So This is How It's Going To Be?

Audriana made her way down to the pitch, broom in hand and a smirk on her face. From what she had been told, she was the first girl - nonetheless a second year - to be in the Seeker position in a good many years. She wouldn't say she was prideful, but that she was definitely pleased with herself. The tryouts hadn't been too terribly trying, except for the other second year who had gone out for Seeker as well. Whatever the boy's name was; she couldn't remember. Her only focus had been on getting the job done.

As she reached the pitch, she wondered how exactly the practices would work - her first year had involved her learning the sport and basically doing her best to ensure that she new each position so well that no matter which of her friends she played she could win. In the end, her favorite role had been as Seeker. Granted, it was perhaps due to her need to either be the best at something, or show her worth. Not that she would ever admit it, even to herself. After her parents had left, the only person who seemed to think Aud was much of anything was her grandmother, Natalia.

Audriana hadn't actually looked at the time when she left the Gryffindor Tower - rather, she had known she would likely be early and accepted it. Having suspected as much, Aud had brought her most recent book with her - she was in the habit of learning any little bits of information she could. Whether that was from a book or from people around her, she had quickly become a procurer of secrets and a protecter of said secrets as well as the people who owned them.

She found herself to be the first person to arrive, so she settled herself beneath the goal posts, checked the time, and pulled out her book. She had managed to get there with a good ten minutes to spare. Aud leaned against the center goal and opened the book to her marked page.

In one gulp Gavin downed the purple nerve-calming potion that tasted faintly of butterscotch and oil. He had paid the Ravenclaw girl six sickles for her home-brewed remedy and was both relieved and surprised when he didn't immediately cough it back up. The second year had been tricked on a couple occasions already and paid good money for what turned out to be nothing more than colored dishwater. While you were supposedly born with bravery, Gavin wasn't taking this first practice on without a little chemical boost.

As the blonde walked down the lawn, broom tucked under his arm, he could already feels his eggs and toast settling in his stomach. Puking would probably be a poor impression on the first day, especially after only barely making the team. The tryouts for seeker had been rigged of course (there was no other way that girl would have beaten him) but at least he had managed a spot in the chasers. Gavin was both thrilled and terrified that he had managed a spot on the team. This would surely make people forget his reaction at flying lessons, right?

Gavin reached the empty pitch and frowned, knowing he was early but still worried about the lack of team. He scanned the field and saw the singular figure of their seeker. He walked towards her, not quite sure what to think. Audriana was in his year and house but until the tryouts he had never really noticed her. She was small but boy could she fly. So maybe the trials hadn't been completely rigged.. Her abilities had just caught him off guard.

Gavin stopped in front of her, blocking the sun on her page. He leaned on his broom and looked down at her, speaking without a word of greeting. "What are you reading?" If they were going to wait it would be awfully awkward to sit in silence.

Aud was just turning a page when a voice above her caught her attention. It felt like she moved in slow motion as she looked up at him, allowing her finger to rest between the pages as the book attempted to close.

Who was he, exactly? Audriana couldn't remember. Looking at him more closely, she realized he was the boy who had gone for Seeker as she had. Poor guy. He had never seen her coming. Her grandmother would likely tell her that she was being rude for thinking that, and that she would catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Knowing how much her grandmum wanted her to be the epitome of goodness, Aud did her best with everyone. The only problem was whether or not she could deal with someone leaving her again. It made any relationships tough. Even as naught but a twelve year old, Audriana felt she had learned some of the most important lessons she ever could.

Realizing she had never answered, she held the book up so he could see the title. "1984." She said, though he could clearly see it. Did he know much about Muggle books? It was one of her favorites. She couldn't exactly explain why, but the book pointed out some things that Aud felt everyone should be aware of. Besides that, she felt an unexplainable need to pick up any information she could, whenever she could. Was it really so odd for a Gryffindor to read like a Ravenclaw?

Audriana was tempted to pat the ground next to her to silently suggest he join her, but she didn't really know him. She wasn't exactly in the habit of trusting others - especially people she had only met when vying for the same position. And beating him. But that didn't matter. Well.. mostly didn't.

"Have you read it?" She added as an afterthought. "Muggle authors are fascinating."

Gavin raised his eyebrows, looking down upon her book. The title was large and colorful, taking up most of the page and shouting it's name. It sounded vaguely familiar to Gavin, like something he had seen on his father's bookshelves in his study. Of course the young boy had never held any interest in reading it. Or reading anything for that matter. He found the coursebooks torturous enough and would never willingly subject himself to extra 'personal reading'.

"Nope." he replied without shame. If his father was reading it, there was no way Gavin could be persuaded that it was good. "Muggle authors are fascinating." Gavin shrugged.

His classmates fascination with the muggles was a complete mystery to the Gryffindor. For a large part of his childhood he had been completely oblivious to the wizarding world and magic of any kind. Even with his witch mum and his attendance at Hogwarts their house was still run without any magical assistance. Gavin's home life, for all intents and purposes, was exactly like those of his muggle neighbors. Nothing about the culture was any more 'fascinating' than what you encountered at the Leaky.

"Is it any good?"

((I love 1984.))

Well, this boy was rather grumpy, wasn't he? Aud lifted an eyebrow from her spot on the ground, wondering how she had never really met him before. Surely they had been in classes together? Perhaps she just hadn't noticed him, or had blocked him out. Usually she focused on classes for the lectures rather than for the folks around her.

If he was going to be this openly negative perhaps she was glad she hadn't been close enough to him during classes to have to work with him. Was that bad to say of someone she didn't know? Probably. She pushed that away as he spoke again.

"It's brilliant. I mean, I practically grew up on authors like these." Audriana replied, unsure why exactly she was being so talkative with this guy she likely didn't get on with, "My grandmum gave me this one after my parents left, and-"

Looking away abruptly, she stared at the pitch, setting the book on the ground and clenching her jaw. He should not have been able to pull that from her so easily. She almost never told anyone. In fact, she couldn't remember if she had told anyone. She, honestly, was pretty much a loner. It didn't look like she was going to be making friends with her Quidditch team at this rate, either.

3 MONTHS LATER

- - -

Once again, it was game day. The season had been going full swing for about a month now and the majority of Gavin's thoughts revolved entirely around the sport that he was quickly growing to love. What time was there for coursework or girls when there was Quidditch to be played? His once paralyzing fear of the height and speed had been reduced to a suffocated warning in the back of his brain, easily ignored once the action started.

Gavin seated himself down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall for breakfast, eagerly looking forward for the eggs and toast that were promised to him. As he grabbed the nearest tray to begin to pile food on to his plate, he realized that he recognized the face obscured by an open book. Of course Audriana would be reading at breakfast. For about the thousandth time since they had met, Gavin wondered why the brunette hadn't been sorted into Ravenclaw. She would have been happy and his life would probably have been easier.

"Morning" Gavin called out to her, attempting to capture her attention that was currently so riveted into whatever reading material she had picked up today. When she looked up Gavin continued, "I hope you got a good night sleep last night. Willard Hughes just bet me five sickles that Slytherin would get the snitch." Not that it would be any real tragedy to lose such a small sum, but it was more pride that was on the line. Gavin had the habit of boasting about their team and he often found himself confronted by other, equally as confident, Quidditch players.

Gavin grinned at her, hoping to God that all of her reading wasn't scrambling her brain and preventing her from playing at optimum performance. He set the first tray back and grabbed a large jug of orange juice to pour into his goblet. He was a growing boy and needed to get his nutrition in, especially with such a big day ahead.

Audriana had made it a habit to wake up quite early on the Saturdays that involved a Quidditch match. They only brought stress, although she had successfully captured the Snitch and Gryffindor had won during their match against Hufflepuff. It had been just Hufflepuff, though, and Slytherin was notoriously more skilled than the other house. One could never be sure, though. She walked into the Great Hall earlier than she had meant to, and filled her plate with toast and sausage, sipping her juice happily.

Pleased with what she had chosen for breakfast, she pulled out her most recent novel – Aud rarely read novels as compared to intellectual books, but no one could refuse the entertainment novels brought. Setting it upright on one end, the book stood before her as she ate slowly, soaking in every word.

Unfortunately, and almost expectedly, Gavin interrupted her wonderful chapter. Gods, he was annoying sometimes. Most times, actually. She hadn't even realized he was sitting across from her. His voice had become one she knew perfectly. How could she not, with him making comments all through rehearsals and being in class with him every day? Lifting an eyebrow sardonically, Aud lifted her chin so she peered at him over the top of her book.

“Yes, well, I'm glad you're betting that I'll succeed, rather than making the snide comments you so like to do.”

Okay, so she shouldn't really have been such a snarky person, but she couldn't help it. The words just fell out of her mouth before she could stop them. Offering him a slight smile to attempt to cover her embarrassment, Audriana reached for her juice and regarded him over the rim of the glass. In a desire to change the topic back to him, she tilted her head to the side and asked, “I don't suppose you put any bets on the actual win for the game?”

Gavin laughed. "Of course not. I have the utmost faith in you. I'm less enthusiastic to put my sickles in Greenburg's hands." Gavin looked pointedly down the table at the team's substitute chaser, Paulie Greenburg. The normal third chaser, Dorthy, had broken out in full-body purple rashes after a close encounter with a Clabbert in Care of Magical Creatures, resulting in a St. Mungo's trip and an inconvenience for the team. As if to prove Gavin's point, Paulie looked up at them, his face stuffed to the breaking point with bacon and eggs.

Gavin waved down the table at the older boy who returned the gesture with some confusion. "Not that we won't win. We will." Gavin nodded to no one in particular, as if to assure himself that this would be the case. "We have to." Gryffindor losing was among the more terrible scenarios that his young brain could process.

- - -

5 MONTHS LATER - END OF TERM, SECOND YEAR

Gryffindor had been on a terrible losing streak. They had gave up the Quidditch cup in the finals to Slytherin. It was only the knowledge that the Lions had completely destroyed the Snakes in the house cup that gave Gavin any reason at all for celebration. From the moment the bright crimson banners had dropped in the Great Hall the entire house had been in a state of near frenzy as they bounded about the castle, overcome with the joy of winning.

There was a party in Gryffindor Tower that night, packing the common room with first years to seventh years, no one wanting to miss out on the event that wasn't just celebrating their house cup victory but also the fact that this was the last night they would all be together until next September. The seventh years were especially emotional - jumping between dancing on the tables and hugging eachother while sobbing at alarming speeds.

Gavin had never seen anything quite like it. He was jostled around the room, though not in an entirely unpleasant way. Teammates clapped him on the back, the short and rough hugs of men. Classmates said both their hellos and goodbyes, unsure if they would be brought together again by the crowds. Eventually Gavin made it out of the center of the room and found much more space to move around and get his bearings. His eye caught on the figure of Audriana Swan, also standing towards the edges of the crowd.

After an entire year of long practices together Gavin still wasn't quite sure where he stood with his brunette teammate. He had forgiven her long ago for having stolen his seeker spot (though there was still a string when she brought it up) and every once in awhile they felt friendly. Then not a moment later the friendly teasing would disappear and Audriana began to feel distant and grumpy, willing to talk to him. Perhaps it was all in his perception but the Swan girl both confused him and intrigued him.

He liked her. There was no other way to put it.

Gavin made his way through the celebrating students until he stood beside her. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked, his voice rising over the joyful shouts of their housemates.

To say losing the Quidditch Cup infuriated Audriana at the time was an understatement. She hadn't spoken to the Slytherin team for a week, and passed her teammates despairing looks any time the sport was mentioned. After a while, the sting had gone away to some extent, and seeing her house colors all over the Great Hall and the dormitory Common Room made things a bit better. The looks on the poor Slytherins' faces... It definitely made her crack a smile.

Unfortunately, that meant that all of the rowdy Gryffindors would be throwing an inordinately large party, which Aud wanted nothing to do with. She was not a partier. They were just too loud and too strange – especially with the older students. Sure, she was one of the eldest in her year, but she was only just thirteen at the beginning of that year. Upon reaching the Common Room after the feast, Aud glanced around, rolled her eyes, and headed up to her room. She attempted to read for a bit, but the noise from downstairs, along with the weird quiet of her own room made her feel anxious and left her feeling the need to move around to brush it off.

Groaning, Audriana slammed the book shut before quickly picking it up again and patting in apologetically. She stood and headed downstairs, avoiding the students dancing and shouting and basically hugging each other goodbye. It didn't look safe and she immediately questioned her coming downstairs.

Just as her thoughts strayed to the idea of sneaking out – it was a Gryffindor thing to do, she figured, shrugging mentally – a voice in her ear nearly made her jump. Luckily, she was able to maintain her calm appearance as she turned to look at him. Of course. It would be Blackmoor. Who else would manage to sneak up on her?

“Well, I suppose. I only just got here..” She admitted vaguely, not wanting to explain that she had immediately marched to her room and had avoided the others in their house. It certainly would be like her. And something Gavin would probably like to make fun of her for. Most of her frustration with him over the past year had been when he had decided to joke about the things she cared the most about: Her books, her curiosity, the fact that she wasn't exactly a Gryffindor. The list was long, unfortunately.

Gavin almost laughed at her response. Of course she had only just arrived, in fact he was surprised she didn't have her ever-present novel tucked under her arm. "Come on!" Gavin urged, "Don't you want to celebrate?" He gestured towards the crowd of students who were in animated conversation, hugging, or dancing. Music was blaring but it was almost completely drowned out by the symphony of Gryffindor voices, leaving only the bare beat to the ear.

Now that the young boy was out of the center of the mob he found himself oddly eager to return. It was terrifying in the best possible way - surrounded by life and energy the likes of which he had never experienced. Of course the atmosphere wasn't for everyone. He had noticed several of his friends missing and assumed they were up in their rooms packing to go home. Other groups of friends had secluded themselves to the edges of the common room and huddled tightly. Even more distractingly, couples had broken off in the corners and in the stairwell, intertwined or staring into eachothers eyes.

Gavin was far from enthusiastic about getting too close to any of those groups. He wanted to stay with the fun, out of a clique, and not have a front row seat to a snogging couple. No, it was better to stick towards the center, he decided. Unfortunately for his brunette teammate he had also decided that it wouldn't be right for him to leave her on the edges all alone. Of course, if she blew him off completely it would neither be a shock of heartbreaking to the young Gryffindor boy. He was far too used to having Audriana Swan want nothing to do with him.