Chapter 26- The New Team
Harry stood in front of the familiar desk in Professor Dumbledore's study. As last, the Defense teacher had arrived. He was white-haired but still looked spry, and his face was friendly and knowledgeable.
"Harry Potter, Merlin. I'm Romulus Lyipin." He held out his hand.
Harry coughed, and shook it. "It's nice to meet you, sir." They both sat in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"Harry, I am glad you decided to do this. You need Defense more than anyone, and Professor Lyipin is willing to give you some of his extra time. One thing you should know, Harry, is that he is here in large part because of you. I asked him with your extra lessons in mind. Professor Lyipin was an Auror trainer up until a few years back, when he retired."
"Auror trainer?" Harry repeated, intrigued. "Wait- you don't mean-"
"Yes, Harry. It is my intention that you complete the equivalent of the first year of Auror training under the tutoring of Professor Lyipin."
Harry was stunned. "Wha- well…I…"
"You don't have to say anything, Harry. I just thought to let you know."
"Well, thank you, Headmaster. And thank you, Professor Lyipin. This is- wow. But I'll have Quidditch and stuff too…"
"We don't have to schedule anything right now," Lyipin said. "For now, we'll just play by ear, and when your schedule has become more regular, then we'll set up weekly times. Sound good?"
"Sounds great," Harry said earnestly. "Um…sorry, but can I go now? We're having our first Quidditch meeting of the year, and we're voting on Captain."
"Of course, Harry. Good luck."
"Thanks," Harry replied, though he was not sure what the luck was supposed to be for. He walked at a polite pace until he had exited Dumbledore's office. Then, he positively sprinted toward the locker room. He was proud of himself, actually, for he made it in record time, but the other team members were waiting with their arms crossed.
"What? I had a meeting with Dumbledore, guys, it's not my fault. Okay. Anything I should know before we begin?"
"Sloper resigned his position," Ron said. "He was in for only a minute to tell us, and then he left, supposedly to do homework." Harry nodded. He was almost glad Sloper had left the team. He had improved, definitely, but not nearly as much as Andrew Kirke, who had gotten good enough to play against a team with Fred and George. However, he could not Beat alone.
"So we'll need a Chaser and a Beater," Harry said. "Okay. First, let's vote. That's the most important thing. How do we want to do this? Secret ballot or show of hands?"
"Show of hands," Ron said immediately. "And I nominate Harry Potter for team captain. All in favor?"
Everyone in the room, save Harry, raised their hands.
"Whoa, guys," Harry said, holding up his hands. "Hold on. You can't just-"
"Sure we can," Ginny interrupted. "We go by majority, and four out of five voted for you. You have the most experience on the team, having started in your first year, and you're probably the best flyer here. You deserve it, Harry."
He was silent at first, but then he broke into a grin. "Well, if you say so. I bet *that's* what Dumbledore wished me good luck about. He probably knew. Okay, that's settled. Now, we should set a date for tryouts. We need a Beater and a Chaser, but I think we should try out every position. Three of us here are seventh years. That means one less Chaser, no Keeper, and no Seeker when we leave. People need time to train and stuff. We should choose someone for those positions. Then, when captain voting comes around next year, there will actually be seven teammates. Plus, you won't have to have tryouts."
"All in favor say 'I'," Ron said. Everyone said 'I'.
Harry saw Ron's slight nod in his direction. "Right," Harry said. "Right. Ron and I have something to tell you guys, though one of you already knows, so really we have something to tell Seamus and Andy. We thought, since you're our teammates, you should know before everyone else. Anyway, Ron and I have been seeing each other romantically since last November."
"No way," Seamus breathed. "All that time? Damn, you two are good at hiding things."
"That's not what Hermione said," Ron told him.
"Don't swear, Seamus," Ginny said mockingly. They all laughed, and Seamus lifted an arm around her shoulders.
"Okay, so when are we having the tryouts?" Harry asked them.
"Next Friday, probably. That will give everyone a chance to prepare, and then we'll be able to start practicing with them that weekend. We should book the field, Harry."
"Good idea, Ginny. 'All in favor'?"
"Hey!" Ron yelled, as everyone else agreed.
"Okay, so tryouts are next Friday. Everyone be there. Try not to have detention that day. Trust me, it's really not fun. At least Umbitch isn't here to make people write in their own blood this year."
"I second that," Ron said.
"I think that's it for this meeting. We'll have practice this Friday afternoon, just to make sure we're all refamiliarized with our brooms, and then again on Tuesday afternoon. I'll book the field for the necessary times, and I'll talk to McGonagall or Dumbledore to make sure we're the only ones on the pitch."
"Class dismissed," Ginny joked. She, Seamus, and Andy left.
"Ron, want to help me to come up with the tryout procedure?" Harry asked as they walked.
"Sure. But how hard can it be? For reserve Keeper, we should just do what they did last year. Have the hopefuls defend the hoops, while Ginny and Seamus try to score on them. I could be a Chaser for that, too, I think I'm good enough. So we'll have three chasers."
"Same kind of thing should work for all of them. Have people trying out for Chaser try to score on you, and fly up and down the field passing the Quaffle around, I guess."
"Well, maybe we should put them in with Ginny and Seamus, to see how they work with them. That's what's most important."
"Right. And Beater should be really easy. Have the Chasers fly around, and candidates for Beater- Beat, you know. I'll fly around the pitch the whole time from above, observing everything. Then, after the tryouts, the five of us can go over everyone and decide together who was best. We can post it Saturday morning, and the new team will be ready for practice that day, right?"
"Perfect." Ron flashed him a grin. "We work so well together. It's like we share a brain."
"Yeah. I got the smart half." Harry laughed.
"Hey! I present that!"
"What?"
"Exactly my point."
"Told you I was the smart one."
************************************************************************
The black girl standing in front of him was quiet and small, but confident. She would make a great Seeker. However, when Harry asked, she said she wanted to try out for the position of…
"Beater? Are you sure?"
"Yes." Her answer was definite.
"All right. Name?"
"Brianna Jordan."
"Any relation to Lee Jordan? Just wondering."
"He's my brother. Since he's six years older than me, we almost never saw each other in school last year, and he went off to Liberia as soon as he got out of school."
"So, you're a second year, then?"
"Yes…can I get out of line now?"
"Oh. Yeah. Go ahead."
Twelve students had shown up for tryouts. They had the most important positions go first- those being Chasers and Beaters. Ron was a great Keeper now, and he barely let a goal go by. However, there was one who performed exceptionally well, and even got three goals past Ron. His name was Eric Welshen. Harry marked him down as 'very good'.
From his experience with Beaters, he did not expect much from a small girl like Brianna. He watched nervously as she took to the air, hovering until the Bludgers were loosed. Then she took off, speeding in every direction, ready to catch a Bludger and swat it the other way with her bare hands, if need be. In summation, she was like a miniature Fred-and-George with the bat.
When Beater tryouts were over, Harry flew down to Ron. "Did you see her?"
"Of course. Why do you think I let those five goals pass? I was watching her. She's amazing. You'd never expect it from a little thing like her."
"So she's definitely in."
"Without a doubt."
An hour later, tryouts had finished. The hopefuls shouldered their brooms and went back to the dorm, while the five teammates retreated into the locker room to discuss their choices.
Naturally, Brianna Jordan was the choice for Beater. It took them less than ten seconds to decide on her. Harry wrote her name on the list of new teammates.
"I noticed Eric Welshen for Chaser. He did really well. What do you guys think?"
"He worked really well with us," Ginny said. "And he actually scored, which is more than we could say for anyone else. With a little training, he'll be as good as me. No, I'm just kidding. But really, I think he's the one."
"Yeah, me too," Seamus agreed. Harry marked him down.
By the end of this meeting, the list read thus:
Beater: Brianna Jordan
Chaser: Eric Welshen
Reserve Chaser: Natalie Baker
Reserve Keeper: Euan Abercrombie
Reserve Seeker: Dennis Creevey
Note: Next year the reserve players will be regulars.
"Okay, so this looks good to everyone, right?" Harry asked. They looked over the list, and all nodded. "Good. It'll be posted in the common room tomorrow morning."
************************************************************************
The next morning, twelve students were gathered by the bulletin board, waiting for Harry to wake up. Other students stopped and waited with them, eager to find out who was on their Quidditch team. Harry smiled when he came down.
"Go eat breakfast. The list will be posted when you come back."
Sighing in disappointed, they shuffled out of the common room.
Shaking his head in amusement, Harry posted the list, pinning up under it the schedule for that month's practices.
"Hey," Ron said from behind him. "Where is everyone? I thought they'd all be lined up to see who made it."
"They were," Harry said, smiling. "I sent them down to breakfast. After all, we have practice today, they're going to need it."
The new team members were bouncing excitedly on the pitch twenty minutes before the start of practice. "Harry! Hi, Harry! Wow, I can't believe I made the team!" Dennis Creevey called, waving.
"That's great, Dennis," Harry muttered back. In all honesty, though, the Creeveys had been less annoying since the previous year.
When the entire team had shown up, Harry told them his plan for that practice. "All right, now. Here's the plan. We're going to work on coordination today, just passing the Quaffle back and forth, and flying down the field. We have to work together as a team, first and foremost. Once we learn each other's timing, then we can hone our individual skills. Okay, everyone, let's go!"
Harry had the Quaffle under his arm. Before they had all finished rising, he had passed it to Andy, who then flew around the back of the goals and threw it to Brianna. She barely touched it before it soared toward Ron, who then sent it in Eric Welshen's direction, who caught it expertly.
Harry observed from above, once in a while passing the Quaffle, reminding the team to pay attention whenever someone wasn't. He liked what he was seeing. In a few minutes, they were passing so quickly that sometimes he could only see a red blur.
He flew over to Ron. "We're doing really well. I think we should end practice for no-OW!" He put a hand to the back of his head, turning just in time to see Seamus fly under him to catch the Quaffle. Ginny had a hand over her mouth. She removed it briefly to laugh, "Pay attention, Harry!"
The team laughed. After glaring at her, Harry joined in. "Ha ha, that's so funny," he said when they had recovered from their fits of mirth. "Good practice, everyone. We certainly have the timing thing down. Well, that's all for today. I'd say we have a promising team, for this year and next."
Everyone clapped heartily, as though Harry had just given them an inspirational speech. He rolled his eyes and descended, glad that at least this team had a sense of humor.
His own humor was tested greatly when he returned to Gryffindor Tower. Neville was sitting in a large armchair, but he sprang up when Harry entered. "Where are you going, Harry?" he asked.
"To our room, Neville," Harry replied slowly. He wondered if something was wrong. "Why?"
"Uh, maybe you shouldn't go in there."
"What? It's my room, sure I should."
"No, Harry, just wait-"
But Harry, now intensely curious, was approaching the seventh year boy's dorms. When he entered he was met with a maddening sight.
Professor McGonagall was standing in front of his bed, trying all sorts of spells to remove the paint from his bed hangings. "Damn permanent-"
"Did you just swear, Professor?" he asked.
She whirled. She was still blocking what he was trying to see. "Mr. Potter! Ah, this is not something I want you to see, but I think you have to see it." She stepped aside sadly, showing him what someone had painted on his bed hangings.
Rage swelled within him. McGonagall saw this, and tried to reason with him, but he was livid. He stalked to the curtains and ripped them down with a strength born of anger.
Someone, in bright pink paint, had written the word 'FAG' on his red velvet bed hangings.
End Chapter 26
Lyipin = LIE-pin
Boomkat- I don't know why you said Draco should die. I really don't get it… And I'm not *ending* with anyone's marriage. But why do you think Draco should die? Hmm…
Duhn duhn DUUUUUUUUUH!! What will happen next. I'll try to give you a hint. The next chapter is called 'Discrimination'.
Thank eeeu my lovely reviewers. CONFETTI!!!
Harry stood in front of the familiar desk in Professor Dumbledore's study. As last, the Defense teacher had arrived. He was white-haired but still looked spry, and his face was friendly and knowledgeable.
"Harry Potter, Merlin. I'm Romulus Lyipin." He held out his hand.
Harry coughed, and shook it. "It's nice to meet you, sir." They both sat in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"Harry, I am glad you decided to do this. You need Defense more than anyone, and Professor Lyipin is willing to give you some of his extra time. One thing you should know, Harry, is that he is here in large part because of you. I asked him with your extra lessons in mind. Professor Lyipin was an Auror trainer up until a few years back, when he retired."
"Auror trainer?" Harry repeated, intrigued. "Wait- you don't mean-"
"Yes, Harry. It is my intention that you complete the equivalent of the first year of Auror training under the tutoring of Professor Lyipin."
Harry was stunned. "Wha- well…I…"
"You don't have to say anything, Harry. I just thought to let you know."
"Well, thank you, Headmaster. And thank you, Professor Lyipin. This is- wow. But I'll have Quidditch and stuff too…"
"We don't have to schedule anything right now," Lyipin said. "For now, we'll just play by ear, and when your schedule has become more regular, then we'll set up weekly times. Sound good?"
"Sounds great," Harry said earnestly. "Um…sorry, but can I go now? We're having our first Quidditch meeting of the year, and we're voting on Captain."
"Of course, Harry. Good luck."
"Thanks," Harry replied, though he was not sure what the luck was supposed to be for. He walked at a polite pace until he had exited Dumbledore's office. Then, he positively sprinted toward the locker room. He was proud of himself, actually, for he made it in record time, but the other team members were waiting with their arms crossed.
"What? I had a meeting with Dumbledore, guys, it's not my fault. Okay. Anything I should know before we begin?"
"Sloper resigned his position," Ron said. "He was in for only a minute to tell us, and then he left, supposedly to do homework." Harry nodded. He was almost glad Sloper had left the team. He had improved, definitely, but not nearly as much as Andrew Kirke, who had gotten good enough to play against a team with Fred and George. However, he could not Beat alone.
"So we'll need a Chaser and a Beater," Harry said. "Okay. First, let's vote. That's the most important thing. How do we want to do this? Secret ballot or show of hands?"
"Show of hands," Ron said immediately. "And I nominate Harry Potter for team captain. All in favor?"
Everyone in the room, save Harry, raised their hands.
"Whoa, guys," Harry said, holding up his hands. "Hold on. You can't just-"
"Sure we can," Ginny interrupted. "We go by majority, and four out of five voted for you. You have the most experience on the team, having started in your first year, and you're probably the best flyer here. You deserve it, Harry."
He was silent at first, but then he broke into a grin. "Well, if you say so. I bet *that's* what Dumbledore wished me good luck about. He probably knew. Okay, that's settled. Now, we should set a date for tryouts. We need a Beater and a Chaser, but I think we should try out every position. Three of us here are seventh years. That means one less Chaser, no Keeper, and no Seeker when we leave. People need time to train and stuff. We should choose someone for those positions. Then, when captain voting comes around next year, there will actually be seven teammates. Plus, you won't have to have tryouts."
"All in favor say 'I'," Ron said. Everyone said 'I'.
Harry saw Ron's slight nod in his direction. "Right," Harry said. "Right. Ron and I have something to tell you guys, though one of you already knows, so really we have something to tell Seamus and Andy. We thought, since you're our teammates, you should know before everyone else. Anyway, Ron and I have been seeing each other romantically since last November."
"No way," Seamus breathed. "All that time? Damn, you two are good at hiding things."
"That's not what Hermione said," Ron told him.
"Don't swear, Seamus," Ginny said mockingly. They all laughed, and Seamus lifted an arm around her shoulders.
"Okay, so when are we having the tryouts?" Harry asked them.
"Next Friday, probably. That will give everyone a chance to prepare, and then we'll be able to start practicing with them that weekend. We should book the field, Harry."
"Good idea, Ginny. 'All in favor'?"
"Hey!" Ron yelled, as everyone else agreed.
"Okay, so tryouts are next Friday. Everyone be there. Try not to have detention that day. Trust me, it's really not fun. At least Umbitch isn't here to make people write in their own blood this year."
"I second that," Ron said.
"I think that's it for this meeting. We'll have practice this Friday afternoon, just to make sure we're all refamiliarized with our brooms, and then again on Tuesday afternoon. I'll book the field for the necessary times, and I'll talk to McGonagall or Dumbledore to make sure we're the only ones on the pitch."
"Class dismissed," Ginny joked. She, Seamus, and Andy left.
"Ron, want to help me to come up with the tryout procedure?" Harry asked as they walked.
"Sure. But how hard can it be? For reserve Keeper, we should just do what they did last year. Have the hopefuls defend the hoops, while Ginny and Seamus try to score on them. I could be a Chaser for that, too, I think I'm good enough. So we'll have three chasers."
"Same kind of thing should work for all of them. Have people trying out for Chaser try to score on you, and fly up and down the field passing the Quaffle around, I guess."
"Well, maybe we should put them in with Ginny and Seamus, to see how they work with them. That's what's most important."
"Right. And Beater should be really easy. Have the Chasers fly around, and candidates for Beater- Beat, you know. I'll fly around the pitch the whole time from above, observing everything. Then, after the tryouts, the five of us can go over everyone and decide together who was best. We can post it Saturday morning, and the new team will be ready for practice that day, right?"
"Perfect." Ron flashed him a grin. "We work so well together. It's like we share a brain."
"Yeah. I got the smart half." Harry laughed.
"Hey! I present that!"
"What?"
"Exactly my point."
"Told you I was the smart one."
************************************************************************
The black girl standing in front of him was quiet and small, but confident. She would make a great Seeker. However, when Harry asked, she said she wanted to try out for the position of…
"Beater? Are you sure?"
"Yes." Her answer was definite.
"All right. Name?"
"Brianna Jordan."
"Any relation to Lee Jordan? Just wondering."
"He's my brother. Since he's six years older than me, we almost never saw each other in school last year, and he went off to Liberia as soon as he got out of school."
"So, you're a second year, then?"
"Yes…can I get out of line now?"
"Oh. Yeah. Go ahead."
Twelve students had shown up for tryouts. They had the most important positions go first- those being Chasers and Beaters. Ron was a great Keeper now, and he barely let a goal go by. However, there was one who performed exceptionally well, and even got three goals past Ron. His name was Eric Welshen. Harry marked him down as 'very good'.
From his experience with Beaters, he did not expect much from a small girl like Brianna. He watched nervously as she took to the air, hovering until the Bludgers were loosed. Then she took off, speeding in every direction, ready to catch a Bludger and swat it the other way with her bare hands, if need be. In summation, she was like a miniature Fred-and-George with the bat.
When Beater tryouts were over, Harry flew down to Ron. "Did you see her?"
"Of course. Why do you think I let those five goals pass? I was watching her. She's amazing. You'd never expect it from a little thing like her."
"So she's definitely in."
"Without a doubt."
An hour later, tryouts had finished. The hopefuls shouldered their brooms and went back to the dorm, while the five teammates retreated into the locker room to discuss their choices.
Naturally, Brianna Jordan was the choice for Beater. It took them less than ten seconds to decide on her. Harry wrote her name on the list of new teammates.
"I noticed Eric Welshen for Chaser. He did really well. What do you guys think?"
"He worked really well with us," Ginny said. "And he actually scored, which is more than we could say for anyone else. With a little training, he'll be as good as me. No, I'm just kidding. But really, I think he's the one."
"Yeah, me too," Seamus agreed. Harry marked him down.
By the end of this meeting, the list read thus:
Beater: Brianna Jordan
Chaser: Eric Welshen
Reserve Chaser: Natalie Baker
Reserve Keeper: Euan Abercrombie
Reserve Seeker: Dennis Creevey
Note: Next year the reserve players will be regulars.
"Okay, so this looks good to everyone, right?" Harry asked. They looked over the list, and all nodded. "Good. It'll be posted in the common room tomorrow morning."
************************************************************************
The next morning, twelve students were gathered by the bulletin board, waiting for Harry to wake up. Other students stopped and waited with them, eager to find out who was on their Quidditch team. Harry smiled when he came down.
"Go eat breakfast. The list will be posted when you come back."
Sighing in disappointed, they shuffled out of the common room.
Shaking his head in amusement, Harry posted the list, pinning up under it the schedule for that month's practices.
"Hey," Ron said from behind him. "Where is everyone? I thought they'd all be lined up to see who made it."
"They were," Harry said, smiling. "I sent them down to breakfast. After all, we have practice today, they're going to need it."
The new team members were bouncing excitedly on the pitch twenty minutes before the start of practice. "Harry! Hi, Harry! Wow, I can't believe I made the team!" Dennis Creevey called, waving.
"That's great, Dennis," Harry muttered back. In all honesty, though, the Creeveys had been less annoying since the previous year.
When the entire team had shown up, Harry told them his plan for that practice. "All right, now. Here's the plan. We're going to work on coordination today, just passing the Quaffle back and forth, and flying down the field. We have to work together as a team, first and foremost. Once we learn each other's timing, then we can hone our individual skills. Okay, everyone, let's go!"
Harry had the Quaffle under his arm. Before they had all finished rising, he had passed it to Andy, who then flew around the back of the goals and threw it to Brianna. She barely touched it before it soared toward Ron, who then sent it in Eric Welshen's direction, who caught it expertly.
Harry observed from above, once in a while passing the Quaffle, reminding the team to pay attention whenever someone wasn't. He liked what he was seeing. In a few minutes, they were passing so quickly that sometimes he could only see a red blur.
He flew over to Ron. "We're doing really well. I think we should end practice for no-OW!" He put a hand to the back of his head, turning just in time to see Seamus fly under him to catch the Quaffle. Ginny had a hand over her mouth. She removed it briefly to laugh, "Pay attention, Harry!"
The team laughed. After glaring at her, Harry joined in. "Ha ha, that's so funny," he said when they had recovered from their fits of mirth. "Good practice, everyone. We certainly have the timing thing down. Well, that's all for today. I'd say we have a promising team, for this year and next."
Everyone clapped heartily, as though Harry had just given them an inspirational speech. He rolled his eyes and descended, glad that at least this team had a sense of humor.
His own humor was tested greatly when he returned to Gryffindor Tower. Neville was sitting in a large armchair, but he sprang up when Harry entered. "Where are you going, Harry?" he asked.
"To our room, Neville," Harry replied slowly. He wondered if something was wrong. "Why?"
"Uh, maybe you shouldn't go in there."
"What? It's my room, sure I should."
"No, Harry, just wait-"
But Harry, now intensely curious, was approaching the seventh year boy's dorms. When he entered he was met with a maddening sight.
Professor McGonagall was standing in front of his bed, trying all sorts of spells to remove the paint from his bed hangings. "Damn permanent-"
"Did you just swear, Professor?" he asked.
She whirled. She was still blocking what he was trying to see. "Mr. Potter! Ah, this is not something I want you to see, but I think you have to see it." She stepped aside sadly, showing him what someone had painted on his bed hangings.
Rage swelled within him. McGonagall saw this, and tried to reason with him, but he was livid. He stalked to the curtains and ripped them down with a strength born of anger.
Someone, in bright pink paint, had written the word 'FAG' on his red velvet bed hangings.
End Chapter 26
Lyipin = LIE-pin
Boomkat- I don't know why you said Draco should die. I really don't get it… And I'm not *ending* with anyone's marriage. But why do you think Draco should die? Hmm…
Duhn duhn DUUUUUUUUUH!! What will happen next. I'll try to give you a hint. The next chapter is called 'Discrimination'.
Thank eeeu my lovely reviewers. CONFETTI!!!