The Magic of Understanding

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Cordelia asked him, looking slightly worried.

“Oh yeah, this totally won’t backfire.” Marvin shot at him as well, and Whizzer glared at the both of them.

“Look, both of you didn’t need to come if you’re just going to be pains in my ass about it.” Whizzer grumbled, putting the goggles on his face. “It’s not even that dangerous, I’ve been working on it for months now.”

“The fact that your working on it is what’s worrying me.” Cordelia grumbled, and Whizzer chose to ignore her.

He had found a beaten-up broom abandoned in the forest a couple of months ago, and he had just finally fixed it up enough to ride it. This thing was his pride and joy, what had been keeping him sane despite the tides pushing against him. It was his excuse to get out of awards situations, his excuse to slip into the library to read, really it was everything he had been looking forwards to this year.

Figuring out of to make the broom work to his liking had been a challenge, but he was confident and now it was time for his first test. His best friend and boyfriend of course had to join to either make fun of him or applaud him, whatever came first.

He stepped close to the broom, muttering a quiet “up” and grinning when the broomstick jumped into his hand. Calming his beating heart he climbed on, gripping it tight in his hands as he kicked off.

Immediately he shot into the air, the broomstick taking him up into the air with ease. Whizzer grinned, the wind brushing through his hair as he laughed. He leaned to the side, making a swift turn before leaning forwards, climbing high into the air. Looking down, he saw Cordelia and Marvin far below him, cheering him on.

Whizzer had always been a good flyer, one of the Slytherin teams’ best chasers, and flying was almost like walking to him. He had been doing it since he was six years old, his parents teaching him almost as soon as he started displaying signs of magic.

He wanted to test the brooms limits, see how far he could push the thing until it let him down. So he climbed higher, doing some loops and twirls to check its turning abilities and reflexive time. Looking down, he saw Marvin and Cordelia talking to each other, little specks in the distance.

It was time to test the new features he put into it, see how obedient his broom really was. Dropping a bit, he let out a loud whoop as he started climbing again, going into a corkscrew climb, he knew his friends were watching him, amazed at the speed and height. He was a lot higher than he should be, and taking a breath, he tried not to panic.

Leaning back a bit, his hands started sliding off, inch by inch until suddenly he was falling backwards, the broom continuing to climb without him.

He fell backwards, his hands outstretched towards the broom as he plummeted down towards the ground.

The wind raced past him as he fell like a rock, dropping him down to where he could hear Marvin and Cordelia screaming below him.

With a grin, he muttered an indication, and his broom came streaking towards him, diving under him with breathtaking speed before curling up just enough for him to grab onto the wood and swing up until he was on it, shooting back into the air seconds before he hit the ground.

He let out a laugh, elation filling his chest over the fact that it worked. He was too sure that he would be able to pull that off. He did a single flip in the air before landing back on the ground, grinning widely at Cordelia and Marvin, who both looked like they wanted to hex him.

“You asshole!” Cordelia cried stepping forwards and pushing him slightly. “I thought you were going to die.”

Marvin simply walked up to him and pulled him into his arms, holding on surprisingly tight. “You’re a little fucker.” He whispered into Whizzers ears. And Whizzer laughed, pulling back to grab Marvin’s face and kiss him.

It had been three months since they had gotten back together, and everything was as close to perfect as he could get it to be. They had changed, after their first horrid breakup, and now they were better. More loving, more open, more understanding. It was everything he had ever wanted. Whizzer kissed him a bit harder, their lisp fitting perfectly together.

Marvin was still a little mad at him, squeezing his arms tightly while returning the kiss.

They pulled back, Marvin looping an arm around Marvin’s shoulders and looking innocently at Cordelia.

“Either of you want to try it?” He asked, laughing when both of them immediately protested. They both hated flying normally brooms, let alone his supped-up version. “I’m going for another run.” He told them, pulling his arm away, but Marvin caught it, holding his wrist to stop him from mounting the broom.

“You pull a stunt like that again and I will shoot you out of the sky.” He threatened, and Whizzer leaned down to give him a quick peck before pulling away and quickly shooting into the sky. After a few minutes of trick and seeing how fast he could really go, he swung back down, hovering a foot off the ground.

“I’m going to dart around the grounds quickly, meet you two in the dining hall.” He told them, before flying back up, ruffling Cordelia’s hair as he went.

He saw them leave, but he was too busy shooting up past the top of the school to notice. He flew above the grounds, the wind whipping past his face as he smiled. It was so calm up here, so beautiful and calm. His fingers twitched, wishing for the familiar feeling of his camera in his hand to snap shot it. He hovered for a moment, gazing at Hogwarts in all it’s glory.

It was early, the sun just starting to poke up from behind the trees, streaking the sky with bright yellows and oranges. Turning towards the lake, he went into a roll, diving fast towards the water and pulling up just in time to skin along the top. He reached a hand down, his fingers breaking the surface, the water cold and refreshing.

He let out a whoop, diving up again into one last dive up, feeling his hands start to slip again, he gripped it tighter, not wanting to fall again.

It would be so easy, to let go and fall through the sky. To in a dangerous way, he didn’t want to die, but the feeling of the air pushing past him, making it so he couldn’t hear, couldn’t think of anything but the moment, the fall. He ached for it, the moment of calmness where his heart slowed down, his breathing hitched and it would just be him and the empty air, his broom there to catch him.

Instead, he carefully landed in the field, taking off his sports gear and getting ready for class.

_________________

“Today class, we will be practicing dueling.” Professor Quire, his defense against Dark Arts professor was saying. “The catch, of course, is that you are not able to say a word. You will attempt to jinx them silently, and they will attempt to counter it just as quietly. Is that understood?”

The class murmured to each other, excitement on their faces. Whizzer looked around, judging the competition, it was Slytherins and Gryffindors this class, and he had to admit some of them were pretty good. Whizzer had only casted non-verbal spells a few times. Mostly out of curiosity, sometimes desperation.

But he didn’t want to think of that, of the fear and the words and spells thrown at him as he ran, casting whatever he could to escape and-

He cut off his thoughts, focusing on his schoolwork. Professor Quire was one of his favourite teachers, and he could tell the man secretly liked Whizzer back. Probably because this was the only class Whizzer bothered to pay attention to. He knew that he would get paired up with the closest to his skill level, so he was thinking probably either Kelly or Magorian.

The first pair went up, and slowly one by one they were all paired together and standing in a line opposite of their partners.

Whizzer was paired against a Gryffindor names Jensen, who looked cocky and inexperienced. But Whizzer knew not to judge a wizard by his looks, he figured he probably looked the same. He had never really noticed Jensen before, but then again there was close to fifty kids in his class and he often didn’t bother to look at all of them.

Whizzer relaxed, pointing his wand out and concentrating, waiting for the professor to tell him to start. He had to be prepared for both offense and defence, since he really had no idea how good this kid was. He cleared his mind like Quire had taught them to do, focusing extremely hard on what he wanted to do. He faintly heard Quire tell them to go, and he focused even harder. Envisioning the spell he needed, he wanted a simply stunning spell, something to knock the Gryffindor off balance. Before he could focus enough to cast it, a bright green ray was shooting at him, and he had a split second before he panicked quickly casting a counterspell without moving his lips, making the spell fall short.

Jensen frowned slightly, annoyed at how easily Whizzer deflected it. Before he got a chance to cast another one, Whizzer was shooting a spell back, a simple stunning spell that Jensen was barely able to block, sending him stumbling a few steps back. Before the Gryffindor could regain his balance, Whizzer was shooting another one, disarming him and sending the boys wad flying into the air, which Whizzer caught effortlessly.

Whizzer grinned, flipping the wand back towards Jensen, who looked a little bummed out but smiled at Whizzer either way, accepting his wand with a wink, which Whizzer returned.

“Good job Jensen, Whizzer, you may both sit down and observe for the rest of the class. Professor called out, and the two of them quickly moved to the sides, watching their peers attempt. Most of them were just standing with a constipated look on their faces, concentrating way too hard on focusing. Others were firing a few spells, but most were so weak they never landed.

“How did you learn so quickly?” Whizzer asked casually, kicking his feet up on a desk. Jensen glanced at him, uninterested. Whizzer wasn’t sure what to make of him. Obviously he was a pretty good wizard, but at the same time he was unnoticeable, flying under the radar.

“Studied it during the break. Wanted to be prepared. What about you?” Jensen replied, flicking his wand and knocking Whizzer’s feet off the desk with a gust of wind. Whizzer grinned at him, calculating and measured.

“It helped how good you were,” He admitted. “I’m better at reacting in the moment, improvising and shit like that. Needed the push to get moving.”

Jensen hummed, his eyes pulled over Whizzer’s shoulder to a student who got shot backwards.

His eyes snapped back to Whizzer, his mouth opening before closing again.

“Spit it out.” Whizzer said, moving his feet back up on the desk just to annoy the boy.

“Your gay.” Jensen said, and Whizzer blinked.

“Congrats, it isn’t hard to tell.” Whizzer said, his eye flipping down to the small pride pin clipped onto his green sweater. Jensen blushed, running a hand through his hair.

“No, I just.” He sighed. “How do you stand it? Hogwarts isn’t the most accepting place is it?”

Whizzer thought for a moment, to the looks he got, the slurs thrown at him, that one-night months ago which still made his ribs ache when he thought about it.

“It’s hard. But it’s worth it to be myself. Just got really good at dueling and kept hoping for the best. You just got to remember the positives you know.” Whizzer shrugged, staring at Jensen. “Why?”

“I-I think I’m gay too. And I’m just so worried about coming out, if people will hate me or something. I’m already a muggleborn, and now this. I just worry.” Jensen said in a rush, his voice quiet and meant for Whizzer only, Whizzer felt himself soften a bit.

“Do whatever feels right. You’ll regret it otherwise. And besides, you ever need help, give me a shout and we can hex them together.” He said with a wink, turning back as the professor called for attention.

“Thank you.” He heard Jensen whisper behind him, and Whizzer felt a small smile grace his lips as he walked towards the rest of the class.

_________________________________

Whizzer walked into the great hall exactly ten minutes late for dinner, feeling tired but worn out as he slipped in between Cordelia and Marvin. Marvin barely even looked at him, bumping their legs together briefly before going back to his food.

“You look like crap.” Charlotte chimed in from the other side of Cordelia, sounding slightly concerned.

“Quidditch practices.” He said smoothly, grabbing some mashed potatoes and throwing them on his plate. “Spent some extra time working.”

Marvin glanced over at him, looking slightly worried and concerned, but Whizzer shot him a smile and he backed off.

“The Slytherin team is really giving it their all this year aren’t they?” Trina said nicely, stealing a carrot off of Mendel’s plate.

“Yup.” Whizzer said popping the p. “We want the points.”

“I thought Snape gave you enough of those.” Marvin scoffed, and Whizzer rolled his eyes. Looking around to see if any Slytherin’s were around other than him. It was halfway through the school year and people had basically forgotten about sitting in their right table. The great hall was a mix of friends from all houses at different tables.

“He can only do so much.” Whizzer replied, tired of hearing the complaints about the potion teacher, he knew how bad he was, didn’t need to be reminded.

“Hey Whizzer!” A loud voice came from behind him, and he turned seeing some random Slytherins from his year. “Why don’t you come and sit over here?”

Whizzer frowned, unsure of why this offer was suddenly coming. Other than his friends, literally no Slytherin wanted to interact with him, and he preferred sitting with Cordelia and Marvin and their group.

“I’m good.” He replied.

“What, too busy with your boyfriend to spend time with your house. Get a room.” One called out, and Whizzer felt a bubble of anger rise up briefly. It popped when Marvin moved subtly away from him, his leg moving from where it was pressed against Whizzer.

He tried not to let it bother him, their relationship was practically a secret, Marvin didn’t want to face the backlash, and that fine, he understood.

“Can it Miller.” Someone called out, and Whizzer looked up to see no one else but Jensen walking towards them, his wand held lazily in his fingers. “Just because you are insecure about yourself doesn’t mean you can put others down.”

Whizzer didn’t hear Miller’s response, he was too busy smiling up at Jensen, who quickly sat in the empty space beside Trina.

“Hey Whizzer.” The Gryffindor greeted. Ever since they got paired up in that one D.A.D.A. class they had become fast friends, although this was the first time Jensen moved to sit with him.

“Jensen, thanks.” He said, giving the boy a genuine smile to show how much he appreciated the help. He glanced at Marvin, his heart falling when his boyfriend refused to meet his eyes or move closer. He looked away, meting Mendel’s eyes. Whizzer glared him down slightly, not liking the soft and pitiful look in them.

“Excited for the game next week?” Whizzer said, looking over at Jensen, who was the keeper for the Gryffindor team.

“Hell yeah, can’t wait to beat your ass.” Jensen said with a vicious smile. Their friendship was mostly based off of stupid ass competitions that most likely ended with one of them blowing something up. Their competition would most defiantly be extended to the quidditch pitch.

“In you dreams.” Whizzer scoffed, reaching for a piece of bread, tearing some off to chuck some at his friend.

Jensen looked offended, picking up the piece and shoving it into his mouth. “I hate you.”

“Love ya too.” Whizzer muttered back, taking a bite from eh bun before turning to Cordelia.

“Who do you think would win in a fight against a bear, Jensen or me?” He asked. Cordelia, bless her soul, was used to his bullshit and simply said.

“Neither, the bear would show up and you both would run off screaming.”

Whizzer shrugged. “Valid.”

The rest of conversation flowed easily, all of them chatting easily, quickly accepting Jensen as a part of the gang. Whizzer looked over at Marvin, the only one not talking, who was stabbing a pea with a lot more force then needed.

“You good?” He asked quickly, knocking his shoulder against his boyfriends.

Marvin looked up, startled. “Yeah, just thinking.”

Whizzer debated pushing it, because Marvin looked troubled and Whizzer wanted to help. But instead he relaxed, reaching down and quickly squeezing Marvin’s hand.

“Okay.”

And after that everything returned to normal, with Marvin joining into the conversation with his normal sarcasm and jokes.

Whizzer was content, surrounded by people who he loved and cared for.

But something was coming, dark wisps at the back of his mind, keeping him from fully relaxing. He had a job to do soon, and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to do it.