A/N

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and not myself (which as I am posting under a fanfiction site should be obvious)

Thanks for the wonderful reviews! I am glad so many of you enjoy this story, there really is a lack of Quidditch fic's out there and I hope this satisfies that niche for some people. One of my goals in this story is to have Harry try to balance his position in the magical world with his heritage in the muggle world. I think this chapter, in part, shows how difficult doing this would be for a young teen, especially one as socially inept as Harry.

Enjoy. : ]

"Faster Potter! You have to commit completely to the feint, otherwise it'll be obvious to everyone on the pitch that it's fake! A Wronski Feint is all about capitalizing on an overaggressive opponent. You need them to follow your movements and be certain that you are going all out. A failed feint is worse than useless!" screamed Harry's seekers coach Livius Mostafa.

"Yes coach!" huffed Harry, drenched in sweat and exhausted from another long day of working at his gym and flying for hours under the tutelage of Mostafa. It was now mid-July, and after 3 weeks of following his intense training schedule he was already starting to notice a difference in his body. His endurance was improving the most, between the daily cardio and daily workouts, not to mention a healthy nutritious diet, he was improving his health by leaps and bounds. This translated well onto the pitch, where his improved endurance showed itself in his weathering of the intense practices. After his first practice he could barely stand, now flying only made him tired and sore all over.

Weeks of working on his flying and techniques with a real Seeker's coach made a drastic improvement on his skills. While his Gryffindor Quidditch captain Wood was an excellent Keeper, he was not an expert at all positions on the field. Most of his skills were learned from Quidditch magazines and from watching his opponents at Hogwarts. Working with a professional and watching countless hours of the professional game had allowed him to work towards perfecting his techniques, cutting off any excess movements and increasing his decision making speed. Every second counted when chasing a snitch and any wrong moves would open up the chase for his opponent.

"Aye Potter, we only have a few more weeks before your camp and the scouts will be looking for these little tells. Your good lad, probably better than any other rookie will be, but you will need to get even better to keep up with the veterans if you want to be your teams starting seeker. Your searching patterns are adequate and you have an eye for finding the snitch which rivals any I've seen, but you get by with mainly natural talent and a fast broom when it comes to the chase itself. That might have been enough at Hogwarts, but everyone in the League has talent and rides quality brooms, keep working on perfecting your flying skills or they will leave you in the dust.

"It's not all about speed lad, but evasiveness from Bludgers and awareness of obstacles on the pitch. The strength to fight off opponents and smarts to make quick tactical decisions. If you really want to catch the eyes of the better teams being able to play defense from opposing chasers is a huge bonus in their eyes. It's not a commonly used tactic, as most teams would rather have their seeker focus on seeking, but it's an advantage for coaches when looking at seekers for when their team might need to stop Quaffles more than the snitch. Remember the game is all about scoring more points than the opponent, and having more points than the rest of the league on the table. Wins are important, but so are points, so coaches like to see a seeker who is useful in many different situations and can change their tactics in a pinch."

The next hour was spent practicing the defensive chaser positions as well as some of the offensive ones. While as a seeker he would only occasionally be in a situation where he could pass or block a Quaffle, and rarely in one where he would shoot, being prepared for those rare opportunities was crucial for showing his worth to the scouts. A great seeker was able to effect the whole game, not only chasing the snitch, but interrupting the opponent's chasers, distracting the beaters to open up plays and capturing the attention of the opposing seeker so he or she could not do the same to his teammates.

When his final hour with Mostafa finally ended, Harry made his exhausted way back to gym where his trainer Everstone was waiting for him for their typical Friday lifting routine. While seekers didn't need to be as strong and bulky as Beaters, strength was still an important aspect of his training and Harry made sure to give it his all.

Harry kept his eyes on the clock throughout his workout, as today was a day he had been looking forward to all week. While his first few weeks at the gym he had mostly kept to himself, on Tuesday some of the other clients his age had asked him to join them on Friday night to hang out in the city. He had learned while chatting with them during their meals that many of the other members of the gym were muggle Athletes. Some were working towards playing a sport in University, or already were members of University teams. Two girls he had met in particular stuck out in his mind, as they were working towards making the next Olympics in their respective sports. One, Annabel rowed Double Scull though her partner went to a different gym. The other Libby, was trying to make the Team Foil Fencing event. Both were trying to make the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta over in the States. They were going to meet up with Harry in a few hours outside the gym along with a few of their friends. He invited Hermione to join him and was very much looking forward to seeing his best friend again.

Walking back towards the gym after a quick shower at his apartment and changing into some of the new clothes he had picked up over the last few weeks, Harry saw Hermione waiting for him outside his apartment building along with her father.

"Hey Hermione, Mr. Granger, it's good to see you again" Harry said as his bushy haired best friend run over to him and gave him a hug.

"Yes it's been since before Hermione's second year since we have seen each other" replied Hermione's father as he shook Harry's hand. "I was so happy when I heard that you and Hermione were going to meet up and spend time together in the normal world, it seems like the longer Hermione has been going to that school she's been drifting apart from her heritage in our world and spending more and more time focusing on magic."

"It has been the same for me sir, I don't get along with my muggle relatives and don't have any normal friends so I have been distancing myself from the muggle world. I hasn't been since I started off on my own here that I realized that I missed many aspects of that world and in many ways I am still more comfortable there, where no-body recognizes me" agreed Harry.

"Anyway I must be off to pick up some things, you two stay safe and Hermione feel free to stay over with Harry tonight if you end up out late, I would rather you stay at his place than risk getting into trouble at night. Take care of my little girl Harry, and no funny business you two, I am far too young for grandchildren!" said Mr. Granger with a smirk.

With cheeks as red as a tomato, Hermione hugged her father goodbye and the two teens chatted about their summers so far as they walked towards the gym. Harry was unsurprised to hear that his friend had already finished her summer homework, ("Honestly Harry you shouldn't leave everything until the last minute"), and the two had discussed some of the things he had been doing in practice.

"I'm glad you found something you are so passionate about Harry" Hermione said, "I know how rare it is for people our age to find the thing they want to do for the rest of their life. At least one of us has a plan. I still have no idea what I want to do. I really want to try and take S.P.E.W. further.."

Arriving at the gym and introducing Hermione to Annabel and Libby and the other teens, the group made their way to a local karaoke club and spent the night like normal people their age. Despite being rather socially awkward due to their being bullied while they were young, both Harry and Hermione greatly enjoyed the opportunity to hang out with other people their age in the Muggle world. For Harry the chance to be seen by others as just a normal kid was a balm to his soul after years of being the hated freak of the Dursley's hatred or the famous boy-who-lived celebrity at school and in the magical world. He even hit it off with one of Libby's friends, Abby who was also trying to become a professional athlete, the women's football national team in her case. While he obviously couldn't tell people he played a magical sport on broomsticks, they gym's cover for him to tell their muggle patrons was that he was a baseball player, as few British Muggles were familiar enough with the sport and they had similar workout requirements.

The two chatted about the rigors of their respective training and about their hopes of catching a scout's eye. Harry was pleased to talk to someone who had the kind of passion he had for Quidditch and the constant chase for perfection at their sport. It bothered him however that he had to lie about the sport he loved and pretend to be something he wasn't. He figured this was the reason so many muggleborn witches and wizards he knew of wound up staying in the Wizarding World more and more and eventually leaving the Muggle world behind. Keeping such a large portion of your life a secret made making connections difficult.

Despite the difficulties in connecting with his new friends, Harry enjoyed the break from constant training and was glad that he had invited Hermione who had also enjoyed the outing.

The next morning, after coming home late and crashing on his couch, leaving his bed for Hermione, Harry left a note for his friend that he would be back by noon with takeout for them and that she was welcome to make herself at home before making his way to the gym for his Saturday routine. He had talked with Hermione the night before about his plans for the day and she had expressed interest in joining him when he met with his agent today to talk about his upcoming press release and the possibilities of a press conference with reporters to announce his candidacy as a professional player. Given their bad experiences with the press the year before with Rita Skeeter and the Daily Prophet, Hermione was interested in seeing if the rest of the press was as incompetent and vile or if they had merely had a bad experience.

After working out Harry decided to indulge himself and buy the fish and chips he had been eyeing at a street-cart across the street from his apartment. The two enjoyed the greasy goodness before making their way to the Leaky Cauldron to floo to the address Greengrass & Davis Legal Services.

Once again Harry's bad experiences with magical travel continued as he found himself propelled out of the floo landing hard on the wood floor. Hearing laughing from in front of him, Harry stood up to see a hysterical Hermione standing next to a grinning Queenie Greengrass, both obviously amused by his entrance.

"Well Mr. Potter, as long as we can keep the scouts away from you when you floo I think we have a chance to convince them of your worth" Harry's agent said. "I've been hearing good things about you from Livius and Edward, they think you are a major talent and expect you to be the star attraction at the upcoming camp. With how marketable you are given your built in fame and you raw skill and youth, I think we can expect a great deal of interest from the major clubs, as I told you when we first met. Already rumors have been flying about your entrance into the professional ranks, with articles speculating your value, skill and when you might end up in at least three major magical sports periodicals, including Quidditch Weekly and the major American publication Magical Sports Illustrated. That's a big deal for us, as the public interest in your story makes you more valuable for teams, and ensures that scouts will be keeping an eye on you at this camp. Expect to see some American scouts as well trying to draw us over to the other side of the pond. I still think you will wind up getting more interest here in the British League, but the competition can only help us."

"I don't think I want to join a yank team, it would make going to Hogwarts very difficult given the time differences and I don't think the leagues over there are that strong right? I mean they have that other weird sport Quodpot that's rather popular from what I remember. I do understand what you mean, competition only makes me more valuable as they compete to attract me, but I would prefer staying in the British League" Harry responded. "Should I be getting subscriptions to any of those magazines? I guess I should probably read my own press right?"

"Yes you should probably take out a subscription to the major ones at least, and our press agents will start forwarding you any articles they think you need to know about the League or about yourself. You need to be prepared for the press when they ask you questions about articles they or other reporters have written. Now our press team have written up a basic declaration of eligibility for the professional leagues that will be released to the press, just outlining your goals of joining a team and playing seeker as well as your interest in playing for England. That by the way is all but a certainty, I have already been getting letters from Coach White asking for confirmation about your eligibility. They really are desperate for a new young seeker to start training up for the next world cup. We can't work out the contract until after the camp, so it isn't official but I would bet we get the offer within hours of the camp ending."

"That's fantastic!" Harry replied with a wide smile on his face. He knew that it was a possibility that he would be offered a position on the national team, but to have it all but guaranteed before he even fly for the coach was incredible.

"Indeed. Now I see you brought your friend like you said you might in your last letter, so I think we will do a practice run of a press conference. The press release will go out on Monday, and we will likely schedule your press conference for next Saturday. That gives them two weeks before the camp to print speculation and drum up anticipation for your debut. Now the conference itself will be in the English Quidditch League complex, they allow upcoming players attending their camp to address the media from there as advertising for their league since all the pictures of your conference will have their logo and sponsors all over it. There will likely be about 10 or so reporters, most of which will be submitting their stories to multiple new outlets.

"While only the super wealthy here in Britain have accesses to magical display screens where they can watch the English Quidditch games live, they are more popular and easily available in America and across parts of Europe and the English League is still considered among the best so it has high viewership. This means there is massive interest in covering the league and the major players. Despite the interest from foreign leagues most of the media speculation assumes you will be playing for a club in our local league.

"Anyway, to practice for your press conference your friend and I will be the obnoxious reporters screaming questions at you while you act the confident, calm athlete enthusiastic about going pro."

"Harry Harry! What do you say about the rumors that you are…"

After spending the afternoon practicing answering questions and dealing with the press, Harry walked Hermione to King's Cross Station to see her off and returning to his apartment before night fell. He was surprised to see a letter waiting for him on his dining table and quickly opened it and read its contents.

Dear Mr. Potter,

We, the Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, are informing you of an upcoming trial on Tuesday, August 22nd in which you have been named as a witness for the defense of one Sirius Orion Black. The Decree for the Reasonable Expectation of Justice, 1873 Paragraph 6 subsection 2 requires those named as a Witness for the defense to attend when summoned. Failure to do so may result in charges and or fines levied against your persons. If for any reason you are held against your will and prevented from attending the trial your kidnappers will be fined an appropriate amount.

The ministry can be located at 55 Whitehall London, accessible through a small red muggle box containing a number of buttons with numbers on it. To enter the building press the numbers 62442. Charms on the box will prevent muggles from seeing you once inside. We are also accessible by floo at the address Ministry of Magic.

Enjoy your holidays,

Yours Sincerely

Alice Fawley,

Secretary to the Chief Prosecutor, Justice Department branch of the Ministry of Magic Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Ministry of Magic

With a wide grin on his face that his godfather would finally get the trial he deserved, Harry wrote a quick letter asking Sirius if he was informed about the trial and asking what he knew about the justice system in Magical Britain. Even though Harry was happy with his new-found independence, he still would like to be able to see his godfather in public and have someone to visit on holidays.

The next week of training was even more intense than the ones preceding it, as his coaches knew time before the camp was running short. They knew that the more prepared Harry was, the better his chances were in getting a quality spot on a decent club. The last thing anyone wanted was for Harry to get stuck in a long term contract with a bad team and waste his youth and talent playing in meaningless games.

His press conference was a hit, unlike his previous experiences with the media no one tried to force him into a broom cupboard and the articles that came out were generally positive in their assessment of both his skills and in his discussions with reporters. As predicted there were about 10 reporters present and questions focused on his thoughts on becoming the youngest seeker in the British League and other Quidditch related matters.

Luckily for Harry the reports invited were all sports reporters who were less interested in the gossip so popular from other media outlets. Speculation in the British magazine Quidditch Weekly, had him being the favorite for rookie seeker of the year, as well as raving reviews of his demeanor and determination to be the best seeker in the world. Quite a change from his bouts of insanity as reported by the Daily Prophet during the TriWizard Tournament.

Hope this chapter was enjoyable. I tried to show how Harry is trying to develop a healthy social life, and I think that spending time over the summer with his friends and peers is an important part of his development into a healthier person. I had thought of adding more details about his time hanging out, but think its better left unsaid. Just normal interactions among casual friends is nothing interesting to read about.

Next up at last is the Quidditch camp and we finally get into the core of this story.