Protégée (George Weasley)

Chapter Seventeen

The school day was hectic, Lisa barely getting through her last period, wanting nothing more but to bury herself under her blankets as McGonagall was in the middle of her lesson. She sighed in relief when the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, but her smile dropped, after she realized that she was still going to meet up with the twins for her first session.

She glanced up at a clock, realizing she had been walking sluggishly, before breaking out into a sprint. Lisa had exactly seven minutes to climb up to her dormitory to fetch her broom and run to the stadium. She practically shoved people out of the way, muttering apologies as she went.

"Hey, Lisa—" Leanne started as she caught sight of her friend, only for Lisa to dart away, completely ignoring her, "...okay then. Nice talk."

Everyone in the commons flinched at the sound of a door slamming rather loudly, twice, in very short intervals, before Lisa bolted out.

"She's in a hurry." Katie explained, seeing the confused look on Leanne's face.

"Elly!" Lisa called, nearly out of breath, stopping shortly to greet her best friend, "Any plans for this afternoon?"

"Yeah, I have to go study for a test. Sorry I can't be there for your first...thing... But I wish you luck."

Lisa pouted momentarily, "Thanks anyway, love you!" she said, before taking off yet again.

She was nearly out of breath by the time she arrived at the stadium, seeing the Weasley twins lying on the grass, chatting animatedly with each other. She quickly slipped into the locker room, changing into her robes and gear as quickly as she could, before stumbling out.

"Er...hi?"she said, unsure of how to catch their attention. George looked up first, a smile on his face at the sight of her, "Ah, our protégée is here, Freddie."

The two got on their feet, dusting off their clothes momentarily before addressing her. "So, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." she murmured.

"Okay," the other twin said, presumably Fred, Lisa took a wild guess, "So can you tell us what you find difficult to do? We could start there."

Her cheeks flushed, embarrassed as she recounted all her failures. They gave her an encouraging smile, "We won't make fun of you... You know everyone's been a beginner at some point in their lives."

"But in your case this isn't your first time, yeah? Noel told us about little League. So what you're having trouble with can't be that bad, yeah?"

"No, it is pretty bad..." she said, "I can't make sharp turns on my broom. And I always seem to knock myself off balance when I'm swinging the bat."

"Oh," Fred and George said simultaneously, in a tone Lisa could not distinguish, whether they meant it in a good way or a bad way, "Well, those are common problems," Fred said, "Trust me, George and I have the same struggles."

"And just remember this. You may think you're borderline horrible, but the fact that Angelina hasn't booted you out means that she believes greatly in your capabilities and that she sees potential in you."

"Or maybe she just believes too much in my surname."

"Hey," Fred chastised, "No negativity, alright? You can do this."

"Yeah, once we're practicing, the whole pitch is a pessimist free zone. You shall not speak, or think negatively."

She was already thinking a negative thought now, as they spoke, convinced that they might not want to help her once they really see how she's like. Lisa commanded her broom up, the feeling of sleek wood against her palms making her nervous. Gripping the handle tight, she got onto her broom, pushing up into the air at Fred's command.