A Little Knowledge

The rest of the week passed in a rather pleasant flurry of classes as they adjusted to their schedules and found time for both studying and all of the other things they enjoyed from spending time in the library to sitting up late in the common room, which was done on Friday and Saturday nights as Corinna's practice schedule did not begin until the following week.

The girls continued to include Martin in most of what they did, including their study sessions as he was showing precious little improvement in Transfigurations and they believed that it might help him. He was also making little headway with the students of his own year, all of whom had come to regard him rather coolly. But with Olivia and Corinna to cheer him up -- they were especially good at that sort of thing -- it didn't bother him as much as it otherwise would have.

Of course, Martin had imagined his first year at Hogwarts as being very different than staying up late with four girls, all of whom he considered to be much smarter than himself, but that hardly seemed to matter either. With them, he belonged, and that was something he had always wanted, but he had never had before.

Following double Potions, which seemed excruciatingly long to Corinna, she returned to the dormitory to get her broom and change into more comfortable clothes, suitable to practicing Quidditch in as she had not be been issued Quidditch robes yet.

Sophia and Olivia had adjourned to the library to work on the potions' essay that had been assigned, but Sissy chose to accompany Corinna back to the dormitory. Hardly the most sensitive of the girls, Sissy could tell nevertheless that Corinna was anxious about the practice. It had, given her less than stellar performance in Charms, been on her mind all day.

"Tie your hair back," suggested, or ordered, Sissy, who was lounging on her bed.

"It won't stay," said Corinna whose hair was a constant mess no matter what she did.

"Pin it then."

"Won't stay," she said in a sing-song voice, tying her boots and blowing a few stray locks of disheveled brown hair out of her face.

"You'll regret it," Sissy warned her, tossing her own immaculate blond hair over her shoulder with a little smirk.

"I regret everything sooner or later, Sissy," Corinna reminded her.

"Of course you do," she replied, rolling her eyes.

Taking her broom from beneath her bed and checking the time, Corinna asked, "Do you want to come along and watch?"

"No thanks," said Sissy, glancing outside, "it looks as though it might rain."

"Not until later," Corinna assured her.

"You should have asked Olivia. She loves the game. You know how I feel about it. I enjoy the matches, but I know there's more to life," said Sissy.

"Don't let her catch you saying that," Corinna chuckled.

"I won't," said Sissy, "but do be careful out there. Those boys will probably give you a very hard time," she cautioned her, reminding Corinna that there were only two girls on the team besides her: a Beater and a Chaser.

"Right ..." said Corinna before she left.

The team was already assembled in the locker room when Corinna arrived at exactly four o'clock. She blushed as they all looked at her curiously. They had a very senior team compared to the other houses, she realized as though for the first time as four seventh years, three fourth years, and Ambrose looked at her. She didn't really know any of them. Certainly she knew their names and positions, but she didn't know them.

"This is Bellew, everyone. Our new Keeper," said Ambrose by way of an introduction. He seemed rather amused as she cautiously walked into the locker room.

"Hello," she managed.

Despite the fact that they were all very obviously still sizing her up, they returned the shy greeting.

One of the Chasers, fourth year Alec Sexton, left the bench where he had been lacing up his boots and approached her.

"What model you got there?" he asked, reaching for her broom.

Relinquishing it only reluctantly, she said, "Tinderblast."

"Your father's?" Sexton questioned.

She could see the laughter in his eyes as he returned the older model broom to her, and to Corinna's credit, she tried not to blush at the remark.

"No, it's mine," she answered, inclining her chin slightly.

"Give her a break," said Edith Savage, twirling her bat in her hands, "she probably bought it on short notice."

Sexton tossed his head with a sneer and grabbed an almost-new Shooting Star propped near the door.

"I'll be on the pitch when you girls want to join me," he said over his shoulder on his way out.

"Don't mind him," said Ambrose. "He's still peeved about David being off the team. He'll cool off sooner or later."

"Right ..." said Corinna. She had the distinct feeling that he wouldn't, that it was personal somehow, even though she had only just met him.

"We're wasting daylight here," said Helen Parker, another Chaser, who had the practice Quaffle tucked under her arm.

"We'll have proper robes and all for you sometime within the next week or so," Ambrose informed Corinna, plucking at his own blue and bronze attire. "Let's go," he said to the rest of the team, including the reserve Beater and Chaser who were dutifully attending the first practice.

The sky was overcast that day, and it was rather muggy out of doors. So it wasn't exactly the ideal weather for Quidditch, but this was an all-weather sport, which meant that even on days when the conditions were unpleasant, the team still had to practice. A warm breeze blew over the pitch as Corinna followed the team onto the field, which was covered with ankle-deep grass. Overhead Sexton was flying in speedy circles around the pitch until Ambrose called him down again to join them.

"I'm supposing all of you practiced every day over the summer like Clearwater wanted ..." Ambrose began, looking at his players. More than a few of them ducked their heads guiltily. "So this afternoon shouldn't be much of a hardship for our returning players." He looked at Corinna for a moment. "Let's see what we've got to work with this season. Mount your broomsticks and take positions," he ordered.

The reserve players, when they weren't needed on the field for practice, had their uses. When it was time, they released the Bludger and the Snitch for the team before returning to the sidelines to observe the game and wait on the captain to call them.

Corinna maneuvered the slightly uncooperative broom in front of the center hoop at the end of the field Ambrose indicated for her and hovered there, watching the other players, mainly the Chasers. The team had looked spectacular last year, but Gryffindor had still been better. There were butterflies in her stomach as she wondered whether they might have a chance against them this year. Maybe this would be their year ...

Then something hurtled toward her head narrowly missing her.

"Hey! Pay attention, Bellew!" yelled Sexton, who had hurled the Quaffle at her.

She nodded mutely and tried to focus as she watched the Chasers methodically tossing the ball back and forth in prearranged patterns. They were good. Every now and again they would chuck the Quaffle toward the goals, and Corinna would do her best to defend them. Of course, against three Chasers with between two and four years of experience under their belts, she hardly stood a chance, especially on a slower broom that drifted to the left far more than she had realized.

She hardly had time to spare the Beaters a glance as they whacked the Bludger to and fro with the same precision their teammates possessed nor to follow the flight of the team's veteran Seeker, seventh year Manfred North, but from what she could see, they would be losing several excellent players at the end of term in the spring.

The sky was turning a golden color as the sun set behind the clouds and Ambrose called them down to the pitch again. They were all sweaty and beginning to flag after the grueling session, but their captain seemed pleased. North had caught and subsequently re-released the Snitch five times since practice began and snatched it out of the air again just in time to join the meeting. Ambrose gave the Beaters a moment to round up the Bludger while North and Sexton returned the other balls to the equipment case.

"Not bad, all around," he told them, "for a start o' the year practice. We need to tighten up our formations a bit." He was referring to the Chasers. "We have plenty of time to shape up before our first game, but it is against Slytherin, so we can't afford to get complacent."

"And our Keeper? What about her?" asked Sexton, leaning on his broom.

Ambrose scratched his head and looked as though he was struggling to find something diplomatic to say as he turned toward Corinna, who was starving and exhausted, but trying to look otherwise.

"Er, Bellew, you and I should have a talk," he said.

"All right," she said quietly.

"The rest of you can hit the showers and go grab a bite to eat," he told them, "but be ready for more of this tomorrow." He had to yell the last few words as they had needed no further encouragement to leave the pitch.

Corinna shuffled her feet as she watched the other players go.

"You aren't bad, Bellew," he said, "but you just don't have the experience that we do."

"I know."

"And your broom is out of date. You might be better off on a school broom," Ambrose recommended, nodding toward the shed where the school brooms, Swiftsticks, were stored. They had been purchased only a few years earlier; not quite state-of-the-art, but a step up from the Tinderblast nonetheless.

"This is my first broom, you know," she said, looking up and taking a tighter grip on its handle.

"Really?" asked Ambrose. For a moment his expression softened. "Mine was a Silver Arrow. I thought it would last forever. It was my older brother's from back before the war. He gave it to me before he went off to be an Auror ... after it was all over."

"Good broom?"

"Oh, yeah," he laughed, reaching for hers, "but I wouldn't try to play Quidditch on one, even if it had lasted. Nothing lasts forever, you know." Ambrose examined the Tinderblast for a moment before telling her, "It's not a bad broom. It just needs a few twigs clipped and maybe some other work. Madam Hooch could probably help you with that. If you're lucky, she might give you some other pointers on the game too."

"I'll ask her," said Corinna as she took her broom back.

"But the broom is only part of it," said Ambrose with a suddenly imperious expression. "You aren't in exactly the same condition as we are. I imagine that if you drop a stone or so, you'll find flying a bit easier in general ... not that your position requires a lot of flying, but a quick Keeper is always an asset. Look at Clearwater. He was brilliant because he was so light on his broomstick."

Corinna blushed even though she desperately didn't want to. She was well-aware that she was a bit full-figured, a bit plump, but hearing the suggestion that she should lose weight made by her Quidditch captain hurt more somehow than the daily acknowledgment of the fact when she looked in the mirror.

"I ... I'll keep that in mind," she stammered.

"Don't take it so hard, Bellew. I was told practically the same thing when I was twelve. Now, look at me. Fit as the proverbial fiddle," he said lightly.

"Of course," she nodded, trying not to betray the distress, or annoyance that she felt.

Ambrose smiled again and patted her shoulder. For a moment she thought he was going to say something like, "Run along now," or something equally insulting.

"Same time tomorrow," he told her with a nod.

Students were already trickling out of the Great Hall by the time Corinna had made herself presentable again and went to join her friends, who had assured her that they would be waiting for her. Most of Ravenclaw house had cleared out already and returned to the Aerie. But toward the middle of the table were four people she really wanted to see after such a disappointing practice.

"Corinna!" called Olivia as she approached. "How was it?"

"If I have to do this seven days a week for six years ... I think it will definitely kill me," she replied, taking a seat next to Sissy.

"It will get easier over time," Sophia assured her with an encouraging smile, despite the mild worry in her eyes.

"You just aren't used it," added Olivia.

Martin nodded in agreement to everything the girls had said and added, "They probably just went harder on you because you're new."

"Maybe," said Corinna, managing a smile as a plate of warm food appeared in front of her. "Merlin, bless the house elves," she thought to herself.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" asked Olivia after a moment.

Corinna sighed and said, "I ... I suppose it wasn't."

She didn't want Olivia to worry about next term, especially since she wouldn't need to worry. She was in perfect condition and would probably have a great broom.

"How does the rest of the team look?" asked Olivia with a grin.

"As good as last year," shrugged Corinna, poking at the food on her plate and thinking about what Ambrose had said about her weight.

"For those of us who weren't here," said Martin, who was a huge Quidditch fan too, "can you be a bit more specific?"

Corinna smiled at him and said, "We almost had the Cup last year ... if it wasn't for Gryffindor."

Sissy was about to make a snide comment about one or more of the players when Sophia interjected, "That was last term. This term will be different, right?"

"Right!" declared Olivia, giving Corinna a pat on the back.

Corinna looked at all of them and completely lost her appetite. With the exception of perhaps Sophia they were all utterly obsessed over who would win the Quidditch Cup, and the House Cup too. Even Sissy who had never played an actual game of it before was determined to see Ravenclaw win. It was unsettling at best. It was more pressure than Corinna had imagined when she had replied to the letter offering her a 'reserve' position.

"But it will be worth it," she assured herself silently, hoping fervently that she would be right, but not knowing ...

She knew many things, but not that, not whether she would prove an asset or a liability to the team. She didn't want to disappoint her friends. Comments from Sexton, who she was already certain was nothing more than a git who liked picking on younger students, or from Ambrose, who was both a snotty prefect and a good player, could be borne patiently and with minimal difficulty in the long run, but she couldn't let Olivia and Sissy or even Sophia and Martin down.

"Eat your supper, Corinna. It's getting cold, and we all want to go back to the common room," said Sissy, noticing that her friend wasn't eating, which she considered rather unusual.

"I'm not all that hungry," said Corinna with a wince.

"Back to the Aerie then?" asked Sissy, who wanted to be double-sure she was prepared for defense class the next day. It would be their final disarming and blocking lesson at least for a while. That sort of thing was a big part of second year, but they also had other subjects to cover.

"Sure," Corinna nodded.

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