Chapter 10: Successful Try-Outs
After two weeks of extensive training with Madam Hooch, the first-years who had signed up, felt more than ready for the try-outs and in fact felt ready for anything. As Dasha walked to the pitch for the Ravenclaw try-outs, she revised everything that they had practiced. Her friends had already made their way to the Quidditch Pitch so she didn't need to wait for them.
When she got there, in the centre of the Pitch, stood a tall, dark-haired boy wearing his Ravenclaw, blue and silver, Quidditch robes. He was surrounded by a dozen people, some of the wearing the same uniform as him and others, like Dasha, wore their normal clothes. Dasha began to timidly approach the group when suddenly she was distracted by someone yelling her name from the stands. She looked up and saw three small figures waving emphatically at her. "Go on Dasha, you can do it!" they yelled, waving at her. She waved back and continued to approach the group. She made it just in time to hear the beginning of the speech. "Right, is everyone here a member of Ravenclaw House? If you are not, then leave the Quidditch Pitch," he said so that everyone could here, gazing around. No one left. "Very well then. Firstly, anyone who is here to try-out for the Seeker's position, sorry but it's taken." He was about to continue when he was interrupted by an indignant yell. "By who?!" The captain's eyes narrowed slightly. "By me. Anyone wanna argue with me about that?" he asked challengingly. Dasha heard someone nearby gulp and secretly, she agreed with them. The Captain was not only tall but also extremely muscular. However, nobody replied and so the Captain continued. "Right, as I was saying, it's already taken. Now, I would like everyone who is trying for Beaters position to mount their brooms and get on that side of the Pitch," he said pointing to the far left. A few people rose into the air and flew to where he had pointed. "Next, everyone who's trying out for the…." Dasha waited impatiently, unconsciously holding her breath. "Chasers, over there please." Dasha sighed and stood waiting impatiently as more people flew off. "And last, but not least, Keepers, over there please. Two people per goalpost," finished the Captain, pointing to the goalposts at either end of the Pitch. Dasha gulped as she mounted and kicked off. She saw Anastasia, the nice fourth-year girl, fly off to the right goalpost, so she followed her. Anastasia glanced at her and gave her a friendly smile. Dasha smiled back and focused her attention on the Captain. Now that everyone had risen into the air, he had somehow produced a Megaphone and was speaking into it. "Now, what we'll do is this; I will release the Bludgers and the Quaffle. We'll just have a normal game of Quidditch but remember; play to your very best, because I will be judging you." He moved to the centre of the Pitch and unlocked a big brown trunk. First, he unchained the Bludgers before picking up the Quaffle. He gazed sternly at all of them, his gaze lingering slightly on Anastasia. He lowered his arms and threw the Quaffle up into the air.
In a blink of an eye, everyone began moving so quickly that they became blurs of colour.
It would take too long to tell you exactly what happened in accurate detail so let me give you a brief summary. Between Anastasia and Dasha, no goals were scored in their goalpost. The same couldn't be said for the other two Keepers, who kept missing every single time the Quaffle came their way. Thanks to Dasha's goalie skills and ballet balance, she scraped through without falling or missing. The one time Anastasia missed was simply a coincidence; but Dasha still managed to save it so it probably didn't really matter too much.
Soon the flying part of the tryouts was over and now all they had to do was wait for the Captain to decide who was on the team. Dasha stood impatiently waiting when anastasia suddenly came up to her. "Hey, good job there, especially when I missed that one shot. You're really good, you know," she complimented her, smiling widely. Dasha nodded as she felt her face beginning to blush. "Thanks, Anastasia. But I'm sure it doesn't really matter that much and you'll still get in." The other girl shook her and frowned slightly. "No. I don't think so. Igetis-that is, Davies, the Captain, is really picky when it comes to team members and if you make one mistake, like I did, it ruins your chances. But overall, he's really nice. He's in my year actually. Oh look, here he comes. Shush you!" she said, quieting two large boys who were talking loudly. Davies mounted his broom and rose in the air slightly, holding a list in one hand. "Quiet, you lot! Listen up!" he yelled, attempting to quieten everyone, which worked immediately. "Professor Flitwick and I have made our decisions. Here they are: Chasers- McKoy, Clayton and Binns…" At these words, three cheers arose from the crowd as three lanky boys jumped up and down and high fived each other. Davies waited for a moment before continuing. "Beaters- Diggle and Dedalus and as Keeper…." Dasha held her breath as she waited anxiously. "Bran," finished reading Davies, rolling up his parchment. Dasha heard cheering erupt from her three friends, who had been listening carefully to all of this. Dasha waved to them, beaming happily. She was distracted by Anastasia who placed her arm on her elbow. "Good job. I think you deserve that," she said, looking genuinely pleased. Dasha blushed. "Thanks but, I couldn't have done it without you." Davies rose higher into the air as someone chucked a Quidditch glove at him. "Shut up you lot!" he yelled to a bunch of girls who were talking loudly and looking Davies up and down, giggling. They immediately fell quiet. "Everyone who's not on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team; I'm sorry but we need you to leave," continued Davies in a much kinder voice, once again letting his gaze rest on Anastasia, who blushed slightly. Davies rose higher into the air as someone chucked a Quidditch glove at him. He took at his megaphone once more. "Listen up! Anyone who is not on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, please leave the Pitch," he said, his gaze lingering over Anastasia once more. Dasha looked at her and saw her blushing slightly. Dasha waved goodbye to her as Anastasia left the Pitch with several other people until it was just her, four boys, one girl and Davies. Dedalus came up to her and stretched out her hand. "Congrats. I'm Olympe by the way,"she said in a pleasant manner. Dasha smiled shyly. "Thanks, I'm Dasha," she said, shaking hands with Olympe. "Oi, listen up you lot!" called Davies. He looked at her. "Congratulations on making the team! First thing you need to do is get your new Quidditch uniform. Let me get it for you," he said, flying down and opening the trunk. From within he took out robes the same Prussian Blue colour as his, sewn together with silver thread. He folded it and gave it to her. She hesitantly took it. "That's for you. Right we've got a Quidditch game as Slytherin in two weeks, so tomorrow is our first practice session at 6:00 o'clock and don't be late. Off you go now to get some rest," explained Davies, getting on his broom to round up the Bludgers. Dasha beamed as she put away her broom and ran off the Pitch towards her friends who were quickly making their way down to her. They all collided together in one big group hug. "Good job Dasha," said Jai, high-fiving her. Patrick grinned as they all examined her new uniform. "It looks good on ya." Dasha blushed deeply as they returned to the castle. She departed from them to put away her robes, which were stowed away carefully into her trunk.
Chapter 11: Libri Omnes Fortunas
(The Book of All Fortunes)
That night, Theo dreamt of the dark room again. This time however, there was a person in the room. Theo couldn't see who it was as they were wearing long, shapeless, black robes that were flowing and swirling around them and their face was covered with a large hood. Theo walked towards them, trying to see what the person was doing. as he came closer he heard them mutter something with their hands crossed over their chest, as if they were lying inside their coffin. What he heard was this; "Maestru dominum, aici orationem mea et stiu quia va ipse aduce adducet jertfa hostiam doua in, la anni anului, Cubiculo in Aeterni," hissed the voice in what sounded like some kind of chant. By now, Theo was standing right next to the person and he saw the hood slip back slightly, revealing a pair of extremely sharp and long teeth. He took a step away from the figure when he felt himself being stopped by something. Looking down he saw the Stone Table, which up until now, he hadn't noticed. In the middle of the table, right in front of the figure, lay the book, only this time, Theo could clearly see the writing on it. 'Libri Omnes Fortunas' was engraved on the title plaque, which had once been gold and was now a slightly green metal. Theo was about to reach out for it when the figure turned to face him. Slowly, the deadly pale hands reached for the hood to reveal the face hidden underneath. Theo stood frozen as he watched the razor-sharp teeth glisten in the light that came from some unknown source. The hood was slowly falling back when suddenly Theo heard a noise behind him. He glanced behind him. Nothing was there. Suddenly, the strangest thought came to him. "This is just a dream….Just a dream. All you have to do to make it stop is close your eyes. Just close your eyes and it'll be gone." Theo thought about this for one millisecond. If he already had his eyes open and this was a dream, then surely, to wake up, it made sense to close his eyes. He did so quickly and a moment later opened them to find himself awake in his bed.
That night, Theo did not return to sleep, still haunted by visions of the hood falling back and revealing the face with the teeth. As he calmed himself by listening to the green water lapping at the windows, Theo thought about what he had seen. He had seen those sharp teeth somewhere at Hogwarts, and the deadly pale skin seemed familiar too. And what about that book, 'Libri Omnes Fortunas'? Maybe there was something written about it in the Library? he asked himself, mulling everything over. All night he laid out a plan to get information on that book but first, they needed to find out where it was.
"So now you want to find that book? Theo, are you crazy?" exclaimed Dasha as they finished off their homework. He shook his head. "There's gotta be something important in that book, otherwise the figure wouldn't be standing over it," he said, surprising everyone with his tone of assurance. Patrick nodded thoughtfully. "Well, if you went looking for information on i' in the library, then, i' would probably be in the Restricted Section. One of us would have to go fetch it," he remarked. They all sat silently, pondering over the current situation when Jai volunteered. "I'll do it. I'll sneak into the Restricted Section and find information on it. But it has to be during daytime, okay?" Dasha looked concerned as she bent over her parchment. Theo agreed with Jai's arrangements. "That's great. But we need to distract Madam Pince for you to be able to get in. How about this; Dasha and I will distract her somehow while Patrick helps Jai get inside. Once Jai's inside, Patrick will stand on look-out for the librarian. Good enough?" he asked, looking around to make sure nobody had overheard. Everyone agreed and decided that the best time to put their plan into action would be the day before the Quidditch game. With these thoughts in their heads, the four of them wished each other a good night and went off to get some rest.
That night, Theo saw parts of his dream from the night before, replaying them over and over again.
Finally, the day prior to the Quidditch Match had arrived. The four friends walked casually into the library, Patrick whistling nervously as they hurried behind a bookshelf. Glancing around, Jai began to whisper. "Dasha, Theo, you two go and round Madam Pince off while we get inside the Restricted Section. Then, even if Madam Pince doesn't listen to you, it won't matter unless she goes in the Restricted Section. If she does, Patrick, you whistle loudly and I'll sneak out so that she doesn't notice. Ready?" she asked, rolling up her sleeves. Dasha nodded as she walked out from behind the shelves and Theo followed her a few moments later. Jai tried not to laugh as she heard Dasha speak moments later. "...yes Madam Pince. He was eating chocolate, we found him doing it and told him to stop but-" She couldn't hear the rest as they moved away and Jai and Patrick crept forward to the door underneath the sign reading 'Restricted Section'. Here, Patrick stood outside as Jai carefully opened it and snuck inside. The Restricted Section was like the normal part of the Library, only that it was a lot less bustling. As she moved forward, the only people Jai saw were two seven-years and they were too busy flirting with each other to notice her.
Patrick took a deep breath as he waited for Jai to find the book they needed. So far, nobody had passed by, which made things far worse for him, because his anticipation slowly built up, making him worry.
Dasha gulped as she led Madam Pince past several bookshelves. She had no idea when she should stop when suddenly, she caught sight of a large, Hufflepuff boy, sitting with his book and carefully chewing on his chocolate egg. Dasha stopped immediately and pointed. "See Madam Pince, there he is. Eating chocolate, like we said!" she cried as the Hufflepuff looked up in fright. Theo watched as Madam Pince's face paled with anger, her eyebrows shooting up under the brim of her hat. She slowly advanced on the boy, shrieking. "Chocolate! CHOCOLATE, in my library?! Out, out!" Theo gently tugged Dasha by the sleeve of her robes and inched away from the confrontation. Once they were a good distance away, they walked off at a brisk pace, trying not to break into a run, towards the place where Patrick should be. They were nearly there when they met Jai and Patrick, heading in the opposite direction.
"I found it! I found it!" announced Jai gleefully, clutching a large tome to her chest as they ran out the library door, turning down a secret passageway until they could no longer hear Madam Pince screaming at the poor boy. They didn't stop running until they found themselves inside an empty classroom. Jai pulled out a chair and dropped the book onto the desk with a bang. All four of them crowded round as Jai rapidly turned the pages. Suddenly, she stopped and pointed. "Listen; The book 'Libri Omnes Fortunas' translates from Latin as 'The Book of All Fortunes'. As attractive as title may sound, this book can be used for evil if inappropriately used. The purpose of this book is to predict the future of every witch or wizard. The book may seem small in regards for its width; however, it seems to be endless in pages and with each new witch/wizard, it appears to add on pages. This book has also been known to be used in rituals, especially in vampire rituals, such as the Sacrifice to Saint-Germaine. For a century, the book has been apparently hidden away somewhere in a room between dreams and our world. Maybe that was the room you saw, Theo?" asked Jai, reading the text quickly as they all listened keenly. Theo nodded. "Probably. You don't suppose that person was a vampire, do you?" pondered Theo. The others agreed. Patrick suddenly stood up and began to pace, with a grim expression on his face. Dasha watched him anxiously. "Well….what is it, Patrick? Do you have an idea?" she asked after a long pause. Patrick nodded thoughtfully as he continued pacing. "You don't suppose that the person who was the vampire in that room, is somebody from Hogwarts?" he said, thinking out loud. Dasha nodded in agreement, practicing a spell while they all mulled over the problem. Theo watched as the blue flames flickered merrily inside a glass jar.
They were all startled when they heard a noise outside in the corridor right outside the door. Jai gestured to be quiet and crept over to the door, carefully opening the door and looking around the corridor. It was empty and she saw the ends of someone's robes swirling around the corner. She breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door completely. "Come on guys, let's go somewhere else where we shouldn't be heard," she said, as Patrick grabbed the book and they all ran outside. They stopped when they were underneath the tree where they had a good view of the Black Lake while sitting down. This time they didn't open the book and instead Dasha took out a quill and some parchment. "So, we all suspect that there's a vampire in Hogwarts right? But why? Any suggestions?" she asked, quill poised. Patrick thought for a moment. "Well, maybe he needs something which is here at Hogwarts," he suggested as Dasha quickly scribbled some notes. Theo nodded. "I agree. But we need to find out what exactly he is after. Maybe he'll make a move to try and steal it?" Dasha continued to scribble furiously. "Let's think about this; is there anyone we know who could possibly be a vampire that is at Hogwarts now?" asked Jai, watching a bird land in the tree above them. "Well….there is one person…" started Theo uncertainly, glancing at Dasha. She was watching him shrewdly as he started to speak. "Perhaps….Professor Transfigurantes is a vampire?" He expected Dasha to explode and rage but she just nodded and wrote it down. "I think we should be careful around him though. And, if he's trying to steal something, we need to find it before he does," said Patrick. Dasha wrote a few more notes down before she got up to leave. "I've got Quidditch practice in ten minutes. Seeya guys after," she explained, smiling as she ran away.
The four of them continued to discuss the book and vampires for an hour before deciding to return inside. They didn't realise that during their entire conversation, a small black bat had been sitting in the tree, listening to every word.