Methods for Madness

[MarvManga]

Finally.

Finally, after a year of panic, a year of 'what if', a year of debate and weighing odds against ends and sleepless nights and never ending thoughts of repercussions and bloody waiting he'd done it. He'd taken his own initiative. He'd taken his first step into the unknown. His first whiff of forbidden pleasures. His first tantalizing taste of desire.

He was trying out for the Quidditch team.

Would his father be pleased with this?
Merlin forbid.

Would he get nagged to quit?
Certainly, if the grandeurous Mr. Ministry could find the time.

Was he trying out, regardless?

Absolutely.

The air around him was crisp. Perfectly still. Excellent for flying. The other students stood around talking, bragging, sinking into each other for the small comfort they got from having company. The second-year could hear them, distantly, but urged his mind not to. They always spoke of such useless things. Their latest crush, their latest enemies, favorite players or bands they liked and homework they'd failed to remember until now. He didn't understand why they were all so chatty. But then, Barty was never one for being social.

He stood alone on the open green, quite some way from the clusters of noise, and watched the sky. He could taste the wind, feel the cold air filling his lungs as his mind rushed the goal posts and the world melted away. He could see himself, diving and swooping around the opponents, dodging Bludgers and carrying the Quaffle to an undeniable victory while the crowd became a blurred roar underneath him. There was nothing left but strategy and precision. And those were two areas in which Barty never faltered. Even his father couldn't deny the brilliance of the tactics that went into the game. That would be unreasonable, he thought. He'd just have to prove that it was a game of skill in both physical and mental aspects. That would earn him some respect.

Then a whistle blew, shattering his fantasy, ripping him from the sky and hurling him back onto the crowded green. Blue eyes found the doors just as a thick trail of green and silver began to spill out onto the field.

This caused his heart to repeatedly try bursting forth from his chest, but his face didn't convey his true emotion in the slightest. It never did. He didn't allow it. He was here to make sure his house knew that he was the best choice. That he was the best, period.

Let the game begin.

[Youko]

Another year of potential players. Another year of sitting there, watching the tryouts with a passive expression. At least this time, he didn't need to try out. He had done that last year and gotten in easily on skill alone. He didn't need his family to buy him in like half of the team. That little fact displeased him greatly. If one was going to get onto the team, one needed to be skilled enough to do so.

With slightly apprehensive thoughts, as his expression remained passive, he followed his team out onto the grassy Quidditch pitch.

Grey eyes surveyed the Slytherin's that scattered the pitch. Most of them were in groups of what they thought were their friends. Regulus knew that most of them were only using each other for an advantage. It was very rare for anyone in Slytherin to trust another, though when it happened, it lasted.

After a few moments of watching with the team, he made a point of distancing himself from them. Despite being a part of the team, as a Seeker, he didn't have to really work together with anyone. That was how he preferred it. Ever since Sirius became a Gryffindor, he had no one he could honestly trust. It was a shame.

His parents had been ecstatic that he made it onto the team last year. They even bought him a state of the art broom and brand new Quidditch goggles. Now, as he stood there slightly separated from the team, those goggles hung about his neck. Still, the youngest Black felt it was unfair to his brother, who was on the Gryffindor team. All he had gotten was screamed at.

Even Regulus had to admit that their mother sounded like a banshee when she screamed.

Slowly the dark haired youth noticed that he was no longer looking at the potential team members, but at the sky above. He pictured himself soaring though the air, his hair being pulled back by the wind. His body twisting in the sky as if he were one with the broom. Speeding forth to finally clasp the Snitch in his hand before the Seeker of the other team. It was always so breath taking.

He never cared what the weather was, it was always perfect for flying.

Except for when it was pouring rain. Or hailing. It was never fun being pelted with chunks of ice.

The whistle blew a second time, causing Regulus to actually pay attention to the field again, as the tryouts began.

This should be interesting.