I'll be Beating You!

James began to circle the Quidditch pitch, being sure to keep his eye on Jack, or try. He was supposed to be looking for the Snitch, and it was hard to look when you have one eye on another player.

He saw Jack climb higher into the sky, and he wondered what the girl was up to. Beaters generally stayed in the thick of the game...so he thought. James looked for Murphy just to be sure that some trick was not being played, but he was far off to one side, his back to him. James relaxed a little, and took his eyes off the duo and began to look in earnest for the Snitch.

"There it is!" he thought to himself, spotting it fluttering near the stands. Keeping his eyes on the Snitch, lest it disappear on him, James began to speed towards it.

Jack rose above James, high above the game, and made sure to stay directly above Murphy. She whistled as she spotted the Bludger he had sent her way, asking him to follow her. She watched James begin to chase down he Snitch and she rocketed forward, after the Bludger. Murphy hurriedly followed, rising so that he was at at James' level.

Jack pulled abreast the Bludger, raised her right arm, and spiked it downwards. Murphy pulled harshly against his broom handle, looking a little panicked as he stopped. He turned and grabbed the bat with both hands, swinging wildly. The Bludger spun towards James.

James stretched out his hand, reaching for the Snitch when a shadow fell over him. Too late, James tried to dodge, but it made things worse for him. Instead of colliding with his right shoulder, where it would have, had James not tried to dodge; the bludger hit him on the right side of his face, near the temple. James heard a crack before everything went black.

James slumped, slipping off his broom, still 100 ft up. The broom drifted towards the ground, but James fell like a stone.

"ARESTO MOMENTUM!" Coach cried, his wand pointed at James, slowing his fall.

Coach landed near James, doing a quick sweep of his body.

"Sonarus," Coach mumbled, pointing his wand to his own throat.

"He's fine," Coach informed the team, "We'll just bring him around and sit him down for a few minutes."

Coach performed the counter-spell for Sonarus, then held his wand over James' head and said, "Rennervate."

James' eyelids flutter, and he slowly sat up, supported by coach's arm. He shook his head a bit doggedly and looked at Coach, not sure at first where he was or what had happened. Then the memory of an oncoming bludger filled his mind.

"Okay," he said shakedly, "Tell Jack that I'm sorry, and of course she's a pretty girl."

Coach chuckled and stood.

"Nice move, Murphy and Dyllan!" he called, "Potter hasn't had to suffer a bludger hit like that in a long time!"

Jack whistled a bit as she saw the Bludger chase James down. She hadn't seen a Bludger move that ferociously in awhile. She had never been able to find someone willing to try out the move, nor anyone competent enough too. Murphy had had some bad games, she knew, but she supposed he had been losing his steam, losing his passion. Perhaps he just missed having someone willing to push him.

Jack could not help but look a little worried as it hit James- it hit with a sickening crunch and she flinched sympathetically. He began to slip as she drew her own wand, but the coach beat he to it. Jack zoomed low, as did Murphy, who seemed eager to take credit for the injury.

She hovered a bit above them and grinned at James' words- if he could crack a joke, he'd be fine. She laughed, speeding off and holding up a fist in response to the coach's words. Jack rolled once on her broom, just to get the laughter out of her.

"Ha! We got you, Potter! Brought you down a peg or two!"

James glared at Murphy, but his mouth slid into a reluctant smile as he retrieved his broom and rose again into the air. He could be a bit of a braggart at times. Having Jack on the team would likely bring him down a peg or two, indeed.

As James rose into the air, he suddenly noticed that a man had appeared in the stands, and was watching the game with interest. Coach seemed to have notice as well, for he called for the players to keep up the practice and flew down to the man. After a short conversation, Coach flew back onto the Quidditch pitch.

"That would be our athletic director," Coach explained to James, who was looking curious. He had not recognized the man from so far away.

"Dyllan!" Coach called to Jack, "That man in the bleachers is our athletic director! He'd like to speak with you."

Jack grinned and continued on. She and Murphy ran a few more standard Beating drills and then she told him to split off and go to the opposite end. They then flew towards the middle, each hitting a Bludger into the thick of things. Jack always thought it was better to have two Beaters in different places. The Chases couldn't keep their eyes on the Quaffle and two Beaters.

She was feeling really good about the practice when she suddenly heard her name being called. She wrenched her broom around, looking towards the coach, quickly ducking a flying Bludger.

[i]"That man in the bleachers is our athletic director! He'd like to speak with you."

Jack nodded, and flew to the bleachers, hopping off her broom and shouldering it. She climbed to the man and held out a hand. "Hi sir," she said, a tad breathless. "Jack Dyllan."

"Ah, Ms. Dyllan," the athletic director said jovially, gripping her hand in a firm handshake, "As you may have heard, I am the athletic director for the Falmouth Falcons. I am responsible for the conduct of the coaches and the staff, and most importantly, the final word on recruiting members onto the team after season sign-up has already passed up by. Now, the coach down there seems to think that you would make a nice addition to the team."

The AD gazed out past Jack, his fingertips held together underneath his chin in a contemplative matter. He stayed silent for a long time, always enjoying a bit of the anticipation and drama when making life-changing decisions.

"...and I agree," he conceded finally, meeting Jack's eyes and smiling, "The flying I saw you do out there was just as fantastic as two years ago when we scouted you the first time. I remember you well, and was very disheartened when I had been told that you would not be joining us. I am very much pleased to have you on the team at last. Now get out there and practice with your new team. Be sure and tell Coach your measurements for a uniform before you head home from practice."

The AD tipped her a wink, wrinkles forming around his eyes as he smiled broadly at her.

Jack shook his hand, releasing and standing before him, never one to sit unless it was necessary- it must have been a reflection on her Napoleon complex. She hated sitting and appearing even shorter than she really was.

He spoke and Jack relaxed her face into one of quiet submission, which actually took a lot of conscious thought to really pull off. Jack was still pumped full of energy and adrenaline, and she was eager for the approval of this man. She was a confident woman, and she had gained his approval once. Only one small seed of doubt told her- no, you had aged, you had proven yourself unreliable.

The seed was wrong, and Jack felt a flurry of pride and relief flood her, before she smiled and reached out to shake his hand again. "Thank you, sir. I won't even sign with a union." He roared with laughter as she mounted her broom and flew off into the pitch, giving James a small thumbs up, a huge grin on her face.

James grinned, flying up to Jack's side, a bump the size of an egg having risen where he had been hit with the bludger. It was throbbing, but he had no clue how it looked. He would play it tough.

"No doubt in my mind that you would replace Tremain on the team," James proclaimed, unable to hide his excitement, "Good thing, too. Murphy hits bludgers like a gir....erm, like a really really weak man."

James laughed, waiting for whatever smart jibe Jack would have to throw back at him. He hadn't actually meant to say 'like a girl', however he knew that she would catch it, so may as well play it off as a planned joke.

Jack felt a presence draw near, and she looked over to see James drawing next to her. She glanced up at the nice little injury forming on her forehead. She sucked in a breath sympathetically- that was going to be quite a doozy in the morning.

Jack grinned. "I'm glad you invited me. I owe you one." He began to speak, when he cut himself off. She smirked. "And now you don't. You got me on the team, and I'm not going to knock you off your broom." She grinned, speeding forward and circling him once. "We're square."

She laughed and sped off, already chasing after a Bludger.

((Eventually, do you want to skip to after practice? They can go out and get a drink with the team or just the two of them to celebrate.))