A/N: So here it is, Chapter 6. First off, as usual, thank you to all who read my story and put it on their favorites or some kind of story alert. I cannot express how much this means to me, so thank you very much! Second, I know that this chapter is rather long, but this should make up for the shorter chapter last time. Also, those chatterbox second years just refused to shut up :) Third, rereading that last chapter I noticed some horrible spelling mistakes and tense switching. I don't have a beta (not that that's an excuse) and I really wanted it up, so I didn't edit. That's fixed from now on. I PROMISE. Anyway, I'm on vacation at that moment in a place that only has internet in certain surrounding areas, so the next chapter is already part way written and will be up much sooner. Thank you for reading and please, RECCOMEND and REVIEW! Much love, Tarquin

Anything you recognize (including characters, setting and base plot) belongs to J.K Rowling

"Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am,

bigger and stronger too, maybe

but none of them will ever love you the way I do...

oh you've got a friend in me."

-You've Got A Friend in Me

Wind rushed into my face as I soared through the air, a quaffle clutched tightly underneath my arm. Fred whooshed towards me and made a pass for the quaffle, trying to punch it out from underneath my arm. He cocked his arm back and I quickly whipped the quaffle out from under me and hurled it at Charlie, who caught it neatly as he raced up the field.

"Kids! Dinner!" called Mrs. Weasley, sticking her head out the door. I raced to catch up with Charlie, and he passed me the ball again, allowing me to be the one to score through the makeshift goal.

"I mean it!" Mrs. Weasley called again. Grinning, I touch back down on the ground. Only Mrs. Weasley's cooking could get me off the broom at this time of night. The sun was almost set, but was lighting everything up in a brilliant gold that snuck through three leaves, dappling the long grass.

"Nice job today." said Charlie, landing beside me. I only met him a few days ago, but I can already tell that he's the kind of person I could trust with anything. He's on a two week vacation at the moment, from his job in Romania working with dragons. At first I didn't quite believe that was his job, but the long burns and scars on his muscled forearms stopped all further disbelief.

"Thanks!" I replied, genuinely pleased. According to the Weasleys, Charlie was an amazing seeker, but he was playing Chaser to help me practice. He was pretty good at it as well.

"You've gotten really good." said George, landing next to us.

"Yeah, almost as good as George and I." said Fred, touching down next to his twin and pushing the hair out of his eyes. I punched him lightly in the arm as we made our walk back into the house.

The kitchen is was brightly lit and tightly packed, with heat radiating not only from the people milling around, but the steaming plates of Mrs. Weasley's cooking that had just been placed on the table.

"Wash your hands!" Mrs. Weasley told us as we entered the room. We did as we were told before sitting down at the table to eat. I took my seat in between Fred and George, while Charlie went up the table to sit next to Mr. Weasley. Mr. Weasley was a kind man, quickly balding, but the hair he had left was as fiery as his children's. He had a fascination with muggles that I didn't quite understand, but I always answered his questions as accurately as I could. Down the table towards the left sat Percy, a soon to be fourth year at Hogwarts. He had an uppity attitude and horn rimmed glasses, but a funny kind of vulnerability that made me not hate him on the spot, like I did most people with his outward persona.

"Have you all finished your packing?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she sat down, and the mad grab for the food began.

"Mostly." I said, while Fred and George stuffed food in their mouths to avoid having to answer the question. I nudged them both under the table. I knew that they hadn't done a thing.

"Ow!" I exclaimed softly as Fred stamped on my foot beneath the table. Mrs. Weasley gave me a questioning look.

"Oh, just bit my tongue. I'm okay, nothing to worry about." I said hastily. Mrs. Weasley narrowed her eyes at Fred and George, but allowed herself to be drawn into a conversation with Percy.

"Nice save." George muttered from the corner of his mouth, before diving back into his potatoes.

"So, are you excited to go back to Hogwarts?" Charlie asked me.

"I can hardly wait." I replied earnestly.

"Can you take me with you?" the little red head across the table from me asked. Ron, who, at 10, was the youngest Weasley boy, and filled with a sense of injustice that he had to wait another full year before going.

"I wish I could, " I said, "but I think Dumbledore would know, and then we'd both be in big trouble."

"He doesn't miss a thing." Charlie agreed, and Ron looked down at his food, annoyed, even though he had known the answer before he asked.

"Well, at least it's next year for you," piped up Ginny, "I have to wait TWO full years." Ginny was the youngest member of the family, and the only girl. But neither of those two things stopped her from ever loudly voicing her opinion.

"Well, it sucks to be you then, doesn't it?" said Ron, getting some of his energy back as the chance to tease his sister opened up.

"Yeah, it does, especially because I'm stuck here with you!" Ginny retorted. Fred, George and I burst out laughing as Ron's ears turned a bright embarrassed red.

"Nice one Ginny." said George, reaching across the table to give his sister a high five.

"Kids..." said Mr. Weasley, some what distractedly. On the table was a battery, a lightbulb, and a few wires that Mr. Weasley was fiddling with. He looked up and saw me watching.

"You don't in fact, know how this all goes together, do you? I'm trying to make the lightbulb light up."

"Sorry, Mr. Weasley, I don't. We did those when I was about eight, and anyways, that was the class where some kids thought it would be fun to whip batteries at me, so I was too busy ducking to pay attention to the actual lesson."

"Why? Those don't look like they would hurt." Fred said, eyeing the battery.

"Trust me, they can," I said. "see this scar here?" I asked, pushing my hair back to show him a small jagged scar right below my hairline.

"Yeah." he said, after taking a second to locate the injury.

"That's where one of them hit." I said bluntly, before returning to my meal. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. It was George, with a look of concern on his face. On my other side, Fred had the same look.

"Why would they do that?" George asked, a note of confusion in his voice.

"They don't like freaks." I responded.

"You aren't a freak." Fred countered quickly, and at once I remembered a similar conversation we had had on the Hogwarts Express last year.

"Maybe not to you, but to them I still am." I said, returning to my meal. Thankfully, Fred and George dropped it, and the conversation turned to other, light hearted things and joke cracking that made my sides hurt from laughing too hard.

An hour later we were all cleaned up from dinner and dessert, and I was feeling absolutely stuffed. Everyone was sitting in the comfy living room, sprawled in arm chairs or spread on the floor. From my position in an arm chair, I looked out the window and I could see the stars, twinkling out from the dark sky. Staring at them, I felt a sudden urge to go out and touch one. For the first time in a year, I felt a pull in my stomach that I associated with Change. I looked down, startled. It couldn't happen again. It wouldn't. I had to keep it hidden. Dumbledore had said that he didn't know of another witch or wizard who could do it. And if Dumbledore didn't know what to make of it, I sure wasn't going to fool around with it. I was unashamed to admit to myself that I was scared.

"You wanna go back out and play?" Fred asked, interrupting my train of thought. I glanced up at him quickly, meeting his eyes. His face was shining with anticipation.

"Yeah!" I said, sitting up and lacing up my shoes. George stood up to, and we almost got out the door before Mrs. Weasley spotted us.

"And where do you three think you're going?" she asked, from the seat where she was braiding Ginny's hair.

"Um, out to play some Quidditch." mumbled George, staring at his feet.

"No you're not. I know you two have barely packed a sock! You guys better get going if you don't want to wake up at three in the morning. Upstairs! Go!" she told them. For a moment it looked like they might retort, but she fixed them with a glare that gave them no choice but to retreat sullenly upstairs. I remained in the door frame, unsure what to do.

"You can stay Aurelia," said Mrs. Weasley kindly, tying an elastic around Ginny's hair with a final flourish, "you're packed." I smiled at her before resuming my seat, and my worries.

Steam billowed from the red train, curling around the people standing on the platforms like lovers. I walked close behind George, careful not to lose his figure in the steam. The last thing I needed was to get separated from them. At last we reach a door to the train that was not already being crowded by students and parents.

"All right dears," said Mrs. Weasley, turning to us, "have a good term." she began to go down the line, hugging Percy, George, me and Fred in turn. When she was done she fixed me and the twins with a firm stare.

"You three make sure that you stay out of trouble."

"Yes Mrs. Weasley." I said, giving her another hug and trying not to feel to guilty as the corner of the Marauder's Map pressed into my rib cage from where it was tucked away in my jacket's inside pocket. I gave the Weasley boys a minute alone with their mum as I heaved my trunk onto the train. I clambered up after it, and Fred and George appeared with their trunks.

"Where's Percy?" I asked, startled that he had disappeared so fast.

"Don't know, don't care." they said together as they climbed up onto the train.

"Come on, let's go find an empty compartment." Fred said, and we began walking along the crowded corridor as the train began to move, and the students all flocked to the the windows in order to wave one last goodbye to the parents still standing on the platform.

"Come on, this ones open!" said Fred, sliding the glass door open and stepping inside. We put our trunks up over our heads and flumped into seats, me across from Fred and George.

"Hey guys!" Lee Jordan, a fellow friend in Gryffindor said, flying into the compartment and taking a seat next to me.

"Hi Lee!" I said, happy to see the familiar dreadlocks and large smile.

"How was your summer?" George asked.

"Downright boring." Lee responded immediately.

"So was most of mine." I said. Before we could get any further in our conversation however, Alicia Spinnet opened the glass door and took a seat next to George.

"Hey everyone!" she said, tucking a stray piece of light brown hair behind her ear.

"Hi!" we all chorused back. I gave her an extra smile, which she returned. Although I knew that I would never be close with her the same way that I was with Fred and George, but it was nice to have another girl around. Sometimes when the boys decided to burp the alphabet, the Y chromosome was a little too much to handle.

"Are you going to try out for the Quidditch team Lee?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"I love the game, but I don't think so. I prefer just flying around when I get on a broom. I'm thinking about commentating though, you know that the girl who commentated last year left."

"That would be cool." I said earnestly.

"Yeah, it's perfect for you." Alicia added in.

"Because you talk way too much." said Fred. Lee reached across to hit him, but good-naturedly. He knew he talked a lot.

Just then, a group of Slytherin boys who were in our year walked past. I recognized Warrington, Montague and Derek Xavier. They were talking in loud voices, boasting about their summer holidays spent in sunny places, meeting celebrities and buying expensive toys.

"Of course, now I have to get ready for Quidditch tryouts." continued Warrington.

"We won't have to try too hard though, I mean last year, Professor Snape all but guaranteed me a spot." drawled Montague loudly. They spotted us all glaring at them, as well as the broom shaped packages stored over our heads. They smirked as they sauntered past, but not before Warrington could get in a jab at the twins.

"And we have the best equipment too, we don't have to settle for anything less than the best. Unlike those Weasleys, who can only scrape together enough money to buy halfway decent brooms." he said, with one last smirk before walking off to catch up with his friends. I whipped around to look at Fred and George knowing that they would be angry.

However, anything that I had imagined in the split second before I saw their faces was way off. They looked furious. As one they stood up, wands out.

"No! You can't!" I said, standing up and pushing them back down into their seats.

"Why not?" growled Fred, as he tried to stand again.

"Because it isn't worth it!" I said, shoving him back down again.

"If I get to punch the prick, I'd call it worth it." said Fred.

"So would I." said George, standing with his twin again and trying to push past me. This time it worked. I fell back into my seat as they made their way to the door. Alicia, quick as lightning stood, blocking the door, halting their progress. They might feel comfortable enough shoving me around, but they would never push Alicia around. I couldn't see their faces, but I could picture their mutinous glares. Alicia, to her credit, didn't even flinch.

"You should listen to Aurelia." she told them, holding on to the door handle behind her back.

"Why?" asked George.

"Because she's right. It's Warrington. He's a stupid idiot, and besides, that was a lame attempt at an insult. It was horribly delivered, disregarding the fact that no one cares about a second year Slytherin's bad attempts at cleverness. It isn't worth it." Neither of them had anything to counter that. Both cast rueful glances back at me in my seat. I stuck my tongue out at them.

"I'm right." I said, careful to keep the tiny gloat from escalating their tempers more. Thankfully, however, it seemed to do the trick. They took their seats again, wiping most of the anger off their faces. George looked at me, still sitting a little haphazardly, an effect of being pushed down.

"Sorry." he said.

"Don't worry about it." I said, straightening up, and looking out the window at the green fields and the crisp blue sky. The rest of the train ride zipped past, filled with summer troublemaking stories, a few games of Exploding Snap, and more Quidditch statistics recited. Finally, we had our black robes on and the train reached a stop.

The excitement that I had managed to keep under control the whole day suddenly bubbled up inside me, and I was unable to control it.

"Come on!" I said, grabbing Fred and George and fighting my way out onto the platform. Once out in the night, I looked around, eager to see Hogwarts.

"You can't see the castle from here." Fred mocked gently as we were moved along by the crowd.

"I know." I said.

"Then why were you looking around for it?" he asked.

"I wasn't! I was—I was—I'm just excited to be back okay?" I said defensively.

"Okay. I was just teasing you know, I'm excited to be back too."

"Which way do we go?" asked George.

"I have no idea, I'm just following the crowd." I told him. We continued to walk in the direction that all the elder kids were walking, ignoring Hagrid's calls of "First years this way! First years 'oer here!"

"Isn't it exciting that we aren't first years anymore?" said George as we exited the station and walked along a dirt road guarded by large oaks.

"Yeah!" said Fred, "especially because now we know all the nooks and crannies of the place—you still got the map Aurs?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"'Course I have, you think that I trust Filch? No way he doesn't at least peek at some of the luggage." I said as the trees stopped and the road opened out into a much larger road, filled with carriages. People were climbing into the carriages, and when they were filled, the old carriage would begin to move, pulled by an invisible force.

"Wow. I love magic." I breathed. Fred and George both laughed.

"C'mon, let's grab one." Fred said, and thanks to our abilities to weasel through crowds, we were able to sit down in an empty carriage with relative ease. Lee and Alicia came out of the throng next, and spotting us, climbed up into the carriage.

"Okay," I said, ignoring the one empty seat left, "let's go."

"Hold on a second," said Fred, "hey Angelina!" he yelled to a familiar tall girl with a few glimmering beads woven into her dark hair.

"Hey!" she replied. I tried not to look stunned. I knew that Fred had always gotten along with Angelina better than I did (it wasn't like that was too hard) but he usually didn't make me stomach her.

"We've got an extra seat, come sit with us?" he asked her.

"Sure!" she called back, and the next minute found her sitting across from George. As soon as she was seated, the carriage began to glide effortlessly, following the carriage in front of it that was filled with sixth year Ravenclaw girls.

"How was your summer?" George asked her. I wished that there was someway I could ignore the response and look out at the scenery, but I was sandwiched in between Fred and George and had no where to look other than across from me at Lee, who actually interested in Angelina's answer.

I rolled my eyes at Alicia, who only gave me a sort-of pitying grin. She knew how much Angelina bothered me, because not only did she live in the same room as us, Angelina got on her nerves as well. Though not nearly as much as me.

The carriage trundled along at a reasonably steady pace, and soon we were in front of Hogwarts, the lights from the towers giving shape to the dark castle against the violet sky. I kept my eyes fixed on the horizon behind Lee, which allowed me to zone out of the conversation very effectively, and in no time the carriage was coming to a halt outside of the castle. I was the first one out of the carriage and I sped into the entrance hall without so much as a backwards glance. As much as I hated to admit it, it bothered me a lot that the twins were on speaking terms with Angelina Johnson. It wasn't that I begrudged them other friends besides me, because already they were much more popular around the school than I was.

"Hey! What was that about?" Fred and George caught up with me as I took a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"What was what about?" I asked, trying to be as clueless as possible.

"You all but ran out of that carriage." said George, taking his usual seat on my right.

"Oh—I was just excited to get in here. I mean, doesn't it look amazing?" I said, looking around at the Great Hall. The enchanted ceiling above us was as dark as the sky outside, with stars winking happily. The hall itself was filled with chatter, as students filed in and took seats at their respective tables. The hall emitted a golden aura, as if it was happy that students were once again filling it with loud laughter and teachers were sitting again at the long head table at the front of the hall.

"Yeah, I guess. I just wish that these would fill up." said Fred, looking somewhat mournfully at the empty plate in front of him.

"How can you think about food right now? Aren't you excited to see the sorting?" I asked.

"Not really. I don't know any of those kids. I mean, when Ron and Ginny come I'll care, but right now, all I want is food." he looked hopefully at his plate, as if he hoped that the plate could hear him and grant his wish.

"Keep on dreaming." said George, snaking his arm in front of me so he could hit his brother.

"Don't pretend like you aren't hungry either." said Fred.

"Of course I am, but that doesn't mean that I'm gonna stare at my plate like an idiot."

"Guys, be quiet! It's starting!" I said, pointing to the golden doors that had just opened to reveal Professor McGonagall with the usual batch of first years. All of them had varying degrees of nerves on their faces as they surveyed us, the enchanted ceiling or just started straight ahead, focusing on not tripping over their own feet. It seemed to take them forever to walk the length of the hall to the aged Sorting Hat. When they were all gathered and the hall was silent, the Sorting Hat began it's song of the Four Houses. The first thing I noticed was that it was different that the one that it had sung last year. Even though I had been too nervous to pay careful attention, I would still remember the way that the hat sang of each house, managing to put a positive spin on all of them, even Slytherin.

"That's not the same song as last year!" hissed Lee Jordan from two seats down and across the table.

"Well, it sings a new one every year, doesn't it?" said a dreary voice from behind me. I spun around to see the misty form of Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor Ghost.

"How does it come up with them?" asked Alicia.

"How does it sort you?" Nick asked her immediately, with an irritated snap in his voice that said he had had this conversation times beyond counting.

"Well, I—I—I guess that—." stammered Alicia, caught off guard by the question.

"It is because it has a mind of it's own, a power given to it by the four founders of Hogwarts." said Nick, not bothering to keep annoyance out of his voice as the Hat sorted "Aster, Jacqueline" into Hufflepuff.

"How was she supposed to know that?" piped up George. Nick turned to him, annoyance turning into quickly mounting fury.

"If you listened at all to the background of the school, which the Sorting Hat provides, or even glanced in Hogwarts, A History—."

"Wait, people actually read that?" asked Fred incredulously, over the applause from the Ravenclaw table as "Banner, Nathan" took a seat.

"Yes, they do," said Nick, and I thought I could see his cheeks turning slightly opaque as he continued to whisper-yell, "some of us enjoying learning, obviously not you from the looks of it, but some consider education the most valuable gift that life ever could—." Nick's rant was cut off as his head fell from his neck, remaining attached by only a sliver of skin. We all stifled laughter as Nick, his expression half surprise, half anger pulled his head back onto his neck with one swift motion and began applauding with the rest of us as "Bell, Katharine" joined our table, a look of tightly controlled rage on his face. With one last angry glance at us, he floated away to hover next to a group of seventh years.

Without Nick to annoy, the rest of the Sorting passed much more slowly, and even though I wasn't in danger of drooling onto my plate as I suspected Fred was, I was supremely glad when the Sorting Hat was carried away and Dumbledore rose, extended his arms in a gesture of welcome and said "Enjoy."

At once, the plates in front of us filled with every kind of delicious food you could ever imagine.

"Thank god." Fred said, grabbing at once for several chicken wings.

"What? Not enough chocolate frogs on the train?" asked Alicia, laughing as she placed a piece of roast beef on her plate in a much more polite fashion.

"Guess not." said Fred, now reaching for the roast potatoes.

"I must have not had enough either, I'm starving." I said, talking around the big spoonful of sweet potato that I had just put into my mouth.

"Ugh, you know Aurelia, you have terrible manners." for the first time I noticed Angelina, sitting on Lee's far side. I considered throwing food in her face, but quickly decided two things. One, that the food was too good to be wasted on her face, and that I was in too good a mood to start something at the moment.

"Blame it on these two." was all I said, motioning at Fred and George who both looked up from their plates, startled away from their food.

"At least we're doing something right." said George.

"We are proud to take full responsibility." said Fred, slapping George a high five over my head. Angelina laughed along with the rest of them, but something in her dark eyes told me that she had meant to embarrass me, not have Fred and George show off. As the entrees faded into spectacular desserts, I began to feel slightly stuffed and very tired. Fred and George were cracking their usual side splitting jokes, and sitting here, with good food and people who cared about me and vice versa, I felt more at home than I had in a long time.

Dumbledore, having finished his meal rose from his seat. Immediately silence fell and the food vanished from the plates. The twins moaned a little but I was having none of it "oh don't pretend like you've had nothing to eat, both have you have eaten enough to feed an entire army." I muttered at them.

"Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts. And if you are returning, welcome back! Whether this is your first year or your last, we have another wonderful year of learning in store for you all. A few quick start of term notes before I send you off to bed though. First, all first-year students should note that the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden. Second, there is a list of forbidden items outside our caretaker, Mr. Filch's office that now contains some four hundred and thirteen items. I believe biting teacups, double duty Dungbombs and Exploding fireworks have been added. If you have any questions, please see the list or contact Mr. Filch himself. And finally, it is my happy pleasure to announce that we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, after the unfortunate accident in which Mr. Platts broke fifty bones in his body. Don't worry, he is well on the mend," said Dumbledore somewhat hurriedly as more than a few first-years looked around in alarm, "in the mean time I am happy to welcome Professor Hiddleston to the faculty." A weedy looking woman rose from her chair next to Professor Sprout. She had a nervous look on her thin face, and she nervouslytucked a stray piece of thin blonde hair behind her ear as the students applauded, reminding me of the gesture Alicia had done on the train.

Once she had sat back down with relief Dumbledore said "alright, off to bed! Goodnight!" and at once a mass exodus began. We had managed to depart the Great Hall and we walking up the same steps as last year when Scott intercepted us. Now in sixth year, his face had lost some of it's boyishness. He was with a tall blonde haired guy.

"Hey! Aurelia! Fred! George!" Scott said, catching up to us.

"Hey Scott!" we chorused back.

"You guys are trying out for the Quidditch team, aren't you?"

"How'd you know?" I asked as we continued walking.

"Madame Hooch sends the team a list of first years who are above average at flying. Plus, their brother is Charlie Weasley. How could they not be?"

"I guess that's right." I said, "I didn't no you played."

"Oh, I don't, but I am friends with Asher over here," he gestured to his friend, who smiled, "and he asked me to introduce him to you."

"Hey Asher." said Fred and George cheerfully as we reached the Fat Lady. He nodded a hello as Scott gave the password ("frozen lake") and we entered the warm common room. Asher turned so that we were in a small circle.

"I'm captain this year," he explained, "that's why I wanted to met the new talent. I just wanted to let you know that we're holding tryouts next Saturday, besides introducing myself. Let me know if you have any questions." His gray eyes crinkled as he smiled, bade us goodnight and walked up the stairs to the boys rooms.

"You know what that means." said George turning to us as soon as Asher had disappeared up the stone steps.

"No, what?" I asked, blind to whatever he was trying to say.

"We've been scouted!" said Fred happily.

"What does that mean?" I asked, still clueless.

"It means that we have a really good shot of getting on the team." as usual, George explained the concept I didn't get.

"I don't know about that. Maybe he was just talking to you guys. I mean, he did say he knew you cause of Charlie."

"He was talking to you too Aurelia! When are you going to get it in your head that you're actually good?"

"When I actually am. Goodnight guys, I'll see you in the morning." Without a backwards glance I headed up the girls staircase to my door which was now marked with a sign that said "second years." I had never been more excited to see pajamas in my life. All the other girls were already there, Penelope was pinning up a poster of her new favorite band and offered me a smile when I entered, while Angelina and Alicia were already in their four poster beds, red curtains drawn closed. Carefully, I slid the Marauder's Map into the nightstand drawer. Soon, I was in the same state as Angelina and Alicia, though I left one curtain open. I always did. I drew the covers around me, already close to sleep. As I lay there hunkered down in the covers, listening to Penelope get ready for bed and Alicia's steady breaths in the bed closest to mine, I breathed a sigh of relief at being back at Hogwarts. My last conscious thought before I fell asleep was that I was eternally grateful for hot water bottles.\

When you're nervous for something, time decides it doesn't like you anymore and speeds up. This was certainly the case for me, because next Saturday came way too fast and before I knew it I standing on the Quidditch pitch, broom clutched tightly in my hand, watching as Asher talked to his returning team mates. There weren't many. Besides Asher, who was a Chaser, there was Oliver Wood, a strong looking fourth year who played Keeper. I remembered watching him last year when I was in the stands. He was really good. The only other returning member was the Seeker, Jane Hart, a speedy looking seventh year with strong shoulders and a casual expression. They were both good enough that Asher wasn't bothering holding tryouts for their positions. That left open both Beater positions and two Chaser positions.

I looked around nervously at the other hopefuls. There were about ten in all, not a large turnout by anymeans, but enough people to make me more than slightly anxious.

"Are you nervous?" asked Angelina, coming up beside me on my right. Of course she was trying out, I thought resentfully. She was an amazing flyer and I knew in my heart that now there was only one Chaser spot left.

"Yeah, a little. Aren't you?" I asked her.

"Not at all. But you're right to be." She said, sweeping her hair into a long ponytail and walking away.

"Figures." I muttered under my breath, trying not to admit to myself that Angelina had succeeded at her goal. I was now extremely nervous, if not down right terrified.

"Alright guys," said Asher, finishing his conversation and addressing all of us, "since there aren't that many of you, we;re going to divide you up straight away. Now, if you're trying for Beater please come over here, you're up first." Asher had a calming voice, but I was still glad that I wasn't up first. I needed a minute. Fred, George and two other people walked up to Asher, while the rest of us took seats in the stands or on the ground. I sunk weakley into the grass, crossing my fingers for Fred and George.

Almost at once Asher had them up on the air, darting around like flies. To me it was obvious that Fred and George were the clear choices, the other boy was having trouble keeping his broom straight, and the girl kept missing the Bludgers. Fred and George, however, were like bullets, zooming around the field and batting the Bludgers back and forth with ease. Asher must have realized it too, because it wasn't very long after the individual excercises that he congratulated Fred and George. He called for a five minute break so that he could talk to the two rejects and the Chaser hopefuls could get ready. Fred and George came over to me, looking windswept and very pleased with themselves.

"Good job guys!" I said excitedly, trying to keep the nerves out of my voice.

"Thanks! Good luck Aurelia, I'll be back, but I gotta run to the bathroom." said George, giving me a quick hug before leaving the pitch.

"Good job!" I told Fred again, unable to say any thing else. Fred looked at me with concern.

"Are you alright Aurelia?" he asked.

"Yup! Never better! Why would you think something's wrong?" I asked, talking fast. Fred's frown only deepenend.

"Because you're bouncing up and down like an idiot, and I can read your mind." he said, drawing me over to a bench.

"No you can't." I said automatically.

"You're right," he admitted, "but I still know that you're freaking out."

"Only a little." I said.

"Right." he said, and I knew he didn't believe me at all. I continued bouncing on the balls of my feet for a moment while Fred watched, before he dropped his broom on the ground and faced me, putting his hands on my shoulders and forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Listen to me Aurelia. You are going to make this team. There is no way you couldn't. You're an awesome flyer and one of the best Chasers I've ever seen. Are you listening to me?" I nodded, unable to speak, transixed by his blue eyes. But I had heard every word he said.

"Aurelia, you are going to make this team. I know you will. I believe in you." he said. Before I could do anything but nod, Asher blew a whistle, calling all the Chasers out into the center of the field. Fred nodded at me, and I gave him a weak smile before joining Asher, along with the 5 other hopefuls.

Asher had us up in the air fast, on two lines of three, so that we were passing to one another as we raced up the field towards the goal posts. Angelina was on my line along with another fourth year boy, and as much as I didn't want to admit it, Angelina and I worked well together. I could see by the lines of her face that she was subtly trying to throw me passes that I would miss, or fake me out with a complex move, but I never missed a pass, and as time passed, she began to work more with me. Together we were leaving the fourth year in the dust.

After that Asher had Oliver get up in front of the goals. We would each get five shots, explained Asher, and we were trying to make as many as possible. The fourth year boy who was on our line only managed to sink one. I saw Angelina hid a smirk as she flew up in the air to begin her four for five trial. The girl in front of me only made three. Finally it was my turn.

I flew up into the air, a firm grip on the Quaffle and headed straight for Wood, he flew out to meet me, and at the last second I dropped my broom and flew under him, so that I had an easy shot on the center hoop. As I flew past him he managed a smile. "Nice move." he said. I managed to sink my next three shots as well, although Wood did give me a little trouble on the fourth one.

"One more Aurelia." Asher called. I nodded to show that I had heard. I zoomed straight for Wood again, and he flew out to meet me, a determined look on his face. I cocked my arm back, as if getting ready to throw at the center hoop. Wood continued coming at me though, he must know that I was faking. Desperate, I whipped the Quaffle at the left hoop a little later than I should have. I curved off and watched, breathless as Wood stretched his arms towards the Quaffle, fingers reaching...and missed. The ball flew through the hoop and I touched back down on the ground with a big sigh of relief. It was over. I didn't pay attention to the last person's tryout at all, I was too busy running over my tryout in my head and feeling an overwhelming sense of gratefulness, not only because I had done well, but because it was over. Asher didn't even need a minute to think. As soon as the last person had touched thr ground, he gathered us together.

"Thank you all for trying out, you all did a really nice job and it's obvious that you all care about the game. But now please congratulate Aurelia and Angelina on their excellent job, and on making the team!" I smiled so wide that I was worried my face would split. Angelina was grinning too, as the rest of the hopefuls gave us a few quick claps before walking dejectedley across the field.

"Good job guys." Jane and Oliver offered their congratulations before departing to the locker rooms to change out of their uniforms. I offered Angelina a thumbs up before turning around and sprinting towards Fred and George.

"I did it!" I said excitedley, as Fred lifted me up and swung me around as he always did.

"I told you so." he said.

"I know you did, thank you." I said seriously into his ear. I could feel him grin as he set me down so that George could sandwich me from behind.

"We did it! Guys, we're all on the team!" he said loudly from slightly above me.

"I know!" I said happily. And sandwiched in between the two of them, I was sure that this was moment, here, was going to be the best part of the whole year.