Fireworks That Went Off Too Soon

[lucy weasley]

Lucy took quidditch training very seriously. Her uncle George had joked that Lucy's dedication to the sport would give Oliver Wood a run for his money. Whether that was something special about her, or it was just Lucy's nature as a hufflepuff encouraging her to work hard at everything she was passionate about was up for debate, but it was whatever it was. Lucy wasn't too concerned. What she was concerned with was her own Quidditch set. Lucy made her way out onto the pitch and set down the set of balls she had saved up to purchase for herself.  She looked over the quaffle, and the bludgers straining in their chains but ultimately she produced the tiny golden snitch, holding it  and studying it. It was pristine, shining.  Snitches were usually magically self cleaning, of course. they needed to be, given that fumbling the ball during cleaning could mean losing it.  Lucy's snitch spread its wings now flapping hummingbird like between her fingers.  "All right." Lucy said  to herself releasing the ball and watching it soar off into the air, She mounted her broom and gave pursuit.

Lucy  lost sight of the snitch briefly, this was normal, there was a reason it was seekers that played with the Snitch. She wasn't there to chase a ball constantly. She was there to find one. And if she was going to give Gryffindor a run for their money this year she would need to be keen-eyed and quick.  Her eyes scanned, and spotted a tiny glint of gold hovering almost condescendingly  close to her. It almost mocked her. Lucy dived low for it and it darted aside. She felt a finger tip on it but the ball escaped. She circled again. the pitch circling, neck craning as she searched around, before she spotted another girl, carrying a broomstick down toward the pitch. Lucy hadn't -booked- the pitch. Not being a captain she couldn't.  She supposed this was fair game. 

Lucy didn't let the other distract her for long she caught the snitch, and released it skyward once more  giving it a head start before chasing. Her attention was once again drawn to the ground as she recognised Evie Blackwell a little closer now. The gorgeous, talented Gryffindor chaser, and the snitch headed down toward the ground, toward Evie. Lucy dove for it, sweeping right over Evie's head and almost hitting her, she  landed sharply and awkwardly just behind the redhead, jarring her knees in the process. "Sorry!" She called out holding up the snitch by way of explanation. Lucy was blushing, flustered. This probably wasn't how she'd have wanted any conversation to start, but Evie being pretty - and a member of another quidditch team certainly didn't help.

[evie blackwell]

And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

It wasn't the time a team would want to practice but for Evie every hour in the day was useful for any training. Whether it was running parkour to sitting on her broom and be faster than anyone else. The younger gryffindor had made her way to the field and was doing some work outs before getting on her broom. She noticed someone was already up in the air and didn't think much of it.

Everyone had access to the field so Evie just did her thing until she turned to look and almost saw someone hitting her right over her head. With a squeal she dropped herself on the grass and looked up to the girl on the broom. A laugh came from Evie's lips as she eyed Lucy.

"It's fine!" she laughed and got up on her feet with a simple hop. "Are you alright red?"

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[lucy weasley]

Lucy was usually fairly graceful but not right now apparently. She'd hit the ground and managed to avoid tumbling over, though her legs were killing her. She lifted her broom over her shoulder as she began to make her way back toward the other woman. she was blushing vividly and the broom stick she carried over one shoulder felt like it weighed a tonne. suddenly she was goofy, poorly coordinated and nervous. It was the combination of embarassment and finding the other gorgeous, as well as charming. Red? Lucy loved that and she hadn't even known until just now. She did her best to approximate composure as she approached. "Yeah, I'm all right. Evie, right?" She said as she made her way over to her case, and deposited the snitch back into it's home, retrieving her quaffle.

"I'm a pretty good keeper, if you're here to practice?" the fiery-haired girl offered, partially out of a desire to make up for nearly killing Evie, partially because she wanted to keep flying, and doing something productive with the other had its appeal. Lucy wasn't great at flirting or being direct but she was already taken with Evie. Pretty, confident, and great on a broomstick from everything the Hufflepuff had seen. Definitely Lucy's type, and the words of her aunt, encouraging her to be assertive and confident. She couldn't quite find 'direct' but confident she could do. She pulled the quaffle from her set of balls and without another word rose back into the air, her aching legs glad not to support her weight anymore as she circled the quidditch hoops, tossing the ball down toward Evie in a pass.

Right now, Lucy was glad that her uncle was a seeker, that her aunt was a chaser, another uncle a keeper, another a beater. She could play any position on the quidditch pitch, but favoured seeker mostly because of the way a seeker's game played out. The challenge of searching of racing, of dodging other players. The way she would see the game unfolding from a removed perspective. That didn't mean, however that Lucy was a slouch in the other positions. Prior to being the team's permanent seeker this year she had spent the her second, third and fourth years as a reserve in different positions.

"Show me how a lion flies." She taunted playfully.

[evie blackwell]

And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

Evie was lying comfortably on the grass field, her hands on her stomach. Evie didn't know this girl well, maybe they met in a few classes but the brunette was always busy with a million things. She wanted to climb, fly, run and in the end she was still the brains of the two so she had to study.

"I'm perfectly fine lass." the Irish girl didn't mind at all that she was being swept off her feet quite literally. Evie looked up at Lucy and the quaffle with a grin. "I bet you are." she got back on her feet again with the same grin still on her face.

"Alright just know I am the fastest on my team." she told her with a smirk. Evie would have been a beater if the position wasn't filled. Evie grabbed her broom and grinned a bit as she did so.

"Alright but.. be warned.. I look awesome."

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[lucy weasley]

"Prove it." Lucy grinned. She was sure that Evie did look awesome. but she wanted to see it herself. She hovered in front of the goal posts, eager for whatever challenge that Evie may have posed. She was fast, good, Keepers and Seekers alike needed their reflexes. and speed. This would be a bit of transferable practice, Lucy hoped. Lucy watched the girl grab her broom and ascend into the sky. Once the pair of them were level, or close enough, Lucy couldn't help but eye the brunette girl. This was probably goiing to be her biggest challenge, focusing on the ball, not the player.

Lucy thought this girl was a remarkable beauty, the Irish accent always made her feel weak, it was just magnetically appealing to her. Aside from that, she had something that Lucy found herself lacking often. A Lion's confidence. So many of her family members were Gryffindors, like Evie, and like Evie, they were blessed with confidence and boldness, and social grace. Honestly, the way Lucy felt now reminded her of how her aunt reacted when she met Harry Potter for the first time. Ginny reminded herself of how happy an ending that story had, and recalled the same Aunt's advice once more.

"Best 3 out of 5. You take 5 shots. If you score 3 goals, I buy you a butterbeer next Hogsmeade trip. I save 3, and you buy one for me." She offered the wager on a whim but the way she saw it, if Evie accepted, Lucy had just scored herself a date. If she declined, well then, Lucy hadn't lost anything just yet. She eyed the quaffle in the other's hands, trying to distract herself from the Brunette's looks long enough to focus on the task at hand, which was no easy thing in and of itself.

[evie blackwell]

And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

Evie flew up in the air with a grin on her face. She did not mind challenges at all. As a matter of fact Evie was made for those. The brunette eyed the redhead with a smirk and gave her a thumbs up.

"Come at me!" she said and clapped as she held her hands out for the quaffle. The girl was excited to do this and once she had the quaffle she sped towards Lucy as fast as she could and tossed the quaffle towards a hoop.

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[lucy weasley]

Lucy stared down the other girl, amused by her enthusiasm for just a moment too long. Evie moved first and that advantage let her get the point through Lucy's finger tips grazed the quaffle as she flung a hand out to block it, but the ball went through. Lucy blushed a little but reminded herself as she swooped down to collect the quaffle, and returned that the objective didn't need to be to win this bet. She'd already gotten what she wanted. Either way the two of them were destined for the Three Broomsticks. She grinned as she came back to eye level with Evie. The girl had such gorgeous eyes, It would be easy to look at her for a long time. Lucy thought. She could get sued to staring into those eyes, if she had the chance.

"Nicely done! Blackwell scores ten points for Gryffindor!" She mimicked the student who had been doing commentary at the school's quidditch matches this season as she returned the ball to the other. Evie was quick as could be. Lucy was a little surprised she hadn't been the Gryffindor seeker. Either way though she'd gotten the point through and that was enough for Lucy to know that Evie was probably more than her match. Still there was some fun to be had with the game. She grinned as she tossed the quaffle underarm back to the Irish girl. For a moment she was caught up with her grace and speed. Evie moved beautifully. Lucy didn't know if she was more attracted to that, or jealous of it. Either way she wasn't going to give up, just because the game wasn't her primary objective. 

"Guess I'm a little rusty." She laughed, ready for round two. 

[evie blackwell]

And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

Evie loved the sport and was really considering becoming a professional if she didn't have better plans with her future. She wanted to chase down bad guys, punish them for their injustice but the ministry was corrupt. Evie didn't want to bother Lucy with it, she had plans for her future already set in stone. 

"Don't give up Weasley, you can still get this." she grinned and just started to show off as she sped towards the hoops, made a backflip before tossing the ball.

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[lucy weasley]

Lucy heard the girl's encouragement and that seemed to wake her up for her trance. her interest on Evie waning for a moment as her eyes followed the ball. not the flipping girl. In quit an act of Balance Lucy Leaned to the side kicking the quaffle straight back toward Evie, before straightening up, doing her own backflip once the ball was on its way. She wanted to show the Gryffindor that lions didn't have a monopoly on showing off. "Give up? You wish, Blackwell. I'm just warming up." She said honestly as she hovered, studying her competition. It was only now that she was struck by just how graceful the other girl was. She was impressed by the ease with which she glided through the air, the moves she could make on her broomstick. But she couldn't let that phase her.

It was starting to become apparent that Evie was taking this just a little more seriously than Lucy. She wanted to compete, and the Hufflepuff was up for the challenge. She hoped one day she could do this professionally, like even none of her uncles had done before her. She remembered years of training hard on the pitch she knew that she hadn't done that for nothing. Lucy hunkered down further on her broom, staring Evie down and offering a confident smirk. Evie's encouragement had an impact on her for sure. She was ready to go.

"That's one a piece."