Finn decided to go for a jog around the quidditch pitch. Winter was nearly over, and it was time to start training if he ever hoped to make the quidditch team. Hell, two years ago, he was close to making captain. But now, he didn't care... He only hoped to make the team... He needed to lose a few pounds to get back into top form. He was going to try and make seeker, or chaser... Chaser was his better position as he was left handed and nearly nobody else was, but he wanted to challenge himself. He looked down at his wind up pocket watch. He completed one lap in just over a minute and a half. It was near his best time, but he needed to get faster. He laid down on the snow and began doing crunches. He sat up when he could hear footsteps approaching. He didn't recognize this girl. How the hell could he have known... He preferred to keep to himself.

Felicity Sanders wasn't the jogging type. Or the exercise type. Not by herself, anyway. Personal discipline was an area she lacked in a bit; she was only likely to get any exercise when it coincided with socializing. She loved to play team sports, of course, her lean figure could attest to that, but she tended to think that exercising by oneself was boring to the extreme, and she couldn't understand who found it enjoyable. So when she saw a boy sitting in the cold, wet snow, doing crunches, she found herself a bit curious.

"You look sweaty," observed Felicity, Queen of the Obvious, "Are you training for Quidditch?"

It was the only reason she could think of that he would be exercising in the snow. Of course, she herself harbored a secret adoration for winter snows. She thought it was awfully pretty to see everything draped in such a pure white. Make no mistake, she wasn't the girly, "I like pretty things" type - but she found she could not resist a crisp winter day. And so she found herself gazing down curiously at a boy she had never met, a yellow scarf around her neck and mittens on her hands, and a rather mischievous smile on her face.

"So it would seem," Finn grunted, "And you are?" The quidditch pitch was the least likely place to find anyone in the dead of winter. Most people didn't want to slip on the ice. Slipping on ice would probably improve Finn's chances of making the team. "I'm trying to get back in shape to make the team.... My house has won the cup the past few years..." He said, noticing she had a hufflepuff scarf around her neck, "What have you guys done?" It was true Hufflepuff always seemed to win the house points, but Slytherin always won at quidditch... He turned over and started doing push ups. His muscled arms didn't need anymore bulking up, he was just showing off.

Felicity wasn't put off in the least by the fact that Finn didn't seem overtly grateful for her company. She knew that she annoyed some people, particularly Slytherins, but he wasn't yelling at her to go away, so she decided it was okay to further the conversation.

"I'm Felicity, you can call me Fee if you want," she rambled, although she did note that Finn didn't look like the type to just start using the nickname "Fee" right off the bat. She left her last name out purposely, though, to prevent him from using that. It quite bothered her when people called her "Sanders". "I was down in the kitchens grabbing a bite to eat and then I looked out the window and it looked sort of nice outside, but there's a huge snowball fight going on right outside the doors and I got hit in the back of the head with a snowball-" she paused just a moment for breath "-so I decided to walk over here cause there are less people," she finished. And indeed, the back of her hair was slightly damp from being pelted on her way there.

Although the boy in front of her didn't seem like the type to chat quite as much as she did, she found that there were certain instances when that sort of friendship worked very well for her. As long as someone was willing to listen, she could do the talking for both of them. She raised an eyebrow as he reminded her that Slytherin had won the House Cup for the past few years. Even though she wasn't on the Hufflepuff team, it did disappoint her that they had been doing...well, not the greatest. "Yes, your team flies well," she conceded, and then, although she had no basis for the claim, "But you should watch out, cause our team is going to be great this season." She chose that moment to send up a quick, silent prayer that Hufflepuff's team would indeed do well that season. Judging from their past performances, she felt a prayer was needed.

She watched as the boy turned over to do some push ups, and felt a slight heat rise to her cheeks. He was attractive, she supposed, but she felt very strongly that he was showing off, and it annoyed her that it was working.

"So, um, what kind of broom do you have?" she asked, carefully keeping her eyes off of his strong arms.

Finn was probably the type of person that would have liked to throw a snowball at her. She seemed prissy to him and that didn't sit well with him. Finn looked up, somewhat disappointed that she was still standing there. He supposed he would engage conversation with her. "A firebolt, my brother gave me... Fee." he finished, emphasizing the Fee sound... He looked her over. She wasn't the prettiest girls he'd ever seen, certainly not as good looking as Casey, but whatever. He was instantly reminded of the girl who broke his heart nearly two years ago. They were to be married, but she ran off with his rival... He turned back over and sat down on the snow. The cold didn't bother him. He relaced his shoes, tying them tighter. He drew out his wand and colored dots on the ground. He began doing a dot drill to improve his agility. "What do you do?" He asked between reps.

"Ooh, really?" she said excitedly as he mentioned his Firebolt, "I've been trying to convince Mum to buy me one for ages, but she says she won't unless I join the team - which is silly, I mean, I can have just as much fun on it whether I'm on the team or not...but in any case, I think she might get me one this Christmas."

Beaming at the thought, she temporarily lost herself to the vision of owning her own Firebolt, and was silent a good few seconds longer than she normally would be. She didn't notice Finn's spellwork until he started the reps, and then she glanced over, getting the small feeling that she wasn't welcome. For a few seconds she was silent, trying to decide whether or not she should stay or go, but then he spoke once more.

"What do I do?" she echoed dumbly, hoping she wasn't being as daft as she sounded. "What, do you mean in Quidditch? I'm a Chaser." She hoped that was what he meant, as she had already been feeling unwanted and now was distinctly unsure of herself, the latter an emotion she felt very rarely.

Finn was panting. He worked hard, and hoped to reap the rewards. "No, not in quidditch. You said you don't play on the house team... What are you into?" Finn was trying to gage her as a person, but she seemed ditzy. She didn't answer questions. She asked other questions instead... He disliked when people did that... Only guilty people and liars answered questions with questions. Finn took a drink from his nearly frozen water bottle and started another set.

Felicity was beginning to feel like this conversation was a bit of a failure. She disliked the feeling she got from FInn, as if she were being slow on purpose. They had been talking about Quidditch, after all! She eyed him for a moment, deciding he wasn't as cute as she had thought previously. "I like to duel," she replied, "And experiment with Charms and try to-" but she cut off as she remembered that experimenting with Charms was not allowed at school (or at home, really). "-er, try to improve and stuff," she lied. In truth, she often tried to invent her own Charms, and she had a couple that she had worked out that she was trying to strengthen. But although Finn didn't seem like the tattling type, she decided she didn't want him to know.

Charms was one of the rare things Felicity had the patience for. She had enjoyed spellwork since she was very young (to her parent's dismay), and once she had gotten her own wand, well...things had gone fairly smoothly from there. It was also the only subject Felicity could excel in despite the fact that she slacked in essays and written assignments. She always practiced and was usually among the first in the class to master a new spell. She wondered as she looked at Finn if he was any good, and examined the colored spots he had made in the ground curiously.

Finn looked down on her. It was a joke. He had won numerous dueling tournaments at hogwarts. He knew he was one of the best in school... He scoffed. "You, pretty little thing, wanna duel me?" Finn asked, trying his best to stifle his chuckles, "You must not have heard of me... I'm a bit famous around here as being one of the best duelists in school. If that's what you want, that's fine." Finn conjured a towel and wiped the sweat off his face. Finn drew his wand and said, "You first..."

Felicity didn't like the look Finn was giving her. When he spoke, she opened her mouth to scoff, but then closed it again. She racked her brain and realized that in the entire conversation, he had never introduced himself. Then, to her own surprise, a laugh left her.

"You're that cocky Slytherin everyone talks about?" she snorted, still repressing laughter, "Tattoopoo or whatever?" She didn't reach for her wand, but eyed his with amusement. She then allowed her eyes to travel up to his, regarding him coolly. "Sorry, but it's a long way to the hospital wing and there's no way you'd make it there once I finished with you."

And tossing her head so that her long blonde hair whipped around, she turned and marched away. Oh, she'd love to hex him, all right, but seeing as she already had detentions Friday AND Saturday (for running yelling through the library and "forgetting" her homework for the sixth time in a row in Potions), she wasn't going to risk getting caught dueling until at least next week. She needed at least one day of her weekend to be free. And she was sure she'd be seeing him around. She always had the bad fortune to run into people that annoyed her.

"Me cocky?" Finn asked sarcastically, "Nah..." She failed to realize that she was the one who seemed cocky to him. "I'm not afraid of being hurt... But if you are really worried, perhaps we shall meet in the dueling club. I've been tasting for fresh meat... Everyone has become so predictable in their charm patterns... Nobody's managed to beat me yet..." He paused, "Does that seem like a good reason to be cocky to you?" He'd never lost a duel since the Lucier fight his fourth year. After that, he decided to train until he would become the best.