George happily stuffed a small sausage pastry into his mouth as they made their way out towards the grounds, carrying a beautifully made cheese and cucumber sandwich. Whoever made this food was far better than his mum and far better than his Aunt Lysa's cooking. He hated Christmas for that reason, he knew Theo hated her cooking too but was just to polite to say. The Great Hall was fairly full although there seemed to a small majority of the students missing.
"Unicorns too." George added as soon as the conversation came up. "My brother says you can start to study all the creatures in the forest when we're in Third Year." The boy had found an insane fascination with the magical creatures of his world, all after an incident in Norfolk one winter. His Aunt Lysa lived in an ancient house on top of a small hill. She was an odd women, 'touched' was the word his father had used on occasion when their mum had been out of earshot. Her garden stood before a bog, far stretching along an old barely used road. His attention had been caught by a drifting light that looked far too unlike a car headlight. It bounced around for a second, dancing happily in the late evening moonlight. It seemed peaceful against the shallow snow, drifting to and fro across the bog. George shared the moment with his brother, both staring at the light as they sat on their Aunt's porch, not two winters ago. Hinkypunk was the word Theo had used as he explained all he'd been taught earlier that year.
The blonde's attention drifted over the crowd as they walked out off the bridge and into the grounds beyond. He could see groups huddled together, brooms in hand, chatting and pointing up at the castle as a lone figure twisted about the turrets. The whole prospect was exciting. He already longed to see his first Hogwarts Quidditch match although it wouldn't start until at least November. He followed behind his friends, trying to locate his brother among the collection of students. He wasn't hard to find though, standing among a strong bunch of Ravenclaw students, again, standing alone from the rest of the congregation. The crowd quickly perked up as a student clad in vivid yellow raced along the bridge at such a high speed it felt like a gale, rippling through robes and hair. There was no doubt that the new models of broom were getting faster and faster. The student crossed through a hovering red line and joined a group of cheering Hufflepuffs.
A slender women with thick black hair blew a whistle and shook her head, causing both outrage and joy. The Hufflepuff students spent a moment expressing their anger before patting their friend on the back and stepping back to let someone else try. George watched a Slytherin girl with long brown hair pull her hair into a ponytail and step up to the line, feet on the either side of her broom. She shuffled her feet and pushed off the ground as soon as the whistle hit, her silver broom disappearing into a blur as she shot through the line at the simple sound of the whistle. George found a small spot of free grass and sat, Seine joining him soon after, eyes glued to the girl as she turned around the first tower.
"When do we get to do this?" Seine laughed, making room for Sadie on the ground which was thankfully dry.