The Quidditch Pitch

"Hey there Ace, you look rather contemplative today." Xander landed precariously on the fence that shielded the foremost seats from the rather high drop onto the pitch. He had been testing out a new enchantment he stuck on his broom late last night when he saw the other boy at the stands and decided to literally drop in.

"Hm, something like that." He scratched his head sheepishly, tucking his broom safely under his arm. "The balance hasn't been quite right since last Summer and it's been bugging me a lot."

"The sky." He grinned at his own stupid (and overused) joke before leaping onto the nearest seat. "I'll be sure to pay him a visit next Hogsmeade weekend then, thanks for the offer. But hey, I thought I'd just fly over to say 'hi', a lot's happened recently..."

"Is it... is it getting you down?" He seemed uncertain, crouching down so that he was no longer stood above him so they could talk properly. "I have a brother, James - you wouldn't know him -, but he used to vent a lot to me when stuff went completely out of whack in his life. I'm pretty good at listening and giving out unhelpful advice."

"So... Too caring for your own good? I don't know about you but to me, it sounds like you need something to take your mind off things, you know, something that grounds you and keeps you er, sane. Well, not literally grounding because-" He waved his broom in the air. "For me it's flying and that's pretty much the opposite."

"Hm, that's a problem." He frowned, thinking hard. "Hey, how about you summon your broom and we race? There's nothing better to take your mind off things and I-" His grin widened. "I've been wanting to test my skills up to yours ever since I found out that you were the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, you know, since we're both keepers and all."

Xander leapt back onto the fence, tipping forwards slightly as he tried to regain his balance, wildly flapping his arms before his broom buzzed to life. Whilst it was certainly incapable of sentient thought, he liked to think that it had grown accustomed to him and his ways, like how people break in new shoes to make it more comfortable for their feet. "Two laps around the field starting from the nearest set of goalposts. Ready for this, Ace?"

Xander kicked one leg over the broom, the familiar feel of the somewhat polished handle calming his breath. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his body in anticipation, sure it wasn't an actual game but there was no such thing as going half way when it came to flying. "Steady..."

At Ricardo's signal, Xander pressed himself against his broom, streamlining himself for the initial burst of speed that the Spitfyre branded brooms had became known for as he quickly tore down the pitch. True, it's max velocity wasn't up to standard with higher tiered brooms but its insane rate of acceleration more than made up for it.