Finally he was up the tree! It felt so good to be on the branch, several feet from the ground, to feel the wood under his hands and to be protected by the tree's green foliage that gleamed in the sun. Having left all his worries nicely on the ground, he helped Lizzy make her way upward, pulling her as much as he could without losing his balance. Lizzy didn’t seem to have much experience with tree climbing, but Henry was glad to see that she was ready to trust his advice and did her best at getting up the branch. With a bit of training, it looked as if Lizzy could become a valuable co-climber And he was convinced that she appeared far more lively since she was freed from sitting before her book. Probably his high-up-in-the-air-learning-is-easier theory was not that much of an invention after all. He really had to test it himself.

"It’s all a question of experience," he said encouragingly when she finally slumped down beside him next to the trunk. He put A History of Magic on his lap and shook the arm that Lizzy had gripped for her climbing. "You know," he continued, reverting to their former topic, "I don’t think that houses are, or at least should be, that important. I mean, none of us is purely brave, wise, loyal, or cunning. The houses are there to help us by providing us with the atmosphere that is best for us." Henry nodded for emphasis as he repeated what he had always been taught before continuing slightly enviously, "It’s great for you to know that there will be people who’ll look after you. You know, of late my aunt always looks so worried when we talk about Hogwarts. As if something were wrong. And I’ve no idea what could be the matter."

Henry frowned as he remembered his aunt’s behaviour that was so different from what he was used to. "It’d certainly be helpful to have someone who is already there," he added, unwilling to let his mood be dampened by things he didn’t understand. "Like a brother. Someone who tells you what’s going on, and how everything works. To have anyone. It’d be great if we’d be in the same house. My name starts with "B" so I’ll be sorted really early." Henry sighed, considering and rejecting the idea of asking her whether Nick could look after him instead if she landed in Ravenclaw or Slytherin. It would be so good to have someone, especially someone older. And a Hufflepuff brother sounded about like the best thing anyone could have.

"I must tell you something," he then said, immediately cheered by his new notion, "Ever since I heard of it, I dreamt of seeing the Whomping Willow. Imaging trying to get on a tree that wants to shake you off! That’d be a great project for us! Do you know anyone else? The more we’d be, the better!"

Full of fresh energy, Henry took the book in one hand and used the other for his balance as he carefully got to his feet and gripped the branch above to stabilize himself. "Do you really think names are important?" he then asked thoughtfully, suddenly remembering her words before making her way up the tree. "I don’t think I’ve got much of a name, and it never bothered me. I mean, I’d be the same if my name were… were… Gellert Grindelwald. Well, whoever named me would be bonkers I guess, but I’d be I. Don’t you think so? Just use the trunk to get up, then it’s easy. But turn, the next good branch is on the other side."

Henry waited until Lizzy was safely on her feet and then gestured towards the next branch about four feet away and higher. "Grip this one and pull yourself upward. Use the trunk again. You’ll see, from now on it’s easy. Like a natural stair. Do you think you can manage this?" Henry looked critically at the branch. It was far easier to get to it from where Lizzy stood, but if she’d be afraid, he was positive that he should manage it from his position. He stuck the book between his head and the arm he kept lifted to hold on to a higher branch. Yes, he would definitively be able to reach the branch, after all he had experimented with this tree for ages. But he was slightly concerned that such a jump might scare Lizzy off. Hopeful that she would dare to go first, he waited for her next step.

It didn't take as long as she had expected to climb up most of the tree, and she was glad that she wasn't scared of heights. Lizzy knew that falling was never the best idea, and this was sort of like trying not to fall off of your broom. She made sure to hold onto the tree until she was situated comfortably, watching as Henry seemed to be already at ease in the air. She could do that, too. She liked flying, and she just had to imagine that this was the stationary version of it. Now that she really thought of it, it was nice, and she could look down and see her mother- who was probably fretting over the fact that they were up so high. At least they would be safe if they fell. She knew her mum was good with charms like that, and she fidgeted slightly. She wasn't going to be too happy over how her clothes were going to get ruined. Apart from that, she had sort of lied when she asked to go play with Henry. She was probably in for it when she got down again. "Did I hurt you?" she asked, wincing at how he was waving about his arm. She knew that she had interrupted, though, so Lizzy quieted down to listen to his theories about houses.

Ruby had explained a bit of it to her, and she had a lot to reflect on since Easter break. Of course, she had immediately forgotten about everything because she had been more focused on ice cream, but the information was there, tucked into the back of her mind. "As long as that atmosphere involves Quidditch, I don't care where I go," she said honestly. She completely understood what he was saying, even if it sounded too scholarly for her tastes. Shoving them somewhere based off of their one little trait was probably problematic. Wasn't that how Slytherins got called evil? She didn't think that they were really that bad. Amelia wasn't evil, none of the Quidditch players that were from their were evil. Well, Marcus Flint was absolutely terrifying, but that was a different story. If she was being honest, she thought some of the former Gryffindor players were just as scary. "I'm sure Nicky would be fine looking after you, too. And if not, I know a big Ravenclaw too. Her name's Ruby, and she's super nice. Wait, your auntie thinks something's wrong?"

She knew it. She knew it when her Auntie Qiū mentioned that something was happening, and by the way that her parents had seemed very nervous as of late. There was something happening in Hogwarts, or just in the country. She was furious that it had been kept from her, but now... Now she had someone else to help her theorize what was happening. She wasn't sure if Henry wanted to deal with conspiracies, or if he just knew that something was different. "Well, I'm probably gonna be last, 'cause my last name is Young." She would have to wait to broach the subject about problems; the train ride to Hogwarts was long. They could deal with it then, couldn't they? They could make a plan, figure it out from there. That was what her brother would do, and while she didn't always try to emulate everything Nick did, sometimes he made good choices. And he was very, very organized. "And I know Carin, I'm sure they would think that's fun, too. Then we'd have three of us, and we can distract the tree. But isn't that tree super old? How much damage could it do?"

She really didn't know. Nick didn't talk about stuff like that. Lizzy knew that was because he didn't want to break the rules, but she was glad that someone else would like to do more exciting things. "Everything about a person is important," she insisted, furrowing her brows as he wanted to get up higher in the tree. She wasn't a chicken, but it was still scary. But hey, brooms went higher, right? She was going to have to try. "Names are always important. How much higher are we going?" Lizzy took a deep breath. Every part of it was scary, and from where she was standing, it looked like it would take a whole Lizzy to get up there. Well, at least she was gangly for her age. It made her mother scared she would never be graceful, but it was worth it now. "I think I can manage it." She chewed on her lip, then craned her neck. She could do it. She stretched her arms up over her head, feeling for the branch and following the instructions that Henry gave.

Henry was glad that Lizzy didn’t seem to be afraid of heights. It slowly dawned on him that he would ultimately be responsible if she fell and hurt herself. And he’d hate it if she got hurt. He wanted to climb around and have fun, there was absolutely no place for accidents in his plans. But it was true that he had persuaded Lizzy to go climbing with him, and therefore he felt that he would have to accept responsibility for what happened to her. And though he was of the opinion that an eleven year old boy like himself should not be burdened too much with duties, he was determined to do not fail Lizzy and lead her safely up the tree. Having thus decided that due to his experience he was the natural leader in their exploration, he bravely shook his head. "Not at all, it’s just preparation. We must use our arms often when climbing you know," he assured her before continuing their former conversation with his lecture about house adherence.

"Quidditch?" he asked curiously when she interrupted him. "Do you play? Do you have a broom? I’ve never been on a broomstick, they are so expensive. But it’s up in the air, so I suppose it should be fun; at least the flying aspect. Should I have any talent I think I’d like to be a Chaser. As far as I know, we’ll get flying lessons at school, then I’ll find out. I suppose it’s important to have a good balance like with climbing. I’ve read Quidditch through the Ages though, and it seems that it can be really dangerous. I mean, yes, no one is allowed to bring an axe to a game anymore, but when you fall, it’s still a long way down. I think, on the whole, I prefer to have a whole tree to hold on to."

He had not said much more when Lizzy cut in again, and made Henry beam from ear to ear as she offered to help him find a guide. "Thank you! That’d be great," he said but soon frowned at her reaction when he mentioned his aunt. "Yes," he said hesitantly. "I often wondered what could be going on. I’ve tried reading the Prophet, but there I found nothing concrete. It can’t have anything to do with all the Headmistresses dying, can it? I heard that the Defence Against the Dark Arts post had once been cursed, but how could that affect the Headmistresses? And it wouldn’t have to bother us, so there’d be no reason to worry, right?"

He gave Lizzy a sympathetic look when she mentioned her last name. "That’s awful. Then you’ve got to stand before the whole school, watch the others get sorted, and you’re just there, waiting. Brrr. I really hope that I won’t be first, that’d be scary too. But I think it’s not very probable." Henry made up his mind to figure out whether "A" or "B" was a more frequent letter for English surnames to begin. If it was "A“, then he wouldn’t have to worry. "Carin?" He repeated the name to better remember it. "That sounds great. I don’t know how old the Whomping Willow is exactly. It’s not mentioned in Hogwarts, A History, so I guess it’s younger. We just have to proceed carefully and try to figure out how it reacts to what. You’re right, it’d certainly help when there’s three of us!"

Watching her get up, he still wasn’t convinced of her opinion on names. Though he was ready to agree that everything about a person was important, he doubted whether the name should be put very high up. He had been taught the metaphor of the book that should not be judged by its cover. And, extending the analogy, Henry had to admit that he’d consider the title an important information for the book. But it didn’t say anything about its quality. He guessed he had to concede that a name mirrored something of the history of a person but still not what kind of person someone was. For now though, Henry didn’t want to argue and only said at her question, "As far as you are comfortable. Where we can still sit comfortably; remember, I’ve got to read you from the book. You don’t have vertigo, do you?" He watched Lizzy hesitate. But she had said she liked Quidditch, Henry was certain that heights shouldn’t bother her. "Yes, I’m sure you’ll manage," he said encouragingly, balancing in her direction as she leant towards the branch to follow her or help in an emergency.

She liked the fact that Henry talked a lot, because that way she wasn't stuck filling up the silences with her own words. Talking to Nick was stressful sometimes. He alternated between talking just as much and not at all. This was nice; it was a bit of a tug of war, and she was always ready to play around. Lizzy liked talking, and even though they were both occasionally talking over each other, she thought that they had similar points and great ideas. It was going to be fantastic at Hogwarts, if everything went right. She and Henry (and, of course, Carin) were going to have so much fun at school, even if they didn't learn that much. Since she wasn't that big of a fan of learning, she was completely fine with that situation. "My mum says that arm muscles are gross," she said casually. Her nose crinkled in a way that showed how annoying she found the opinion. She knew that it was because her mother didn't want her playing Quidditch. She always wanted Lizzy to be the proper little lady, not the rambunctious kid that she wanted to be. If she was Nick, she could do whatever she wanted. She could run around and play, or even get into fights. Her brother should've taken advantage of all of that when he could. She didn't understand why he refused to. 

Lizzy was excited that he followed her topic change to Quidditch, because she was able to talk about that subject for hours. She liked how Henry seemed to enjoy being up in the air; that was another thing they had in common. "My Ah Ma bought me a broom as a present, and I get to fly on it when I'm home." It was strange that she thought of Singapore as her home when she had just been whining about it a month before. But she loved it there now, even if that was where her cousins were. She loved her grandparents, she tolerated her cousins, and she got to wear nice clothing and play Quidditch. "I love Quidditch, even though it isn't that safe. I want to be on the house team, and I'm going to be a Keeper. I mean, I'm probably going to end up as a reserve in my first year, but that's fine. I doubt they really want us to play. We're too little." She wanted to be a Keeper so terribly, though.

"It'll be terrible if I'm last," she insisted, cringing. It was a lot worse to be fast than first. If you were first, everyone was waiting for the first sorting. They were excited, they were ready. It might have been a lot to handle, but at least people wanted to see where you went. She didn't want people dreading waiting for her. Nobody was going to be excited for her sorting except for Nick and Amelia. Everyone else was going to be waiting to eat and sleep. She didn't want people to resent her for being last, and she didn't know how long the sorting would take. What if she had to sit for fifteen minutes with the hat on her head? "Carin will be game. They like to do fun things like that, I think. And I think there's a possibility that the tree might want to help us climb. It can still shake us off, but maybe if we ask it politely... 'Cause it's magical."

She was fine, she wasn't going to fall. She knew her feet were slipping slightly, but Lizzy used her upper arm strength to pull herself up to sit on the branch. She was shaking, that much was true, but she was thankful to be able to answer his question. "I don't have vertigo." She cracked a brave smile and held tightly onto the tree. "Okay, I'm ready."

Usually, tree climbing was a solitary affair. It would be just Henry and the tree, nothing more was necessary for spending many hours full of joy. There was hardly any tree Henry walked past that he wouldn’t also climb. And it was not only the way up that was important, but there were countless different approaches that had to be tried. It was like a conversation with the tree, trying to figure out how it worked. The old oak in the park was the perfect example. Henry had clambered on every single branch during the many explorations he had conducted over the years. He preferred the ways up where it was necessary to jump and balance around precariously, but for now, Henry was more than happy to use the simplest path because there was an other person with him who seemed just as enthusiastic to be in the air as he was. It was truly lucky that Lizzy was not like her mother who seemed to entertain some very strange opinions. “But arm muscles are necessary!” he exclaimed. “All muscles are necessary. Without them, we couldn’t move at all, and that’d be horrible.” Henry shuddered, half at the idea of not being able to move, half at the folly to express contempt for something as vital as muscles.

With round eyes, he listened to her talk about Quidditch. He had never had much to do with the sport, but witnessing Lizzy’s passion was infectious. “That’s awesome,” he said full of admiration. “Do you fly high? Did you fly higher up than this tree?” Henry thought for a moment. “Actually, I think it’s slightly scary. A broom is so much less than a tree. I mean, it once was a tree, but now it’s thinner than any branch I’d use for climbing. You can’t stand on a broom… or can you?” Henry hesitated but quickly found his voice again. “I hope you’ll make it on the team. You know what, I’ll go and watch your try-out - there will be try-outs, right? - and I’ll cheer you on.”

Henry piteously watched Lizzy’s tortured expression at the idea of being sorted last. “I’m certain you won’t be last,” he said encouragingly. “There are a lot of names that begin with a “Z” like… like…” Henry bit his lip. Were there any names that ended with a “Z”? Henry hissed around on the letter, but he couldn’t think of one name and ended up weakly whispering, “I’m sure there must be one name.” He was certainly glad when their conversation returned to the Whomping Willow, and Lizzy’s choice of pronoun confused him. “They?” he asked. “You know two Carins?” Henry had never heard the name before, it seemed very peculiar to him that Lizzy knew two people of the same name. Who would also be at Hogwarts with them. But it didn’t really matter. The only thing important was that they would climb the Whomping Willow together. “I hope so,” he said to her suggestion. “Sometimes I lay my head on the trunk of a tree, and if I’m silent for a while and just listen, I feel like the tree is whispering. That’d be much stronger if it’s magical. We only have to convince it that we’re its friends.”

Finally, Lizzy reached up and pulled herself up on the branch. She looked slightly insecure, and Henry was not quite sure whether she was not shaking. But she had managed without his help and didn’t look discouraged. “That was perfect,” Henry assured her, gripping the book tightly against his chest as he stepped to the spot Lizzy had just left. “Can you move a bit to the side?” Henry waited until there was enough room for him, then leaned forward towards the branch with his free hand. Holding on to it, he jumped towards the trunk and pushed himself away from it with his feet, managing to turn around in time to land sitting beside Lizzy.

It was a bit like flying, almost, but there were parts that were scary and parts that made her nervous. Lizzy liked that it was all relatively new to her. New things were far more interesting than the regular day to day actions, and she was relieved that she had so far been successful in her climbing. There was nothing more scary than falling, even if it wasn't a complete fear of hers. She liked to think that she was fearless, unlike her mother. To her, her mum was scared of just about everything. She was scared of too much muscle, she was scared that Lizzy would say something rude in front of her Ah Ma, and she was scared that Nicky wasn't going to be smart enough to make it as a Healer. She thought all of the ideas were silly, especially the part about too much muscle. She had to agree with Henry's complaints. Muscle was important. Muscle was going to help in Quidditch just as much as it did in climbing. "We wouldn't even be able to stand up," she acknowledged, crinkling her nose. She knew that because of her brother. He had described the human body one day when she had asked what he was reading, and Lizzy had thoroughly regretted her curiosity. She had just been curious, she didn't need to hear how the body moved. Something else helped keep them together, and she struggled to remember what they were called... Muscles, bones, and...

Well, it was besides the point, and she was glad to talk about something else, especially Quidditch. She knew that she could go on and on about the sport, and she generally did. She had talked Vza's ear off about Quidditch, and she had went on and on when talking to the bigger witch in the supply store. She remembered that the woman knew Nick Wentzell, and that she also liked the Falcons. She couldn't recall who else they had met, because it felt so long ago. That was before she had gone to Singapore, and before she had flown on her broom. It was almost Easter... She didn't realize that the year had gone by so quickly, and she felt like she hadn't accomplished enough. Her birthday was coming up soon! She hadn't even told Nick what she wanted for her birthday, and now he wouldn't have enough time to get it. She knew that she still had a bit of time, but it wasn't enough. She needed to make sure that she told him when he got home from school this week. "You definitely fly higher than the trees," she said distractedly. Lizzy forced herself to pay attention to the conversation, appalled that she had forgotten they were talking about Quidditch. "And I think you can stand on it. It's kind of a trick more than anything. And I'll be super glad if you came to try-outs." It would be nice to have someone there cheering her on.

"There's Zabini," Lizzy supplied, her expression mutating to thoughtfulness as she tried to run through the alphabet. Zabini was Amelia's last name, but not Carin's. She knew that Atha and Amelia had other siblings and another mum as well. They could be going to school, or they could already be at school. She was glad that the conversation was shifting further away from the sorting, even if she brought it up initially. She was scared; she didn't know where she was going to be. It was far easier to talk about climbing trees and making friends with the willow. It was an alive thing, but it wasn't trying to get into her head and talk to her. "I only know one Carin. Nicky says that Carin is sometimes a boy and sometimes a girl, so they like to use they." She only just understood it, but it wasn't important. She was sure that Carin was fun either way, and they could all climb the tree together. "The trees don't talk to me, but I'm not good at listening a lot of the time. Alright, what part of that boring book are you going to read?"

The more Henry learnt about Lizzy, the more he liked her. She was a thoroughly sensible being so that he could do nothing but nod energetically to her comment on muscles. It might have something to do with her being a Quidditch enthusiast. Henry had always thought that being removed from the ground made one clearer thinking (or at least, since he had claimed so opposite Lizzy). And they were now some feet from the ground. Admittedly, when he had asked for the heights a broom could fly, he had more hoped for personal experiences, had hoped for a description of being so high up in the air. And hearing that it would be possible, Henry was eager to try to stand up on a broom. He had a good balance, there was no reason why he shouldn’t be able to do so. But Lizzy suddenly seemed distracted to him, and he decided not to continue asking. He was pretty certain anyway that he would always prefer trees. They stayed where they were, and this was a huge advantage if he wanted to jump. He had no idea how he would get a broom back if he leapt down from one.

The Sorting Hat topic also soon ran dry though Lizzy could at least think of a name with "Z". But it said nothing to Henry and gave him no ideas. He was unable to say anything encouraging, and all he could be was sorry. And this didn’t help Lizzy. Therefore, a change in topic was welcome to him, and he was pretty certain, for his new friend too. There was nothing better to talk about than trees and, of course, friends. And she seemed to have many friends. Henry didn’t really understand how someone could be sometimes a boy and sometimes a girl and was about to ask, but Lizzy had referred to her brother. He guessed that she might not know more herself. But it didn’t really matter. The only thing important was that Carin would be a good friend. Because Lizzy liked Carin. And Henry liked Lizzy. Therefore, he would also like Carin. That was logic, Henry was sure about it. Like "Socrates was human", "all humans are mortal", resulting into "Socrates was mortal". Henry had read it somewhere and it seemed to be something very clever even if it was obvious (But who in Merlin's name was Socrates?). Thus, his own syllogism had to be true. And if Carin was two people at once, it could only be a good thing. Because the more the merrier. And being double as much as anybody else, Carin had to be double fun: Nothing else made sense.

Henry couldn’t help feeling disappointed when Lizzy brought up the book. In his opinion they were only in the very beginning of climbing the tree. But he had promised to her that they would only go as far up as she was comfortable with. And if she wanted to stop now, it was his duty to accept this. He had an important task to accomplish after all. He opened the book and searched for the passage that he thought Lizzy had been reading when he had interrupted her. "Were you reading the goblin regulations?" he asked, admitting to himself that these were rather boring. He skipped to the preceding chapter. "How about the goblin riots of the sixteenth century? These are gripping. One of my favourite parts." Having settled on the chapter with Lizzy, he carefully got to his feet and jumped on a branch that grew only a few feet away almost on the same height so that they both could sit as comfortable as possible. Settling down, Henry cleared his throat and started reading. He used all the talent he had gained during his long readings to Gunter to render the content exciting, trying to adjust his voice to all the different topics that were approached like battles, treachery, or negotiations. As he read, he became engrossed in the content again, that when he reached the end of the chapter, he was confused for a second to find himself sitting in an oak tree. He blinked and looked down to Lizzy. "And? Are you still awake?" he asked hoarsely, more anxious than excited about her verdict.

Lizzy often had thoughts that would turn wildly into the next, so she knew that she occasionally seemed like she was distracted. The problem was that she would think of Quidditch more often than not, and those little ideas turned into daydreams that she was unable to stop. She loved the sport more than anything else, and since flying was involved, that became her second favorite thing to do by default. She knew that there were better ways to describe it than she had, and she wanted to try it again. Henry deserved to get the full truth as to how magnificent it was, especially since he liked to climb trees. He would like flying, she decided, just as much as she now enjoyed climbing trees. She knew that her mother was going to be exasperated when she found out that Lizzy now had yet another damaging hobby, because she had been equally frustrated when Lizzy found the gnomes in their backyard. Playing with the gnomes (and making sure that they didn't bite) was just as damaging to ones clothes, and that was something that Eleanor Young did not tolerate. She hated when Lizzy ruined her clothes, she hated when rips and tears got in the way. Lizzy knew that she was clumsy and that it often translated to athleticism, but sometimes she was safe and knew what she was doing.

She was doing well with the climbing, so far. She hadn't fallen, she hadn't broken any branches or limbs, and she was only a tiny bit frightened. Lizzy knew that her mother could save them in an instant, and that was what was keeping her from being a bit too scared about everything. She was going to be fine, nothing was going to happen. It was just like flying. She gave Henry a bright grin as she steadied her nerves, toying with a loose thread on her outfit. "It feels amazing to fly," she began, thinking of the first time she had gotten on a broom. It was at her Ah Ma's house, and although she had gotten the hang of flying rather quickly she was still only mediocre when it came to playing keeper. She was getting better; she would probably have a hang of it by the end of the month. She practiced every day, she made sure that she was getting somewhere with it. "It's like a dream. You can feel the air rushing around you and your heart is pumping. And I never think twice about falling, because the broom always listens. Like the trees for you." She liked that about flying. She just had to think it and it would happen, even if that had something to do with how her fingers reacted to the broom. It was instinctual, and she thought that she was practically made to be in the air.

"I don't really remember," she said honestly, crinkling her nose. The words always floated around in her head, and Lizzy was certain that they flew out her ear the moment that she decided she was bored. Her brother didn't have any problems with doing his work, he liked taking notes. She thought that was strange of him, but Nick was a strange creature. He liked telling people what to do, he liked being a prefect... And he absolutely hated when she thought about breaking the rules. That was annoying; she liked breaking the rules and she liked exploring. He hadn't even bothered to look for any secret passages, and she thought that was rather silly. Secret passages were important. Lizzy drew herself out of her thoughts as quickly as she could manage, paying attention when Henry mentioned the goblin riots. That was a chapter she had already tried to read, but the names had gotten confusing and she had mainly tuned it out. But if Henry thought it was a good idea she was willing to try it, so she nodded her head and leaned back slightly in the tree. It was almost like a nice seat, and she tried to picture the words as he read the chapter. Treachery, battles... She almost couldn't imagine why she had found it boring before. "You know, I think you were right about being higher in the air. And it's also a lot better when I'm not trying to read it. It takes me a long time to read things." She pulled the name of why out of her head, trying to debate explaining more.

He hadn’t thought about the speed-aspect. When he was climbing, he was the only one to move. Of course, the thinner branches gave way when he heaved himself up on one, and he sometimes used their flexibility to swing himself upwards. But without his own weight, they more or less stayed in place - unless there was a storm. But he had never been allowed to climb around during storms which was a real pity. Henry liked the wind. He liked running fast and feel the air around him and that was exactly what Lizzy had just described. Just with the added benefit of height and superior speed. Listening to her, he could hardly wait for the flying lessons. Though, brooms were expensive, he certainly wouldn’t own one all too soon. Trees were for free. "The brooms listen to you?" he repeated. "That’s... unbelievable! How fast do you think the school brooms will be? Hm, you can’t bring your broom to school, right? That’s stupid. Or-" Henry’s eyes lightened up. "Your older brother! Does he fly too? Does he take your broom to school in your place so that you can still fly it? Or do you have permission to bring your broom if you’re applying for the team?"

As their conversation finally turned to the book, Lizzy’s interest was visibly decreasing, especially compared to how she had spoken about flying. But Henry was not disheartened, on the contrary, the less inclined Lizzy seemed to be, the more he was determined to prove the worth of Bathilda Bagshot. History books in general were great because they told exciting stories that were even true and therefore counted as education. This was better than adding numbers and all this math stuff that was just boring. He really didn’t understand why he had to learn any of it. There would be no math required at Hogwarts. The alphabet had been far simpler because he knew that when he could understand these symbols, he would be able to read stories and even write down things he came up with himself. Learning without understanding what would be the benefit was stupid. And the benefit of history books were that they told gripping stories. Especially if the author was Bathilda Bagshot. And this was what he wanted to prove to his new friend. Because they would also have to take classes at Hogwarts, and if Lizzy thought them all dull, she would not be happy. As Lizzy’s friend, he could not enjoy school as long as she was feeling depressed. He had to read well, their future depended on it.

Considering how important his reading had been, he was more than very relieved at her reaction. "I’m glad you liked it," he said, feeling a tad smug in addition to his overall joy. First, he had carried his point, and, second, his story about high-up-in-the-air learning proved to be right. He had to remember it, to always go up as far as possible for learning. "I can read to you at Hogwarts," he suggested. "It’s not as fast as reading yourself, but it’d be more fun. We could also study together, you, me, and… Carin, right? If we want to go climbing together, oh, and we could explore the castle and grounds together - that will be great - it’d be a good excuse, 'we’re looking for a quiet place to study together', if we should end up somewhere we shouldn’t. And together it would be so easier, we could help each other because there would certainly subjects where one of us is rubbish and the other is good. And it’s far more entertaining than brooding alone over some book. I always learn better in Gunter’s company." Henry hopped down one branch to be next to Lizzy again, thrilled at the prospect. School would be wonderful.

She liked flying far better than walking, it was nice and windy and it gave you an adrenaline buzz like nothing else could. It was different, far different than she would have thought it would be. Lizzy thought that she had been born to be on a broom, just like Nick was born to be studious and help people. She liked that thought; people were made for things. She hoped that she was made for Quidditch, because sometimes she did just think it was a dream. It was so fantastic, so... It was everything that she could ever hope for. It was rushing air and dazzling heights, seeing things from a perspective that she wouldn't quite notice before... She wondered if that was how her brother felt when he was studying or reading about Healing people. Everything just felt right. And the brooms helped. Her broom liked to listen. At least, Lizzy assumed it liked to listen. It responded to her every whim- and she had quite a few of them. She didn't know if it was the type or instinct, but it let her react and it followed... It was like they reacted together. Not witch and broom, just one thing but together. It was nice, it helped her play better... And it felt nicer. She liked how she flew with the broom. "I don't think the school brooms are very good," she said thoughtfully, tilting her head. There was no way that the brooms at Hogwarts were better. But Henry did have a good idea. "I can ask Nick to bring it. I don't think they like to make exceptions."

The reading was helping, some. It was actually helping a lot more than she was letting on, but she didn't want to seem like somebody who hated reading because it was hard. Well, she didn't really enjoy it because of the difficulty, but she did like stories. She liked hearing them, not reading them. The words got too difficult to deal with and her focus floated away, but when she heard them like she was now it was easier. She could imagine them happening, she could stop focusing on everything else. Lizzy liked that she could focus on the information as supposed to trying to find it in a whirl of confusing words. It also proved that Henry's 'higher in the air' idea was actually far smarter than she originally thought. That was weird, but she was willing to take it for now. She thought it was funny that he would have come up with the idea- likely to get into the tree- and to have it make sense in the end... It was really fun. And she was sure that he was happy with being correct.

"It's definitely faster than me reading by myself," she insisted, shaking her head. It took her too long to get through a sentence and then she got distracted. Lizzy just wasn't made for reading, not like she was for Quidditch. She guessed that she took all of those genes away from her brother. "I think that sounds nice. We'll be the Three Musketeers and we'll have fun and explore the school. There are so many passages that I want to find, and Nick won't tell me where they are."