Windows of Possibility closed

Beatrice was glad for the chance to spar with Michael. He was a good teacher, even if they had only been practicing for a few minutes. She bobbed on her feet, holding her balled hands up as she listened to Mike, eyes crinkled in determination to get the moves down pat the first time. The fact there were only a few moves made boxing even better. No elaborate fancy plays to get her head around or make her regret trying the sport in the first place.

Standing as Mike directed, she shuffled along with him, as the train jolted along. Throwing a punch when told, it landed in Mike's palm with a smack. Boy, did that feel good! So did the next as it landed its target in his palm again. She laughed as he mentioned about becoming a fighter. "Guid 'cause quidditch isna me thing!" Maybe they could practice once they got to Hogwarts? She could imagine the group of them around the grounds, taking turns at sparring and having fun.

She turned to the other girls in the carriage, both slightly quiet as Mike and Bea stood in the carriage compartment aisle. "Do ya wanna have a go?"

Their previous interest in her home town seemed all but forgotten in favour of Michael teaching Bea his sport. She was relived that the attention had indeed shifted from her, but at the same time, put out that she seemed to have uninterested them somehow. Had it been her quiet manner? Had her stammering nerves made her appear boring to these other first years?

Hilda gave a rueful smile to her own thoughts and tried to focus on what Michael was teaching Bea. She moved her feet up on the seat in front of herself and hugged her knees to her chest, in a protective and shy move that made her appear more closed off. But it allowed her to focus on the happenings in the compartment. ‘Boxing was all about practice...’ well the same could be said of Quidditch. But where it appeared boxing was repeating the same few movements over and over, Quidditch was all about learning the different moves. The more diverse, the more unpredictable you would be.

She wanted to ask if boxers needed to be unpredictable or if they won with just precision and strength, but Bea then landed her fist in Michael’s palm and they enthused over the movement excitedly. She grinned at the pair, clearing having fun together, until her face dropped into a look of surprise as she faced Bea. “What do you mean Quidditch isn’t your thing?”

Hilda had literally never met anyone that didn’t like Quidditch. To think that people didn’t like a certain sport was such a foreign thought to her. She loved them all, but in particular, Quidditch! Bea then asked them if they wanted a turn, though still hurting a little from their lack of replies, Hilda declined with a small smile and shake of her head.

@Michael Ashen @Beatrice Langstreth