Chapter 12 up… FINALLY! Sorry about the ridiculous wait readers; I have been at a regional roller skating competition. Then, I was staying with my best friend, so yah… Enough excuses. Here it is… It is the longest chapter yet! YAY!
PLEASE REVIEW PEOPLE! Thanks. :D
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter Snape would have a daughter… so there yah go.
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Chapter 12: Quidditch Try-Outs
After every person in the Slytherin common room had viewed Draco's bulletin, Draco addressed the house as a whole:
" Now… Lets get a few things straight right here and now." He began importantly. " If you are interested in becoming our team's seeker, there are a couple of things you should be aware of before you go through with your decision. First off, if this is your first year at Hogwarts, don't waste my time, anyway you aren't allowed to have your own broomsticks until next year."
A couple of the first-years scowled and their little heads worked as they tried to create a cunning plan to fool Draco into letting them on.
" Next," Draco continued, " Our team currently rides Nimbus 2001 brooms, if your broom is a Nimbus 2000, 2001, or a Firebolt, then you are good. If you have a worthless broom, which is any I didn't mention, then, if I were you, look in Which Broomstick, and order a decent one by Thursday. And no, Carvok," Draco breathed as a younger boy raised his hand. " I am not helping pay for it." The boy called Carvok lowered his hand sadly.
" Also," Draco resumed, " You must be at least a fair flyer, and have reasonable eyesight. We don't want any Potter's on our team. I swear you knock his glasses off and he is as blind as a bat."
Some of the room snickered, except for the students that wore glasses. They looked rather resentful.
"And… Obviously," Draco went on, " You must know how Quidditch is played. Well… unless you have lived under a gigantic boulder your entire life, you bloody well should! That's all. See you Thursday. Good luck... you will need it…"
Following Draco's announcement a couple of third-years ran up to their dormitories and brought their brooms down to examine. Then, to many of the older student annoyance, the third years started to compare their [identical] brooms in loud voices. In the mean time a fifth-year boy with glasses argued with Draco about jinxing his frames so they would be stuck to his face. Finally, the common room cleared out as the students made their way to bed.
Quidditch was the subject of talk on the days leading up the seeker try-outs. Thursday evening seemed to arrive quicker than anyone expected. After dinner that day, at 5:30 pm, Draco and the rest off the current Slytherin team reminded everyone that wanted to try-out to be on the Quidditch pitch in a half and hour.
" You going to make an attempt?" Elizabeth asked Pansy after dinner.
" Nah." She responded sadly. " I am dreadful on a broom."
" I see."
" What about you?" Pansy inquired.
" Yah, I going to try." Elizabeth smiled nervously. " I have played as seeker a bit before, but I really don't know." She shrugged her shoulders.
" You never know." Pansy said. " Draco does seem to like you." Her voice now seemed a bit chilly.
" Maybe. Anyway I got to go." Elizabeth muttered quickly and turned away to walk back to the common room.
Elizabeth retrieved her broomstick from her trunk and slowly made her way down to the Quidditch field. Draco stood on the sidelines on the opposite side from where the Slytherins were now following onto the field. He had a whistle slung around his neck, a clipboard and a self-inking quill in one hand, a weird type of stopwatch around the other wrist, and vibrating box stood at his feet. When he noticed the people he motioned for them to come toward him. Once everyone was is earshot, he spoke.
" Line you over here." He point to an area to his left. " Doesn't matter what order. Just when I say next I want some to come forward. Got it?"
Everyone nodded and moved to Draco's left.
" Now… Er… Who wants to go first?"
No one moved.
" Alright then… How about you?" Draco pointed to a boy standing near him, who looked around twelve or thirteen years of age. The boy stepped forward nervously. Draco looked down at his clipboard, quill in hand, then stared over at the boy.
" What is your name?"
" Anthony Groming"
" Have you ever played Quidditch before?"
" Ahh… I think so." The boy answered nervously.
" You THINK so?" Draco sighed. Anthony looked down at his feet.
" Have you ever seen a Quidditch game all the way through?
" Yeee yah." Anthony mumbled
" Do you know what a seeker does?" Draco asked grimly.
" I thi-think so…" Anthony said very shakily.
Draco slapped himself of the head with his clipboard. Anthony's face grew very red. A couple of the others sniggered.
" Right… Mount your, what is it? Nimbus 2000?" Draco muttered.
" Yah." Anthony mounted his broom.
" I will now let out the balls and you will catch the Snitch." Draco bent down, opened the shaking box at his feet. The two bludgers flew up in opposite directions and the as the golden Snitch flew out of sight. Anthony kicked off the ground and rose slowly into the air. He looked around and flew, with his arms outstretched, straight towards-
" What the HELL is he doing?" Draco bellowed.
" Is he chasing that- that… Bludger?" Someone chimed in skeptically.
Sure enough Anthony following on the Bludgers; he had not even seen the tiny snitch zoom off. Truly, he had no idea what the 'Snitch' was. He was half-blood that was raised by his muggle mother, since is father had died. He had no experience, until last year, with Quidditch, and had only seen one game. Currently, he had both arms out, only his knees where keeping him on his broom.
" Someone stop him!" A person in the crowd watching the try-outs yelled. "He will break every bone in his body!" Draco blew his whistle loudly. Unfortunately, Anthony had not heard. He had gripped the Bludger with both hands, but the Bludger shot back it him hard, directly in the chest. He gave an intense scream and fell, backwards, off his broom, falling fast toward the ground. The crowd gasped and yelled, as Draco grabbed is wand and pointed it at the falling boy.
" ARESTO MOMENTO!"
Anthony's falling speed decreased to a stop and he was placed softly on the ground. Just as he was set on the ground he let out another scream of pain.
" Someone get Madam Pomfrey!" Draco ordered as he ran toward the boy.
Elizabeth the first to pull out her wand, she pointed it toward the castle.
" Accio Madam Pomfrey!" Elizabeth yelled. She watched as a plump woman zoomed across the lawn toward her.
" What is it?" Said Madam Pomfrey stopped suddenly next to Elizabeth. " What is the- Oh dear!" She rushed over to where Anthony lay moaning piteously, his arms covering his chest, as tear ran down cheeks. Madam Pomfrey conjured a stretcher and used magic to place the miserable boy gently on the stretcher. She muttered something about broken ribs as she bustled back to the castle with Anthony flying weirdly behind her.
Draco walked back to the sidelines shaking his head.
" Now." Said Draco stiffly. " For everyone's information… the Snitch is the tiny-little-ball-with-wings! If what you happen to be chasing isn't a tiny golden ball with wings, then FOR GOD'S SAKE DON'T BLOODY CATCH IT!
Everyone was silent. Draco breathed heavily now.
" NEXT!" He growled eventually.
The next 4-5 people managed to catch the Snitch but took quite a long time in doing so. This made Draco's mood worse than it already was, and he drove a third-year girl into hysteria. After them came a boy who did catch the Snitch in the reasonable amount of time. However, he wanted the team to have practices around him, so he could get his homework done, and spend more time with his girlfriend. Draco looked like he could explode. The girl that came next to the boy figured out, after she was 50 feet in the air, that she was deathly afraid of heights, and landed quickly, looking embarrassed. Elizabeth decided she would step forward when Draco called for the next person to come.
Finally, Draco managed, " Next."
Elizabeth walked over to him apprehensively. She noticed Draco was gripping the clipboard extremely tightly with his right hand and looked very tense. She thought that at any moment he could completely crack, pull out his wand and murder anyone who dared cross his path on his way back to the castle.
"Elizabeth." Draco muttered out of the corner of his mouth. " Have you… ever…played…Quidditch…before?"
" Yes."
" Alright. Broom?"
" Firebolt."
" Bloody hell, nice." He tried of sound pleased, but his voice shook slightly. " Mount your broom. And- catch the snitch… and… don't do anything stupid… please." He added. Elizabeth mounted he broom and rose into the air. I took her a few minutes but she finally saw the snitch. It was glittering near the opposite goal post, near the bottom. She dived and grasped the struggling ball in her right hand. She landed awkwardly and handed Draco the snitch. He looked down at the strange stopwatch.
"2 minutes, 31 seconds." He grinned. " Brilliant."
Elizabeth smiled broadly.
Try-outs ended after 3 hours and the next day the Draco gather everyone together.
" Slytherin has go a new Quidditch seeker…" There was dramatic pause. " The first girl for 25 years."
All the boys who tried out now looked quite depressed.
" Congratulations… Elizabeth Snape."
Elizabeth looked dumbstruck. She knew she did well, but Slytherin Quidditch seeker!
" First practice is tomorrow at 7:00 pm. Get ready." Draco grinned.
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Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will post chapter 13 as soon as possible! Again sorry about the wait for this one…
The Slytherin Princess
~ForeverMalfoy~
