Hermione's hand shot in the air, but was no match for Sian's.
"Yes? Sian?" He asked.
"Football is a game that consists entirely of foot skills. There are nine players, and a Keeper, the only one allowed to use his hands, he tends to a goal at one end of the 100 yard field, there are two goals, the goalie box where balls are kicked back into play after they have been kicked out by the opposing team. Outside of that is the penalty box, where all members must stay when they are kicking the ball back into play, anything illegal that happens within its boundaries results in a penalty kick, a direct kick at the goal. There are three defenders that stay with the Keeper at all times. Then there are the two halfbacks that throw in any balls kicked out of bounds. Then there are the three forwards whose main goal is to score."
"I do believe you've covered it all," the teacher smiled.
"Anything else? Strategy wise?" Sian asked, she had played soccer many times before, the Muggle-borns at her old school were allowed to play and she often joined them.
"That should be enough, thank you," the old man smiled. "Now, it is my turn to put you all into teams and place you all in positions." The professor counted them all off, Sian sighed relieved, Hermione was not on her team. "Sian, since you seem to know a bit about the game sort your team would you?"
Sian looked doubtfully at her team, "Alright, who is a wicked fast runner, bursts of speed, you know?"
Four unsure kids nervously raised their hands.
"Your jobs are a lot like the Chasers, you run fast and stay toward the opposite end of the field so the half backs can give you the ball to score," Sian told them.
They nodded.
"Now for the kids who don't get tired very often, long winded kids usually work."
Three of the kids laughed and raised their hands.
"You are the half backs, you run the length of the field for the most part, getting the ball from the defense to the forwards and helping defend the goal, it requires a lot of work."
They nodded.
"Now for the defense," Sian looked at the four remaining kids, "your job is to protect the goal at all costs, dive, jump whatever. None of you can touch the ball with your hands, none of you, the halfbacks, when the ball goes out on the sides of the field you throw it to the forwards, do not lift your foot. No obvious punching, pushing, or manhandling of any kind, especially not in the penalty box, because then they get a free kick at our goal." Sian continued with the rules and regulations as best as she remembered them.
Then she took her place between the pipes. Two of her kids sat on the bench. She was indeed a very good goalie, she didn't let a single one past her and her people managed two, she couldn't remember, it was the best class she'd had in a long while.
Sian's next class, Arithmancy was no match to Muggle Studies, after all, this time she had to sit next to know-it-all Hermione. Math had always been her good subject, she just didn't like Hermione. It wasn't any fun at all. The rest of the week was the same, boring, dull, and lots of Hermione. By Friday afternoon she was ready to bash her against one of the school's finely polished stone walls if she got the chance.
Draco didn't talk to her at all, he was probably still recovering from Hazel's beating.
At the end of the week they chose the extra players for Quidditch, in case anything bad was to happen. Sian chose Ryan and Drew for her back ups, they were better than the others. A week later real pre-season started. The Chasers were a hard bunch, and Sian was always trying to avoid getting clobbered by the Bludgers the twins sent at her. Hazel was a constant rival for the Snitch and Sian liked that, someone with worthy talent was playing against Harry.
Katie Bell, Angelina, and Alicia, the Chasers were a rough bunch. They would dive, fake, and even tackle Sian. Sian never complained, it was good exercise, she'd seen games, and they were a lot rougher than how these girls were treating her now, the opposing Chasers would not be as nice. She would have to toughen up. If only there was a weight room. But who was to say there wasn't one?
Saturday, a week before her birthday, and the first match of the season Sian asked Harry.
He looked at her for a moment before laughing.
"Is there one?"
He continued to laugh. Finally he simmered down and said, "Oh, yeah, the twins are always in there every day they get a chance, not that you could tell the difference or anything." He laughed again.
"Where is it?" She asked getting fed up.
"In the back of locker room there are some doors, if you open up any of them you'll come out into the weight room."
"Thanks." Sian went to locker room, changed into work out clothes and opened the specified door. Inside were items she had missed in the Wizard- friendly atmosphere. They had two treadmills, four exercise bikes, two rowing machines, four benches, and various other equipment. Sian stretched and took to the rower, it had always been her favorite. After twenty minutes of rowing went to the radio. She popped in one of her own CDs and stretched her arms. It was what she called "loud music", fast paced, angry, and easy to work out to. She went to a bench and used the leg- lifter. After five grueling sets of twenty she took her break and heard commotion behind on of the doors. The twins burst out one set of doors and three Slytherins appeared from another set. George and Fred didn't seem so surprised to see her there, they just smiled and carefully noted the looks on the faces of the Slytherins.
"How long you been here?" George asked her.
"Um, thirty-forty minutes," came a steady reply.
"What did you use?" Fred asked.
"The rower and the leg-lifter, what do you need?"
"The bench." The brothers gave each other secretive looks.
"Alright," Sian replied and clambered onto the stool to do some pull-ups.
She could feel the awed Slytherins watching her, so she did three sets of five before just hanging off the bar. She let go, this was not the work- out she needed. Lying on the mat, Sian did 100 sit-ups before telling the guys she'd see them later, they were still bench pressing-200 pounds!
Sian showered and changed back into normal clothes and headed out the door, and remembered-her CD! She jogged back to get it and nearly ran into the twins, they had her CD. "Thanks guys."
They smiled quaintly and returned to the bench. Back in the Common Room, listening to her "loud music" Sian tried to focus on her homework, she found it next to impossible. Hazel noted her friend's difficulty and came to the rescue.
"What's up?" Hazel asked.
Sian raised the homework above her head and let it flutter everywhere. "My homework."
Hazel laughed, "No motivation?"
Sian blinked weary-eyed, "No, none what-so-ever."
"I'd give you the answers but they'd probably be wrong."
It was Sian's turn to laugh, "There's always tomorrow."
"Right, what are you up for? No running I hope?"
"No, I want to do something Muggle-ish."
"Graffiti? Egging? Toilet-papering?"
"Something less destructive."
"I don't know."
"What about a good old game of hurling?" BJ suggested.
"Thirty players and sticks?" Hermione interrupted, "Be reasonable."
"It was only a suggestion." BJ retorted.
Hermione wanted to tell Sian to do her homework, the girl was outrageous, it was a wonder where she got all that knowledge, she went to bed before ever doing her homework, but woke up every morning with it done, she probably copied off of Hazel, or maybe Alicia. It didn't matter. What bugged her most was that she seemed to know what she was talking about when it came to answering questions, Hermione smiled cruelly to herself, she'd find out soon enough.
