Come Fly With Me (Darina)

[Irina Rose Krum]

The rumors were flying around Hogwarts; several players from the British and Irish Quidditch League would be coming to Hogwarts some time after the First Task to hold a scouting session for any hopefuls from the three schools. One of these hopefuls was Irina’s boyfriend Dan, who had asked Rina to help him practice after she got back from her lunch with Nikolai. She had been able to wheedle out of him during lunch the rumors were in fact true, but that wasn’t the biggest thing that had happened. Niko had finally confided in Irina why he hated being touched so much; when he was six, he had been kidnapped and molested by a masked assailant, that had rightfully scarred him. A lot of things made sense now; especially why Dan had felt a backload of powerful emotions the night they spent together in the Hospital Wing. She wasn’t an empath but she could almost feel Nikolai’s emotions as he told her everything, and admitted he had indeed told Dan about this earlier in the school year. Luckily, she had gotten her crying out on Nikolai’s shoulder; her emotions were quite stable just then.

She had her broom in hand as she entered the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch. She looked around and saw Dan was not there yet; that was okay, she knew she was early. She looked around at the empty stands with a small smile. She was naturally talented at Quidditch, but where Nikolai had to work at his talent and had the heart to, Irina’s heart was just not in it. She could watch happily, and of course practice with those she loved, but competitively play it? Nope, wasn’t for her. Flying though, she still loved to do that, so she mounted her broom and kicked off, letting the wind ripple her dark hair as she soared towards the goal posts. She did a few loops around, the smile never leaving her face.

@daniel

[Deleted]

Dan would be able to play for some Quidditch scouts this school year, which mean he needed to get back on the pitch. He immediately asked Ri to help him prepare when he heard, knowing that he was rusty. He normally played Keeper, but he would be okay with playing almost any position save Chaser on a team. Ri had gone out to lunch with Nik and Dan had gotten to the pitch ahead of time to practice, messing around until she got back.

Soon, he saw her approached, broom in hand and decided to hide in the stands. She stepped out and looked for him but didn't see his hiding spot, which made him snicker slightly. He watched as she mounted her broom and kicked toward the goal posts. He got stuck watching her for a minute and forgot what he was supposed to be doing. But he did come out of his hiding spot, swiftly flying toward her and looping around one of the goals himself. "Fancy meeting you here, miss!" he teased.

Irina Rose Krum

[Irina Rose Krum]

Irina took a sharp turn and gasped slightly as Dan came out of nowhere. “You little sneak!” she called, but she was smiling all the same. She flew towards him, breaking as she drew level and leaned over to kiss him. “Where were you hiding?” she asked, then looked over towards the stands. Realization dawned on her, and she laughed. “Watching my crazy flying skills, were you?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. She wanted to tell him about her lunch with Niko, and what he had finally told her, and how he had finally held her like a big brother should. But she wasn’t sure if she wanted to let him practice a bit first or lay on the story. No, practice first.

“Right, what position do you want to be working on today? Seeker, Beater or Keeper?” she asked him. She knew that the Arrows, Nikolai’s team, had a Seeker in Nik and a Keeper in a guy named Cyrus Ellsworth, so if Dan wanted to be on the team with his best friend, a Beater would be his best bet. “Do you know which teams are coming? I know for a fact the Arrows are,” she asked him, throwing in that last bit casually.

@daniel

[Deleted]

Dan laughed as she called him a sneak and steadied himself to accept the kiss that followed. "In the yellow stands, just there," he pointed back toward the spot where he had been lurking. "Yeah, you're rather good! Shame you won't play," he smirked, "granted, you wouldn't want to play against me much anyway," he was half joking. But not about the competition part. Quidditch had been his escape and Dan had spent much more time on a broomstick then someone who actually had a social life.

Then she asked what part he wanted to practice and he frowned. He was thinking the same thing, about how if he wanted to play with Nik he'd have to go for beater. Which he didn't mind, but it wasn't his preferred. "Let's start with keeper," he said, giving away his favorite.

Irina Rose Krum

[Irina Rose Krum]

Irina was relieved that Dan didn't want to be a Chaser, as that would mean she would have to Keep for him and she was a mess when it came to tending the goal post.  She probably would have made Ron Weasley look better than he had.  Chaser though, Irina could work with that.  "If I played Quidditch we'd have to be on the same team otherwise there'd be far too much competition and jealousy...on your end of course," she said with a wink.  She dove down to the ground where the trunk of Quidditch balls were and swooped up the bright red Quaffle.  She flew back up to be level with Dan, grinning wickedly.  "You do remember my mother holds the European record for most goals in a regular season game, right?" she called, her voice taking on that taunting lilt.  She could do Quidditch for fun, especially with just Dan.  The prospect of the competition was...quite exhilarating.  She flew away from him, Quaffle under her arm.  She weaved in and out of the opposite hoops, then shot straight for him.  She was looking right at the left hoop, hoping he'd fall for the feint.  But!  The joke was on him; it was a double feint, just like her mother was famous for.  She aimed to throw for the right hoop, then quickly flung the Quaffle at the right one.



@daniel 

[Deleted]

Dan laughed at her claim that he would be too competitive and jealous if they played on opposing teams. Her wink just added to the humor of the comment. Then she was off, diving down to get the Quidditch balls in order for them to practice. He stretched his arms a little, balancing on his broomstick with just his legs and his knees until she came back.

He rolled his eyes at her next coming, shrugging. "And I'm not dating your mother, am I?" Yeah, that competitive nature was already coming out. Irina was a good flier and her double feint almost got him, but Dan was fast and prepared. He grinned as he blocked the goal, blew her a kiss and tossed the ball back to her. "Try again, darling!" they continued playing, practicing different positions, until then felt it was a good time to call it. He flew over to her, hovering beside her before reaching over and gently touching her wtist to study her before taking her hand. "Do you want to tell about your lunch with Nik now?" he suggested.

Irina Rose Krum

[Irina Rose Krum]

Irina had given it everything she had; every trick she'd ever seen her mother try, and her sister Ripley.  Whatever she did, it was like Dan was one step ahead of her.  "How do you do that?  Can you sense what I'm about to do too?" she'd called, concealing her wonder and amazing.  He had talent, there would be no doubt of that to the scouts that were coming, unless they were blind.  Still, it wouldn't be good to give him TOO big of a head.

He flew close after the last round of practice, gently taking her hand and asking about her lunch with Nikolai.  Irina's stomach lurched a little; her fingers entwined with his.  "Well it was a very intense lunch,, for sure," she started, then took a deep breath.  "You remember the night you spent in the Hospital Wing...with me?" she asked.  "Well, that's what he told me about.  He told me everything.  And....then he hugged me,"  She didn't want to go into too much detail; she still felt terrible for her oldest sibling, and had seen first hand how the story had affected Dan.  There was no need to relive that; Dan would understand the importance of what she had said..


@daniel

[Deleted]

Dan chuckled at her awed questions. He was very aware of how good he was. It was a sad testament to his lack of a social life, his passive aggressive nature, and his tunnel vision. He didn't mind, though. Especially since it warranted that reaction out of her. He knew her emotions, so she couldn't really hide her emotions. "I could give you my autograph if you'd like," he joked, giving a wink.

Daniel listened as she explained her and Nik's lunch together. Dan nodded when she stopped, squeezing her hand. "That just have been hard for both of you. I'm glad for it, though," he said with another nod. "Just go easy on him. He's even worse about the touching then I am. He's going to be okay, though. I'm sure of that."

Irina Rose Krum

[Irina Rose Krum]

Irina gave him a shy smile. "Yeah, it was weird definitely but kind of nice. We talked about him and Magi too - that still seems to be going well," she told him. "But hopefully soon he'll be able to explain to Rip and Tan about what happened to him as well so they're not left in the dark. He and Rip had a pretty nasty fight a month or so ago, just before we were there. I think even though she's used to it it was still difficult for her not to hug him. You know what I mean?" She told him, cocking her head to one side.

Suddenly, Irina smirked. "So do you want to hear my comments on your Quidditch skills?" She asked, her eyes glinting mischdviously. She cleared her throat to sound more like a professional professional. "Well Mr Hoh, your seeker skills could use a little bit of improvement. But I suppose trying to catch a Snitch against Viktor Krums daughter is too much to ask," she began, giving him a wink. "Your Beater skills are quite accurate since you only missed your opponent by inches. I will go ahead and give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't want to crack her skull open." Here she hesitated slightly. "Finally the Keeper position. I don't think I have seen the skill of your caliber in all my years as a scout. If every team doesn't want you to keep for the most then they are sorely missing out." She leaned over and gave him a kiss. "Once you're getting all the contracts and pretty girl fans I hope you'll remember me," she teased, though she was partly serious. She didn't want to lose him to Quidditch; but if Ginny and Harry Potter could make it then they definitely could too.

@daniel

[Deleted]

Dan nodded as she explained further. "Rip's gonna be okay. He'll tell them when he's ready. I'm just glad he told you so that we both are aware," he said softly. "He just needs time. Lots of it," he concluded. Nik was okay. He had Magi and now Irina and Dan knew the truth. He had a strong support group.

He could feel his cheeks reddening at the subject change and shook his head, pulling his hand back to the broom for a moment until she finished, asking him not to forget about her. He shook his head, leaning forward to gently clasp her chin with his fingers, "I would never forget you, Ri. You're stuck with me. So, sorry not sorry," he chuckled, leaning forward, attempting to kiss her mid air. Before he could reach her, however, thunder clapped and he jumped, eyes shooting toward the sky. "Well, that's lucky," he joked.

Irina Rose Krum

[Irina Rose Krum]

"You know, Nikolai was very eager for me to speak to Magi about changing her career path from.....uh, whatever is she doing now.  I wonder if she knows about that," Irina mused, frowning slightly.  The frown went away though as Dan cupped her chin and declared she was stuck with him.  It was silly of her to think otherwise, but it was still nice to hear. "Aw man," she joked, her eyes sparkling.  "I wouldn't have it any other way," she said softly.  She leaned in at the same time as him, but jumped when the thunder cracked, wincing slightly.  Thunderstorms were not her favorite thing in the world.  As the fork of lightning streaked against the sky, the clouds that had been building up opened up and they were soon drenched.  "Come on!" she called, bolting down towards the ground.  She landed with a soft thud on the mushy grass, already wet with mud.  She wrestled the Quidditch balls back into the crate, and beckoned to Dan.  "Come on, the locker rooms are just over here," she shouted, grabbing his hand and running towards the dry enclosed space.  She took a deep breath as they closed the door behind him, and Irina started to laugh.  "Well, I guess with this you'll be prepared for anything?" she said, reaching back and feeling how wet her hair was.  She was soaking from the downpour; she squeezed out her long hair and a small puddle formed by the side of her feet.  "We can just wait it out here," she told him, resting her back against the wall.


@daniel

[Deleted]

Daniel nodded as she explained how Nik wanted Irina to talk to Magi about her job. He didn't know exactly what Magi did but it didn't seem like the most positive topic of conversation. "I think Magi knows he doesn't like it,"Dan guessed. The two seemed to be pretty honest with each other for the most part.

He was happy that she played along with him as he claimed they were stuck together, but that thunder crushed the moment rather swiftly. Irina bolted toward the ground and he followed as she beckoned. He helped her get the balls back in the crate and nodded as she mentioned the locker rooms. He ran with her until the doors were closed and they were safely inside. Sadly, they had already gotten soaking wet within those few short minutes. He laughed along with her, "I guess I should have kept practicing out there," he joked. He took a step back as she wrung her hair out and chuckled. "Yeah. Too bad we're already soaking wet," he commented, "are you cold?" he asked, his eyes furrowing with worry.

Irina Rose Krum

[Irina Rose Krum]

Irina giggled as he joked about practicing more out there. “Be my guest,” she teased, gesturing towards the door. They could hear the rain lashing against the walls and the thunder clapping loudly. Irina winced again and closed her eyes. “I hate thunder,” she mumbled, before opening her eyes again and looking over at Dan. She didn’t feel that cold just yet; the locker rooms were always rather warm and she was still exhilarated over the practice they just had. “I’m not, but I will not turn down an excuse for you to hold me,” she said, reaching out to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sighed a little. “You’re going to be amazing you know,” she murmured quietly. “Probably better than Niko, but if you ever say that to him I will deny everything,” she added, burying her face into his shoulder while her shoulders shook from silent laughter.

@daniel

[Deleted]

Dan shook his head. "Nah, I'll stay with you. I guess," he chuckled. Irina was wincing at the storm outside and he could feel little spurts of fear coming from her. He frowned at her words about hating thunder and took a step toward her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders at the same time she come to him. "Any time," he muttered, his smile amused.

She spoke about how he was going to be amazing, maybe even better than Niko. He laughed along with her, tightening his grip on her. "I won't tell," he promised. Though, he wasn't sure if Nik would really care. Nik knew how good Dan was. After a moment he gave her a tight squeeze and then looked down at her, "but now I've got all this adrenaline from practicing. What am I supposed to do with it?" he asked her, oh so innocently.

Come on, could you blame him? She looked adorable with wet hair.

Irina Rose Krum

[Irina Rose Krum]

Irina smiled a little, trying to cover it as she tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. She too of course was filled with adrenaline, and had ideas. But he’d have to be the one to take that first step; she knew he had to find his comfort level when it came to that first before anything happened. “Hm…” she said, pretending to ponder their options. “You could always do laps around the locker room, there are some benches so those can present obstacles,” she suggested, then laughed. She gave him a smile, then shrugged one shoulder. “We could also dry off, there are towels somewhere in the bathrooms I'm sure,” she added as an afterthought. With Dan holding her, she’d forgotten she was even soaking wet. “We could talk about the different teams that are coming to scout later on in the month,” she said, then bit her lower lip gently. “Or….we don’t have to talk at all,” she whispered, trailing off at the end.

@daniel