Any Way the Wind Blows PV Tommy Patterson Closed

Tommy went to the quidditch stadium with his broom. He could not make the Slytherin team this year, given he was late in wanting to join. However, he was setting himself up for a future full of quidditch success. He had wanted to be a chaser at first, but after watching Avery McCall in the last game, she had changed his heart to that of wanting to be a beater. Despite their loss, Tommy thought Hufflepuff was a strong quidditch team. Part of him wished the game had lasted longer, but he knew he should just be thankful his house won.

Before Tommy could begin practicing some of his routines, his mentor June had assigned him, he was interrupted. Did he hear a meow? What is a cat doing in the quidditch stadium alone? Tommy attempted to call the cat over "pst pst pst" bending over and rubbing his thumb, middle, and pointer fingers together. To Tommy's knowledge, there were no strays at Hogwarts. The cat seemed well groomed, with a beautiful orange coat. Tommy thought to himself, 'What kind of irresponsible pet owner would let their cat roam alone outside?'

On closer examination, the cat seemed in happy and in good health. Maybe the owner wasn't so bad after all. Regardless, Tommy felt like he could not begin his flying exercises until he could make sure the cat was safe. Of course, some cats were outdoor cats, and others were indoor cats, but Tommy always thought it best to make sure the animal was safe rather than an escapee on the run and in danger.

Tommy tried to approach the cat a little too quickly. The cat was wary and ran a few feet away, not completely out of sight, but certainly it was cautious around strangers. Tommy knew this was a blunder on his end. Some cats don't mind meeting new people or animals, while others are more skittish in nature. A more tactful nature in trying to get to the cat would be in order, but Tommy did not have any treats or food on him.

"What to do? What to do?" Tommy asked himself, knowing no one would reply. Despite this, Tommy could not shake the feeling he was being watched? Or at least that he had been noticed. He didn't know why. To Tommy, there was simply only a cat in the field. He hadn't thought to check his surroundings to the left and right, let alone above him, despite being at the Quidditch Stadium, an area where students often fly their brooms.


stats sta 5 (6) | eva 10 (11) | str 5 (5) | wis 0 (0) | arc 0 (0) | acc 10 (12)
broom Comet 180 (+2 accuracy, +1 evasion, +1 stamina)

Interacting with: @Alyssea Brown

june 3rd 2024, 1615; a late afternoon meeting with @Tommy Patterson

Weaving in and out of the hoops and flying across the pitch to the other hoops, Alyssea imagined herself trying to score the quaffle. Meet at the centre and grab one, then fly quickly and take a shot with the hope the Keeper wouldn't block it. The other Chasers would certainly try to hinder her progress along the way, intercept the quaffle in her hands and take the score. She couldn't have that.

The wind brushed at her hair and she took a second to slow down. Amidst the bright green grass, it was easy to see her little fur ball with his bright orange coat. Alyssea would've continued flying if she hadn't noticed someone standing a few feet away from Rusty. Had they come to train as well? Alyssea could use a training partner. Despite telling herself she needed to stop training alone, she still did it once in a while. Being alone let you reflect and work on yourself which seemed pretty important. Alyssea also liked her personal space.

She lowered herself slowly to the ground, using the time to assess the new person. They'd brought a broom Alyssea once owned but had given to her cousin ages ago. A Comet 180, was it? Alyssea hummed. "Did you want to train, as well? I was just flying around if you wanted someone to practice with. I just wanted to bring my cat out for his needed fresh air," she chuckled.

stats sta 6 (9) | eva 7 (10) | str 6 (9) | wis 8 (11) | arc 6 (9) | acc 8 (11)
abilities prodigal transfig. learner | evasive maneuvers
broom silver arrow (+3 to all stats)

So someone WAS watching him. Before the boy could scold his STALKER about poor pet etiquette, she had mentioned training. He weighed his options, a lecture or something that could benefit him. Tommy could use some target practice. It IS why he had come to the stadium. What is better than a moving target? Tommy eyed the girl, he thought to himself 'Could I crush this girl?' It was hard to tell since she was flying, but Tommy thought he was bigger than her despite her being older.

Tommy caught himself a little shocked. This was the first time he looked at someone and wonders 'Could I mutilate them in a violent game of quidditch?' it filled Tommy with... adrenaline. A rush, he HAD to know the answer. Tommy recognized the girl from the last Slytherin and Hufflepuff match. She was a chaser, if he remembered correctly. "Oh, you're a chaser on Hufflepuff, right? I had the pleasure of meeting one of your beaters after the match. Avery McCall." Tommy thought of the beater that inspired his change, one day he would have to face her too if he made the Slytherin team, suddenly he felt like his stomach was in knots and he was seasick despite no sea, or even water, being around him.

Tommy shook the feeling and scoured the grounds. There were some sizeable rocks around. No bludgers, but this could do the trick. "Perhaps you'd like to practice your dodging. I'm new, so please go easy on me." Tommy said, moving his broom and beater bat to one hand as he began stuff his pockets with what he deemed to be the most ball shaped stones. They would be less erratic than bludgers BUT hitting something of a similar shape at another living person for the first time would be a chance to see if Tommy had the stomach to be a ruthless beater.

This would be a pivotal moment for the typically gentle boy who shied away at the possibility of conflict. Would the other student be crazy enough to accept this dangerous proposal? They were already crazy enough to play quidditch, so perhaps Tommy was in luck. This really was a strange day for Tommy. Not only did he have these new violent thoughts when looking at another quidditch player, but he had also not lied to the girl this entire conversation. It was still early in the conversation, but typically Tommy would have told one or more lies by now. Maybe it was the seriousness of his dream of becoming a well-known beater, but Tommy did not feel as playful as he had prior to the girl mentioning training.

stats sta 5 (6) | eva 10 (11) | str 5 (5) | wis 0 (0) | arc 0 (0) | acc 10 (12)
broom Comet 180 (+2 accuracy, +1 evasion, +1 stamina)

Interacting with @Alyssea Brown

june 3rd 2024, 1615; now training with @Tommy Patterson

Alyssea raised an eyebrow. He remembered exactly what position she played. Out of all the moving bodies flying across the Quidditch pitch, he remembered and that surprised her. At the mention of Avery, Alyssea smiled. "Avery! She's great, isn't she? She's my fellow captain for broom racing." Had Avery and Tesla not knocked out Slytherin's best beaters at the start of that Quidditch game, Alyssea probably wouldn't have had her bones left by the end of it. And for someone who happened to be the same age as her, Avery was more experienced with sports than Alyssea would ever be.

Next year, I want to be at least half the captain she is.

Alyssea shrugged. "A cheater, then? Or a beater? I think some people leave dummy bludgers in the changing rooms here." She let him answer the question for a moment. She took a quick jog towards the Hufflepuff changing rooms and came back out with said box of dummy bludgers. The owner wouldn't mind if they just borrowed it for a quick spin, right? They will definitely return it later.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Alyssea Brown. You already know what I do in Quidditch, but I'm also the other captain for the Hufflepuff broom racers," Alyssea chuckled, "Now tell me your name and get up here. And be careful! They may be dummy bludgers but they probably hit just as hard if you're not paying attention!"

stats sta 6 (9) | eva 7 (10) | str 6 (9) | wis 8 (11) | arc 6 (9) | acc 8 (11)
abilities prodigal transfig. learner | evasive maneuvers
broom silver arrow (+3 to all stats)

Interacting with @Alyssea Brown

Tommy hopped on his broom. Were all quidditch players so easy to agree to get beaten up? How peculiar. He flew up to eye level of the girl. "Tommy Patterson, future Slytherin beater, current renown seer. A pleasure to meet you." Why did he always default to being so formal? Such an awkward habit. Surely, his mother was to blame.

The girl seemed experienced in sports, a chaser in quidditch and a co-captain in broom racing. Tommy swallowed a lump in his throat. This would not be an easy task. His hands began to feel clammy. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Opening them after he felt his heart rate steady. "I'm ready."

Tommy released a dummy bludger, batting it away from him to put it into play. He didn't want to use any cheap tricks against the girl. As much as Tommy lied, he did NOT cheat. His mother always told him cheaters never prosper. Children have weird morals. Tommy was no exception.

The dummy bludger batted away had finally made its way back. The girl should be aware of it by now. If not, that was her own mistake. Tommy batted the bludger at Alyssea. He hit it as hard as he could just to the path she would be flying. The bludger hit. Tommy was shocked. He actually hit the girl. He completely missed the exact details of the hit and how much damage the bludger did. His jaw hung open, half shocked, half in glee. Tommy knew he had the stomach to hurt strangers in a game of quidditch.

The dummy bludger rebounded off the girl. It worked once. Why wouldn't it happen again? Tommy flew to the rebound direction of the bludger, smacking it with his bat in the path he guessed the girl would be taking. This time as soon as the bat cracker the bludger, the girl seemed to change direction. Did she already figure out his strategy? Maybe she just let him hit her the first time to be nice?

"You're pretty tricky!" Tommy yelled at the girl. A thought occurred to him. In a real quidditch game, he would also have to be on the defensive. An idea struck the boy. He began to take a defensive position around the girl, batting the bludger as far away as he could. In between bats he would talk. "This is a little one sided don't you think?" His bat cracked against the returning beater. "Maybe you'd like to borrow my bat?" Another crack echoed in the mostly empty air of the pitch. "We could make a bet out of this." The cracking of his bat began to feel like the end of a sentence to Tommy. "Winner gets bragging rights, and loser gets a concussion." Tommy flew as close to Alyssea without her potentially being hit by the bludger or risking crashing into her. He pulled his arm back and hit the bludger with all his might.

In one smooth action, Tommy flipped his bat 180 degrees, catching the opposite end and offering the handle to the upper year Hufflepuff. "Two bats at each other each until the other person is knocked off their broom." Tommy was keeping his eye on the bludger, if the girl did not accept, he had to be ready to bat the bludger away. She may not be a beater, but chasers were also known for their accuracy, and there was no rule against practicing other positions. Tommy wasn't sure if it was the case, but he thought there was nothing preventing players from switching positions if they wanted to. Technically, he had planned to be a chaser until recently. He waited for Alyssea's reply as time seemed to slow down, waiting for the bludger to return.

june 3rd 2024, 1615; training with @Tommy Patterson

Tommy Patterson was an interesting specimen, putting aside the Seer claims. Did it have something to do with being a Slytherin? Alyssea wouldn't know for sure; she didn't have that many Slytherin friends, let alone Seer friends either.

Alyssea shook her head. She could determine first impressions later. For now, she manuevered through the air and tried to judge where the bludger would come from. Evidently, she was too lost in her thoughts as the ball hit her right in the arm. The force of which it came for her shocked her so much she thought she would let go and fall off her broom. But as the bludger flew away from her, having done its job disorienting her flight, she gripped her broomshaft tighter and sped off.

Sloppy, she thought to herself. She was getting sloppy with evading things that wanted to get her. She had been better at it while she was still a duellist; were those not easily transferrable skills?

The second time, she was more focused and turned her broom away from the bludger's line of fire at the last second. Inside, Alyssea sighed. The first hit had taken a chunk of breath and life out of her; a second would've definitely killed her. Alyssea laughed. "Not tricky enough since you hit me once."

His proposal surprised her. A chance at the bat? Hufflepuff had solid beaters, so Alyssea never considered taking a beater's bat once in her life. Then again, she only took up Quidditch recently. But her hands were itching to try it. She took it and grinned. "Deal."

What came next was nothing Alyssea expected.

She found the bludger skirting around the walls. Once she got close enough, she placed herself far enough that when she took the swing, her arms would straighten. With one last look at Tommy's direction and figuring out where he would fly next, she took the swing with all the force she could muster. If she could disorient him as much as possible with the first hit, then it would hardly matter if her second chance at the bludger barely scratched him.

Except, the bludger landed right at Tommy's side and knocked him right off. Alyssea gave herself two seconds to soak in the moment before zooming across the pitch to catch Tommy. She had saved someone once, but with Tommy being a literal dead weight, she almost fell off as well. Before the bludger could go rogue and come for them, she hit it towards the box and shut it with one swift flight. When she tried to close it, the bludger almost flew out again.

Patting her pockets, she found her wand, deposited the beater bat to the ground, and cast a purple ring around his head. "Reparifors,"

For the only healing spell she knew, it did the job. Rusty came up to them and gave Tommy's hand a tentative nudge. "He'll be okay," she told the feline, "I probably shouldn't have hit that hard."

stats sta 6 (9) | eva 7 (10) | str 6 (9) | wis 8 (11) | arc 6 (9) | acc 8 (11)
abilities prodigal transfig. learner | evasive maneuvers
broom silver arrow (+3 to all stats)

interacting with @Alyssea Brown

Tommy's head was pounding. What happened? The last thing he remembered was flying on his broom and practicing with a girl. He tried to open his eyes. There was a blinding light and a figure over him. Long flowing hair, he couldn't make out their face from the light. Was this an angel? Did he die and go to heaven?

Regrets filled his mind. He died before ever making a name for himself. Maybe he would go down in history as a boy from Slytherin, who died in his first year, but he wanted so much more in life. He wanted to be remembered for someone great and it was all taken away from him by a chaser, no less. A chaser of all rolls managed to kill him in a game of P R A C T I C E with not even real bludgers! How did he think he ever could have been a beater?

Tommy figured he must not have been that terrible of a person in life despite all his lying. He did end up in heaven, after all. At least now he would know what happens when you die. Are you reincarnated? Do you just live in heaven? He did want to know what happens to those that don't make it here. Dying sucked, but at least now he would find some answers to life long mysteries and highly debated questions.

Despite this silver lining, Tommy cursed himself for his ambition. There was nothing wrong with ambition, but what was he thinking about challenging an upper year to such a silly game? He got too cocky. Unfortunately, he will not be able to learn from this mistake. It was too late for young Tommy Patterson. He wondered who would attend his funeral. What would it be like? Would he be able to watch it from heaven? How would his mother feel?

These questions could wait. Tommy mustered all the energy he could to speak to the mysterious figure above him.

"A- Are you an angel?"