Chapter 4: Quidditch Tryouts
After tea with Hagrid, Albus had a lot to think about. Were Scorpius and Kerissa really bad people? Or were they like him, and in a house they didn't belong in. But Albus didn't have much time to think about it, as a new class was starting - Flying, with Hufflepuffs. And Albus wanted to learn to fly more than anything else.
At three thirty in the afternoon, Albus went to Flying Lessons with the rest of the Slytherins. When they arrived on the field, there were three boys from Hufflepuff already there, and thirty broomsticks. The boys were talking among themselves.
"Oh, yes. I've flown a broom before you know. My Great Grandfather was a beater for the Caerphilly Catapults. It's in the blood, you see? I know they don't usually let first years on the team, but oh yes I'm sure they'll let ol' Foxworth Dewhurst on. I'm the best there is you see?" said the tallest boy.
"The Catapults?" asked the stout boy next to him. "Why Foxy, I never knew!"
"Oh yes, I don't like to brag about it." said Foxy.
"Your father was Welsh? That IS a surprise."
"O'viously you don't know him very well." the shortest boy said. "You can' take one good look at im' and tell e's Welsh."
"Oh, shut it Bilbo." said Fox.
"He's got a point though." said the stout one. "You DO look Welsh. I always said that Fox Dewhurst looked welsh. But I never said anything. My mum always taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
The three Hufflepuff boys were so into their conversation, that they didn't notice when Madam Bell came in. She was fairly young, with long brown hair. Albus new that Madam Bell had played with his father on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.
"Alright class. Today we're going to be learning to fly. Let's start with the basics. Everyone. Stand next to a broomstick."
Albus picked the nearest broom. It was old and tattered. It looked like it had been there since the days of his father, maybe even longer.
"Stick out your right hand over your broom," instructed Madam Bell at the front, "and say 'Up!'"
Albus called "Up!" and his broom jumped into his hand at once, and it was one of the few that had. Kerissa had managed to get her broom into her hand on the first try as well, but Rose's broom was as stationary as ever. Scorpius hadn't had any more luck than Rose with his own broom. And the three boys from Hufflepuff that had gotten to class early were struggling even more than Rose.
Madam Bell next showed them all the proper way to mount a broomstick, so that they wouldn't fall off the end. She then walked up and down the rows correcting everyone's grip. Albus and Kerissa were both told that they seemed like naturals, and Albus was quite proud of that. When Madam Bell told Fox that he was doing it all wrong, Albus suppressed a giggle. All that boasting, Albus figured, must have been for show. He half-wondered if Fox's Great Grandfather really played for the Catapults, or if he had made that up as well.
"Now when I blow the whistle, you kick off from the ground hard," said Madam Bell. "Keep your broom steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. Ready? One.. Two... Three."
The whistle blew, and everyone kicked off according to Madam Bell's instructions. Albus felt a rush of adrenaline flowing through him. He was hovering above the ground on a broomstick! He couldn't believe it. This had been the moment he was waiting for. He looked to see how the other students were doing, before finally landing back on the ground. Albus was pleased with how well his first lesson went. Unlike most of the other first years, his first ride wasn't bumpy at all. In fact, it felt quite natural.
The next couple of days went by pretty quickly, and with each new flying lesson Albus felt more and more at home on a broomstick. He had started neglecting some of his homework to spend more time learning to fly. He lost five points for Slytherin for being unable to name the purpose of "Pewter Oil". But his lessons had paid off, and by the end of the week, he felt comfortable enough to go down to the Quidditch Pitch with the rest of the first years, to try out for the Slytherin Team. It was a tradition in most houses for first years to try out, but rarely did any of them make it. Kerissa, Rose, and Scorpius came along as well.
Owen Keegan, a tall black haired boy who was in his fifth year, was the captain of the Slytherin team. He looked very intimidating, and Albus was sure that he'd tell the first years to leave. However, he was surprised when Owen asked everyone to show him their flying skills. He said that he wanted a winning team this year, as well as the next two years, and that he'd give everyone a chance to show that they could fly.
The first years were up first. Any that couldn't fly would immediately be eliminated. That would be most of them, as few of them had enough practice like Albus had. Or even Kerissa for that matter. Both of them had flown around the Quidditch Pitch like they had been flying all of their lives. And in the end, Keegan decided that it was good enough to warrant a tryout.
"What position will you be playing for?" asked Albus.
Kerissa smiled. "Chaser. It's what I played in Little League. What about you?"
"Seeker. My dad played that position, and my brother plays it too. I figure that it might be the position I'm best at as well."
Kerissa smiled at him, and wished him luck. He'd need it if he were going to make it on to the house team.
After the seventh years flew their rounds, it was time to play for the first position. The Beaters.
Albus and Kerissa watched several boys try out for the position of Beater in the stands with the other Slytherins. Only two beaters stood out among them all - Turner and Barnes. Both were given positions on the team, and both were sixth year students. According to Piper, who had joined the first years in the stands, Turner and Barnes had been on the team the three previous years as well.
Next up were the chasers. There would only be two chasers chosen, as Owen was one himself. A few of the chasers that tried out before Kerissa stood out. Lestrange, Marlowe, and Winchester were all three very good. Lestrange had managed to miss only two goals against the stand-in Keeper. Marlowe missed three, but made one of the more difficult shots. And Winchester made all but two of his shots as well. Kerissa looked nervous. She was the last Chaser to try out. She was also the only girl trying out for the team. Some of the Slytherin students, lead by Peyton Pratt, started booing her as she made her way to the pitch. But Piper shouted words of encouragement, and Scorpius and Rose soon followed. The words of her friends seemed to cheer her up enough to focus on her tryout.
After Kerissa made her first goal, some of the booing stopped. She wasn't as bad as they thought she would be. Then she made her second shot, and the boos quieted even more. After making the third, fourth, and fifth shot, things were looking very good for Kerissa. After eight shots, she had not missed once, and Owen was smiling. Even some of the older Slytherin students started cheering her on. Though Peyton Pratt was not one of them. After her tenth shot, she hadn't missed a single one, and she was immediately named to the team - the first girl to be on the Slytherin Quidditch team ever, not to mention one of the few first years to play. Albus clapped hard for her, but he secretly felt that this drastically lowered his chances for being on the team. The other chaser, Winchester, was named to the team as well.
"Congratulations!" said Piper to Kerissa. "Nice to see a girl on the team for once!" Kerissa smiled before heading back to help with the Keeper tryouts.
Owen had asked her to shoot against the practice keepers. She had done such a good job in tryouts, that he had wondered if anyone could block her shots.
The Keeper tryouts seemed to last forever. They were the last tryouts before a seeker would be chosen. This gave Albus too much time to get nervous. Two first years on a team. That was unfounded. Surely Owen would tell him not to bother. And the booing. Peyton Pratt and his friends would surely boo him. Was it really worth it to tryout?
Kerissa kept scoring against whatever Keeper was thrown up against her. The way she continued to score had impressed even some of Peyton's friends. Finally, the last of them came through, and Donahue managed to block three of Kerissa's shots. He had been by far the best Keeper to tryout for Slytherin, and he was quickly named to the team. Now all that was left was the seeker.
Albus was nervous. Piper had told him all about their last seeker. A seventh year student named Cunningham. Cunningham was planning on trying out for the major leagues after he got out of Hogwarts. Though he had only caught the snitch four times in his four years playing, he was considered a great seeker. Albus walked up to the pitch with the rest of those trying out for the position. It would be no easy task beating Cunningham. Or any of the others, for that matter. But he was going to give it his best.
Owen explained how the seeker tryouts would go. He told them that whoever caught the snitch would be the new seeker. Albus looked to be going up against six other students. They were all older than he was. And much more experienced. Albus was sure that Cunningham was his stiffest competition, however. Beating him would require more than just good flying.
Owen released the Snitch, and after ten minutes the would-be seekers were told to find it. Albus took a deep breath. He'd just have to try his hardest. No shame in failing. Not many first years made the Quidditch team. To have two on the same team would be a shock to everyone. He kept telling himself that, knowing that it wouldn't be too big of a deal if he didn't make it this year. There'd always be next year.
After flying around for five minutes, Cunningham made a quick dive for the snitch. Two of the other players - Burgess and Underhill - dived after him. But he pulled up at the last minute, and the two of them hit the ground. He had quickly eliminated some of the competition with a simple feint. But Albus hadn't take his eyes off the field for a second. He had to see the snitch for himself. He wouldn't dive for it until he did. He knew that Cunningham would be using such tactics. Especially as talented of a flier as he was.
Cunningham continued knocking out his competition, grabbing the broom of one of the other players and knocking him over. Albus decided to stay away from Cunningham after that. But he doubted that Cunningham considered him a threat. It was just between himself, Cunningham, and a fourth year who was hoping to get a spot on the team.
Then, he saw it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the snitch fly right behind Cunningham. Albus knew that he couldn't make a dive for ti now, not with Cunningham so close. He knew Cunningham would immediately notice what he was going for. He had been closely watching the other players just as Albus had been.
Albus pretended to be looking elsewhere on the field, while keeping a close eye on the snitch. It had zoomed past Cunningham now, and was flying closer and closer to Albus. He knew that this was his chance. His only chance. He waited until the other seeker was in position, to start his dive for the snitch. Albus was only slightly closer - but he thought it should be enough of a lead. Albus dove toward s the real snitch. Cunningham ahd spotted him, as had the seeker that had been following him. All three players were diving for the snitch. But Cunningham was wedged behind the other seeker, slowing him down. Albus leaned forward, and casually grabbed the snitch. He then landed gracefully met by applause from Owen and Piper. Peyton and his friend s didn't look too happy though. Nor did Cunningham. "No way a first year flies that good." Albus heard him say as he ran toward the rest of the team.
"Congratulations, Potter!" Keegan said. "looks like Slytherin will have two first years this year!"
Though Keegan and Piper seemed happy to have Albus and Kerissa on the team, the other Slytherins weren't so happy. Including teammates Turner and Barnes. But the team was set. And nobody could argue that even with two first years, that this looked to be the best Slytherin team in years.
"I'll write to Professor Pardayle to get the two of you permission to have a broom. You'll have to get one, or else use one of the old school brooms. I'd recommend something from the Nimbus series. Not too expensive, and good enough for a Hogwarts Quidditch game." Keegan told them. "I have an X16 myself."
As they walked back to the castle with Keegan, they ran into the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
"Slytherin must be desperate." said James. "Two first years? Not enough muggle-born haters to be on the team?"
Rickwell, the Gryffindor captain laughed. "Looks like we'll be winning the Quidditch cup this year!"
"We'll see about that!" snipped Keegan. "We've got a winning team this year. Especially if you're underestimating our first years."
The team headed back to the Slytherin dungeons together. For the first time, Albus felt like he belonged to Slytherin. Keegan and Piper were both very nice people. It seemed that, though they were rare, there were some nice Slytherins.
Albus finished up his report on Pewter Oil for Professor Longbottom, and then headed for bed. Still weighing heavy on his mind was what James had said. "Muggle-born Haters" he called Slytherin. Were Kerissa and Scorpius as prejudiced as James thought? Or were they, like Keegan and Piper, good people? He wanted to find out for himself. But he wasn't sure how.
