RP : How would you like to fly?

[anon_harry]

Date : May 11th 2003
Characters : Harry Potter & Finbar Quigley
Location : Pool of Promise.
Status : Private.
Summary : Two restless men with broomsticks.
Complete : Incomplete.

Comments

[anon_finbar]

It had been little more than a month since he had come here. A few days shorter than that since he had met Cho, and nearly two weeks since he had seen her worst fear. Seeing her fear hadn’t scared him, if anything, it had made him more… determined, so at the moment, Finbar’s problem was: how to ease that fear, when his entire body was screaming for him to go out an do things, live things, see and experience. A whole month, in a town like Annwn. Briefly he wondered how he had done it, though he already knew. Cho. She had become a friend whom he enjoyed spending time with. But old habits were hard to live down, and the outside world had set in its draw of him at full force.

Just a couple of more things that had to fall into place, and he would be out of there.

Bam!

His Bat whacked the Bludger in the opposite direction, and immediately he forced his broom around to go after the second Iron Ball.

He had gone to the Field of Requirement, seeking to get out some of that pent up energy, hoping that Cho would be around. That hadn’t been the case. Finbar figured she was working. She did love her job, after all, so who could blame her? He’d go find her later.

Wham!

The second Bludger took off, and he was about to go after the first one, when the sight of somebody standing by the lake with his broom caught his attention. Instead of going after the Bludger, he sped up, and made a quick dive at whoever it was. He had a broom, and that meant he could fly.

“What are you waiting for?!” he called out before he paused for a moment above him. “Bludgers are out, might as well join in!”

[anon_harry]

When he recognised the sound of a Beater's bat hitting a Bludger with full force, Harry tore his gaze away from the pool and looked up. Someone was having a private Beater practice, it seemed. Harry stood there for a few minutes, simply watching.

Bludgers were the only thing Harry dreaded in Quidditch games, but then again, not really. They were just part of the game, made the adrenaline rush a whole lot more interesting when they were trying to knock you off your broom while you were zooming the pitch trying to handle the Quaffle or search for the Snitch.

When the Beater paused for a moment above him, Harry thought he recognised his face from somewhere, but couldn't put a name to him. He figured he had probably seen him in one of the Quidditch magazines since he was several years older than Harry was. Mounting his broom, he kicked off the ground.

[anon_finbar]

It was with a grin that Finbar watched the younger man get on his broom and get airborne. The man hadn’t said anything, just looked slightly confused or maybe a little off, though he had had his broom with him, so it could only mean that he had been meaning to fly. Of course, he could just have been out walking his stick to impress birds, but nah… that didn’t seem right. He wouldn’t be walking out here if that was the case… or look as lost as he did.

Either way, he was in the air, and a Bludger was heading towards him, making Finbar turn his broom and speed in the direction of the man, whacking away the Bludger mere millimeters before it hit him, and for a moment, Finbar was baffled at what was going on.

With a quick charm he had the Bludgers slow down to a hover, before he went to the young man. “You alright there, mate?” he asked him. “Can find you a Quaffle or a Snitch if you’d like. A bat, p’raps?”

[anon_harry]

Harry had barely noticed the Bludger heading towards him and he even barely blinked when the man knocked it away not even an inch before it hit him. Harry supposed he was a little out of it. He didn't really know what he was doing out here, he should be home with Ginny. Shouldn't he?

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry absentmindedly said, stealing another glance at his house which lay on the other side of town it seemed. Turning his attention back to the man, he shrugged. "I came to fly, not to play."

All Harry had wanted to do was fly around a little, get his head cleared. He wondered how he was going to pull that off with those Bludgers flying around as well. He was likely to go home bruised in several places. Not that Harry could care any less at this moment.

[anon_finbar]

Finbar nodded, still not entirely convinced that the bloke was completely alright. He seemed very preoccupied, but then again, many things could do that. Then again, he had come here to fly, which could mean that he was at least trying to clear his head of whatever was going on in there.

“Flying’s good,” he said, and held out his hand to him. “Finbar Quigley. Came here to fly as well, blow off some steam.” He gestured to the Bludgers. “You just fly, and I’ll keep them away, yeah?”

As he introduced himself, he couldn’t help but think that there was something familiar about the man in front of him, though he couldn’t pinpoint where he could have seen him before... Oh well, it’d come to him soon enough.

[anon_harry]

"Yeah, flying's good." Harry agreed. When the man held out his hand, he reached out and gave it a firm shake. Finbar Quigley. So that was the name that fit the face. Harry had definitely seen pictures of him in the Quidditch magazines he'd read, not to mention he had seen the man play at the Quidditch World Cup during the summer before his fourth year. "Harry Potter."

"Sounds good. I should be out of your way soon enough." He shrugged with a small grin. "Just came here for a few laps and some fresh air."

If he remembered correctly Quigley was a Beater - 'Brilliant, Potter, from the way he's swinging that bat, he's probably a Seeker.' He mentally scolded. - and more than just a decent one as well. Harry didn't really want to be in his way if the man was seriously practicing.

[anon_finbar]

“Harry Potter?” Finbar’s eyebrow quirked and he couldn’t help but grin. “Nice ter meet ya.” Mentally he couldn’t help but laugh his arse off of his own ignorance. The Boy Saviour, who had freed the Wizarding World from an insane beast, and he hadn’t recognized him, despite the scar and the glasses.

“No need to be out of m’way,” he said as he began flying again, slowly circling at first, then gradually picking up speed. “It’s what I do.” He sent Harry a grin, before he took off.

“Just give a yell if you need the Bludgers gone!!”

[anon_harry]

Harry rather felt like an idiot when that grin spread on Quigley's face. "Same here." He managed with a small grin of his own. He dreaded the way that name still got people's attention. Even when he had been working as an Auror, some people had still stared at him like he was some eight-legged freak. Mostly they had been simple civilians and not his Auror colleagues. Thank god for that, he supposed.

Harry watched him fly off, before starting to pick up the speed himself. He didn't really need Finbar to keep the Bludgers away from him, well, not purposely. He figured he could manage his broom well enough to avoid them most of the time.

"'s Alright!" Harry shouted back. "I think I can manage." Speaking of managing, when Harry yelled back at him, there was a Bludger heading straight for him, but this time his attention was on the flying and he easily avoided it.

[anon_finbar]

It was with a smirk that Finbar looped a couple of times, before he once again started going directly after the Bludgers. There was something to be said for fliers who could manage without protection. Of course, it took the heroism out of his actions, but it did give him the opportunity to just fly and Beat the Bludgers.

If only everything was that simple.

Why wasn’t it? He had always gone wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, but now… Annwn was giving him everything he wanted, not to mention a sense of calm, but his entire system was still screaming to get out, and then there was Cho. How she had been able to live like she had for so long…

He did a quick swoop down across Potter, intercepting the Bludger the man had just avoided, only to dive back down under him, to ward off the second.

[anon_harry]

Harry flew around a little, not doing much else than speeding up and slowing down and a loop here and there. He definitely wasn't interested in practicing anything. Basically, he had taken that bloody broomstick with him because Ginny had told him to go out and do something. And well, what else was there to do around Annwn?

He didn't pay much attention to Finbar, who was zooming back and forth, intercepting Bludgers and smacking them to the other side of the field. Quigley was doing a good job, but then again, he was a professional, so Harry hadn't really expected anything else from him.