This is the world of JKR. Only Meg Harrington, her father Thomas, and Helen Goff are my own additions. I'd like to apologize for the long time in between chapters here. I had a hard time getting this one out of my head and onto the page. Hopefully the next one doesn't take as long. I hope you like it.
5 September, 1998, Hogwarts
"This is supposed to get easier, right Neville?" Harry asked his friend.
"It does. I know it doesn't feel like it but it does." Neville answered. "You aren't doing too bad actually. When I first started it took me over a week before I could walk normally. Maybe it's because I'm a little bit bigger than you are. I had more to lug around."
Harry just grimaced as he continued eating his breakfast. He and Neville had just come in from running around the Qudditch pitch a couple of times. Harry didn't think it was going to be this hard. He never thought of himself as being in bad shape before a couple of days ago. At least he wasn't so far behind Neville anymore. What made it worse was that he was sure Neville had been going slower than he normally did. The first day was almost unbearable but he could already tell a little bit of difference, at least in his energy. His legs still felt terrible. He also never hated steps as much as he now did. Harry found himself cursing however put all the steps in this castle. He had been late to 2 classes on Friday because he couldn't move his sore legs fast enough.
Oh well. Today was Saturday so he didn't have to worry about getting up and down the stairs as much as on a weekday. Also, today he would get to fly. It was the Gryffindor quidditch tryouts today. Harry was a little anxious because it would be the first time he had to be in close proximity to Ginny for any period of time. Of course they had classes together but there had never been a reason to be near each other until today. There was enough going on in the classes to kind of keep them from having to acknowledge the other. That wouldn't be the case today. Harry had to do well enough to get back on the team. He hadn't heard of anyone else who was going to try out for seeker but it was never a good idea to assume anything. He had to make sure he flew great today.
Just as Harry and Neville were done with their breakfast Ron, Hermione and others from Gryffindor entered the Great Hall. Since he had nowhere else to be before tryouts he decided to stay with his friends.
"You two are filthy!" Ron said. "Why didn't you clean up before you had breakfast?"
"Well since we have tryouts in a little over an hour and I would get all sweaty and dirty during that as well I figured why bother showering twice?" Harry replied.
"Don't listen to him. He just didn't want to climb all the way up to the tower twice if he didn't have to." Neville said with a nudge in Harry's ribs.
Harry could only laugh as he said, "Well there is that as well."
Just then Ginny walked in with a couple of other girls he age. She didn't even look in the direction of the older Gryffindors as she walked a little farther down the table to start eating. Harry wasn't sure whether it was better to be getting nasty looks or being ignored.
"She will be fair won't she?" Neville quietly asked.
"I'm sure she will be Nev." Harry replied with a sigh. "It's like Hermione said the other day, she might not like me much but she wants the best team out there. If I'm the best person trying out for seeker then I'm sure she'll choose me for the team."
"If!" Ron snorted, "Who would be better than you Harry? The only time you didn't catch the snitch was because the dementors were there. Hell, you caught the snitch with a broken arm for Merlin's sake!"
"Harry is being humble Ronald. Something that might suit you a bit as well." Hermione said with huff as she went back to the book she was reading while she was eating. Harry noticed that she had pulled the book out just as she had sat down. It looked to be another Runes book. She still wouldn't mention what she was working on but it seemed to take up all of her time, at least when she was done doing work for her classes. Now though Harry was sure it was an excuse to not have to listen to the boys talking about quidditch.
"Well I'm off to the pitch again." Harry said. "I think I'll get a little flying in before tryouts."
"Mind if I come too?" Neville asked. "I'm going to try out for beater this year." He said a little sheepishly. For just a second he seemed to be the shy boy from their first few years.
"That's great Neville!" Hermione said as she got up to give Neville a hug. "Why are you trying out this year when you never did before?"
"Well, I feel like I can do it now. I was never that coordinated before but the last couple of years I think I have finally grown and come into my own. I was going to try last year but it's kind of hard to be on a team when you are being hunted down." Neville finished with a chuckle. "Besides, it'll be fun to show people that I'm not that same boy that fell off his broom and broke his arm during his first flying lesson."
"I think you standing up to the most evil wizard in who knows how long took care of that Neville." Harry laughed. "Even if that didn't do it cutting the head off Nagini should have done the trick."
"I know that. I guess I sometimes still feel that way." Neville said with a shrug. "It's something I am trying to put behind me. Unfortunately 16 years of most people thinking I'm barely better than a squib can take a while to work out of my psyche."
As Harry and Neville made their way out of the Great Hall they were met by Meg, Daphne, and Tracey who started walking they same way that they were. "Good morning Harry. Are you heading down to the pitch?" Meg asked the two boys.
"We are." Harry answered. "We have tryouts in about an hour and we wanted to get some flying in before hand."
Neville wasn't sure what to make of the situation as he walked with the three Slytherin girls. This was his first time being around them for any length of time. He had heard a couple rumors about Harry talking to them but this was the first he had seen it himself. He mentally shook his head, they were just girls. It shouldn't matter that they were in Slytherin. It was going to take a while to get used to not seeing them all as enemies.
"If you are going down now why are you both so filthy." Tracey asked. " It looks like you have been playing in the mud." she finished with a wrinkle of her nose. "You smell terrible too." she said under her breath.
"Neville and I went for a run before breakfast. We've got to stay in shape somehow. Besides, it's good to be out doing something normal. I don't have to worry aobut someone trying to kill me so I figured I'd do something normal for a change." Harry replied.
"I'm not so sure about that." Daphne said. "I've heard Pansy spouting her normal hatred of you quite a bit this week."
"I think she has been complaining more about Draco myself." Meg interjected. "She is not happy that he has been more subdued this year. She can't seem to figure out why he isn't picking more fights with Harry here. Maybe she'll do something stupid and he'll hex her. I wouldn't mind seeing that." Meg finished.
Harry looked over at Meg as she said that. He saw a little glint of mischief in her eyes as she said that. He also saw a little look between her and Daphne. He wondered if there was more to her dislike of Pansy than just finding the dark haired witch annoying.
His thoughts of Pansy and Draco were quickly forgotten when they came into site of the quidditch pitch. With the sun just above the tree of the Forbidden forest it gave the pitch an almost otherworldly look. The dew on the grass sparkled in the morning light and wood of the hoops and stands seemed to radiate with a warmth. This we definitely his second favorite place to be. Even if by some miracle he was drafted to play professionally he wasn't sure any place would give him the same feeling he got whenever he came out here to play Quidditch.
"Why are you three coming down here any how?" Neville asked.
"Well all the houses are having tryouts today so we thought we would come and watch." Meg answered. "Besides, Daphne tells me that the weather changes pretty quickly here. Might as well enjoy the great weather while we can. We probably won't stay for the whole day but Slytherin has theirs after you."
"If we get too bored we can have the afternoon to relax someplace else but this way we 'spied on the Gryffindor team' and then supported our own house. Besides, we heard that there might be a scout or two here today." Daphne added with a little wink to Harry.
That little bit of information brought Harry out of his little nostalgic daydream. He had never heard of a scout coming to tryouts before. Why would they want to be here now? 'Oh well.' he thought.
"Let's get in the air Neville." Harry said. "I'll grab a couple of bats and we can hit a bludger around for a bit before everyone else gets here."
As the boys walked toward the shed with the equipment in it he heard Daphne call out. "Good luck Harry!" He turned around to see Daphne giving a little wave to him but he couldn't help notice the slight red look to her face or the smirk that followed the nudge that Meg gave her. He just gave a little wave back and turned back to the shed.
He didn't however catch the smirk that Neville was sporting. If Ginny wanted to be stubborn she would have to get used to girls actually trying to hook up with Harry. These girls actually knew him, well knew him better than most of the people that were throwing themselves at Harry all summer. He didn't know what else Harry could have done to not make Ginny upset. Of course she was a little fiery for his liking. She was a great friend but a little too hotheaded for his tastes. It reminded him a bit of Ron when she would get mad. He wondered if Harry ever got that feeling. That would be kind of creepy.
The next hour Neville began to regret pushing Harry with their runs. They were both pretty sweaty after their time with the bludger. It was however good to get in a little practice. He hoped it would help him during the tryouts. As they made their way to the stands to wait for the tryouts to start Neville saw Luna sitting in the first row of stands. She smiled and waved the boys over to them.
"I thought you might need some water." she said as the boys collapsed onto the bench. "You stink." Luna proclaimed after she had given Neville a quick kiss.
"Sorry Luna." Neville said as he sat down and took the offered water.
"No need to be sorry Neville." Luna said in her dreamy voice. "It's to be expected."
Harry was enjoying the water as well when he turned to look at the stands. They were pretty full for a tryout. Not as the year he was captain but more than was usual. He supposed that maybe others felt the same way as Meg and they were out enjoying the nice weather while they could. It was the first weekend of school after all and no one had that much homework yet. Well, maybe Hermione but she did that to herself. She didn't seem to be happy unless she was huddled over a book reading. That or snogging Ron.
As he surveyed the crowd he saw a couple of people sitting way up at the top of the stands away from all the students. He wondered if they were the scouts that were rumored to be coming. He wasn't sure what they expected to see. The tryouts never were a good show. Well, looking back at his time of running them he could chuckle about the massive pileup of first years that tried out. It was infuriating at the time but he could laugh about it now. Harry didn't think he would have made it through it without Ginny there to help.
Ginny. As much as he knew that she would want the best team on the pitch Harry didn't kid himself into thinking that she wanted him there. He wasn't sure how long the awkwardness would last but he couldn't wait for it to be over. It had only been a couple of days but it was already taxing. At least his friends didn't blame him for what happened.
Just as Harry finished that thought Ginny walked out onto the pitch and called out to get the attention of everyone.
"All right you lot!" she yelled to be heard over everyone. Once the voices had died down she continued. "We will have the chasers go first with the keepers followed by the beaters and then anyone trying out for seeker." she finished with a quick dirty look to Harry. "Alright, lets get going."
Most of the people trying out for the team were trying to be chasers so a large number of the people sitting in the stands got up and grabbed their brooms. This group were infinitely better than the bunch Harry had to work with. Ginny had them fly a couple of laps around the pitch while she had the keepers, it was only Ron and a fourth year that Harry didn't know, go up to the hoops to get ready. After she sent a few students that weren't up to snuff to the stands, she split up the remaining would-be players into 4 groups of three. Those groups ended up being a good mix of years. It looked like Ginny wanted to see how everyone worked with others of different skill levels. After they started trying to score on the keepers Harry focused his attention on Ron to see how he would fair.
It wasn't there for very long however as he felt a small tug on his sleeve. He turned to see a rather small girl with long blond hair standing next to him. Harry was surprised to see that she was barely taller than her broom.
"Hello Harry. My name is Whitney Blair. I'm in fourth year." she said as she reached out her hand. "I'm trying out for seeker too."
Harry was a little surprised. This was the first time he had been challenged for a spot on the team. He knew it might happen but he wasn't prepared for his competition to be a tiny girl.
Mentally shaking his head he grabbed the offered hand. "Nice to meet you Whitney. How long have you been playing quidditch?" He knew that was kind of a dumb question to be asking but he couldn't think of anything else to say. He also wasn't used to being looked at the way the tiny Gryffindor was looking at him. It seemed to be a mixture of awe and a calculated look. Like he was a puzzle to be figured out.
Whitney took back her hand and answered, "I've been flying for a long time. Ever since I could remember I had a broom. My family has a far bit of land and I could fly without being seen by anyone."
"That must have been nice." Harry replied. He was feeling a bit jealous of that opportunity. He had decided a long time ago that wherever he ended up living he would make sure he had enough room for a small pitch. The space at the Burrow was just about perfect.
Turning back to Whitney he asked, "Have you always wanted to be a seeker?"
"It seems that I am built for it." she replied with a smile as she held out her arms in an invitation to look at her. "Don't you think?" Harry could only nod his head and smile back. "Besides, while our family does have a lot of land he don't have any hoops up anywhere. My family also likes golf though so I could always get someone to hit golf balls for me to chase down. It was something my uncle especially loved to do with me."
Harry smiled at the thought of taking off after golf balls that were hit. Why hadn't he ever thought of something like that?
"Hello," Neville said as he reached around Harry to introduce himself to Whitney. "I'm Neville and this is Luna, she's in Ravenclaw." Luna also shook her hand and asked her, "On your family's land have you ever come across a Crumple-Horned Snorkack? They are normally found in Sweden but it never hurts to ask you know."
"I have never come across one myself but I'll keep an eye out." Whitney answered with a wink to Neville and Harry who were both a little stunned by her nonchalant answer. Before Harry could question her about her response to the question they were interrupted by Ginny calling out for the Beaters to come out.
Neville stood up and made his way out to the pitch. "Wish me luck." he said. Luna got up and kissed him soundly. After the whistles started from the students in the stands she released him and turned without a word to head back to her seat. After a moment of him just standing there looking dumbfounded Harry got up from his seat and shook him.
"You ok there Neville?"
"What? Oh, yeah, I'm good."
"Good. Good luck." Harry said as he turned his friend around. "Now go give'm hell." he finished with a smack on Neville's butt and a wink to move him on his way.
That seemed to get him going. He started walking toward the pitch as a small number of chuckles sounded from the stands. Harry watched as Neville joined Seamus and a couple younger students trying out for beater.
"What did you smack him on the bum for Harry?" Ron asked as he made his way over to the stands to sit with Harry and Luna.
"It was something I saw once when I was still living on Privet Drive. My uncle had some baseball on for some reason, I think just to complain about the Americans. Anyway, at the end of a game I saw someone doing that to all the players as they walked off the field. It seemed like a congratulatory thing. Besides, I had to snap him out of his love induced daze." Harry finished with a look at Luna.
"I just wanted him to remember who his girl is. When he's a big quidditch star this year I'm sure he will have girls all over him." Luna said. "Not that I'm worried mind you, I've just seen other people do that and it seemed like the proper time to do it."
Harry and Ron just shook their heads as the watched the potential beaters head up into the air. It looked like they were just trying to hit the bludgers back and forth to start with. While still watching the people in the air Harry asked Ron.
"So where is Hermione?"
"She wanted to work on whatever she is doing with those Slytherin girls. Said she was close to it being ready."
"The others are down here." Harry said as he pointed to Meg, Daphne, and Tracey. It looked like they had been joined by a few more Slytherin students too.
"Who knows with her. You know how she gets when she's trying to figure something out. She said she would come down and watch but I know she would just have her nose in a book the whole time she was here anyway. Better for her to get it over and done with so we can have the rest of the day for other things." Ron finished with a small flush coming over his face.
Before Harry could respond with a little ribbing he was startled by Ginny yelling for him.
"Oi! Potter! Come over here!"
"Now what did I do?" Harry said to himself. It must have been louder than he thought as Ron answered.
"I don't think you have to do anything right now Harry. It can't last forever thought. Right?"
"I hope not Ron." Harry replied.
Harry picked up his Firebolt and headed toward the pitch. Harry took one last look back at this friends and was surprised to see quite a few anxious glances being cast his way. It seemed like they were all wondering if they would get to see a little bit of fireworks between the now defunct couple. His eyes passed over the group of Slytherins and he saw a concerned look on the faces of Meg and Daphne. Daphne gave him a little smile and a wave. Harry couldn't help but smile back. As he turned his gaze back toward the people waiting on the pitch it was obvious that Ginny saw Daphne too.
"Alright Potter, I want you up in the air avoiding the bludgers. I can't get a good idea about how well these players will do without something to aim for." Ginny said. "Let's get going!" She yelled to the guys on the pitch.
This was actually one of Harry's favorite things to do. He didn't tell anyone this because, let's face it, who would want to have iron balls hit at you? Harry didn't mind though. With no snitch to catch he could do all his crazy flying with no distractions. He was up in the air. Nothing else mattered right now. Not school, not his problems with Ginny. Just him and his Firebolt. Just then a bludger wizzed by his head. Oh yeah, they were up here too. Wouldn't do to forget about them.
The next 15 minutes was spent flying all around the stadium avoiding the iron balls. It wasn't overly taxing for Harry. He had to admit that Neville and Seamus where much better than he thought they would be since they had never been on the team before. They did keep him on his toes though. They would both be on the team if Harry was still the captain, that much was certian.
"All right!" Ginny called from the ground. "Come on down! Let's get the seeker tryouts finished!"
Harry landed next to Ginny with a smile on his face. That had been a good warm up but he wanted to get back into the air.
"That was amazing flying Harry." Whitney said as she joined him next to the captain. "I don't know how I can beat you."
"I'm sure you'll do great. I'm not going to take it easy on you though." Harry replied with a wink to the younger player.
"If you two are done chatting maybe we can get started." Ginny said. It was a little harsh if Harry could be honest. She might be upset with him but that was no reason to take it out on Whitney. Harry decided to hold his tongue though. Nothing would be gained with arguing with her.
"O.K. I'm going to release a snitch and if anyone catches it in 15 minutes they will be on the team. I'm also going to have some of the others that tried out have a little scrimmage. I want to get a good idea on how you fly in traffic." With that said Ginny walked over to the other group of players to tell them what she wanted.
"Good luck to you Harry." Whitney said as she got ready to take off on her broom.
"To you too Whit." Harry replied.
After they other players were in the air trying to score some goals they two would-be seekers took off. Harry expected to have Whitney trail him for a bit but she took off in a completely different direction. Harry watched her fly for a bit. She tended to stay out of the way of everyone else as she scanned the pitch for the small golden ball. She was a great flyer though. The few bludgers that were sent her way were easily dodged. It was scary for Harry to think how good she could be with some playing time under her belt. He decided that he should stop wasting time and find that blasted ball if he wanted to keep his place on the team.
After about 10 minutes of flying in and out of chasers and avoiding bludgers Harry finally saw the snitch. It was flying down close to the ground. Without a second glance at anyone else he took off like a shot for the ground. He wasn't aiming right for it just in case it decided to take off in a different direction. He didn't want to miss it. As he leveled out about 50 feet from it and started for it he saw something that almost stopped his heart. Whitney was doing almost the exact same thing that he was but from his left. Leaning forward to get every last bit of speed he could he shot forward and reached out his hand. He felt it in his grasp just as Whitney flew behind him. He had only beat her by about 5 feet. His previous thought was right on. She was going to be good.
"Great job Harry." Whitney said as she landed next to him. "I never even saw it until you dove for the ground."
"You did amazing too Whit. You are a great flyer." Harry replied.
"Not as good as you, not yet. I'm not that good at flying through traffic yet. Hopefully with some practice." Whitney said with a slight sag in her shoulders. Harry could tell that she was disappointed. Harry was about to try to encourage her when they were joined by someone that Harry didn't know.
"I wouldn't feel too bad young lady. Not many can fly like Mr. Potter here. My name is Sebastian Looper. I work for the Ballycastle Bats. I wasn't sure if I should have come today but my employer assured me that it would be worth my time. I must say that he was correct. He didn't however tell me that I would get to see two amazing performances today. I won't take up any more of your time as it looks like your captain is getting upset. Here, take a card, both of you. I look forward to seeing you both fly again soon."
With that the strange man left leaving both students speechless.
"Well that was a first for me." Whitney said.
"Yeah, for me to." Harry replied as they both walked over to where all the students were clustered around Ginny.
"Now that everyone is paying attention let me announce the team." Ginny said with a pointed look at Harry and Whitney. " Chasers are myself, Dean, and Amanda."
Harry looked up and gave Dean a congratulatory smile. "Way to go Dean."
"Thanks Harry." Dean replied.
The other chaser, Amanda Warren, was a fifth year that Harry was vaguely aware of. She seemed like an excitable sort as she was jumping up and down in apparent glee.
"The beaters are Neville and Seamus." Ginny stated. Both boys shouted for joy and then gave each other a quick manly hug in celebration.
"Keeper is Ron and the seeker is Harry." Ginny said rather quickly. "The reserve players will be decided on later. I'll let you know by the end of the day. The only one I know for sure right now is Whitney since she was the only other person trying out for seeker. Let's clear out so the next house can get in here for their tryouts."
Harry and Whitney walked over to the stands where Neville was being congratulated by Luna.
"Oi! Get a room you two!" Ron stated as he joined them.
"Thank you Ronald, I think we will." Luna said matter of factly as she grabbed Neville's hand and pulled him toward the castle. Neville could only smile and wave to his friends as his girlfriend dragged him away.
"You should watch who you give a hard time to about that stuff Ron." Harry said.
"Hey now, Hermione and I try to keep that stuff private. We don't go around snogging each other in public." Ron quickly changed topics as he noticed that Whitney was with them. "You flew great you know. I'm glad someone will be able to keep Harry on his toes."
"I was thinking the same thing Weasley." a familiar voice said. Harry and Ron turned to see Draco Malfoy walking up to the pitch with his broom. The rest of the Slytherin team was a ways away from from the Gryffindor team but Harry saw quite a few eyes on them.
"What do you want Malfoy?" Ron asked with clear malice in his voice.
"I just wanted to tell Potter that that was an amazing show he just put on. It's no wonder why he always wipes the pitch with us. I also wanted to thank him for getting me help the other day." Draco said before he turned around and headed back to his team.
"What was that about?" Ron asked.
"I think he just wanted to be nice?" Harry replied.
"Git." Ron said as he picked up his things. "Well I'm off to find Hermione. I'll see you later Harry."
"I've got to get going too Harry." Whitney said. "It was great flying with you though. I can't wait for our first practice."
"You might not think that way after the practice. I'm almost positive that Ginny will be a task master." Harry said with a smile. "I'll see you later."
As Harry packed up his things he was joined by Meg and Daphne.
"What did Draco want?" Daphne asked.
"To compliment myself and Whitney and to say thank you." Harry said with a still disbelieving voice.
"Well there is a first time for everything." Daphney said.
Just then the voice of Pansy Parkinson could be heard from across the pitch.
"You did what?!"
"I guess she just found out too." Meg said with a smile. "It looks like Draco continues to infuriate the little pug. Maybe this will be the straw that breaks with camels back."
Harry looked over and saw Draco just walking away from a clearly still irate Pansy.
"Well I can't worry about Malfoy's love life when I can't even handle my own." Harry said to the two girls. "If you two will excuse me. I really need to get a shower and maybe start on a little homework. I'll see you two later?"
"Sure thing Harry." Meg said
"Bye Harry." Daphne said with a smile and a wave.
As Harry walked up to the castle he had to admit that it had been a good morning. Too bad he had to ruin a little bit of it with homework. Well it was school after all.