~ Chapter 11 : Quidditch Trials ~

Great Hall, breakfast

Suddenly, Alex Bones and Michael Abbot stood up on their chairs.  The hall fell silent, just waiting to see what the boys were going to do.

"Professor Dumbledore told you last night about Potter and Malfoy going to the Death Eater meeting to capture a criminal.  What he didn't tell you was that they used Polyjuice Potion so no one would know it was them," Michael said angrily.

"They used our hair so they would look like us!" Alex said, glaring over at the two Slytherins.  "Then they came back to Hogwarts and skipped down the hall hand in hand!"

"Oh. My. God," Seamus said, staring at Harry and Draco with his mouth hanging open.  Everyone else in the hall had started whispering and giggling along with the Gryffindors.

Hermione had dropped her head on the Ravenclaw table with a bang and Ginny was anxiously questioning her.  Both seemed upset at Alex's revelation.

Fred (and George over at the Ravenclaw table) both looked stunned as they realised what they actually had seen the other night.

Ron had gone as white as a sheet and was staring at Harry.  He didn't seem to have comprehended what he'd just been told.

Draco swore under his breath and stood up on his own chair.  "Alright, that's enough," Draco said, glaring over at Bones and Abbott.  "Yes, it was us.  We took Polyjuice Potion to go to the Death Eater meeting."

Gasps could be heard all over the hall.  It wasn't like Draco to just come out and admit stuff like that.  The teachers appeared to be uninterested in what was going on but Harry privately thought that they were just waiting for it to move beyond talking before making a move. 

"I'm sure the Dark Lord would have been really receptive if Harry and I had just waltzed in to his meeting," Draco drawled sarcastically.  "We'd probably be dead now if we did that.  It was not our intention to involve others in this plan but we didn't have a choice.  An innocent man is now free.  Let's keep things in perspective here."

Everyone appeared to be a little disappointed with Draco's declaration, as he hadn't mentioned the one thing they were most interested in.

"What about the hand holding?" someone called out.  Others voiced their approval of this question. 

"No comment," Draco said curtly before sitting back down on his seat.  He reached for some toast and totally ignored everyone around him.  Even Harry, although he was uncomfortably aware of every move the former-Gryffindor made.

"So Harry," Sirius said with a mischievous grin.  "All those questions about Soulmate Sparks.  Still want to tell me that it's just for Divination?"

Harry glared at his godfather and refused to answer.

Quidditch Pitch

"Alright," shouted Madam Hooch.  "I want people trying out for Keeper over here, people trying out for Beater over there, Chaser over this side, and Seeker next to them."

The new members of Slytherin house shuffled into the space she indicated.  Trials were being held to form a new house team.  Every house was having them and Slytherin was last.  Ron had been ecstatic to have made it onto the Hufflepuff team although he would never admit it.  He kept complaining about the fact that it was Hufflepuff and they were always last but Harry reminded him that since the houses had been mixed up, he had Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Slytherins in there with him.

"Well, looks like we've got a seeker," Hooch said, smiling over at Harry who was standing alone in the space reserved for seekers.

No one was brave enough to compete with Harry for the position.  They all knew he'd beat them anyway so they were trying out for positions they thought they might stand a chance at getting.  Even Draco was doing that.  He was standing in the beater spot, a little apart from the group.

Draco had been upset when the Quidditch trials had been announced a couple of weeks earlier.  He'd known that he'd never beat Harry for the position of seeker.  He might have bribed his way onto the Slytherin team in second year, but he was actually a pretty good player in his own right.  He'd just ensured that there hadn't been any trials that year.  Now he wished he hadn't done that, as he would have liked to know if he could have made it on talent alone.  But that was in the past and couldn't be changed now.  But he could change the future.  So instead of killing himself trying to beat Harry, he had decided go for another position and play on the same team as Harry.

Harry stared at Draco, a confused expression on his face.  He'd had no idea the blonde was going to do that when they'd walked to the pitch after breakfast.  Draco wasn't looking at him and hadn't ever since the debacle at breakfast.  Harry had to admit that he missed Draco, even though he hadn't been more than a few metres away from him at any given time. 

Hooch beckoned Harry over to her and sent up six chasers, four beaters and two keepers to play a mock game (without the snitch).  She and Harry took notes on the players and when they felt they had a good handle on the players strengths and weaknesses, Hooch called them down and sent up a new lot.  This continued until everyone had had their chance. 

"Alright, Harry and I will decide on a team and I'll post the results in the common room tonight along with a practice schedule.  The first game is in three weeks," Hooch said to the hopeful students before shooing them off the pitch.

"What do you think?" she asked Harry as she returned to sit in the stands with him.

"I think Fred Weasley is a definite for beater," Harry replied.  The Weasley twin had proved today that he wasn't just one half of a formidable team.  He was a great beater in his own right and with the right partner, he would form another formidable team.

"And the second beater?" Hooch asked.

"I may be biased but I really think Draco was the best of the rest of them," Harry said honestly.

"I agree with you," Hooch said with a smile.  "The rest were shit."

Harry stared at her in shock as she merely grinned back at him.  He mentally shrugged.  Hogwarts flying instructor had always been unconventional.

"Now, for keeper, I thought Justin was rather good," Hooch said, considering her notes.

"I thought he had potential too," Harry agreed.

"Now, the difficult bit," Hooch said with a sigh.  "Chasers."

"Those fourth years, Dennis Creevey and Owen Cauldwell worked well together when they were playing.  They were pretty cohesive.  Mandy Brocklehurst who was playing chaser with them wasn't much help but the other two still managed to score," Harry commented, glancing down at his scribbled notes.

"Yes, but that could also be due to the fact that they were up against that third year as keeper.  He was utterly pathetic," Hooch said flatly.

"Who would you suggest then?" Harry asked, a little hurt that his suggestion had been rejected.

"That Finnigan chap was pretty good, if he would just stop talking and concentrate on the game," Hooch said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, we could call him and Dennis and Owen back and we could see how they work together as a team," Harry suggested.

"Oh god, no.  I'm meeting Se- I mean, I have a previous engagement," Hooch said quickly.  "Those three will be good, with a bit of practice."

Harry just stared at her.  What had she been going to say?

A top secret underground evil lair

Voldemort sat in an ornately carved mahogany chair at the end of very large cavern.  A pale man was standing before him.  They were alone in this top secret underground room.

"Do you know why I summoned you here?" Voldemort asked, sounding as relaxed as someone trying to take over the world could sound.

"No my Lord," Lucius Malfoy replied hopefully.  He prayed that the Dark Lord was not angry with him.

"Remember those two boys you brought to the meeting last week?" Voldemort continued as if he hadn't heard Lucius.

"Yes my Lord," Lucius replied, beginning to sound confused.

"Do you know who they were?" Voldemort hissed, leaning forward in his chair.

"Michael Abbott and Alex Bones," Lucius replied confidently.

"Wrong!" Voldemort said angrily before saying the one word Lucius had hoped he wouldn't.  "Crucio."

Lucius fell to his knees but he refused to scream.  He wouldn't give that slimy bastard the pleasure of hearing him scream in pain.  Eventually the curse was lifted.

"Would you like to know who they really were?" Voldemort asked icily.  "They used Polyjuice Potion apparently.  Quite clever really.  They succeeded in sending Wormtail to Azkaban.  I've lost my right hand man, Lucius and all because of you."

Lucius kept his face impassive as he took in this information.  This was bad.  Very, very bad.

"It was your son," Voldemort hissed.  "Your son and Harry Potter.  The Boy Who Lived was right here in my midst and he just walked away.  At least he is marked now."

Lucius stared at Voldemort in shock.  "Draco?"

"Yes, dear Draco.  Would you like to hear more good news?" Voldemort asked maliciously.

Lucius nodded warily.

"Your son and Harry Potter are, shall we say, something of an item," Voldemort said delicately. 

"What? No!" Lucius said forcefully.  "Draco's not…gay."

"Are you calling me a liar?" Voldemort asked with a deadly calm.

"No! No, of course not my Lord," Lucius said quickly.  He had lost his infamous cool and was struggling to regain it.  He was beginning to regret taking credit for bringing the boys to the meeting. 

"I think you were calling me a liar," Voldemort said almost lazily before pointing his wand back at Lucius.  "Crucio."

Slytherin common room

"Woohoo, I made the team!" Seamus cried happily as he read the list.

Madam Hooch had posted a list of all the house teams as she believed it was fairer that way.  Besides, word had gotten around about the teams pretty quickly.  It was impossible to keep a secret in a boarding school.

"I can't believe Hermione made the Ravenclaw team," Harry said in awe.  "I mean I've played with her at the Burrow a few times and she's okay but to be able to make a house team.  Wow."

"Well, Malfoy, since we'll be playing together as a team, I hope we'll be able to put the past behind us so we can win the Quidditch Cup," Fred said cautiously.

Draco glanced over at him.  Harry could tell he was pleased to be a Beater too.  "Sure, Weasley.  For the good of the team."

He held out his hand.  Fred glanced at it for a moment before shaking it vigorously. 

Later that night, Harry lay in his bed staring up at the canopy when the curtains around his bed opened and Draco slipped in and under the covers.  Harry stared at him.  They'd hardly spoken all day, Draco had stayed tantalisingly close but never close enough and now he was getting into bed with him?  Talk about mixed messages!

"What?" Harry whispered.  Draco held up his hand for silence as he pulled out his wand and cast a silencing charm.

"What?" Harry asked again, in a more normal tone of voice.

"I just wanted to talk when we don't have the whole school watching us," Draco said, smiling at Harry.

"You noticed that too?" Harry asked wryly.  "Congratulations on getting Beater, by the way."

"Thanks," Draco said, grinning proudly.

TBC

A.N. A Quidditch chapter especially for SuperDuperBoy who requested one.  I know it's not a game but the teams had been mixed up so I had to sort that out.  Battle's will be coming up but again, they might not be what you had in mind.

The new Quidditch Teams:

            Slytherin         

Seeker             Harry Potter  

Keeper            Justin Finch-F

Beater             Fred Weasley         

Beater             Draco Malfoy

Chaser            Seamus Finnigan       

Chaser                Dennis Creevey           Chaser             Owen Cauldwell      

            Gryffindor                 

Seeker             Cho Chang            

Keeper            Terry Boot                

Beater             Vincent Crabbe

Beater             Alex Bones             

Chaser            Lisa Turpin             

Chaser                Ernie McMillan        

Chaser               Michael Abbott           

            Hufflepuff                

Seeker             Orla Quirke             

Keeper            Ron Weasley         

Beater             Blaise Zabini 

Beater             Dean Thomas          

Chaser            Padma Patil                

Chaser                Pavarti Patil                

Chaser            Terrence Nott  

            Ravenclaw

Seeker             Ginny Weasley

Keeper            Millicent Bulstrode

Beater             George Weasley

Beater             Lee Jordan

Chaser            Hannah Abbot

Chaser                Hermione Granger

Chaser            Lavender Brown

Okay, now I know that most of the players are from fourth or fifth year but there are several reasons for this.  Firstly, they won't have to replace the team for a few years.  Secondly, the relationships and history between the players make it more interesting.  Thirdly, I can't be bothered finding the names of the older people.  Plus, we have background information on these characters because they are people Harry interacts with and therefore they are more interesting.  So there.  *grins*  Remember, there is always a reason for everything…