Quidditch Tryouts
Hello guys! Welcome to the fourth chapter of Hogwarts after the War. Thank you to everyone who has read the story, especially with so many original characters. All other characters are owned by J.K. Rowling. Now, without further ado, here is Quidditch Tryouts!
(Hogwarts after the War)
A Saturday morning study session with five eleven-year olds turned into conversations about Muggle pop culture, British royalty, and Quidditch. Lots of Quidditch, courtesy of Mal and Joe. Thanks to those two, Vivi knew everything about Quidditch, from the positions to the rules to the teams in the professional league to the best players.
"Come on" whines Tori as she lays her head on the table, "Quidditch is tit boring."
"Oh, and are witch houses more to your fancy?" sneers Mal. It had taken a while, but Vivi was able to convince Mal, Joe, and Quinn to let Tori join them. Quinn mostly ignores her while Joe is quite amicable with her as long as they didn't broach the subject of his Muggle mother. Mal, however, isn't so willing to let go, so an argument broke out between those two every five minutes.
"Yes" responds Tori, "Why do you want to listen to stories about smelly blokes and birds instead of ones about the sophisticated lord and ladies of the pureblood witch houses."
"You just want to tell us how you're descended from all of them."
"Well, my great-grandmother is from the Goyle clan…"
"So, Joe, are you excited about Quidditch tryouts?" asks Vivi.
"Absolutely! I just hope I don't get into the team because of my Papa."
Mal huffs as she folds her arms. "The Hufflepuffs are going to be in trouble when I'm the Slytherin seeker. You're still coming to watch me Vivi, aren't you?"
"Of course" says Vivi.
"Ooh, you have to come see me too!" says Joe.
"How about we all go?" suggests Vivi.
"Spending all day watching Quidditch?" says Tori, "What a bore. No thanks."
"We really can't watch each other's tryouts" says Joe, "That would be cheating."
"So that just leaves me and Quinn. Right, Quinn?"
Quinn, the only one of them to actually study, has barely said anything at all. Now he barely responds to Vivi, instead looking straight ahead. A few tables away from them, Hermione Granger sits with Luna Lovegood and Henry Abernathy. They are, respectively, reading a book, writing on parchment, and transferring the effects of poison ivy on a toad.
Professor Diggle had told them all about the exploits of Harry Potter, up to and including his defeat of Lord Voldemort. Although many people helped him along the way, his two constant companions were Hermione Granger and Ginny's older brother Ronald Weasley. About seven years ago, Quinn's father died, and somehow Harry Potter was involved; Quinn, therefore, is not comfortable around his friends.
"I'll pass" he says as he picks up his books. "Joe, Mal, best of British on the tryouts. Let's hang out afterwards."
With that, he leaves the library.
(Hogwarts after the War)
Vivi heads out to the Quidditch field. Hufflepuff's tryouts are right before Slytherin's, so Vivi will be in the field until the evening. For the former's Vivi will have to hide somewhere; a Hufflepuff will not respond kindly to a member of a competing house viewing their tryouts, especially not a Slytherin. She looks up in the sky to see if Hufflepuff tryouts have begun.
"Chuffin'ell."
Streaks of red shoot across the sky, a Quaffle between them. The center blur throws it to the right to another blur. The right blur stops, revealing itself to be a blonde haired girl in a red robe.
"Gryffindors!" hisses Vivi. She came too early, coming on the back end of the Gryffindor tryouts. There is no way any of them will react to her with kindness. As quick as she could, she dives behind a tree, deciding to stay there until Hufflepuff tryouts. Then, she'll watch from here until the Slytherins come out.
"Vivi?"
Vivi jumps and bumps into the tree, her heart pounding. She sighs, however, when she sees C.C. staring at her. "Cecil."
"For goodness sake, Vivi, call me C.C. You sound like my grandmother: 'Cecil, sit up straight. Cecil, pay attention. Cecil, why can't you be more attentive like your brother?'"
Vivi laughs at his accurate Scottish brogue. C.C. can be really nice if he's not surrounded by other Gryffindors. He had not talked to her once since their introduction earlier this week. "All right, C.C. it is."
This makes C.C. smile. "So what are you doing at Gryffindor's Quidditch tryouts? I would've never taken you for a spy."
"I'm not a spy! My friend Joe wanted to me to watch his practice. I came too early and ended up here."
"Oh really?" C.C. folds his arms. "Hufflepuff practice is next, and the Slytherins don't come out til later."
"Joe is a Hufflepuff. What, shocked that a Slytherin can have a Hufflepuff friend?"
C.C. looks down, his cheeks flushed. "I-that was half-sharp. I mean, I was half-sharp. I'm sorry."
"Okay." Vivi looks up at the Quidditch players. The girl she saw before now plays as keeper, her blocking abilities below average. "It doesn't look like you're trying out for the team. So why not and what are you doing here?"
C.C. laughs. "I'm so cack-handed that I couldn't imagine trying to catch balls while flying at the same time. No, I'm here to support my mate Jake. Now don't make that face. I know there's no love between you two, but he's pretty cool."
Vivi rolls her eyes. Jake Phillips is a nasty piece of work: arrogant, judgmental, vain, and cruel at times. No one does anything about though, because either they're entranced by his American accent or apathetic because most of his victims are Slytherins. Looking at the players, she sees Jake frantically reaching for the Snitch. He grabs for it, losing his balance and plummeting twenty feet to the ground.
"Jake!" C.C. looks like at Vivi with wild eyes. "I've gotta go."
Vivi watches as he runs towards were Jake has fallen. The two beaters and Ginny Weasley join him. After speaking for a while, the two beaters carry Jake towards the castle, C.C. on their heels.
"Better luck next year" says Ginny as the keeper flies down next to her, revealing herself to be Gabrielle Delacour.
Her beautiful face is marred by a swollen eye and a broken nose. Strands of her hair stick out all around her head. The corner of Ginny's mouth rises.
"I never thought I would say this, but you look like Hell. It's a shame, too, because I'm afraid that you didn't make the team."
"What?" exclaims Gabrielle, "but I did not even get to try out for seeker!"
"You didn't try out for beater either" scoffs Ginny, "Keen as mustard for another ball to the face?"
Before Gabrielle can respond, Ginny leaves to congratulate the new members of the Gryffindor team. Tears welled up in Gabrielle's eyes as she runs into the castle. Vivi goes after her in spite of herself. When she finally makes it to the castle, Gabrielle is leaning one of the walls, her hands covering her face.
"Hey" Vivi states, "Don't cry. I thought you were good."
"I knew it" Gabrielle says as she looks at Vivi, tears streaming down her face, "She is jealous; that is why Ginny will not let me on the team. She is mad because I enrolled in Hogwarts instead of Beauxbatons, and because Harry is so nice to me!"
Vivi has a bit of trouble keeping up with what Gabrielle was saying, not helped by her thick, French accent. She knew through Mal that Ginny Weasley was Harry Potter's girlfriend, and that Ginny and Gabrielle are sister-in-laws through the marriage of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. Vivi also knew that Harry saved Gabrielle during his fourth year, and that Beauxbatons was the French magical school. Is that why Gabrielle is here and Ginny is so upset?
Before Vivi can ask, Hermione Granger runs towards them. "Gabby are you all right?"
"No" exclaims Gabby as a flesh stream of blood gushes from her nose, which she covers with her sleeve. "I hate Ginny. She is very mean."
Hermione bends down, gently moving Gabby's arm away from her nose. Pulling out her wand, Hermione whispers "Episkey." Right before Vivi's eyes, Gabby's nose goes back into place, and her right eye shrinks to normal size. If it weren't for the blood on her face, no one would have known that anything happened to Gabby at all.
"Chuffin'ell" swears Vivi.
"Gabby, Ginny doesn't hate you" says Hermione as she puts her hands on Gabby's shoulders, "although she could have been nicer about it, you have to practice a little more to get on the Quidditch team. You're a bit cack-handed; strengthen your hands and arms and I think you'll be a great chaser. "
"Besides," says Vivi, "Next year Ginny won't be here. She won't be able to stop you from getting on the team."
Gabby smirks at the thought. Hermione, however, gives Vivi a strange look, almost as though Vivi was a phantom from her past. Vivi's nose started to flare.
"What?" she exclaims, "I'm telling the truth. Or are Slytherins not allow to cheer up Gryffindors?"
"Not at all…Vivi, right?" responds Hermione, "I don't have the same biases against Slytherins as many of the other students."
"There are a lot of good Slytherins" says Gabby, "Professor Slughorn, Tonks's mother, Professor Snape, and the first Professor Snape, right?"
"That's right, Gabby. There are some bad Gryffindors as well" responds Hermione.
With the last sentence, she gives Vivi a queer look, as though it's her fault that bad Gryffindors exist. Vivi puffs out her cheeks.
"Well I very well can't answer for all Gryffindors, can I? Hard enough answering for Slytherins" she retorts.
Hermione shakes herself out of a daze. "Oh, I'm sorry" she says before standing up. "I'll talk to Ginny, Gabby. Meanwhile, you need to rest after today's activity. Vivi, can you make sure she makes it to the Gryffindor common room?"
Gabby nods vigorously. Vivi bites back a retort, giving that Hermione requested her help. "Sure" Vivi says.
Hermione smiles as she leaves the castle. Vivi and Gabby head the other way towards Gryffindor Tower. After a moment of silence, Vivi clears her throat. "So, why did you come to Hogwarts instead of, Beauxbatons isn't it?"
Gabby nods her head. "I came to Hogwarts because of Harry Potter. He saved me from the mermaids in the lake, and I have admired him ever since. I was so happy when I got into Gryffindor because he was in Gryffindor too. I wanted to be on the Quidditch team too, but Ginny would not let me." Gabby suddenly looks away. "You probably think I am stupid because I went to school in a strange country because of a person I do not know that well. Everyone thinks it."
Vivi shrugs. "I don't give a stuff, and neither should anyone else. If it's important to you, than that's all that matter. They're probably jealous because you know Harry Potter personally, and they don't."
Gabby smiles. Vivi was actually relieved to talk to someone who actually knew who Harry Potter was; some of the stories she heard sounded made up. According to other first-year Slytherins, Harry Potter has fought fire-breathing dragons, snakes that can turn people into stone, zombies that come out of the water…what rubbish. What's next? Werewolves? Cerberus? Death itself?
"How were you able to get into the school anyway?" asks Vivi.
"I used my sister and brother-in-law's address in Cornwall, England as my home address. Then I begged Headmistress McGonagall to let me in the school. After she told me how this is highly unusual and that she was not sure if it was the right decision, she allowed me to attend. I was so happy!"
Gabby's exuberance makes Vivi smile, understanding how she felt; Vivi wouldn't trade being at Hogwarts for the world.
The two girls make it to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady was not in her portrait, probably gossiping with a friend in another portrait. Gabby says something in French under her breath, which Vivi was pretty sure couldn't be said in proper company.
"She always does this" whines Gabby, "Now, I will have to look for her or wait until she comes back."
Right on cue, however, the portrait swings open, C.C. coming out of it carrying a stack of comics in his arms. He stops and looks at them. "Hey Gabby, Vivi. What are you doing here?"
"C.C., thank goodness!" says Gabby as she walks through the portrait.
"I was just seeing Gabby back to her dorm" responds Vivi.
"Oh" says C.C., "That was very canny of you, Vivi."
"Yes" agrees Gabby, "Thank you very much for walking me to my dorm."
"No probs." A thought suddenly occurs to her. Gabby and C.C. are the first Gryffindors she's talk to who haven't either recoiled in her presence or sneered at her. Maybe they can be friends.
"Y'know" starts Vivi, "after Quidditch tryouts, me and my mates are studying in the library. Wanna come?"
"Will your friends mind?" asks Gabby, "They are Slytherins. Will they want us there?"
"Not all of them are Slytherins. Joe's a Hufflepuff. Quinn's a Ravenclaw. You'll be fine."
"That sounds fun" says Gabby. "I will go with you."
C.C. shuffles his feet as he looks at the comics. "I'll have to pass. Jake is still in the infirmary, and he'll probably need company. I'm bringing him his comics; I can't get into him, but the pictures are nice."
Again with Jake. Vivi couldn't understand how C.C. and Jake were friends, but she concedes that staying with an injured mate is noble. "Maybe next time" she responds before turning to Gabby, "I'll meet up with you after tryouts end."
Gabby nods her head, heading inside of the Gryffindor common room. C.C. says goodbye to Vivi before he heads off to the infirmary. Vivi herself dashes off to the Quidditch field, hoping not to miss the beginning of the Hufflepuff tryouts.
(Hogwarts after the War)
"Oh God, Tori, you should've seen Mal. She was like a bird!"
"Please stop, Vivi. Bad enough I'm going to have to hear it from Mal; don't make me listen to it twice."
Vivi shakes her head, watching Tori cover her ears. She had made it in time for the Hufflepuff tryouts, and Joe was amazing. During his tryout as keeper, he blocked all of the shots, even though the Quaffle was just a blur in Vivi's eyes. Mal's tryout as seeker was just as awesome; she zipped through the air so fast that Vivi couldn't tell the difference between her and the Snitch. Both of them went to freshen up while Vivi rendezvouses with the others at the library.
Vivi and Tori walk down the hall where the Memorial Portrait was. Quinn was standing at it, touching its frame. The picture showed a Middle Eastern woman wearing a long-sleeved black dress and white shawl.
"Is that your mother?" asks Vivi.
Quinn's "yes" was barely audible as he kept his back to them. Then, he lifts his head, making his voice clearer. "She came to England from Pakistan not knowing anyone but my father. My mother was…lost when my father died. When the Dark Lord came back, he promised, in honor of my father's service to him, that he would take care of us. He promised."
"Lord Voldemort made a lot of promises that he ultimately didn't keep" says Tori, which receives a nod from Quinn. Vivi didn't know what to do; the war has affected her friends in a way that she will never understand.
"I'm sorry about your parents, Quinn" Vivi whispers.
Taking a deep breath, Quinn turns to her and smiles. "You're not the one who should be apologizing, Vivi."
As Vivi returns the smile, she hears Mal yelling down the hall. Her arm was linked around Gabby's, whose arm was linked around Joe's. It took Vivi a second to remember that Mal is Gabby's cousin-in-law, and Gabby knows Joe from their Herbology class.
"You looking at the new seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team!" shouts Mal.
"And I'm keeper for the Hufflepuff team" says Joe.
"Congratulations, you two" says Quinn.
"I knew you two would do it" says Vivi, "You were awesome on the field."
"Yeah, yeah congratulations" says Tori as she looks Gabby up and down, "but more importantly, what's with the Gryffindor? And isn't this the Harry Potter fan?"
Vivi sends a sharp jab into Tori's arm. "I invited her to study with us, especially since no one would have a problem with it."
Tori shrugs as she rubs her arm. "My group of friends include two muggle-borns, a Ravenclaw, and a Hufflepuff. Why not add a Gryffindor who's friends with The Boy Who Lived as well?" She holds out her name and introduces herself to Gabby.
"Speaking of the Ravenclaw" says Vivi, "Gabby, this is Quinn."
Quinn shakes Gabby's hand. "Didn't Harry Potter save you several years ago?"
"Yes" responds Gabby, then, reacting to his queer look, "Is that all right?"
"Yeah" Quinn answers, "thanks for studying with us. Unfortunately, we will have to do the studying for the entire group."
A second passes before everyone starts laughing, realizing that Quinn, of all people was making a joke. Mal puts her arms around both Quinn and Gabby.
"Well, what are we waiting for? You two have a lot of our work to do."
With that, the six students head off to the library.
(Hogwarts after the War)
Well, I'm finally finished with this chapter. Thank you again for everyone who has read the story. Stay tuned for new chapters!