Fixing To Fly
Summary: Quidditch Captain. Gryffindor Seeker. Head Girl. Seventh year Darcy Reed would seem to have it all. But no one sees the fights she and her "perfect" boyfriend have. No one knows about the pressure her parents are putting on her to choose a career she doesn't want. And no one—no one—is supposed to know about the crush she has on her new Keeper, Oliver Wood. For seven years, she's kept up pretenses and made herself into the girl everyone wants her to be. But her facade is slowly cracking, and with the prospect of true love allowing her heart to lead the way, the ambitious young woman that is Darcy Reed will never be the same.
Rating: The vast majority is PG-13, for the occasional bit of language and sexual innuendo. A few later chapters, however, definitely earn an R for sexual content, and are labeled as such.
Feedback: Is, as always, welcome. Constructive criticism is something that every author can use from time to time.
Disclaimer: What you know belongs to JK Rowling et al, what you don't belongs to me. This goes for all chapters.
Author's Note: 28 Oct 2003- This story marks my first venture into the realm of Harry Potter, and now, nearly a year after publishing this first chapter, the story nears completion. I'm proud to say that I believe my writing has improved over that time, so I thought it was only fair that this, my first, be given a fitting revision as we come to the end. A huge thanks is owed to all of you who have read, reviewed, and made this story such a pleasure for me to write. You truly are the greatest inspiration an author could ever wish for.
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She headed for the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10 at a casual jog, the cart of her belongings wheeled before her, and as she raced for the solid brick surface, a familiar moment of hesitation rushed through her brain. A sense of panic, something she'd failed to eliminate—even in this, her seventh year—that this time, the magical barrier would not give. She would not slip into the world beyond, the world full of wonder and amazement. Instead she would fall away, her belongings scattering across the platform, and be forever trapped in the dull, insipid world of the Muggles. She would forever be one of them, completely un-magical and blissfully unaware of such things as Quidditch matches, N.E.W.T. examinations, and theories of transubstantial transfiguration…
But then she was through, coming to a stop just beyond the barrier to both catch her breath and take in the sights and sounds that were Platform 9¾. Before her, the immense red engine of the Hogwarts Express billowed up clouds of steam in preparation for its departure. Standing along its train of passenger cars, witches and wizards were seeing off their children to another magical year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry—magical in the most literal sense, of course. A hum of excitement seemed to permeate the entirety of the platform, along with the rich, spicy scent she'd come to equate with all things relating to her life at Hogwarts. She drew slow, deep breaths, taking it all in, and her lips could not be stopped from curling into a warm smile at the comforting familiarity. Her earlier frets seemed suddenly not so bothersome as she acknowledged the fact that, yes, she was home.
And in that instant, she also acknowledged the fact that a weight had fallen upon her person, located in the region of her posterior, a weight that seemed to bear the shape of a hand. With only a single raised eyebrow as testament to her annoyance, she said in a cool, casual voice, "Brian Keeler, if you don't get your hand off my ass in the next two seconds, I will gladly rip it from your body and beat you to death with it."
The hand was instantly gone, replaced on her shoulder, and this time accompanied by its grinning owner. The tall, muscular young man swung into view, green eyes gleaming with mirth as he playfully wiggled his eyebrows at her and said, "Your powers of clairvoyance are unmatched, Miss Reed."
A smirk twitched into life on Darcy Reed's own visage. "More like, I know you're the only person who knows he can get away with touching my ass without fear of castration." She broke into a full smile and flung her arms around his neck, knocking him back a step. "God, it's good to see you, Bri."
Brian embraced his best friend in return. "Sorry I didn't get a chance to see you this summer, DC," he said as they released each other, "but my mom wanted me back in the States to—" he made a wholly unpleasant face, "—visit the family."
"Ah, don't worry about it. I got your letters, anyway," she replied as they started to walk together down the platform, the only two American students currently in attendance at Hogwarts, with the possible exception of one of the new first years.
"So, I see you beat your record this year," said Brian conversationally, glancing at his watch as he pushed her trolley along for her. "You've arrived with fifteen whole minutes before the train's supposed to leave, five minutes more than your current record! And of course, we can't forget your lowest record, standing at an even two minutes." He smiled at her approvingly, feigning to sniff back tears. "Feel just like a proud parent right now."
Unimpressed, Darcy shot back, "Speaking of parents, where are the lovely Mr. and Mrs. Keeler? They don't seem to be present this year to see their little Bri-Bri off!" She reached over to pinch one of his cheeks.
Scowling, he said, "Yeah, well, they were banned after last year's… after last year."
Wide, guileless blue doe's eyes blinked up at him as Darcy queried innocently, "You mean you won't let your parents come say good-bye to you just because last year your mom came running through the crowd with—"
"I thought we agreed not to talk about this."
"Did we?" Darcy smiled, ever so coy.
A wicked smirk then found Brian's face, setting upon the girl instant unease. "Say, while we're on the topic of things we've agreed not to talk about, a certain Mr. Kotter Baines is looking for you."
She flinched, suddenly looking sick. "God, if you see him, please don't tell him where I am. The last thing I need is another argument here on the platform."
"Trouble in paradise?" he asked, and when she'd nodded in affirmation, he added, "He still on about the Quidditch thing again?"
"Oh yeah. That's the big issue right now, apparently the one that's threatening to break apart our oh-so-precious relationship." Darcy snorted, anger bubbling up like liquid lava into her belly. "I mean, honestly, Brian, it's ridiculous! I've told him a thousand, thousand times, I'm not only a Seeker, but the team captain, for god's sake, and I need to practice! I even made out a whole schedule so people would know when to come visit me at times when I wouldn't be busy. So what does he do? Shows up, right in the middle of practice! And not just once, five times, mind you, even after I told him again my schedule, and he has the nerve to get mad at me?"
Her best friend offered a shrug, trying to stay neutral, as always.
"And if that's not bad enough, he's got nothing to do all summer, right? Just hang around the house, do his homework, hang out with those hideous friends from Slytherin he has, and the one chance I get to come and visit him all summer, he's out playing the stupid Muggle sport! What's it called again? Gorf? Guff?"
Brian, whose parents were both Muggles, answered, "It's golf, DC."
"Right, goff. That's what I said. He's out playing goff! What an idiotic sport! You can't fly on those ridiculous metal sticks they carry, and the balls don't even fly!"
"Well, technically, when they're hit—"
Growling low in her throat, she insisted, "They don't fly, Brian. And he's playing this 'goff' when I come to visit him, and he can't even be bothered to come off the cream—"
"That's green."
"—to talk to me. You know, I wouldn't be so mad if he'd been practicing Quidditch, as he is supposed to be our star Chaser this year. I bet you he hasn't even touched a broom in two months! Our chances of winning the Quidditch Cup this year just keep getting dimmer and dimmer…" she trailed off, all the fight draining out of her now that she'd said her piece. She gazed around bemusedly, startled to see that at some point, they'd boarded the train, selected an empty cabin, and Brian was currently storing her trunk in the overhead compartments.
He handed her the metal cage that contained her barn owl, Manhattan, and glanced at her amusedly. "You done now?"
Shrugging, she nodded. "Yeah. Think so."
"Good, because I've got something for you," he said and crawled on top of his seat, reaching far back into the overhead compartment for something hidden behind his own trunk. He started to pull it out, hesitated, then said over his shoulder, "You better sit down, DC."
Out of curiosity, she obliged, squinting her eyes to peer into the shadows of the compartment and see what her friend was hiding.
"So I know I didn't get a chance to see you on your birthday, and the present I wanted to get you was a little too expensive for me. Luckily, I just happened to talk to your parents, who also suggested I talk to the rest of our friends, and between all of us, we came up with the Galleons to get you my special gift." He shot a glance over his shoulder. "Are you sitting?"
"Yep." She leaned forward a bit on her seat, intrigued.
"Good. So anyway. I'm walking down Diagon Alley, the money in my pocket, headed for the store where I'd seen the gift I wanted to get you, when all the sudden, I see it. Something way better than what I was going to get you. I knew you had to have it. So I recounted the money, and I had just enough to get you something very special… Still sitting?"
Darcy let a touch of impatience drift into her voice. "Haven't moved."
"All right. So I decide to go ahead and buy this special gift, even though it's not what I originally told everyone I was buying. But when I told them what I'd got instead, they all agreed it was a much better gift, and that they all knew you'd love it. Your butt's on the seat, right?"
"Glued!" She was positively antsy now, and demanded, "Just show me!"
"You got it. So then we all decided that instead of on your birthday, we'd give it to you on the first day of school, so it'd be a kind of last-year gift, and then—"
"Brian! I know you love to draw out the drama, but you know I have absolutely no patience. You need to tell me what you got me," she said, just the right amount of threatening in her tone to get her point across. "Now."
Biting hard on his bottom lip to conceal his smirk, he pretended to reluctantly relent. "Okay, okay. You don't have to get moody with me." He finally pulled away from the compartment, a package in his hands that looked suspiciously broomstick-shaped. Grandiosely he deposited it in her outstretched hands, and as she began to strip off the gold wrapping paper, he narrated, "It's your last year at Hogwarts, DC, as it is mine, and therefore, our last chance to see Gryffindor win the Quidditch Cup. As both our captain and our Seeker, that job falls rather heavily into your hands, and it's only right that you be properly equipped to handle it."
The last bit of paper fell to the floor, and Darcy felt a gasp slip past her lips. "Ohh… Brian…" Further words escaped her as she stared down at the thing resting gently in her hands.
"Latest model, top of the line, brand spankin' new, and it's yours," he said, smiling. "You definitely deserve it, Darcy."
She tried to speak, swallowed hard, tried to speak again; no words would come. Tears had caught on her lower eyelashes, but she simply couldn't take her eyes off her new beautiful, gleaming broomstick. Its oak handle was polished to perfection, each tail twig smoothing back to a precise point, and on the handle, embossed in shimmering gold letters: Nimbus '99. Over the summer, every time she'd visited Diagon Alley, she had made a point of stopping to examine this very same broomstick in the window display of Quality Quidditch Supplies. She had never even dared to dream that it would one day be hers…
"Th-thank—" she managed to push only the single word out before the lump in her throat grew too large for speech.
Slipping into the seat next to her, Brian wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently placed a kiss on her forehead. "You are very much welcome." He gave her a moment to clear her throat and wipe away the tears that had streamed down her face before he added, "You'll have to owl your parents when we get to Hogwarts; they were dying to hear your reaction. And don't forget to thank Toby, Keely, Loren, and—yes, even Kotter. Although if its any consolation, he contributed the least amount of money."
Darcy managed a chuckle at this as she swiped the last smudge of teardrop off her cheek. "Yeah, but the fact that he gave money at all, he probably thinks I owe him something."
"Maybe he'll ask you to give him a little welcome-back blow—"
"Brian."
"Anyway, since we're on the subject of Quidditch." He flashed a grin at her, which she couldn't help but return. Quidditch seemed to be an eventual topic during any of Darcy and Brian's conversations. It had become a running competition to see who could introduce it first; extra points were given for a creative or subtle entrance.
Darcy agreed amiably, "Yes, about Quidditch."
"Have you put any thought into a replacement Keeper yet? Not to mention reserve teams… and, well, I hate to say it, but since Kotter hasn't practiced all summer, you may want to consider a stand-in Chaser till he gets back up to speed."
"Yeah, but he'll bitch royally if I do, and I've got enough problems with him already," she countered as she methodically ran her fingers over the smooth surface of her Nimbus '99. "But I think I might start alternating the Weasley twins in as Beaters during our pre-season scrimmages; they were some of the best players at tryouts last year and I can only imagine they've gotten better. They'll probably get reserve team."
"And the Keeper?"
Heaving a sigh, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain shrugged helplessly. "Don't know. Our reserve man graduated, and nobody at tryouts last year struck me as too remarkable… except Ralleigh, maybe. I played a few games with him last year, he wasn't too bad." She glanced at Brian, whom she considered her unofficial co-captain and one of the best Beaters to ever play at Hogwarts. "What do you think, Bri?"
"Actually, there's somebody I've been keeping my eye on, a fourth year named Wood. A little over-enthusiastic, but has some pretty revolutionary ideas about tactics and plays."
Darcy was intrigued. "Oh yeah? Why hasn't he tried out the last three years?"
"He did. In fact, he was usually one of the first ones there."
"Then why'd I never see him play?"
"Because you always get bored and leave before the end of tryouts, and he always wants to go last. So he could size up the competition and modify his performance accordingly, he told me, when I talked to him. But he's been there every year," offered the seventh year male, and giving barely a moment of pause for her to contemplate, he instantly began a new topic, "So where is it?"
"Where's what?" she asked distractedly, still trying to remember exactly who Wood was; there were only two fourth year males currently in Gryffindor, but she had a bad habit of mixing up her fourth and fifth year House mates.
"Your Head Girl badge."
These words managed to cut through her mental haze, her head snapping up so quickly to gaze at him that she actually heard her vertebrae pop. In a nervous whisper she murmured, "Oh hell, I forgot about that," and quickly reached down to the hem of her shirt. For the first time, Brian noticed a shiny glint of silver pinned to the bottom of her button-down shirt, which was a brilliant shade of purple crisscrossed with light blue and cream stripes. Glimmering against the fabric was a badge that proudly proclaimed Darcy "Head Girl." Her smaller but still pretentious Quidditch captain's badge rested just above it.
In a second, she'd flipped both badges over, so the cold metal rested against her stomach and all that could be seen was her folded shirt.
With a laugh, Brian mused, "What, you don't want anyone to see your accomplishments?"
"Not really," she muttered back irritably, still fiddling with the badges to make sure they were adequately hidden. "Nobody knows I'm Head Girl yet, and the last thing I need is everybody making a big deal about it—"
"Then you better hurry up and quit playing with them, because company has arrived," he said in a low voice, just as the cabin door banged open and revealed four smiling faces.
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And that would be the first chapter, in its (revised) entirety. My thanks goes out to my readers/reviewers, whether you've been reading from the beginning, or are just joining the F2F party. Love ~ Adele