Nigel raised his eyebrows at Will’s comment about Nat being Maid Marion and Nat’s rebuttal about being Little John instead. “That’s probably best,” he remarked. “You would be the ugliest woman ever. Robin Hood would storm the castle, take one look at you, and jump out the window to his death.”  And since Nigel was the one playing Robin Hood today, he felt qualified to say so. It was quite strange for him to get to play the main character for once. He was always the sidekick or the villain. He rather enjoyed being the villain, but it was nice to be the hero sometimes. Subconsciously, he puffed out his chest a little more.

“I wasn’t shouting at you. I was shouting at Allen,” he retorted. Allen the twitchy Slytherin firstie, who would be well paid for his minimal suffering. And he wouldn’t even get coloured, because Will only had blunt practice tips without colour. Really, he was getting off easy. Besides, everyone knew that the only way to get through to Slytherins was to show them who was in charge. And that was Nigel. “I can shout at you some, if it would help,” he kindly offered Will.

“Do I look like a proper archer?”

“No,” answered Nigel, honestly. “You look like a little girl playing Robin Hood.” That was what she was, though, and no one expected her to look like a proper archer. Nigel didn’t even look like a proper archer, and he had been shooting for ages. He was used to the weight of the bow and adjusting for gravity and wind, so he hadn’t even thought to mention it. With a critical eye, he watched Nat adjust Will’s grip and angle, only interjecting, “You should probably focus on getting your arms in position before you worry about the aim, because the angle you’re holding there might change while you’re pulling back. You being new and all. Once you practice a lot, you should be able to draw without wobbling all over the place.”

“And turn your elbow out. That’s a good way to lose a chunk of skin.” Nigel pushed up his right sleeve to show the long purplish scar. “That’s from when I first started. But I wasn’t wearing gauntlets or armguards. Still, you should use the proper technique.” He nodded wisely, watching Nat start and stop to help her. Seriously, he was starting to act like he was allergic to Will. It was weird. Well, if Nat wasn’t going to help her draw it, he certainly wasn’t going to do it either. “Go on,” he encouraged. “You’re a Beater. Use those arm muscles. It’s not going to actually snap, so keep pulling.”

“Now shoot that little twerp before he tries to leg it back to the dungeons!”