Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Marcus Flint/Katie Bell
Warnings: alternate universe; het; and mentions of original characters
Prompts: (Pairing) Marcus/Katie; (Word) Experience; and (Length) 446 words to 466 words

We Found Love
137. Gold Dust Woman

Taking a deep breath, Katie forced herself to remain calm as she followed the other candidates onto the pitch. Some of them were exchanging small talk while others were calculating their competition and a few were looking smug.

This was the final day of tryouts and there were only ten candidates left for the two reserve Chaser positions. There was a chance Katie could secure one of those positions, and there was a chance none of them would.

Katie turned her attention away from her competitors as she focused on her own stretching, using some of the yoga poses she learned from Rahul Tandel. Through experience, she found yoga helped calm her nerves and it stretched her muscles better than basic stretches, like some of the others were doing.

After several minutes, Katie finished her stretching and she grabbed her broom – her faithful Comet 275. While it wasn't a Firebolt or Nimbus or even the newest Comet 360, her broom had served her faithful since her third year. With ease, she mounted and kicked out before taking a few laps around the pitch.

On her third lap, she recognized one of the Chasers on the main team. The scowl and narrow-eyed look of Marcus Flint hadn't changed since their Hogwarts day. As she passed him, Katie did her best to push all thought of the Slytherin aside. There were more important things to concentrate on.

A whistle blew, making Katie return to the middle of the pitch with the other candidates. They were sent through a series of drills before they started flying – working with each other in pairs before Quinton was added.

After an hour, three more candidates were cut. Then they started flying drills with the main Chasers. Katie found herself paired up with Cordelia Wight and Leopold Quinton. The three of them ran through drills and formations six times before they were told to.

Katie stood off to the side as she watched the remaining candidates take turns. A swarm of butterflies formed in her stomach as her nerves and excitement grew.

"Don't worry, Bell," a semi-familiar voice told her.

Turning, she found herself staring into the dark eyes of Flint.

"You've got this," he said, offering her a smirk.

Uncertain of what of say, Katie nodded as she eyed his yellow and black robes.

"I told them they'd be crazy to turn you down," he explained, smirk firmly in place, "as you were one of Wood's. With Johnson and Spinnet on the Harpies, and Wood on Puddlemere, they know how good his players are."

Against her will, Katie smile at his compliment. For some reason, the flattery was making her heart do weird things, like skip a beat.

"Thanks, Flint," she said, sincerity in her tone.

"It's Marcus," he corrected, reaching out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.

Words: 466

This was written for

200 Different Pairings Challenge
023: Marcus/Katie

The Album Drabble Challenge
Song: "Gold Dust Woman" by Fleetwood Mac (4:56) from Rumours – Write a drabble between 446 words and 466 words.

Are You Crazy Enough to Do It Challenge
Prompt: 115. (Character) Marcus Flint

Character Boot Camp: Character Diversity
16. Experience