Chapter Seven
Gryffindor Quidditch Tryouts
"Scorpius?" Albus was asking. "He was… well, not the last person, but definitely not the first person I'd suspect…"
It was nearly four o'clock as Courtney, Lynne, Albus, and Rose walked toward the Quidditch field. James was already there, as were a few dozen other Gryffindors who wanted to try out for the team.
"Hey, aren't you a Ravenclaw?" asked Wes, one of Gryffindor's Beaters and the current Captain. "And a Hufflepuff?"
"Hey! They can't be here!" another Gryffindor called. "They'll spy on our strategies!"
Courtney thought that notion was pretty ridiculous, and she was grateful that Wes said as much. "This is just the tryout. We don't have any strategies yet." He looked at Courtney and Lynne. "I'll admit this is pretty unconventional, but you can go ahead and watch. James, keep an eye on them to make sure they don't use magic to interfere."
James walked up to them, grinning. "Nobody else even showed up to try for the Keeper position so I don't have to try out. Unless… are either of you trying for Keeper?"
"No," Albus said. "I'm going for Chaser."
"And I'm trying out for Beater," Rose said.
James was clearly surprised. There was an image associated with Beaters, and that image was not a smaller-than-average twelve-year-old girl. But his surprise quickly turned into a laugh. "Oh, this tryout's going to rule!"
"Alright," Wes said. "So far, we have our Keeper and one Beater. The remainder of the team is one more Beater, one Seeker, and the three Chasers. All of you, split up into which position you want. Seekers, go over there… Chasers, on the other side… and Beaters right there." After the auditioning Gryffindors had shifted into their respective groups, Wes spoke again.
"Okay, looks like there are eight people trying for Beater, nineteen for Chaser, and… thirty-something for Seeker. Man, that's a popular position. So, we're going to start with the Beater tryouts, then Chasers, then Seekers. Beaters, front and center."
The eight would-be Beaters stepped forward. Rose looked very out of place among them; the others looked like at least fourth- or fifth-years. And most had plenty of the sheer muscle normally associated with Beaters. Wes handed a broomstick and a club to the first one, a tall sixth-year girl. "Once you get in the air, Bludgers will come after you. You know what to do."
"Count on it," she said with a giant grin. Courtney vaguely remembered seeing her face before - on last year's Gryffindor Quidditch team. Gwen. The other Beater.
"Isn't that the same girl who was a Beater last year?" Courtney asked James.
"Yeah, and she's pretty good," James replied. "And I'm pretty sure ol' Wes has a thing for her. But rules are rules. One of the others might be better than she is, and if that's the case Wes has to go for the best."
Gwen rose into the air on her broomstick and the Bludgers came. More than just two, aimed right at her. She readied her club and slammed into each Bludger at the perfect time. For all the muscle that people associated with Beaters, Courtney now started to realize that it was more important to have an eye for timing and quick reflexes, especially when that heavy ball was coming right for you or your teammates.
The Bludgers slammed into her club before being bounced back to the ground. After about fifteen of them - none of them hitting - Gwen descended.
"What do you think?" she asked, gesturing to the field. The fifteen Bludgers that she hit were all lying on the ground, arranged in the shape of a letter G. Courtney didn't know if the G was for Gwen or for Gryffindor, but was impressed anyway.
"Now that was amazing," Lynne said.
"She's showing off," James laughed.
"No, really," Lynne continued. "A Beater's job isn't just to get the Bludgers away from their teammates - they're also supposed to send them toward the other team. Right there, Gwen just proved that she can not only hit them, but aim them as well."
After that, the other Beaters added as much flair to their performance as they could, desperate to stand out compared to Gwen. Rose was the second-last to rise into the air.
Rose, notably, dodged the Bludgers before hitting them. That way, even if she missed - and there were two that she missed - none of them would actually hit her.
The last guy to try made sure to switch his club between his left and right hands, clearly trying to emphasize that he could play with either of them.
"Okay, and now for Chasers," Wes said.
Two of last year's Chasers were among the ones trying out here. Unlike the Beaters, who went one at a time, all nineteen potential Chasers were in the air at once, arranged in a circle with Wes at the center..
"Here's the Quaffle," he said. "A Chaser has to be able to not only make goals but to get the Quaffle from the other team. So you're going in a free-for-all. Making a shot will count toward your final score. So will holding onto the Quaffle."
The two Chasers from last year went into motion immediately. Courtney saw one of them get the Quaffle. Albus approached that one to try and steal it from him, but he tossed it to the other old Chaser, who then threw it into the goal post. On the other side, the first Chaser caught the Quaffle and went around to make the goal himself.
"They're helping each other," Courtney realized. "Using teamwork in a free-for-all to get an advantage."
James shrugged. "In a real game, they'd be expected to use teamwork. Nothing wrong with using it for tryouts. Hell, I'd call it a good thing, even."
After the Seekers concluded, Wes addressed each of them. "Alright, tomorrow morning I'll post the team roster in the common room."
They started walking away from the field. "Don't worry," Albus was saying to Rose. "I'm sure we'll do better next year."
"I don't think I'll try out next year," Rose admitted. "Maybe the year after that, when Gwen and Wes graduate."
"Hey, maybe by then I'll be your captain," James said. "So, that's two down, two to go. Tomorrow Hufflepuff and Slytherin will have their tryouts… and then Hogwarts will have all of its Quidditch players for this year."
The overall pleasant conversation quickly died down when a chill came over the field. A shadowy hooded figure glided toward them, focused on one in particular.
The Dementor flew straight for Lynne.
Author's Notes: To be honest I did not expect to spend the entire chapter on the Quidditch tryouts; I thought there would be a few other things that happened after them. But I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out so I'll just leave it at that.
