an evening at the pitch [[r. a. b]]

[tanith]

Tanith had left dinner early. They weren't serving anything she particularly liked this evening, and there didn't seem to be anybody around that was worth sticking around and talking to, so she decided to spend her Friday evening elsewhere. The castle was unbearable in February anyway. The majority of the student body irritated Tanith most of the time, but in February they were worse. You couldn't move for heart-shaped confetti charmed to fall in certain corridors, 'anonymous' Valentines cards being dropped at breakfast from owls to squealing girls, non-stop talk about the bloody ball. It was enough to drive anyone crazy, and so although it was still slightly chilly and dark in the evenings Tanith had spent most of her free-time procrastinating on studying for her upcoming OWL's and loitering on the grounds.

She hated Quidditch, as a rule. Screaming crowds and broomsticks weren't her thing, but recently she had been spending more and more time at the pitch. Tan liked it when it was quiet and deserted anyway, it was peaceful, but the attraction was even more-so in February. Maybe because of the lingering atmosphere of sports and angry competitiveness, it seemed to be the only place that was currently distinctly unromantic. Plus, it was often where she found Regulus Black lurking about, as he was Slytherin seeker, and she liked hanging out with him there.Since their unfortunate meeting in the owlery he had turned out to be quite fun, and his company was among the few that always managed to cheer her up when she was feeling in a glum mood like today.

So after grabbing a chocolate muffin for a dinner replacement, the Quidditch pitch was where Tanith was headed. It was particularly chilly this evening, and by the time the blonde girl had reached the stands she was shivering slightly, and she pulled her jumper tightly around her, half-wishing that she'd remembered to get changed, she was still wearing her Slytherin uniform. Tanith pulled down the sleeves and crossed her arms across her chest to try to retain some heat.Sometimes she liked to sit in the deserted stands and read or chat, but it was too cold this evening. She wondered if she might manage to convince Reggie to sit inside somewhere, the Slytherin team quarters or something. Tanith scanned the stands quickly for her friend but Regulus was nowhere to be seen.Her stomach lurched unpleasantly with a sudden thought. She hoped that he wasn't flying already, perhaps that's why she hadn't seen him at dinner. She hated flying, she was awful at it and it made her feel quite sick.

Frowning slightly, Tanith hazarded a glance upwards and sure enough, fifty feet or so in the air she spotted a dark-haired figure zooming across the pitch after a glint of gold that Tanith could barely see. Clearly Regulus had managed to fit in a short practice before meeting her. Tan smirked, sitting on the bench at the side of the pitch and trying to catch his eye with a waving arm and a hoarse call of "Reg!" She wasn't sure whether he could hear her, he seemed entranced. Tanith was grudgingly impressed at his speed and agility chasing after the thing,although she supposed he'd have to be, he wasn't exactly burly like other players - 'seekers build' that was it. Tanith shivered watching him and hoped he was talented enough to catch the bloody thing soon, she was freezing and her neck hurt from watching him, although it was an oddly riveting sight.

[Regulus Black]

Regulus had decided to skip dinner that day. He had not felt particularly hungry at that time, and he had just been dying to get out on the field. He hadn't done all that well at their last team practice, and their so called captain had made sure Regulus knew how badly he had done. Nott had yelled at him for quite a while before finally allowing him to go change, and Regulus was not about to give him that opportunity again. Normally, the field was empty at dinner, and today was the same. He actually preferred practicing when no one was watching.

This was his first year on the team. Regulus had been interested in Quidditch ever since his father once took him and Sirius to a Wimbourne Wasps match, but he didn't start practicing until he came to Hogwarts. Quidditch made him feel good about himself. Sirius never seemed to care about the sport, and Regulus knew his brother was not very good at it, which only made him like it even more. There weren't many things he could beat Sirius in, but Quidditch was definitely one of them.

Another reason that he was down at the pitch was that he had agreed to meet Tanith Malfoy there, sometime after dinner. She had told him that she hated flying, so he had just figured he would get there early to practice a bit before she got there. He had let the Snitch out as soon as he got there, giving it a bit of time to hide somewhere while he got on the broom. Seeker was the only position he really cared about, though Regulus felt he could maybe have been a decent Keeper... maybe.

Kicking off the ground, he flew upwards as fast as he could. The wind in his face always gave him a rush of excitement. His eyes immediately began scanning the field. Of course, it was a bit easier when practicing by yourself because there were no other people flying around on the field or Bludgers to worry about. The weather was pretty chilly that day, but he did not care about that at the moment. That little gold ball was flying around somewhere, and he had to find it, quickly.

When he had flown along one side of the field for a little bit, he finally spotted it; it had just flown past the left goal hoop. Regulus didn't waste another second as he sped up, heading straight for it. He did not notice the girl, who had just walked onto the field. The Snitch, of course, began flying away from him as soon as he got too close, but Regulus knew he was going to get it. At one point he thought he heard someone call his name, but there was no time to look right now. Stretching out his hand he felt it close around the little ball, and he slowed down.

It did not really make him feel any joy, because he knew he should have found it sooner, seeing as he had been the only person flying around and there had been nothing to distract him. He stared at the Snitch in his hand for a few seconds, watching it calm down, before noticing that someone was standing right below him. It didn't take him long to recognize her, so he hurried to fly downwards, landing a few feet away from her. A nervous smile spread across his face. He wasn't sure if she knew anything about Quidditch, but he couldn't help but wonder if she was impressed or disappointed in his skills.

"Hey." He said, getting off the broom and holding it in his hand. "Sorry, I didn't see you. I hope I haven't kept you waiting for too long?" He hoped she wasn't too cold, as he was already feeling kind of chilly now that he had time to think about other things than the Snitch. Regulus was also slightly worried about another thing. He had just read Rita Skeeter's new article the day before, and she had said something about him and Tan, which made him really hope Tanith had not read it. Then he remembered the Snitch in his hand, which made him think of something. "Have you ever held one of these?" He asked with a smile, holding out his hand.

[tanith]

Tanith didn't like watching Quidditch matches, but she couldn't take her eyes of Regulus as he sped after the snitch. Perhaps she hadn't appreciated the skill it took for the sport before. Yes, she sometimes watched Caradoc fly, and had even been convinced to play Quidditch one on one with Lucius during the Summer when they were children, but it all seemed a bit foolish and mostly based on luck to her - a simply highly advanced game of catch. But Reg didn't look like he was playing catch right now. Tanith narrowed her eyes trying to see how close the dark-haired boy was to the snitch, standing on her tip-toes to strain her view. She grinned as he made a couple of quick, tricky turns and finally managed to grasp the little golden ball, feeling distinctly impressed. Being a seeker at least, she could admit, required a certain amount of skill. She wasn't going to cheer or anything though, Merlin Regulus might think she'd lost her mind. Watching him flyhad made her feel rather strange though. Tanith quickly told herself it was jealousy.

After all Tan herself had always been utterly useless at Quidditch and flying itself. Being so far off the ground made her feel sick, always had done. She had made a fool of herself by throwing up half-way through their compulsory flying lessons in first year, and she particularly remembered getting in a lot of trouble on her fifth birthday upon refusing point-blank, to go with in ten feet of her brand new and rather expensive toy broom. She had always decided to stay inside, instead preferring to enjoy books over sports. As a result Tanith was rather unfit, and the lack of sport coupled with her casual walks in the cold (like today) made her look rather sickly pale and skinny, and she often had a cough. She was coughing slightly as Regulus approached with a broom slung over his arm, but she patted her chest quickly and smirked widely. "Hey" She choked, noting his usually pale face was rather flushed from what she supposed was flying, and his dark eyes were twinkling. He evidently enjoyed Quidditch. "Oh don't pretend you didn't see me Black" Tanith teased, rolling her eyes. "We both know you were putting on a show"

She eyed his outstretched hand curiously, watching the Snitch bat its wings futilely against Regulus' pale fingers and shook her head. "No, never been much of a seeker" Tan smiled, but now that the Snitch was up close she was curious to see how it felt to hold it. Leaning forward slightly Tanith pressed her pale hands to Regulus' clenched fist ( an interjection to pressing her cold skin against him "Sorry, I'm freezing" )and let the snitch flutter over into her own cupped hands. Grinning, she peeked at the miniscule golden wings throug her fingers and chuckled looking back at him. "Feels a bit weird.. although I suppose it must be better when you catch it yourself" She was tempted to release the Snitch for a second and let it fly out of her hands before trying to recapture it, as she had watched James Potter do a few times, but she didn't trust her reflexes as much as Potters. Instead she enjoyed the feeling of the anxious flutters as the Snitch tried to get free. "I must admit you're quite impressive though" She added thoughtfully, nodding towards him. She doubted she could catch the snitch in a broom cupboard, never mind free on the pitch.

"So, how have you been, any more Owl-related-accidents?" She grinned, leaning against the fence and fiddling with the Snitch. Tanith had not read Skeeter's column this month - after she'd called Tan a muggle lover in her November column she'd steered clear of the horrible thing -but she had been slightly confused at a few giggles and whispers directed her way since it had come out. She had know idea that it had to do with herself and either Regulus or Caradoc though. Which was just the way Tanith liked it, she was enjoying herself hanging out with Reggie, and she didn't want Skeeter's gossip to make her feel bad about their new - well, what friendship? She wasn't quite sure yet.

[[ Yuck, this is awful. I got distracted about halfway through, soreeee DX ]]

[Regulus Black]

As he stood there, holding the Snitch out for Tanith to take, Regulus couldn't help but wonder just how long she had been standing there. Normally he wouldn't care about what some girl thought about his Quidditch skills, but for some reason he kind of wanted Tan to think he was good, or at least decent. But there was no way she'd be impressed; he had seen her hang out with other people, who also played Quidditch, but at the same time were older and much more experienced than himself. He had hardly played any matches yet.

However, a grin did spread across his face when she joked about him putting on a show. "I was not." He laughed. "I'm just naturally that good." He continued just smiling for a second before he hurried to add "Kidding." He wasn't normally a person that joked much, which was why he felt that he had to add that last part. What if she thought he was actually that arrogant? No, it was probably best to lay off the jokes, like he usually did. Then again, she was joking with him, which people almost never did, unless it was in a mean way.

He was glad to see that she was watching the Snitch with interest. His hand winced slightly when her hand touched his; it was really cold, but Regulus didn't think that was why his hand had moved like that. When she mentioned that she was freezing he realized that it really was quite cold outside, and he felt bad for having kept her waiting. He had been thinking about maybe letting her sit on his broomstick or something, perhaps help her with her fear of flying, somehow, but she looked way too cold. "Do you want my cloak?" He asked, getting ready to take it off. "Or maybe we should just go somewhere inside?"

He had fun watching her smile as she was holding the Snitch in her hand, studying it. "It depends." He replied to her talking about what it felt like. "It's really great when you catch it and your team wins, but if you catch it just because your team is so far behind it would be embarrassing to go on, well..." He shrugged. "But it's also just entertaining to play with for fun, I guess." He then added. Why was he talking so much about the Snitch? She must be bored out of her mind. And still freezing.

And then she said it; she told him she thought he was impressive. Nobody had ever told him that before. He assumed Nott, the Slytherin Quidditch captain, must have seen something in him, otherwise he wouldn't be on the team, but nobody ever bothered with compliments or just nice comments. Tanith probably didn't know much about Quidditch, but still... she thought he was impressive. Regulus stared down at the ground for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. "Thanks." He finally mumbled shyly. "But I'm really not that good. This is my first year on the team."

He rolled his eyes but also laughed when she mentioned the owlery incident, remembering how embarrassing that had been, and still kind of was. "No, not yet, at least." He said. "Haven't had much time to embarrass myself lately with all the homework and Quidditch practices." He paused for a few seconds. "But I suppose I shouldn't be the one complaining about homework. Are you having a tough time yet?" He was, of course, referring to the fact that Tan was a fifth year, which, everyone knew, was by far the most stressful year at Hogwarts.

[tanith]

The more time Tanith spent talking to Regulus both on the pitch and in the owlery the more the younger Black boy surprised her. Firstly, he was nothing to match his brother in arrogance or boastfulness from what she could tell. Had Tanith felt compelled to ever compliment Sirius on his talents (which she was sure to do once Hell froze over) she expected he would boast about his abilities to no end. But Regulus was, well sort of self-deprecating to be honest. Being rather self-deprecating herself, as Tanith was someone with relatively low-self esteem, Regulus' modesty didn't make her feel particularly uncomfortable. In fact she found it refreshing, and found herself smiling a little curiously at him. She made a point to add that to her mental list of things she liked about Regulus, and then quickly caught herself and realised how weird it was to be keeping a mental list of things she liked about him. Mentally, Tanith attempted to shake herself back to behaving sensibly, and blushed slightly waving off Regulus' offer of his cloak.

"No, it's fine, it's fine. I'm not really that cold" Actually, now she thought about it, it was quite cold out on the pitch. But Tanith didn't want Regulus to think she was fishing to get the offer of his cloak with her comment about being freezing. Girls in her dorm loved doing that, coming back at the end of the night wearing a boy's scarf or his cloak as some sort of badge of honour at how cool and romantic their lives were. But Tanith wasn't one of those girls and she didn't want Regulus to think so. She didn't know anything about flirtation and cloak-borrowing, for a start. "I just meant, my hands -" As though to illustrate her point Tanith stretched out her fingers and briefly brushed Regulus' fore-arm where she could see a flash of bare skin, as pale as her own, underneath his cloak. As quickly as she had reached out Tanith cleared her throat and pulled back, smiling slightly. "See? Ice Queen" She smirked and then, as Regulus had done, felt the need to make it clear she was joking with a matching "Kidding". She never did make very good jokes. "We could go inside if you wanted but.. I kind of like it out here. It's peaceful isn't it?"

Tanith was glad when the awkwardness of the joking moment had passed. She liked Regulus primarily because she didn't feel awkward around him. She felt they were very similar, which helped because it meant she didn't have to keep second-guessing everything she did or said (except for that list.. well, most things). Instead, Tanith concentrated on the hand that held the snitch as Regulus went back to talking about Quidditch, rather than her other hand, on which the fingertips were still tingling slightly. She quickly put that down to the cold weather. As Regulus went on about only just getting onto the team and not having played any matches yet Tanith smirked again at his modesty and gave a snort of laughter which she hoped didn't sound unkind. Smiling still, she shrugged. "They wouldn't have let you onto the team if you weren't impressive surely. You know how competitive they are, Nott and Lucius and the like." She couldn't help but add thoughtfully "You're very modest you know." Quickly, to cover up the moment of openness Tanith adjusted her smile to become more joking and poked him in the chest playfully with her snitch-free hand. "Besides, you're doubting my judgement!"

As Regulus questioned her about her workload Tanith shrugged a little grumpily, a faint frown-line appearing between her briefly furrowed eyebrows. "It's okay.." She mumbled evasively. In truth Tanith was already becoming worried about OWL's. She was not someone who slacked off and could even at a stretch be called a geek but still she couldn't help but anxious about the horror-stories she was hearing from the sixths-and-seventh years about horrendous OWL exam papers. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm just hoping I won't get a 'T' in Herbology, I don't want to get kicked out.." She cleared her throat again and tried to get off the subject of homework, instead holding out the hand that held the Snitch for Regulus to take back. She suspected he needed it more, however therapeutic she found the motion of the tiny wings agains her palm. "Would you like this back now?"

[Regulus Black]

Regulus looked at Tanith for a few seconds before turning his head slightly to the left, avoiding her eyes. She was smiling at him in a funny way, and he couldn't quite figure out if it was a good way or not. However, he was starting to actually believe that she didn't see him as almost everyone else did. Most Slytherins saw him as the young Black kid, who was just a small child still that needed to prove his worth, while everyone in the other houses saw him as Sirius Black's younger brother. And as if that wasn't bad enough, his brother had made sure everyone knew they should feel sorry for him, Sirius, not Regulus. No, Regulus was the one their parents loved, he didn't need friends.

He just nodded when she declined his offer to give her his cloak; he must have misunderstood her or something, though it kind of looked like she was shivering. Regulus was completely unaware that some girls saw this as a way of flirting. He just didn't want her to be cold. She reached out to touch his arm for the second time that day, but this time he managed not to flinch or anything. Her hands were definitely freezing, which made him wish he knew some spell to make them warmer, but that was out of the question; he would probably just end up setting her on fire. He smiled back at her as she joked about being an Ice Queen, even though he couldn't disagree more. She had been nothing but friendly towards him.

"Yeah, I like it out here." He nodded in agreement. "The castle is... too crowded for me." Regulus loved the peace and quiet outside of the castle. He was less likely to run into people that would bother him out there. Normally, he went outside to be by himself, but today he was there to hang out with Tanith, and it actually felt good. He was starting to feel more relaxed around her than he did around most other people, and they didn't even know each other that well.

Then she did it again. Tanith had just complimented him for the second time that day. Well, first she laughed at him and then she told him he was modest. "Maybe." He mumbled, not sure of what else to say. "Modesty not something you'd expect from a Black?" He asked with a smirk while rolling his eyes at the same time. "And I'm sorry, I should have known better. I'll try never to question your judgment ever again." He laughed. "But since you're such a big fan, does this mean you'll come watch the next game?"

Regulus realized that he now really wanted her to be there, so that she could see him play for real. She seemed to genuinely mean what she had said, and it was nice to know that someone thought he was good. Of course, if she said yes, he would be twice as nervous as he normally was before going on the field. Regulus forced himself to stop thinking about it as she answered his question about school. "I can't help you there. I can't stand Herbology." He told her. "Though I can't imagine you'll get a T." His eyes moved to the Snitch she was now holding out for him to take. "You can hold onto it, if you like it." Regulus smiled, then thought about something for a few seconds. "I was thinking that, maybe, we could get one of the old school brooms and you could try flying for a bit..? I'll try to teach you. Unless you'd rather use mine, though I wouldn't recommend that just yet..."

[tanith]

Tanith nodded thoughtfully as Regulus talked about the castle being crowded, grateful that somebody else shared her slightly claustrophobic opinions. Most people liked the hustle and bustle of the castle, but the raucous noises, especially over dinner, made by over a thousand pre-teens and teenagers grated on Tan's nerves. "I didn't think many people would prefer freezing their arse off out here to gossiping in the common room" She smirked, adding quickly "I know what you mean though. When there's no practice on it's really peaceful out here". To be honest, once you got used to the weather it didn't feel so freezing at all, apart from her blue fingers as testament to the fact that it was still freezing. Plus, she couldn't really imagine Regulus to be the type to gossip in the common room. Not that that was a bad thing, Rita Skeeter was a big enough gossip for the whole of Slytherin put together.

"Modesty not something you'd expect from a Black?" Still smirking, Tanith shrugged with what she hoped was a coy expression. "Well if you're bloody brother is anything to go by.." She grinned and shook her head. "I'm only joking. I have to say though the modesty was a surprise. A pleasant one though." She added quickly. Although Tanith felt relaxed around Regulus, she didn't want him to think that she was mentally comparing him to Sirius. She had done, unconciously of course, when they first spoke properly. It was hard not to, when Sirius was in many of her classes and almost always got on her last nerve, and Regulus and he looked so alike at first glance. But first impressions were evidently deceiving like that.

It was a nice surprise to find that Regulus was his own person, completely separate from his older brother, because Tanith didn't mentally compare them at all anymore. She tried to remember that it was highly irritating to be thought of only because of your surname, and it how much it had bothered her to be compared to Lucius. And plus, after first glance Regulus didn't look quite so much like his brother. He was still quite handsome, admittedly, but not looking so alike meant she didn't want to whack him with a broom every time he looked at her. Tanith was jolted from her reverie by Regulus inviting her to the next game. This time she didn't have to feign the thoughtful expression or the non-committal shrug. "Maybe." She mumbled. She didn't want to seem unsupportive, it was just that the idea of piling into the stands with people she barely tolerated from her house to watch Quidditch didn't seem the most entertaining idea. Then again, Regulus was her friend, right? So she should be supportive, and she was in no position to pass up friends. Cloudy expression clearing, Tanith smiled at Regulus and nodded. "Alright then, I will come watch you. Consider yourself lucky, Black. I can't stand Quidditch"

Tanith's smile widened and she shook the golden snitch in her hand as Regulus offered to let her keep it. "Isn't that cheating, it must belong to the school? Thief" She smirked lazily at Regulus and watched the snitch struggle for a few minutes more against her hands, before grinning suddenly with what she considered a brilliant idea. "No you have to keep it now. Consider it a good luck present!" Her logic was a bit flawed, admittedly, because it hadn't been her present to give in the first place, but the idea was a brilliant one none the less, so she thought. Nodding eagerly, Tanith stepped forward and cupped her hands under Regulus', letting the Snitch flutter anxiously into his hands with a few tricky manoevers between the four palms. "There" Her smile faded slightly at the proposition of flying lessons. "Um. I don't know" Tanith glanced sideways to the few school-brooms propped against the broom cupboard and bit her lip unconciously. She didn't want to admit she was frightened of flying and look like an idiot in front of what was a potential new friend.

"Uh. Maybe. If -" She shrugged, deciding the best option, and the best way of staying out of admitting a silly fear of flying, was to broker a deal. That was the Slytherin way after all. "If we can stay close to the ground. Just for .. safety. About, fifteen feet? Or ten?"