Chapter 7 - Quidditch Trials
It took Sirius a while to get over that lesson. James didn't think it was that surprising really; he had gone a tad over the top. He was still looking a little subdued a week later watching James and Remus playing exploding snap in the Gryffindor common room, until a notice appeared suddenly on the notice board that cheered him up immensely,
Tryouts for the Gryffindor House Quidditch team will take place on Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock. All candidates welcome. Report to Harold Lider.
Harold Lider was a 5th year, quite large and captain of the Quidditch team. He was a very good captain, and the team had (apparently) been in the final the last few years. If anyone would play fair and let the most able players on the team then he would, thought James, who really wanted to play, but knew it was most unlikely, as first years rarely got places on the team and he didn't even have his own broom with him as it wasn't allowed. Sirius seemed quite excited at the prospect.
"I can't wait!" He exclaimed, beaming. "You know 1st years haven't got on the team in about 70 years, don't you?" Remus asked. "Yeah, well, I wasn't here before, was I?" Ah, he was back to normal.
Saturday couldn't come soon enough for James, but when it did, he was incredibly nervous. He'd never really played Quidditch. He knew all the rules and he could fly. He'd thrown a quaffle around with his dad a few times, but he really didn't think he'd be good enough for the team. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try.
He walked down to the pitch with Sirius at 2 o'clock, trying to look as though he wasn't utterly terrified, because he knew Sirius would tease him, if only to mask the fact that he, too was nervous. James looked around at the rest of the candidates; they were all different ages and had various degrees of nervousness on their faces. Feeling a little comforted by this, James and Sirius moved to take a seat on the lower seats of the stadium. The Quidditch pitch was a huge field, with three hoops at either end of the pitch about 50 feet up. There were seats raised around the circular pitch so the spectators could see what was going on. He watched as the large figure of Harold Lider walked out of the locker rooms and onto the pitch, facing the possible new recruits. "Hello there, it's so nice to see so many of you here today. I won't mess around, there are only a few spots open, but I won't tell you which until I've seen what you can do." With that he started moving around the crowd, forming two teams and allocating positions. He told James he was built to be a chaser, and Sirius should try being a beater. He then gave school brooms to all the 1st years and those others who didn't have them.
Harold blew the whistle, the broomsticks rose into the air together. James felt much better when he finally got into the air. The thrill of the flight chased away all his nerves. Someone passed him the red football sized ball, the quaffle. He caught it easily, and, seeing he wasn't far from the goal he thought he'd have a go at scoring. He flew forward a little, pretended to throw the ball right, threw it left and it went straight through the middle of the hoop. He didn't know whether to be surprised or pleased, so he settled for a mixture of the two. The rest of the try out went just as well. James scored a few goals, helped some other members of his team score and found that he felt very comfortable. He couldn't remember when he'd had more fun. It was never as exhilarating as this when he'd flown with his father. He dodged bludgers (one or two threatened to come very close to knocking him off the rickety broom he was flying) and avoided members of the opposing team, who weren't all that good, and flying rings around them was far too easy.
At the end of the game he flew down to the ground and climbed off the jittery old broom almost reluctantly. He didn't really want to stop flying, though he was feeling tired and hungry and ready for a hot shower.
Harold dismissed everyone, told them he'd be in touch when he'd made his decisions. James made to go with them, but he called him back. Sirius hesitated, torn between wanting to know what was going on and wanting a good long rest and a meal. "Go on Sirius," James called "I'll be with you in a minute." Sirius grinned at him, and gave him a look as if to say 'you'd better tell me later'. James grinned back and turned to Lider.
"Look James, I'll be honest with you. You're good, the best chaser I've seen in a long time," James grinned at this, he couldn't help feeling pleased with this news "but," he knew it was coming, "we don't have any spots open for chasers this year. Next year'll be different, two of the chasers we do have are 7th years, and I can't kick them out this year." James could tell Lider was trying to be fair, and although he was a bit disappointed, it still felt good to know there was a place for him next year. "I understand." He replied grinning at Harold. Then he turned and followed Sirius up to the castle, because he was suddenly starving!
It took Sirius a while to get over that lesson. James didn't think it was that surprising really; he had gone a tad over the top. He was still looking a little subdued a week later watching James and Remus playing exploding snap in the Gryffindor common room, until a notice appeared suddenly on the notice board that cheered him up immensely,
Tryouts for the Gryffindor House Quidditch team will take place on Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock. All candidates welcome. Report to Harold Lider.
Harold Lider was a 5th year, quite large and captain of the Quidditch team. He was a very good captain, and the team had (apparently) been in the final the last few years. If anyone would play fair and let the most able players on the team then he would, thought James, who really wanted to play, but knew it was most unlikely, as first years rarely got places on the team and he didn't even have his own broom with him as it wasn't allowed. Sirius seemed quite excited at the prospect.
"I can't wait!" He exclaimed, beaming. "You know 1st years haven't got on the team in about 70 years, don't you?" Remus asked. "Yeah, well, I wasn't here before, was I?" Ah, he was back to normal.
Saturday couldn't come soon enough for James, but when it did, he was incredibly nervous. He'd never really played Quidditch. He knew all the rules and he could fly. He'd thrown a quaffle around with his dad a few times, but he really didn't think he'd be good enough for the team. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try.
He walked down to the pitch with Sirius at 2 o'clock, trying to look as though he wasn't utterly terrified, because he knew Sirius would tease him, if only to mask the fact that he, too was nervous. James looked around at the rest of the candidates; they were all different ages and had various degrees of nervousness on their faces. Feeling a little comforted by this, James and Sirius moved to take a seat on the lower seats of the stadium. The Quidditch pitch was a huge field, with three hoops at either end of the pitch about 50 feet up. There were seats raised around the circular pitch so the spectators could see what was going on. He watched as the large figure of Harold Lider walked out of the locker rooms and onto the pitch, facing the possible new recruits. "Hello there, it's so nice to see so many of you here today. I won't mess around, there are only a few spots open, but I won't tell you which until I've seen what you can do." With that he started moving around the crowd, forming two teams and allocating positions. He told James he was built to be a chaser, and Sirius should try being a beater. He then gave school brooms to all the 1st years and those others who didn't have them.
Harold blew the whistle, the broomsticks rose into the air together. James felt much better when he finally got into the air. The thrill of the flight chased away all his nerves. Someone passed him the red football sized ball, the quaffle. He caught it easily, and, seeing he wasn't far from the goal he thought he'd have a go at scoring. He flew forward a little, pretended to throw the ball right, threw it left and it went straight through the middle of the hoop. He didn't know whether to be surprised or pleased, so he settled for a mixture of the two. The rest of the try out went just as well. James scored a few goals, helped some other members of his team score and found that he felt very comfortable. He couldn't remember when he'd had more fun. It was never as exhilarating as this when he'd flown with his father. He dodged bludgers (one or two threatened to come very close to knocking him off the rickety broom he was flying) and avoided members of the opposing team, who weren't all that good, and flying rings around them was far too easy.
At the end of the game he flew down to the ground and climbed off the jittery old broom almost reluctantly. He didn't really want to stop flying, though he was feeling tired and hungry and ready for a hot shower.
Harold dismissed everyone, told them he'd be in touch when he'd made his decisions. James made to go with them, but he called him back. Sirius hesitated, torn between wanting to know what was going on and wanting a good long rest and a meal. "Go on Sirius," James called "I'll be with you in a minute." Sirius grinned at him, and gave him a look as if to say 'you'd better tell me later'. James grinned back and turned to Lider.
"Look James, I'll be honest with you. You're good, the best chaser I've seen in a long time," James grinned at this, he couldn't help feeling pleased with this news "but," he knew it was coming, "we don't have any spots open for chasers this year. Next year'll be different, two of the chasers we do have are 7th years, and I can't kick them out this year." James could tell Lider was trying to be fair, and although he was a bit disappointed, it still felt good to know there was a place for him next year. "I understand." He replied grinning at Harold. Then he turned and followed Sirius up to the castle, because he was suddenly starving!