Decisions, Decisions {Open}

[00wazzy]

How bad he was at making choices. This just was making him mad. He wanted to do something other than stand in the Foyer and try to figure out where to go. He was just in the Library, so that wouldn't work. He didn't know where any of his friends were. He was just...lost. He spun a 180 and looked out to the grounds. He could go out there too. Maybe.

He walked over glumly to a bench and sat back. He needed something to do. Not just the same thing he does everyday. Like, a way to outlet his frustrations, or go and do something that can't be done without breaking the rules. The temptations were too great to just sit here, but he had a bad habit of not being able to make up his mind. He whipped out his wand for no reason and twirled it swiftly.

He dug into his pocket and found that he had a chocolate bar in it, already melted. "Oh, just great," he said. His pocket was all sticky now. He pointed his wand into his pocket and quietly said, "Scourgify," and his pocket was instantly clean. "I love magic," he said and opened up the candy bar. Centimeters from his mouth stopped. "You know what. Engorgio," he said to himself. The Candybar started growing bigger until it was the size of an envelope. "Perfect," he said, and took a bite into the gooey, enlarged chocolate.

[Michael-Thomas Homewood]

It was a quite better day than he last ones. The sun kissed the Hogwarts campus again, some clouds vanished over night. This was, so thought Michael, a very good day for Quidditch practice. Since he found himself on the Quidditch team list, he practised nearly every day. So this day.

Mike was in his empty dormitory playing guitar. Half an hour he sat on his bed and while playing he looked outside. "Pretty good conditions for practice..." he thought. So he finished his song, put the guitar in his bag and stored it in his cupboard. Then he looked in his trunk for his Quidditch robes thinking: "I hope that soon the next match starts..."
Two minutes later, already in his Quidditch suit, he leaved the Common Room heading for the broomstick storeroom.
Full of satisfaction he ran towards the door and hit, accidentally, Blake who Michael don´t know of course. Unfortunately his robe got a dirt mark. Mike didn´t just hit Blake, but a bit of hs chocolate, too.
Mike didn´t noticed it, he just wanted to apologize:
"Oh, I´m sorry! Just ´n accident...never mind..." but before he headed the broomstick chamber again, he noticed his dirt mark:
"Oh, f**k. You have got chocolate??? Damn, Idon´t know a spell to wipe dirt marks......"][/color]

[00wazzy]

First minute he was enjoying his large candybar, next minute his being ran over by some hyper Quidditch player who the Gryffindor house would probably stomp in a match. He was proud of being the captain. He looked up and nodded. "Yes this is chocolate," he said, very, very confused. Why did he ask an obvious question? Weird...

"Er, sorry mate. That dirt mark could be cleaned easily," he stated, and whipped out his wand. In a moment, the dirt mark was gone, and the kid was all ready for a Quidditch practice. "Now don't go and fall on your head during practice," he said with a joking smile on his face. He wasn't sure if that would be his first time.

He got up, kind of feeling awkward with this foul-mouthed Hufflepuff around him, so he hurriedly walked over to the other side of the room, disappearing into the crowd. He threw his chocolate into a trash can and sighed. Where was he going to get chocolate now? He looked around but didn't really feel like talking to anybody. He may as well go down to the Gamekeeper's Hut and help him with the animals.

[Susan Matthews]

After a lone lunch, Susan subconsciously headed into the foyer. On any other day she might have found someone to eat with. Today however, she sought seclusion. So much drama had been going on lately, Susan found it was nice to just sit and think by herself as she ate. Leaving her empty plate to vanish with the incoming of new Gryffindors at the long table, Susan had risen, taking with her a juicy green apple. Brushing through the late lunch takers, she nearly dropped her spare apple on several occasions.

At last making it to what she thought to be a safe place to take the first bite, she sunk her teeth into the green flesh of the apple. Returning from the juicy mouthful, Susan looked up to see a boy in front of her, chucking out a mostly good, large bar of chocolate. Curious, Susan approached the boy, vaguely recognizing him as a Gryffindor as well, albeit a year younger.

“Hey,” she said with a friendly tone to the chocolate-throw-away-er. Rolling the apple around in her hands, she peered into the garbage can, looking at the discarded chocolate. “Name’s Susan,” she said, taking another bite of the apple in her hands. Not able to stand it any longer, she returned her gaze to the boy in front of her. “Did you just throw that chocolate away?” she asked, disregarding any rules of courtesy, she might have known prior.

[00wazzy]

Blake looked to the girl who had seen him throw out the chocolate. He hadn't noticed her before. But maybe it was due to the fact that he was so flustered at the tainted piece of engorged chocolate that the hufflepuff had to get dirty. She seemed familiar, in a Gryffindor outfit. Part of his house, but he just couldn't place a name on her face. The thought of not remembering her was causing a headache, but he didn't show it. In fact, he smiled at her.

"Hey back to you," he replied, putting away his wand. He was going to jinx that Hufflepuff, but the girl would just be a witness. He started trying to go over names for her, but she finally said hers. "Susan! Oh, now I remember you! I've seen you walking around the dormitory and such. I think I may have accidentally hexed you... You ever get pink eye before?" he asked, then shut his mouth. He didn't want to get yelled at.

"Oh, that chocolate was no good. A gosh darn first year hufflepuff ran into it and got it dirty. A cleaning spell would just melt it," he answered and peered into her eyes. They were full of light, metaphorically speaking. "Oh, that reminds me!" he announced to her. He remembered that the Hufflepuff was carrying a broom and wearing Quidditch robes. "You've never even tried out for the Quidditch team! We still have a few spots open, and I am the captain. Would you like to join up?"

He didn't know why she didn't even attempt to make the team, but he was trying hard to fill the positions. He wanted a full team by the first practice. "There's Seeker, I think another beater position, and a chaser," he told her, listing them off the top of his head.

[Susan Matthews]

She slowly turned the apple over in her hands, happy to be warmly greeted by a stranger. Susan found it was always easier to meet those of her own house, it automatically gave them something in common, and personality and ambition-wise they would be similar. She laughed lightly as the boy excitedly recognized her. As he continued to make a remark about hexes, Susan threw him a funny look. “No,” she replied slowly, curious as to what sort of trouble the fourth year had gotten into lately. “It’s Blake, right?” she said pointing at him with her apple-free hand.

Listening to Blake tell of his dirtied chocolate, Susan shook her head lightly. He had claimed a cleaning spell would have melted it. “Did you try tergio?” she asked, as she peered into the garbage once more. “It wouldn’t clean the chocolate per say, but remove the dirt from it.” Deciding it wouldn’t be worth it to fish the chocolate out of the trash now, she replied as an after thought, “But I guess it’s too late now anyway.”

She bit into her apple again, preventing her from quickly denouncing his invitation to try out for their Quidditch team. Chewing furiously and waving her hands, by the time she was free to speak again, Bake had already begun suggesting team positions for her. “Oh, you don’t understand,” she said at last, “I don’t fly,” she ended firmly, hoping that would be that. The mere thought of flying again made her stomach contort uncomfortably. She nervously rolled the apple in her hands again, not able to eat any more for her sudden loss of appetite.

[00wazzy]

When she denied his claim to his hexing her, he sighed out of relief. He wouldn't have to handle some angry girl who probably would have glued his tongue to the top of his mouth with a spell. "Oh, well, I still wonder who I accidentally hexed," he said, daydreaming the moment the spell ricocheted off into the crowd. He remembered how it hit a brown haired girl, but then he ran off to the boys dormitory. He didn't even realize that she asked him his name until a few seconds after.

"Yeah, it's Blake. Blake Gallagher," was his introduction. He completely forgot to introduce himself while he was blabbering on about the hex! What a dunce... "Tergio? Ah! I forgot completely about that spell! Darn it, I wasted chocolate. Good chocolate too," he started saying to Susan, but it kind of trailed off to spoken thoughts. "Well, I can always buy some more. Have my owl go pick it up, maybe," he told her. He had plans set up for getting chocolate.

He stared right at her when she said she doesn't fly. That was just...wrong... All magical folk should fly, and she seemed like the perfect candidate for seeker. He had so many questions in his head about why she doesn't fly, but only one released from his mouth. "How come?" This was compassionate, and in those two words he tried to signal that she could talk to him, not holding back anything. He noticed how she started playing with the apple instead of eating it. This must have been a good reason to not fly.

"If you want, I could help you overcome your flying phobias or whatever you would call it. Please, I really want to help you," he said enthusiastically. He already figured out how he would start teaching her and things way past that. Did he have to plan ahead for everything? Correct answer is yes.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan’s amused smile at his mistake with the chocolate dissipated easily as their conversation had fully turned to flying. She could envision an argument coming along as Blake furrowed his brow in concentration, obviously trying to understand her reasons as to not wanting to fly. She expected him to come right out with a loud statement of why flying was good, or why everyone should try it. It surprised her though, when it bothered to ask why. Surprised as she was, her eyes widened slightly. No one had ever cared enough to ask her why she did not fly; it was always just the way it had been. She did not like brooms, and brooms did not like her.

No longer wanting her half-eaten apple, she chucked it into the trashcan with the chocolate. Placing her hands in her pockets, she tried to explain. “I’ve kind of had bad experiences with flying,” she said quietly, avoiding Blake’s eyes. “The last time I mounted a broom was in my first year, when it was required,” she added, defining her point. As she closed her mouth, she then hoped he would drop it. She hoped he would change his mind about the Quidditch.

Hearing her, but not hearing the hope in her voice, he then offered to help her. Surprised yet again, Susan looked up to meet the boy’s eyes suddenly. How odd it was that a boy she had only seen around a few times should want to help her out. Perhaps, he was only the Quidditch Captain looking for a few extra players, but it was a kind gesture nonetheless. “I don’t know,” Susan replied unsure still, keeping her hands in her pockets and moping around the garbage can as the many students swirled around them in the foyer.

[00wazzy]

Blake watched as she threw away the apple, one that could have been eaten more. He must have done something wrong. Really wrong, enough to make her lose her appetite. It was probably somewhere he shouldn't have gone, but he went there, and there was no turning back now.

When visual contact was not made when she told him that she had bad experiences with flying, he knew that she felt ashamed. The next thing he told him was a little weird. She hasn't gotten on a broom for so long, maybe she would have gotten even better.

"Is it flying all together or just flying on a broom?" he questioned with the up-most sincerity. He didn't want to be bothersome, and he didn't want to be rude, but he wanted to help her now. He waited for a response, but couldn't help but look around, trying to find if any eyes were upon them. None, good. He didn't want anyone looking at her in this state.

"At least give it a try. For yourself. I won't help you because I want you to join the Quidditch team, I will help you because of the joy that flying brings. The freedom, the wind blowing through your hair. It's all something that shouldn't be missed. Please, do it for yourself." He looked at her with an expression that said 'You can do this,' and waited for her response.

[Susan Matthews]

Still uncomfortable in the situation that she’d gotten herself into, Susan looked around, half-hoping to find someone to come by and rescue her. Slowly returning her gaze back to Blake, she realized just how persistent this fourth year really was, and she found she wouldn’t be able to escape that easily. “I’ve flown the muggle-way with planes, plenty of times,” she explained, letting Blake know that it was only broom-flying that frightened her.

She watched helplessly as he went on to explain how wonderful flying was. He mentioned something about freedom and the wind. Hating to be stubborn, she kept the thoughts to herself that she would much rather like to keep her feet planted firmly on the ground. Compared to some people, or most people it seemed coming from Blake, being several feet off the ground was supposed to be appealing. As she thought about it, it had been a long time since she’d mounted a broom. Hearing Blake’s final statement, Susan began to feel a little more confident. “I guess I could try?” she suggested, still unconvinced.

The Gryffindor before her was obviously passionate about flying, he must know what he’s talking about, Susan decided. Ready to make the motions of heading toward the pitch, she removed her hands from her pockets, and crossed them protectively across her chest, as if to make herself feel better. “How do I go about getting a broom?” she asked curiously, as it was quite obvious that she lacked one for herself. She also wondered if her current jeans, fitted shirt, and boat shoes would suffice for attire, or if she would have to borrow quidditch gear.

[00wazzy]

“I’ve flown the muggle-way with planes, plenty of times,” the girl said, and Blake started thinking that maybe it was more psychological then anything else. "I guess that you just have a problem with brooms, then," he said. What really got him is how she didn't even go on a broom since her first year.

“I guess I could try?” That was the thing he's been hoping to hear. A victorious smile crossed his face as he nodded. "Yes! We should head out to an open area of grass. Got any place you would prefer?" he asked. He forgot to ask her if she had a broom or gear, but that wasn't what was important. He was getting this girl back on the horse after 4 or 5 years.

“How do I go about getting a broom?” Susan questioned. Maybe she was just trying to avoid flying on a broom or maybe it was the truth, but he had a back up plan. "Well, I have a broom myself, called the Thunderbird. But I have an older broom. You could use that, it's a little slow and sturdy," he suggested while turning to leave. "Time to head out, right?"

[Susan Matthews]

Placing her complete trust in her fellow Gryffindor, Susan only nodded in response to his comment about the name of his broom. As she generally wasn’t into flying, naturally she didn’t keep up with which broom was the fastest or handled the best. She simply took his word for it that his brooms would be sufficient for their flying practice. As far as Susan was concerned there were only two types of brooms, the ones that flew and the ones that didn’t. The latter of the two remained her favorite for the time being.

“I suppose the pitch is the most reasonable place to practice,” Susan pondered when thinking about a destination for them to begin the impromptu lesson. She hated to think of her peers watching her fail from the stands, but could think of no way to voice this to Blake and remained silent. Susan assumed learning to fly successfully would go along with learning be seen and judged by one’s peers.

She was brought to the present as Blake made the motions of leaving. “Oh, sure,” Susan said quietly, still unsure of the decision she had just made. Unbeknownst to the other students still swirling around them in the after lunch rush, Susan was on her way to learn to fly, and that scared her. Just thinking about the brooms Blake intended on retrieving made Susan’s heart race. Taking deep breaths, Susan let the boy lead the way, following only a few steps behind.