Hey, it's me! Here's the next chapter of this exciting saga! Read and review!
Chapter 8
James panted as he ran alongside Bardock while holding his broom.
"If we miss the tryouts, Vi's going to kill us!" Bardock panted as they ran onto the Quidditch pitch, where a large group of students were standing in a circle. It was a pretty windy day, with cold winds whipping across the pitch, flapping everyone's robes.
"We're not late, are we?" James asked. A fifth year smirked as he looked at James.
"We're just starting, actually." He said.
"HEY!" The group quickly shut up as Robert stormed onto the field with Victoria next to him, both dressed in Gryffindor Quidditch robes.
"Geez, he must still be storming about last years loss." Emily Roberts whispered to her friends, who giggled.
"Or maybe it's because the other house teams are watching the competition." Stacy Jackson added. James frowned as he looked up. Sure enough, several clusters of students were in the stands, watching. There was a small group of Ravenclaws in the stands, Bulla among them, cland in blue robes. There was also a group of Slytherins, standing out in their green cluster. James blinked as he saw Ashley West sitting among them. She looked at him and gave him a playful smile. James shuddered as he blushed. Even the hufflepuffs were here. Marron leaned on the rails lazily as she dangled her legs off the edge. But of course, there were plenty of Gryffindors in the stands. Megan was sitting next to Zane, who had a bored look on his face. She waved at James. Stacy and Alicia simply rolled their eyes as they leaned back. James was surprised that neither of them was trying out this year.
"Actually, I think Marron is here from the Hospital wing to make sure none of us breaks our necks." Victoria smiled.
Bardock chuckled, snapping James out of his daze.
"Looks like your already getting the girls, cuz." He joked as he nodded towards Ashley. James rolled his eyes.
"Shut it." James countered.
"If any of you are here to goof off, get the hell off this pitch! These are tryouts!" A few members of the group muttered as they walked off the pitch.
"Alright then! Let me be clear! Even if you were on the team last year, that doesn't mean that you get a spot last year! And I don't care if you have a relative on the team! Here, skill gets you the spot!" Victoria winked at James, rolling her eyes.
"Your girlfriend keeping her spot?" a blonde girl yelled at Robert. He hissed as he balled his hand into a fist.
"I can handle myself fine, Tiffany. You want my spot? Come get it." Victoria smiled as she leaned on her broom, getting whistles from both the group and stands.
"We're doing this in sections! First, we'll be doing the chasers. Second, the beaters. Finally, we'll finish with the seekers. You got it?" he barked. Robert smirked as he turned to look at Victoria.
"The chest?" she smiled as she handed it to him.
"Thanks, babe." He pecked Victoria on the cheek as he took the chest, getting cat whistles. He rolled his eyes as he pulled the Quaffle out of the box.
"Listen up! If you're not here for chaser, I want you off the field for now."
"Guess I'm first." Bardock smirked as he gripped his broom.
"Good luck." James smiled as he walked off the field, leaving Bardock and ten others, including Victoria.
"Okay! For the chasers, the challenge is this. The first three of you who can score fifty points against me will be the new chasers. You all clear?" After receiving nods, he mounted his broom. The others mounted their brooms and floated up into the air.
"Vi, strap up your cousin." Victoria nodded as she pulled a yellow band from her robes.
"Here, Bardock." Bardock nodded as he took it and attached it to his wrist, winching as the band glowed yellow.
"Yeah, it's unpleasant, but they wont us play otherwise. School rules." Vi shrugged. Bardock nodded as he mounted his broom and flew into the air. James had to admit, it was quite a show. The players were like planes, diving and shooting for the Quaffle. Robert was like a wall, able to block almost everything. Victoria was the first to complete the challenge, going through the others like a top, able to get the Quaffle past Robert by the merest of inches.
Bardock was the second. He wasn't as graceful as Victoria, but he managed to make his way through the fray and snag the Quaffle out of the other players's hands, using his smaller size to his advantage to weave through the crowd and hurl the Quaffle like a rocket, shooting past Robert's hands. The third was Petra, sailing to the ground with a smile on her face.
"Looks like we're teammates, Bardock." Petra flashed a smile, ignoring the yells of protests from the loosing applicants.
"Shut it, all of you! They earned their spots fair and square! You got a problem with it, talk to me later!" the others stormed off the field, muttering curse words under their breath. James ginned as Bardock and Victoria sat next to him.
"Nice job, guys!" he grinned. She smirked as she pulled off the ki restraint.
"Most don't get it. It's like a dance waving in between the cracks to get to the goal. That's how it is to me, at least." She shrugged.
"Does dad know you're dating that guy?" Bardock asked with a smirk. She narrowed her eyes.
"It's none of his buisness." She stated. She turned and watched the beater tryout. It was actually quite basic. There were five people tying out for beaters. The challenge was that Robert released several flying dummies and the bludgers. The first two people who could take out a dummy got the spot.
"I thought Quidditch was about teamwork. Your boyfriend seems to doing it so everyone is a one man show." James frowned. Victoria sighed as she rolled her eyes.
"It is. Robert just likes to make sure that everyone can handle themselves on their own as well as in a team. You never now when your teammate might get knocked out of a match." Victoria was interrupted by a loud cheer from the pitch as
the players descended to the pitch.
"Looks like it's over. I think Alice kept her spot." Victoria smiled as she waved at Alice, who whooped as she swung her beater bat through the air. Sure enough, Alice was one of the new beaters, along with a 4th year girl, Emily Wood.
"Oh, I know her! Her dad's Oliver Wood! Used to play for Puddlemere United! She'll be a great beater." Vi smirked. Then, Robert blew the whistle.
"Looks like you're up, James." Victoria smiled as she handed a ki restraint to James. James nodded, shuddering nervously as he raced down the stands, racing onto the pitch. Megan smiled and waved. James smiled weakly as he waved back. There were four other people who were standing beside him, all older than him. They looked at him with a curious and amused expression on their grinned as he reached into the
"Alright. Listen up! Challenge is blunt and simple! First of you to catch this, gets the spot. Got it?" Then, Robert hurled the snitch into the air.
"What are you lot waiting for?" he asked with a smile. James blinked, and then leaped on his broom and shot into the air.
"This is harder than it looks." James frowned as he flew through the air, looking for the snitch. It had been ten minutes, and yet no one seemed to have seen it yet.
"Really, guys! You're making us look bad!" Robert roared as he floated in front of the goalposts. James gritted his teeth as he flew around the pitch once again. Then, as he turned to look back at his friends, he saw a golden flash zip by Megan's head.
"The snitch!" James grinned as he shot forward.
"He sees it." Victoria smiled. James shot through the air, keeping his eye on the snitch. Even though his powers were cut off, he could still keep track of the snitch as it zoomed in front of him, ignoring the yells of the others. Then, as he reached out with his hand, his broom bucked. James yelled as he twirled through the air, landing hard on the pitch. Bardock yelped. James groaned as he blinked several minutes later, regaining consciousness to see Marron standing over him, surrounded by a small crowd. Marron sighed.
"Really? You banged your head a bit, but you should be alright. Pay up, Bulla." Marron laughed as she helped James to his feet.
"Oi vey." Victoria rolled her eyes.
"Ummm, guys?" James grinned as he held his hand out, opening it to reveal the snitch, getting both gasps and cheers.
"Does this mean I get the spot?" he grinned with a goofy smile. Victoria laughed as she turned to look at Robert, who coasted to the ground with a smile.
"I must admit, Mr Potter, this brings back some fond memories. Your father was in here almost every other Quidditch game, for one thing or another. You too, Mr. Son. Your father was always in here, always sporting the worse wounds I've ever seen in my lifetime. I always wondered how he came back from those battles with those monsters. Nice to see you again, Bardock." Madame Pompry chuckled as she looked over James's head. After tryouts had ended, Marron had brough James to the hospital wing to get a quick lookover from Madame Pompry. His family was allowed to be in, letting Victoria and Bardock in.
"Me? I don't remember you." Bardock frowned. She chuckled.
"You were born here. Your mother and father were watching your uncle in the Quidditch final, when your mother went into labor. Brought her straight here. Took thirteen hours, but you came through. Never seen those two more proud when when I placed you into your mother's arms. Your father was bragging about how you'd be a Gryffindor since Gryffindor won the final. Seems he was right." She chuckled as she looked at Marron.
"You were right, my dear, just a bump to the head. You'll be fine, Mr Potter. Just drink this, and the throbbing should fade." Marron chuckled as James drank an orange potion.
"I've seen it all, Miss Pompry. Grew up with the Z fighters." Marron chuckled as she ruffled through the potions. James frowned as he looked around. Based on what he had heard, the wing had recived many renovations. Now, there was state of the art equipment in the room, such as several shelves full of potions, and several healing chambers.
"We only use those for the really serious injuries. I'm learning a few tricks from Dende, but I'm not there yet." James frowned.
"I would very much like to not see you again, Mr. Potter." James nodded as he hopped off the bed and left the wind with Bardock and Victoria.
"Looks like we're on the team!" Bardock grinned. Victoria chuckled.
"Congrats, you two earned it. Although, I am a little suspicious about what happened to your broom. It just went crazy." Victoria muttered as they climbed up a flight of stairs.
"Wait, you think someone cursed it? Like what Voldemort did to my dad in first year?" James asked curiously.
"Possibly. There's a lot of people who'd be scared to see a Potter as seeker." Bardock laughed.
"You're paranoid, Aunt Vi! No one's that nut's over Quidditch." Bardock frowned.
"I wouldn't put it past some people. Like Ashley."
"Really, Victoria? You think so little of me?" they turned to see Ashley sitting on a bench, reading a potions book.
"I wouldn't put it past you, West! Afraid James will be a better seeker than you?" Victoria snarled. She laughed as she stood up and closed her book.
"I wanted to give my congratulations to the both of you for making the team. I'm looking forward to playing against you. It should be a fun year. And I did not hex your broom, James." Ashley smiled as she held her hand out. James frowned, but shook it. Victoria hissed as she clenched her fists.
"See you in Slughorn'c class, Vi." Ashley smiled as she walked off down the hallway.
"Come on!" Victoria hissed as they reached the portrait.
"Cornelius!" the fat lady nodded. They stepped in to get laughed and cheers.
"There's our new seeker! Congrats." Teddy grinned as he raised a glass of butterbeer.
"Looks like we're teammates." Petra smiled as she gulped a glass of butterbeer and flashed Bardock a smile. Robert grinned as he slapped James on the back.
"The cup is ours! Ravenclaw and Slytherin are going down!" he roared, getting cheers from the common room.
"Are you okay?" Megan asked as she sat up from her chair with Zane.
"He's fine. Potters are used to taking falls at Quidditch." Zane grinned.
"Very funny." James rolled his eyes.
"Why didn't you guys try out?" Bardock asked Stacy and Alicia, who were finishing some transfiguration homework.
"We're not Potters." Stacy smirked.
"We'll be going out next year." Alicia added.
"This year is going to be a blast. I've got the best players in the room. Robert grinned as he kissed Victoria, getting whistles and cat calls. James and Bardock whistled nervously.
"Oi! Get a room!" Alice called out with a grin. Petra chuckled as she clinked glasses with Teddy.
"Look, I'm not in the mood, guys." Victoria sighed as she climbed up the stairs to the girl's dorm.
"She got pissed off when Ashley gave us a congrats. She thinks she cursed my broom." James said, getting low whistles and uncomfortable looks.
"What is the story with Ashley and Victoria?" Teddy gulped.
"That's not something you should dig into, James." Petra said softly.
"You can't trust her, James. She seems nice and pretty, but that girl's not all smiles on the inside. Vi learned that the hard way." Jennifer added.
"Why?" Bardock asked. Petra sighed as she looked at Teddy.
"Look, Ashley's one of those rightwing purists." Alice added.
"What's a Purist?" Megan asked.
"A group that thinks that Bardock's dad tainted the Ministry of Magic and ruined it. You know, made it a shadow of it's former self. They want to see the Ministry brought back to it's former glory." Alice explained.
"Seriously? My dad's ten times the Minister that Fudge was!" Ted shrugged.
"Some people don't see it that way. They want to see a proper leader as minister. A pureblood who can restore the old ways. Just a bunch of political activists." Petra shrugged.
"You're making them sound worse than that." Bardock frowned.
"Look, just be careful of Ashley. Don't let those looks get into your head." Robert crossed his arms.
"Got it." James whistled nervously.
"Excellent! Alright, our first match is against Slytherin, next month! We start practicing tomorrow!" Robert grinned as he walked up towards the dorms.
"Oy! Get ready for your body to ache like hell." Alice laughed.
"I can hardly wait." James replied.
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