Ford's pulse quickened a little more at the invitation. He never would have imagined back in his Hogwarts days that he'd be in this situation, getting a casual invitation from an older, more athletic, more popular boy to go play Quidditch.

Were they still talking about playing Quidditch? Of course they were. What else could they have been talking about? But the intensity of Fisk's gaze as he watched the stage gave Ford pause.

"If you don't mind showing me what to do," Ford said, cheeks flushing again. "I've never played. Recreationally or otherwise. But I might like to learn. With the right company, anyway," he added, feeling suddenly very self-conscious about his lack of Quidditch experience, though it had never once bothered him prior to this conversation. He supposed he just wanted Fisk to like him — though why he cared so much about that, he couldn't have said.