By the end of the detention all of us were close to banging our heads in the walls. We had to listen to his numerous missions and explorations and trust me I would have gladly gotten hit by the Whomping Willow for another 4 hours rather than staying here to listen to his over exaggerated accomplishments. 

I can't explain how relieved I was when he told us to leave. Though we had made sure he would never ask us to address his fan mail again since half of it was addressed incorrectly and the other half was switched (we had to write his replies as well so we wrote what we thought best instead of what he had dictated). 

Finally after a whole long time of suffering a near death experience, we were allowed to go out. God, the fresh air felt so good! Thankfully it was a free period. Because goodness knows I was in no mood to face anything after this exhausting detention. 

I was practically scowling in anger when the twins immediately got struck by an idea, "hey, we know how to cheer you up! Come on let's show you the Quidditch pitch!" 

Yup, now this seems like a good idea.

The Quidditch pitch was enormous. It had tall poles with hoops like that of a bubble blower surrounding the ground and the whole ground was surrounded by stands for those who would watch the game. 

"Awesome," I breathed. 

"Well that's just the beginning, sis," Fred spoke. 

George had gone off to the castle and now he came back holding his broom and Fred's, along with another broom which might belong to the school. 

"You can fly the Shooting Star here for practicing and if you are good at it we will write to Mum and Dad to order your broom straightaway," they told me. 

So... They're going to teach me how to fly? Is this really happening? I must have been looking completely gobsmacked because the twins burst out laughing, "it's not... Hahaha...a joke! Goodness Kat... Look at your face! Hilarious!" 

I straightened, "okay, that's enough. Stop laughing you two!" But they just couldn't help it and the next moment all three of us were laughing. Anyways when we got control of ourselves they handed me the broom. 

"Now you stand beside it like this," Fred instructed and I followed. 

"And then you say Up!" George added. Both of them demonstrated. They said up and the brooms flew up to their hands. 

Okay... Looks easy. Let's give it a try. 

"Up!" I said and the broom flew up to my hand. 

"Great! Now mount it!" I followed them as they demonstrated. 

Goodness, I was nervous. Very nervous. But when the time for take off came I was really more excited than nervous. I don't know what happened exactly. With a sudden jerk the broom was off. And I was flying. Like literally flying. I wanted to close my eyes because hey I get frightened too, I'm not a Superwoman. But I also wanted to see everything. To feel every tingling sensation. The air brushed past me and it felt so good. 

"Turn the handle, Kat," Fred shouted, "turn it right!" 

Oh I see. I would have crashed into one of those poles. So you turn the handle to control this broom? I get it. Good. And then I decided to test myself a little. I went zigzagging through dodging the poles. 

"That was marvellous!" George complimented. 

"To stop, you do this," Fred spoke from beside me and I turned to look at him. He pulled the handle in a specific way like a break. I tried to do the same. It worked anyway. So far this flying practice has been fantastic. Absolute fun. 

Fred told us to stop in mid air and now we were hovering about a feet above the ground. "Now we are going to actually make you practice," they told me, "to make it to the Quidditch team you have to know some basic tips." 

Okay... Just hope the tips are easy to remember. 

"Tip number 1," George began, "you must have a good sight. Essential for catching the snitch, scoring the Quaffle as well as keeping a look out for bludgers." 

Yup I get it. I had read Quidditch Through The Ages. I know what snitch, Quaffle and bludger is. 

"Tip number 2," Fred added, "know your strengths and weaknesses. We'll be trying you out for that ourselves." 

Their tips went on and I listened taking in every word. 

"Now we are going to enchant a few tennis balls for you to use as a Quaffle. You'll have to catch the balls while riding and throw them through the hoops. We'll tell you which hoop so we can judge your aim." I bet they would do great as professional Quidditch instructors. 

"Hey wait," I asked, "how did you get tennis balls?" 

They smirked, "courtesy of one of our friends. Lee Jordan brought some tennis balls along with a pair of rackets. He promised to teach us how to play tennis last year so we made sure he didn't forget it." 

Oh I see. It would look hilarious though. Fred and George playing tennis. I'll make sure to watch. 

"Accio tennis balls!" They yelled and two tennis balls came soaring towards them. "Summoning charm, just in case you'd like to know," George added. Fantastic. I bet Charms is going to be my favorite subject. 

"Now you'll have to catch the balls and throw them through the hoops when we say so. Aim first then swing hard. Got it?" 

Yes I get it. They had the enchanted the balls so that they were flying like a Quaffle according to the twins. Bet they're trying me out for the Chaser post. I swooshed past the twins after the tennis ball they had told me to catch and grasped it when it came to my reach. 

"Good! Now aim for the fifth pole on the right. Yes... Now, throw!" 

Okay... Okay... I can do this. Aim and then swing hard. I threw the ball aiming for the hoop. 

"And score!" The twins yelled. They came and gave me a high five. Looks like I did it. Yes I did it. Awesome! We practiced a bit more and they made me catch and throw until I was quite out of breath. 

"That's it. Pack up!" Fred shouted. He sure loved being in charge. They swooped down for the landing. Uh oh, I had never even thought of it before. 

"Hey Kat what are you waiting for?" George yelled. 

Um, well... Okay... Here I come. I swooped and landed. Well who am I kidding? I nearly got thrown off the broom giving the twins another chance to roll laughing on the ground. But it had been fun and I nearly missed snapping my neck so yeah I could be considered as quite lucky for my first try. 

"You'll make an excellent Chaser, Kat," they congratulated me when I was safely back on my feet and gave me a high five each. 

"Wait until Wood sees you on the pitch," Fred remarked. Wood? Oh. Oliver Wood; the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. 

"Bet he'd be delighted," George added. 

I hope so. Anyhow this practice was more than just fantastic since it had made me forget all about Lockhart and his self obsessing ludicrous nature.

***