but feel the way he did. 'Yes, i play as a chaser.' He figured that she had to of been either a chaser or a beater. He knew who the seeker of the team was, and he obviously know who one of the beaters and who the keeper was, as he had watched them both try out, but he just hadnt seen anyone else try out. In fact, majority of the team hadnt had to as they were all here from last year. He found chasers to be impressive. Having to carry and throw a ball around mid air and making sure their passes and agility was up to speed seemed like such an impressive job.

He took another glance around, making sure that they were still alone. He was still a little surprised that she was alone, but it also helped to make sure that no one was sneaking up on him. He didnt once thing that Paige would have set him up for an ambush, but there were always possibility. "Yeah, a girl like you. You know, attractive." he said without thinking, and his cheeks turned bright red again. He was slightly embarrassed about what he had said to her. he said the most retarded things without even thinking at times. "No, my brother graduated Durmstrang a few years ago." he explained quickly, trying to change the subject from his awkward confession just before. "He plays in a pretty famous muggle band now and leads a muggle life." he added, figuring she would ask that question eventually. When she asked what position he played, he shrugged awkwardly. "Im only the alternate keeper." he explained, "Nothing special."

 

[Paige Rivers]

The blush that had appeared on the boy his face, made him look even cuter. ''Do not look it Paige, it is a first year for god sake.'' Paige thought and her cheeks had a vivid colour of red over them. A beater would be very muscular and they were mainly boys, not something that Paige could do, the position of chaser fitted perfectly, she even liked doing it. Paige was fast and she knew how to fly fast on a broom. The fact that this boy called her attractive did not make everything better. Paige was starting to like this boy, he would be a very good keeper. The boy was trying so hard to be normal and to prove himself, while he should not even do that. ''Oh, Dumstrang and you went to Hogwarts why?'' Paige was wondering why his brother attended Dumstrang and he attended Hogwarts since Dumstrang was in Hungary or some other far country in Europe. Paige did not know any Muggle bands so asking which band would not work in her advantage. Since the follow up question would be ''Do you know them?'' and Paige could not answer that one.

''Playing as an alternate and especially as the alternate keeper is really important,'' Paige waited to finish her whole sentence ''They are the backbone of the team, when someone is sick they do the job for them, the helping hand, the rescuers.'' Paige must have sound retarded when she said that, but something in Paige said that she could say certain things to this boy without getting herself in trouble, she was starting to get comfortable and she secretly wanted to try out the skill of this new keeper. She had already seen him at try-outs and he did a pretty good job overall. Her Quaffle lay at the side of the pitch, just where she had thrown it minutes before. ''So what made you go for keeper?''The boy even looked like he was the keeper of the team, but she just wanted to know. Her icy blue eyes started at him and she tried to keep the blushing to a minimal.

 

[Rhys Graves]

Rhys nodded to her question about the difference in schools. "My mother couldnt handle it when Vrael turned out to be a wizard. She fell apart, and it took its toll on her marriage, because my father supported Vrael being what he was. Eventually, dad left and Vrael went with him." he explained, his eyes dropping from her face. "I stayed because mum thought that i wouldn't be magical... But here i am." he said, and shrugged to himself. He technically lived with her still, but she barely acknowledge him. "And that's why we went to different schools. I dont quite know why he went to Durmstrang, but i do know he hated it." he added, his eyes venturing back up to study her eyes again. Talking about his family and life wasnt something he usually liked to do, but for some reason he felt oddly comfortable with Paige. And for some reason he didn't feel as if she would judge him.

He smiled at her when she said that he was an important part of the team. Somehow, and he hated to admit it, but somehow that had been just the thing that he had needed to hear to feel comfortable about himself being on the team. "Thankyou..." he said softly, smiling faintly at her. She probably wouldnt ever realise it, but she had just helped him a great deal. "I used to play goalie for my muggle school's soccer team, and i had been really good at it." he explained to her question of him choosing to be a seeker. "When i found out that i was indeed magical, Vrael had come to stay for a while to help me deal with it. He had taught me to fly, and i had known from that point that i wanted to play Quidditch. Keeper seemed the closest to the position of a goalie." he explained. There wasnt any special reason behind it. "What made you choose to be a Chaser?" he asked curiously.

 

[Paige Rivers]

Everything added up for Paige and this boy must be either Muggleborn or Mudblood. Although she hated both, in this boy it was not as bad. She hoped that he would keep in the match coming up, but she would probably not concentrated when he was in front the hoops. Paige would judge a Hufflepuff with this kind of backstory, she would make the person cry for their Muggle vermin parents, but somehow she did not want to hurt this boy, she wanted to protect him. Some Slytherin were going to eat him alive if he said that he was a mudblood or Muggleborn, she had seen them on Hogwarts.

Paige her assumptions had been correct, he was a filthy little lucky Muggleborn, but somehow she did not even felt the urge to kick him of his broom. Rhys was nice to her and she respected him even if he had dirty blood. ''Must be hard for you learning magic.'' She had a hard time herself and her parents had thought her some already. She always wanted to learn more and use Magic for the wrong things. The fact that he was keeper in a Muggle team made sense, Muggle keepers where somewhat the same as the keepers at Quidditch only it happened a lot higher. ''Why I became Chaser?'' Paige was suprised of this question somehow and she had honestly no clue for the answer. ''I like flying and Chaser just seemed a fun job in the team, Beaters are more boyish and stronger than I and maybe I want to go for seeker when I am in a higher year.'' Her old flying Professor had said that she would make a great seeker someday and that idea still lingered in her head. She would love to catch the snitch and receive all the fame. ''Do you think we will win against Hufflepuff?'' Paige had seen that their first game was against Hufflepuff and she was sure that they would win that game.

 

[Rhys Graves]

Rhys nodded slightly to her, when she stated that it must have been hard for him. In all actual fact, he was doing quite well in his classes. He had aced all classes except for his first Defence Against The Dark Arts class, and he was doing exceedingly well in his essays, even though he was still so new and fresh to everything. He had barely made any friends, so he usually spent most of his time reading and doing his homework. He was trying his absolute best to learn as much as he could about magic, and the world that he now lived in. He had obviously known for a long time that magic was real, but with his brother living so far away, it hadn't exactly been easy to find out much about the magical world. And whenever he had asked his mother, she had just screamed at him. "I think the hardest thing is realising that everything i grew up hearing about, all the stories, legends and tales, that they are all real." he said, a bit of a thoughtful tone overcoming him as he pondered the statement. "Like, my dad used to read me bed time stories of witches and wizards, and muggle television these days are all the craze with vampires and werewolves. If only they knew just how real everything was." he said, smiling to himself. "Its terrifying and exciting, all at the same time."

Listening to her explain why she had chosen to be a chaser, he inclined his head and chuckled softly, his eyes still staring down at the ground. "Chasers do seem to have the more involved job of the team, always flying around, always a job to do." he said as he considered the fact. He had considered going for Chaser, but then he had realised that he was much better at saving goals then he was at scoring them. Frowning to himself, he considered her question as he was slightly lost in thought, his eyes captivated on the ground. "I do think we will win against Hufflepuff." he stated. "We seem to have a really strong team, and from what i hear, Hufflepuff finished last in the runnings last year. Should be a piece of cake." he said, more to himself then to her, but loud enough for her to hear perfectly.

It was only then that he looked at Paige's face, and saw the slight look of judgement in her eyes. Without thinking he had confessed one of his biggest secrets to the girl. A feeling of dread came over him, and he did his best to shake it off. "I know you dont owe me anything, but can you please keep my... Heritage, to yourself?" he asked, as politely as he could. The last thing he wanted was all of Slytherin house knowing that he was a muggleborn. He was trying hard enough to keep it a secret as it was.

 

[Paige Rivers]

Paige could not stand Muggleborns and the fact that he was one was making her slightly annoyed. Her dad said that they were to be avoided at all times, because they were contagious. ''Yeah, except for the sparkling vampires.'' Her mother had kept an old novel called Twilight it was really awful and it was full of sparkling vampires and other weird stuff. Twilight also contained some werewolves they were nothing like the real deal, everything was fake in the book and Paige felt really good that she knew better than the Muggles that were oblivious to her world. ''My blood type is unknown.'' It was really weird to tell people that it was unknown, her mother did not know her family, but she was magical. That meant Paige her blood was unknown for now.

''I love to be a chaser, I would fail at saving goals..'' Paige sighed slowly, ''I rather make them.'' If the boy had said that they would lose against Hufflepuff she would completely lost it, but he gave the textbook answer that she wanted to hear and that made her happy. Being a chaser meant that Paige was very swift and agile and she was good with the Quaffle. She was a third year already and she was good with throwing the Quaffle. ''Yeah, we obviously have the best team this year.'' Paige shot Rhys a small smile, she loved Slytherin and she was going to win anyway. 'Of course my mouth is shut.'' Paige would never tell a soul his blood type, the poor boy would be devastated if the secret got out. ''You are a lucky guy that you got in the team as a firstie.'' Paige was kind of jealous, she only joined the team last year.

 

[Rhys Graves]

Rhys laughed along with Paige's joke about sparkling vampires. He liked that she was easy going, and liked it more than she could make jokes with him, instead of them being directed at him. He had been worried about her reaction and how she would act towards him after he let slip his blood type. Rhys hadn't been sure of what her blood type was, but majority of Slytherin's that he had met were purebloods. And they usually tended to be cruel to muggleborns. Paige however, seemed different. She wasn't cruel, mean or vicious. She seemed kind and a little sympathetic. Rhys couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when she admitted that she had no idea what her blood status actually was. "Unknown?" he asked curiously. He hadn't met a witch or wizard who didnt know their blood type. "Forgive me if this is a rude question, but how is it unknown?" he added, his tone gentle and apologetic. He did not want to offend this girl, but he definitely wanted to know more about her.

Her statement about loving her position on the team made him smile. "See, i feel i'd be the opposite. I can save a goal, easy as. Scoring a goal however, not so much. I seem to lack a thing called 'decent aim'." he admitted with a chuckle. Rhys had never been one to over talk himself, or boast at all. He gave himself credit where he deserved it, and he could admit his faults when needed. He needed an agreement to them having the best team this year. He hadn't exactly seen the rival teams players, but he trusted Paige's judgement. "Thankyou." he said to her assurance that his secret was safe. He had been worried about her answer. "I owe you one." he said with his usual charming smile as he raised his hand up to run it through his hair. He had washed it this morning so it felt soft under his touch. "I am a pretty lucky guy to be honest. I wasnt sure i'd make the team, being a first year and a muggleborn. But either i have some sort of skill, or someone liked me enough to put me on. Either way, im grateful." he said, beaming a little. He was so pumped to play. It was only then that he noticed the time. It was getting late, and they wouldn't have long to make it to the great hall before all the food disappeared. "Time for dinner i think. Want to walk up to the castle with me?" he asked her curiously, his face happy and reassuring. He liked this girl, and wanted to spend more time with her.