Magical Hogwarts

may 2005

Mavis could practically feel the energy buzzing around her as she joined a group of students headed toward the pitch, broomsticks in hand. The sign-ups had been posted for a while, and Mavis felt like she’d been waiting forever for today. (It had only been a week, but that was, like, a lot of time to the teenager.) Full of energetic spirit, and a bit of caffeinated tea from the Great Hall, Mavis skipped ahead of the group, reaching the pitch in record time.

The sun was shining, the Bowtruckles in the broom closets were chirping, and above her head, Mavis saw students already in the air whizzing by. The obstacle course was her first focus, and she headed straight away toward it. Mavis started strong, navigating the ups and downs of various magical obstacles, but her focus waned near the end. When the tip of her broom scraped the top of an obstacle, it burst with multicolored confetti and she was docked points. Mavis pouted by the time she reached the ground, her feet stomping as she leapt from her broom.

“Well, that’s not cricket,” she complained to anyone who might listen. Mavis frowned at the unjustness of her point docking, though it was perfectly fair and well within the rules.

Naturally Pixie had signed up for every flying event she was eligible for as soon as the board had been posted in the Gryffindor common room, and her excitement about the opportunity to compete in the races had been a welcome distraction from her growing nerves about her OWL exams. She knew she was unlikely to get any outstandings, but what had once been a source of total oblivion had now morphed into a desire to at least get enough decent grades that she would be allowed to stay at Hogwarts and take her NEWTs. She was fairly confident in a good arithmancy grade, but aside from that... well, there were races to think about, and that was all she was going to think about today.

The first speed event she'd signed up for went well, and she came in second place in her group, which meant she'd qualified for the second round later on. Grinning, and with the adrenaline still pumping from her success, she wandered over to watch the obstacle course, cheering her housemates and staying diligently silent for everyone else. From her position near the end of the course she had a good view of everything, and was secretly relieved she hadn't entered this one. Then she heard Mavis complaining about her result, which in Pixie's opinion was entirely justified. Not only were they housemates, but they'd been in the same year before Pixie had been held back and had shared more than one illicit midnight feast.

"That's totally unfair. You'd have been in first place otherwise" she agreed as the other girl stomped away from the course "but we're both signed up for the relay later, we'll totally nail that!"

“Right? Thank you!” Mavis exclaimed, happy just that someone had heard her complaint and took her side.  It was enough to be heard, because it wasn’t like Mavis was going to do anything about her abysmal point total. Maybe she could try again later, but more likely, she’d get distracted by the next event and forget entirely. This was just for fun, it wasn’t like her results changed her grades or counted toward the Quidditch standings or anything, so she wasn’t too worried about it.

Pixie’s enthusiasm was contagious, and Mavis couldn’t help but feel excited about the various activities ahead. “Yeah, we will!” Mavis agreed with the other Gryffindor. There were plenty of other events to fill the day. Offering Pixie a bright smile, Mavis took a few extra quick steps to catch up and fall in line with her friend. “What else have you signed up for, Pix?”