A/N: Ok, I know I promised that in this chapter Alicia would receive a mysterious letter. However, I realized I had typed eight single spaced pages and still hadn't gotten the characters out of quidditch practice. So you'll have to wait until the next chapter for the letter. I did foreshadow a little bit though, maybe you can guess what happens… Anyways, thanks for being patient, and PLEASE read and review!!!! I didn't get many reviews last time. But thank you so much to the people who did review! As always, you guys made my day. Happy reading!
Disclaimer: On June 21st, I will NOT be selling millions of copies of my next book. Hence, the characters do not belong to me.
By Saturday morning, I was feeling a lot better about the year ahead. Classes were tough (especially Advanced History of Magic), quidditch practices bordered on insane, and I was still a big fat zero when it came to making romantic advances on George. But I was remembering why I chose to come back every year: I loved Hogwarts more than any other place I had ever been. Hogwarts was really and truly my home. A place where I could feel loved. A place where I could feel comfortable. A place where I could be relaxed, rested, and –
"Alicia!" Angelina stood over me, repeatedly poking me with a broomstick and breaking my sweet, semi-slumbering reverie. "Alicia. Get your arse out of bed. I told you last night that we have to be on the field by 9:30. And by the end of the day, we'll have a new keeper!"
I groaned and rolled over. "Angelina. Tryouts don't start until noon."
Angelina poked me again. "Well, I figure we need time to arrange a system for tryouts."
At this, I sat bolt upright. "Two and a half hours? How complex do you plan on making these tryouts?"
Angelina rolled her eyes. "No, silly. Only half an hour to set up tryouts. The other two hours are for practice! KATIE! UP!" As Angelina bounded over to Katie's bed, I lay back down. Maybe while Angelina bugged Katie I could get a few more minutes of sleep.
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At 9:30 on the dot, myself and the five other players that made up the current Gryffindor quidditch team had assembled on the pitch. We sat down as our fearless leader began to wax poetic about how we needed a goalkeeper, and how the filling of this position would truly "complete our team and unify us so that we become – well, unified." As usual, we only began to pay attention when she began dealing out instructions.
"Alright guys. Since we are still short a player, we'll stick to more individual drills like we've been doing this whole week. Fred, George, I got you guys some special bludgers. They're about twice as heavy as the normal ones. Don't even think about looking at me like that, this is great for conditioning! Go hit them around over on that end of the pitch. Once you see that we're done warming up, fly down to where we are and start directing the bludgers away from us. No target practice! And make sure you're taking full swings; really try to use all of your muscles. Oh, and don't forget to alternate strong and weak sides." Angelina stopped, appearing slightly out of breath.
"Of course dear!" said Fred, smiling the smile of a man who knew how to make a woman happy.
George rolled his eyes and made a gagging noise. I giggled as I watched him grab the bludger case and fly off after Fred.
Angelina turned her attention towards the youngest member of our team. "Now, Harry, I want you to –"
"Let me guess." Harry cut her off abruptly. "Catch the snitch?" He was grinning devilishly. I couldn't help smiling. You couldn't stay pissed at Harry. He's just too darn adorable.
Luckily for all of us, Angelina was smiling too. "Yes, catch the snitch, smartass. But make sure you work the whole field. Get in our way. We'll try to simulate game conditions as much as we can." Harry nodded and launched into the air. I watched him go, slightly envious. What I wouldn't do for a Firebolt…
"Alright, ladies. Let's warm up our arms a little, and then let's do that drill we learned yesterday." Katie and I nodded our agreement, and the three of us took off. Each of us was holding a quaffle so we could all shoot simultaneously as we warmed up.
The ground began to vanish below me as I headed up, up, up. As I zoomed towards the goal, I rolled my head back and forth, trying to eliminate the cricks in my neck. Nearing the hoops, I focused on the one on the right. I pulled my arm back, put on a final burst of speed, and fired. The quaffle soared straight through the ring. Grinning, I turned around and doubled back to catch it as it automatically swung around to the front of the goal.
"Nice arm, Alicia!" Angelina zipped past me, giving me a thumbs up as she dove towards the middle hoop.
The three of us continued to warm up, circling the hoops and shooting from various positions. After about half an hour, Angelina waved us over. I glided to a halt where she and Katie were floating in mid air.
"Everyone feeling good out there?" She looked to Katie and I for confirmation. After we nodded, she continued. "Good. We practiced rapid cutting yesterday, now let's try doing it and shooting. Katie, you and I will pass and weave as we come up the field. Alicia, I want you to circle the goalpost as if you were a third man option. As we approach, drop back. Hopefully, this will pull back whoever's guarding you. Katie, I'll pass to you and then head behind the goal. This should pull my guard out of the way too. Then, instead of shooting, I want you to drop the quaffle. Don't even look, just do it. Alicia, right as she does that, you need to sprint like hell and be underneath to grab it and shoot from below. This move is tricky, ok? It's all about timing and trust. So let's do it. We'll run it in these positions for a while and then we'll rotate. Any questions?"
I shook my head, as did Katie.
"Alright then. Let me have your quaffles." We handed them to her. Angelina reached into her robes and pulled out her wand. She tapped two of the quaffles, muttering something under her breath. She then put her wand away and let go of the quaffles. Katie and I watched as they fell to the ground. Angelina tossed the remaining quaffle to Katie.
"Let's do this." With that, she and Katie took off down the field. I flew over to the goal and began to move around a little, trying to get myself in focus. Down the field, I could see Angelina gesturing to Fred and George. I continued to watch as they flew down the field, heading towards me. They were taking humungous swings at the bludgers, essentially passing them to each other as they continued to get closer to me. Neither of them ever practiced in their robes, choosing instead to wear t-shirts and athletic pants, and as George swung his club back to whack a bludger, I could see his muscles rippling. Suddenly aware that I was about to start drooling, I forced myself to focus on Katie and Angelina, who had begun to move down the field toward my end. I continued to concentrate on them exclusively, and as a result, didn't see a bludger heading for my head until a beater's club suddenly appeared, knocking it out of the way. I jerked backwards, suddenly aware.
George hovered a few inches away from me, grinning. "Glad to see you truly focused on the game, tiger." I rolled my eyes and shoved him a little.
"Hey, I was just helping you do your job. I could've moved if I wanted to. I just wanted to test your reflexes." I gave him what I hoped was an enticing look.
George raised his eyebrows. "That's just like you, Alicia. Always watching my back." He raised his club and took off again, but not before reaching over and yanking my ponytail. I reached for him but it was already too late. I began to watch Katie and Angelina again, trying very hard not to blush.
Angelina passed the quaffle to Katie, and then began to head straight behind the goalposts. I leaned forward and sprinted out in the opposite direction. I began to circle in a wide arc so that I was facing the goalposts again. I watched Katie. She was darting back and forth, looking for all intents and purposes like she was choosing whether or not to shoot or pass it off to Angelina. Then I saw her suddenly head up.
"Now," I muttered, and with that, I shot off as fast as I could make my broom go. Sure enough, Katie dropped the quaffle. I snatched the quaffle at full speed and without hesitating; I shot as hard as I could at the nearest hoop. I immediately spun around 180 degrees and shot back towards the middle of the pitch, figuring that the imaginary person guarding me would certainly have caught up by now. I heard Angelina yelling behind me.
"Alicia!" I turned to see her gesturing to come back. I flew back yet again, stopping by her and Katie. Angelina was smiling enthusiastically. "That was awesome, girls. Truly awesome. Katie, your timing was perfect. And Alicia, I think any keeper stupid enough to get in the way of that shot would have been knocked unconscious."
"Alicia, I think with that kind of arm, you could easily replace Fred or George," said Katie, shaking her head in disbelief. "That was one amazing shot."
"Well, let's see if you can pull it off again," said Angelina. "Reposition!"
"Sir, yes sir!" Katie gave a mock salute.
"Funny, Bell," said Angelina, glaring daggers. Rolling my eyes, I resumed my position, hoping that the rest of practice would go this well.
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At 11:30, Angelina had us all come down to the ground. As I landed, I dismounted my broom, sore all over, sweating like a horse, and grinning from ear to ear. I had been "on" today; I knew it. No matter what position I had taken in the drill, everything had been going well. I sat down on the grass next to George, figuring that if I could do this well in every practice, this was going to be my best season ever.
Suddenly, I felt a handful of grass being stuffed down my t-shirt. I sat still for a moment, in utter and total disbelief. Slowly, I turned so that I was facing George.
"You did not just do what I think you just did."
"And what if I did?" George was smiling.
"Then prepare to die." I grabbed a handful of grass and attempted to rub it in his face, but he fended me off pretty easily. I swung my other arm around in an attempt to hold him down, but he just grabbed the other hand. I shoved all my weight against my arms in an attempt to push him over, but somehow, he wasn't moving anywhere.
"It's helpless, Alicia. Give up. Don't make me tickle you."
Faced with the prospect of being tickled extensively (which I knew would lead to a very pissed off Angelina), I elected to surrender. George was still smiling as I settled myself back down next to him. He sighed happily, and swung an arm around my shoulders. I bit my lip, trying in vain to control the tingly feeling that was quickly overtaking my body.
"Take a deep breath and inhale, Alicia. Do you know what that smell is?"
"Your disgusting sweat?"
"No. That, my dear Alicia, is the sweet smell of victory. I think I'll choose to savor it."
I took advantage of his momentary relaxation to elbow him in the side. He made a grand gesture of falling to the ground in pain. I nudged him with my foot.
"Don't get too comfortable in your temporary achievement. I know where you sleep."
"George! Sit up, pay attention, and if you harm one of my chasers you will find yourself wishing that you had never been born." Angelina was standing over George with her hands on her hips. George, not being stupid, quickly sat up.
Angelina cleared her throat and began to speak. "We ran over a little bit. We only have about fifteen minutes before everyone arrives, so pay attention. I'm going to start off by having them pair off and toss the quaffle back and forth. I want you guys to just fly around and observe. You all know enough about quidditch to know what makes a good keeper. Keep in mind, though, that next year Harry will be building an almost entirely new team, so if you spot anyone who you think isn't cut out for keeper but might do well as a chaser or a beater, make a mental note. Actually, even better, make a written note. Over on the bleachers I brought out some notebooks and quills for all of us. I'm going to enchant numbers to fly over the heads of the people trying out. So if number six can't catch with his left hand, write that down. Moving on. So after they warm up, I'm going to send them all to one end of the pitch with Alicia. She'll be equipped with a quaffle. They'll rotate into the goal. She'll shoot once, and they'll either save or miss, and then the next player will rotate in. Alicia, you'll just keep doing this one at a time. One by one, I'll call them down to the other end of the pitch. There, they'll be playing goalie for five straight minutes. Katie and I will be passing back and forth and shooting at them for the whole time. Fred, you'll just chase around one of the bludgers on our end for the whole time each one is in goal. Aim it at them every so often, just to make sure they're keeping alert. Harry, you'll stay on my end, taking notes. George, you go with Alicia and take notes. Questions?"
I raised my hand. "How hard should I shoot?"
Angelina bit her lip for a moment, a sign that she was thinking. "More than a pass, less than a full out shot. Prepare them for their alone time with me, but I also want them to be surprised… You know what I mean?"
I nodded. "I think so."
"Good, because they're coming out here." Harry was pointing to a group of people walking onto the pitch, holding broomsticks and wearing identical expressions of fear.
"Over here!" Angelina yelled as we all stood up. I squirmed a little, trying to shake the remaining grass off of my back. George reached over and brushed a clump of grass out of my hair. I caught his eye for a moment but couldn't think of anything to say.
The candidates had all lined up in front of us. Angelina took a deep breath, a sure sign that she was about to do her favorite thing in the whole world: talk.
"Welcome to the tryouts for keeper of the Gryffindor quidditch team. I'm Angelina Johnson, captain. I play chaser on the team. Over here are the other players on the team who will be evaluating you today during tryouts. Before we begin, I have a few words."
"Why don't I believe that," whispered George. I put my hand over my mouth so I wouldn't laugh.
"I'm sure all of you have heard of Oliver Wood, our previous keeper. Some of you may have seen him play. I'm sure that you all think he was a great keeper. Well, you're wrong. He was a sensational keeper. Right now, he's playing on the reserve team for Puddlemere United. Suffice to say, replacing Oliver will not be an easy task. We need a keeper who can fill some very big shoes. So if any of you were just coming out here to fool around or to try being a keeper for the first time, this probably isn't the place. Anyone want out?" Angelina looked at the fifteen people standing in front of her. They looked even more terrified than before, but none of them moved. Angelina smiled. "Good. Prepare to work hard, then. And if at the end of this tryout, you think that we worked you too hard, just come and tell me."
Some of the candidates smiled in relief.
"And I'll tell you that I won't consider you for the position. What we do today will be ten times easier then any practice you'll ever have."
Having thoroughly harassed the candidates, Angelina began to pair them off and explain the coming drills.
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I stared at the hoop in front of me and blinked a few times, trying in vain to dig up enough energy to make a shot.
"Uh Alicia?" Ron Weasley was floating in front of the goal, staring at me. "Um, are you going to shoot? You've been staring at me for almost a minute."
I sighed. "Sorry Ron. How about you guys take a few minutes and get some water. Be back here in five and we'll start shooting again." I watched the group of candidates that had been lined up next to the goal fly down and land on the ground. I flew over to wear George was drifting.
"I cannot do this anymore. This is insane. The six of us have been on the field for nearly six hours."
George nodded. "Looks like the others aren't feeling much better." I turned and looked at the set of hoops on the other end. Angelina, the only one who looked alive, was gesturing to whoever was playing in goal, swinging her arm back in preparation for a shot. Katie was drinking from a large bottle of water, looking as if she was on her last legs. Fred had actually dozed off on his broom, having put a freezing charm on the bludger that was floating next to his head. Harry was staring with a blank, vacant expression on his face as he flew in slow and deliberate figure eights around Fred. I shook my head.
"She's made each of the candidates go one on one with her four times. And now she's started on cycle number five. I think my arm is going to fall off if I have to throw the quaffle one more time."
George frowned. "Your shoulder hurt?"
"Throbbing pain, check."
George leaned over and grabbed the quaffle out of my hands. "I'll shoot. You just float around and give pointers."
"George, you're a beater."
He shrugged. "What, you think I've never thrown a quaffle in my life? Come on, I can do this. You don't even have to take notes. I think I have everything on these players except for their DNA."
I sighed. I hated admitting defeat, but I was honestly afraid that my shoulder might give out. "I don't know. If Angelina sees us –"
"If Angelina sees us I'll tell her I was saving one of her best chasers from a season ending injury. Here, head over there and make sure they line up correctly. They're starting to come back up."
I smiled as George flew off to reposition himself in front of the rings. Hot and sensitive. Damn, damn, damn.
"Jacobs, you're up!" I yelled. I watched as George shot the quaffle at the fourth year girl hovering in front of the rings. Actually, he wouldn't be half bad as a chaser. I then immediately silenced the voice in my head commenting that I would really love it if he would chase me. Damn dirty voices.
"Blakely!" I watched as the next candidate flew to take his place. Nearly three hours of watching this kid had led me to believe that he could only do anything with his right hand. Sure enough, George sent a fairly easy shot towards the lower left, and Blakely just watched it go by. I had a distinct feeling that Blakely was not going to be our next keeper. In fact, he was actually – actually –
I was sitting in a room staring, straight ahead. There was a woman sitting across the table from me, who I had never seen in my life. And I could feel fear boiling in my stomach so intensely that I threatened to explode.
"Alicia?" George suddenly appeared in front of me, and I was jerked back to the present to find myself inches away from him and surrounded by fourteen pairs of curious eyes. "Did you pass out or something? I think you should go land, get a drink or something…"
"I'm fine," I smiled, hoping he would get the hint. "I just was day dreaming for a minute there. You know, one of those dreams I always have. Dreams about the future?"
Realization dawned on George's face. "Oh, one of those dreams. Right. Ok, everyone, back in line!"
Before anyone could get back in line, however, we heard Angelina yelling for us to come down. Grateful for the distraction, I sped away from the others, trying to figure out what the hell my vision might mean.
We landed next to Angelina as the candidates assembled in a line in front of us.
"First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you on an excellent performance. All of you far exceeded my expectations. Unfortunately, we will only be selecting one keeper. However, I hope that this does not discourage the rest of you. There will be five of us graduating this year, which means there will be five empty spots on next year's team. So please, keep practicing, and maybe next year you'll find yourself better suited to the spot of chaser or beater. Anyone else have any comments?" Angelina turned to look at us as she finished speaking. Hesitantly, I stepped forward.
"Um. Well, first I'll repeat what Angelina said about all of you doing so well today. It's going to be a tough decision. I'm Alicia Spinnet, by the way, and I play chaser on the team. I guess I – well, I just have a story I'm going to tell you. I grew up loving quidditch my whole life. When I was six, I got my first broom, and I began to play with other kids in my neighborhood. Right from the start, I wanted to be a seeker. I knew it would take lots of hard work, so I did it. I worked and worked and worked. And I came to Hogwarts my first year all excited, because I wanted to play seeker for my house team. Well, I was immediately dealt two crushing blows. As you all know, the house teams do not accept first year players. Except in special occasions. But that's not the point. So I figured I would just try out for seeker my second year. Well, my first flying lesson came and went, and I asked Madame Hooch if she thought I had any chance at making it as a seeker. She flat out told me no way. But she did give me some good news. She told me that I had all the natural instincts of a chaser, and that I if I worked hard, I could probably make the team as a chaser my second year. This thrilled me. I practiced and practiced and practiced. Second year rolled around. I tried out, gave it my all, and – and I didn't make the team. I was crushed. But I'm too darn proud to ever admit to failure, so I just kept practicing. And the next year, I made the team. And well, here I am. So I guess the whole point of that long winded speech was just to say two things: first of all, never give up on what you want. And second of all, sometimes what feels like the worst thing in the world can turn into the best opportunity in the world. So, yeah, I guess that's all." Blushing slightly, I stepped back. I couldn't remember the last time I'd talked for that long.
Angelina was smiling, along with the rest of the team. "Thanks, Alicia. What Alicia said is all true, guys. Take it to heart. All right, you can all go. I'll make an announcement tomorrow at breakfast. First practice is tomorrow evening."
As the candidates wandered back to school, laughing and talking, Angelina turned to face all of us. "Ok, for once, I'm going to make this simple. I ballots for all of you. They have the number that I gave each player along with their last name. Circle who you think is the best choice. I'm thinking that we're all going to be in agreement, but if not, we'll talk. Take a few minutes to think, and then give me your paper. If we all agree, we'll be back in our rooms in ten minutes."
I grabbed my ballot from Angelina and sat down on the grass next to George so we could look over our notes. After skimming through them once, I realized that the notes confirmed the person that I had been thinking of all along. Just to double check, though, I waked over to where the others were sitting and read Harry's notes. They also backed up the person I thought would be best. Walking back over to George, I circled a name on the ballot, folded the paper in half, and lay down on the grass to wait for the others to finish. A moment later, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye as George lay down next to me on the grass. I shifted a little to the side to give him more room, secretly wishing I could pounce on him and snog him like no tomorrow.
"I'm guessing you had a vision before?" He had turned his head to speak to me, and because of the way my elbow was lightly touching his chest, his voice sent vibrations running through me. Control. It was all about the control.
"Yeah. I think I freaked out the candidates though." George laughed, sending even more vibrations.
"What was it about?"
I didn't say anything for a moment. Normally, I told my friends about my visions without hesitation. But somehow, I just couldn't. Something about the nature of this one seemed to demand secrecy.
"Oh, you know, usual crap. Snape is going to take points off a Gryffindor in class tomorrow." Really, it didn't matter that I had lied. I could always tell George the truth later if the vision panned out to be something significant. Hey, I had misinterpreted visions before. Once I thought that Angelina had died because I had a vision that Fred was giving her CPR, but, well, let's just say I was very wrong. I looked at George, hoping he believed me.
"Well in that case, I might as well pull a prank on him tomorrow." George was smiling, but there was seriousness in his eyes that I couldn't really read. Flustered, I sat up.
"I'm going to go give my ballot to Angelina. I would really like to take a shower; I really, really smell."
George sat up next to me. "Sounds good." He jumped to his feet. He turned around and offered me an arm, which I gratefully grabbed and let him pull me up. We walked over to Angelina and handed her our ballots. The five of us stood around and watched as she opened and read all six ballots. Nodding, she crouched down and spread them on the ground.
"A unanimous vote. Look for yourselves."
We all let out a sigh of relief. The last thing anyone wanted was to sit around and argue for another hour. Fred wrapped his arms around Angelina from behind and rested his head on her shoulder.
"Well, sweetie, you know what they say about great minds thinking alike."
"Well then that obviously explains why you, Lee, and George find Snape's flask so amusing." Katie smiled angelically as we all began to walk back to the castle.
"Hardy har har," muttered Fred, but George was grinning.
"All I want to do is take a shower and crawl into bed," I yawned, swinging my broom over my shoulder.
"So you'll just ignore all your homework then?" asked Harry, smiling.
"Dammit," I muttered. "We should get some kind of an excuse to not do our homework after practicing for five and a half hours."
George shrugged. "I don't have an excuse. But if you give Fred and I about half an hour, we could come up with some chocolate frogs and butterbeer…"
Katie, Angelina, and I all stopped dead in our tracks and looked at each other for a moment before grabbing the boys and beginning to drag them at a run back to the castle. Somehow sugar makes anything seem better…
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Hope everyone enjoyed that chapter! Please tell me if I get too wordy and long-winded, I can't believe this chapter was so long! And pretty pretty please read and review! In the next chapter: Angelina announces the new keeper, Alicia gets a mysterious letter (I promise) and it takes her somewhere outside of Hogwarts… What? Is that plot progression? Where did that come from?