Chapter 10: Quidditch

Riley was sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, waiting for the sorting of the new students to begin. She was starved and she hoped it wouldn't last long. As she watched the first years standing in front of everyone, she could see the fear in their eyes. A sense of relief crossed her face, she was so glad she didn't have to relive it. Adrian was sitting next to her. He had changed a lot during the holidays. He was taller, more muscular and his hair was also different, he actually looked very good. Sitting across to them was another of Adrian's roommates, Cassius Warrington. Riley had never spoken to him, but she thought he was just as obnoxious as Montague.

"How were your holidays?" Adrian asked her.

"Fine, what about yours?" She said, shrugging.

"Well, I spent one month in Norway, because of my grand-mother."

"Oh, that's right. How's she?" She remembered Adrian telling her that his grand-mother had been sick.

"Well, she passed away…"

"I'm so sorry Adrian."

"That's all right, to be honest I didn't know her very much and I only remember her as a horrible woman. She wasn't very nice to me."

"In that case, I'm sorry for that too." Riley tried a comforting smile. He smiled back at her.

"Now, a more cheerful subject, Quidditch tryouts will be held next week." He said. Riley felt a pang of sadness. Even with a brand new Nimbus 2000, her chances of making Marcus Flint's team were very slim. She let her eyes wander to where he was sitting. He wasn't sitting next to his fifth year friends, but next to Bole and Derrick, the two Quidditch beaters. Riley also noticed a fourth year girl, talking to them, constantly touching Flint's arm. Although, Riley wasn't the only one who had noticed them. Sarah Selwyn was sitting with her friend, obstinately glaring at the both of them.

"Are you both trying out?" Warrington asked, as he put a considerable amount of mashed potatoes into his mouth. Riley was surprised by the "both" he used in his sentence.

"Yes, we are." Adrian answered for the both of them.

"I don't think Flint will take girls in his team." Warrington said, casually.

"I know, he made it very clear last year." Riley acknowledged.

"But you're still trying."

"I'm better than most of the boys and I can throw a Quaffle as good as any of you!"

"Maybe, but I don't think that's the reason." He said, shrugging.

"What do you mean?"

"Quidditch is Flint's safe place. He wouldn't want a woman to spoil it."

"I don't understand." She lifted an eyebrow.

"He doesn't like women." Riley fought her urge to laugh. Marcus was the most womanizer boy she had the displeasure to meet. "I mean, he likes to snug them and all, but nothing more than that. That's probably because of his mom."

"How do you know about all of this?" Adrian asked him.

"Our dads are very good friends." He said stretching himself. "Man, this was a very good meal!"

"Why do you say it's probably because of his mother?" She was never one who liked gossip much, but she was feeling very curious about all this.

"I think I've already said to much." But Riley didn't let him change the subject.

"Come on, I need to know the reasons why he wouldn't pick me!" She insisted.

"I've already told you. There's nothing you can do about it."

"What about you, will you try out?" Adrian asked him.

"Nah, probably next year. It's a lot of commitment."

After this, both boys changed the subject. But Riley couldn't focus on what they were saying. So, it was true that Marcus wouldn't have any girl on his team. When he told her that last year, she thought he was only saying it because he was mad at her, but apparently it wasn't personal. She wondered what his mother had done to him. She knew that most pureblood families were complicated, but still. When dinner was over, they all followed the Slytherin prefects to the dungeons. Riley was feeling extremely tired. Inside of the common room, she spotted Raven by the window, trying to catch the fishes through the glass. She smiled and went to her dorm.

The next day, Riley was walking towards the Great Hall alone to have breakfast. She had Raven on her shoulder. For a cat, she was very loyal. She saw Fred and George from afar, sitting at the Gryffindor table. The last time she had talked to them was that day in Diagon Alley. Despite the fact that some of their Gryffindor friends were there with them, Riley approached the twins. Lee was the first one to notice Riley coming over, and he didn't miss the chance to greet her with a scowl. Already used to that Gryffindor attitude, she found it preferable to ignore it.

"Hey." She said. Both Fred and George turned their heads towards her. Fred's smile broadened even more.

"Hey you." He was about to hug her when he saw the little furry creature. "I see that you have a new friend." He said, lifting his hand to stroke the small black cat on Riley's shoulder.

"Yeah, that's Raven."

"That's cool. I've always wanted a cat, but my mother said that they would probably eat our chickens." He said shrugging. Riley laughed at his comment, the thing about the twins was that you never knew whether they were joking. "Besides we already have loads of animals."

"Do you want to sit with us?" George asked her.

Riley opened her mouth to answer, but before she could say anything, she heard someone scream her name.

"RILEY!" She turned around and saw Lauren, sitting at the Slytherin table along with Melinda and April. Riley waved softly at her.

"Maybe another day." She smiled at George. She had so much more fun when she was with Fred and George. But they were in Gryffindor and she was in Slytherin. Even though they were friends, the rivalry between the houses always complicated everything. Besides, Riley had already accepted her place among her housemates, now more than ever. She joined her Slytherins girlfriends, hoping that this year would be better than the last one.

"Hello Riley." Lauren greeted her, but her smile quickly faltered when she saw Raven. "What the hell is that?" She asked.

"It's a cat, Lauren." Riley answered amused.

"You're not eating with this thing, are you? Urgh, that's so not hygienic."

"She's not eating at the table if that's what you're asking." She said, placing the cat on the ground.

"I should hope not!"

"Oh well, I tried to teach her how to use cutlery, but wasn't very successful." Riley said sarcastically.

"Haha, very funny." Lauren rolled her eyes, April giggled.

"So what's up?" Riley asked, as she filled a bowl with milk and gave it to Raven.

"You'll never guess!" Melinda said.

"What?" April asked her enthusiastically. Riley wasn't really paying attention; It was probably something concerning a random boy.

"Fletcher and Selwyn are back together!" Suddenly Riley dropped the knife she was holding.

"Hey, careful with that!" Lauren said.

"Sorry. Did you just say that Fletcher and Selwyn are back together?!"

"Well, I saw them kissing last night."

"So, does that mean that Fletcher forgave Flint as well?"

"I don't know…" She said shrugging, while looking at her perfectly manicured nails. "Why are you so interested in Flint?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"I'm not, but if he's in a good mood for the Quidditch tryouts, that's good news for me!"

"Are you trying out for Quidditch?" Lauren asked stunned.

"Yes, why?"

"Nothing, but it's such a… brutal sport."

"I like it." Riley simply said. "My dad played as a seeker when he was in school."

"So did my dad, but it doesn't mean we have to do it." Melinda said. "You know, boys don't like girls who play Quidditch." She stared at Riley's green eyes with a mocking smile on her face. But Riley wasn't letting herself be intimidated.

"I don't live to please boys Melinda." She said dryly. But Melinda just snorted in response.

"Ok, maybe we should change the subject." April said. Of the three girls, Melinda was the one Riley disliked the most. Lauren was a little preppy for Riley's taste, but she wasn't mean. She just liked being the "queen". April was the sweetest one, Riley even wondered what she was doing in Slytherin.

Before any of them could came up with a new subject. Adrian sat down next to Riley. Warrington sat across him, beside April. Riley found odd that Montague wasn't with them.

"Hello Ladies." Warrington greeted them.

"Who the hell are you?" Melinda asked.

"We're Riley's mates!" Adrian said, winking at Riley. Riley frowned slightly. Since when Warrington was one of her mates?

"What do you want?" Melinda asked in the same aggressive tone. Adrian frowned, probably finding her behaviour very strange.

"I just came here to talk to Riley." He said, nonchalantly. She turned to Riley "I just heard from Flint that Quidditch tryouts are this Saturday morning. Just thought that you'd like to know."

"Oh that's nice. Thanks."

"No problem." He said before getting up from his seat and sitting away from them. Warrington grinned at Riley, and got up as well. That was weird.

"You know Riley, for someone who isn't interested in boys, you seem to have a lot of male friends." Melinda said.

"What are you getting at?" Riley asked.

"I'm just saying." She shrugged.

"I have to go to class." Riley rose from her seat. She was getting tired of Melinda. Since that day in Lauren's house, Melinda had been increasingly cold towards Riley. She couldn't remember have done anything to her that could possibly justify her behaviour. To Riley's surprise, Lauren had followed her.

"Don't worry about Melinda, she can be a real bitch sometimes! You're not mad, are you?"

Riley hesitated before quickly saying "No, that's fine."

"Anyway, he's very cute your friend."

"Who?"

"The blond one."

"Oh, you mean Adrian."

"Pucey, right?" Riley nodded. "So, is there something between the both of you?"

"Not that I know of." She said, and Riley had the slight impression that this was what Lauren wanted to hear.

Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table. Fred was talking animatedly with Lee Jordan.

"Seems like you have competition." George said, as he watched Adrian sitting next to Riley.

"What are you talking about?" Fred asked curious. He glanced over to where his brother was staring. "What? Pucey? He's been Riley's friend since our first day."

"Oh, so you're saying that he's not a competition, therefore you admit that you fancy her." Fred's face suddenly hardened.

"Why is he saying that?" Lee asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's nuts, that's why. Would you stop it!" He turned to his twin. "It's getting really old." He said, rolling his eyes.

"All right, all right!" George grinned. "But if it is the case. You should tell her. She might like you too."

Fred didn't say anything. Instead, he lowered his head to his plate and began to eat. Lee was still looking at the twins questionably. George just shrugged at him, still wearing a smug grin on his face and began to eat too. They stood silent for quite a while until Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet approached them.

"Quidditch tryouts will be held Saturday afternoon." Angelina said, sitting down next to George. "Finn Brandon is the new Captain, and most of the players are already out of school. I think the team needs two beaters, one chaser and a seeker."

"It's a pity Charlie isn't captain anymore. It would've been a lot easier to make it to the team." George mused.

"True." Fred agreed. "But it's not stopping us!"

"What position are you trying out for?" Angelina asked them.

"Beaters." George said, "we like to beat stuff up." Fred nodded.

"I don't doubt it." Alicia giggled.

"Alicia and I are trying out for the chaser position." Angelina's voice was filled with confidence.

"But I thought that there was only one chaser position available." Fred said.

"That's right. Let the better woman win." She said to Alicia, who nodded awkwardly. Fred and George noticed that she was feeling a bit uncomfortable with this whole situation. After all, Angelina's confidence was very high. "Anyway, Slytherin tryouts will be in the morning, if you want to watch it."

Fred glanced over again at Riley, who was leaving the Great Hall, with another Slytherin girl.

"Yes, we will." He said.

Riley woke up earlier than usual that Saturday morning. Her roommates were still asleep, but Riley was wide awake. She put some old T-shirt - the one that belonged to her father - over a black long sleeved top, some black leggings and went to have breakfast, feeling particularly nervous; She was afraid she would embarrass herself completely. She didn't want to give Flint a chance to mock her. She was so absorbed by her own thoughts that she didn't notice Adrian sitting down next to her.

"Ready?"

Riley jumped with a startle "Don't you ever do that again!"

"What?" he giggled.

"You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, so… ready?"

"Not sure." Her voice trembled slightly.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine, I've seen you play. Just don't be nervous."

"Easy said than done." Adrian chuckled, while putting some toasts and eggs on his plate. He was eating so fast that it was making Riley's stomach turn. Each swallow was a real challenge for her. She took a deep breath and fought her urge to puke.

When Adrian finished his breakfast, they both decided - even if it was still early - to go down to the pitch, so they could warm up. But when they got down there, the pitch was already full with students. Some of them were there to try out, and some were simply watching. Riley glanced at the stands, she recognized some of her housemates, but also two red headed, Fred and George were there along with Angelina, Alicia and Lee. She also spotted Melinda and April, who looked very sleepy. Riley internally laughed at this scene, Melinda had probably dragged April there with the aim of watching Flint. She looked around her and was relieved to noticed that she was not the only girl trying out, even though they were minority.

"There's a lot of people trying out…" Adrian observed anxiously.

"Yeah" Riley agreed "but, hey, it doesn't mean they're all good."

"Let's see."

They mounted their broomsticks and were the first ones up in the air. But they were quickly followed by the other students, who seemed to be waiting for someone to take the first step. When Riley felt the cold air brushing against her face, she almost forgot why she was there. She closed her eyes and let the wind guide her, being too high to collide with anyone. Riley asked herself why she felt so apprehensive, it was so natural to her after all. She did a few laps around the pitch when a husky shout brought her back to reality.

"Everybody get back down here!" Riley looked down and saw the familiar face of the team's captain. She went down to the ground with the rest. There he was, captain Marcus Flint standing next to the two last year beaters, Bole and Derrick. "Before we start the tryouts, I want to warn you that this isn't a sport for pussies, so if you're not tough enough, you can spare both you and me some time, and get out of here!" he continued dryly. Nobody moved, and a grin appeared on his face, but it wasn't a friendly or warmful grin, it was more like the kind of grin a predator would give to his prey. Riley swallowed hard, but then frowned her face, she wasn't a little damsel in distress waiting for someone to come and save her. "All right then, we already have two beaters, and I'm a chaser so I'll choose among you two other chasers, a seeker and a keeper. Let's start with those who want to be the keeper."

There was not a lot of people trying out for the keeper position. It went fast.

"Ok, that's enough, seekers now!"

There were three boys and one girl. Riley didn't know the girl's name, only that she was a fourth year. The girl was very pretty with long shining hair and unfinished legs. Riley saw one of the beaters elbow the other one and smirk, jerking his head towards her. Great, it seemed like you had to look like a supermodel to have the slight chance to make the team. She wasn't the best flyer, but she wasn't bad either, she flew fast and gracefully.

Riley saw the Snitch before all of them, it was flying next to the girl and a fourth year boy. Riley wondered how long it would take before one of them realised where it was. Suddenly, she saw the boy speeding off towards where the Snitch was, being followed by the girl. Side by side, they both reached their hands to grab the Snitch. In a finally attempt to catch it, the boy threw his weight against her, shoving both of them to the ground. But she was the one who grabbed it.

"Are you crazy? Why did you do that for?" Riley heard the girl yelling at the boy. "My clothes are dirty now because of a childish and unnecessarily move! And you really hurt me!"

"Sorry…" the boy replied awkwardly. The girl stuck up her nose and left to join her friends who were watching and cheering. Ignoring them, Flint continued.

"Ok then, chasers now! You'll split into two teams, no keepers, but there will be Bludgers. Bole and Derrick will try to knock you out of your brooms" he grinned nastily.

"Good luck!" Adrian smiled at Riley, and she smiled back.

"You too!"

They were in the same team with a third year boy, who was giving Riley a dark look. He was probably mad because he had a girl in his team. The other team only had boys, and among them was Montague. Adrian grabbed the Quaffle and gave it to Riley who gave it to the other boy, he scored. A large boy from the other team had the Quaffle, he flew towards the goal with no intention to pass it to anyone, but when Adrian put himself in front of him, he threw it to his teammate. However, Riley was faster than them, and she jumped a little off her broom and grabbed the Quaffle. She sped off toward the goal posts. A Bludger came in her direction, but she dodged it before scoring.

The boys from the other team were livid, and thought that Riley was the perfect target, for being a girl. One of the boys stormed towards the goal, and gave Riley a kick when he flew past her. She winced in pain, but quickly followed him. She had to prove that she was tough enough to play with them. Adrian put himself in front of the boy once again, making him stop abruptly. Riley managed to retrieve the Quaffle from his hands. She passed it to Adrian who sped off toward the goal posts and scored. Montague took the Quaffle and flew towards the opposite goal posts. Once again, Adrian tried to block his opponent. But this time, fulfilled with anger, Montague shove Adrian off his broom with all his strength, making him almost fall from it. Riley's eyes widened with anguish as she saw Adrian struggle to get back on his broomstick.

"Are you okay?" She yelled at him.

"Yes." He shouted back, finally getting on his broom.

The other boy from their team, had followed Montague, but unsuccessfully. After Montague scored, the boy's eyes glinted with anger, as he flew to where Riley and Adrian were.

"Would you two babies stop whining? We have a game to win!" He scolded at them. Riley rolled her eyes.

The boy passed the Quaffle to Adrian, who passed it to Riley, who impeccably avoided a Bludger. Montague was waiting for her near the goal posts, ready to drop her off her broom if she approached him too much. Her eyes burned with ferocity, as she stared at him. She was not letting herself be intimidated by that boy. He was standing in front of the middle goal post, so she decided to dart to the right at the last moment. Guessing what she was about to do, Montague threw himself to the right, and before she could score, he grabbed the edge of her T-shirt and ripped it off. But she tossed the Quaffle through the hoop. They heard a whistle from Flint, signalling them to fly back to the ground.

"Very well. I think I've seen enough." He told them.

Marcus took a piece of parchment where was written the names of all the people who were trying out. Riley watched as he studied the list, muttering something to his two beaters. She couldn't be more nervous.

"Ok then, I'm announcing the name of those who made the team. The new Slytherin Keeper will be Miles Bletchley. Our Seeker will be Terence Higgs."

"What?" She heard the girl yell. "Maybe you're having vision troubles, Flint, but I was the one who caught the Snitch!"

"Yes, and yet, you threw a fit when Higgs knocked you off your broom. You can't handle Quidditch, Harper!" He said, nonchalantly.

"How dare you to say that I can't handle it!" She approached him closer. "We all know that it's because I'm a girl."

"Well, boys don't do drama. Plus, it's tradition." He grinned.

"Tradition? So answer to me why do you lose all the time?"

"So you're saying that if a put a girl on my team, we'll win." All the boys there started laughing. Riley lowered her head to the ground. She didn't know why she was still there waiting.

"So you think girls are only good for one thing, don't you?" She said with disdain. Bole snickered and then whispered something to Derrick, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Your words, not mine."

"Fuck you, Flint!" She spat.

"With pleasure." He said, provoking more laughter from the others.

"You're going to regret this!" She stormed past him, pushing his shoulder as she did. But Marcus just kept on grinning.

"Chasers now! So, the first one is Adrian Pucey!" Adrian glanced at Riley with a broad smile. She tried to smile back at him, but she was too nervous to do so. "And the next chaser will be…"

Sorry for the delay, I wanted to post this chapter sooner, but I didn't have the time to finish it, and I didn't know exactly what I was going to write next.

So, will Riley make the team?

The beginning of the next chapter is already written, but maybe I'll change it, I don't know yet. ^^

Thanks for reviewing!