Hi everybody! Sorry it took me so long to update, but I just got out of
school last week and then I was out of town for a week so I've been really
busy! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix comes out on Saturday!!!
I'm so excited! Since my fanfic takes place in fifth year, I was wondering
if all you people reading this will still continue reading my story after
the fifth book comes out? I hope so because I'm gonna keep writing so I
want at least some people to keep reading. If you don't want to that's ok,
because I just like writing for fun. I'll let you read now. I made chapter
5 a bit longer so please review and thanks soooo much to all the people
that have reviewed so far!
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Chapter 5: Quidditch Practice
The next week of the summer passed by quickly, even though it was rather uneventful. One morning at breakfast, three owls arrived at the burrow with everyone's letters from Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley brought the owls in and handed Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny their letters. She then threw the three large owls out the window and they started heading back to Hogwarts, wherever that was. Harry opened his letter and saw that along with his other papers telling what books he would need to buy, he had another paper. He read it to himself, and a smile spread across his face.
"What is it Harry?" Ron asked curiously.
"It's a letter from Professor Dumbledore that says.well I'll just read it to you," Harry cleared his throat and read his letter out loud. "'Dear Mr. Potter, I am quite certain you already know the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Oliver Wood, has graduated from Hogwarts. The professors and I are all in agreement that you should fill his place as captain of the team. As captain, you must schedule practice times with your team and you also need to find someone to be the new Keeper for Gryffindor. I am sure you will find someone who will help your team maintain the great record of wins that you have set in past years. Good luck! Sincerely, your headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.'" Harry looked up and smiled.
"Wow, Harry, your captain!" Ron shouted, grinning broadly.
"Congratulations, Harry!" Hermione squealed excitedly.
"Yeah, congratulations, but why didn't Dumbledore let one of us be captain? We're older!" George said, looking grumpily at Fred.
"I don't know but I don't really care!" Fred replied. He had an idea. "Hey, you wanna go practice in that field out back? We can train Ron to be the new Keeper!"
"Harry never said I was going to be Keeper," Ron said.
"Oh come on, Ron, who else would I choose? You've always wanted to play professional Quidditch, why not start training now?" Harry said.
"Really, Harry? Thanks!" Ron smiled brightly at his best friend. He stood up and took a step towards the door.
"Well? What are we all waiting for, let's go!" he shouted, bounding out the door and across the small yard to their old, wooden broom closet.
Everyone followed him. They opened the door to the small broom closet. Harry peered inside and saw a few old brooms. There were Fred and George's two Cleansweep Sevens, which they used to play Quidditch at Hogwarts. They were the newest models there. There was an old Shooting Star and a Silver Arrow. Harry saw a Comet 140, which was still in pretty good condition. The Silver Arrow was the oldest and the bristles on the bottom had been bent in every direction. Harry doubted if it would even fly anymore. Everyone grabbed brooms and they all set off towards the field.
Harry needed his Firebolt, which was up in Ron's room. "Accio Firebolt," he muttered, and followed everyone to the field. By the time they reached the field, the Firebolt had caught up to Harry.
When they got to the field, they started assigning the teams. Fred had a team and George had a team. The teams were finally decided. Fred, Ginny, and Ron were going to be on one team, and George, Harry, and Hermione were on the other team. Everyone kicked off and started warming up except for Hermione. Ron noticed this first and called down to her.
"Hey, Hermione, why aren't you flying?" He shouted, looking down at her.
"Oh, I've just never really flown a broom before. I'm a bit nervous." She yelled back, playing nervously with a strand of wavy, chocolate brown hair.
"You want me to help you?" Ron asked kindly.
"No, that's ok, I think I'm just gonna go get a book-" Hermione replied, not really wanting to fly.
"Oh, come on Hermione, we need you to play so that our teams will be even. We can't play without you! Anyway, we are just going to practice with the Quaffle. We don't have a Snitch, and Bludgers would be too dangerous." Ron said, flying down next to her. He made puppy dog eyes at her. Hermione tried to decline, but she looked into Ron's deep blue eyes and found she couldn't say no. She looked away.
"Alright, alright," She said. "I'll play, but I'm not going to be any good. I've never really flown before, let alone be the Keeper of a team!"
"That's ok, you can be Keeper for George's team. All you have to do is block the goal posts. You don't have to fly around much." Ron pointed up at the Weasley version of the three goalposts. They were made of long metal poles stuck into the ground and at the top were all sorts of things, like an old hula-hoop and a large tire. The Quaffle was a simple, red dodge ball, not a magical Quaffle like the one they had at Hogwarts. Hermione mounted her broom and took off, but only went off the ground about seven feet.
"Ron, how?" She asked pathetically.
"How what? You make it go forward by leaning forward, make it slow down or stop by leaning back, and make it turn by leaning to one of the sides. It's simple." Ron said.
Hermione moved around a bit, but she wasn't very stable and could barely turn. Ron chuckled a bit as he saw Hermione struggle with the broom. He'd never seen her be bad at anything before.
"Hey, Harry! Come here!" Ron called, flying next to Hermione. Harry came and flew on her other side.
"Ok, Hermione, Harry and I are going to fly on either side of you. We will be a bit below you, so we won't get in your way. I want you to practice turning some. Can you fly up a bit and around the goal posts?" Ron said gently, looking up at her.
Hermione nodded slowly and took off towards the goal posts. It was a pretty straight route, so she didn't have much trouble. She was now about fifteen feet above the ground. Harry and Ron were about five feet below her. At one point, she thought she was going too fast. She tried to slow down, but instead of slowing, the broom jerked to a sudden stop. Hermione gave a small scream. "Don't worry, Hermione. If you fall, Ron or I will catch you." Harry called up to her.
"Ok, thanks Harry." Hermione said, swallowing hard. Ron had a sudden, small feeling of annoyance. 'Thanks Harry? Shouldn't she be thanking me? I'm the one helping her." Ron thought. Hermione started to fly around the goal posts, but got stuck when she was trying to turn. She stopped and looked down at Ron for help.
"Just go slow and you'll be fine." Ron said, trying to be nicer than Harry. He was still annoyed, and he wasn't really paying attention to what Hermione was doing.
Hermione started flying again, but she went a lot faster than she meant to. She tried to turn too fast, and panicking, she tried to stop. Hermione's broom swerved, and she screamed as she tipped off the side of her broom. She felt the air rushing by her as she fell, and screamed the first name that came to mind.
"RON!!!"
Ron looked up and saw Hermione falling. He sped forward and held out his arms to catch her. She landed in them and Ron could feel her whole body shaking with terror. Hermione flung her arms around Ron's neck, closed her eyes, and held on for dear life. She had been scared so badly by the fall. Ron didn't know what else to do but comfort her.
"Shhhhh.It's ok, Mione.You're fine." Ron whispered in her ear as he gently pulled her into a one-armed hug. With his other arm he gently flew his broom back down to the ground. Hermione was still shaking slightly as they landed.
"Open your eyes, Mione, we're safe. We're on the ground," Ron said, trying to stand up. Hermione was still clinging to him. She took in one deep, shuddering breath, and let go of Ron. They were still sitting next to each other on the broom, which was floating about two feet in the air. Their feet brushed the grass of the field. Hermione looked at Ron and smiled.
"Thanks, Ron," Hermione said quietly. She suddenly found that as she looked at him, she started to blush a bit.
"No problem," Ron replied. They stared at each other for a moment before both looking away, embarrassed. Everyone else came over to them and suggested they should all go inside. They agreed and everyone walked slowly back to the Burrow.
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Please review! Can I get 28 reviews? Please? I love reviews! I'll have chapter 6 up soon! (
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Chapter 5: Quidditch Practice
The next week of the summer passed by quickly, even though it was rather uneventful. One morning at breakfast, three owls arrived at the burrow with everyone's letters from Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley brought the owls in and handed Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny their letters. She then threw the three large owls out the window and they started heading back to Hogwarts, wherever that was. Harry opened his letter and saw that along with his other papers telling what books he would need to buy, he had another paper. He read it to himself, and a smile spread across his face.
"What is it Harry?" Ron asked curiously.
"It's a letter from Professor Dumbledore that says.well I'll just read it to you," Harry cleared his throat and read his letter out loud. "'Dear Mr. Potter, I am quite certain you already know the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Oliver Wood, has graduated from Hogwarts. The professors and I are all in agreement that you should fill his place as captain of the team. As captain, you must schedule practice times with your team and you also need to find someone to be the new Keeper for Gryffindor. I am sure you will find someone who will help your team maintain the great record of wins that you have set in past years. Good luck! Sincerely, your headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.'" Harry looked up and smiled.
"Wow, Harry, your captain!" Ron shouted, grinning broadly.
"Congratulations, Harry!" Hermione squealed excitedly.
"Yeah, congratulations, but why didn't Dumbledore let one of us be captain? We're older!" George said, looking grumpily at Fred.
"I don't know but I don't really care!" Fred replied. He had an idea. "Hey, you wanna go practice in that field out back? We can train Ron to be the new Keeper!"
"Harry never said I was going to be Keeper," Ron said.
"Oh come on, Ron, who else would I choose? You've always wanted to play professional Quidditch, why not start training now?" Harry said.
"Really, Harry? Thanks!" Ron smiled brightly at his best friend. He stood up and took a step towards the door.
"Well? What are we all waiting for, let's go!" he shouted, bounding out the door and across the small yard to their old, wooden broom closet.
Everyone followed him. They opened the door to the small broom closet. Harry peered inside and saw a few old brooms. There were Fred and George's two Cleansweep Sevens, which they used to play Quidditch at Hogwarts. They were the newest models there. There was an old Shooting Star and a Silver Arrow. Harry saw a Comet 140, which was still in pretty good condition. The Silver Arrow was the oldest and the bristles on the bottom had been bent in every direction. Harry doubted if it would even fly anymore. Everyone grabbed brooms and they all set off towards the field.
Harry needed his Firebolt, which was up in Ron's room. "Accio Firebolt," he muttered, and followed everyone to the field. By the time they reached the field, the Firebolt had caught up to Harry.
When they got to the field, they started assigning the teams. Fred had a team and George had a team. The teams were finally decided. Fred, Ginny, and Ron were going to be on one team, and George, Harry, and Hermione were on the other team. Everyone kicked off and started warming up except for Hermione. Ron noticed this first and called down to her.
"Hey, Hermione, why aren't you flying?" He shouted, looking down at her.
"Oh, I've just never really flown a broom before. I'm a bit nervous." She yelled back, playing nervously with a strand of wavy, chocolate brown hair.
"You want me to help you?" Ron asked kindly.
"No, that's ok, I think I'm just gonna go get a book-" Hermione replied, not really wanting to fly.
"Oh, come on Hermione, we need you to play so that our teams will be even. We can't play without you! Anyway, we are just going to practice with the Quaffle. We don't have a Snitch, and Bludgers would be too dangerous." Ron said, flying down next to her. He made puppy dog eyes at her. Hermione tried to decline, but she looked into Ron's deep blue eyes and found she couldn't say no. She looked away.
"Alright, alright," She said. "I'll play, but I'm not going to be any good. I've never really flown before, let alone be the Keeper of a team!"
"That's ok, you can be Keeper for George's team. All you have to do is block the goal posts. You don't have to fly around much." Ron pointed up at the Weasley version of the three goalposts. They were made of long metal poles stuck into the ground and at the top were all sorts of things, like an old hula-hoop and a large tire. The Quaffle was a simple, red dodge ball, not a magical Quaffle like the one they had at Hogwarts. Hermione mounted her broom and took off, but only went off the ground about seven feet.
"Ron, how?" She asked pathetically.
"How what? You make it go forward by leaning forward, make it slow down or stop by leaning back, and make it turn by leaning to one of the sides. It's simple." Ron said.
Hermione moved around a bit, but she wasn't very stable and could barely turn. Ron chuckled a bit as he saw Hermione struggle with the broom. He'd never seen her be bad at anything before.
"Hey, Harry! Come here!" Ron called, flying next to Hermione. Harry came and flew on her other side.
"Ok, Hermione, Harry and I are going to fly on either side of you. We will be a bit below you, so we won't get in your way. I want you to practice turning some. Can you fly up a bit and around the goal posts?" Ron said gently, looking up at her.
Hermione nodded slowly and took off towards the goal posts. It was a pretty straight route, so she didn't have much trouble. She was now about fifteen feet above the ground. Harry and Ron were about five feet below her. At one point, she thought she was going too fast. She tried to slow down, but instead of slowing, the broom jerked to a sudden stop. Hermione gave a small scream. "Don't worry, Hermione. If you fall, Ron or I will catch you." Harry called up to her.
"Ok, thanks Harry." Hermione said, swallowing hard. Ron had a sudden, small feeling of annoyance. 'Thanks Harry? Shouldn't she be thanking me? I'm the one helping her." Ron thought. Hermione started to fly around the goal posts, but got stuck when she was trying to turn. She stopped and looked down at Ron for help.
"Just go slow and you'll be fine." Ron said, trying to be nicer than Harry. He was still annoyed, and he wasn't really paying attention to what Hermione was doing.
Hermione started flying again, but she went a lot faster than she meant to. She tried to turn too fast, and panicking, she tried to stop. Hermione's broom swerved, and she screamed as she tipped off the side of her broom. She felt the air rushing by her as she fell, and screamed the first name that came to mind.
"RON!!!"
Ron looked up and saw Hermione falling. He sped forward and held out his arms to catch her. She landed in them and Ron could feel her whole body shaking with terror. Hermione flung her arms around Ron's neck, closed her eyes, and held on for dear life. She had been scared so badly by the fall. Ron didn't know what else to do but comfort her.
"Shhhhh.It's ok, Mione.You're fine." Ron whispered in her ear as he gently pulled her into a one-armed hug. With his other arm he gently flew his broom back down to the ground. Hermione was still shaking slightly as they landed.
"Open your eyes, Mione, we're safe. We're on the ground," Ron said, trying to stand up. Hermione was still clinging to him. She took in one deep, shuddering breath, and let go of Ron. They were still sitting next to each other on the broom, which was floating about two feet in the air. Their feet brushed the grass of the field. Hermione looked at Ron and smiled.
"Thanks, Ron," Hermione said quietly. She suddenly found that as she looked at him, she started to blush a bit.
"No problem," Ron replied. They stared at each other for a moment before both looking away, embarrassed. Everyone else came over to them and suggested they should all go inside. They agreed and everyone walked slowly back to the Burrow.
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Please review! Can I get 28 reviews? Please? I love reviews! I'll have chapter 6 up soon! (
