Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters!! They are property of J. K. Rowling!!

A/N: Thanks again to Hillary for all of her help in fixing this up! I hope y'all like it. Then next should be up soon! J

Chapter Ten

Search for a New Keeper

After a quick trip back up to Gryffindor tower the group made their way out to the Quidditch pitch. Harry, Ron and Ginny said goodbye to Hermione and mounted their brooms. This is what I should be doing, Harry thought as he soared through the air climbing high before he dove just to climb again.

"Potter, you call that a dive?" A familiar friendly voice chided from the ground. Harry looked down and saw Oliver Wood grinning from ear to ear. Harry looked around and saw Ginny and Ron stopping the laps they were making to come and great the former captain.

Harry flew down to the pitch. Wood grabbed Harry as soon as he stepped off his broom.

"How have you been?" Wood asked, giving Harry a friendly hug.

"Good. I would ask the same of you, but I hear you are playing for the Cannons!"

"Yeah. They just made me co-captain, a title I now share with you. I will be captain in a few years according to my contract. It's great playing professional Quidditch. You should really think about it. I would heir you in a heart beat when you get out of Hogwarts."

"Thanks Wood, I'll keep it in mind," Harry said truly flattered by the offer.

"I'm serious. I would be captain and with you as seeker we would be unbeatable! Like old times."

"Oliver, I have three more year's here before I get out. I don't even know what the world will be like then; but I promise, if I decide to turn professional, I'll send you an owl first."

"Oliver, these are two of our prospective team members, Ginny and Ron Weasley," Angelina said, saving Harry from Wood's insistence on a professional Quidditch career.

"Yeah, you are Fred and George's siblings right?"

"Ye-Yes we are," Ron stammered.

"Oy, Wood, what are you doing here?" Some one shouted from the air. Flying towards the group was Fred and George Weasley.

The whole team was soon on the pitch catching up with Wood. Harry got away to talk with his friends.

"Wow, what is he doing here?" Ron asked, clearly over his momentary lapse of being star-struck.

"He is helping us pick our players," Harry said, hoping is would easy his friends worries. This didn't happen. Ron looked more nervous and terrified than before.

"Come on, let's get flying before everyone gets out here," Ginny suggested. Harry could have kissed her for saving him from the obviously uncomfortable situation.

Soon the sky was filled with Gryffindor hopefuls circling the pitch. "Team meeting," Angelina called from her place on the pitch. Harry landed wondering what was going on.

"Okay team the way we are going to do it this is each hopeful for keeper will line up and will take turns playing the position. Wood and Harry will be in the stands with Omnioculars saving each play. Each hopeful has twenty tries. We will go at them progressively faster and harder, even performing illegal moves. The one who saves the most gets the position. If two people tie I will review the Omnioculars and decide from that. We will then separate the hopefuls into the positions they want to play. We will play a scrimmage against them. Wood has agreed to be their keeper. Harry will rotate the players into and out of the game. If I see any group I really like I'll come down and talk to Harry about it. Okay, any questions?" Angelina explained. No one had any questions so she called all of the hopefuls down.

After explaining the procedure she asked, "Who wants to be Keeper?" Ron of course raised his hand and stepped forward, along with Gregory Smith, a second year. "Is that all?" The other players looked at one another and nodded. "Okay, Gregory you go first."

Harry and Oliver found good seats at the top of the stands and took out their Omnioculars. The chasers rushed Gregory flying as one unit. "They look really good." Wood commented pointing out the chasers. Gregory looked good for the first seven or eight tries but as the chasers came at him faster and as they tried illegal moves he faltered. The really killed him on one move where they faked to the right but passed it behind them and made it in the left most ring. In the end he saved 15 out of 20.

"Not bad," Harry said trying to sound neutral. He was actually thinking that Ron's chances looked better now than ever. Looking down at the rest of the stands Harry realized most of the house was filing into the stands, clearly still waking up. Some even had pieces of toast with them as they took seats to watch the remaining hopefuls.

"Nah, he's not the right one." Wood said in his thick Scottish accents.

Ron was soon in the air around the goal posts. He looked great as the Chasers rushed him using some of the same moves with Ron as they did with Gregory. He didn't miss a beat and by the time they were on their twelfth attempt he seem unstoppable.

"Come on Ang, don't go easy on him!" George yelled before the Chasers rushed Ron again. "He's a Weasley, he can handle it!"

Ron blushed slightly but kept his cool. It wasn't until the sixteenth try that he faltered. The one that would decide his fate was just out of his reach. Two female voices reached Harry's ears. "Common Ron! You can do it!" They were distinct, Ginny and Hermione. Oh, where is Hermione, Harry thought quickly glancing around to find her. She was in the seats at the bottom of the stands sitting next to Ginny with her Arithmancy book clearly forgotten in the seat next to her. They looked nervous and anxious.

Shots Seventeen, Eighteen and Nineteen got past Ron. He looked flustered but determined. Harry looked over at Oliver who looked as nervous as Ginny and Hermione. Ron had a similar look in his eye as Oliver had so many times when they were playing in the years past. Shot Twenty was lined up carefully, Angelina had the quaffle, she passed it to Katie who feinted left, then right passing to Alicia who threw it across to the left hoop. Ron lunged with all his might to block the attempt. It didn't look good. Harry thought he wasn't going to make it but at the last second Ron's fingers brushed the ball interfering with the movement of the quaffle enough to ensure the safety of the hoop.

Harry jumped to his feet applauding. If Ron could do that in games they were sure to win this year. "Way to go Ron!" Harry heard himself yelling; he could no longer control his actions. Ron made it; he would be on the team. Angelina flashed Harry and Oliver a questioning glance, looking for approval. Oliver gave her the thumbs up to give Ron the position.

Harry ran down to the field leaving the Omnioculars in his seat. Ron had landed on the field and was being hugged by Ginny and Hermione.

"Congratulations Ron!" Harry yelled.

"That was Bloody Brilliant!!" Fred yelled.

"Bloody hell, how did you do that?" George asked in awe of his baby brother.

"Congratulations Ron, you are Gryffindor's new keeper," Angelina said shaking the hand of a shocked Ron.

"Th-thanks," Ron stammered.

"Now Ron, you get to play a scrimmage with the rest of the hopefuls," Angelina said taking charge of the situation. "Would everyone group in the positions you would like to play?" After the groups were formed Angelina smiled. "So Finnegan and Thomas, think you can beat our unbeatable beaters?" She asked jokingly.

"You're on!" George said with a mischievous grin.

"Team, let's fly some laps before we get to playing. Harry you will be choosing the players to try against us. You will also give them a game plan for the scrimmage. Team get in the air now." With that the team flew off, Ron with them. Oliver had joined Harry on the pitch with the new hopefuls bringing Harry his Omnioculars.

"Okay, since Seamus and Dean are the only ones who want to be beaters they will play the whole game. Err… Ginny, you and Elizabeth and Peter will start the game as chasers. When I call time I will change you out. I will be judging you on how well you play together, not only scoring. As chasers you need to be a unit. Err… Oliver, do you have any ideas what they should do as far as plays are concerned?"

Oliver beamed, "Err… I wasn't expecting to help, but just try plenty of feints, try getting the ball to each other. I wish I had my display books with me. I'll send them to you Harry; some of them are really good." Before Oliver could start explaining a complicated play, Angelina and the team were back.

"Ready?" Angelina asked.

"Yeah," Harry answered moving back to a seat in the stands next to Hermione, Omnioculars in hand. Everyone mounted their brooms and were soon in the air. Ginny was a great flyer, Harry noticed immediately. She was the best at the Burrow but she seemed even better as she, Elizabeth and Peter moved into formation. The twins knocked a bludger towards Elizabeth but Seamus was there to block it. He was also really good.

The hopefuls looked good. Peter was not meant to be a chaser, Harry quickly decided, but he let them play for a while before changing players. Ginny attempted several goals, but Ron blocked them.

"Time out," Harry yelled prepared to replace Elizabeth and Peter with Lucinda and Allen. When the team gathered he continued. "Okay, you are doing a good job, Elizabeth and Peter I want you and Lucinda and Allen to change places." Elizabeth and Peter nodded and took the empty seats. "You can get back up in the air now." With that the team was back up and flying.

"Ginny is really good," Hermione commented looking up from her book to watch her friend fly.

"Yeah, she has the position," Harry said quietly with a grin. She looks beautiful Harry thought, silently groaning at his observation. He had a date with Cho, not Ginny. He was going to date Cho. Ginny is like a little sister, he thought. It's something about girls and Quidditch that Harry couldn't resist. It was obvious that Lucinda would be in the second reserve position. She was a natural, almost as good as Ginny. Harry thought hard, deciding that Elizabeth should be next to try in Allen's position. Girls had the advantage in the chaser position because of their size and uncanny ability to read each other's minds. Just then Ginny scored a goal. She made a victory lap ending in front of Harry and Hermione.

"That was a great shot!" Harry said beaming. He leaned forward and gave her a hug. She really was an amazing player.

"Thanks," Ginny said blushing.

"Elizabeth, you go and take Allen's place," Harry said, getting the hang of directing the team.

The rest of the match was scoreless but only because Ron and Oliver were such excellent keepers. Harry had his mind made up when Angelina came down to talk with him.

"Harry do you have a decision?" She asked.

"Yes,"

"Let's talk first," She said leading him into an empty area on the field. Oliver joined them. "I have my personal choices, let's hear yours first."

"I think Seamus and Dean are great as beaters, not the Twins but with some training and practice they will be great. Ginny, Elizabeth and Lucinda worked great as a team. Ginny is by far the best and most natural at the position, but the three work well together."

"That's what I was thinking. I just wanted to make sure I had the right thoughts. Oliver, do you have anything to add?"

"No, I agree with Harry completely."

"Thank you for all your help today Oliver. We all really miss you. I only hope I can fill your shoes as captain."

"I'll be keeping my eye on the team. Who knows, if we have free time I might have some of my teammates come with me to a match. If you don't need me anymore, I'll go in and use the Floo in Professor McGonagall's office."

"No, that's everything. Thanks again," She said giving Oliver a hug. Harry hugged his former captain too, grinning at the idea of having professional Quidditch players at their match.

"I only expect you to keep up the tradition we started of beating Slytherin to a pulp at every match," Oliver said as he left.

"Let's go congratulate the new team members."

"Okay."

"We have mad a decision," Angelina began, "Dean, Seamus are our reserve beaters. Ginny, Elizabeth, and Lucinda are our reserve Chasers. Congratulations. Thank you Allen, Peter and Gregory for coming to the try outs, remember we will need more reserve players next year so don't give up."

Ginny squealed, jumping up and down, then ran over to Harry and gave him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek before pulling away and being grabbed by her brothers in a tight hug.