It was comforting to be back at school with their loyal Ravenclaw friends. Of course, it did reinforce Lydia's judgement that they were the nerds of the year but that was no bad thing. Over the first few days of term, it became clear that few fellow students were keen to befriend Lydia and her squad. On the other hand, nobody seemed to want to pick on them other than a few Slytherins and Gryffindors. These were the ones who picked on most of those who were not considered popular. Perhaps Shacklebolt's statement condemning Professor Lee and exonerating Lydia had effected the change. Maybe the other students had simply lost interest. Either way, it felt as though a change had occurred. Lydia had to check to make sure she was not using her magic to make people ignore her. She was not.
On the first weekend, quidditch hopefuls were allowed to practise their flying around the Quidditch Stadium. Sophie showed her friends her new broom, a Comet CX. It was very sleek and understated, bearing only a small CX monogram in silver on the handle. The monogram looked like a fish. Sophie told them, the Comet CX had become known over the last couple of years as "The Flying Fish". It was a professional standard sports broom. She thanked Lydia and Freddie once again for getting it for her birthday. Then she shot off around the pitch, fairly dancing around the other would-be quidditch stars.
Lydia went for a swim with the giant squid, who she was sure was glad to see her again. Lydia could not explain how she knew this, she simply knew. The squid rolled over and over as they swam together and lifted Lydia out onto the bank of the loch when the time came for Lydia to leave. Hagrid had been passing and came down to talk to them, telling Lydia how glad he was to see the squid looking so happy.
"I 'ope yer'll be considering Care o' Magical Creatures in yer options next year," he told them. "Been a good long while since I seen anyone get along so well wi' a creature some idiots think is a monster, Lydia. An' that time wi' the unicorns before yer was even magical… er, I mean before you was even at school and official, like."
Lydia and Freddie had been shocked when he made this slip. Sophie had said nothing but she had not missed the look that flashed between her two friends.
A couple of weeks into the term the house teams started their quidditch try-outs. As they had suspected, Gryffindor were keen to see how Sophie would measure up. Sophie was a great flyer. To be of any use to the team, you also had to be able to catch and throw the quaffle, hit the bludgers in the right direction, or spot and catch the snitch. Sophie's recommendation from Hooch had been glowing. There was a buzz amongst all those in Gryffindor who were interested in quidditch. That meant almost everyone.
The Gryffindor try-outs were on the Saturday morning, about an hour after breakfast. Madam Hooch's vetting of all the previous year's first-years meant there was no time wasted checking whether applicants could fly. Only two second years had applied to try out: Sophie Inkwood and Dylan Vane.
There was only one definite vacancy on the team. Gavin MacDougal, one of the beaters, had left Hogwarts after his NEWTs. One of the reserves, also a beater, had left. Both Sophie and Dylan were too light to make good beaters. They had to hope other players either withdrew or were displaced by better players. Either way, the best Sophie or Dylan could hope for was to replace a reserve who moved into the match squad.
Sophie went to the changing rooms to put on her flying kit. Lydia and Freddie went to find a place in the stands from where they could watch the action. As they were waiting for the players to come out onto the pitch, they were joined by Freddie's cousin Fenella.
Freddie looked confused. "Hey, Fenny. Shouldn't you be getting changed?"
She shook her head. "Not playing this year."
Lydia frowned and shuffled in her seat. "But you played really well as chaser in the last game – when Fletcher was boxed in."
Fenny grinned. "Thanks. But I'm never going to be a professional player and studying is getting really hard this year. I need to do well in my O.W.L.s. Anyway, it's nice to end on a high note."
"Well, that opens up a chaser's place," Freddie noted. "Maybe Sophie's in with a chance, after all."
Fenella tilted her head. "If she can catch and throw and intercept anything like as well as I've seen her fly then she has a great chance. We're short of good chasers. I mean to say, I was on the team! There are half a dozen people who would make good seekers, but if Dawlish doesn't step down only one has a chance, and that's as a reserve. Everybody wants to be a star seeker in Gryffindor. I blame that Harry Potter."
They all chuckled at this.
Fenny went on. "That Flying Fish of Sophie's won't do her any harm. I can't believe you got her that for her birthday!"
Freddie inclined his head nonchalantly. "What can I say? We're crazy-good friends."
Lydia raised her eyebrows at him.
Fenny asked, her voice lowered. "Where did you get all that money?"
Freddie grinned. "Lydia's uncle lent us it. We're going to pay him back. Should only take fifty years, or so."
Fenny looked at Lydia. "Well, you've always said he was mad. I wouldn't lend this one the steam off my butterbeer."
Lydia grinned. "Freddie's a reformed character, now. I've even got him doing his homework!"
Fenny looked horrified and rounded on Freddie. "Swot!"
Freddie shrugged.
"Maybe we should move you to Ravenclaw, cuz," Fenny suggested.
Lydia laughed, rather cruelly in Freddie's estimation. "Hahahahahaha. No."
Dean and Oddy joined them on the stands.
"Hi, guys!" Lydia greeted them. "What brings you here?"
Dean rubbed his hands together. "Well, we wanted to see how Sophie does. And I wanted to see what the trials are like. I'm thinking of trying out for Ravenclaw this afternoon."
"What position?" Fenny asked.
"I'm looking at either beater or goalie. There's a rumour Poppy might step down. NEWTs, y'know. I think I'd make a good goalie, if I didn't get stuck in one of the rings."
He grinned. Dean was large for his age, but not that large.
"Oh, and Oddy's going to try out for seeker," he added.
Freddie gasped. "Ah! Get off my planet! Ohmygod, Oddy, is that true?"
Oddy held up his book, without taking his eyes off it. It was 'Quidditch Through The Ages.'
Lydia was horrified. "Is Judy Podmore stepping down after winning us the title last year?"
Oddy's shoulders started to shake. He tittered. Dean guffawed.
Oddy looked up. "Got you, you gullible poltroons."
They all laughed.
"But you flew so well in class," Lydia protested. "You should try out, Oddy. Seriously."
Oddy looked over his glasses at her. "Who said that?"
"Oh." Lydia said. There was that little problem of a seeker needing to be able to see.
She thought for a moment, frowning. "But Harry Potter was a seeker – with glasses."
Dean gave her a condescending smile. "How's Oddy going to read if he's looking for a snitch?"
"Try out, Oddy," Lydia insisted. "You need a break from studying sometimes – to let it all soak in. And being outdoors is healthy. All that fresh air is good for your brain."
Oddy paused his reading for a moment.
"And," Freddie added. "imagine if you got on the team and Dean didn't. Drama and despair!"
Oddy pondered.
"You'd probably only get reserve seeker," Fenny explained. "If Podmore isn't leaving. So, you'd only practise occasionally, but have bragging rights for being on the squad."
Oddy started to smile.
Lydia had an idea. "I'll ask Sophie if she'll lend you her broom for the try-out."
Oddy closed his book and grinned.
"Oh, come on!" Dean protested. "It was my idea to try for the team!"
Oddy's shoulders started to shake again. He wiped a tear from his eye.
"You really are the most terribly gullible people," he sighed. "Especially you, Dean. I thought you'd know better."
"But why not?" Lydia asked. "Why not try out."
"Have you seen those bludgers?" Oddy asked. "They're as big as I am! What do you think would be left of me if one of those hit me?"
Dean narrowed his eyes. "But… if you just did the try-out, you could prank the whole of Ravenclaw at once. I mean, after winning the cup last year everyone's going to be there this afty."
"Hmm," Oddy opined.
"And you'd get to try out a fabulous broom, if Sophie's willing," Freddie added.
Fenny was nodding slowly. "That really would be a prank."
Oddy sighed. "I'll consider it. But only to try a real broom, for once."
There was a great deal of mirth and self-congratulation amongst the group. Then the Gryffindors came out onto the pitch.
It was some time before Sophie and her classmate Dylan had a chance to show any skills. The captain's focus was on finding beaters first. There seemed to be a lot of promise being shown. A couple of reserves flew around with targets for two beaters at a time to hit with the bludgers. Michael Vance, who was already on the team, managed to keep his place against some talented competition. In the end, two reserves were selected as three of the candidates were almost equal in skill. The team place went to Arwel Jones, a fourth-year whose accuracy was impeccable, balanced with good agility and power. Of the two reserves, one, who was agile and accurate but lacked some power, was asked to try for a place as a chaser. Lydia and her friends were disgruntled at this. It looked like a blow for Sophie's chances of gaining a place.
The chaser trials were next. Two teams of chasers were formed. Their task was to fly up and down the pitch passing the quaffle within their own team or trying to intercept it if the other team had possession. Points were deducted from any player who dropped or held on to the quaffle or who passed it inaccurately. Points were gained by players who intercepted successfully and caught passes securely. Sophie darted about like a hummingbird. She made virtually every interception for her team. She never once dropped the quaffle and she moved it on to another team member as quickly as her team could see it.
Before long the hopefuls were whittled down to three: Sophie, the reserve beater from earlier, and a reserve chaser from last year's team. They carried on with the two teams playing each other but were joined by star player Tom Fletcher to make up the numbers. The members of the teams kept swapping around. Sophie and Fletcher proved unbeatable together. Sophie against Fletcher with either partner were fairly well matched. In the end, the reserve beater, Connor Graham, could not keep his concentration. He eventually started to fumble and drop the quaffle, losing possession for his team. The spectators were hardly surprised. Sophie and Fletcher were so fast and agile that, even from the stands, it was difficult to follow them.
The captain, Aidan Kavanagh, announced that Tom Fletcher was to be joined by Sophie Inkwood and Danielle Smith as first team chasers. Connor Graham was to serve as both reserve beater and reserve chaser, as required. There were still to be try-outs for reserve seekers and goalies but the stands started to empty. After trying to follow the dazzling aerobatics of Fletcher and Inkwood, the spectators had seen as much as their brains could handle. Lydia and her friends made their way back down to ground level. Oddy announced that there was "No freaking way on this Earth or any other" that he would try out for the Ravenclaw team, even as a joke. After watching Sophie, he had to catch up on the reading he had missed.
Lydia and Freddie went to stand outside the changing rooms to wait for Sophie. It was quite a wait, then she ran out into their arms and almost lifted them off the ground.
"Wow!" Lydia said. "Just… wow!"
"Tom says I'm better than he was when he got on the team," Sophie squealed.
Freddie could barely string words together. "How? How do you? How? I mean… how? We could hardly see you."
Sophie grinned and shook her head. "I don't know. It's like I'm not thinking, I'm just doing it. Sometimes I've done things before I realise I'm going to do something. And the fish, my broom, is just… the air. I don't know."
They went to the Joint Common Room for some quiet. Sophie had to run a gauntlet of congratulations from everyone who had seen her fly. She had intended to take her broom up to Gryffindor Tower but she was shivering. Freddie said it looked like shock. So, they sat her down in a booth in the common room and Lydia stayed with her while Freddie rushed off to get her a drink. Xander arrived from somewhere and allowed Sophie to stroke him as he adorned her lap. A tea service with biscuits and a jug of pumpkin juice appeared on the table moments before Freddie rushed back in from the kitchens.
Sophie sipped a glass of juice while Freddie 'played mother' and poured her a cup of sweet tea. Elsa turned up and took over 'being stroked' duties from Xander. Sophie stopped shivering after a while and the glow returned to her face, which had turned slightly grey.
Sophie looked up at her friends. "I did it."
6