Quote:
Originally Posted by
MsMorgan 
As Mariel sat back into the sofa following Nia's embrace, she eyed up her fellow sixth year's cupcake. It did look rather tasty. And while she had just finished devouring a feast for an army, certainly she could find enough room for one small cupcake? Turning her head in the direction of the food-laden table, green eyes lingered on the snacks there and, after brief contemplation, she quickly Accioed a chocolate cupcake.
Once in her hands, Mariel began to distractedly pick at the delectable treat as she listened to Nia speak. "Oh, that's good," she replied with a smile as Nia seemed to be in a good mood about the start of term. It was seeming to go well for her too, she thought, after she was so nervous about coming back and starting to question her decision. The Ravenclaw girl quickly looked down at her cupcake at Nia's next question and took a bite of her dessert to give her a little time to think of an answer while she chewed.
Swallowing hard, she then took a deep breath before she began. "I was at Durmstrang for about a year and a half," she said, looking up. "My father pulled me out of school near the end of term, the term before last. He was never happy with the werewolves that were here, especially with the attack during that assembly we had to go to." That seemed so long ago, yet she would never forget how terrifying that day was. "Anyway," she continued. "My father wanted me to go to Durmstrang then, but I convinced him to let me stay at Hogwarts. He agreed as long as I kept in touch on a weekly basis and let him know what was going on here. The Ministry assured him that the werewolves would be no problem and that the incident was a one-time, extremely rare, occurence, and that there would be safety measures in place. As long as everything was okay, I was allowed to stay here." Mariel paused and lowered her voice so no one around them would overhear. "So, when it was discovered that several students were killed that term, my father immediately came to get me out of here. I've been at Durmstrang ever since." There. That seemed like a good place to end things. But would Nia want to hear more? Mariel looked at her appraisingly, trying to gauge her reaction, not sure if she was ready to go into much detail.
Green eyes followe Nia's as she looked at the banner at Mariel's mention of it. Turning back to her housemate, she watched her eyes widen, slow realization dawning on Mariel as she covered her mouth in surprise. Oh no, they had lost, she realized, slowly shaking her head. How could that possibly have happened? They had the best team in the school. It seemed as though Nia blamed herself and Mariel felt just terrible for bringing it up. "Seeker's a really difficult position," she said, laying her hand on her friend's shoulder. "I never liked playing it. Too much pressure. Keeper's where it's at," she added with a grin. That had always been her favorite position, or at least ever since she played it on her house team. "Don't worry. We'll get the cup back this year, especially now that you're captain. And especially now that we've lulled the other teams into a false sense of security," Mariel added with a wink.
Try out? Mariel actually hadn't thought about it, having not played in so long. Biting her lip, she stared at Nia for a moment before answering. "Uhm.. I'm not sure... I mean, I haven't played in so long, I don't think I'd be any good anymore."
Breaking off some more of her cupcake, Nia ate it slowly as she patiently waited for Mariel's explanation. Something told her that her friend needed to do it in her own time - and she felt a little guilty that she had been so overenthusiastic to know what Mariel had been upto, she'd overlooked the fact it could be a negative or uncomfortable reason.
She nodded as Mariel explained about the werewolves. That had been pretty scary, and although she'd convinced her parents it was okay and she wanted to return, Theo had seemed completely the opposite. Mariel's father's reaction was totally natural really. And then Mariel lowered her voice, and Nia swallowed. That had been a bit of a shock at the time. Even though she barely knew the people involved.
"Understandable really," Nia said after a moment's thought. "I mean, in hindsight it all makes sense. Even if I missed you tons. I think quite a few moved on that year, worried about the safety issues." She offered a kind smile. The friendly warmly type, that shows she understood and cared. And that she would always be there. "Soooooo," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "Durmstrang! What is it like? Isn't it mainly boys...anyone cute?" The thing about wizarding schools was that they were so secretive...so inside information about the reality of being at one, Nia wanted to know.
Nia grimaced at Mariel's look of surprise at Ravenclaw having lost. "I know," Nia said, finding her friends hand actually quite comforting, considering she'd been reliving not catching the snitch quite a lot over the summer. "Not many can have claimed to have semi-crashed into Prof V and knocked him into a muddy puddle in their first match as seeker, and then knocked themselves out and broken their broom in two in their second." Ravenclaw Seeker's curse, definitely.
"Keeper is where it's at," Nia agreed with a smile. She'd had pretty much a clean sheet last year as Keeper. And then Tibi had got himself injured...and that's where it went wrong. She broke off a bit of cake, and chewed it thoughtfully. "Though I'm not sure whether to Keep, Beat or Chase this year." It was hard, having to make the decision for herself. She liked playing all three. Perhaps she'd decide after seeing who else she had at tryouts. "I like them all, and for different reasons." But would Captaining as well make them harder?
She laughed. "We will indeed. I'm going to try my best." Oh yes, Captain was something she'd dreamed about. And now she was there, she wanted to hold the Cup in her hands. Actually, in her hands both years would be perfect. "Ahhh, yes, that's what we were doing. False sense of security - it was all a clever tactical decision." Her turquoise eyes twinkled as she mocked nodding knowingly.
"You should, you really should!" Nia almost gave Mariel a stern look for doubting herself, but instead settled for some motivation. "You were a natural flyer, talent doesn't desert you that easily. And I'm willing to do extra practice to get you on top form..." She raised her eyebrows hopefully. She'd tryout? Yes? Yes.