Christmas came early (Blake)

As soon as the sun came up, Victoria grabbed her new broom and headed down to the Quidditch pitch. Her parent's gift couldn't have came in a better time, as she truly needed it for her practice. It took five alarm clocks and an unhappy growl from her roommate to wake her up, but in the end it was worth it. As Victoria is a night owl, she never took the time to appreciate the beauty of mornings, until today. She enjoyed the silence that the early hours gave her, so she could focus solely on her training. The Quidditch pitch was empty and there was no audience to watch her fly, which was how she preferred it. She would rather keep her clumsy flying mishaps to herself, rather than sharing it with the whole school.

Today, Victoria was on a mission. She was determined to practice as often as she could, in order to improve her flying by the time of the try outs. And she had barely gotten use to her new broom, the new edition of Nimbus that came out last year. She had known that her parents got her that broom only because they felt guilty because of their divorce. As if gifts would help the situation at all. But Victoria was willing to take whatever good she could get from it. She had also send a note to Blake last night to meet her at the pitch in the morning, because she knew that he was as excited as she was about the broom. Besides, his company could help her practice better, as long as he doesn't make fun of her sometimes clumsy nature. 

Victoria placed she borrowed (stole) from the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and took out the bludger and a large wooden club. The beater was, for some strange reason, her favorite position to play. But as she was rather too small to be a beater, she figured that in the end she would just try out for a chaser position instead. Still, what was the harm in having some fun. Tossing the bludger high up in the air, she waited until it dropped low and swung the club against it. Her eyes followed the bludger as it flew far into the distance and then drop to the ground

Blake made his way out into the grounds, the morning sunlight momentarily blinding him. He soon regretted not wearing a hat or a scarf to shield him from the morning frost. Oh well, he wasn't returning all the way back to the common room to retrieve his warmer garments, he had come all this way now. He always thought that was a serious disadvantage to being in Gryffindor, it wasn't the most accessible common room and he knew looking at his comforting bed would be too much of a temptation. When he received the note from Victoria the evening before he couldn't help suppressing a moan when he first read it. It seemed as if all his weekends comprised of waking up too early! Although, they were all for good causes and when he got over losing out on his sleep on he soon got over his initial problem. He actually had woken up that morning of his own accord and there really was no need for an alarm, his excitement was enough to wake him up. Blake left Hunter fast asleep wondering how the poor guy would get through the day without him, obviously Aoife's company was a poor substitute.

As Blake made his way over to the quidditch pitch he was reminded of the fact that he still hadn't managed to completely overcome his fear of heights. His embarrassment was nearly enough to force him into cancelling his plans, but the idea of seeing a Nimbus up close and personal was too much to turn down, and he didn't want to let Victoria down. Her excitement was apparent in her letter and Victoria was good enough to remember their promise so he was definitely going to hold up his end of the bargain. He never let people down and wasn't about to start now.

Blake entered the enclosing of the stadium, his excitement growing. Even though the stadium was empty (and he preferred it that way for the moment) he could still vividly imagine playing in a packed stadium and the atmosphere that would bring with it. Blake spotted Victoria down the far end and was about to make his way over when a ball came swirling out of the air in his direction. Wow, she had some swing! Blake thought he was powerless from stopping the ball coming from him, when it gratefully landed harmlessly on the ground a few feet next to him. Blake picked up the leather ball and jogged down to the Ravenclaw. 

"Well you can certainly hit!" He joked, as the ball remained tightly tucked under his arm. "Wow, is that it?" He asked, the shiny new broom getting his complete attention. And "hi" he greeted a bit sheepishly. He hoped that Victoria didn't think he was just there to see the new broom. He didn't know how keen he was on flying now that he was here and he looked around at the vast stadium. At least it was empty; he now could see Victoria's logic for coming so early.

Victoria turned around the moment she heard Blake's voice and she flashed him a large, excited smile. "Thanks! Although I wasn't aiming at you, I promise", she said through a chuckle when she noticed that Blake had came from the same direction she had sent the bludger. Thankfully, the ball had missed him. "But remember that I do know some healing spells... just in case I do hit you. Accidentally of course. I will try my best not to", she said a bit clumsily. In fact, she had researched a few additional healing spells last weekend, just in case. With the luck that she had, she wouldn't be so surprised if one of the gets hurt today. If that does happen, it's always a good thing to be prepared. 

"It is! Isn't he beautiful!", Victoria said as she joined in on the admiration of her new broom. I was long and slender, made of dark mahogany with revolving stirrups at it's side. And of course the famous writing of 'Nimbus' inscribed on the very point of the broom. It was certainly the most valuable and precious out of all of her possessions. Sure it was a 'guilt gift', but she didn't care. "You have to help me with naming him, I am not sure what to pick. I was thinking of Ace. Or I could just go with 'the most beautiful and amazing thing in the world'. Or is that too long?", she asked laughing. But certainly a broom so magnificent as this one deserved it's own name!

Victoria picked up the broom and handed it to Blake. "Do you want to try it out? Go ahead, I already made a few rounds on it. You wouldn't believe how easier it is to turn. And of course the speed!", she said not being able to contain her excitement. With a new broom like this, she could focus on her training for the try outs. "If you want, you could use it for your Quidditch team try outs. That will give you a slight advantage in the very start. "

Blake laughed at Victoria’s comment and believed in her innocence. She probably didn’t see him as he was the other end of the pitch. “We haven’t even met each other on a quidditch pitch and already you’re trying to take me out!” He grinned at the girl, wondering how they would actually shape up against each other if they both made their house teams. Being friendly and polite would certainly be forgotten about if that was the case, even though Blake was starting to consider Victoria a friend. Being a gentleman was out the window when his competitive side kicked in. “Well I’m sure they won’t be needed.” Blake said, more confident than he was. Just in case, he safely tucked the leather ball back into its place in the chest. He wondered how Victoria had managed to get her hands on it, they were usually kept locked up..

Blake could tell that Victoria had been keeping the broom in good nick as she held it out giving him a better look at it. “Wow,” he grinned smiling manically as his eyes lit up with excitement. He never thought he’d get this close to one before. There was always that pesky glass window in the way when he ogled the broom for hours on end at Diagon Alley. But now, here it was, right in front of him with its brand new shine glittering under the morning sun. Blake nearly felt the need to wear sunglasses as his eyes drifted over the name ‘Nimbus’, written in shiny, gold lettering. The pair of them stood admiring the broom for a few minutes in complete silence and no words were really necessary. Blake was glad that he had come across someone else that appreciated the sport, and a girl at that! Not that he hadn’t come across girl’s that liked sports, but he liked how much Victoria appreciated the mechanics of it and how interested she was in the sport. “No, I like Ace.” Blake nodded seriously. “Maybe you could get the name etched into the wood next to the Nimbus inscription. But it might ruin the wood.” It was a dilemma.

Blake went to grab the broom off of Victoria, but pulled back again once he remembered his initial fear. He looked around the ground with a frown on his face as he bit his lips. The flying conditions were ideal, although his hands would probably be freezing. That wasn't really the problem though, it was more so the heights. Blake gulped to himself as he seen how high the stands were situated. They appeared a lot higher now that he was firmly planted on the pitch and most people flew well over that height! He didn't want to seem like a sissy flying ten feet off the ground, especially in front of Victoria. He was a Gryffindor, for crying out loud! "Thanks." Blake's mouth spread into a wide grin at Victoria's really kind offer. But then it faltered once again, wondering how long his fear of heights would last. He really needed to get over it. Blake's hands were still outstretched to take the broom off the girl, when he decided to shove the broom back in her possession. "You have a shot, its yours. Plus I want to see you in action." Blake added, joking with a cocky grin plastered on his face. As he tried to mask his insecurity of his fear of flights as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Ace it is then!", she said solemnly as if her broom deserved a whole ceremony just for it's naming. But since neither of them had such free time on their hands, a simple nod would have to suffice. "I haven't thought about that before...", she admitted as her fingers slipped down the gold 'Nimbus' inscribed on the broom's handle, imagining how well a matching 'Ace' would fit right next to it. "I think I shall go to the store where I bought it and ask if that's a possibility. You know, just to make sure", Victoria said not wanting to risk damaging the broom so soon. 

Victoria watched as Blake took the broom in his hands with both care and excitement, and then promptly gave it back to her. She couldn't understand why would he refuse a chance to fly on one of these things. It's a nimbus for Merlin's sake. Even Victoria could hardly believe it was hers, as the idea took some getting use to. Perhaps he was just trying not to be rude - or something. "Are you sure. I mean I don't mind really if you go first. But if you insist", she said shrugging her shoulders not really understanding his decision at all. "Oh and by the way, the Quidditch equipment is... well borrowed from the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team - not that he knows of this as of yet. But I shall return it first thing tomorrow and I am certain that he won't miss it for one day! Still, we should probably not mention this to anyone, just in case", she grinned before mounting her broom and pushing herself off the ground and into the air.

She held onto her broom tightly as she flew towards the hoops and touched one of it's rings. "Well...this isn't as large as I hoped", she commented out loud, thinking than her quaffle has to go through one of these hoops with the interference of the keeper. Well it could be worse. "Blake! Time me! I want to see how long it takes to get from one end of the field", Victoria said as she prepared herself for a race against time. The grip on her broom tightened and on the count of three she raced towards the hoops directly opposite her. The wind blew in her face and her hands were starting to freeze but she didn't dare loosen her grip. She picked up speed quite quickly and had to dodge the hoops in order not to crash into them. With a heavy breath, she descended back onto the group and landed next to Blake. "What's my time?", she asked curiously. 

"Do you want to go next? Make it sort of a friendly race. I'll time you", she suggested with a grin.

Blake laughed in spite of himself as Victoria didn't seem to need too much convincing to have another go on the new broom. "I guessed, but of course." Blake nodded with a grin, full well knowing that he had no intentions on getting on the bad side of the Ravenclaw's captain.

Blake hid a grimace as Victoria flew up to the large goalposts without hesitation. He heard her commenting on the size of them and wondered if she was planning on trying out to be a chaser and had given up on being a beater. Personally Blake thought she'd make an awesome beater with a swing like the one she displayed earlier.

Blake watched Victoria with keen eyes all the way along the pitch as she formed into a blur in front of his eyes. She really could fly. As he didn't have a watch he kept a steady count in his head and timed her to be well inside a minute. "Wow, that was awesome!" He bounded up to Victoria to greet her as she landed safely back on the ground.
"53 seconds, give or take a few." He responded thinking he was accurate enough.

Blake accepted the broom off of Victoria and felt the excitement and adrenaline rushing through him. He still felt the thrill of watching Victoria fly so fast that he swung his leg over the broom and automatically lifted a few feet off the ground. Then the nerves kicked in and he took a few moments to calm himself. He couldn't let a Ravenclaw show off on a broom and follow it up by jumping off the broom after a few feet in the air. He decided that he could fly the length of the pitch at a low height.

"Hope you can remember those healing spells." He shouted back at Victoria as he climbed the depth to the halfway mark on the goal posts and quickly setting off at top speed before he could have any reservations. He needed to do this, to make the team and to overcome his fear. His fear of looking weak in front of Victoria spurred him on as he leaned forward on the broom, egging it on to full speed. Blake's anxious looking face, broke into a grin as he felt the wind on his face and whipping through his hair. He kept his eyes focused on the goalposts in front and looped around them once he had reached his target.

The adrenaline was really coursing through him at this stage as the rush of reaching such top speeds egged him into taking a bolder move. He closed his eyes for a few brief seconds as he steered the broom towards the sky and slowly crept higher into the air. Only opening his eyes when he was stopped mid air. He was right beside the goalposts. Blake couldn't believe that he had actually managed to fly that high and nothing life threatening had spontaneously happened to him. He fist pumped the air jubilantly, nearly falling off in the process. Ok, it was time to return he decided as he gripped the broom tightly once more. He nose dived in Victoria's direction, pulling the broom into a smooth brake in front of her.

He staggered off the broom, not very gracefully as he felt the tight knots of nerves disappearing from his stomach. He had done it! "That. Was. Epic." Blake said, overcome with how high he had managed to fly. "Your broom really is something else." He commented, putting overcoming his fear down to the piece of equipment. But in reality he knew it was really down to Victoria's presence. No way he would've even attempted the flight, even with a Nimbus in his possession.

"Do you want to shoot some hoops next?" Blake asked, thinking he could grab a broom from the school's selection. He realised he had just used the terminology from basketball, but he didn't know how else to term it.

Victoria grinned with pride when Blake announced her time, which seemed rather impressive. Not that she had any objective way to measure it, since she had never flew the whole length of the field and timed it before. But in her mind, 53 seconds seemed like a definite improvement from her clumsy first year flying skills. If she continued to improve like this, she might actually have a shot at getting into the Ravenclaw Quidditch team!

Her eyes were set on Blake as he flew higher and higher, making it to the tip of the hoops. She giggled about his remark of healing spells as she was certain that he was joking. It was not like they were attempting a dangerous and neck-breaking somersault in the air. While accidents were always present in flying and Quidditch, Victoria liked to make sure that she wasn't testing her luck in such things. "Oh nonsense! Go ahead, you are almost there!", she encouraged him with a wave and a smile.

He had finally reached the hoops and victoriously celebrated with a grin and a show of his fist. Victoria clapped her hands joyfully and waited as Blake dived down and came to a soft stop right in front of her. "It is, isn't it?", she agreed nodding her head. She had almost forgotten that it was more of a bribe than a gift given to her by her parents. Almost, but not quite. "But you were brilliant up there! I'm starting to realize that you'll be the competitor I'll have to watch out for in the Gryffindor team. Or perhaps you will go easy one me? Since you know... we are friends", she suggested with a teasing smile. 

"Why would we want to shoot at the hoops? I'm all for being reckless, but destroying school property is a little out of my league", Victoria said wondering what Blake truly meant by his strange words.

Blake was glad that Victoria had invited him to come along and try out her new broom, or was it him that had pushed for it? Oh well, at least he had her here. Blake knew he would not have managed half a lap, never mind the whole pitch and at the height that he flew at. "Impressive, yes?" He asked with a cheeky smile.

Blake actually felt shaky after he thought back to what he had just achieved. He quickly masked his face and put on his confident mascaraed in front on the girl who had just helped him overcome his crippling fear. Well he hoped he had gotten over it. Just in case he hoped she was present at his Gryffindor tryouts. "Maybe you should come and watch me kick ass at tryouts? You might pick up a few tips." Blake joked, but he hoped his excuse to get her to come would work. He wondered if she could just see right through his strong demeanor. Blake didn't care he just hoped she realised how grateful he was to have a friend such as her.

"Well seeing as we don't have a gun lying around handy I didn't mean it literally!" He confirmed hoping Victoria knew about guns he didn't really know how to explain them in wizarding terms. Sort of like a wand for muggles, but nowhere near as effective. "I wonder if guns would even work here?" Blake said to himself absentmindedly. "And no I really just mean do you want to take turns trying to score on each other? I'll be Keeper first and you can be the Chaser if you want." He said more seriously.

"Oh I would love to! I might just buy a Gryffindor scarf for the occasion", Victoria grinned as she imagined herself in the Quidditch stands, dressed in red and gold and cheering for Blake. The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor teams are bound to face each other sooner or later. Wouldn't it be better to have at least one friend on the opposing team? Besides, Victoria was certain that making the team would make Blake very happy and she wanted to support him. "Count me there then", she said with a nod.

"Oh right. No guns then", she said with chuckle. Because of her mom's muggle side, she did know quite a lot about the muggle world, which included some knowledge of guns. Although she had never seen one in real life as her mother was against having one in their house. Not that she would need one for protection, living with a wizard and all. "I think they would work here. I mean, why not? Thought I doubt the headmistress would let a gun come near this place", she said thinking of the trouble a firearm would bring to the school. "Do you think our healers could handle a gun wound?", she wondered curiously.

"Great idea! One broom coming up!", she said raising her wand up and conjuring a spell. There were plenty of brooms in the Quidditch supply closet and surely the school would not mind them borrowing one? "Accio broom!", Victoria said as a broom flew towards them and landed in front of her. "There! Saves us the trip back to the castle"

"And you'll fit right in, don't worry!" Blake laughed as he imagined Victoria in the Gryffindor stands. He had always maintained she'd make a good Gryffindor, and now she could be one for the day. "And thanks." Blake mumbled quickly before looking away becoming interested in surveying the weather for flying. "Would you like me at your tryouts?" He asked. "Although I don't know if blue would look good on me." He joked.

"Yeah maybe they would, although my other muggle belongings don't." Blake said thinking of the music player he had brought, obviously there was some magic stopping muggle things from working. Blake didn't mind though, wizard things were so much cooler and as long as they worked he was happy. "And course they could, they can heal anything!" Blake confirmed, having complete faith in their magical abilities. "I bet you could even heal one soon. Not that I hope you get to test it out soon." He added quickly.

"Brilliant!" Blake said in response to Victoria's ability to summon the broom. His face faltered a little at the broom though, it was no Nimbus. He still swung his leg over and headed tentatively towards the nearest posts. He didn't look down to see if Victoria was following, instead he remained focused on the goalposts, just trying to remain afloat this high up.

"C'mon, give it your best shot. I won't be going easy on you, especially since you have the clear advantage!" Blake teased indicating Victoria's broomstick.

"Oh! Would you come?", she asked with a surprised grin. The pressure of the try outs would certainly go easier on her if she had some support on the benches. She was hoping her brother would come and watch her, but after their last fight she wasn't sure if he would come at all. At least she would have her friend there. "Yes... I would love it if you could come. And don't worry, you don't have to wear anything blue", Victoria said laughing. Red and gold suited him better anyway. "Thank you", she thanked him with a sincere smile.

"I guess you are right", Victoria said remembering her visit to the St. Mungo's Hospital. The healers there seemed to preform miracles on a daily bases. As a little kid, Victoria looked up to them as her heroes. All she ever wanted was to be just like them one day. "Well... Perhaps I could if I needed to. But here's to hoping that I won't! So... don't get shot", she said with a chuckle. 

"You're on!", she said with excitement as she mounted her broom with the Quaffle in her hands. She fly up to the height of the goalposts and tested the weight of the Quaffle by carefully throwing it up in the air and quickly catching it. She directed her broom to go in circular motions around Blake as she examined each goalpost. But they all seemed well protected. After a few more laps, she noticed an unguarded corner of the left goalpost and her eyes focused on it intensely. 

A quick and messy calculation in her mind told her that she was just an inch away from the best potential shot. Victoria tried to stretch out her arm, but her short stature was not helping at all. If she could only reach a little further, without alerting Blake's attention. She tilted her broom upwards and popped up her knee so her hand could reach that desired spot. But as her fingers flew up, the Quaffle rolled off and slipped away from her palm. She ended up grasping at empty air and ruining her balance. Her knee tipped to the side as her whole body plunged backwards. A scream escaped her lips as gravity pulled her down. Even her tight grip on the broom couldn't help her as she fell to the ground with her eyes closed and muscles clenched from the pain.

"Yeah of course I would. I've got to see the competition." Blake teased, knowing that Victoria would know he was messing and he would be there to support his friend. "Phew! I was getting worried I was going to have to get out the old Ravenclaw scarf I have tucked away." He joked. "But you're right, red does suit me better." He said, grinning.

"Oh, I'll try not to." Blake replied. "But you'll never know if you can heal a gunshot wound if you don't try. Not that I'm saying shooting me is a good idea or I'm giving you permission!" He quickly amended, still laughing even though the conversation had gotten slightly more serious.

Blake hovered around the goalposts, trying to stay in the middle yet drifting towards the left and right one if it looked like Victoria was going to make a move. His eyes were narrowed as he kept them fixed intently on her as he tried to guess her next move.  

Blake grinned excitedly back at Victoria and stared her down trying to guess which way she would shoot. Blake was laughing to himself as Victoria seemed undecided about what to do, but then his face turned to horror as he realised what was happening and the event seemed to unfold in slow motion right before him.

Before Blake had time to react Victoria was sprawled on the ground and Blake had finally come to his senses and was nose diving towards the ground hopping off the broom before is feet touched the ground and groaning to himself as he noticed Victoria's face emitted pain and her eyes were closed. "Victoria?" Blake barely whispered, shock overtaking his voice. "Victoria!" Blake was practically shouting now and about to shake the girl, but then thought better of it. He was internally debating if he should risk leaving the girl alone to run back to the castle to get help. Damn, why hadn't Victoria taught him any healing spells yet?

With her eyes still closed, Victoria felt the ground around her spin in multiple directions. A soft moan escaped her lips as the pain came pulsating down through her body. She felt as if she was glued to the dirt bellow her and moving any muscle in her body wasn't even an option. She felt paralyzed with the weight of the world pressing on her shoulders. As the waves of pain came and flooded her muscles, her whole body started to shiver. The shock of the fall and the sudden impact clouded her mind so she could not even think straight. 

Through a fog of her own thoughts, she heard Blake's voice calling her name in the distance. The voice then became stronger and its intensity grew as he moved closer to her. Victoria attempted to answer, but only air came out of her lips. Finally, after a few deep breaths, she had managed to say a few words. "What... happened...?", she asked in a soft and exhausted tone.

A flashback back of recent evens came to her mind. She was on her new broom trying to score against Blake... and then what? A gap existed in her memory between her flight and the ground, as in her mind was refusing to acknowledge that the fall even happened. "Oh, my head!", she complained as she felt a pulsating throb across the forehead. It seems that an accident like this was bound to happen in order to teach Victoria to be less reckless. "I'm fine....", she finally said hoping to make Blake feel worried about the whole thing. "I just need to stand up. Eventually", she added.

With effort and patience she had managed to move both of her arms so far, at the price of some pain of course. But actually standing up was seemed far fetched at the moment. "Umm just give me a second", said Victoria as she attempted to move both of her legs without screaming. She could already feel the bruises form scattered plots on her body, as if she was a polka dot doll made of rubber.