Gilderoy Lockhart (goldenking) wrote in loremrpg, @ 2011-05-03 12:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, gilderoy lockhart, gladys gudgeon |
Characters: Gilderoy and Gladys
Setting: The morning of Saturday, October 23rd (backdated)
Content: SFW
Summary: Gilderoy teaches Gladys to overcome her fears.
Status: Complete
It was a glorious morning. The sun was shining and a soft breeze, although a clear reminder that November was fast arriving, was still pleasant enough. Gilderoy smiled at this. It was a surprise that the Quidditch pitch was not being used for practise, the weather conditions being this pleasant, but it was for his advantage. It was, after all, the day he had promised to help Gladys regain her confidence as a flier, and the situation called for a pleasant environment.
Taking a deep breath (“Oh, glorious fresh air!”) he looked around. Gladys wasn’t there yet, which was just as well - he could go through his plans for the Halloween ball until her arrival.
Gladys tried not to look ridiculously happy as she made her way to the Quidditch pitch. But she couldn’t help it though. The weather was great, the sun was out, the birds we’re singing, and goodness she was going to spend the whole morning with Gilderoy! Surely, she was entitled to enjoying a good morning right?
Of course, she tried not to focus on the fact that she was about to get on a broom and fly a good amount of height up in the sky.
“Gilderoy!” Gladys called as she spotted his familiar figure on the grassy expanse, as she almost sprinted towards him. “Lovely day out, isn’t it?” she said, the bright green on her face never leaving.
Gilderoy beamed at the sight of Gladys running towards him. She seemed in a good mood. That was excellent. Good spirits would inevitably mean a better disposition about the task at hand.
“Yes, absolutely splendid,” he said cheerfully. He looked at the two brooms he had brought with him before turning his attention back to the girl. “Well, shall we start, then?”
It took a moment before Gladys realized that they were actually going to start already. She had been much too engrossed in the niceness of the morning to realize exactly what their meet was really about. Her grin faltered a bit, as she turned to the brooms. She unconsciously paled just at the sight of them, before she took a breath and turned back to Gilderoy.
“Of course. Right. That’s what we’re here for, after all,” Gladys said, forcing a brave tune to her voice before she gave a firm nod, as thought to encourage her own self.
Her nervousness did not escape Gilderoy. It was quite understandable, he thought to himself, as he had been through the same situation when he was learning how to fly. However, while his father had bullied him into compliance, he had other methods.
“It’s all right,” he said in a comforting manner. “We’ll just try flying low right now, okay? Don’t worry.” And again, he smiled.
Gilderoy’s smile somewhat placated the nervousness already building within her, but it didn’t have the same effect of giggling it usually did the last time they met. Gladys thoughts after all were now recalling the memories of waking up to see her mother crying at the sight of her weak body in St. Mungo’s. The memory was a long time ago, but Gladys could remember it easily.
“Alright. I suppose that’s manageable?” Gladys replied, her tone still sounding much less enthused than her words. “Hopefully, it wouldn’t be that bad,” she added, as she approached the broom, looking at it with clear caution.
“It will be all right, I promise,” he said again in that same comforting way. “Look.”
And he picked one of the brooms and mounted it, making sure that it would not hover more than five feet off the ground. “We can start at this level,” he explained, “and go a little higher once you feel more confident. What about that?”
Gladys’ watched as Gilderoy started hovering off the ground, her pulse quickening at the thought of being off the ground. It felt like it was moving too fast to Gladys - that or her thoughts were still replaying memories of the past. But she had to do this. She had wondered for so long and now she had the opportunity. And besides, Gilderoy won’t let her get hurt right?
Taking the other broom on the ground, she mounted it, her grip on the broom already making her knuckles pale. She felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach, her heart pacing faster and faster. But instead of pushing off the ground, she stopped, failing to shake off the nervousness in her. “I think I need a moment,” she said, letting a breath she was holding, a bit embarrassed at her inability to even leave the ground. “I’m sorry... I just...” she said, trailing off, as she closed her eyes, trying not to think of the hard impact of the ground from when she fell all those many years ago.
Gilderoy’s face fell when he realized how nervous she was. He wasn’t expecting it to be that bad. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “Do you want a moment to prepare yourself?”
“No. I just... It really has be a while, you know?” Gladys replied, her cheeks reddening a bit as she opened her eyes. She really didn’t want to seem as though she was meek in front of Gilderoy. Not that she thought he’d think that but he had gone out of his way to help her after all. “Just getting off the ground brings back memories,” she said, trying to shrug it off, before she took a breath and mounted her broom again. She paused again, looking at Gilderoy. She can’t let him down, even though she felt a terrifying cringe go through her. She forced her legs though, pushing them lightly off the ground, her heart beating quick as the broom levitated up. “Merlin...” she said nervously, as she held tight to the broom as it rised up.
Gilderoy was starting to regret suggesting this flying lesson. Gladys was feeling highly unhappy, and he hated to see people unhappy. He had to give it to her, though, she was showing a lot of courage. In her situation he would have started blubbering - but then again, he said to himself in an attempt to soothe his ego, he had been only a child then.
As Gladys rose, Gilderoy prepared himself, just in case she got too high. They were meant to be taking baby steps, after all. “Slowly now...” he coaxed.
Gladys took breaths, her heart beating fast as she rose up to Gilderoy’s level. It was frightening just to get up, but now that she was on the broom, by herself, and actually off the ground, she started feeling a bit calm, especially as Gilderoy’s soothing voice fluttered into her hearing.
She actually did it!
A part of her felt accomplished, as a small grin started breaking through the anxious expression she had. “I’m up... Gilderoy, I’m up!” she exclaimed, a bit surprised of her own self, as she looked down. It wasn’t that high up. But she was up and on the broom, as she felt more comfortable at the idea of doing more than this.
Relief spread all over Gilderoy. The first step went well, now all they needed was to make sure things remained this smoothly. He was sure they would have no problems, provided nerves didn’t take the better of her again.
“See?” he said. “I knew you could do it.” Flying closer to her, he continued. “What do you say we fly like this for a minute or two, and then try to go a little bit higher?”
Gladys’ nodded to Gilderoy’s suggestion, feeling more secure especially as he flew right by her. “It doesn’t seem that bad,” she commented, giving him a smile of affirmation. It helped her courage that she really didn’t want to let Gilderoy down. Of course, she still felt a bit anxious at being up, but something told her she should be fine. “You’re doing a great job teaching by the way,” she couldn’t help but comment, giving another smile, before refocusing her mind back to the task at hand. It wouldn’t help if she was distracted, after all.
Gilderoy loved compliments - all compliments, no matter who gave them or the reason behind it - but Gladys’ words seemed to stroke his ego even more than anything he had been told before. Was he really that good a teacher? His goal in life was to become an Auror, or at least an adventurer, fighting the Dark Arts in any shape or form (in his mind, that would be the only way his father would be proud of him), but it was nice to know that, if that option failed, he had an alternative to turn to. Well, after becoming an international Quidditch superstar, of course.
“Thank you,” he said, beaming. “That’s so nice of you to say.”
Gladys grinned, momentarily forgetting that she was on a broom and about to set off to higher heights, as Gilderoy flashed her another smile. “Of course. I mean, you got me on a broom after all. And you know so much, Gilderoy. It only makes you a better Quidditch player and person to want to help out those who can’t fly,” she said, smiling genuinely at him. He was so modest and so nice to even compliment her, when clearly it was him that should be receiving the compliments. “I couldn’t ask for a better tutor,” she added as she give him another grateful look.
He was rather magnificent, wasn’t he? Gilderoy thought to himself. Gladys was clearly a very intelligent girl for pointing out his qualities. For this alone, the morning was being well-spent. “Well,” he said, trying to look coy (girls love that, after all), “I have a very good student.” He gestured at the distance behind them; he and Gladys had managed to fly a rather good distance while the girl was talking, steadily and without any problem. “Look at all you’ve managed to do right now.”
“Wow! I didn’t even realize we were already moving,” Gladys said, as she looked back at the span they already flew, an exhilarated feeling going through her, Gilderoy’s compliments only making her feel more exuberant. Her cheeks were flushed from the coy look Gilderoy gave her but it didn’t seem to matter. Gilderoy made her feel so proud of herself. He was just so sweet! Maybe perhaps she did fancy him. But how could anyone not? Surely though, he’d thought of her more exclusively than the girls who would scurry after him in the hallways? “This is because of you, you know. I couldn’t have done it without your help,” she complimented again, grinning wider now before looking towards the distance beyond them. “I think I’m ready to go higher,” she exclaimed, unconsciously wanting to impress Gilderoy now that she was quite comfortable on the broom.
Again, Gilderoy trying to play the coy card. “It’s nothing, really.” Seeing the look of confidence in her face, he nodded. “All right, then. A few feet more.” He tried to remember the right words for a cushioning charm, just in case it was necessary. If he couldn’t, well... he was sure he could mend bones, but hopefully it wouldn’t be necessary.
“Alright,” Gladys said, with a determined voice as she held tight to her broom. Gilderoy made her feel at ease - especially with the compliments he was paying her. And she felt like pushing her limits would only make him compliment her more. Taking a deep breath, she steered the broom up as high as she can, before Gilderoy could say anything. She was rising up and up and up without realizing how far she can go... That was until she looked down and realized she was four stories up - her eyes grew wide, as she felt herself stiffen, her heart pacing with anxiety again. Maybe she had gone up a bit too high.
Gilderoy’s eyes widened. What was she doing? This was supposed to be gradual, just a few feet at a time.
Instantly, he flew towards her, his right hand reaching for his wand. Cushioning charms, cushioning charms... How was it? “Gladys, are you all right?”
“Yes! I’m fine!” Gladys said, voice sounding too high to be truthful. She didn’t expect the sudden increase in height. Maybe she should have waited for Gilderoy, but she was here now. “I think I...” she continued, trailing off, before taking another deep breath. “It’s really high up here, isn’t it?” she asked, looking down again, her eyes widening, her grip slipping on her broom at the surprise of being at such a high length, before wobbling and losing slight control of her broom.
Gilderoy felt a surge of panic when her broom started to wobble. A shrill “EEK!” nearly crossed his lips, but he managed to remain miraculously silent. Rowena’s corset, why on earth couldn’t he remember how to cast a bloody cushioning charm? Getting close enough to be able to grab her arm if she lost control again (though, to be honest, he had no idea what he’d be able to do with that) he finally spoke, in what he hoped was a calm and soothing voice. “Perhaps it would be better if we went back down? Fly a bit lower for a bit more, you know.”
The wobble was enough to scare her back to gripping her broom like her life depended on it. It was just the scare of adjusting to the height, but other than that, she still was on her broom and flying. Nonetheless, she felt her cheeks flush again at the embarrassment of yet again losing control. “I suppose, I just got a bit ahead of myself,” she said, sighing, disappointed herself. She really had thought she got it. “I’m sorry about that, Gilderoy. I didn’t mean to fly off like that,” she found herself saying, looking at him apologetically. “I just need a moment to adjust to the height, I think. I mean, I did make it up here, right?” she continued, if only to justify the fact that she made the daring move and yet failing embarrassingly, if only to impress him.
He nodded. “If you’re sure.” He wasn’t making a good job of this, was he? She told him he was a great teacher and he was so happy that they were making such good progress, but now he was starting to wonder. An image of his father looking at him with disapproval came to his mind, and he had to struggle to make sure it vanished and that he’d focus on the girl looking at him. The very pretty girl, trying to look brave for him. It was enough to kick the ghostly image and focus once again at how wonderful he really was. “We’ll wait then. Just stay still, and remember that you’ll be safe.” He smiled reassuringly, his mind still struggling to remember the words for that blasted charm. “I’m here with you.”
Gladys smiled gratefully again. It was these little reassurances from Gilderoy that helped her find the strength to rise up to the challenge. She felt a sense of safety knowing that he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. She knew she was in good hands. And despite the fact that she had failed, here was Gilderoy just having so much patience for her.
“Thank you. You have no idea how having you here helps a lot,” Gladys admitted, feeling relief flood through her.
Gilderoy just smiled at this. He wasn’t comfortable enough to tell her the real reason why he was being so helpful and understanding (besides the fact that it would make her more appreciative of him, of course). He had been there, and he knew how much it cost. A kind word would have helped him a lot, so he was glad to be able to provide it to someone else.
The two of them kept still and in silence for a while. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but rather a moment of peace. Gilderoy felt it was better to wait until Gladys felt it was time to do something, without the need for him to prompt her.
Despite the silence, Gladys felt a calm feeling spread through her as they sat there on their brooms. It was as if the moment of silence helped her feel much more comfortable being high up in the air - that even when a soft breeze flew past them, she could only close her eyes and revel in it. She took a breath, soon opening her eyes, as she regarded Gilderoy with a thoughtful look. It almost felt like a dream trance as she found herself just merely staring at him, not at all realizing how ridiculous it might have look to be staring at Gilderoy.
Gilderoy, in the meantime, did not find this ridiculous at all. He was a handsome devil, wasn’t he? It made perfect sense for a girl to be staring at him - and he noticed Gladys doing that. Of course, it was so natural that she’d do such a thing that he pretended not to notice... for a while. After a bit, he began to wonder if she wanted him to take the initiative. He had told himself he’d let her do it herself, but this was very likely her way of letting him know she was ready. Again, perfectly natural - he was the expert, wasn’t he? “So,” he asked, hoping he had read her silence correctly, “are you ready?”
“Oh! Yeah...” Gladys said, looking away, her cheeks reddening for the nth time. She almost couldn’t believe that she had been staring at him for so long. She felt self conscious again, especially at Gilderoy’s query. With a strong want for him not to see the embarrassment on her face, Gladys found herself beginning to push forward on her broom, feeling much more at ease at this height. She shook her head as she flew, a part of her in disbelief that she made a fool out of herself like that - and another part marveling at how easy it was for her to fly at this height.
Gilderoy watched as she went, wondering what happened for her to suddenly become red like that. Her nerves still playing with her? He couldn’t remember turning that shade when he was learning. Well, if it was nerves, she was very brave to move forward like she was doing. He nodded approvingly, even though by this point she was no longer looking at him. “You’re doing very well,” he said.
“Thanks!” Gladys said, now fully appreciating the fact that she is flying. It helped to get away from Gilderoy for a moment, if only to collect herself and make sure she wasn’t too red when she faced him. It was quite easy considering the amazement she had at just being at ease with flying. “I suppose, I’m getting a hang of it aren’t it?” she asked, looking back at him as she moved from side to side, a grin back on her face.
“You are!” he said excitedly. It was great to see how easily she was doing everything now that she’s had some time to compose herself. He allowed himself to sit still in his broom as she flew around, wand at the ready just in case (oh, if only he could remember how the spell went!), and giving some tips as she kept on going.
Gladys was enjoying every minute of being in the air, her comfort level rising at every turn of her broom. She was surprised herself that it wasn’t as bad as her family made it out to be. Gilderoy’s pointers and compliments only inclined her to push herself as she attempted to make swift turns and little dips. She wondered though why he was remaining still. Surely, he’d want to fly around like she did?
“Gilderoy!” Gladys’ called, letting go a hand of her broom momentarily to wave at him. “Come join-”
And before she knew it, her one hand grip on the broom wasn’t stable enough to hold her as she flew, a shriek echoing through the pitch. Her whole body now dangling in the air, as she struggled to hold on to the broom.
Now a girlish “EEK!” did escape Gilderoy’s lips. His Quidditch instincts spoke faster than his nerves, however, and rather than try to cast that blasted charm he rushed towards her and grabbed her hands, forcing her to steady herself. There, that he could do just fine, no incantations needed.
“Are you all right?” he asked. She was trembling. Blast. And they had been doing so well.
It was a small scare. Really, it was all it was, Gladys told herself as Gilderoy steadied her back on the broom. She was breathing heavily again as she tried to control herself.
“I’m f-fine. I’m sorry. That was my fault. I shouldn’t have...” Gladys’ trailed off, her heart beating, as she pushed positive thoughts in her head. It could have been worse. She could have fallen again. No, she wasn’t going to cry in front of Gilderoy. “Really, I’m okay! No need to worry!” she said, again before she forced a smile on her face.
Gilderoy nodded, his hands still clasping hers. Gently, as he could tell she had recovered her balance, he let go of her. “I think we can call it a day,” he said. “Unless, of course, you want to have another go.” He hoped she’d say no, not only because it had been an ordeal for her, but also because the stress was straining his nerves.
Gladys’ nodded, agreeing, feeling it was best to feel the ground at this point. “I think I’ve done a lot for someone who just started flying again, right?” she tried to say, despite the blush of embarrassment on her face. She needed to be positive, even though she really felt ashamed of the little slip-ups she encountered, feeling as though Gilderoy found her weak and incapable.
“Yes,” he said encouragingly, “you’ve done a lot for your first try. Look at how high we are.” He regretted saying this the moment he uttered the words, for fear that it would make her panic again. “I mean, you’ve made some incredibly progress in just a short while.” Again, he gave her his trademark smile, hoping it would once again have a reassuring effect.
The smile was enough for Gladys to even continue feeling anxious about being high up in the air. The height she was comfortable she knew - except for the fact that she almost fell yet again. It would have to be something she needed to get used to eventually.
“Thank you!” Gladys’ said, her blush reddening. “It was a lot for just one day, isn’t it? But I couldn’t thank you enough, Gilderoy! You got me back on a broom again!” she said turning to him with almost a shy but genuine smile, as they began to descend down back to solid ground.
“Like I said, it’s my pleasure,” he said as he got off his broom. “And whenever you wish to repeat the experience, I’ll be delighted to be of assistance once again.” Who knew, maybe next time she’d be more confident, and he could hope to get some small reward for his efforts?
“Really?” Gladys’ said as she landed, relief sweeping through her as she felt the ground. The relief wasn’t just because she was stepping on grass again, but because of the fact that Gilderoy didn’t seem to think she was hopeless. She thought after her mishaps, he would be sick of her. But clearly, he seemed to enjoy his time with her, only making her grin. “That would really be great, Gilderoy! I learned so much!” she said, almost gushing, before she found herself giving him a hug.
She realized all too late of what her excitement has made her done, that she immediately pulled back, blushing again. “Thank you again!” she said, an embarrassed smile on her face before she ran back to the castle in disbelief that she just hugged Gilderoy Lockhart.