A/N: Thanks to Dramione7 and carrie76 for the follows/favorites! Glad this little story's getting some love. Modges - you have to admit it'd be a funny sight...but I don't think Draco's stupid enough to test both Hermione & Ginny like that.
Three chapters in one day - phew. Time for bed. Plot is mine, the rest is Rowling's. Please R&R, & enjoy! :)
For the next week, all anyone could talk about was Quidditch. By Monday morning, rumors were flying about who was trying out, who had the best chances of making a team, and who the Captains were (it seemed that the only people privy to this information were the Captains themselves, who met with Madam Hooch on Tuesday to finalize the format of the tryouts). While rather bored of all the talk of Bludgers and broomsticks, Hermione was happy to see so many people in such a good mood. Even Draco seemed to be enjoying himself a little more – he'd followed through on his declaration from Friday night and relinquished his Captaincy, but he'd jumped right into a hearty discussion about tactics with Justin, Lisa, and Blaise the following afternoon and had spent nearly an hour afterwards polishing his broomstick. It seemed he was taking Ginny's threat seriously and was going to try out after all – or, if he wasn't, he had quite a funny way of showing it.
How anyone managed to make it through the week was a mystery, but Saturday finally arrived. The Great Hall was much noisier than usual at breakfast – the pitch itself was off limits until the tryouts started, but many people intended to have a good fly around the grounds before then. Ginny and Hermione spent the meal going over logistics for the afternoon – as Kevin was participating in the tryouts and Laura was at St. Mungo's visiting her newborn nephew, Hermione had agreed to fulfill her supervisory duty for Professor McGonagall. Madam Hooch would be in her office in case anything got out of hand, but Hermione hoped they could get through the afternoon with relatively little disturbance.
Just before two, the girls made their way down to the Quidditch pitch.
"Couldn't have asked for better weather!" Ginny said brightly. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, and a warm breeze played across their faces as they walked. When they reached the stadium, Hermione stopped and waved her wand in a series of complicated circles, a thin stream of soft blue light flowing from the tip as she did so.
"What was that?" Ginny asked when she'd finished.
"I warded the stadium so that only those who are serious about trying out can get in," Hermione answered. "Remember the first year Harry was Captain, when he had to send off all those people who were from other houses or came without broomsticks? I figured this way, you won't have to worry about that – the whole school would probably turn up otherwise."
"Brightest witch of your age, as always," Ginny grinned cheekily. Hermione answered with a light smack to the redhead's arm, and the two girls made their way to the announcer's booth, where a small table and five chairs awaited them. By two o'clock, the other three chairs were occupied and a substantial group of hopefuls had gathered on the pitch below. Hermione cast a Sonorus charm over their entire box and addressed the crowd.
"Afternoon, everyone. For those of you who might not know me, I'm Hermione Granger, and I'm standing in for the Head Boy and Girl, one of whom is participating in today's tryouts and the other of whom has a prior commitment. I'll be the first to admit I don't know a thing about Quidditch" – here a number of people laughed – "so let's turn it over to the Captains and get started." The Captains quickly introduced themselves:
"Ginny Weasley, Chaser."
"Zacharias Smith, Chaser."
"Steve Livingston, Keeper."
"Paul Rogers, Seeker." Paul, a former Ravenclaw a year younger than Ginny, had been chosen as the fourth Captain after Draco had declined.
"Alright, here's how it's going to work," Ginny explained. "We'll start with the Chasers – run a few drills, have you fly some formations. We'll probably ask you to pair up with a bunch of different people so we can get an idea of how you fly together in addition to your individual skills. We'll add the Keepers after that. Beaters will go next, and the Seeker drills will be last. Once your group is done, you're welcome to stay or go as you please. Any questions? No? Good. Chasers, stay on the field; everyone else, take a seat."
The Chaser tryouts took the better part of an hour as the four Captains put numerous combinations of people through a long list of drills. Ginny hopped on her broom and joined them for a bit to gauge who flew well with her, and she participated vigorously in the Keeper tryouts, scoring several spectacular goals, much to the chagrin of several of the candidates. The Beater trials went much quicker than the Chasers' but still took nearly twenty minutes. Finally, it was the Seekers' turn.
"Right then, Seekers," Paul said, "here's the deal. We'll release one Snitch, which is charmed to glow blue when somebody catches it. Basically a simple time trial – once you catch it, we record your time, re-release the Snitch, and continue until everybody's done. Mount your brooms!" The fifteen Seekers in attendance did so, awaiting the whistle that would signify the starting of the clock.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Zacharias demanded before Paul could blow the whistle. It didn't take much for anyone to figure out that his comment was directed at Malfoy.
"What do you think he's doing?" Ginny asked. "He's obviously here for the Quidditch; Hermione's wards would've kept him out otherwise."
"Like I'd want a-" Zacharias started to say, but he was cut off when he found Hermione's wand inches from his face.
"A what?" she asked. Thanks to the magnification charm, everyone in the stadium heard her deadly whisper. "Finish that sentence like I think you were going to, Zacharias, and you can be sure you'll pay for it." For once, he was smart enough to back down. After a moment of awkward silence, Paul released the Snitch, and once he'd given it a minute's head start, he blew the whistle. Fifteen brooms rocketed upwards, their owners immersed in the mad hunt for the elusive golden ball.
Draco circled slowly high above the grass, scanning the stadium for any sign of the Snitch. Strangely enough, only one other person seemed to have a similar tactic – the rest were racing around the pitch in all directions. Ironically, their scatterbrained approach actually played to Draco's advantage, as it simulated the chaos of a real game rather well. After several minutes of searching, he saw a flash of gold and shot off towards the far goal posts – seconds later, he felt the familiar beating of wings against his palm as his hand closed around the Snitch.
"Seven-seventeen – not bad, Malfoy," Paul called. "You're done, let the Snitch go and have a seat."
As reluctant as he was to land, Draco did so and found a seat in the stands. He didn't really pay any attention to the rest of the Seekers – now that the euphoria of flying was starting to wear off, he was more focused on Smith and Granger's earlier interaction. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Smith's intended comment had been, 'Like I'd want a Death Eater on my team' – Smith had shown quite clearly where he stood with regards to such things multiple times already. It wasn't so much Smith himself – the conceited boy was more obnoxious than half the school put together, which Draco acknowledged was quite a feat considering his own arrogant tendencies – but rather his very public declaration that cut Draco the most. He'd heard dozens of whispered comments, most of them far from complimentary, in the corridors between classes since term had begun, but they'd been just that – whispers. Those, he could write off. This was different – it was bad enough he had to live with the guilt every day; he didn't need anyone blatantly throwing it back in his face.
The other thing nagging him was Granger's response – why in Merlin's name had she been so quick to defend him? They'd refrained from hexing each other or name calling thus far, but just because they'd matured beyond childish petulance didn't suddenly make them the best of friends. Deciding that the only way to know for sure was to ask her about it, Draco sighed and headed back towards the castle – Granger wouldn't be around until tryouts were over, and he had a veritable mountain of homework waiting for him back in the common room.
