Get Around the Wind

[Florizel Collins-Potter]

Flory had left lunch when everyone else had, but now the corridors were empty. He did not know how or when he had ended up all by himself, but he had, and now he had to figure out how to get to class on his own.

Which class was he going to again?

Flory glanced at the reminders he had inked on his hand. Astronomy. Astronomy was much more fun when they had it at midnight, and now he was going to have to get all the way up to class and he was already, evidently, very late.

He frowned and took the stairs as quickly as he could, determined to be out of breath when he got there because in his experience that made professors less likely to take away points.

The staircase he was on started moving and Flory clutched the railing as he took the next step, just in case. He resisted the strong desire to swear when the top of the staircase reconnected - a floor beneath and on the opposite side of where he needed to be.

Flory stared upwards as though he could will the staircase to move again.

He had started to head down the hallway towards the other staircase when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him and turned around.

  

[Adasia Mohr]

Adasia had two free hours on that day and she didn't want to spend them at the Gryffindor common room or the library as always. Hogwarts was a huge place but she rarely got to explore. What was the point of going to a place like Hogwarts if you didn't explore just a little?

With her diary and the books for her next class in her bag, Adasia took a staircase to a corridor she had never been to before. Usually, she kept her diary somewhere hidden, but today she had decided to write down anything interesting she found on her little expedition. Her next class was also History of Magic, which was boring, so she could write in it about Quidditch players if she managed to find a seat somewhere at the back of the classroom.

Her expedition so far was a rather fruitless one, though, so when Adasia saw an obviously older student in front of her she decided to go and ask him for directions. Maybe he knew about some nice and secret place she didn't know about! And his hair was nice and brown and he sort of reminded her of Mr. Arthur Pettigrew because Adasia was obsessed enough with him to think of him whenever she saw a dark haired male.

When she realized that he was one of Gryffindor's Quidditch players, Adasia smiled brightly. "You're the new chaser!" she exclaimed, as if she had met a very important person. Which he was, in Adasia's opinion, because Quidditch players were the only males that truly mattered, at least at Hogwarts.

  

[Florizel Collins-Potter]

The footsteps had come from a girl.

The girl was very pretty.

That was the very first thing Flory noticed about her, and he was naturally more inclined to talk to her than he would have been if she was plain or ugly looking.

The second thing he noticed was that he and the girl were the same height. Unfortunate. At least Flory was very used to it by now.

He straightened himself upwards as if he could make himself more impressive just by doing that, or somehow will himself to be taller than he actually was.

"I am the new chaser!" he said cheerfully, puffing out his chest a little. Flory was more than a little pleased that the girl knew about his grand achievement, both because he was very proud of it and because he always liked it when pretty girls knew things about him.

"Florizel Collins-Potter. I'm so sorry, but I don't actually know your name or anything-" he smiled sheepishly "- Miss?" He did not think that they had ever met before, because surely he would have been able to place someone so striking even with his atrocious memory.

  

[Adasia Mohr]

He definitely looked like Mr. Pettigrew. And he was a chaser too! Clearly, it was meant for them to meet on that day. The universe surely had plans for them and Adasia would do what the universe wanted her to do. It was just a matter of time before this Florizel Collins-Potter realized it too, which wouldn't take him long because she was very pretty.

"I am Miss Adasia Mohr!" Adasia quickly introduced herself. How come he didn't know her name? Her face was not one you could easily forget and Adasia always assumed that her beauty had gone beyond the walls of the Gryffindor common room.

"When I was watching the tryouts, you reminded me of Mr. Arthur Pettigrew, one of my favourite Quidditch players!" Adasia told the boy with a bright smile. "You have such talent! And the way you stood on your broomstick! You looked so heroic and brave!" Adasia wondered if he'd look as heroic covered in blood with broken teeth in his mouth.

  

[Florizel Collins-Potter]

"Pettigrew - international captain, wasn't it?" Flory said, hoping that he was remembering correctly because he very much wanted to impress Miss Mohr.

He beamed when she complimented his abilities. "Thank you!" Flory said, "I hoped that I would get it. I mean I liked my chances, because Gallivan and Wood were so young and - did I really look heroic?"

He angled himself towards her, almost subconsciously, like he was angling himself towards the warm sunshine coming through a window. She was so pretty, and so complimentary; Flory had almost entirely forgotten that he had to go to Astronomy just because of her presence, although of course he still had his reminder scrawled on the back of his hand.

  

[Adasia Mohr]

Even if Mr. Collins-Potter was a horrible chaser there was no way that Gallivan or Wood would have gotten the position. The former never looked like chaser material to Adasia, although that could probably change in the future and the latter was a girl and Adasia never viewed Miss Wood as capable for being good at anything. Adasia doubted that Wood would return for her sixth, or even fifth or fourth year.

“Yes, yes you did!” Adasia assured him with a bright smile as she carefully placed a hand on his arm. “You looked very heroic and brave! Like a knight! When I read your name on the new roster I was certain that Gryffindor would see no loss this year!”

Was she being too generous with her compliments? Adasia doubted that she had been so generous previously, but she rather liked Mr. Collins-Potter. He looked more like a man compared to Emmett Beauregard and Scout Fitzgerald. “I will certainly attempt to come for one of Gryffindor’s practices, if you wouldn’t mind my presence, of course!”

  

[Florizel Collins-Potter]

Flory beamed and blushed as she lay her hand on his arm. Normally that was the sort of thing that would have shocked him, from a strange girl - but she was far too captivating for him to be offended.

Incredibly pretty girls were one thing; incredibly pretty girls that were flattering him were another entirely. Heroic and brave, how about that? Usually Flory was far too clumsy for people to call him heroic - but Miss Mohr believed in him!

"I wouldn't dream to mind you being there!" Flory professed, smiling at her in what he hoped was a reassuring fashion. "I bet that we would even play better if you were watching us."

  

[Adasia Mohr]

“Perfect!” Adasia said with a smile. She would have gone to the practice even if he didn’t want her there, but it was nice that he was not foolish enough to say no. But then, even the biggest fool couldn’t say no to Adasia. And fools were not the ones she’d have to fear rejection from. It was the smart ones that resisted most. Fools rushed in.

“I have no doubt that you will strive to impress me” Adasia added with a smile. “All of you. But of course, I am sure that you will be able to outshine them all. Talent is always easily visible and the Gryffindor team has stumbled into a gem, I am sure!”

Adasia considered what her next words could be. She quite liked showering him in compliments, because it felt like playing with a little pet, but she didn’t want to be too bold.

But being bold was fun. And Gryffindors were supposed to be bold, weren’t they?

She leaned slightly closer and said with an almost whisper.

“I am sure that the girl you will dedicate your first goal to on your first match will be very, very lucky.”

And that girl, would of course be her. Because Mr. Collins-Potter surely couldn’t have any other girl in his heart. And if he did, then she had surely been erased by now.

  

[Florizel Collins-Potter]

She was so close - very, very close - and Florizel found himself incredibly aware of her lips as she whispered at him. It required quite a bit of concentration for him to actually pay attention to what she was saying, but he tried, because her words were just as mesmerizing as the rest of her.

"She certainly would be," Flory murmured with wide eyes.

He should kiss her.

He shouldn't kiss her.

Her lips looked like the sort of lips that were meant for kissing.

But kissing was not something you did with a girl you had just met.

But he wanted to so badly-

He didn't kiss her. "I - I have to go to Astronomy," Flory said plaintively, not moving even though he had remembered his obligations and knew that he was almost certainly going to lose points for being this late.

  

[Adasia Mohr]

His wide eyes have her such joy. Adasia expected him to lose all controls over himself and kiss her, like Emmett had done on their first meeting, but this one seemed stronger. But, in the same time, strong in a way that didn’t make Adasia lose interest completely, like with Fitzgerald.

She would love to sit there and play some more, but he seemed to have other places to be at and Adasia didn’t want Professor Browne to suddenly show up because he had went to see where Florizel was.

“Oh, then I shall not keep you!” Adasia said brightly to the boy. “We share a Common room, so I have no doubt that we will meet again.” Then, she gave him a smile and a small curtsy and started walking away.