A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! And thank you to those who added this to their Story Alerts! I'm already thinking of more ideas for this story, and if you couldn't already tell, this story follows Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone. So if you didn't already know, now you do! Cheers!

Chapter 4: Trying Out and Finding Out

The first week of school went by fairly well, I managed to lay low and not attract any attention to myself. The next week was a warm Friday afternoon, and I was sitting under a tree near the lake with Edmund and Haley, doing homework. Well, they were helping each other while I was trying to figure out what to do for the try outs tomorrow afternoon. This would be my first official job as captain of the team. I was afraid that the others wouldn't be happy I was given this position, since I had only been on the reserve team and only filled in for a few games over the years. The others had full-time playing experience and all worked together really well, where I was the odd one out-at least until we got the final additions to our team.

The next morning I went to the library to get some homework done before getting ready to hold try outs. I sat at one of the tables nearest to the back, but not too close to the Restricted Section. With my books spread out on the table, I took notes, wrote in the margins, and did the three inches I needed done for Transfiguration, and the two rolls of parchment for Potions. When I worked, my mind went blank, and nothing distracted me from unless someone grabbed me or yelled in my ear. Haley had to do this when it was lunch time, reminding me that I had to eat since I skipped breakfast, and also had to put all my stuff away. I thanked her and we walked to Ravenclaw Tower together. I answered the riddle that allowed us inside, and we ran up to my dorm so I could throw my bag onto my bed and fetch my Nimbus '98 before going down to eat.

I didn't eat much, too nervous at the fact that I would be in charge of something today. I'd never been one for leadership, but I supposed that as a Ravenclaw, I would figure something out eventually. The five of us-including William, holding onto Haley like a puppy-walked out of the castle and onto the grounds. Everyone left to go sit in the stands while I walked onto the field. There were already some students there, hanging about and talking. I saw some second years who looked nervous, and some third years who looked like thy were going to be sick. We always preferred to take second and third years on, so as the years went by, they were practically bred to be able to adapt to any situation. There was always at least one or two seventh years on the team no matter what, but last year had been the most we've ever had leave. Jeremy, the Chaser who's place I was taking, left along with David and Mark, the beaters. We also lost Gracie Willson as Seeker, but that was because she'd decided to pursue a career as a Healer instead of professional Quidditch, so she had quit the team to focus on school.

...

Surprisingly, the others had taken the news that I was captain fairly well. They congratulated me and said they'd work hard to make the team proud. We all changed into our Quidditch robes and went to meet the potential additions to the team.

Gabrielle, Roger, and Tom stood off to the side to watch while I stepped in front of the whole group.

I looked up into the stands and saw my friends sitting near the railing. I waved at them, then made to turn to the group. A lone figure leaning against the railing caught my eye, but I ignored it.

"Hello everyone! I'm Harmony O'Hare and I'm the captain of this team. We only need two Beaters and a Seeker this year, so everyone else who isn't trying out for those positions can clear off, alright? Maybe next year a position will open up. Now, the way we're going to do this is quite simple. The ones trying out for Beater will be put into pairs and you'll have to try to keep us Chasers from scoring, got it? But first, you're all going to run three laps around the pitch, and after that, you'll do some exercises. GO!" The crowd of kids went off running, keeping close to the wall.

While they were running, I went up to Tom and asked, "Do you think this is a good idea?"

"Are you kidding? None of use would have thought of this ourselves. Are we gonna be doing this at regular practices?"

I was about to reply, when I heard a yell. Looking over at the crowd of runners, I saw that a girl who'd been in the lead had tripped and fell, and more were falling over her. I ran across to them, screaming, "Stop! Stop running, you're all gonna hurt yourselves and someone else! STOP!" I reached the small pile of students who had fallen on top of each other. There were grunts and shouts of pain when someone stepped on a hand or elbowed a chin. Once everyone disentangled themselves, I squatted down to see the girl who'd fallen first.

"Are you ok?" I asked softly, helping her stand.

She grinned at me and said, "Yeah, I'm alright. My name's Cho Chang, I'm a second year."

I returned the smile, "Well Cho, you might wanna be more careful alright? Don't want something like this happening again." She nodded and I turned to everyone, telling them to continue their laps.

Once everyone was sorted, Tom and the others took off to their positions. I picked a pair of boys, then asked, "What're your names, boys?"

The tall one with brown hair and brown eyes said, "I'm Garrett Cadion, third year."

I nodded and looked to the other boy who was almost as tall and had black hair with blue eyes. "I'm Harold Summers, also a third year."

"Alright boys, you can kick off right now, and I'll release the Bludgers," I handed them the bats, "Don't starts swinging until I give you the signal. Oh, and don't hit us too hard if you can help it, please?"

Garrett and Harold grinned, then took off into the sky. I opened the trunk and undid the lock that released the Bludgers. I jumped back and watched them race into the air, zooming towards my team mates who had taken their positions, Gabrielle handling the Quaffle for the time being. I looked towards the others and said, "You're all going to be judged based on how well your aim is, and how well you work with other people trying out. For now, just sit back and watch until I tell you otherwise."

I was about to mount my broom and kick off, when a heavy hand landed on my shoulder. I turned around to see Oliver Wood. 'Ohh no...this isn't gonna be good.' I thought as he pulled me away from the group to the edge of the pitch.

Too scared to speak, I waited for him to open his mouth and say something. I looked up from the ground to peek at him, and saw he wore a mask of passiveness. Oliver sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Finally, Oliver asked, "Why did you lie?"

It was time to come clean. "I didn't want you to hate me just for being a captain."

Oliver studied me before saying, "I don't hate you for being a captain, O'Hare. I just don't know why you chose to hide it."

"I don't know..I've seen the way you are with Marcus Flint. You look like you're ready to decapitate him whenever you two cross paths. I guess I didn't want all that hate directed towards me, and I wasn't ready to be captain..I still don't think I am."

I heard Wood sigh, "The rivalry between Flint and I has been going on since the first day we met on the Hogwarts Express, O'Hare; our hatred towards each other isn't just about Quidditch. Look, I don't care that you're captain, alright? In all honesty, it's only going to make me push my team even harder, so we beat you. In reality, you're helping me."

"So you're not mad at me?" I looked up at him, nervous.

Oliver grinned and elbowed me lightly, "Nah, not anymore. We're still friends."

"Who said we're friends?"

His grin widened, "I do, and what I say, goes."

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, friends do favors for each other, right?"

Oliver nodded, looking at me suspiciously.

"Do me a favor Wood, and stop spying on my try outs. Unless you want me to go to yours?"

I smiled sweetly and waved as he pursed his lips and walked away. I re-mounted my broom and kicked off, feeling the wind push my hair and robes back. I grinned and flew faster to join Gabrielle and Roger, who were doing a good job at staying away from the Bludgers Garrett and Harold were trying to hit them with. I hovered in the air and observed with a grim smile that while Harold had strength, Garrett had far better aim. Deciding that I would talk with the others about this, I flew to catch the Quaffle Roger had tossed up. Gabrielle was right below me, and Roger just flew up and to my right. We flew on to where Tom was, tossing the Quaffle from one Chaser to another, and dodging Bludgers whenever needed.

With a grin, I realized that I fit in with Gabrielle and Roger, they were teaching me the tricks and formations they used to do with Jeremy. So far, I seemed to be getting things right.

After practicing with another 2 pairs of Beaters, I blew the whistle around my neck and called out, "Gabrielle, Tom, and Roger! C'mere!"

My three team mates flew towards me while the pair we had been working with, James and Candace, flew down to the ground. I looked at them and said, "We need to pick two of these to be on the team. Who did you guys like best?"

Gabrielle answered first, "I think that Garrett kid was really good, his aim was nearly perfect."

Tom piped up, "Harold had a ton of strength, but can't aim to save his life. Who knows if practice will help him improve. That girl Candance honestly had no business being here, it was horrible watching her miss the Bludger so many times."

I nodded and said, "What about Morgan? She was surprisingly strong. I didn't think she had it in her."

"Morgan was pretty good," Roger said with a thoughtful look on his face, "But how well do you think she'd work with Garrett?"

It was clear after having Garrett and Morgan work together that they would be phenomenal together. As we landed, I announced, "Ok everyone, I just want to thank you all for coming to try out. Now we're going to see who'll be our newest Seeker."

A number of kids stiffened or shifted around anxiously, I could tell they'd been waiting for this moment. "Alright you lot, I'm going to release the Snitch, and whoever catches it first will be our new Seeker, plain and simple. No pulling other people by the twigs of their brooms, no shoving or elbowing. I'll be following you all to make sure it doesn't happen, ok?"

The kids nodded and readied themselves. Cho sent me a bright smile and then mounted. I walked to the trunk and opened the small case the Snitch was in. It immeadietly flew up and around in circles. I waited a few seconds, then signaled to the group to go after it. They shot up like a flock of birds, and I went up after them. Some stayed in small groups while others flew around and around, trying to get a glimpse of the tiny golden ball. Suddenly someone started diving towards the ground, then everyone did the same. I flew over to see who was in the lead, and saw that it was Cho Chang.

Suddenly, she pulled out of her dive-very quickly, too- and shot straight back up into the air. A few of the kids who had been trailing her hadn't been able to stop as quickly and ended up crashing into the ground. I cringed as I saw one boy get up, holding a bleeding nose in his hands. Hearing a shout, I looked back down and saw that everyone was diving to the ground again. I flew over to make sure no one else got hurt, but found I was too late. Dropping towards the ground and hopping off my broom as it was still speeding towards everyone, I ran over to the group of students all huddled in a circle. Pushing my way through to the middle, I asked, "What's happened? Has anyone else been hurt?"

"No," breathed a small girl next to me, "She caught the Snitch."

I followed her gaze and saw Cho Chang curled up in a ball, with her hands tucked into her chest. Kneeling down, I spoke softly, "Are you alright?"

She groaned and opened her eyes to look at me. "I tried doing the Wronski Feint again, but it didn't work this time. Guess I misjudged how far from the ground I was." She slowly uncurled her hands and opened her left one, revealing the Snitch and a broken wrist that was steadily growing and turning red.

With a grin of disbelief, I helped her up for the second time that day and said, "Well you need to be more careful if you're ever going to keep out of the hospital wing. Otherwise you'll have to miss matches and we'd had to find a reserve Seeker."

Cho grinned and nearly fell over in excitement because she started jumping up and down. I chuckled and called everyone over to us. "Everyone, can I have your attention? Again, thank you for trying out, I really appreciate the fact that you're all passionate about this sport and love it. Let me now introduce the newest additions to the Ravenclaw House Quidditch team, Garrett Cadion and Harold Summers as our Beaters, and Cho Chang as our Seeker! I hope you'll all show your support at our matches!" Everyone clapped and congratulated Garrett, Harold, and Cho. Some kids grumbled in annoyance, but they quickly left the pitch. I looked over at Tom, Gabrielle, and Roger. They all seemed pleased with the newest additions, and that made me feel like I'd done something right. 'Maybe I can do this. Maybe Jeremy did make the right choice.'

A/N: Thank you to everyone who's read this. Reviewing would be nice, it's what keeps me writing, it's really all for you guys. :)