Closed Quidditch Talk PV Haley Rose

@Emmy Wynn as Louca

Haley needed some time for herself, she needed to do something good for herself, distract herself a bit, pursue her hobbies and escape from all the hustle and bustle. Everyone who knew Haley knew that in such a situation, the young Gryffindor could be found at the Quidditch pitch. The redhead scurried through the crowded corridors of Hogwarts, out of the castle. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was cloudless and with small slits for eyes, Haley blinked up at the sky a few seconds before taking a small leap and starting to move. She loved this weather, she was a summer child and summer was announcing itself on more and more days. The fresh air in her lungs, the still cool wind on her skin coupled with the warm summer rays gave her a boost. She walked across the grounds with a smile, her mood instant better and the worries of the last days and weeks lost.

She made a quick stop at the Gryffindor Locker Room, changed into her sport clothes, quite unusually not in Gryffindor colours as this was not an official training session. She tied her long curly red hair into a high braid, grabbed her broom and continued to the training field. Once there, the young girl could feel the tingling in her body. The impatience to finally get on her broom and fly through the air. To feel free, to clear her head and just enjoy the here and now. Not wanting to keep herself on tenterhooks, she put away all the unnecessary things in one swift movement, swung her leg over the broom and pushed herself off the ground forcefully one time and in just a few seconds she accelerated into the air. Her red hair blew like flames in the wind until she came to a brief stop in mid-air.

She hovered on the spot for a moment, enjoying the moment and again soaking up the sun's rays on her skin before leaning forward again and now flying even faster over the field. She put in twists, abrupt turns, evasive manoeuvres and more. While she had been practising for some time, she hadn't noticed all this time that she wasn't alone and completely confused, she looked at the figure she recognised on the ground after several rounds. Astonished, she wondered how long the person had been lying down there on the grass. Her curiosity, as always, was immediate and she dropped into a sort of dive to find out more about the unknown spectator.

The closer she got, the less clever she became. She thought after a few metres she would be able to recognise someone, maybe from her own team or one of the others, but the face remained unknown to her. As she got closer to the ground, she slowed down so that she could finally land softly, get off her broom in flight and continue to run the last few metres towards the boy through the momentum. "Hey there!" she called to him, smiling. "I haven't seen you around here before, are you from one of the other schools?" she asked further, wondering if maybe she hadn't seen that face somewhere in the corridors before.

"I'm Haley Rose, Second Year Gryffindor." She introduced herself and stood in front of the boy so that her shadow better allowed him to look at her. "Fan or do you play yourself?" She was sure he had to be at least one of the two, if not both. She had never seen anyone who wasn't into Quidditch volunteer to be on the practice field in their spare time.

╔═══━━━──────────────────── • ────────────────────━━━═══╗
Louca was really regretting not bringing something to block out the sun. It really was too bright, especially when one wanted to see what was going on in the sky and if there was anyone flying about. He had used the Hogwarts school brooms once or twice, and debated doing the same today just to get some practice in but felt a little lazy today, so instead was going to lay about and watch others fly about. It was very rare that he had those kinds of days, preferring to be in some kind of motion or talking to people, so he allowed himself these little days of nothing, rare as they may be.

Catching sight of motion in the air, Louca squinted, seeing a lone figure twist, turn, and evade invisible attackers. Whistling slightly, he was very impressed by the motions and even noted one or two things that he’d like to try later. It seemed that someone had decided to use the nice weather to practice their skills and she had plenty of them at that. He lost them in the sun at one point though, and moved his head slowly from side to side, doing his best to catch sight of them.

Finally he caught sight as they approached, not surprised to realize that it wasn’t someone from his school. Or at least not someone he recognized as being from his school. He couldn’t claim to know everyone, or even half the school at this point. It was just too large. He was closest to Jamie, and his quidditch team mates who he spent quite a bit of time with.

Sitting up as they ran towards him, the first thing he noticed was the bright red hair. It glowed brilliantly in the sun, braided back to presumably keep it out of her face while she flew. She was quite tall, likely taller even than Louca and her green eyes were bright on her face. Louca debated standing, but decided he’d just see if she’d like to join him on the ground. ”Hello! Yes, I am, I’m American so Ilvermorny is my school. You must be from Hogwarts then?” He gestured towards the castle, figuring with the way the question was asked, that it must be true. Technically he had managed to get dual citizenship as he was born in Canada but lived mostly in the US. But that little interesting tidbit was always nice to pull out when people wanted to know something interesting.

”Would you like to join me? I’m just being a bit lazy today.” Louca gestered to the ground beside him, coming up to sit up fully, folding his legs criss-cross applesauce. He squinted slightly before she moved in front of him, the sun blocked by her body. He looked up at her as she introduced herself. Quite a nice name, and he said so immediately. ”That’s a nice name! I’m Louca DuFort, First Year Thunderbird. Gryffindor? I haven’t heard much about the houses, but it seems that is the most interesting.”

It took a moment for his brain to catch up to his ears, but he responded quickly enough. ”Both, I play on my house team though I’m second-string at the moment. You must play, I saw you practicing some moves up there and you’re either quidditch or broom racing to be that talented. What broom do you have?” Louca asked, curious to see what she was flying. He had a broom himself but was always looking to find out if there was better supplies out there, or better for him. Sometimes it wasn’t always about the statistics but instead about the feel of the thing.
╚═══━━━──────────────────── • ────────────────────━━━═══╝

@Emmy Wynn as Louca

"Correct, Hogwarts." Haley answered , smiling to the boy. She was still a little out of breath from flying and gladly accepted his offer. She dropped down beside him, put the broom to her free side and then let her upper body fall backwards. "Lazy sounds great." She laughed and closed her eyes for a moment. "And yes, Gryffindor is the best." She laughed again and winked at him, "I'm just kidding, all the houses here have their own specialness. But what's the deal with Thunderbird?" she asked curiously, sitting back up into a cross-legged position.

"Oh very cool! Okay, let me guess... you play as..." She looked at Louca a little closer again, she didn't think he was a Beater. He could be a Chaser like her but maybe even a Seaker. She pondered for a moment and decided on the first option, "You're a Chaser?" she asked , eager to hear his answer. "Thanks, I wouldn't call myself talented but yes I play Quidditch. First string Chaser." Haley thought back to the day she got the news that she had made the team and grinned to herself. It felt like it was only yesterday and joy flooded through her body once more. Second highlight was when she finally made it as First string. "I have a silver arrow. What broom do you have?" At this she reached sideways to her broom and held it out to Louca. "Check it out if you want." She offered the boy with a smile.

"If you like we can train together sometime?" she now suggested, it would be interesting to see how other schools trained and maybe the two could share some tricks and tips. Besides, she was looking forward to making new friends from the other schools, to distract herself a bit and above all to enjoy spring, the gateway to summer. "How do you like it here otherwise? Are you having fun? Any plans with all the different activities?" Haley had been holding back a bit until now, avoiding the arrivals for the most part, she didn't even want to think about the ball at first but today was such a beautiful day, it made her realise again that she shouldn't miss all this. They were memories for her life and she should use them.

"I've totally lost track of what's going on here again." She laughed, a red curl falling into her face, which she quickly blew out of her face. "Of course not the tournament, will you throw your name in the goblet?" she asked curiously, still not sure if she should or not.

╔═══━━━──────────────────── • ────────────────────━━━═══╗
Louca laughed along as the girl did, glad he found someone who understood the mood he was in and wasn’t feeling particularly like rushing around. Though he would eventually get to that point again, but today was all about relaxing, and taking a breather. Sometimes that’s just how he felt and he went along with it. Louca grinned, enjoying her joy, and soaking it in. Looking over, he jokingly replied to her comment about houses having their own specialness. ”Are you sure about that?”

Trying to think of the best way to describe things, he went with what had first been explained to him. ”Basically mascot is an awesome bird creature that can create storms, and sense danger. Pretty cool if I say so myself. Adventurers tend to be part of the house and pretty sure it’s true considering the people I know. But I’ve heard you Gryffindors tend to have your own adventures. Is that true?” Louca tilted his head, looking curiously at the girl, and wondering if he might have found a kindred adventurer. He would say he didn’t have favorites, but it was always fun to get to trade stories and scheme up ideas with other brave souls.

Louca tried to look tough as Hailey tried to guess his position. Snorting as he flung himself back and had a laugh, he stopped quickly when she actually guessed correctly. ”Wow, you’re good. You should be take those skills on the road! Second string Chaser, but I’ll work my way up.” He shared confidently. There was no other option. Louca was determined and he practiced, plus being fearless helped out. It allowed him to take a few more risks that some people he found. ”Oh wow! That’s awesome. What’s been your best move in a game?” He was always curious to learn more about people and talking about quidditch was no hardship. Plus he always liked asking fellow quiddtich players that as he might learn something new.

”Silver arrow! That can get some pretty good speed. I’ve only got a Comet 260 at the moment, but better than the school brooms. I left it at school because I didn’t think I’d get much time to fly but boy was I wrong about that.” He took the broom gleefully from Haley, slowly turning it and examining the various features, and the balance of the broom. ”It’s in excellent shape, what’s your broom care routine? I’m always looking for other opinions.” Louca handed the broom carefully back, making sure it was securely in Haley’s hands once more before letting go.

Louca smiled happily at Haley, exclaiming ”That would be excellent! I always love training with new people. Always gives an edge I find and pushes you to be better.” Louca was sorry he hadn’t been the one to think about it, but still, he could always use a training partner. It wasn’t like he could take three weeks off and crack the ranks of first string. Something he was determined to do hopefully before fourth year at the latest, preferably next year.

”It’s interesting, definitely plenty to explore. I’m determined to find at least one secret door or corridor while I’m here.” Louca grinned, not including the fact that he’d probably find some trouble while he was at it. Goodness knows the professors had come to expect it from him, he had to live up to it. ”I am having fun, and yeah, I know the ball should be soon. Not really looking forward to the whole dressy bit, but I’m sure there will be fun to be had. What about you? Any plans?” Louca shrugged, but inwardly was dying to know specifically if she had someone to go to. She seemed an interesting girl, and one that he could spend an enjoyable time with even when dressed up. Maybe if he could suss it out, he would ask her.

Laughing along with Haley, he moved to lean back, his hands resting on the grass, and stretching his legs out. ”Of course! I’d love to be chosen. Just think! There would be so many interesting things you’d get to do and probably puzzles to solve. That sounds like a dream come true. Have you given any thought to putting your name in?”
╚═══━━━──────────────────── • ────────────────────━━━═══╝

@Emmy Wynn as Louca

It seemed as if the two strangers were on the same wavelength and Haley smiled contentedly in Louca's direction when he started laughing with her. She couldn't believe that she had originally wanted to avoid all the new faces and now she was happy that she had stumbled upon Louca by chance and was now sitting with him on the lawn and the two of them were giggling away. She had always enjoyed the company of people who shared her sense of humour and sarcasm and it seemed it was the same case with the boy from America.

"Don't tell anyone." She whispered to him and leaned in his direction, "Of course we Gryffindors are the coolest." She laughed again now and winked at him. Haley listened to his explanation and nodded every now and then, she thought she understood and smirked at the part about adventures. "Well actually I can only speak of myself and I love adventures." She admitted honestly with a laugh, "But yes, I guess you could say that. A lot of my Gryffindor friends are adventurous in a way." She thought for a moment how best to describe the characteristics of a Gryffindor. "It is said that Gryffindors are courageous, brave and determined." She kept it short.

She thought about the subject of adventure for a moment as her gaze wandered towards the sky. She could see a single cloud, all alone on a lonely adventure. The cloud reminded her of the shape of a wolf or a dog running and she lost herself in her daydreams for a moment. It would be time to have an adventure again and it seemed she had found the right partner. Her eyes wandered back to Louca and she looked at him pertly without saying anything.

Haley started to smile with satisfaction when Louca confirmed that she was right with her guess. It was lucky that she had guessed it right but she was pleased with the lucky guess. "I am sure you will be first string soon. It wasn't that long ago that I felt the same way and believe me it will happen sooner than you expect and you'll be floating up there in the air on your broom, adrenaline racing through your body and you're just hoping to do everything right." Of course, the redhead laughed again, because that was exactly how she felt during her first official match. "Best move?" she laughed, "Well, not failing completely?" she shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't had many games as first string myself and unfortunately I can't tell you any heroic stories of how I won one of the games for us." She admitted honestly, but she wasn't sad or disappointed about it. She knew she gave it her all, she knew how much she trained and she knew someday she would be able to tell Louca such a story.

The Gryffindor girl watched the boy enthusiastically examine her broom and in a way it was a moment when he grew on her. It was kinda cute how his eyes sparkled and she knew exactly how he felt. She couldn't say much about the routine, the standard routine, nothing special. Much more interesting was the fact that the two agreed that they should train together and Haley was already looking forward to that day.

The two chatted back and forth for a while, talking about Quidditch, about brooms, training, Hogwart, the schools and finally the ball came up as a topic. For a millisecond, the smile that had been on her face the whole time she spent time with Louca disappeared. "I usually love the balls here, as chaotic as they are. But I don't know if I should go this year." She admitted honestly, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't know if she should put herself through seeing Simon and AF together. Besides, she didn't have a date and even if she could go alone and meet many of her friends there she was unsure. The whole thought of this evening caused grumbling in the pit of her stomach. But deep down she didn't want to miss this evening, the young girl just didn't know that.

"What about you? Are you going to go? Do you already have a date?" She now asked him, eager to hear his answer, secretly hoping that the answer to her last question would be no.

Haley giggled uncertainly, "Of course I've thought about it, but I don't think I will. But I'll be rooting for you and cheering you on from the bleachers." She continued laughing.

╔═══━━━──────────────────────── • ────────────────────────━━━═══╗
Louca was having so much fun, and it seemed very easy to talk with Haley. Conversation was simple enough for Louca to make, but the other person could make the whole thing fun or more difficult. Not that everyone wanted to converse with him which was fine. Everyone was different. And now Louca’s brain was just very off track of where he had wanted to be. Basically, he was enjoying the conversation with Haley, and she seemed to enjoy some of the same interests so that made it doubly so.

Louca laughed, as Haley came in close, his stomach clenching with anticipation, though of what he didn’t really know. ”I won’t argue there. Though I do think you’re the first Gryffindor I met, but I still think you’re the coolest of them.” Louca’s cheeks tinted pink a bit, not having made any plan to add the last bit, but it was true. Especially when she added the bits about adventures. “It makes sense, especially with the whole courageous, brave bits. Though of course there are other ways of displaying those traits, but adventure-loving is the most obvious I think. What’s been your favorite adventure to date?” Louca always loved to hear stories of others adventures, though of course it couldn’t beat having them himself. But it was the next best thing, and usually it would give him new ideas of things to try out.

Louca looked over at Haley, grinning as he waited for the story, not wanting to break the silence. Which was new. He never really liked silence, finding it too quiet and finding it difficult to focus. But for the moment, it was fine. He didn’t find it difficult at all. Looking around, he spotted a few birds flying from where he thought the Forest was, but he couldn’t say for certain. He didn’t quite have a map of the school fully in his head yet, but it would get there, at least well enough for him to find his way around and into trouble. Maybe Hailey could join him. That would be amazing.

He appreciated the boost. He was confident, and it helped but there were always time when the most confident could stumble, and have off days. Today wasn’t one of those days but he still appreciated it. His grin turned slightly shy, and he just said “Thanks! And yeah, there’s nothing like it now even being second-string so I can only imagine the boost from being first string.” Louca chuckled, admittedly that was always the best outcome. He had a few embarrassing stories about managing to fail at some of the tricks he had attempted. Louca shrugged, “I mean, heroes are always talked about but I doubt they win games single-handedly. If the whole team isn’t helping out, then you’re likely to lose anyway. But I know you’ll have plenty of those stories soon.” Louca grinned, confident in his words, as she seemed to have that desire to win.

Louca was disappointed but kept a grin in place, but it was more lackluster than previously. He had been hoping she wanted to go to the ball and didn’t have anyone to go with. Although that sounded kind of awful, but more so that he wanted to ask her. It seemed like they were having a great time, and he wasn’t a big fan of the formal thing so it would be amazing to have someone to go with. Especially because he still had that odd feeling in his body, the exhilarated one that he typically only got when doing something risky. “Yeah, I’ve heard some crazy stories from the upper year. Tired of the balls and chaos?” That would slightly disappoint Louca as he didn’t think that there was any reason to get tired of chaos, but then again, not everyone was Louca. He would still want to hang out with Haley, interested in exploring more of this growing relationship.

Biting his lip, Louca turned away for a moment, trying to hide the blush that rose. Turning back to Haley when he felt he was back to somewhat normal, he answered carefully, “I think I will, hopefully they have some cool activities and I mean I don’t want to miss out on the fun if chaos were to erupt again, which seems likely. And no, haven’t figured that bit out.” Louca was hoping that maybe he could change Haley’s mind, at least in going to the ball. ”Would you go with me? I mean I know you said you weren’t really thinking of going but I’m sure it’ll be fun.” Louca did his best to keep any kind of pleading out of his voice, focusing more on an upbeat, enthusiastic tone but he was sure his eyes reflected the feelings behind his asking. He really wanted to go with Haley, and thought it would be that much better if she was at his side, even having to wear a suit.

Louca smirked, trying to be at least somewhat humble, “Well hopefully someone chooses me for their team, I’m sure I won’t be champion considering I’m a first year and all, but still.” Louca shrugged, hoping against hope that he would be able to participate as more than just a spectator.
╚═══━━━──────────────────────── • ────────────────────────━━━═══╝

@Emmy Wynn as Louca

"Of course I'm the coolest!" laughed Haley loudly, looking dramatically at Louca as if it was an impertinence to even think about it. "I'm just kidding." She finally added, nudging him lightly with her shoulder. Already the day was so much better than she would have expected and she was enjoying Louca's pleasant company, it had been a long time since anyone had made her laugh and forget so much. "Well, let me think." She mused, what was her exciting adventure? "Mh, I can't decide but what comes to mind off the top of my head was a trip to Hogsmead." A big smile formed on her lips at this memory. "I know that doesn't sound adventurous at all but let me explain. I, as a second year, don't even have the permission to go to Hogsmead yet but of course the coolest Gryffindor, with the help of a sher cool Hufflepuff found a solution and I went on a forbidden trip to Hogsmead. There we drank too much Butterbeer and ate too many sweets but it was an incredibly enjoyable day." It probably wasn't an adventure like Louca had imagined when he asked but to her it was still a good story.

"Okay but enough about my adventures. Tell me about yours!" she urged the boy, clutching her knees, resting her head on them and looking at him intently. Maybe he had a story in store that was a little more adventurous than Haley's. But whatever he would tell her, she would listen with delight.

Haley scoffed at the thought of all the balls. "Yeah, let's call it tired of it." She laughed softly, trying not to think about it. On the one hand she wanted to go but on the other hand she didn't want to do anything that would even begin to remind her of the past with Simon, let alone run into him and AF. But at the same time she had to think of Charles' words and she couldn't let them influence and limit her like that. It was chaos in her head and she wished it were easier. But it was now what it was, she didn't have a date anyway but a beautiful dress that her grandmother had sent her, like every time.

"You should really go!" she agreed with him, it was an experience even despite the chaos and in the end she was sure he would have a nice evening. But at the same time she had a dull feeling in her stomach at those words. Something told her she didn't want it and she wondered who he would go with. What's wrong Haley? Why does this bother you? It seemed like she got jealous for a moment, more chaos arose in her mind.

She was taken completely by surprise out of her thoughts when Louca suddenly asked if she was going to the ball with him. She looked at him with wide eyes, she hadn't expected that. But the dull feeling in her stomach immediately disappeared and was replaced by excitement. "E-ehm." She cleared her throat, not even sure what to say. Wrong, her gut knew exactly what to say. "Yes. I would love to!" she grinned widely now, surprised herself by her answer. But it was the truth, she really would love to go with Louca. They had gotten along so well, had things in common and she would only love to get to know him better and have an evening of chaos.

Haley couldn't stop grinning and was red from ear to ear. She started giggling nervously and scratched the back of her head. "I guess I should go plan my outfit then." She said nervously, knowing that the first thing she would do in her dorm would be to unwrap her grandmother's still-wrapped package and try on the dress.

╔═══━━━──────────────────────── • ────────────────────────━━━═══╗
Louca grinned, chuckling at Haley’s insistence of being the coolest, and the look that followed. In fact it was mostly the dramatic look that had him chuckling as it looked quite adorable. Louca moved slightly with the shoulder bump, stating happily “Oh, I know. But it could be a fun argument to have about who’s the coolest. Let’s just leave it as we’re both the coolest in our respective ways, because the ways I’m the coolest could take all day to list.” Louca bumped her slightly with his elbow, hopefully demonstrating that he was just joking. Well that and his tone which definitely did not scream ‘take me seriously!’

Louca looked at Haley, his face slightly scrunched up, confused as to how a visit to the local village (or what he thought he recalled as the local village), was an adventure. But his confusion cleared when she continued to tell her story, realising that she shouldn’t have been in the village in the first place. Louca laughed happily. “Well aren’t you a rebel? Definitely seems like an excellent way to spend the day, and I’m assuming you must not have got caught which is even better! I was a little confused for a bit as I mean it seemed like a walk to Hogsmeade wouldn’t be that adventurous, but sneaking in definitely gives you cool points.” Louca’s head bobbed slightly as he spoke, his fingers tapping a bit of a pattern quietly, used to being in motion.

Louca had already told the story to another Hogwarts student he had recently befriended, but figured it was the most recent example and one that showed a bit of craziness. “Well, not so much an adventure maybe as a challenge, but I ended up getting caught so I didn’t complete it, but I will!” Louca proclaimed dramatically, determined to climb all the walls of the Ilvermorny castle. “It was raining and I was bored and I came across a stretch of wall that looked to have some interesting paths to the ceiling to climb, so I decided why not. I only made it like halfway or so but a professor came along and told me to get down, so I’m planning to go back at some point and get to the point I can actually touch the ceiling. It didn’t have a lot of great hand and toe holds but that’s half the fun!” Louca was practically salivating, loving when he could free climb and challenge both his brain and body. Coming up with a path and then having to figure out any changes that might occur when he was able to more closely see the foot and hand holds.

Louca was made even more nervous by the tone of Haley’s voice when talking about the balls. Maybe she didn’t really care for them and he just set himself up for failure. Honestly it had been a random thought off the top of his head, as he enjoyed Haley’s company and would like to spend some more time with her. So he hoped that she would reconsider. It would certainly be a more enjoyable evening for Louca if she was his date. Though he should probably figure out what exactly that meant, or learn to dance or something like that. Louca’s heart practically stopped when all she could say was “e-ehm.” Did that mean yes, no, you’re a fool? But thankfully it was only a moment later that Haley agreed to go with him.

Louca let his breath out in a large rush, smiling from ear to ear. “Oh excellent! I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun.” Louca said reassuringly, although why he felt the need to reassure her, he did not know. “Oh! Yes, that would probably be good, I’m sure whatever you wear will be beautiful. Should we plan a meeting spot? That way we don’t have to try to find each other at the ball?”
╚═══━━━──────────────────────── • ────────────────────────━━━═══╝

@Emmy Wynn as Louca

Haley kept giggling as Louca told of his adventure. "Well, I hope you get a chance to do it again soon and not get caught this time." She gave him a gentle nudge with her shoulder and crossed her fingers for him.

Never would Haley have thought that this day would end with her having a date to the prom. A date she had just met today and in a few hours had already taken to her heart in a certain way. But as the two of them had already discovered, they liked adventures and this is like some kind of adventure after all. Haley felt the excitement in her body. On the one hand she was pleased, but on the other hand she felt the panic. It all felt like it was too much and her emotions started going crazy. She definitely needed a moment to take a breath.

Completely lost in her chaos of thoughts, she had almost not heard Louca. "Mh what? Meeting spot. Yea right." She thought for a moment. "Best just at the entrance? Does that suit you?" She barely gave him time to answer. Her head was going crazy and she needed to sort out her thoughts and feelings. But not in front of Louca, she couldn't out herself as crazy now, not yet "I don't mean to be rude, but I'm afraid I have to go now." She stuttered something to herself and stood up with her broom. "You know, girl and ball stuff to do." She grinned uncertainly, hoping he didn't notice.

Haley turned and screwed up her face. Come on Haley, girl and ball stuff? You're serious? She put on a smile again and turned back to Louca. "It was really cool today!" even though she might have sounded a little awkward, she really meant it. Nonetheless, it felt like she was embarrassing herself right then and there. Her reaction? She turned and walked across the field, annoyed with herself and just hoping Louca didn't think she was completely crazy.

Just before she reached the end, she turned around once more. "I'm really looking forward to the ball!" she called to him, waved one last time and ran off the field.