Broomsticks and Bludgers ((Noko))

[crane]

The World Cup only came every four years, and the last time it had come Gary had been a first year. Now, he was going into his fifth year at Hogwarts and going to the World Cup was something he intended to do. Being responsible, Gary had saved up just enough money for a ticket to the games. Of course, most of it went to things he needed more than tickets to the World Cup, but he had saved up enough for one ticket and he was extremely exciting when he realized he had enough to go. How to get there was another problem all on its own. He hadn’t anyway to get there by portkey, and he wasn’t so sure he could floo there. He didn’t have anything to stay in either. Except for his tent he had, but it was muggle and probably wouldn’t keep him warm anyway. When it came down to it though, he got there and he had magically transfigured his muggle tent into something a bit more extravagant.

After reassuring his mother and his three sisters that he would be fine and that nothing would happen to him, he had gone on his way and had arrived at the camp grounds by way of portkey with a friend of his who had mentioned he was going earlier. His friend was more than happy to give him a lift, and even offered one back when needed. Gary was grateful, now he didn’t have to worry about that along with everything else that was on his mind. He didn’t worry much, he was usually laid-back and let things go on there own. Where they went, he followed – sort of like a “go with the flow” type thing. He was allowed to worry about things, though; he couldn’t be perfectly carefree all the time. Which was why he was extremely happy when he was offered a lift home. When they arrived at the camp grounds, Gary found an empty spot that wasn’t reserved for anyone and set up his tent that he had magically altered at Hogwarts before he had left. Still being at least a year under age, he couldn’t do magic outside of the school just yet.

He was all set up and heard that the first game was about to start. Gary quickly grabbed up a sweater with a hood and front pockets just in case he got cold, and made sure he had his ticket. Confident that he had everything he needed, Gary left his tent and made his way to the stadium. It was rather crowded, but Gary knew it was going to be a good turn out and possibly an even better match. When he finally was inside the stadium and trying to find his seat, he thought he spotted a familiar face – which was probably true, surely students from Hogwarts other than him would be there. As quickly as he spotted the familiar face though, it was gone because he was roughly shoved forward by a not so nice man. He finally found his seat and relaxed in his chair but again that flash of familiarity drew his attention to his right. That’s when he knew he wasn’t hallucinating. A large smile crossed his face and he cupped his hands around his mouth, “Nokomis!” She was a good ten seats away from him and he hoped she heard him over the roar of the billions of fans.

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

The Quidditch World Cup was the event of the summer, and one Noko had tried to keep out of her mind since school had finished. She knew there was no way she could have ever come up with enough money to attend, even if she saved every knut, sickle and galleon she could scrape up. Quidditch over the years had become more and more important to her, to the point where there was nothing else in life she cared about more, and here was the biggest quidditch match in four years and she would have to sit home. Everyone was going to be there, or everyone who could afford a ticket which did come across as nearly every student at Hogwarts. The thought of not being able to attend was heartbreaking, and she avoided the pain by distraction, which was rather unsuccessful until an owl from her father arrived a bit before her birthday. Inside was a card, wishing her a happy birthday, and an additional smaller envelope, telling her to have fun.

Two weeks later, after a great deal of commotion on how she was going to get to the World Cup and struggling with her accommodations while she was there, Nokomis entered the gates to the camping area. Life had gone by in a whirlwind since that card from the father had come in the mail. She still wasn't exactly close with her Dad, but he was the supportive one of her quidditch dreams, even if she hadn't exactly told him how far they reached. Gary was the only one who knew that secret. Her father, who was a bit more well off than her mum, had bought her everything she had for the sport. He bought her a broom for her eleventh birthday, along with a few books on quidditch. The year after that it was a complete house set with extra quaffles, and the year after that all new match and practice attire, then finally this year, it was a ticket, a single piece of paper that instantly made her feel as if her dreams were coming true.

Nokomis made her way up to the stands early, her eyes scanning over the pitch which was so vast she was thankful her father had sent her another owl suggesting she bring binoculars. Peering through them she glanced at the hoops on either end just trying to take it all in. Her seat wasn't exactly a good one, but at least it was rather centered, and she had clear views, besides she was here, and thats what really mattered the most. She sat, rather absorbed with her own thoughts as people slowly flooded into the stadium. Most she paid little attention to, or she paid little attention to until she heard her name. It wasn't like Nokomis was a common name, or could be confused with something else, even if she was rather sure no one here would be wanting her and it was too loud to hear clearly. She looked over to check and see if someone really had called her. As she looked down the row, maybe 10 seats down she saw a familiar face, and she couldn't control the grin that soon spread. "Gary!" He looked different, older, and he had cut his hair, but it was him. She jumped up to her feet, looking down the row at him. She hadn't see him since school let out, and she hadn't realized how much she had missed him until now. After a moment of staring at him, hardly believing that with everyone here he had a seat in the same row as hers, finally she started walking forward toward him. The match hadn't started, she could at least go down and say hello before it did. She really had just been planning on on saying Hello, but once she got there she threw her arms around his neck, unable to actually form words.

A rather kind looking woman had been sitting next to Gary, and watched the whole scene, and couldn't help but think it was rather cute to see such a cute pair. She smiled a bit, mainly to herself as she watched the girl hug the boy, burying her face against his neck when words wouldn't come. She remembered a time like that, when young love took your breath away. She waited a moment, still watching the pair. "You know dear, I'm here alone....we could just trade seats...you really should be sitting next to your boyfriend for this..."

[crane]

That wonderful smile Gary loved so much burst across Noko’s face as she realized it was he who had called her name. He stood there, his hands in his jeans pockets, watching her with a large smile on his face as well. Then she headed toward him and before he could say hello, or even before she said hello – her arms were around his neck and she was hugging him. Gary’s smile widened and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back. He had missed her, though he had so much to do and to help his mum with that his mind didn’t center around how much he missed her. When the woman who had been sitting next to him spoke to Noko about trading seats, Gary pulled away slightly and flashed a bright smile to the woman. Then he looked back at Noko, sending her a grin at what the woman had said about him being her boyfriend.

“That would be nice of you, thanks, are you sure you don’t mind?” Gary asked, being polite. The woman shook her head with another smile on her face and again stated that they should sit next to each other instead of down the aisle. She stood and began gathering her things. Gary smiled again, “Thanks, again. We won’t forget this.” The woman smiled and then went off into the opposite direction Noko had just come from. Gary grabbed her hand and sat down in his seat, gently pulling her down into the seat beside him. He squeezed her hand, but not too tight and smiled again, “I didn’t expect to see you here. But I’m glad I did. I’ve missed you, so much. Tell me, how was your summer? What have you been doing lately?” Everything just came out and Gary didn’t know how to turn off the talking.

There was just so much that he wanted to talk with her about, one being the engagement party for his mum and Felton. One thing at a time, though. That was going to be hard for him, especially with how excited he was about everything. Mainly her being here with him.

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

Gary always made her forget certain things, and this time she had forgotten that there were people almost right beside her, watching her as she made her way to Gary and hugged him before she realized it. She never did anything that stood out or got her noticed, but every time she saw Gary she wanted to hug him. She did it after his quidditch match, and the time before than when he found her at the lake. He just always made it happen. Her arms were still around him when she heard a voice almost too close for comfort talking, and while she missed a great deal of it she caught the word boyfriend very clearly. Her grip on Gary loosed a bit and her face turned scarlet as she looked over at the women, wishing that she could instead hide her face behind Gary, but somehow that would look even worse. They weren't like that, Gary was just a friend, she liked him a great deal and all, but they certainly weren't a couple. Couples did things like go on dates and...well, things couples did. They certainly didn't do things like that.

Her mind was rushing but she managed to keep quite, which was a challenge as she rambled when she was nervous. Thankfully Gary took control of the situation. He always seemed to calm. In fact he hardly seemed bothered by the statement. Next thing she knew the woman had moved, and Gary, who was holding her hand sat down, and she somehow ended up sitting in the woman's seat. Her mind was still rushing as she tried to hear what Gary was saying but she couldn't quite get over the fact that he didn't seem to care that the woman had called him her boyfriend. She hadn't really thought of Gary like that before, but maybe Gary had thought of her like that before. She had never dated anyone, she had hardly had a friend who was a boy before, let alone a boyfriend.

After a moment she realized that she had been silent for a bit too long and she had managed to catch something about not thinking she would be here, and summer and missing her. "Yeah...I didn't think I would be able to, but my Dad bought me a ticket for my birthday. My summer's been okay though. I've been practicing quidditch when I can, and I'm working in a horse barn down the street, which has been fun. I like it, and I'm trying to save for a new broom." She paused for a moment, her mind working just a bit slower now. She didn't think she had missed Gary that much over the summer. After all, it was only a few months, and she normally didn't miss her other friends too terribly, but now that she was with Gary, it struck her that she didn't feel right when she didn't get to see him, or at least a little glimpse of him, nearly every day. "I really missed you."

[crane]

Gary grinned at the scarlet shade of Noko. And it was then he realized that he had just taken the idea of him and Noko being a couple, actually quite easily. It wasn't like he was shocked and immediately wanted to jump up and say they weren't a couple. Because he wasn't like that. In fact, he felt rather comfortable with what the woman had said - it didn't seem odd. He squeezed Noko's hand reassuringly and listened to her as she talked about her summer. Of course, they included Quittich and horses - the two things she loved most. He was glad she had a good summer, he knew that a lot of other people probably didn't with all that happened during the school year. When she repeated that she had missed him, his grin grew into a 100 watt smile; "I really missed you, too. I had so much to work on though, that my mind was kind of occupied for a bit. But when I had time to myself, I was thinking about you more than anything else." He smiled again and then looked down at their hands. It was kind of exciting how much he had missed her.

He looked back up and sent her another smile just as the siren rang out, letting them know the game was starting. Spain's team flew onto the pitch -and the fans screamed. Then came Germany and there was another scream of fans. Gary cheered for both, not really knowing much about either of the teams. But he figured they both deserved some form of support. When the game began, he watched with interest for a bit and then turned back to Noko, hoping he wasn't disturbing her game watching. But there was something he had to ask her. And he knew he would forget if he didn't do it while it was on his mind. "So, you know how my mum and Felton are engaged? Well, it's official... or should be rather soon. And there's going to be this engagement party. Will you come with me? I know I've already asked you to come to the wedding, but the engagement party should be fun as well." He sent her another bright smile, waiting paitently for her answer.