Fear and Brooms Open

Oh no. She noticed. Matt had to act quickly.

"Nevermind that", Matt hurriedly responded. "Your dad is only half right. I've played it. Sure, you've got your bloody noses and broken bones, but at least in rugby, there is a way to do it where no one gets hurt. The fact that if someone botches up, you fall some 100 feet, is definitely worse than a broken anything!"

Matt was immediately thinking of a way to hide the snowball. Maybe tell her it was a rememberall? If that didn't work, then what? His only chance was probably to keep her thinking about flying. Perhaps this wasn't the right lesson for a prank. Mara was cool. Despite what a lot of people seemed to think about Slytherin, he saw it another way. Their ambition was admirable. Sure, they did shady things to reach their goals, but they did it with such heart that it was... again, admirable.  

Matt saw this quality in Mara. She was really hyped about Quidditch, and even if she didn't get amazing at it(doubtful, considering how she was flying circles around him), she sure as heck would really try and be focused on it. She would be a cool friend to have. 

"But I digress. Perhaps I'll give flying a shot. But only if you catch me when I fall off my broom!" he joked.

Given her dream of flying dozens of miles above the Earth’s surface, it’s lucky that Mara never suffered from a fear of heights. But she could certainly understand Matt’s hesitation when it came to flying around where the laws of gravity still applied. Well, sort of applied. How did brooms stay up, anyway…? Mara made a mental note to ask their flying instructor.

But right now, the fact remained that Matt was hiding something in his pocket and that he didn’t want Mara to know about it. She felt a bit insulted, wondering if the kinship they had so quickly established was all just an act. Mara had been so involved in the intricacies and difficulties of her studies here at Hogwarts that she hadn’t really given much thought to making friends, but she really wanted to get to know this mischievous kid– even though, in her short time here, Mara noticed that Hufflepuffs and Slytherins tended to avoid one another. (It was this silly kind of prejudice that made Mara angry and made her realize that maybe she knew, deep down, why her dad hadn’t enjoyed his experience at Hogwarts.)

Matt was intriguing to her. He was clearly from a Muggle background, but he was also keen to make the most of his time at this so-called school of magic. At least, he seemed to be making the most of his time here by, well... making sure he had the most fun.

Mara wasn’t allergic to fun or anything. She just...defined a “fun” activity as anything involving a little (okay, a lot) of healthy competition.

And, she decided, she could kill two birds with one stone here (as her papa would say): Find out what’s in Matt’s pocket and also make a game out of the whole thing. And, a small part of her whispered, Maybe make a friend as well.

“But I digress,” Matt was saying with a joking grin. “Perhaps I'll give flying a shot. But only if you catch me when I fall off my broom!”

Mara shrugged and smiled back. “Maybe I will. If we’re not playing against each other in Quidditch, of course!” She looked around at the rest of the class. There really didn’t seem to be much instruction going on; most students were darting around on their broomsticks with expressions ranging from euphoric glee to abject terror. Some, like Matt, were still standing resolutely on the ground. One boy was glaring at a broom that was poking him lightly in the stomach, like an overeager puppy. And the auburn-haired Ravenclaw that had flown up towards the Quidditch pitch was nowhere to be seen.

“How about–” Mara stole another glance at Matt’s pocket– “we have a little catch with that thing you’ve got there?” If he really played rugby, he must have some semblance of athletic ability. “That way you won’t be distracted by flying, because you’ll be thinking about throwing and catching.” She smiled again and mounted her broom, drifting a couple meters away before turning sharply (she couldn’t help showing off just a bit…) and holding out her hands expectantly.

"Ah." So she knew about the snowball. No point hiding it then. "As long as you don't tell a teacher, I'm down." Matt pulled out the magic homing snowball. "Bought it at Weasley's Wheezes." Matt showed her, smiling. "This baby can keep up with owls, cats, and some broomsticks." 

Matt realizes that he was what his mom called "vibing". He was connecting with a witch! Nice!
He raised his hand over his broom. He visualized a videogame his cousin played, where a character called Roadhog would hook his enemies with a massive fish hook, yanking them towards him, and to their deaths. Matt imagined the broom was a pesky Soldier 76, and said, "GET OVER HERE!"

The broom zipped to his hand. Grinning, he got on. "Alright, then Mara," he said. This was awesome! A bit weird, but awesome! "Let's see whether you can catch a snowball." He hefted his arm and looked around. The snowball needed a target to lock onto. Question was, what would the target be?

"Mara, this is known as a homing snowball. Locks onto the target of your choice. To throw it would mean it would have to lock onto something. We would need to catch it before it hits the target, otherwise, it'll just turn into a regular snowball. Hope you're ready!"

Matt leaned back a bit as he aimed his shot. The broom levitated off the ground a bit. In his mind, he thought, 'I am about to throw a magical projectile in the air that may hit someone of its own volition and chase it on a broomstick against a girl who looks like she hasn't combed her hair since 1770. Is this a good idea?'

Matt shook his head and laughed as he remembered a meme he saw on Reddit. He threw it as hard as he could and yelled:

"COWABUNGA IT IS!"

Mara nodded vigorously, though her brain was spinning in circles. A honing snowball? What on Earth...? She vaguely remembered passing by Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes while she and her dads walked around Diagon Alley during the summer, but she had dismissed it as mere children’s gadgetry. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so quick to judge. This snowball seemed to be a complex bit of machinery...or, well, magic.

Before Mara could ponder any further, Matt yelled “COWABUNGA IT IS!” and hurled the snowball with all of his might. Amused by Matt’s hilarious meme reference, Mara caught herself staring at this goofy, slightly hyperactive Hufflepuff kid and wondering: Is this...a friend? Which reminded her of another funny meme she wanted to tell Matt about, but his eyes were locked onto–

Shoot! The snowball!

Mara kicked her broom into gear and shot forward, but the snowball’s trajectory was impossible to predict--it was weaving and darting around their fellow students, hell-bent towards a target Mara couldn’t see. The snowball nearly hit a brown-haired girl who shrieked and darted underneath her broomstick; Mara swerved and twirled and had to gulp down her breakfast as she twisted right-side up.

The snowball lurched to the right and Mara stretched out an arm to grab it. Her right ankle skimmed the grass– she hadn’t realized how close she was to the ground– and she felt an uncomfortable twinge in her foot. But the snowball was so close, just at the tips of her fingers...

Her hand brushed the snowball, causing it to jerk away and abruptly fling itself off-course. With a huff of frustration, Mara twisted her broomstick the other way, glancing up just in time to get an eyeful of a massive stone wall–

SPLAT.

Mara skidded to a half in front of the castle wall, gaping in despair at the remains of Matt’s snowball.

Uh oh.

She...missed? How could this have happened? It was the dumb, good-for-nothing magic! If the darn thing had moved according to the actual laws of physics, she would have caught it for sure! And what’s worse...she had probably now ruined her chance to be friends with Matt. So much for connecting through sports!

Mara sensed a shadow beside her, but she kept her head turned away, eyes burning with shame. “I’m so, so sorry, Matt…” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to break it, I...I’ll buy you another one, I swear!”

Matt was roaring. This was hilarious! The moment he tried to chase the broom, it front flipped and left him sprawling in the dirt. There were still tears in his eyes when he went to help Mara up.
"It's no problem! Mara, that was great! I probably wouldn't have had as much fun just by throwing it at someone! Plus, it's a snowball. I'm sure it's meant to do break into snow. "

He was still chuckling when he helped Mara up, and he dusted himself off. "Wow! You were fast!" She should really consider playing Quidditch for Slytherin next year!

Matt was pleasantly surprised that Mara wanted to make it up to him, but it was no biggie. 

"Look, I gotta go, the class is basically over, and I've got homework." Matt gestured to the crowd of students leaving the pitch. "Maybe I'll catch you later?"

Matt waved goodbye to his new friend as he walked back to the castle. It was a good, productive day. He found someone who wasn't a moron,  was pretty nice, and could fly a broomstick!

Would he say that he lost Two sickles on a now pile of mush splattered on the side of the castle wall? Yes.

But had he had a good time to tell his family about when he got home? Definitely yes.

The gates of the castle loomed in the distance as Matt whistled Megolovania from Undertale. 

Mara saw the tears in Matt’s eyes as he helped her up and thought that she had really messed up this time. But when her brain caught up with what Matt was actually saying, she realized they were tears of laughter. Laughter!

"Look, I gotta go, the class is basically over, and I've got homework." Matt indicated the mass of students leaving the pitch, and Mara gave a start. She had been so involved with this one kid, she hadn’t even noticed that so much time had passed. "Maybe I'll catch you later?"

He waved goodbye and walked away before Mara could so much as open her mouth to respond. Not that it mattered, anyway – she had no idea what she would have said if she had gotten the chance.

Something dumb, like “Not if I catch you first!”?

Or something witty, like “You? Homework?”?

Instead, she belatedly raised her hand in farewell and cocked her head to the side. What a strange kid.

Mara finished brushing herself off and winced as she put a little too much pressure on her foot. She tentatively rolled her ankle, frowning. It’s probably fine… She summoned her broomstick as well as Matt’s (what a forgetful dork!) and headed over the broom shed, tilting her head up to catch the steady warmth of the sun.

Sure, Matt, she smiled. See you around.