trans_9 | On your broomsticks! [OPEN]

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On your broomsticks! [OPEN]

Following the instructions given to him by crew members here and there, Cedric stepped through a green archway tucked on a corner of the fifth floor and entered a grey void. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the sort of place that would be perfect for a day of flying. He imagined a bright grassy plain, a large lake, and a forest off to the side. Vague memories turned into vivid images surrounding him, so thoroughly convincing that he really believed he'd been taken from the ship and placed on a field back on Earth. It was quite a convincing illusion
.
All it needed now was the key piece: a group of brooms. He thought for a moment on which brooms to provide them with. Firebolts were the world standard, but he'd never known one well enough to be able to picture it accurately. The school brooms, Shooting Stars, were nice and safe for new riders but not quite reliable. In the end, he knew his own broom best: a sleek Nimbus 2001, gifted by his father. As long as he instructed the fliers to go slowly, they should be safe on those brooms.

Visitors would find Cedric side-mounted on a broom in his black and yellow Quidditch robes, gliding just slightly over the grass. As soon as he spotted them, he'd greet them enthusiastically and move to touch down. "Hi!"

((ooc: wide open for everyone to join in! We'll be doing some group exercises too, so thread around! Fly as a group when you're ready!))

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"In my world, you can't even fly without having some kind of animal or equipment that can do it like a blimp!" Kaya said, watching some of the others. Their enthusiasm was pretty infectious: how could she not want to take part in a wizard sport that Luna had mentioned to her before?

Kaya stared at the ball, and grinned. "Well, test me out! Throw the ball, we'll see if I can catch it!"

"Yeah. I can't wait until I have a broom outside these walls again. I've had to rely on other people flying me in the City." How he would love to take to the skies on his own again!

Grinning right back, he readied his toss. "Ready? Go!" When they were ready, he tossed the Quaffle in an upward arc.

"I wish I could help with that, but I'm not an airbender," Kaya said, shrugging. "But I'm sure that someone can eventually build you a broom that you can fly with."

Kaya readied herself. Once he threw the Quaffle, she waited a moment before the ball, rising, started to fall. She grinned, then bent downward and took off after the Quaffle, moving with breakneck speed. Just before it fell, she pulled her foot out and kicked it high in the air before rising up and catching it in her hand.

"I'm not too worried. Negi and I are going to work on it together. He's a remarkable wizard, do you know him?"

When she caught the Quaffle like an expert Chaser, Cedric's eyes flashed in delight. Yes. She had the build, the reflexes, the aptitude...he'd have to evaluate a team as a group first, but she was definitely on The List. When she looked up, she'd find him laughing and applauding.

"Brilliant! I've never seen a catch like that a person's first time out. You're a Chaser, absolutely."

Kaya laughed. "It's safe to say I know him well, actually: I consider him a little brother that I never had. But yes, I've seen him at work, and even when he uses his powers: it can be pretty scary, and he pushes himself. He's definitely a wizard not afraid to take chances."

Kaya grinned. "Honestly? I just think of Luna and how she would have been so happy if she saw you and Harry here. It makes me want to do my best. A lot of it though, has to do with me making sure I use my athleticism. I've definitely done more than I ever have in my own world."

"I'm going to study under him. I'm a little nervous, but I hope it helps."

Cedric sighed at the mention of Luna, the little witch he hardly knew. They'd seen each other a few times in the corridors, but that was all.

"I would've liked to meet her again. And I can understand that. I need too keep in shape if I'm going to survive. But as I said, you'll be a fine Chaser. I just wish I had teammates to run through exercises with you, but that'll come."

"That ought to be interesting," Kaya said. "But Negi is a genius, so I'm sure he won't steer you wrong. I actually look forward to seeing your progress."

Kaya nodded. "She was a unique girl, I know that much. I wish she had stayed, but you don't get to pick and choose who gets podded and all. I just hope that if she ever comes back, she'll get to be with some of her friends from Hogwarts. She seemed really happy there."

She definitely glowed with pride at being called a fine chaser, especially since she hadn't flown until now. "Like I said, I can always ask around! There's bound to be people as interested as I am abut flying and competing in a sport!"

"We all were," Cedric said wistfully. "Those were the best years of my life. I'd liked studying when I was younger, but I absolutely loved what I was learning at Hogwarts. We'll just have to build something for ourselves now."

He wished he could've completed his education, but that would remain just a dream.

"That's great! Just spread the word, and once I've talked to the others there should be a trial session."

"There are still other ways to learn, and many things to learn about," Kaya said. "I started here fairly competent as a waterbender, but now I'm faster, quicker and stronger than I ever was before. All it takes is just time and effort, and if you came from Hogwarts I know you have plenty of that!"

She nodded. "Definitely! I can think of a few people already!"

"If you say so. I know most of our arts can't be taught, but there are more important things. Ideas, techniques, crafts that we can all learn."

His head was filling with ideas. "So I'll expect to see you early for our next session?"

"I've seen that," Kaya said, "especially when it comes to Negi. Of course,, he is one of the most helpful people on the ship. It doesn't surprise me that he would try to help other witches on the ship."

She nodded eagerly. "Just announce on the comm the time and place. I'll be there!"

"Then I'm glad to have him. And I'll let you know, don't worry! I wouldn't pass up a Chaser like you."

Cedric drifted along with her, simply enjoying the illusion while he could. It was a wonderful thing. "So you're comfortable by now? You've got it?"

Kaya beamed with pride. "I'm glad you think so! I'll make sure I stay fit enough to stay that way."

Which was silly, since Kaya rarely are foods that were very high in cholesterol to begin with.

She nodded eagerly. "Yes, I think so!"

"Perfect," Cedric grinned at her, swooping low. "Is this all for the day, or did you want to stay here for a while? You should be able to fly here whenever you'd like now."

"Why should I want to leave now?" Kaya said, grinning. "I'm having fun! And who would want to stop, when they have the ability to fly? Please, can you show me...Hogwarts?"

"Hogwarts?" Now that was a new request---though he supposed it made sense, if she'd already been able to hear about it from Luna. "I could try, I suppose. But it's a large castle, and I don't know every detail of it. I couldn't show you the other common rooms, for example, just my own."

Even as he said it, the field was shifting slightly. A tree faded into existence just below them, its branches swinging at everything that came too close. A hut appeared just at the edge of the forest, with a dog barking at the window. Paths wound up through the field, all leading to a majestic castle to their left. The high towers were welcoming---and painfully familiar to Cedric.

"You're sure you want the tour?"

"That's all right! Just show me what you can! I never had the opportunity to look through Hogwarts when I was with Luna, I might as well get the opportunity now! It'll be fun, to see the place that she and you and Harry actually learned all of the magic."

She did spy the hut and wondered who lived there, and even waved at the dog. "Yes, of course!"

"All right. This way!" Cedric pulled into a dive, touching down just below the main steps of Hogwarts. He set his broom aside and closed his eyes, concentrating on making another change.

When he opened them, he'd changed into his school robes---the proper old uniform with yellow and black accents, all wrapped up in his school cloak. Wouldn't do to wander the halls improperly dressed, would it?

"We'll start with the entrance hall and great hall. They come up as soon as we enter, and they're definitely worth a look." If only he could wrench the doors open! It took a little effort, as it always did, but soon they were heading inside.

She leapt off the broom once he was done, and her eyes widened. There it was, just as big and amazing as she had thought it would be!

To help with the illusion, Kaya was also dressed in the same colors, her hair tied in a ponytail and clutching a wand that looked very much like one Negi used.

"Who's they?"

"Sorry about that," Cedric knocked his forehead. "There's no one here, it's just how I talk. It's eerie, actually. Hogwarts was always full of life. But here, let's enter the Great Hall. This is where we had our feasts."

He pushed open the door, ushering her into a grand if empty room. Four long tables stretched before them, and above their heads stretched...well, it didn't quite look like a ceiling. It appeared to be a vast sky, the mirror image of the one outside.

"It's enchanted to look like the sky outside. When it's snowing, it almost looks like it's going to fall on our heads while we eat."

"It's all right!" Kaya said brightly. "I'm just really happy to see this place either way! I even like the robes and everything."

She couldn't wait really, although she was definitely not letting go of the broom anytime soon. If they found out how to own a broom outside of the Sensorium, it was likely she was not going t let it go."

Kaya looked up, entranced. "It's...wow." Yes, there were long tables and and chandeliers and wonderful architecture, but it was the skylight that left her breathless.

"You don't look half-bad," Cedric complimented. She did wear the uniform well, though he wondered if she'd look even better in a house uniform that suited her. She could be a Hufflepuff, sure, but what of the other houses?

He took a wistful look at the skylight. "It's even more enchanting at night. That's when we all see it for the first time---first years walk down the center of the room, all in single file, waiting for their turn at the Sorting Hat. That tells us what house we're in. Every house has its own table here---Slytherins sit against that far wall, Ravenclaws next to them, Hufflepuffs here, and Gryffindors over there. The kitchens are a level below this room, and the food's enchanted to come through the floor to our plates."

It was quite a sight at mealtimes!

"Thank you," she said politely, smiling. "You definitely do your house justice,from what I've seen. Luna's told me about the different houses: I don't think I got to ask you which one you come from?"

She loved hearing about it though: she could only imagine what things would have been like if they had actually been in her world. She would love to have been a young girl, walking into a place like Hogwarts for the first time. Of course, something like that she would have thought impossible: people from the watertribe didn't really go to places like this.

"It's so...pretty," Kaya commented. "And you say a hat tell you where you're sorted?"

Cedric pulled on his robe as they paced the Great Hall, showing the badger-adorned badge shining proudly on his chest. "I'm a Hufflepuff. We're well known for our loyalty and hard work. You might've been one of us, though I suspect the hat would've put you in Gryffindor. You're brave, and you decide quickly."

He nodded. "Yeah! Every first year places the hat on their head. It looks inside your mind to see who you are, what you're going to become, and it places you based on what it sees. I was worried when it said I'd do well in Hufflepuff, but it wasn't so bad. It was wonderful."

All of this was starting to make him homesick for Hogwarts, so he stuffed that up and politely waited for questions.

Kaya blushed here. They all sounded like interesting houses, although she had gathered from Luna that those from the Slytherin house. "Thanks, but I'm sure that only the sorting hat would really know the answer to that. Who knows? I may have been in the same House with you!"

She smiled. "Whatever house you're placed in, I'm sure you would do wonderfully! To me, even the idea of using magic and going to a place like this is just amazing! I can't do anything like using magic, and the idea of having a school where you get to become better witches...its just mind blowing to me!"

She WAS a waterbender, who, compared with the other existing nations, really didn't have much in schools save for one teacher and the healers in her tribe.

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