You Can Fly!! (Mariah)

Subject: You Can Fly!! (Mariah) Sun Mar 10, 2019 11:17 am

January was back in full swing, classes were busy once more, and there was an excited twitter in the air about whether anything was going to be done about Valentine's Day this year at the school. It was the same rumour every year, met with a tonne of disappointment usually, but Nikolai didn't pay much attention to this chatter. The special day was of no interest to him, he didn't have anyone in his life that he felt like that about, so why would he get excited?

He hadn't.

A fine dusting of snow covered the grounds, not as much as they usually got, but enough to make the grounds look more breathtaking than usual. Nikolai had woken up early-ish that morning, amongst an excitement of the fact more snow had come overnight. Apparently living in Scotland hadn't gotten the third year boys to calm down yet, and a groggy Nikolai had been the last to step in the showers that morning before returning to pull on some warm clothes to keep from freezing in the dungeons.

He'd paused before heading out with his dorm mates, considering for a moment as he pulled out his phone from his pocket and drew up Mariah's number. In there were a number of texts back and forth about various homework topics, an excited text when Nikolai had managed a half-bubble when trying the Bubble-Head Charm on his own, and a couple of other observations from their days. Nothing overly exciting to a third party to peruse, but for Nikolai at least, it showed the first true friendship he'd made at the school.

Sunday 24 January 2026, 7:47am
Hey Mariah, sorry if this wakes you -- I really hope it doesn't! I'm heading down to the Quidditch pitch with the boys from my dorm. I still owe you that flying lesson. If you feel like braving the cold, come meet me there. Nikolai

With that, Nikolai stuffed the battered phone back in to his pocket, turned back to his trunk to retrieve the hat his mum had knitted for him, pulled it down over his almost too long hair and hurried out after his dorm mates towards the Quidditch pitch to get some practice in whilst the rest of the school was probably still sleeping.

The weather was mild, but not too cold, the snow making a light crunch underfoot as Nikolai ran after his dorm mates to try catch up. Ji Hyun had already made it to his broom by the time Nikolai had arrived, heading up high in to the sky and performing tricks that he'd apparently learned over the Christmas Break. Nikolai had had to pause for a moment upon seeing Ji Hyun's new broom. A Firebolt, by the looks of it, the speed greater than -- almost -- anything he'd seen.

"Look at that," Daniel mused, watching Ji Hyun soar past them, spraying up snow in his wake. "He's got to be nearly as fast as Mimosa now!"

Nikolai scowled at Daniel, shoving past the boy to collect his own Nimbus broom he'd bought over the summer. "He's just a show off." Nikolai insisted, reaching in to his pocket to check his phone again, only to find nothing new had come through. Pushing it back in to his pocket, Nikolai mounted his own broom and took off up in to the sky, keeping away from Ji Hyun as he rose up above the stadium so that he could see back towards the castle.

And maybe, slightly, definitely hope that Mariah was coming out to meet him.

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Mariah slowly blinked her eyes open, curling up and pulling her warm quilt more snugly around her as she burrowed into her mattress. Sunlight was just beginning to stream into her dormitory, and some of her dormmates were starting to shuffle around. A telltale quiet filled the air, letting Mariah know even before she looked that it had snowed last night.

Although she had grown up in California, much of that time had been spent in Wrightwood, in the mountains. She was no stranger to snow, although Wrightwood winters were generally not as cold as consistently as Scotland ones from what she'd heard. Personally, she loved winter - the cold reminded her of hot drinks and warm sweaters and sitting by the fire at Christmastime with her parents. As her dormitory slowly came to life around her, she lay still for a few moments to savor the warmth of her bed, appreciating how the interior of the Hufflepuff basement had been designed specifically for comfort.

Eventually, she took a deep breath and stretched, sitting up and glancing around. Some of the girls had already left the room, some were still sleeping, and others were digging through their trunks searching for clothes and whatever else they needed for the day. Mariah reached over and detached her phone from its charger, briefly checking the screen for any notifications.

She had a text from Nikolai.

She unlocked her phone and read his message, checking the time and smiling before typing out a quick reply of her own.

Sunday, 24 January 2026, 8:03am
I'll be right there! M

Suddenly energized at the thought of her first flying lesson, Mariah quickly scrambled out of bed, rummaging through her trunk and pulling out a warm knitted sweater, equally warm socks, a jacket, a scarf, and a beanie. She hastily threw them on, pulling on some gloves as an afterthought before tugging her boots over her feet, stowing her phone in her back pocket, and slipping out the door.

As she made her way out onto the grounds, the chill against her face made her feel alive and she decided it was a perfect day for flying. Although the weather wasn't too cold down here, she figured the air would be colder from a higher altitude, so she was glad she had bundled up.

Arriving at the Quidditch pitch and looking up, she noticed a few boys already soaring through the air. She shielded her eyes with one hand and searched for Nikolai among them. When she spotted him, she grinned and waved excitedly.

Subject: Re: You Can Fly!! (Mariah) Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:23 pm

Nikolai's eyes had been split between Ji Hyun trying his hand at 'stunts' on his broom, and looking back to the castle as he did a figure of eight around the goal posts to waste time. Calls came up from the other boys for him to join in as they used their wands to bring snow up to have a mid air snow ball fight, all trying to catch Ji Hyun as he streaked around the Quidditch Pitch looking much too happy with themselves.

Nikolai's phone would go off in his back pocket unnoticed due to its always on silent settings which meant he would only ever know of a text if he could see the phone when it lit up with the notification. Again he would look out to the castle, hoping to spot someone coming down from the castle, but for the first fifteen or twenty minutes, nothing.

Nikolai had almost resigned himself to the notion Mariah probably wasn't going to come out in the snow to fly. Or, perhaps she was still sleeping? So far, he hadn't worked out the witch's schedule because they didn't... suffocate one another. But right now, he really wished he did know as he looked back just in time to see the snowball that was going to hit the back of his head connect with his cheek.

"You absolute tosser!" Nikolai growled, turning his broom and hurrying after Daniel in that moment, managing to claw his wand from his belt as he zoomed down to the ground, curling the snow in to a ball shape before he sent it flying after Daniel's back where it exploded in a good powdery mess against the boy's back. Grinning to himself triumphantly, Nikolai turned back around and someone on the ground caught his eye.

Mariah!

Grinning as he waved back, the Slytherin boy completely forgot about his surroundings for just a second. Only a second. Four snowballs hit the boy in various places, leaving him covered in the powdery substance before he flew back down to the ground, landing just a few yards away from Mariah. "Hey," he greeted, dusting the snow off of his jacket with his left hand. "Glad you can make it, today is going to be a great day for flying!"

"Ditching us for your girlfriend, Squid Boy? Mimosa won't like thattttt!" Ji Hyun called down, but Nikolai ignored them, motioning to the broom shed.

"Ignore them, they think they're funny, they're really not. I haven't told them you're my girlfriend, either, in case you would think I would do something like that." He explained as he showed her to the shed, undoing the lock which they weren't really supposed to know the code to, and moving to collect one of the school brooms for Mariah. "Here we go. Now, this is an older Nimbus model, it was brought out in about twenty eighteen, or something. But, it's still a good broom to be leaning on. But, lets go out of the stadium to practice, we don't want to be heckled the whole time." Nikolai insisted, once again leading the way.

"Oh, and I didn't wake you with my text, did I?" He asked, realising he hadn't checked. "I thought today would be a good day to fly, that's all. I hope it's okay. I mean... I guess it is, you're here." With that, the boy shook his head, trying to start again. "How are you?" He settled on, because that was an easy conversation to work with.

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As Nikolai turned to wave back at her, Mariah watched him get pelted with snow from all sides and smothered a giggle behind her hand. Maybe it was a little mean to laugh, but he didn't seem hurt or even particularly bothered as he descended to the ground, so she let herself relax.

"Hey," she returned his greeting with a smile. Without thinking, she reached out and brushed some snow off his shoulder that he'd missed. "It seems like it! I can't wait," she replied, letting some of her excitement shine through.

She looked up as one of the other boys taunted Nikolai from the air. She frowned, her brow furrowing a little at the name he'd called Nikolai. Squid Boy? Because he liked to watch the Giant Squid? She felt a tiny spark of anger on behalf of her friend. It was mean to make fun of someone simply because of the things they enjoyed. Did people always call Nikolai names?

She turned her attention back to Nikolai as he told her to ignore them. After a moment's consideration, she decided he didn't seem hurt or offended by the boy's words, so she followed his advice and pushed the incident aside for now. Maybe they could talk about it another time. She followed him as he led her to the broom shed.

She shook her head as he explained he had nothing to do with anyone thinking they were boyfriend and girlfriend. "I know you wouldn't," she reassured him. "And it doesn't bother me. They're just being dumb."

It was normal for guys to tease each other about stuff like that, so she didn't let it phase her. It was the name-calling that rubbed her the wrong way, but as long as Nikolai didn't mind it, she figured there was no need to bring it up right now.

She thanked him softly as she took the broom he handed her, getting a feel for the grip and weight of it. She really knew nothing about broomstick models, so she honestly didn't think she'd be able to tell the difference between an older one and a newer one. She studied it anyway, trying to imagine how she would balance on it. She couldn't believe she might actually be flying in only a few minutes!

She nodded and followed him back outside. "You didn't wake me," she replied. "I was just waking up anyway."

She smiled gently at him as he seemed to answer his own question, and she waited for him to collect himself. "I'm doing pretty well," she answered. "Can't complain about anything. How are you?"

Subject: Re: You Can Fly!! (Mariah) Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:00 pm

Nikolai did flinch slightly as Mariah lifted her hand up towards him, but relaxed as he noted she was only going for the snow. Smiling at the witch for the help, he added a soft 'thanks' to their conversation before they moved on.

Her reassurance that she knew he hadn't told the others she was his girlfriend was relieving for Nikolai. Not that Mariah wasn't nice or anything like that, he just didn't want his friendship with the girl to be ruined over some other people being stupid. But, of course, like most things he'd found out about Mariah, she was much smarter than most of the other girls at the school, which meant he didn't have to explain himself all the time. Still, some habits died hard, and he found himself doing so unnecessarily.

Finding the witch hadn't been woken from his text was good news, too, and Nikolai smiled at the knowledge she'd just been waking up as he'd texted. Tucking that snippet of information away, Nikolai concentrated on the rest of her answer to his question. "Glad to hear it. I'm good too. I mean, I would have been better if I didn't get a snowball to the side of the face just before you'd arrived, but the cold sting will wear off soon enough." He explained, giving a soft laugh that showed he wasn't looking for sympathy, just giving her a lo down on what had gone on before she'd arrived.

"And, I'm super glad you decided to come outside. Playing snow ball fights with those idiots would have been so, so boring." He added, turning left at the end of the entrance of the Quidditch pitch so they could move to the flatter ground there.

"Okay, so, the first thing you need to know before we get to the basics, is that the broom responds to you. You're in control of the broom, so if you panic, you will probably end up getting hurt. Do everything slowly, and you won't hurt yourself. Andddd, I'm not trying to scare you, so please don't think of the broom as scary, just think of it... as an extension of yourself." Nikolai explained, laying his broom down on the ground and standing to the left of it. "Put your broom on the ground, and stand on the left of it."

When the witch complied with the instruction, Nikolai grinned across at her. "Good, now, put your right hand over the handle of the broom like this, and, you have to speak very clearly, say up, as a command." Nikolai explained, before completing his own instructions. "Up!" He told his broom firmly, and within a second, the Nimbus broom of his own was in his hand with a firm slap against his palm. Feeling more than satisfied with that -- it never got old when you did that -- Nikolai looked across to Mariah to try it herself, hoping that the broom would comply to her instructions with quick success so that she wouldn't grow frustrated.

Of course, it was her first time flying, so Nikolai didn't expect miracles, but he didn't want his friend to grow disappointed, either.

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Mariah breathed a short laugh along with Nikolai as he joked about getting hit with snow. As long as he wasn't upset about it, it was nice to laugh with him rather than at him.

She frowned a little as he casually referred to the other boys as idiots. That wasn't very nice. She supposed from what she'd seen they weren't very nice to him either, so maybe they deserved it, but she wasn't the kind of person to pass judgement like that before meeting them. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little happy that he enjoyed spending time with her even more than he liked spending time with his housemates. It made her feel special, somehow. Important.

Mariah nodded as Nikolai explained how the broom worked, growing slightly concerned as he told her not to panic. I'm pretty sure "don't panic" is the most panic inducing phrase in the English language, but okay. She tried to remain calm, breathing deeply before doing as he instructed and setting the broom on the ground beside her. She knew he was just trying to help.

Mariah listened and watched as Nikolai demonstrated the proper technique. So far, it didn't seem too complicated. When he looked at her expectantly, she hesitantly held out her hand above her broomstick and cleared her throat.

"Up?" she tried. Nothing happened. As a command, he'd said. She would have to be more confident. "Up," she tried again, summoning all of her firmness. The broom twitched a little, rolling over. Mariah felt her heart leap with excitement. She wasn't there yet, but she was closer. She glanced up at Nikolai for affirmation, or maybe critique. He'd done it so easily, but she figured he probably had years of practice under his belt. Had he struggled at one point too?

She took a deep breath. "Up," she tried again, a little louder this time. The broom handle jerked upward at one end before settling back on the ground. Almost there. "Up!"

The broom finally relented, jumping upward to meet her palm. She wrapped her hand around it, eyes shining with excitement as she grinned up at Nikolai. She'd done it!

Subject: Re: You Can Fly!! (Mariah) Sat Mar 16, 2019 2:01 pm

Nikolai was excited. Very excited, even, to be teaching Mariah how to fly. This was going to be one of the best times all year, he was sure of it. It took almost all of his energy to stop him bouncing from foot to foot as he waited to see how she got on with the broom.

The Hufflepuff witch's first attempt was much too weak. Too much of a question, and nothing happened. Nikolai was about to open his mouth to explain she had to be firmer when the witch spoke again, speaking with a little more authority this time. The desired effect of the command was shown instantly as the broom decided to shuffle across the ground a little. To Mariah, that might have looked like she wasn't doing well, but as the witch looked up to him, he nodded enthusiastically to her to show that she was doing really, really well, and for her to keep going.

The next attempt was by far the best, as the handle started to come up, and then fell back to the floor, Nikolai's grin was growing. The final attempt, though, was perfect, and as the Nimbus flew in to Mariah's hand, Nikolai was beaming proudly at her. "You did it!" He exclaimed. "Well done! You actually managed to do that quicker than I did when I was first learning, so kudos to you!" Nikolai explained, feeling immensely proud of his best friend for managing to get the broom to comply to her wishes.

"Okay, so now the proper way to mount the broom. We're luck now a days that you have the small seat like pad on the broom." Nikolai explained, motioning to the seat on his own which was similar to Mariah's. "So you basically sit on that bit."

Climbing on to his own, Nikolai placed himself upon the seat, and then turned so he was sideways on for Mariah to see. "Now, your grip needs to have a gap in it. Don't fly with both your hands together, you have less control that way. You want one hand towards the top of the broom -- don't overstretch, though, or else you'll be uncomfortable. Then you want to miss at least a hand's worth of space, and put your other hand below it, like this." Nikolai showed the witch. "I would recommend putting your writing hand, or your dominant hand, as the bottom hand of the two as this is where you have the most control."

For Nikolai, this meant his right hand was the one closest to him, and likely it would be the same for Mariah, too. Motioning for her to try this out, Nikolai waited until she gave the signal that she was ready before he continued.

"Now, the flying part. You just need to push off gently, and you will hover. Keep yourself balanced out, don't lean forwards." He explained, doing just that and hovering just above the ground. "Then, when you've got your balance, lean a little forward, and you'll go forward." The Slytherin continued, once again showing the witch what he meant, and then waiting for her to follow the instructions he'd set out for her to follow.

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Mariah returned Nikolai's grin with an equally excited one of her own. She might actually be good at this! Well, at least so far. She hadn't tried actually flying yet, but she was off to a good start. She was encouraged by Nikolai's unwavering support and it lent her some confidence as they moved on to the next step.

Mariah watched as Nikolai demonstrated the correct way to sit, then mimicked his movements to the best of her ability. She swung one leg over the broom and got comfortable on the seat, keeping her right hand closer to her body while she stretched her left hand a few inches above it on the handle, all the while glancing back at Nikolai to make sure her own position looked the same as his. She shifted her hands a bit until she felt comfortable, then looked up at him expectantly, ready for his next instructions.

Now came the real test. She once again watched as he demonstrated, trying to memorize his instructions. He made it look so natural. She took a deep breath and looked down at her own broom. Although she had seen him fly only a second ago, her brain still had a hard time believing that this broom would actually let her defy gravity. What if it didn't work for her? What if she just ended up jumping and landing back on the ground because the broom didn't catch her? She'd look really stupid if that happened.

She shook the thought out of her head. That was unreasonable. Why would it suddenly stop working for her if it was meant to work for everyone? The broom had its own magic. She just had to trust it.

It was easier thought than done. Come on, just trust it. She exhaled slowly, then gradually pushed upward off the ground, making a smooth transition from standing on her tiptoes to hanging in the air. She was floating! She was actually floating! Her toes just barely brushed the ground if she stretched them, but she pulled them up instead, feeling a rush of exhilaration at the sensation of weightlessness. She let out breathy laugh, not yet moving, just enjoying the experience of being suspended in the air.

"I'm flying!" she giggled, finally forced to believe it. Meeting Nikolai's gaze, she waited for her heartbeat to settle down before she attempted the second part of his directions. She slowly grew accustomed to her new condition, relaxing her grip on the broom as both her mind and body got used to the idea of sitting in the air. Ever so slowly, she leaned forward, laughing giddily once more as the broom responded to her movement, bringing her parallel to Nikolai. She straightened up just as slowly and the broom came to a gentle halt in the air. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she realized her success. She could do this!

Subject: Re: You Can Fly!! (Mariah) Sun Mar 24, 2019 5:40 am

Nikolai's eyes remained firmly on Mariah, a little nervous that she might zip off if she overbalanced one way or another because his instructions hadn't been good enough, the Slytherin boy was all but holding his breath as Mariah pushed off from the ground in to a hover on the broom. Her balance was impeccable, though, as shown only a moment later as Mariah brought her feet up away from the ground and her broom remained steady.

The laugh that escaped the witch brought a fond smile to Nikolai's lips in that moment, watching her still as hawk-like as before because she was still a beginner, and he really didn't want her to hurt herself the first time she flew.

"You're doing great!" Nikolai replied to her comment about flying, barely able to contain his amusement in that moment because it was just so adorable to see her in this position. The witch kept on following his instructions, though, and not a few moments later, Mariah had drawn parallel with him, the stop she brought her broom to was fluid and graceful, and Nikolai was beaming at the witch. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you'd done this before he joked with the Hufflepuff.

"So, now, turning. All you have to do is move your weight to the left or right, ever so slightly, and use your hands to gently guide the broom in the direction you're going. Note that I said guide, if you yank your broom left or right, you're going to perform some really sharp turns which will more than likely unseat you from the broom. So, just go gently with it." Nikolai explained, before showing her, performing a soft 'S' shape on his broom, before turning back to face her with a full one eighty turn. His body didn't look to be moving all that much, but from the hips, you could see the slight adjustment of his weight either way to help the turn.

"You give it a go, then, we'll head up higher and go see some cool things!" Nikolai encouraged, because he just wanted to show Mariah everything all at once, but he knew she needed to have the basics down correctly before they could do so.

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Mariah beamed at the praise, blushing slightly. She remained stock still on her broom to make sure it didn't move without her permission. Nikolai's next instructions didn't seem like too much of a problem, though she doubted she could make her turns as graceful as his. She was already overly cautious and afraid to make any sudden movements, so she took no issue with the idea of turning gently.

Remaining somewhat tense because she thought it might help with control, she held her breath as she ever so slightly leaned to her right and felt the broom move with her. She began to turn slowly around her right shoulder in a tight circle, making a full 360 degrees, and then continuing onto a second circle as she realized it was harder to straighten up again than it was to lean. Panicking slightly, she overcompensated and pulled too far to the left. The broom swerved underneath her.

"Ah!" she yelped as the front of the broom dipped downward and deposited her back on the ground where she stumbled forward a couple steps. Luckily, her feet had only been about half a meter in the air to begin with, so it was a soft landing, and she came up holding the broom in one hand as she regained her footing on solid ground.

"Oops," she mumbled, face flushing with embarrassment. She'd been doing so well earlier. She brushed a bit of hair from her face and huffed softly, before swinging her leg over the broom once more.

With a bit more confidence and less hesitation than before, she lifted off the ground again and hovered in the air. Now that she knew she could trust the broom, that part wasn't so bad. Tongue poking out slightly in concentration, she gradually shifted her hips the way she'd seen Nikolai do it, but this time before she could complete a full turn, she pulled up slightly and was able to straighten before leaning the other way.

Her turns were a bit jerky and halting in places as she fought to maintain control of the broom, but she managed to complete a rough S shape without falling off. Not as good as Nikolai's, but at least she kind of knew how to do it. She didn't know if she wanted to test her luck yet at a higher altitude though, despite how alluring the idea of flying above the castle might be.

"I may need to practice this a bit if that's alright," she admitted sheepishly, clinging tightly to the handle of the broom.

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