Disclaimer: Many of the characters, thoughts and ideas that are in this fan fiction are not of my own design. Though this story is from my imagination, I realize that this is the property of Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling. This is not J. K. Rowling's work. I also read many FFs and if you see something similar to another work it is entirely unintentional. I have posted this on harrypotter.com as well…. There it is complete and filled with cliffies… hence my screen name Princess of cliffies on the Harry Potter boards I go by the name of rebcschult in case you would like to read it in it's original form…. Also this was written preOotP hence the name…. but I decided after much deliberation and coercion from my on line friends who wanted me to post it here that I would finally do so! I am also writing a year six to follow this year five on the boards, which when I'm finished over there and done editing it I will post here as well…
Becky(rebcschult and PrincessOfCliffiesRCS)
P.S. Please read and review!
Shdurrani/Alex – WELCOME! And thank you for your compliments! I am very glad you like it!!!
Manateegirl – WOW! Thank you for your compliments! I have to admit that that chapter was one of my favorites to write!!! :-D :-D
Butler – WELCOME! And thank you for your compliments! I am very happy you like it! As for Harry's girlfriend… well…. that is yet to be seen :-D
CHAPTER TEN – QUIDDITCH TRYOUTS
The next morning Madam Pomfrey released him, and realizing how hungry he was, he went directly to the Great Hall. Upon entering, he realized that all the eyes from the fifth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were upon him. Shortly the eyes of the entire Great Hall followed suit. It was so quiet that Harry could hear ever step he took on the stone beneath his feet. He sat down next to Hermione and Ron and began pulling a bunch of food onto his plate. He realized that some of the chatter behind him had returned. But the whole of the Gryffindor table continued to stare at him, aside from Ron and Hermione who were still eating their breakfast, unfettered.
Dean Thomas, who was sitting across from Harry, leaned in. "Harry…?" he began uncertainly.
Harry looked up at his fellow fifth year and smiled. "I'm fine, Dean. Really." He then turned his attention to the pile of food on his plate and dug in. Most of his classmates just sat in awe, their own plates of food forgotten.
That was how most of the day went. During History of Magic most of the fifth year Gryffindors were not paying any attention to the boring speech on how the Muggle war between England and the American colonies had affected the wizarding world in the late 1770s. Professor Binns, who had fallen asleep one day in the staff room by the fire and had gotten up the next morning leaving his body behind him, was the only ghost professor on staff and could easily bore any group of students into a stupor. He did not even seem to notice that he was not the center of attention that day.
Harry resigned himself to the fact that there was nothing that he could say or do to get the others to stop looking at him, so he did his best to hide himself behind his books all day. He was glad when the meeting with Professor McGonagall had finally come and he was able to get away from the prying eyes of the rest of his fellow housemates. He ate a quick supper and slipped quickly out of the Great Hall, running the whole way to Professor McGonagall's classroom.
When Harry walked into the room, Professor McGonagall's eyes rested on him a bit longer than usual, but with none of the usual stern harshness. There was even a possibility of a tear trying to escape her eye, but she turn away before Harry could really be sure.
"Good evening, Mr. Potter."
"Good evening, Professor." Harry sat and waited for the rest of the team to show up. Professor McGonagall busied herself with something at the back of her classroom. Harry couldn't be sure but he thought he could hear some sniffling coming from his sternest Professor.
"Are you alright, Professor?"
After a few seconds of silence she turned and looked at him with a small smile on her face. "But of course. Thank you for inquiring. Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to finish something in my office. If you will come and inform me when the rest of the team arrives…?"
Harry nodded and she strode out of the room. Harry made use of the quiet to start thinking about his memory about when his mother and father had been killed. He closed his eyes trying to bring the memory back to the surface, but to no avail. Finally, he sighed and opened his eyes just in time for Fred and George to enter the room. They came and sat down next to Harry.
"Nice to see you in the land of the living, mate," said George as he clapped him on the back.
"Yeah, we were afraid that you would start haunting the Quidditch pitch. Although confidentially that wouldn't be a bad idea mind you…. Scare the pants off of Malfoy every time he'd reach for the Snitch," Fred chuckled.
Fred and George went back and forth coming out with better and better things that Harry could have done as a ghost, particularly in regards to giving so serious payback to several of their adversaries, mostly Slytherins. They continued on in this way until the three girls walked into the room. Instantly Harry jumped up and went and knocked on Professor McGonagall's office door. She opened the door and followed Harry back to the center of the classroom.
"I have called you all here to discuss two things. First the up coming tryouts on Saturday. You will all be required to attend. The tryouts begin sharply at 8am. The six of you and I will be deciding who will become the new Keeper…."
"Professor…. I thought that the captain was supposed to choose the new team members…," said Angelina Johnson.
"That is quite correct, Miss Johnson. However, that brings me to the second reason why we are here tonight. As Mr. Wood graduated two years ago and with the Tri-wizard Tournament last year, you do not have a new captain chosen yet.
"Now the procedure for choosing a captain is quite clear. You cannot choose a new captain until the team is full, as each member of the team should have an equal chance to getting the position of captain. It is more than a mere vote…. You will nominate those whom you feel qualify for the position. From there those nominated will direct the rest of the team in a Quidditch play, the Beaters and the new Keeper will act as the defensive team and the Chasers and the Seeker will be the Offensive team. The captain-nominees must successfully direct an offensive and defensive play at the same time, as the situation will simulate a real game. The team will then vote for the captain of their choice. I will then count the votes and inform you promptly of whom the winner is. Is everything clear?"
Everyone in the room nodded.
"Good. Dismissed."
As Harry walked to his Advanced Class with the twins, he realized that there was something, or rather someone, that could help him get some answers to the questions that had been plaguing him. He vowed to speak to her that very evening after class. When the three of them were settled in their seats, waiting for the rest of the class to arrive, Arabella looked straight at Harry with a look of surprise. She then projected a thought directly to him, "Well, Harry, it is certainly good to see you again in the land of the living. So how was your first excursion into the realm of thought?"
"Very powerful, though I wasn't sure there for a few moments if I was going to make it back."
"Harry, please don't confuse the realm of thought with your spirit, while they are part of the same being, namely you, they are not the same. The spirit tends to contain the thought, but they are truly separate. What I meant was, how was it to enter into Hermione's mind?"
"You know about that?"
"Yes."
"It was very… unnerving, actually. I felt bad about entering her mind without permission…."
"Therein lies the very first lesson that I have wished for you all to experience and understand…. Unless there is a need to do so, you should never enter another person, or being's for that matter, mind without their permission first. Much of what you need to know will be projected out to capture anyway, unless the person has a very strong mind…"
Harry felt that there was more that she wished to say to him, but she held back. He knew that he could have gone searching through her mind for the information, but he didn't feeling that she had erected a wall around a certain part of her mind. He projected to her just one thought more, "I would like to speak to you after class for a while, if I could." She nodded simply, as he too put a wall up around what he wished to talk about, not wanting to project his thoughts about his parents out for the others to hear.
The twins watched as Harry and Professor Figg had sat staring at each other. After a few moments it became apparent to them that the two were carrying on a conversation, as their facial expressions kept changing. They mutually decided that they would try to see if they could quiet their minds enough to tap into the projected thoughts of the other two. Just as Professor Figg nodded they were able to clear their minds enough to realize the conversation was now over.
It was at that moment that Harry realized what the twins were trying to do. He was very glad that he had just finished blocking the thoughts that he did not wish to be heard. The twins realized that there was nothing more to hear so they began to try and out do each other with throwing obscene and hysterical comments Harry's way, which made Harry practically fall out of his chair laughing. Professor Figg, while amused, tried very hard to curb the behavior, which was very difficult when she, herself, was laughing at their antics.
During one moment when Harry had stopped laughing between their antics, he said aloud, "Wow, I'm amazed that you have picked this up so quickly…"
"Not really that quick," said Fred aloud too.
Harry looked confused.
"Well, if you think about it, Harry, we are twins…. We've always have had that ability with each other…. We just used the same type of technique that we use for each other. So in essence we've perfected this over almost 17 years…." said George adding silently, "Now as I started saying moments ago…. How about we charm Malfoy into thinking he's a ballet dancer…?"
When Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Cho, Neville, and Nicholas entered the room, they stared in awe at the scene before them. Fred had fallen out of his seat and was pounding the floor with his fist, laughing hysterically. George was flopped halfway on his back over the table clutching his sides that hurt so much because of laughing so hard. Harry was sitting on the floor, having finally fallen out of his seat, laughing so hard that he was holding on the chair for leverage. Even Arabella was laughing, even though she looked like she was trying to maintain a shred of composure and trying to gain control of the situation.
"Erm…. Did we miss something?" asked Ron. Harry, the twins, and Arabella all stopped laughing briefly and looked over at the six who were standing at the door with utter astonishment plastered upon their faces.
Harry and the twins shared a look and then burst out laughing again. The other six walked in and watched as Arabella finally completely lost her poise, finally giving into the laughter that she had fought for so long from taking her over. She landed hard in her seat, as she could no longer stand.
As the rest of them sat in their usual seats they couldn't help but start laughing themselves. When they finally stopped laughing, Ron said, "Okay, so does someone want to enlighten us about what we were just laughing about."
Arabella directed the six of them to clear and quiet their minds, while Harry and the twins tried really hard not to laugh and distract the others. Then Harry, the twins, and Arabella projected the image of Malfoy pirouetting down the Slytherin table in the Great Hall with Crabbe and Goyle wearing pink flamingo costumes in front of all of their classmates. The room erupted with laughter again.
It took them all several minutes before they were all able to calm down enough to begin the class. But Arabella was quite impressed with how well the nine of them were catching onto mind projection and reading of open minds, especially since it was only the first week that they had learned the methods. Before she dismissed the class she said, "I'm now certain that Professor Dumbledore has made the right choice having the nine of you be in this class. I must admit that I was uncertain when I saw you on the first day, but with how quickly you all have begun to pick up these methods of work with the mind, you have all shown me how capable you all are. However the most difficult tasks are ahead of you. Opening the mind is easy, but closing it off so that others cannot read it… that is the difficult thing. Well, goodnight all. Thank you for the laugh tonight and for all of the hard work."
They all got up and started to head for the door, except for Harry. Hermione realized that he had not gotten up and said, "Come on, Harry?"
"No, I'll be along. I need to talk to Professor Figg."
"Do you want me to come back round for you?"
Harry looked at Mrs. Figg. "No, that's alright, Dear. We have much to discuss. I'll walk him back when we are finished…."
Hermione nodded and walked out, directing the rest of them to follow her. After she shut the door she let Harry know silently that if he needed to talk when he got back, she and Ron would be waiting for him. He thanked her and waited for her and the others to become distracted enough that they would not hear what he was talking about to Arabella.
When finally they were all distracted enough, Harry felt a hand on his arm. He turned and looked at her with pain and sadness in his eyes. "I've been waiting for and dreading this moment since, the day that I found out where you were…"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I have been so afraid about what you would say to me when you realized that I was your Nanny, back when your parents were alive. I was afraid that you would be angry at me for leaving you there…."
"I'm not mad, but now that you mention it, why did you?"
"Harry, there is something that you need to understand…. When your mother handed me that ring (pointing to the ring on Harry's hand) she told me that it had to go somewhere safe, away from anyone trying to get it. She said that it was of the utmost importance. I apperated out to Diagon Alley and went immediately to Gringotts. It acquired a small vault with the maximum amount of security that they had.
"Unfortunately the only one that they had at the time did not have as much protection as I felt that the ring needed. So they took the time to put extra measures of protection on the vault before they handed me the key. When I returned to the house where you and your parents were… it was too late. I knew instantly that your parents were gone.
"There were Muggle police swarming all over the ruins of the house. And in the sky I noticed a flying motorcycle hovering in circles quietly above the scene momentarily. I had seen that it was Hagrid and knew that he had been sent by Professor Dumbledore to find you. I went immediately to Professor Dumbledore to find out what was going on. When he told me what had happened, I wept. I begged him to let you stay with me, as I was your nanny, but he had already performed the Fidelus charm over your aunt and uncle's house.
"I had told him about the stories that Lily had told me of her sister and how horrible she and her husband could be… but he had said that they were the only family that you had. He said that there was nothing that could be done, because once a Fidelus charm was cast it would be fifteen years before it could be cast again, whether it was broken or not. That is why the secret keeper has to be someone that you innately trust.
"I never found out whom your secret keeper is, nor did I know where you were until my sister contacted me…. I had known for some time where she was, but I had no idea that she lived so close to you or that she was taking care of you occasionally."
Harry had sat quietly completely captivated by what she was saying. When she finally stopped it took a moment for him to gather his thoughts and find the questions that he had originally wanted to ask her. "Why is this ring so important?" It was not exactly the first question that he had intended to ask, but it was the first one that hadn't been answered that popped into his mind.
"If you do not know then I cannot really tell you… that is a discussion that you need to have with the Headmaster. All that I can say is this… the Order of the Phoenix will rise again from the ashes of it's former self to once again defeat evil…"
Harry looked utterly lost at that comment, though something deep within him resonated with it….
He asked several more questions, before coming to the one that he really wanted answered. "Arabella… why my parents? What did they know that was so important to Voldemort that he would kill them? – Why does he want me dead and tortured?"
"Because of who you are…"
"I know that I am the Boy-Who-Lived and all, but why did he want me killed in the first place? Voldemort told my mother to stand aside, which means that he did not want to kill her. But why did he want to get to me?"
"You remember that?"
"Well, not at first, but the memory keeps coming through clearer and clearer. I know that there are things in that memory that I need to remember, but they have not come clear enough yet…"
"Harry don't rush it…. There is plenty of time to find out what was there in that memory. Just let it come to you through its natural course of time… enjoy your time here while you can…"
What does that mean? thought Harry as he said aloud, "I can't stop trying to figure out what everything means, though, Arabella. I feel that it is so important… almost like I'm driven to do it…."
Then it has already begun…. thought Arabella with enough force that Harry was able to hear it.
When he returned to the common room, true to her word, Hermione and Ron were sitting there waiting for him. They took one look at Harry's pale face and knew that the talk did not go as he had hoped.
"Alright there, Harry?" asked Ron.
Harry simply shook his head. Though he had gotten lots of answers, the questions that were most pressing in his mind sat there and gnawed at him, not to mention all of the new questions that his talk with Arabella had raised.
"Do you want to talk about it, Harry?" asked Hermione cautiously.
"Actually, Hermione, there's not much to tell…. I feel more confused now than I did before. I really think I need a quiet place to go and think for a while – alone."
"Harry, I might get in trouble for this, but…. If you ever need to think about things… you are welcome to use the Prefect's bathroom…. Take a bath or something. That always helps me…"
"Hermione, he doesn't need a bath…. What he really need is some time in the air on his broom. That always helps him…." Hermione and Ron argued back and forth for a few minutes about what was the best way for Harry to feel better.
"If you two are quite finished trying to figure out what is best for me…," interrupted Harry slightly amused and irritated. Ron and Hermione stopped and looked at him, then realizing what they were doing apologized to Harry.
"That's okay…. I just wanted to say that at some point I might take both of you up on your offers, but right now… I'm feeling a bit drained and I was thinking I would just head to bed for the night." He turned to go but then stopped and with a smirk said, "Besides it gives you plenty of good snogging time." He chuckled at the looks on their faces.
Upon hearing the reluctance in their thoughts at continuing their relationship after what had happened with him the day before he added, "Don't worry…. I understand now about why you were acting the way you were. I'm not upset anymore. You two are good together. I was just jealous of what you have is all. Don't throw it all away on my account. Please…"
They looked at Harry in disbelief. They couldn't believe that Harry had just admitted to them what he did. They knew that he must really be distracted, by what ever it was that was bothering him. But they didn't stop him from leaving the room and heading to bed.
Harry knew that his friends would enjoy themselves, as well they should. He had ruined enough of their time together. He had, after all, helped them to get together in the first place. He knew that he never should have gotten jealous in the first place. He drowned his thoughts on the matter with the questions that had been plaguing him since his conversation with Arabella, as he got ready for bed. He lay awake for a long time. He was still awake when Ron had come up and gotten into bed, obviously still breathless from his evening of snogging. Slowly Harry drifted into an uneasy sleep….
At 7am on Saturday, Harry dragged his very tired body out of bed. He had had two nights of terrible sleep, which hadn't helped at all in Double Potions the day before. Snape made sure that he had criticized everything that Harry did wrong, knowing that Harry was making slight mistakes due to tiredness, evident by the dark circles beneath his eyes.
He shook off the bad memory of the day before as he hauled himself off to the bathroom to get ready for the day. As he stood beneath the steaming water, his dreams from the night before returned to him. They were all fraught with violent images and betrayal from those he most trusted. He shook off his uneasiness at what he saw and finished getting ready. He grabbed his Firebolt and joined his teammates in the Great Hall and ate quickly to get to field at 8am sharp. They went to the locker room and pulled on their scarlet Gryffindor team robes. They ran out toward the field.
Halfway there they were intercepted by the Slytherin team. Malfoy stood at the front of the pack with the biggest smirk on his face. Angelina Johnson, who was standing at the front of the pack of Gryffindors, looked at Malfoy angrily.
"Malfoy, we have to get to the field. If it's not too much trouble to ask you to please move," said Angelina in the most civil tone that she could muster.
"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to turn down your request. I happen to have a note here from Professor Snape. I, Professor S. Snape…" Malfoy was not able to finish reading the note as it was seized form his grasp by an unseen source….
"Hey…. What's the meaning of this! Give that ba…." Malfoy stopped suddenly when he realized who it was that grabbed the paper. Dumbstruck, he stuttered, "P-p-p-professor M-m-mcGonagall…."
Professor McGonagall held up her hand as she read the note. When she was finished she crumpled it up and said, "Mr. Malfoy, I'm assuming that you are the new Captain so I will direct this to you…. I have the field booked for Gryffindor today as WE need to choose a new team member. Since the Slytherin team had that opportunity last week, by my generosity, and is now a full team… the Gryffindor team's need for the field today takes precedence over the Slytherin team's need. So what that means is… if Professor Snape has a problem with the Gryffindors using the field today… then he can take the issue up with the Headmaster and myself later today. Right now, however, you are dismissed and will return to your dormitory so that the Gryffindor team may commence with their tryouts…."
Malfoy and his team of large burly boys walked away grumbling.
"Well, come on, the rest of you…. There is no time to stand around gawking…. We are already late."
The shocked group of Gryffindors followed the Head of their house out onto the field. As they walked out the sheer number of Gryffindors that had turned out to watch the tryouts was astonishing. Harry thought that there was probably not one Gryffindor left in the tower. There was a small group of people standing in the center of the pitch, all looking very nervous and exhilarated at the same time.
Ron was standing right at the front with a very lopsided grin, visibly shaking. But whether he was shaking from anticipation or nervousness or a combination thereof, Harry could not tell. Ron's projected thoughts were too jumbled and intermingled with the crowd of Gryffindors students' thoughts, which seemed to be reverberating through out the air.
Harry remembering what Arabella had said the day before about when there was crowd which had energies running high, that many times it was very difficult to pull out one person's thoughts, tried instead to project a thought toward his best friend, telling him that he would do fine. He wasn't sure if Ron could focus enough to hear him, but Harry tried to cut through everything else to get to Ron.
The team finally reached the center of the pitch and greeted all of the prospects. Much to the team's surprise, Neville was there. But with his newfound confidence he decided to give it a shot. Colin Creevey, a spunky excitable fourth year who loved snapping pictures especially of Harry, and Nicholas were there as well. Natalie McDonald, a plucky little second year, was the only girl to come to the tryouts.
Professor McGonagall spoke first to the small group of prospects, "I know that you are all nervous, but just remember that this is a test to see who works well under that pressure as well as how much talent you have…. You are all aware that this is only a tryout for the Keeper and there will be only one winner…(all of the prospects nodded) Good. You are all required to use school broomsticks, so that you are all on equal footing where that is concerned…. Now, the procedure of the tryouts is thus… there will be one prospect at each end of the pitch, guarding the hoops. First you will be asked to pass as many times as you can in front of the hoops in thirty seconds…. Next the chasers of the current team will race back and forth to either end of the pitch and try to get twenty throws past you. Finally they will do that again while the beaters are constantly batting Bludgers at you, while you are again trying to catch as many of the throws from the Chasers that you can. The one who does the best will then compete against the next person in line.
"Now the order in which you will tryout is alphabetically by year. So the first two to try out will be… First Year Mr. Rockley and Second Year Miss McDonald. The rest of the prospects will be out of the pitch and waiting in the locker room. When each match is finished, Harry will come to get the next prospect…. Now off you go…." She waited for the three prospects that were not playing at the moment the leave the field and signaled Nicholas and Natalie to get up into the air in front of the goals. She was left standing with the current team. "Now most of you know your roles… Mr. Weasleys one of you to each end with a Bludger, when Madam Hooch gets here with the Quidditch balls. Miss Johnson, Miss Spinnet, and Miss Bell you know what you need to do…. And Mr. Potter if you would follow me…." As the others kicked off the ground and flew high above them, Professor McGonagall and Harry went up into the stands.
Harry sat down next to Professor McGonagall miserably. He had been so happy about getting out to the pitch to fly, which always seemed to clear his head, but now he was stuck in the stands with the rest of the Gryffindor students.
"Harry, I know that you really want to get out there and fly…"
"Am I that obvious?" asked Harry flatly.
"Yes, but there is a reason other than the fact that the Seeker is not really needed for the tryouts that I wanted to talk to you and have you up here with me…"
"Why is that?"
"How do I put this?" she said more to herself than to Harry. "I think it might be best if you don't try out for captain this year…. While I think that you are a very talented and gifted player… I think that you have a lot to deal with right now, with the extra classes and other things that have been happening this year…"
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He had wanted to tryout for captain, but he also felt the same way as McGonagall about the situation. Even so he began to halfheartedly protest. "But Professor…"
Professor McGonagall put her hand on his arm to stop his protest, and looking at him deep in the eyes said, "Harry…." Harry looked surprised at her. That was the first time she had ever addressed him by his first name. He knew that whatever she had to say after that was important. She continued cryptically, "I understand your feelings about this…. But there is much that you do not yet understand…. It is for the best this way. And I believe that you know this to be true somewhere deep inside of you…."
Harry could no longer take her penetrating glance so he looked at his feet, looking back at her only when he had thought about what she had said, but still unable to completely meet her eyes. "Yes. I guess that you're right…. But why can't I try and, if I do well, become co-captain of the team or something…"
"There is always that possibility I suppose, but I think perhaps it might not be wise…."
Harry nodded, disappointed and yet relieved at the same time.
"Now I need your help counting the number of times that the prospects fly back and forth in front of the hoops. You count Nicholas and I'll count Natalie. Ah, finally there is Madam Hooch with the Quidditch balls now." Professor McGonagall stood up in front of the magical megaphone that Lee Jordan, the Weasley twin's friend who usually said the commentary for the Quidditch games, used and said, "May I have your attention, please? Right…. The tryouts are about to begin…. Madam Hooch, if you please…."
She waved at Madam Hooch who signaled the two to get ready to race back and forth in front of the Hoops. "On my whistle…. Three…. Two…." She blew her whistle and the two prospects took off. Harry counted as Nicholas passed quite quickly in front of all the hoops. When Madam Hooch blew her whistle again, he had passed in front of the hoops about 45 times.
When Harry and Professor McGonagall compared the numbers, it seemed the two were just about evenly matched. Natalie had actually gotten a few more than Nicholas.
Madam Hooch then signaled the Chasers to get into the air. She threw up the Quaffle and they raced toward Nicholas, who was obviously ready for them, blocking their throw quite easily. The Chasers then raced down to the other end of the field and threw the same easy throw at Natalie, who also caught it quite easily. This continued for some time each throw becoming more complex and stronger until the twenty throws were finished. Again the two seemed to be evenly matched, though Natalie had missed catching one throw, but had succeeded in hitting it away from the hoops.
Madam Hooch then blew her whistle once again and the two beaters went one to each end. The Bludgers were charmed to keep returning to and floating in front of the Beaters until needed, so that they could keep hitting the Bludgers at the prospects and then released. The Bludgers headed straight toward the twins and they expertly slammed them at each of the prospects at precisely the right moments. Nicholas had narrowly escaped one of the Bludgers that Fred had hit toward him and had successfully caught the Quaffle in the process, but Natalie was not so lucky…. She saw the Bludger come right toward her as she reached out for the Quaffle and screamed and pulled herself into a tight ball on her broom. The Quaffle went right through the hoop that she had been trying to protect. From there it went down hill for Natalie…. She knew that she had lost so it seemed like she stopped trying. The whistle blew and everyone returned to the ground. Nicholas was declared the winner of the first set.
"Mr. Potter if you would go and get Mr. Creevey…. He is the next prospect."
Harry nodded at Professor McGonagall. He was about to walk down the stairs when she said, "Wouldn't flying down there be faster Mr. Potter? You do after all have your broom here…." She looked at him with a smile in her eyes, though it never quite made it to her lips. Harry smiled broadly at her. He picked up his broom and flew out of the box and down to the pitch near the entrance to the locker rooms. It hadn't been long in the air, but it had definitely made Harry feel a bit better, as he dove there. He got off his broom and walked into the locker room where three very nervous people were sitting waiting. "Colin you're up…" Colin shot up and jerkily walked out to the field with Harry, who threw sympathetic smiles to the other two sitting waiting.
When they emerged from the locker room, Harry and Colin noticed Nicholas standing in the middle of the team. Harry grabbed his broom and flew back up to the box where McGonagall sat comforting a now very distraught Natalie. Harry landed and sat next to Natalie on the other side. "You did very well Natalie…. And you've got plenty of chances to try to get on the team again. Next year we will have five openings on the team and with the speed you were able to go back and forth in front of those hoops, I suspect you would make a great Chaser…," said Harry, smiling, after he heard her say that she had completely blown her chances of ever getting on the team.
She lifted her head off of Professor McGonagall's shoulder and looked at him. "Really?"
"Really."
Professor McGonagall smiled broadly to herself at Harry's comments. Just then Madam Hooch's whistle blew again and Nicholas and Colin rose in the air to begin their competition. She blew her whistle again and the two boys raced back and forth. When the first test was over, Nicholas was once again evenly matched to his opponent. But it slowly became evident that Colin, too, was no match for Nicholas.
Harry then flew down to get Neville. He walked into the locker room and Neville squeaked as Harry called his name. "What's wrong, Neville?"
"I don't know if I can go through with this, Harry," he said in a very high pitched voice.
"Sure you can, Neville. If you don't succeed this time there's always next year. Come on!" Harry pulled Neville to his feet who would not move for several more minutes, as if he were rooted to the spot. Finally after a few more minutes of gentle persuasion by both Ron and Harry he stepped forward and walked with confidence to the field. Harry once again flew up to the box that Professor McGonagall was sitting in with both Natalie and a very glum looking Colin. Knowing that Colin was always bubbly and happy, Harry knew that he was upset about not making the team. Harry said, "Why so glum, chum…. You can still be the Gryffindor team's official photographer this year…. You've never failed to get wicked shots of the games…. And you can tryout again next year…"
Colin smiled and so did Professor McGonagall, again to herself. That was the second time that Harry had done that, like a truly good captain would do…. Professor McGonagall was seriously thinking over Harry's request to try out for a chance to become a co-captain. Her thoughts were interrupted as the third round began with Madam Hooch's whistle.
Neville turned out to be quite good, to everyone's surprise. And in fact there was a need to have a few extra throws to see who would move on to the next round. The Chasers started out at Neville's end of the pitch. Alicia threw her best shot at Neville and he easily grabbed the Quaffle, dodging the Bludger that George had just hit toward his face.
The Chasers raced toward Nicholas and tried their surprise shot as Katie got just off to the side out of Nicholas' peripheral vision. Fred shot a Bludger at Nicholas' side as Angelina faked throwing the Quaffle at one of the other hoops. Nicholas didn't fall for the fake though and follow her eyes to where Katie was. Forgetting about the Bludger he raced toward Katie. Just as he reached her, he remembered the Bludger. He saw that he had a choice between avoiding getting hit by the Bludger or catching the Quaffle that was in the air heading toward his position. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as his mind raced to try to decide what to do….
Just as the Bludger reached him he flipped in the air and grabbed at the Quaffle with both hands, almost falling off of his broom. He managed to stay on his broom and bring himself upright after the Bludger returned and almost knocked him off of it. He tossed the Quaffle back to the Chasers who smiled broadly at him for his moves. Neville in awe of the moves that he had just seen Nicholas do, was distracted enough to miss the next Quaffle thrown at him. Madam Hooch's whistle blew and everyone returned to the ground.
With his mouth still hanging open, he shook Nicholas' hand and congratulated him on the wicked moves. Harry landed next to Neville and clapped him on the back. "You were brilliant, Neville. And see if you had never come out in the first place you wouldn't have know how good you are…"
"But I didn't make it on the team…."
"I know, but you and Nicholas were the best pair of competitors yet. You did great. And I, for one, would be proud to have you, if you came back next year to try out again…." The rest of the team nodded at him, smiling. Neville walked up to the box where Professor McGonagall was sitting while Harry went to get a very anxious Ron. When they walked out Ron was surprised to see that Nicholas was still on the pitch.
"Is he that good?" asked Ron quietly to Harry.
"He's good, but don't let that stop you. I've seen you play as a Keeper when we've played at the field near the Burrow. You have some great moves. Go. I have faith in you…."
Ron beamed at Harry and bounded off to the group in the center of the field. Harry flew back up to the box and sat ready for a really great showdown between the two. He sat down next to Professor McGonagall and said, "This should be something…"
Professor McGonagall nodded in agreement and muttered absentmindedly and almost inaudibly, "He plays like his father would have if he had ever tried out for the team…."
"Who, Professor?" asked Harry.
"Hmm, oh, Nicholas…"
"But I thought he lives with his mother and step-father, that his father isn't known…," said Harry slyly.
"Oh, he is definitely his father's son…. Looks just like him at that age…," she replied vaguely. But for Harry that was enough to almost completely confirm his suspicions about the boy. He just needed some proof now…..
Just then Madam Hooch's whistle blew. Ron and Nicholas shook hands, rose up in the air, and went one to each of end of the field. Madam Hooch's whistle blew again and they raced back and forth in front of the hoops. It was quite obvious that Nicholas was tiring because he did not do as well as Ron in this test. Ron had gotten the same amount as Nicholas had in the first round.
Madam Hooch's whistle blew again and the Chasers rose in the air, after Fred and George Weasley had whispered something to them. Harry even being high up in the box and having the crowd full of excited Gryffindors between them was able to hear the thoughts that they had concerning what they had just mentioned to the Chasers. They had told them that they did not want them to give Ron any special treatment just because he was their brother and Harry's friend. They asked them to be, in fact, very hard on him.
The Chasers were up and heading directly for Ron. They performed one of their harder moves to block and Ron blocked it as if it were an easy one. They then went to the other end of the field and performed a similar move on Nicholas who also blocked it easily. They went back and forth until they had finally done so for twenty times each. At that point Ron and Nicholas were both evenly matched, having blocked every single throw that the Chasers had thrown at them.
Madam Hooch's whistle was blown for the last time and Fred and George rose in the air and headed to each end of the pitch. Fred and George strategically placed themselves above the action occurring on the field. They watched for precisely the right moments to hit the Bludgers at the two prospects, neither of whom could really see their attackers.
They started out easy, but still playing dirty with how they hit the Bludgers at the prospects. They almost seemed to be trying to out do each other with how they were hitting the Bludgers toward Ron and Nicholas. When they finally came to the end of the set they were really trying to make it difficult for both Ron and Nicholas to get the Quaffle and miss the Bludger.
Nicholas could sense where Fred was above him and while he dove for the Quaffle that Angelina had just whipped at the lowest hoop, which was the furthest away from him at the moment, Fred hit a Bludger toward his head….
He felt the breeze of the Bludger as he whizzed by his ear, missing him by less than two centimeters as he had shifted himself on his broomstick, just at the right moment to grab the Quaffle. Nicholas hugged the Quaffle to him as he returned to the center guarding spot between the hoops and threw it confidently toward the Chasers who then raced down the pitch toward Ron.
Ron sat upon his broom poised, ready for anything that the Chasers could throw at him. He could sense that his brother George was waiting for the precise moment that he needed to thoroughly distract him from getting the Quaffle. He kept himself ready for both attacks. Katie approached with the Quaffle. Ron watched her closely and noticed that she was spotting Alicia who was slightly behind her.
He watched both girls closely. Katie faked a throw at one of the hoops and instead passed it to Alicia, just as Ron thought she would. They performed several distracting moves like that for a short time. He watched all three of them closely and noticed that Angelina winked at his brother, which had been a signal that she was about to shoot the Quaffle.
When the Quaffle finally reached her hands, she made like she was going to shoot the Quaffle at Alicia, but Ron knew better and waited for just a moment for the Quaffle to leave her hands. He dove for the Quaffle and heard the Bludger being hit by his brother. As he turned his head to watch the Quaffle he could see the Bludger right on his tail.
He raced against the Bludger to get to the Quaffle, knowing it was right behind him and if stopped it would hit him directly in the back. Ron reached out for the Quaffle and missed getting it by millimeters….
Not wanting to stop and get hit by the Bludger, he did a strange sort of flipping twist in the air and got out of the path of the Bludger and caught the Quaffle just in time.
He threw the Quaffle back to the Chasers and they raced down to the other end of the field. It was the second to last throw that they would have to trip up Nicholas before they would have to do extra throws.
They performed the same sort of moves with Nicholas that they did with Ron, with a few added twists where they faked throwing the Quaffle at the hoops a few more times. When they finally threw it at the hoops, Nicholas flew up to catch it as the Bludger raced down toward him. He flipped and tried to twist in the air to catch the throw. But he had misjudged and had flipped a little to high. His fingers just brushed the top of the Quaffle, which was enough to knock it off course, so that it did not go through the hoop.
Once the Quaffle was back in the Chasers hands they again raced up the field toward Ron. He knew that this was the last throw, unless Nicholas was able to block the next one, which was very likely, seeing as how he had done an excellent job so far.
Ron watched them closely and waited for the signal that they were going to shoot the Quaffle, but it never came. He realized that he must have given away the fact that he was watching them for a sign. He reached out with his mind toward his brother whom, he realized, was giving the Chasers signals. He silently and unobtrusively listened to his brother's thoughts.
When the moment came his brother's mind screamed, Now! Ron heard his brother hit the Bludger as he watched Katie race at one of the hoops. Ron swooped down to meet her as she threw the Quaffle toward the high hoop, which, Katie realized too late, was directly at Ron's position. Ron reached out for the Quaffle, completely forgetting about checking where the Bludger was. There was a sickening crunch as the Bludger plowed directly into Ron's lower spine….
Ron yelped in pain, flipped in the air, and grabbed at the Quaffle anyway. He managed to grab it and throw it back to the Chasers, who turned and raced back down the field, moments before his legs let go of his broom, as they were no longer functioning due to a severed spinal cord.
He felt himself falling and just before he thought he should be hitting the ground he realized he was hovering 20 feet above the ground. George had brought his wand with him and had whipped it out when he saw his brother fall off the ground. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he yelled. He knew that at 35 feet away (above Ron) he could not hold onto him for long.
Harry, seeing Ron stop to grab for the Quaffle and having the Bludger plow into him, knew that his best friend had been seriously injured. Everyone in the box was on their feet, but Harry grabbed his broom and flew out over the field and made it just in time before George could no longer hold onto him. Harry gently lowered to the ground with his friend who was in excruciating pain.
George came down to the ground quickly and handed his Bludger back to Madam Hooch. Then he fell to his knees next to his brother that he had just injured. "Ron, I'm so sorry…."
"Don't worry about it," said Ron with a grimace. "I'll be fine." Ron felt himself starting to slip out of consciousness. Next thing he remembered seeing was Madam Pomfrey above him.
Madam Pomfrey was summoned and she came out to the field immediately. She quickly repaired the damage to Ron's vertebrae, but she could only give him a potion to help stimulate the nerves to come back together. "I'm afraid it will take a day or two for you to recover from this injury, Mr. Weasley. You are not going to be able to walk until the spinal cord is healed I'm afraid, or fly for that matter either…."
Slowly the Gryffindors that had watched the tryouts had trickled away, as Madam Pomfrey was healing Ron, and headed back toward the common room and the Great Hall for lunch. Everyone was on the field gathered around Ron. Ron turned to Harry and said, "So what happened? Did Nicholas catch the Quaffle? Am I on the team or is he?"
"Don't worry about that now Ron…."
"No! Don't do that! I want to know did he make it on the team or did I…."
"Oh, all right Ron. If you must know…. You made the team. Congrats, mate!"
"But what about Nicholas…."
"He was so distracted by what happened to you that he totally missed the Quaffle…"
"Well, then that wasn't fair…. We will have to have a rematch…."
"No, mate," said Nicholas. "You are obviously the better man for the job…. That was an amazing save, by the way…."
Madam Pomfrey levitated Ron off of the field on a stretcher to the Hospital wing. Harry got up and looked at Professor McGonagall. "Now what? How are we supposed to choose a captain when our newest team member can't play or try out for captain? It wouldn't be fair if we did this without him."
"Spoken like a true team captain…," said Professor McGonagall to herself. She seemed to ponder the situation and then after telling them to go get lunch and meet back there in an hour, she took off after madam Pomfrey and Ron. As they walked to the Great Hall, the team discussed the tryouts with the former prospects. The team and former prospects continued to chat excitedly through lunch and on their way back to the pitch, until Professor McGonagall returned a few minutes after they got there.
"Okay, this is what we are going to do…." They all looked at her and in her hands was one of the models that Harry recognized as what Oliver Wood, the old team captain, had used to figure out plays for the team in the Quidditch final two years prior. "If you would all follow me to the Hospital wing, we will decide who will be the captain there…. The former prospects for the Keepers position may come to watch if they wish."
"But, Professor, how are you going to choose the captain in the Hospital wing?" asked Colin.
"Probably with the model you see in her hands," said Harry. "That was used by Wood to figure out plays for the team two years ago…. Am I right, Professor?"
Professor McGonagall, being impressed by Harry all day, finally gave him a rare smile and nodded.
Colin said, "Okay, but how?"
"That I'm not entirely sure of…."
When they reached the hospital wing they surrounded the bed that Ron was on and Professor McGonagall explained. "Each of you who wish to try out for captain will plan the offensive and defensive moves that you wish to have being used. The procedure is similar. You will start off in a pair. One of you will plan the offensive and one the defensive moves for a particular set and then you will switch. You will direct the actual players to do certain moves and they will prod the figures to move like they would on the field. Each pair will have twenty minutes, ten on offence, and ten on defense. Again the winner will advance to compete against the next person. We'll start with the oldest and go to the youngest this time. Now who wants to tryout for captain."
The three girls decided that they would like to try out and Harry and Ron.
"Good now the offensive team are the Chasers and Seeker and the Defensive team are the Beaters and the Keeper."
Each of the girls tried and the best seemed to be Angelina. She advanced to try to compete against Ron. They seemed evenly matched and after twenty minutes there was a draw between them. Professor McGonagall then suggested that Harry try to compete against both of them. Again he was evenly matched with the other two.
Professor McGonagall looked thoroughly perplexed. "Well, that has never happened before. Three of you evenly matched…."
Harry looked at her, "Professor, owing to what we talked about before, I will step out and let the other two be the co-captains…."
"No, Harry," said Ron. "I'm the new person on the team. I should back out of the position…."
"I'm graduating next year, so maybe I should step aside…"
Professor McGonagall looked on the scene. She had no idea what to do. She watched them banter around the idea of who should step aside. Finally she held her hands up in frustration. "All right, enough…. You are all qualified to be captains. I think that we should put it to a vote."
"Why don't we just have them all as captains," suggested George. "We do have three games to play, after all…"
"If we make it to the final… yes, but I believe that the vote should be cast, now." She conjured a box and had each of them sign one or two names to a slip of paper. "Remember…. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter will absolutely be the captains next year, but…." She picked up the box and walked to the other end of the Hospital Wing to count to votes.
It was a very close vote. "This year the captains are…. Mr. Potter and Miss Johnson…. Congratulations." Harry looked at his best friend and knew that he was disappointed at the fact that he didn't get it this time. He had hoped that Ron had gotten the vote, but he had instead. He suddenly felt the strain of the incredible burden that he had just taken on. He knew that the team depended on him for catching the Snitch… but now they also were depending on Angelina and him to lead them to victory.
He smiled sadly at Ron and sat there while Professor McGonagall and the others began to trickle away, until only Harry and the twins remained. Harry watched silently as Professor McGonagall took Angelina aside, obviously telling her what she had told Harry earlier in the day. He watched as Angelina smiled and nodded and then glanced at Harry.
The twins and Harry looked at Ron who was sitting brooding. Harry went to touch Ron on the arm and Ron pulled it back like it burned him. "Look guys I understand why you're here. But right now I'd just like to be alone…."
Harry and the twins nodded. The twins left as Harry got up from the bed. Harry was just about to leave when he turned back to his friend and said, "Ron, welcome to the team…. You were bloody brilliant out there, mate. I for one am proud to have you on the team. I'm sorry that you did not make captain…. I wish that you did. I know that I voted to have you as captain. I know that you are a brilliant strategist, because of how well you beat me at chess all the time…. I'm honored to share the post of Captain with you next year. I'm just sorry that you didn't get it this year." With that said, Harry turned on his heel and walked swiftly from the room.
Ron had listened to what Harry had said and was impressed with how leader-ly he had begun to sound. Harry sounded like he had practiced that speech, but Ron knew that Harry had come up with it on the spot, having read the thoughts that were projected at him. He also knew that Harry was telling him the absolute truth about voting for him and Angelina. He wasn't sure why, but he knew that there was another reason, other than wanting Ron to be the captain this year, behind why Harry voted for Ron and not himself, but Harry had it closely guarded.
When Harry got back to Gryffindor tower, Fred and George had set up a little impromptu party for Angelina and him, being that they had missed dinner to tryout for captain. They said that when Ron got out of the Hospital Wing they would arrange a bigger celebration for all of them. The Gryffindors that were left in the common room were only too happy to celebrate their new Quidditch team captains. Slowly people trickled away to their dorms. Harry was the first of the team to say good night, as he had gotten terrible sleep the two nights prior. He slowly got out his Quidditch robes and climbed into his pajamas and bed.
Again he lay there for a long time, his mind racing through everything. He finally settled into a deep dreamless state.