[Q.Pitch] And that's how it all began (Vicky)

[Prof. Hikaru Tanaka]

Hikaru could not help but sneak the occasional glance at the beautiful woman beside him. More than once she caught him causing him to turn away with a blush. Soon, they came to the Quidditch Pitch which thankfully, was empty. Going to the broom shed and pulling out two Firebolts he handed one to Vicky and the other, took for himself.

Alright, first things first, how long exactly has it been since you’ve been on a broom?” he asked trying valiantly not to get lost in Vicky’s gorgeous eyes. She really was a beautiful woman, but she seemed to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. And that saddened the kind-hearted, gentle young man. No one should have to live under so much stress. And so, Hikaru made it his personal mission to make Vicky as happy as possible.

He also vowed to help her with her problems. Hikaru knew that alcohol was not the way to solve problems, and hopefully with time, Vicky would see that as well. For now, all he could do was offer guidance, friendship, advice, and loyalty.

[Prof. Victoria Potter]

The sun was shining brightly in the sky. Owls were flying past them trying to make it to the owlery for some quick shut eye. Birds were chirping wildly in the trees, as the two professors made their way across the lawns so they could get to the Quiddtich pitch. It had been so long since the sight of the legendary pitch caught her eye. Time had gotten away from the brunette and she didn't get out there much despite wanting to.

Hikaru couldn't have found a better activity for them. Flying took ones mind off of all things upsetting. So many times taking off on a broom cleared her mind. There wasn't a problem that couldn't be solved up in the air. "Many years actually ever since being back here I've wanted to come out and get on a broom but time never really allowed it."

Vicky didn't think it should make much difference she remembered the basic rules or flying, her acceleration, breaking, changing directions, diving. To her the whole thing was like riding a muggle bike once you did it you never forgot, but the idea of Hikaru wanting to teach her well it wasn't a bad thing was it. Her mind had been on overload lately, after what she did the guilt got to her from time to time anything even something like spending time with someone she enjoyed was a good thing. "Maybe you can re teach me" her eyes watching him, he was rather handsome and very sweet.

[Prof. Hikaru Tanaka]

Hikaru smiled at Vicky. "I doubt I'd have to reteach you completely. Give you some pointers maybe, but flying, for me at least is something that you never really forget. Once you learn, it stays with you."

Mounting his broom, Hikaru hovered just a few feet off the ground. "Now, what would you like to do. Fly just around the pitch? Around the castle maybe?"

He smiled again, forcing himself to not to get distracted by Vicky's eyes. "It's all up to you." he said.



((Please excuse the crap...))

[Prof. Victoria Potter]

She was kind of hoping he would give her some one on one personal attention but not all men were wired the same. You had your good boys your bad boys your good boys who want to be bad and bad boys who want to be good. Hikaru fell into the good boy category and try as she might to fight it that's what she needed in her life. Vicky was the wrong man chaser constantly going after men she shouldn't. Hikaru.was different seemed to have no real baggage and he wasn't plotting ways to get into her knickers already.

"Hopefully I won't fall off if I do I hope you can catch me" she teased him. At the moment she just couldn't wait to get up there once again like the old days. Back then flying was everything to her. "Let's fly around the pitch a while let me get a feel for the broom then we can have a go around the castle." Falling on the grass would be a lot more pleasant then falling on hard concrete.

Mounting her own broom hoping she wasn't about to make a fool she kicked off from the ground rising higher and higher up into the air her body responding with excitement. Leaning forward on her broom she shot off the wind in her hair, a smile on her face as she whipped her head around to see if the flying teacher could keep up.

[Prof. Hikaru Tanaka]

Hikaru smiled. "Of course I'll catch you! What kind of person would I be if I didn't?"

Watching as Vicky leaped on her broom and zoomed off, Hikaru laughed softly. "Well, it looks to me like there's not much I can teach you!"

Kicking off from the ground he soeared up to join her, wind whipping through his hair. He looked at her with a smile. "Ready to fly?" he asked.

Flying beside the most beautiful woman in the school, was not something that the shy young man had anticipated. Maybe that was what made it so much better.

Smiling to himself he began to sing in a soft voice, the same sone he'd been singing when they first met.

Narenai to sono naka de
bukiyou na aiseoi
jikan ni oware iya ni natteta hibi sukoshi jiyuu kanjita
ato nannen ka sureba
omoide ni naru dakara
wasurekaketeta kioku to ima wo futo kasanete mitan da
taisetsuna mono kakae sugite aruki durakunatta kyou

He paused to smile at her again. "So, how did you become a teacher in the first place?" He asked curiously.

[Prof. Victoria Potter]

This was the life. Up in the air not a care in the world all the problems left down on the ground. People craved moments like these and she had the ability to achieve it all this time and she never capitalized on it until today. Hikaru came up with the most simple suggestion and it happened to be the best suggestion ever. Flying around she saw the pitch differently, not as staff watching a great game but the way she used to see it when she played.

Trying to see if Hikaru was in the air yet Vicky moved her head slightly and caught sight. He was keeping up with her pretty well right in step with her. He was a fair flier and could easily match her for speed. Part of her wondered about talent. Still being a little rusty there were things she wasn't sure she could still do but there were things she did with ease then and knew she could do with ease now.

There was a moment where she wanted to taunt him ask him if he wanted to race but something made that not happen. It was faint but even up here she could hear it. The song he was singing the day she met him in the staffroom. The words she had no idea what they were but she didn't seem to care much. He sounded beautiful singing it and that's what was important. Vicky wanted to stop and land somewhere just so he could serenade her a while. Still a sucker for a musician she mused.

The singing soon stopped though as conversation became the next order of business. He asked about her becoming a teacher. Lots of people asked her that some thought she would be somewhere modeling or something. but she was never one for the lime light preferring the background whenever possible. Teaching did thrust her in the forefront but at least in this instance she was helping people out. Speaking over the roar of the wind Vicky turned her head so that the two of them were looking at each other. "Oh well I like teaching, shaping young minds, having them learn things they might not have known before. What about you?"

[Prof. Hikaru Tanaka]

Hikaru listened as Vicky told him of why she'd become a teacher. It was basically for the same reasons he had. Loved kids and loved teaching them new things. He laughed lightly when she asked him the same question.

"Same thing. Love teaching, love kids. Honestly, I consider it an honor to be able to teach at Hogwarts." He smiled, "I'm the first in my family to teach at such a prestigous school. Actually, first to teach at any school really."

Leaning forward on his broom he swept past the Ravenclaw stands, looped around Slytherin, and came to a rest in front of Gryffindor. "So, what's been your most interesting lesson this year?" he called back to Vicky. He was curious and eager to find out as much about her as he could. Including the small, trivial things such as favorite color, favorite food, favorite drink...anything really.

[Prof. Victoria Potter]

This felt really nice, just being not having to worry about who would see her, what she was doing, or guilt. For the first time in weeks there was no guilt. She hadn't realized how often she felt that emotion until it wasn't there. Usually walking around the hall seeing either one would cause an onslaught of guilt so strong sometimes she would have to stand still to let it pass her.

Now she could just be Vicky and hang out with a guy who seemed genuinely interested in well just her. They made small talk but she didn't mind, it was a good way for them to get to know a little more about each other. Like just now she learned that he got into teaching for pretty much the same reason as her.

"My most interesting lesson well so far I can't say I've had an interesting lesson mainly because there's been a bit of a change and I'm taking over a new class. I'm actually really excited about it. Not that I dislike history of magic I just feel my talents lie elsewhere when it comes to teaching. Charms seems a better fit for me so I'm just waiting to get started I have some interesting ideas just need to bring them to fruition. What about you? Tell me about your most interesting lesson being the flying professor you have to have some interesting stories." She followed him around the Ravenclaw stands still keeping pace with him.

[Prof. Hikaru Tanaka]

Hikaru laughed sheepishly when Victoria asked about his most interesting lesson. "Well... I haven't had any interesting lessons yet. I just had my first lesson a few weeks ago, and a grand total of two students showed up."

He smiled confidently, even though he didn't really feel confident on the inside, "No worries though, I'm sure the lessons will get better."

He paused, thinking about something that he wanted her opinion on. "I did kind of want your opinion on something...if you don't mind that is?" he asked a bit nervously.

[Prof. Victoria Potter]

Vicky had heard that not a lot of students had signed up for flying classes. Now a days it seemed as if the students knew what they were doing before coming to school. In her time people didn't do such things you weren't allowed anywhere near a broom until the first year of school. She gave him a reassuring smile though because she knew how hard it was to teach certain subjects. History of Magic in itself was a hard course to delve into not many students cared about it at all.

"I'm sure you'll have an amazing lesson, you're a remarkable flyer any student would be lucky to learn from you." She meant what she said she thought herself a fair flyer even now she thought it. He was really good. "I'm sure your lessons will get better no need to worry about that. Once word gets around about you you'll have more students." She enjoyed talking to him, he made it easy to be around him. After what she had been subjecting herself to lately this was a really nice change.

He asked her if she would give him her opinion on something, Vicky tilted her head to the side to look at him better. No one had asked her opinion on anything in so long she almost laughed at that but instead she said "sure fire away, I'll help anyway I can."

[Prof. Hikaru Tanaka]

Hikaru smiled, thrilled that Vicky was willing to offer her opinion. "Great! See, what I was thinking of, was dividing the class into groups. Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. That way, I can work with groups individually and I won't have to to worry about who needs help with what because they'll have the group to help them, and if they still desire extra help, they can come to me for private lessons."

He paused, not sure if he should tell her the next part. "I also was thinking of setting up a small obstical course. Something that will show me how well they handle a broom. Because something is telling me that kids these days are more about how a broom looks or how much it costs rather than how well they can fly. Which to me, is a real shame. While it is nice to have the latest broom, it doesn't make much sense to have one at all, if you don't know what you're doing."

He smiled at Vicky. "So, how does that sound? Too much, not enough? Too high expectations?"

[Prof. Victoria Potter]

It was nice to have someone asking her opinion on matters other than where should they go sneaking around that day. Not that she minded being with him made her happy but then it had its drawbacks. Everything was secret and she hated to keep secrets. At least at this very moment she could simply just be. Hikaru standing there talking to her about school a perfectly normal conversation.

Vicky listened to his ideas all of which were quite good. Placing the kids in different levels would be beneficial, that way the beginners wouldn't hold back the intermediates and the intermediates wouldn't hold back the advanced fliers. Then he could see who needed help with what and it would be easier to monitor. "I like the idea it's better for them they can learn at their level and it would be better for you to keep track of who needs what."

This was nice standing out there talking to him not worrying about people bursting in, or rumors going round. "The obstacle course sounds good too the kids would probably like it a lot. You're right most of them know how much the brooms cost not many know how to handle one. I think it's always been that way though was like that when I was in school. Only a few of us knew anything, most of the others were more concerned with what kind of brooms their parents would get them." Giggling she remembered taking her first flying lesson, watching some of the students look at the brooms as if wondering if they could really fly. Vicky knew they could the second she got on she knew just what to do always had and still does though she might not be as agile as she was then. "Flying was always the best course here still is. I'm sure the kids will appreciate anything you try to do as long as they get to fly."

[Prof. Hikaru Tanaka]

Hikaru beamed. Thrilled that someone, especially Vicky thought the idea was a good one. “Really? You like it?” he asked excitedly as if he could hardly believe it. And honestly, he couldn’t.

He smiled. “You really think flying is the best class? Seems to me that more kids these days are into Defense and Charms. No offense to you of course.”

His eyes stared off into space, mind filled with memories of the past. His days as a student, and more recently his first year as a teacher. It had been nerve-wracking to say the least.

He snapped out of his trance-like state, and looked back over at Vicky. “What was your first year as a teacher like?” he asked curiously. “Because, I don’t know if you know this, but this is actually my second year at Hogwarts. I was Occlumency teacher first, then had to leave for a family emergency and I came back this year as the Flying teacher.”

[Prof. Victoria Potter]

Vicky smiled, he was so enthusiastic. She remembered being that way when she first started. Bright eyes full of ideas about what she would do while she was teaching. Hikaru seemed to be feeling that way as well, and she couldn't blame him. But he was the flying instructor, flying was so much fun he had it easy especially with muggle born students who knew nothing of flying brooms and how easy it was to actually ride one. She didn't think he need worry so much not about his lessons at least.

"For me flying was always the best class there was, I learned some of my skills from flying class and it was what piqued my interest in Quidditch while I was at school."

Those were the good old days. School had changed so much since then. The kids now were totally different, though it hadn't been that long since she graduated, still in that span of time things were so much different. Not that there was much she could do about that...

Seemed as if the both of them had gone off into their own little worlds. His snapping out of it and speaking caused her to snap out of it. "My first year was the hardest year ever. Trying to wrap my mind around being a teacher, teaching a subject so many though to be a bore. It was just hard, but I guess as more time went on the easier it became. I do remember you being here but I wasn't sure what you taught then. Why did you give up teaching Occlumency though?" Now she was curious about him.

[Prof. Hikaru Tanaka]

Hikaru nodded. He understood why Vicky would think Flying was the best class. It really was wonderful. The wind in your face, high up in the air, the feeling of freedom... there was nothing better, in Hikaru's opinion, than flying.

He laughed and nodded in agreement. "The first year can be the hardest. It can also be the best year. It's almost like being back in school yourself."

And then, the inevitable question. Why had he left. Hikaru knew that the topic would come up sooner or later, he just didn't know it'd be this soon.

The young teacher gave a sigh, his words were heavy and laced with sadness when he spoke. "My grandmother was... dying of leukemia. So... I went home to be with her... she... lasted maybe six months."

"It was... harder than I thought it'd be... I suppose now I should've known that. After all, she did raise me after my parents died. Still... I, never thought it would hurt that much to lose someone" Hikaru's voice had become softer, just barely above a whisper, and he honestly wasn't surprised to feel tears on his face.