Dreams of Flight Finished

Eris stood panting in the field, hands on her knees. When she finally caught her breath, she surveyed the pitch, eyes growing wide. It was beautiful. Something out a fairy tale. She could of stood there admiring the four brightly colored towers and the hoops for hours, but it would of been much better to look at from the air, although of course, the two students would have to be careful not to be caught.

Still panting, Eris lead the way to a tiny broom closet. She tried to open the doors, but found them locked. "Do you have a bobby pin?" Eris asked Adam, mind first going to the muggle way she had learned to break into places after her months on the street, but then mind straining, she remembered a spell she had learned in one of the various textbooks she had been reading for fun instead of talking to her dorm-mates. "Alhamura." Eris tried, pointing her wand at the shed doors. Nothing happened. Eris slummed back in defeat. "Let me try just once more." She muttered, more to herself, face screwed up in a determined look. They had come so far. Eris wasn't going to let their plan fail just because she didn't know a spell.

"Alohomora" Eris practically screamed the spell, trying to say it differently than she had before when it didn't work, praying that it would work this time.

Sure enough, Eris heard the door to the broom closet click open. She cast a grin at Adam, and pushed open the doors to behold broomsticks!

Sure they were old and looked battered, but to Eris they were the most glorious sight in the world. She grabbed one broom, and handed the other to Adam. "Any tips about flying before we do this?" Eris asked, grin still plastered on her face, as she walked out of the broom closet and back onto the field of the qudditch pitch. Eris felt her heart hammering in her chest, as she held the broom tight in her hands. She couldn't believe they were really doing this.

"Any tips about flying before we do this?" Eris asked, and Adam smiled at her lopsidedly. He couldn't believe they were actually doing this; in a few moments, they would be flying through the air!

"Yeah; don't fall off," Adam responded jokingly, and threw his broom onto the ground in front of him. Positioning himself above the broomstick, he held out his hand and closed his eyes. He channeled all of the commanding presence he had inside of him, and in a strong voice, ordered the broom to rise. "Up!"

To Adam's delight, the broom jumped into his hand. He hadn't expected this to happen! Feeling confident, Adam straddled the broomstick and bent his knees, preparing to take off. He didn't look back at the ground, didn't hesitate; he just pushed off the ground and felt himself rise into the air. Adam went up, up, up, but remembered the situation he was in when he got only ten feet above the ground. He commanded the broom to stop and it did so rather abruptly. He'd have to remember not to be so stern with these old things. They took orders almost too well!

Adam did a few circles in the air and accidentally turned upside down at one point. He laughed as he spiraled with the wind and then pulled up next to Eris. "Hey, you," he called, "you coming or what?"

Eris nodded, closing her eyes to muster up her confidence.

Deeming herself ready, Eris looked down at her broom, giving it an evil eye to show who was boss. "Up!" She shouted, and to her delight the old broom rose into the air. Less faster than Adam's had, and a bit more wobbly, but it had responded to her. Delighted, Eris carefully mounted the broom, unsure of how to do it correctly. "Yeah I'm coming!" Eris yelled up to Adam, who at this point she had to squint to see over the sun. She kept glancing around to see if anyone was watching, and finally deeming it safe Eris angled her broom upwards and shot into the air like a rocket.

She stopped her broom just before she was above the highest tower, and made a mental note to be more gentle when angling the broom. Whoops! Eris hoped nobody had seen her broomstick rising. She had gone awfully high up. More carefully this time, she angled the broom downwards and glided down to Adam ever so slowly. When she told the broom to stop, Eris nearly lost her footing and felt her self plummet forward on the broom before she regained her balance. Maybe she wasn't so good at flying after all. Though it was so fun. It was so amazing that Eris stopped worrying about whether she was good at flying or not.

The way the wind swept her hair and the rush flying gave! It was amazing. Although Eris wasn't so stable on the broom, she loved the feeling of flying already. Eris let out a whoop, before pushing her broom to full speed to circle around the pitch. Of course, full speed wasn't very fast on a school broom, but Eris couldn't tell. She was ecstatic, and every time she caught herself right before she hit something her smile only grew. Finally she finished her lap, and halted abruptly next to Adam. The sudden stop made Eris lurch forward, but she still grinned at Adam, as happy as a kid in a candy store.

"It's so amazing. Flying I mean. I can't believe muggles don't have something like this. All people should get to fly!" Eris exclaimed, rambling on with excitement. She couldn't wait to try out for the quidditch team in a few years or so, nor could she wait for actual flying lessons. Eris's grin widened, as she imagined spending time flying next year, when she was allowed too. Flying was so amazing! Eris had always been one for running. She had been on the track team and everything, and had loved it. But this-this was so much better than running. She felt weightless, soaring on a broomstick, like a gust of wind or a dragon and she loved the feeling.

"I know!" he shouted back to Eris, circling around in another lap and feeling the wind on his face. All people should be able to fly. Adam wasn't sure why he had been so worried about getting caught before; all of his concerns melted away now, left behind on the ground while Adam took off into the sky. He was glad to see that Eris seemed to be having just as much fun as he was. This had turned out to be such a good idea!

Adam hadn't ever flown at home, which was surprising to most wizard-born kids his age when they heard it. Many families bought toy broomsticks for their children or held mini games of Quidditch in their yards, exposing their kids to flight even if it wasn't on a professional level. His parents had never had much of an interest in the flying game, and while his brother enjoyed playing, he didn't take it very seriously. Adam had never considered broomstick-flying as something that he wanted to do until now, but he was undoubtedly glad that he had tried it.

He wondered if Eris' family had ever taught her how to fly. She acted like it was her first time in the air, but it may just have been eagerness to return. He didn't know very much about Eris's family. They were becoming good friends, but they hadn't really ever sat down and talked before. Maneuvering his broom around and gliding back to where Eris flew in the air, he slowed down enough until he had stopped, and called out to her, "Hey, Eris? How are things at your house?"

Eris grinned, feeling the air on her face. Daring to take her hands off the broom and hold them up in the air, Eris let out another whoop of delight. She wanted to go higher, to go faster. She wanted to spend her whole life on a broom, above the world with the wind, the birds, and the clouds. She wanted to touch the sky, and never come back down to the ground. This was the best feeling in the world, and she never wanted it to stop. Eris zoomed around the pitch again, grinning as she did so, before skidding to a stop next to Adam. She was getting better at stopping. This time she only leaned forward a little bit, and was able to catch herself.

She sat on the broom, kicking her feet back and forth in the little wind they could feel from their position so close to the ground. Eris had never flown before, but already she wanted to do it forever. Maybe she could be an auror and a chaser or something. She grinned, imagining how fun that would be. She was so lost in her thoughts, that when Adam turned to talk to her, she had to blink a few times before she could hear him.

"Hey, Eris? How are things at your house?" The words brought Eris back down to earth, and the giddy rush of flying diminished.

"I don't know," Eris responded slowly," I haven't been home since March. My mum kicked me out.I was living on the streets before a wizard came to tell me I was a witch and offered me a place at Hogwarts. I said yes, but my sister said no. I haven't heard from anyone at home since march. My sister ran away, my dad moved out, and my mum is just crazy." She could trust Adam with her worse secret right? He had proved himself to be a real friend.

After a few moments, Eris finally let out the truth that had been bothering her for months. "My mum is Jane Rowell. You might of heard of the Rowell family. They were all death eaters. My mum.." she took a deep breath, "Well she fought against her classmates in the battle of Hogwarts. She fought for Voldemort." She said the name bitterly with no hint of fear. "She went crazy after the battle. The guilt haunted her, and never left." Eris sighed, with no hint of remose in her voice. She just sounded empty, like a recording machine or a person with no hope."And my dad, she only married him because he was a muggle. Her paranoid behaviors were too much for him, and he started drinking and taking out his anger and me and my sister. Finally, he just left. "

"So yeah things with my family aren't that great." Eris laughed bitterly, shaking her head.

Adam blinked once. He blinked twice. That wasn't the answer he had been expecting. He wasn't sure how to reply. "Uhhhh....." he trailed off. You idiot! he yelled to himself, you're going to make her feel so much worse! Say something nice! Say anything!

"I'm sorry," he responded pathetically. Adam never realized how lucky he really was to have a family like his. The Harringtoms had survived both of the Dark Lord's reigns, including the Battle of Hogwarts. Hundreds of people had died in those wars, and more families than anyone could count had been torn apart. He really was incredibly lucky, and faced with this situation, he found that he just didn't know how to respond. Then, he got an idea.

Like the famous Molly Weasley of years past, his mother had always had an open-door policy for most of the guests that her family invited over. While she may not have had as big of a house, Kristine Harringtom still made room for anybody her family welcomed in. It was the polite thing to do, and though she would never say it, it was also a perfect way to learn secrets.

Winter break was fast approaching, and Adam wondered if Eris would be open to his idea. He had to at least try, while he still had her attention. "Hey, Eris, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to, uh.....that is, if you don't......you're welcome to come over to our house for holiday break this year."

He hoped she didn't think any less of him.

Eris didn't seem to mind that Adam didn't know what to say about her pure-blooded family. Instead, her eyes widened and she nearly fell off her broomstick. "Really? I-i could stay at your house?" She blinked, eyes filling with greateful tears. She hadn't had a place to go over Winter Break, nor had she any friends when she started Hogwarts, but here she was. With an offer to stay at somebodies house. Eris had never been so greateful for another person in her life.

She was beaming when she responded. "I would love to come to your house over Winter Break." Eris couldn't believe her luck. She couldn't imagine what a winter with an actual wizarding family would be like. Maybe they could fly every day without fear of being caught! Or maybe they could play that game called wizard chess. There were no limits to what one can do with a friend. Especially a friend with a wizarding family. But how would she repay him? All of a sudden, an idea ran through Eris's head.

"but before I come, we'd need to make a stop in Diagon Alley. I need to visit a certain place." It was time to figure out just how much money Jane Rowell had in her vault.