Chapter 10: Quidditch Team-Mates

There was a large crowd of eager, enthusiastic faces waiting to greet Harry as he made his way down to the Quidditch pitch. It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining, the wind was very calm, and there were only one or two clouds in the sky. Harry had almost been hoping that the conditions would be bad; he would get to see what players could cope with the more extreme games. He was surprised at the number of students that were there; last year they had had difficulty filling out the team to any decent standard, maybe people had noticed how bad it was and worked hard over the summer to train. Or maybe they had only recently realised their talents; Harry soon realised he didn't much care, as long as he got some good players for his team, they had to win this year! Harry felt a sharp pain in his side where Ron elbowed him, "What was that for?" he exclaimed, rubbing his smarting hip.

"Well, there's at least 20 people here waiting on your instructions, and it didn't look like you were planning on giving them any time soon" replied Ron with a smirk, he knew Harry would've completely forgotten all about being Captain and what that meant as soon as he got back onto the pitch.

"Oh.right," said Harry, blushing profusely, and he addressed the crowd that had now gathered around him. "Well, uh, Hi." He smiled faintly; he was no good at speaking to this many people. Then he remembered the D.A. and a burst of confidence inspired him, "Thank-you all for turning up, I wish I had a spot for all of you, but as you all know, I don't. So we will have to discover who is the best. I have considered several options for this, and I will be able to decide which is best when I see how many are trying out for each position, so if I could have the potential chasers here," he said gesturing to his left, "and the beaters here" as he gestured to his right.

The students were eager to oblige and in no time at all there were two distinct groups formed. Harry glanced over to where the chasers stood, and attempted to count them. It wasn't going to work; he pulled out two sheets of parchment and two quills, handing one of each to both of the groups. "If everyone could sign their name on the relative sheet of parchment that would be great!" said Harry, turning round to speak to Ron, his only surviving teammate. Jack Sloper had approached Harry the other day to say that as much as he loved Quidditch, he knew he wasn't that great, and would like to try out for the team again. Harry had done the only thing he could; he agreed.

"I was thinking about staging a few mini-games without the snitch, to see how they play on a team, what do you think?" Harry asked Ron,

"Yeah, that's a good idea, but won't we need another keeper?" Ron replied, looking enthusiastic; this way he would get to fly too.

"Well, no." said Harry, "I was thinking we could use only one set of hoops, I'll keep score, not that it's the most important thing at this point."

"That's a good idea, it'll help me train as well" added Ron cheerfully

"Right then," continued Harry happily, the sheets were being handed back to him and after a few quick calculations he worked out that there were 12 chasers trying out for the three spots, and 10 beaters trying out for the two spots. That could mean two games, four teams. Two with three chasers and two beaters, as normal, and the other two with three chasers and three beaters. "Okay, I have decided that the best way to see your abilities and team skills would be to play mini 20 minute games without the snitch. Using only one set of hoops with our very own Ron as keeper. The first game we will have two teams, with three chasers and three beaters. The second game, again we will have two teams, with three chasers and two beaters. You can pick your own teams but be ready to play in 5 minutes; I will charm your robes to be team colours for the duration of the game." There was a sudden burst of movement and chatter from the crowd, and Harry watched them, grinning as they fought over teammates; this was going to be interesting. Harry moved over to the stands and began discussing with Ron what they would need to look out for. The five minutes quickly passed, and Harry leaned over the edge of the stand to address the hopefuls.

"Sonorus!" he mumbled pointing his wand at his throat, "Could you separate into your four teams please?" Harry called down to them, the charm making his voice much louder, and easy for the players to hear. Now the two teams with three beaters you will go first. You" he said pointing at the team nearest to him "will be the blue team," their robes changing accordingly, "and you" he continued pointing to the others, "will be the yellow team," their robes also changing. "Now, mount your brooms!" as he called out, Ron flew over to his post in front of the hoops, and Madame Hooch, who had been perfectly content to let Harry conduct tryouts his way, released the balls.

Harry watched the players intently, it was clear from the off that the yellow's were the better team, all three of their chasers communicated well, and threw the Quaffle deftly. The beaters were pretty good too, hard hitters, and quite accurate. Well, except for one, a third year - Harry thought - called Craig Jones, was putting all of his energy into hitting the bludger, not even considering aim, Harry discounted him at once. One of the chasers - Daniel Scott - went into a spectacular dive to retrieve the Quaffle the other team had dropped, pulled out of it just in time, ended up right in front of the hoops, and scored. Harry was impressed, very impressed and he wrote Daniel's name on the 'Possibilities' parchment.

"Hey Harry" Harry swirled round startled, to see Hermione behind him. "I finished my homework so thought I'd come along and see how things were going."

"Well we're having two short matches - this is the first - to see how they fly and how they work as a team - did you see that dive he just pulled off?" he explained excitedly,

"Yeah, it was pretty good," said Hermione

"Pretty good?" said Harry, "that was bloody brilliant!"

"Mind your language Harry," said Hermione frustrated; she would never understand how a dive could possibly be that exciting

Harry turned his attention back to the game, noting a few names on the back of the parchment - they were pretty good - but nothing that special.

The game ended without any major occurrences, and Harry got up to congratulate the players. "Well done, that was well played by all of you, now if you wouldn't mind sticking around I'll see the next game and then I'll decide if there needs to be any more trials."

The players looked up at him happily, and moved off of the pitch to allow their rivals to play. "You" said Harry pointing to one of the teams, which he happily noted had both Ali and Ginny in it, "will be the purple team" and their robes changes at once, "and you," he said pointing to the others, "will be the orange team. Now, mount your brooms and we will begin!"

Again Madame Hooch released the balls, and the players flew into action, this match looked to be much closer than the last. Harry's attention was originally focused on Ali, he couldn't help but notice how pretty her long black hair looked as it was caught in the wind, not only that though, she flew very well, and was a good communicator, she seemed to know when to give up the Quaffle and when to go for a score. Ginny was a good chaser as well, she worked seamlessly with Ali, though they couldn't have had much practice time, the other chaser on their team, a small second year boy was good, but his inexperience was hindering his performance; Harry thought he would be great in a few years, but dismissed him from today's considerations.

His attention was drawn away from the purple's before he had a chance to watch their beaters, mainly because the chasers he had been watching were under constant bombardment from the bludgers. The Orange team's beaters were fantastic, almost as good as Fred and George who were always a force to be reckoned with, and when he glimpsed them, he got a rough idea why. These beaters were also twins - a boy and a girl - both with bright golden blonde hair, the girl's long and flowing, the boy's short and gelled. This got Harry to thinking about the connection between beaters - and how important it was. Fred and George were easily the best beaters in the school, and many said it was because they seemed to be able to read each other's thoughts. Harry didn't think that was necessarily true, but he was beginning to wonder if there was more to twins than met the eye. The game ended after what felt like only a few minutes to Harry, but by the time it had he had clearly made his choices.

The players flew to the ground and gathered into one large group, discussing each other's play, and waiting for Harry to make his announcement. Harry however, wanted to run his choices past Ron first. He didn't have to wait long because Ron was flying quickly in his direction.

"Hey Ron, you've gotten really good by the way - you hardly let any of those in!" Harry greeted him enthusiastically, it was true, Ron had improved immensely since last year.

"Thanks" replied Ron blushing, "some of them were really good though weren't they? Have you decided yet? Or are you gonna make them do more trials?"

"Yeah they were really good, and yeah I have decided, they were all good, but some just stood out a mile."

"Who then?" asked Ron excitedly

"Well, Ali, Ginny, and Daniel Scott will be the new Chasers."

"Yeah, I agree, did you see the dive that Daniel pulled off?"

"Of course" said Harry, "It was wicked!"

"How about the beaters then?"

"Chris and Jenny Taylor"

"I hoped you'd say that, they were amazing!"

"I guess I'd better go down and tell them then, huh?"

"Yeah I think so," said Ron looking a little concerned, he had just looked over the edge of the stand to see that the hopefuls were quickly becoming impatient.

"Right," said Harry as he headed down to tell them the news. Ron set out to follow him, but was intercepted by Hermione,

"Glad to know you're happy to see me!" she said, obviously hurt that he hadn't noticed her,

"Hermione?" Ron replied dumbfounded, "I didn't even notice you,"

"And you don't see a problem with that?" she shouted

"I, uh, I'm sorry," he said, putting on a puppy dog face,

"You should be," she returned sharply,

"I notice you now though," he said, moving closer to her and slipping his arm around her waist,

"Yeah, well." Hermione looked a little flustered, she hadn't planned on this, and she couldn't stay mad at him, not when he was so close,

Ron leaned forward and kissed her gently, her eyes widened in surprise but she quickly got over that and was soon returning his kiss, he pulled away reluctantly after a few minutes, his ears turning red, "I had better go, um, I'm supposed to be there, and Harry will wonder where I am,"

Harry was not wondering anything of the kind, because he had turned back to get Ron after he noticed he wasn't following him, and he saw exactly what was going on in the empty stand, he saw Ron blush, and chuckling softly to himself he made his way down to the pitch, there was no need to embarrass his friends, 'not yet anyway' he thought as a grin spread across his face. The crowd of students were looking at him expectantly, most of them looking nervous and uncomfortable, when Harry saw Ron appear at the bottom of the stand looking slightly flushed and dishevelled, he decided it was time to put them out of their misery.

"Everyone who played today was good, you all have talent, unfortunately there are only five spots available and many of you will be disappointed. However I hope that you can be happy for the ones that do make it, after all they will be your house team, and will want your support. Now without further ado - the new beaters are Jenny and Chris Taylor!" A cheer went up all round, it seemed that most people realised they were the best and would do the most for the team; there were a few defeated faces amongst the crowd though. "And the new chasers are Ginny Weasley, Alyssandra Vilene, and Daniel Scott!" Another cheer erupted from the crowd, along with several cries of

"Party in the common room!" Harry looked round at all the smiling faces, and smiled himself, this was going to be great!

"Harry?" he looked round and saw Ginny and Ali standing beside him, he hadn't even noticed them approach.

"Hey, congrats by the way, you two flew really well!"

"We just wanted to say thanks," said Ginny, grinning, "I know I was on the team before, but it feels so much better this time!"

"This team's a winner, I can feel it!" replied Harry enthusiastically

"I hope so!" added Ali, "I've never had the chance to be part of a proper team before!"

"You'll love it, I'm sure," said Harry smiling at her, wow, she's beautiful, he thought to himself, she has the same eyes as her aunt, but they're softer, sparklier.

"Harry?" Ginny interrupted his thoughts and he realised he was staring, and his cheeks flamed before he could even try and stop them. "Are you okay?" she continued

"Yeah just fine" Harry quipped, hoping to appear normal,

"Right I was just saying I want to go and owl home, you know, tell them how it went, you can show Ali to the common room right?"

"Show her?" said Harry confused,

"I've only been here a week, I still get a bit lost sometimes" Ali replied, unsuccessfully fighting off a blush of her own,

"Oh yeah, of course" said Harry, feeling like an idiot, "I got lost well into my second month, so it's nothing to worry about!" he smiled trying to make her feel better,

"I guess I'm not so bad then?" she smiled, entrancing Harry; her glossy lips curved perfectly when she smiled.

"Right I'm off then" said Ginny, Harry had forgotten she was still there, "Are you two going? I mean, everyone else is gone."

"Are they?" asked Harry looking slightly embarrassed, he had been oblivious to his surroundings since he started talking to Ali,

"Uh, yeah" replied Ali, who was also blushing a bit

Ginny sent them a bemused look and headed off to the owlry.

"So, um, want to head back then?" Harry said, trying to break the awkward silence that had settled in,

"Yeah, sure, let's go," replied Ali, a wistful glance crossing her face, Harry noted it with surprise, did that mean she wanted to spend more time alone with him? No, he thought, she probably wished it were someone else walking her back that's all.

They walked back in relative silence, neither one of them could think of much to say after they covered the basics of the tryouts. Harry was racking his brains trying to think of something to say to her; something that wouldn't make him look like an idiot. He was walking just slightly behind her, and the gentle sway of her hips underneath her robes enchanted him, and his mind began to wander; to what those hips would look like without the robes. Just thinking about it made him blush, but it didn't stop him thinking. Which was bad news for Harry; because his mind was elsewhere he managed to step on the edge of his own robes. He fell forwards, coming into direct contact with those hips he had been thinking about, and both of them fell to the ground. He quickly leaped up, his face red enough to rival Ron's, and tried to stammer an apology,

"I am so sorry!" he started, avoiding looking her in the eye, he offered her his hand. She took it and pulled herself gracefully up from the ground.

"Don't worry about it" she said with a smile, her eyes twinkling with silent laughter, her hands brushing down her robes. It was then, with both of the looking dishevelled, and Harry looking most definitely embarrassed, that Ron wandered round the corner.

"Well, what's going on here?" he asked, adopting a superior tone, trying to keep a straight face,

"Nothing" said Harry, still bright red,

"Nothing, hmm?" continued Ron, enjoying Harry's discomfort,

"He just fell onto me that's all!" said Ali, but as soon as she said it she regretted it.

"Fell onto you?" Ron choked out between laughs,

Harry looking at the floor in a last attempt to rid himself of that awful blush continued "I tripped, okay, and knocked her over, nothing more" his voice with an edge of finality

Ron chose to ignore that finality however and continued in the teasing, "Are you sure?"

"Yes" Harry replied

"Well, I must say it looks awfully like something else."

"Oh really?" said Harry, remembering something,"what? A situation in a Quidditch stand maybe?"

"What?" Ron stammered, now it was his turn to blush

"Yeah, what?" added Ali, looking very lost

"Well." started Harry

Ron panicked and interrupted, "We should really get back to the common room you know, Quidditch team party, and three of the members in the hall, bit stupid don't you think?" he knew he was rambling but he had to shut Harry up, he didn't want everyone to know what went on between him and Hermione.

"Yeah, okay." Said Ali resignedly, she could tell this was something she wasn't supposed to know. "Let's go then"

The two boys lead the way, a mumbled discussion taking place for the rest of the walk, which wasn't very long; before they knew it they were back in the common room and swept away from each other in the energy of the party.

After a few hours the party was fading, with students retiring to their respective dorms a few at a time. Eventually there were only 5 of them left; Harry and Ron were pretending to be having a game of chess while really trying to listen to Hermione, Ginny, and Ali who were talking by the fire. It was useless however, as Hermione had already placed a charm around the group that would prevent others from overhearing them. That was what worried Ron and Harry, if they weren't allowed to hear, then it must be about them.

"Just want to go to bed Ron?" It was Harry; he had given up trying to find out what they were talking about, "We do have practice in the morning!"

"Yeah, it's not like we're finding out much anyway" Ron grumbled as he got up and headed towards the staircase leading to the dormitories. He looked back at the group of girls; they all looked so happy, he loved it when Hermione was happy, it may sound soppy, but when she was happy, he was happy. Just watching her brought a smile to his face. She noticed him smiling at her, and returned the smile warmly, while at the exact same time that same exchange was happening between another two; Harry and Ali. Harry had also paused on the stairs to look back at Ali, he couldn't see her without smiling, and he blushed. She noticed him smiling, and blushing, and she grinned back at him raising her eyebrows suggestively. His eyes widened in response, and his blush deepened. He smiled back and then quickly turned and darted upstairs to his bed.

He pulled on his pyjamas and climbed into bed, trying to work out what was going on. Was Ali flirting with him? No, she couldn't be, she was probably just fooling around and he was looking too much into it. But what if she wasn't? He couldn't think straight; he didn't understand girls. Maybe he could ask Hermione, then again maybe not, it looked like she was quite good friends with Ali now too.

"Harry?" it was Ron, in a very hushed voice, probably because everyone else was sleeping.

"Yeah?"

"Seriously this time, what's going on between you and Ali?"

"I wish I knew!" Harry replied honestly

"But you do like her?"

"Em, well, yeah" Harry admitted, glad it was dark and Ron couldn't see him blush, he really had to get that under control.

"Want me to get Hermione to find out how she feels?"

"No," replied Harry, "or actually, well, maybe you could."

"No problem!" replied Ron "G'night!"

"Night!"

Little did they know that the girls were having a very similar conversation downstairs in the common room, it had started with Hermione asking Ginny how things were going with Dean, and Ginny had replied saying that they were going well, and asking Hermione how things were going with Ron, and Hermione told her it was wonderful. Ginny quickly added that she didn't want to know any details. Hermione blushing tried to move the conversation away from herself, and so turned to Ali,

"So is there anyone you like?"

"No, not really" replied Ali, though the blush gave her away

"Of course there is" added Ginny, "Harry!"

"What?" screeched Ali

"You like Harry" said Ginny as though it was the most obvious thing,

"Well, maybe" Ali said in a small voice, "I don't really know for sure"

"Of course you do" replied Ginny, "I saw you watching him the whole time at tryouts!"

"Well, yeah, ok, I like him"

"Ooh, this is so sweet!" announced Hermione, "I'm almost certain that he likes you too!"

"Really?" said Ali, "I don't think so, I mean we were alone for a bit today, but all he wanted to do was get back here"

"That's just Harry being Harry," explained Hermione, "He can be a bit shy or whatever, but he'll come around, don't worry. Just let me talk to him" Ali's eyes widened as Hermione was talking, looking somewhere behind her. Towards the portrait hole.

"What is it?" asked Hermione, looking concerned at Ali's sudden change in behaviour

"Over there, look, there's a.there's a.at the portrait hole!"

Hermione and Ginny swirled round to see what was bothering Ali,

"No." whispered Hermione "It can't be, not here!"

"But how.?" muttered Ginny

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A/N: Short, sweet and fluffy.that about sums up that chapter, I can't help but feel my writing's getting worse; maybe I'm just sick of my own stuff. Who knows? Anyway...I only got 2 reviews last time! That's not very good.or maybe I'm being selfish.I just like to know you like it. Oh well, never mind.Enjoy!

Replies:-

Hplova4eva - Yay! You still like it! Hope you like this too!

Anna L. Black - Soon enough? Lol Hope you still like it!