Deciding it would be best to lay low after robbing Snape's stores, Avery and the twins agreed to avoid each other during the weekend and reconvene the following Monday night at the statue of the one-eyed witch. During the upcoming meeting the twins had promised to go into more detail about the products they had in mind for their business and how Avery could help in the making of them. As such, Avery spent most of her weekend writing in the Hufflepuff common room, far way from the twins, unable to believe how much homework she had in just the first week of school. Marilyn worked alongside her for the most part, talking of little else than Draco Malfoy and the hippogriff attack during the Gryffindor and Slytherin Care of Magical Creatures lesson, which had taken place just before theirs on Friday.
"I just can't believe Dumbledore is allowing Hagrid to continue teaching the class! His first lesson and someone is maimed. Can you imagine?" She kept saying. It didn't matter how many times Avery pointed out that it was Malfoy's fault for insulting the creature, or that Hagrid was a great person, or that Snape mentally and emotionally maimed students everyday and no one fired him, no argument would change her mind that Hagrid should have been sacked on the spot. It was only when Marilyn refered to Hagrid as an "oaf" and Avery pointed out that Marilyn was starting to sound a lot like Malfoy that Marilyn finally changed the subject to Friday's quidditch tryouts.
"Oh bloody hell..." Avery said, staring blankly at the fire. It was Sunday night and she had completely forgotten about the fact that she didn't have a proper broom for tryouts, and since she agreed with the twins she would be giving them a portion of her earnings to help fund Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, there was little hope of earning enough money in the next few days to get the broom she wanted in time.
"I'm sure the school brooms will be fine," Marilyn said, as if reading her mind. "You practice at home on a Comet 260 anyway, why not tryout on one? You'd probably be more comfortable on it, anyway." Avery nodded, although she didn't really agree. She may have practiced on an old broom, but she didn't want to compete on one. Not again. She wondered vaguely if it would make it in time if she ordered a Cleansweep 11 from Diagon Alley, knowing that if she did it would deplete her entire savings.
Shortly after, Cedric entered the common room, smiling and waving hello to several of the other Hufflepuffs spending their Sunday evening gathered around the fire, and posted a quidditch tryout reminder on the bulletin board.
"How d'you think our odds look this year, eh, Ced?" a male sixth year that Avery didn't recognize called out from a plush armchair near the fire. Cedric smiled again and replied, "good, as long as you aren't trying out." A few of the students nearest him laughed, and Cedric beamed. Avery very pointedly look back down at her potions essay revision on shrinking solutions and focused hard on her mouth, making sure it wasn't mirroring Cedric's.
"Think you'll try out this year, Avery?" Cedric asked from across the room. She turned to look at him again, trying hard not to flush from the memory of her embarrassing attempt to make the team the previous year.
"Maybe," she called back, trying to appear nonchalant, shrugging her shoulders. Cedric nodded and began probing the rest of the students around the fire as to whether or not they would be going out for the team. While she worked, she overheard Cedric mention that they needed a beater, chaser, and keeper.
"I'd forgotten about last year," Marilyn mumbled, almost apologetically, although Avery could have sworn she saw the edges of Marilyn's lips twist like she was fighting off a smirk.
"I've tried to forget about last year," Avery muttered back glumly. Last year she had tried out for keeper, but since her broom was so old and she was still new to the game she just couldn't keep up, which is why she had been working so hard to afford a new broom this year. She had been practicing hard all Summer, and she had vastly improved; as far as she was concerned, her broom was the only thing standing in her way of being chosen as the new Hufflepuff keeper.
Closing her books and folding her parchment, she bade goodnight to Marilyn and headed for the dormitory, glancing over her shoulder towards Cedric and the others who were still by the fire, hoping to catch him watching her leave, though she would've hated to admit it. But he wasn't, he was talking to another sixth year Hufflepuff girl animatedly, gesturing to the flyer he had posted. Avery lay in her bed that night, staring up at the canopy of her four-poster bed, anxious about the broom and about tryouts and about the business and about boys, until her mind was so worn and tired from running in circles that she fell into an uneasy sleep.
Other than seeing them as they passed in the hallways or at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, Avery did not see the twins until the following evening near the statue. Beaming brightly as she walked towards them, the twins were as handsome and disheveled as ever. She was impatient to see them and learn more about their business plan.
"Hello! Shall we?" Avery said, not wanting to waste time, stepping round the statue to where Fred usually hoisted her up.
"Actually, we thought we'd take our meeting elsewhere today," George said, placing an arm around her shoulder and steering her down the hall, Fred walking along her other side.
"So, notice anything unusual in potions today?" Fred asked with a smirk. Whether Avery had or not, it was apparent that Fred had by the smug look he was wearing.
"He did seem a bit grumpier than normal today," Avery replied.
"He was taking points left and right in our class, even the from Slytherins. He must have noticed that everything went missing and is taking it out on anyone he can, since he doesn't have anyone to blame for it. He knows we can't have done it, since we were with Filch, and he doesn't have any other usual suspects. It worked out bloody brilliant," Fred told her, grinning from ear to ear. Avery may not have known them very long at all, but she very much liked the twins, especially when they were this happy. It reminded her of the manic sort of happiness you often see in children with new toy. And to know that part of the reason they were so jovial was because of her made her want to help them with their shop even more.
"Ever heard of the Room of Requirement, Avery?" George chimed in, his arm still resting lightly on her shoulders.
"Can't say that I have."
"It's where we go to work on our products," Fred explained. "It's this lovely room that generates whatever it is that you need. All you have to do," he continued, stopping suddenly in front of blank stretch of wall in an empty corridor, "is walk back and forth in front of this wall three times, thinking about whatever it is that you require, and a door will appear."
"You're joking," Avery said, shaking her head in disbelief. If there really were such a wonderful room, why hadn't she heard about it until now?
"Watch and see," George said, wriggling his eyebrows. Then, looking pensive, he passed back and forth along the stretch of empty wall three times, and just as Fred had told her, a door appeared.
"Whoa," Avery breathed, wondering when she would stop being so surprised by Hogwarts' many secrets. George took hold of the door handle, opened it, and ushered Avery and his twin inside.
If she had been amazed by just the door, Avery was absolutely floored by what lay beyond it. It was a large, rectangular room, books lining the entire west wall and bright lamps hanging from the ceiling. Down the center of the room were a pair of long stone tables, upon which were beakers and burners and scales. It looked like an extremely advanced lab, only not as sterile feeling with the warm stone walls. Along the back wall were high cabinets and a built in sink with a strange looking faucet bearing three different spouts. In the east corner was a fireplace, happily crackling, a large couch, along with a table piled with sweets and pumpkin juice.
"Nice, isn't it? We have plenty of reference material," Fred began, gesturing to the wall of books, "all the equipment we could ever need," he continued, pointing to the tables, "and even a break area," he finished as he threw himself onto the sofa, folding his arms behind his head and sinking comfortably into the couch.
"Yeah, it's alright," Avery said breathlessly, eyes wide as she searched the room, trying to take it all in. While Fred remained comfortable, George steered Avery over to one of the long tables with all the beakers and scales and began to explain that last semester they had stumbled upon the Room of Requirement when they were trying to hide from Filch. They had used it briefly after that to begin the production of some of their merchandise, but then Summer came and this was the first time they had been back in the Room of Requirement since. Avery had been nodding long as George spoke, letting her eyes wander over the equipment spread across the table. Her eyes fell on a platter of was looked like half-melted, brightly colored taffy candies. She began to lift a bright pink one off the platter, when a large hand covered hers. Looking up, she saw that Fred was now across the table from her, shaking his head, his hand over hers.
"You don't want to try one of those just yet, Avery," he said, eyes twinkling, "these are one of our products."
"I thought you were starting a joke shop, not a candy store," Avery replied, brow furrowed in confusion. From there, the twins launched into their introduction of the skiving snackbox.
"So one half of the candy will make you sick and the other half will cure you. Perfect for skipping the classes you can't stand. We made some progress last year, it's just that they have some nasty side effects..." George explained, scratching the back of his head and avoiding eye contact.
"So, I hope your marks in potions are good, cause we'll need help adjusting the recipes as well as testing the products," Fred said.
"We're testing them?" Avery asked. She had decent marks in potions, but she wasn't sure she wanted to eat any of her concoctions.
"Well of course. How can we expect anyone else to try them if we won't ourselves? There are plenty of first aid supplies here so I reckon we'll be just fine if something doesn't function as planned... You said you wanted in, and this is part of being in," Fred said, almost accusingly as he caught the unsure look flashing across Avery's features.
"You're right, you're right," Avery said, probably more to herself than either of the twins, heaving a deep breath.
"Excellent. We were planning on meeting on the nights we don't have quidditch, so Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. Maybe the occasional Saturday meeting if we're really onto something, but we'd like to keep that night free so we can maintain a social life, and you can do your homework," George explained.
"Yes, we maybe be manufacturing candies that help you skive off class, but your education is actually very important to us," Fred nodded along. Avery's heart seemed to stop momentarily.
"Well, the thing is, I am trying out for the Hufflepuff team on Friday. If I make it we'll have practice Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday..." she trailed off, torn. She wanted to help the twins very much, but she had been dying to be on the house team ever since her first year, and she didn't want to give up the opportunity to play keeper just as much as she didn't want to give up the opportunity to be a part of the Weasley enterprise. "Maybe I can help out on Saturdays and Sundays and in between classes or something," she added, hoping it would be enough, but judging by the look the twins gave each other, it didn't seem to be.
"We didn't think you had much else going on. We were kind of thinking you'd be on board full time," Fred started, biting his lip, looking frustrated.
"Well, I mean it's not for sure that I'll make the team," she said apologetically, even though it hurt her to say. "I mean, I really really want to be on the team but I really want to work with you also."
"But you said you would give us a portion of the money you make by faking identities. How on earth are you going to have time to do any work for other students in between helping us with snackboxes, classes, and quidditch?" Fred asked disbelievingly. When he put it that way, Avery wasn't sure what to say. It certainly was a lot to juggle, and although she wanted to, she wasn't sure she could handle it.
"I...I'm not sure, really," she replied half heartedly. The hopelessness of the situation was quickly draining her. Either way, she was going to have to give up something that she didn't want to. She had been training hard for the quidditch team since the previous year, and she had wanted to be on it since as far back as she could remember. But she really wanted to help the twins, and even though helping them hadn't been an old dream, it was one that she was already passionate about, despite it's newness. The twins stared at her, as if waiting for her to make a choice between them or quidditch.
"I... I'm sorry. I've wanted to be on the team as long as I can remember... I'm sorry."
Fred, who looked nothing short of furious, wouldn't make eye contact with her. George, on the other hand faked a smile and said, "we understand. It's a shame, but we understand. Good luck at tryouts."
Avery nodded solemnly and apologized once more before leaving and heading back to her common room. She felt defeated and hurt that she let the twins down. But the more she thought about it, the more frustrated she was with Fred being so angry she wouldn't give up quidditch for the shop. She shouldn't be expected to drop everything for them. He should've respected her choice and tried to be cordial, like Fred. As she walked, she got angrier and angrier as the exchange replayed over and over in her head. So, when she arrived back at her room, she owled her order to the broom shop in Diagon Alley, deciding that if she was going to indeed focus on quidditch, she was going to do it on a Cleansweep eleven.
The following days Avery didn't speak to either of the twins, though she often saw them at mealtimes or walking through the halls together, seeming just as happy and carefree as ever. She assumed that they were working, as they had planned, on the skiving snackboxes in the evenings without her. Even though she was still upset with them, it stung a bit to know that she wasn't missed, although she could hardly be surprised by it. The twins had been working on this together long before she came along, and they would be working on it together long after she was gone.
That Friday, Marilyn walked with Avery down to the quidditch pitch, brand new broom in hand.
"Nervous?" Marilyn asked, hugging herself as the chilly September air whipped her hair about her freckled face. She had promised Avery she would stay and watch the tryouts, thinking good thoughts.
"Not really," Avery lied through the tightness in her throat. She felt jittery, like she had had too much sugar or something. She knew that she was as ready as she would ever be, but that didn't stop her heart from banging against her chest.
Marilyn said goodbye and goodluck to Avery, who was finding it harder and harder to breathe, and found her way up into the stands to take a seat. Avery, however, stepped out onto the pitch and was greeted by the entire existing Hufflepuff team and the few who were attempting to make the team; One surly looking sixth year girl, two fifth year boys, who appeared to be friends, a fifth year girl, as well as a fourth and a second year girl. Cedric smiled and waved as she walked across the pitch to join the other hopefuls. Scanning the stands for Marilyn, trying to distract herself from the growing panic in her stomach, she found her sitting not too far away, her nose buried in a copy of The Prophet. She also noticed only a few rows in front of Marilyn were none other than Fred and George, who were waving Hufflepuff flags and beaming. She couldn't believe they were there to support her when she had essentially chosen the team over helping them with their business, Fred being as mad as he was. Heart in her throat, she waved and smiled back, thinking maybe they valued her not only as a tool to further their business, but as a friend after all.
Cedric then cleared his throat loudly and brought Avery back to the reality of the situation; the tryouts were about to begin.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming out today. We're really excited to start this season. We already have some great players, and I can already tell you are all as well," Cedric said, and Avery glanced around at the hopefuls again. She thought he was probably being a little generous with that comment, but then again that was how Cedric was; ever polite and kind to a fault.
"As quidditch captain, I'm going to have to make some very hard decisions today, but I'm excited to see what you've got and I hope you're excited too. Now, as you may have heard, we are in need of a chaser, beater, and keeper, and we'll hold tryouts for the positions in that order. So, if you think you'd like to be beater, come with me. Otherwise, have a seat."
Avery and all but the sixth year girl and two fifth year boys took a seat. Cedric and the existing members of the team proceeded to run drills with the potential new beaters, and Avery watched closely, and it turned out that if these three were any indication of how the rest of them would do, Cedric hadn't been too generous after all. Both the fifth year boys were exceptionally strong and hit most of the marks they were given. However, it was the sixth year girl in Avery's opinion who preformed the best. She was a lot quicker than she looked and packed a powerful swing. After the beaters were finished, it was time for drills for the chasers. The fifth and fourth year girls stood and began to run drills up and down the pitch, Cedric playing keeper for the purposes of tryouts, trying to pass the quaffle through the hoops behind him. As Avery watched, it occurred to her that it would be just her and the second year competing for keeper. Trying to be subtle, Avery stole a few sideways glances at her and decided the young girl would be no match for her. She was small and almost frail looking with huge brown eyes and mousy brown hair, a Comet 260 laying across her lap. Avery was sure she would be making the team this year.
Finally, it came time for the keepers. The chaser hopefuls taking their seats on the grass, Avery and the second year, who shortly after introduced herself as Anne to Cedric, stood with brooms in hand.
"Alright, Anne, you take the posts first. We'll have Michael and Bridget take shots, and all you have to do is block them," Cedric explained. Anne smiled, mounted her broom, and took off. Michael and Bridget, the Hufflepuff chasers, took the quaffle and soared into the air, but Cedric didn't. He watched the chasers attempt to make goals from below for a moment next to Avery, who was surprised to see how well Anne was fairing. Her broom was old, but she was quick.
"Think you've got a shot?" Cedric asked, still staring up at Anne as she dodged to the left to protect a goal Bridget was attempting.
"I'd say so," Avery replied, even though it wasn't going to be quite as easy as she had thought. She assumed the quaffle would knock the tiny second year right off her broom, but she was holding her own and had only allowed one goal out of seven shots. Cedric gave Avery a quick grin and a nod before mounting his broom and taking to the air, observing Anne from the above and sides now. Before long, Anne and Cedric returned to the ground, Bridget and Michael waiting in the air with the quaffle. Anne had only allowed three goals out of thirty shots; it was an excellent run, but Avery was sure she could do better.
"Alright, your turn," Cedric said excitedly, rubbing his hands together in the cold. He was smiling and Avery couldn't help but smile back before she nodded, jumped on her brand new broom, and took off for the goal posts. Upon seeing her shoot off into the air, she heard the Weasley twins shout encouragements loudly, and Avery's grin grew even wider. She hovered in front of the posts, ready. She watched as Michael and Bridget nodded silently to each other before advancing on her, passing the quaffle between them as they went. She was ready, watching the ball like a hawk, knees tight around her broom and hands resting lightly on it's end, ready to throw them up and block the goal. She was watching them so closely, she felt like everything was in slow motion. But when Bridget tossed the quaffle at the rightmost goal post, the only thing that seemed to be in slow motion was Avery. It was a strange feeling, like her body just wasn't keeping up with her mind. The quaffle passed through the hoop, and Avery shook her head in disbelief. Michael collected the quaffle and they began advancing on her and scored again. Avery shook out her hands, telling herself that is was nerves. That's why her head felt so cloudy. And it continued like that. The quaffle would soar through one of the three goal posts and Avery with each failed block would shake her head or her hands and curse her nerves and grow redder and redder. Fred and George had cheered her on loudly through the first five scored goals, and then grew silent, either worried they were distracting her or quickly becoming embarrassed of her and not wanting people to think they were in any way associated.
The chasers took thirty shots, just like they had with Anne, and she had only managed to block eighteen of them. When it was over and the chasers and Cedric returned to the ground, Avery almost bolted on her broom back towards the castle, too embarrassed to return to the pitch, but she decided that would probably only make matters worse, so with her head hung she landed hard on the pitch and threw her broom over her shoulder. Cedric made a speech about how wonderful tryouts had been and reiterated that he had some very hard decisions to make, but Avery barely heard, her eyes hot with angry tears, her throat tight again. When she thought she heard Cedric say goodbye, she turned on her heel and walked as quickly as she could off the pitch. But she didn't head back for the castle. She made her way across the grounds, past Hagrid's hut, and towards the whomping willow, so furious with herself that she intended to hurl either herself or her new broom at it's trunk.
"Avery! Avery!"
"Where the hell are you heading!? Slow down!"
"Go away!" her voice came out strangled. The twins were running behind her, trying to catch up. She was only ten feet from the whomping willow, well within the reach of it's twitching branches, broom held high over her head, ready to throw it to it's destruction, when Fred caught up and grabbed it out of her hands and George's wound their way around her middle, pulling her backward. He dragged her back about fifteen feet before collapsing, with Avery in his lap. Furious, she pushed herself off of him and sat a foot or two away, hugging and burying her head in her knees. She didn't want the twins to see her this way, but she wasn't ready to stop being angry and upset yet. Much to her relief, they said nothing while she bawled. She couldn't believe how poorly she had done. Evene worse than the previous year. Over the summer she easily blocked one hundred percent of the shots her friends had taken on her. She thought her new broom would have made it even easier. She had practiced the day before with Jeffery, and she had done perfectly. But maybe Marilyn was right. Maybe she should've just used a Comet 260, like the second year had. She couldn't believe that the second year would be playing keeper and she would be watching from the sidelines again this year. She wound her fingers in her hair and inhaled sharply, shallowly.
"Avery, its very late. Let us take you back to the castle," came Fred's voice in her ear. She didn't respond or look up, but she felt a set of hands on each of her arms dragging her to her feet. The twins half carried her back to the Hufflepuff common room that night in silence.
