Fangs and flying
Challenge info:
The Charlie Weasley Competition
Charlie stared wistfully at the quidditch practice. He had come here as a favor of a fellow dragon keeper who knew of his past to give tips to his nephew about being seeker. The nephew was good but he didn't get the flow of the game or how he had to keep aware of everything around him while keeping a laser focus on anything glittering gold. He himself was good enough to be scouted and enough potential to become a professional but he couldn't do it without sacrificing his siblings futures.
Becoming a professional meant that his parents would have to pay for him going to camps where he'd train with all the other potential team mates and rivals. The cost would have meant that his parents would have a harder time sending his siblings to school. If he made it then he would but as the scout told him- he was great- but an injury could ruin his career and it would cost 75 galleons altogether to get him the training needed. It was more than his father made in a month and more than they could spare.
They were willing to take a loan from the bank but taking a loan from a goblin was equal to selling your soul to the devil for the time you owed them. Being only a loan meant they could repay it but they put in clauses that even after you returned it, would screw you over, because it only counted after you repaid it. He closes his eyes and listened to the laughter and smiled. He wasn't certain even if he could have become a professional that he would have enjoyed it. The only camp he went to was a gladiator camp to weed out the ones who couldn't take it under pressure.
He did fine but stayed middle of the pack. The tactics he saw for seeker sabotage was as brutal as the camp itself. It was ignored unless people got hurt and as a coach recounted when Charlie was near very close to what happened in the semi-professional stages as well. The game wasn't meant to be all fun at the camp. The training was ruthless and the plays were harshly criticized. He knew it probably wasn't tolerated once you were on a team but peer pressure and a pair of missing shoes among the bullying often lead to a person falling in the ranks.
He knew it wasn't supposed to be fun but he only wanted to have a little but it was all work. He had to work on this or he had to learn that. It was highly focused and he enjoyed the stiff competition but hated the people. He fellow seekers were fierce competitors. The camp only rewarded the top two for each exercise and with only sixteen seekers it was difficult.
He smiled and as the nephew flew down and he met the boy. The boys face had a large grin and he was short of breath. He gave the boy some flying and seeker tips before leaving. It was a nice reminder of the past since it wasn't as painful as it before. He watched the boy fly off into the sky laughing with his team mates as they did a 3 vs 3 pick up game with the team captain refereeing.
He found dragon keeping by accident but it was something he loved from start to finish. It was fun and kept him on his feet even if it wasn't one that he could ever take lightly. Seekers had short life spans in comparison to every other position and in the end he played because he loved the game and it was fun and even if he had the chance to play professionally he wasn't sure he would still love it as it became his only way to make a living.