Every day, despite Eren's unwillingness, the two boys woke at 6:00 a.m., showered, ate breakfast, and reported to class. Their routine had become consistent over the past month, to the point that Eren's alarm clock was the sound of Levi arriving from the showers. Their mornings were so fluid; when Eren got dressed, Levi was making his bed. When the raven filled the pet bowls, Eren was brushing his teeth. The duo had become so in sync, they could tell what the other was doing based on the sun's position in the sky. Therefore, it was no surprise that the boys were thrown off when they received a very special announcement one morning in their Potions class.

The morning started off like any other; Levi awoke, took a shower, and got dressed while Eren bathed. They went about their normal routing of getting ready and went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Eren ate pancakes and peanut butter, like always, and Levi had his regular sliced ham, scrambled eggs, and toast. As the first years strolled towards their Potions classroom, they discussed trivial things. Eren pointed out a bird flying over the lake, Levi reminded him rather harshly that they see birds every day. Everything was normal. Unfortunately, that changed as soon as the boys entered the stone-walled classroom.

Excitement could almost be seen crackling through the air. The Gryffindor students had gleams of what looked like hunger in their eyes. Two kids were getting into a heated argument near the blackboard at the front of the room. Eren uncertainly shuffled a bit closer to Levi, ducking behind the raven's lean frame a bit.

"Um, what's going on?" the teal-eyed boy questioned, confusion lacing his tone of voice. The excitement coursing through the room energized the brunet, but he was not yet sure whether that was a good or a bad thing. Levi let out a small "tch" and started walking towards the blackboard, where many of the Potions students were gathered. Eren trailed behind him like an obedient puppy.

Once the raven rudely shoved enough people out of the way, the boys spotted a yellow paper that was taped to the flat surface of the board. As they neared it, they could just make out the title. In obnoxious, bold letters, it read: 'HELP NEEDED! Gryffindor Seeking Two First Years for the Quidditch Team! Apply for Try-Outs TODAY!' Trailing underneath the title was messily scrawled writing. Levi's eyes widened in realization as he read the unattractive flyer.

At that moment, Professor Hanji decided to launch herself out of her office and fly down the staircase leading to the main floor of the classroom.

"I see that my precious first years have spotted the flyer I made!" she squealed, rushing over to the short students. "Ah," Levi thought. "Now it makes sense." The professor urged her students to sit down, and Eren and Levi hastily took their seats at their usual worn lab table towards the front of the class.

"Now, something very important has just come up yesterday," the woman started, adjusting her glasses that were flashing wickedly. Eren gulped. "It has come to my attention, not only as the referee for Quidditch games, but also as the head of Gryffindor, that our house does not have the necessary amount of players to compete in the school's annual Quidditch Cup!" Loud whispers and murmurs broke through the classroom. Levi and Eren glanced at each other, no words spoken to understand what the other was thinking. "Why is she telling us?"

"Alright, alright, let's settle down," Hanji said ironically, seeing as the professor was practically vibrating with anticipation herself. "The reason behind our lack of players is quite tragic. Our Seeker from last year, Harilyn Bates, was a seventh year and has graduated. The other position open is a third Chaser. We originally had enough, but one of our players decided to transfer to Durmstrang." The professor had taken to walking around the classroom, using dramatic hand waves and movements to emphasize her point even further.

"Therefore, our team needed to hold another day of try-outs. Of course, because Gryffindor is so magnificent and amazing, we expected tons of competitors! Sadly, nobody showed up. It seems that we don't exactly have a generation of Quidditch players, thanks to the lull in broom production a few years back. But do not fret young'uns! I spoke with our dear Headmaster Erwin and arranged for a special exception to the rules! This year, our team will be allowed to recruit two first years!" Noise once again broke out in the small room, but this time it was even louder. Some kids cheered; others looked completely bored.

Eren glanced at Levi, expecting to see the usual impassive mask, and was greeted by an unexpected expression of wonder and happiness covering the raven's face. It was just slight; the boy's mouth quirked up the tiniest bit, and his eyes seemed to lose their severity, but Eren saw it nonetheless.

Professor Hanji flourished a stack of the bright yellow flyers that she had created, seeming to have pulled them from nowhere. She began making her way around the classroom, distributing them giddily.

"Oh yes, Franz, please come to tryouts! I'm sure you'd be a great Chaser. You're always chasing after Hannah, anyways!" the teacher laughed, moving on before the red-faced boy could say anything. "Nanaba, you're always quick to leave my class! Why don't you try out as the Seeker?"

Before long, Eren and Levi had received the ugly papers. The brunet felt an unsettling tingling in his stomach; although he loved Quidditch with a passion, he wasn't sure that he was ready to start competing so soon. As he read over the details of the flyer, he found that the tryout day was October 4th. That was this upcoming Friday, after school on the Quidditch pitch, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Out of the corner of his eye, Eren saw Levi scanning the paper intently. "He seems really into this," Eren thought uneasily. "He must really like Quidditch; he mentioned that he played before, and that he was a Seeker. He'll probably turn out to be the best Seeker a team could ask for…"

As if on cue, the raven turned to Eren, something akin to excitement and determination lighting his features. "Eren, we have to do try out. You said you were a Chaser once, no?"

Eren shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yeah, when we were reading about Quidditch last week…"

"This is perfect. We'll try out, I'll become Seeker, and you'll become the third Chaser."

"Yeah, sure…But, Levi—"

"How long has it been since you've played? Are you actually any good?"

"Um, I think I am, I played a few years ago, but—"

"Tch. That's not good enough. We'll have to go out and practice before Friday. Do you think they'll provide us with brooms? I didn't think to bring my own…"

"Levi!" Eren exclaimed, cutting off Levi's thought process. The raven turned to look at his partner's exasperated face with mild surprise, seeing as the brunet had learned in the past not to interrupt Levi. "I don't know if I can do this," Eren confessed, nervously glancing around the room. Professor Hanji's lesson had started already, but no one seemed to be paying any attention. Hell, even the professor looked like she was daydreaming about Quidditch. The yak tongue that she held kept slipping from her fingers as a faraway look clouded her face. Eren wondered briefly if the pink appendage was slimy.

"What could you possibly mean, you can't do this?" Levi questioned him outright, his eyebrows furrowing. "I don't understand."

"I'm nervous," Eren confessed, lowering his voice so as to not be overheard. Levi had to lean in just to hear the brunet's shaky words. "I haven't played in a long time. And even then, I only practiced with kids who were half my age! I'm probably terrible compared to all of these kids that are gonna try out…" Levi searched Eren's crestfallen face with a calculating look.

"That's odd," the raven announced, turning away from his partner uninterestedly. "I didn't know that Eren Jaeger was a loser." Eren's gaze instantly whipped to Levi, confusion overtaking his depressed state. "The Eren I met was a determined, hard-headed brat who would never take no for an answer," Levi continued, picking at his nails. "I wonder where he went."

"I'm right here, Levi!" Eren protested. "I've been here this whole time!" Eren's little outburst had no effect; Levi continued to survey his fingernails with boredom. The silver-eyed boy had to suppress a smirk. "Worked like a charm," he thought smugly.

"No, no, you can't possibly be the Eren I knew. He was never nervous, depressed, or scared," Levi put emphasis on the last word purposefully to rile his partner up. Of course, thanks to Eren being the hotheaded kid that he is, the jab worked perfectly.

"I'm not scared!" the brunet yelled, gaining a few looks from the other students. Noticing this, Eren lowered his voice and repeated "I'm not scared. Look, I'll try out, okay?" The fire that was temporarily lost had found its way back into Eren's teal eyes. His determination that was such a signature look on him was definitely back. "I'm gonna go out there and be the best Chaser that Gryffindor has ever seen!" Levi simply rolled his eyes at the declaration, but his smile was evident now.

"Now that sounds more like Eren Jaeger," he drawled.