Practical Flying Practice PV Dennis T

Dennis had been practicing flying regularly since Raizel Voltrouz taught him out last year. She was a really helpful teacher and though he had no desire to join any broom sports, it was still great fun for him. He even learned how to throw and catch a quaffle! It was the beginning of the semester and as always, Dennis was headed to the pitch for his usual exercise. He was wearing a short sleeve logo’d red shirt and grey jeans, which made him look like a flicker of a flame as he walked down the path, his red hair aflame in the sunlight.

When he arrived, he grabbed one of the brooms in the closet and a well worn quaffle that felt snug in his hand. Setting his bag near a pile of Slytherin robes, Dennis mounted his broom and away he went. At altitude, he found the owner of the robes a girl he had met only a short time previously: Kaitlyn Connor. She was a fantastic teacher or maybe just that good at Transfiguration. He remembered he liked the way she smiled and laughed. He might as well go say hello. Maybe she’d like to practice with him!

“Kit!” Dennis beckoned as he approached her from the front so she could easily see him coming. He waved and pulled alongside her. “I didn’t know you could fly! Though I guess when you are a third year it’s second nature by now huh? Care for some practice?” He asked as he spun the quaffle in his hand.

@Kaitlyn Connor

Interacting with : Reducio @Dennis Tumberton

Date: Reducio September 2025 on a Saturday morning

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio

Feeling the tug of the wind against her pigtail braids, Kaitlyn let out a sigh of happiness. ‘If you told me back when I started here at Hogwarts … a mere few weeks after being pulled out of St. Ann’s … that I’d be flying in the air … on … a … broom, I’d probably laugh in your face. Yet, look at me now. I’m in the air. Flying. The wind whipping my face. Sitting on a broom. This is so exciting! Yet, also so scary! I need to focus, that’s what I need.’

After finishing her loop, Kaitlyn conducted a roll on the broom. Just like her movements on the earth, her movements on the broom were graceful. For now. All was going well so far for the young Slytherin. But, performing with the Broom Racing team would need her to be more than just alright so far. She needed to train to be better.

Before she could get lost in her mind, Kaitlyn glanced in the direction of a familiar voice, spotting Dennis from Transfiguration. It was a strange interaction in class, but they were able to work well together … at least in her opinion. A smile formed on her lips. “Hi Denners!” She called out, taking one hand off the broom to wave at him. Just in doing so, the broom shook a little, and she immediately steadied it by gripping the broom with both hands.

“Perhaps … I hope! Sure, I could use some practice,” Kaitlyn observed with a nod.

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 256 words

As he approached, Kaitlyn seemed to be practicing or warming up with some basic maneuvers. If memory served she was new to the racing team for Slytherin. Dennis wasn’t really known for his speed, and well, since he was a duelist, no one really knew his interest in flying other than Raizel, his coach, and Meyra, his ex. However, he really liked the control it took to throw a quaffle around and how focusing on the task helped give his mind space to digest a tough problem he might be puzzling.

Kaitlyn greeted him with is favorite nickname which always drew a beaming grin from him, a reminder of family and close friends. He was glad he could meet her on the pitch and when she agreed to practice with him, he handed her the quaffle carefully, noticing her previous shakiness when she tried to wave to him.

“We can start with some easy coordination drills,” Dennis said helpfully, figuring she might need it. He flew a safe throwing distance away, somewhere not too close that the throwing didn’t make sense, and not too far away that she might have to extend herself too far. “Why don’t we toss the quaffle a bit and you tell me about how you got into flying?” The redhead asked figuring a bit of conversation might distract her from worrying about positioning.

@Kaitlyn Connor

Interacting with : Reducio @Dennis Tumberton

Date: Reducio September 2025 on a Saturday morning

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio

While she was to be a broom racer, Kaitlyn knew she needed practice. It certainly didn’t help that the summers in muggle London weren’t going to help her learn at all. Er, that wasn’t entirely true. She was the type of student to read her textbooks over the summer … plus her plant journal. That didn’t change the fact that she couldn’t fly at home. Sure, she did so at the summer fair, but that had to be squeezed in between the different activities. As such, she really needed this time to practice.

Blinking, Kaitlyn accepted the quaffle. The broom shook again, but less powerfully this time. What did a quaffle have to do with flying? She had no idea. But who was she to question someone else? To be fair, she was nowhere near an expert. In her opinion, if someone offered to help her, she should just accept it. Like in this case.

“You sound like a coach,” Kaitlyn observed with a laugh. Instinctively, she scooped the quaffle under one arm and grabbed the broom with her other hand to stabilize herself. She blinked again when he flew a distance away from her. A quick glance at the quaffle now under her arm, she had already figured out the exercise Dennis wanted to accomplish. To be fair, it wasn’t a bad suggestion at all.

“Very well.” Kaitlyn gently adjusted how she was sitting on the broom to have better stability before gripping the quaffle in both hands. She tossed it over to him. “What got me into flying?” She shrugged. “It looked interesting? I never saw a broom be used in such a fashion, and frankly, I didn’t believe it would happen.”

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 284 words

Dennis watched as Kaitlyn took the quaffle with shaky hands. The broom wobbled a bit but she soon righted it. When he turned his broom around after going some distance, he raised his eyebrows impressed that she was sitting upright on the broom with two hands. She wasn’t the most confident, yet, but the fact that she did so without complaining, as he had done, meant she had potential.

“I had a good one,” he shrugged as she said he sounded like a coach. He did have a very confident coach to thank for his own. He clapped his hands in the air as if calling the ball to himself, beckoning Kaitlyn to give it a try. She gave it a toss and Dennis caught it with one hand, the other leisurely on the broom as he listened to Kaitlyn’s answer.

He blinked a bit before he understood she w was hinting that she was muggle born. Dennis made an “Ah” sound and lightly, gently, tossed the quaffle one handed back to her, aiming at her chest. “I don’t think I ever really had an interest in flying much. In fact my whole first year it never crossed my mind.” Dennis said reciprocating the answer.

He slide ever so slightly backwards. “That was a great job though, Kit. You have terrific balance! Maybe try to throw it a little harder this time,” he suggested and then with a warm smile, “Don’t worry, I can catch you…it. I can catch it."

@Kaitlyn Connor

Interacting with : Reducio @Dennis Tumberton

Date: Reducio September 2025 on a Saturday morning

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio

Having no idea what Dennis was referencing with regard to having a good coach, Kaitlyn nodded her head. That was always beneficial. She didn’t know if she had a similar positive experience with a coach. Did an etiquette teacher count? She kind of doubted it. Besides, there were parts she didn’t agree with in regard to etiquette, anyway. That was not the intention here, of course.

Then again, Kaitlyn had a few good teachers. For her art. For dance. For piano. While there were gym classes at St. Ann’s, she never specifically took the time to try out for sports, preferring to stay with her friend group. Although there were a few games she was pretty decent at, in her opinion.

Dennis caught the ball she threw … no surprise there. She hadn’t intended it to be a difficult catch. Titling her head to the side, she nodded at his comments about flying. “That’s pretty fair … neither did I. I was quite scared, although I managed to help someone once with returning to the ground,” she recalled.

Seeing the quaffle return to her, Kaitlyn fumbled the ball but quickly recovered. She dipped briefly in her flying due to the fumble, but returned to her initial position. Hearing his comment about throwing the ball harder this time, she quietly snorted. Before she could respond, though, he made a comment … joke … whatever it was, about catching her … or the ball.

Falling silent, Kaitlyn’s blue eyes studied the quaffle now in her hands. She balanced it in one hand and let it rotate and spin. Thoughts roamed her mind. But this was also one of the things she did a lot. Quiet introspection when talking to others. She did it to promote active listening and showed that she actually cared about what the other person said.

Taking this time, however, Kaitlyn tried to think of her best response. After all, there were so many ways it could go. “While I appreciate the sentiment …” she began, trailing off, letting the words hang in the air for a moment more. “…, I’m not afraid to fail … the whole point is to practice, right? I’m not going to expect someone to catch me if I fall during a race,” she reasoned, before throwing the quaffle back to Dennis with more force.

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 391 words

Dennis almost thought he would need to catch her anyway with how she caught the quaffle. Seemed she was better at throwing than catching. Kaitlyn seemed to be a good listener which he appreciated, he was used to having to be the listener. She seemed to be mulling over something he said when he mentioned having a coach - or she just thought too much, again, Dennis could never really be quite sure. If she needed to use the bathroom though, they were a long way from one!

She mentioned helping someone land and thought that was quite nice. “Yeah, helping others can be a great way to learn! You definitely helped me in transfiguration!” He said cheerfully. They fell silent for a while. He slowly continued to drift backwards, contemplating how far he could get safely since he wasn’t sure what kind of an arm she had.

The silence went on for longer than Dennis was comfortable with, she seemed to just be…staring at the ball? Did he accidentally break his new friend? He was about to say something but then she responded to the joke he told. She definitely thought to much, Dennis concluded. Dennis smiled at her over analysis of something silly he said. Note to self, simpler jokes.

“Alright, show me what you got, Kit!” The redhead said lifting his hands as he saw her prepare to throw the quaffle. When she let go, it definitely had more force, sailing effortlessly through the air, and she managed to stay upright even more confidently this time. Perhaps to make a point. Point received he thought, catching the ball with two hands and giving her a thumbs up. “This time I’m going to throw it and you will need to move to catch it,” Dennis said, now quite a bit further from Kaitlyn.

Using an underhand technique, Dennis lobbed it in a slow high arc so that it would pass in front of her, requiring her to fly forward to catch it but slow enough she had time to figure it out.

@Kaitlyn Connor

Interacting with : Reducio @Dennis Tumberton

Date: Reducio September 2025 on a Saturday morning

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio

“That can be true,” Kaitlyn agreed. She leaned forward a bit on the broom so she could comfortably push a few stray strands of hair that escaped her pigtail braids out of her eyes. ‘Note to self, once broomracing starts, decide on a cute hairstyle that doesn’t break down easily.’ She needed to see when flying! This gesture, thankfully, didn’t rock her broom. She maintained her balance.

It wouldn’t surprise her that if she fell, he would rush to help her. He appeared to be that type of person. Not like that was a bad thing, of course. Just an observation. Not like she was to judge with her socialization skills … or lack thereof.

A snort erupted at Dennis’s comment. He, of course, caught the quaffle after her throw. It wasn’t like she made it difficult. Was it painfully obvious that she had never played a sport before? That much was true. That wasn’t part of her schooling. As a matter of fact, she didn’t think St. Ann’s had sports teams … at least on the top of her head. The best she could do was to run. That wouldn’t help with throwing, though.


“Why does this sound like you want me to fall off my broom?” Kaitlyn asked, slightly joking and slightly serious. Then again, from what she watched in broomraces from previous years, she was to expect plenty of obstacles. Many of them … if not all of them … would likely try to throw her off her broom. So, that outcome wasn’t unheard of.

Her blue eyes tracked the quaffle as it came for her. A high arc … one that would land … right, just out of reach. Kind of like what a seeker would likely see in a Quidditch match. She flew forward, reaching her hands out to catch the quaffle. Success! The ball flew into her hands … but she wasn’t stable. Her broom began to twist. Gripping back on it, and trying to straighten out …. she rolled midair.

After a few breathless seconds, Kaitlyn panted slightly. “I …” She had no idea what to say.

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 361 words

No. No. No. Move! Dennis wanted to shout at Kaitlyn. She just kind of watched the ball as it sailed higher in the air. He lobbed it so she would have plenty of time to get in position to catch it. However, he watched as she just followed the trajectory and almost missed the mark with an outstretched arm. He wasn’t sure why she just didn’t glide forward and catch it squarely. Obviously her slight frame wasn’t the athletic sort!

Dennis rushed forward as soon as he saw what was going to happen with her leaning too far. She caught the quaffle but she had lost her balance. “Kit!” Dennis gulped as he quickly closed the gap, watching her roll, ready to dive. However, the momentum of the roll was enough to bring her right side up again. Lucky girl! The Ravenclaw eased up, and came alongside his now understandably flustered friend.

He held her on the shoulder with a hand to help stabilize her and gave her a thumbs up with the other. “A brilliant catch that was! And with a flare! You really are a talent!” He encouraged jokingly but his smile was genuine - perhaps more so that he didn’t actually have to rescue her.

“Why don’t we call it a day?” Dennis asked his hand still on her shoulder and asking for the quaffle with the other. It was up to her if she wanted to try again but something told him that perhaps this was enough excitement for one day. He wouldn’t wound her pride by saying that outright.

@Kaitlyn Connor