Some of the characters are mine. The plot is most definitely mine. The rest is JKR's.
Natalie, as well as being all of the things she was listed for in chapter 14, is a wonderful beta and a saint.
This chapter is very long, I know, I'm sorry.
Review please!
Thanks to all those who have reviewed so far.
That being said:
*****
"Ron, you do realize you're not getting any where by doing that," Astrid said from her perch on the couch in the common room on Friday afternoon about 30 minutes before dinner. Ron took off on another fast-paced circle around the couch.
"I don't think he gets it," Harry laughed.
"Shove it Potter, you're practically guaranteed a spot on the bloody team!" Ron cried from behind the couch. Harry looked at Astrid and stifled a laugh. Astrid rolled her eyes and dragged her left index finger in a circle in the air next to her left ear.
"I saw that Astrid Malfoy!" Ron spat. He was now standing in front of the couch.
"How is Dumbledore going about the tryouts?" Astrid asked Harry.
"In the meeting the other day, he said only starting players would be able to try out. The position you play on your house team won't affect the position you are chosen for on the school team, so I could make chaser or Ron could make beater," Harry explained.
"Fred and George would simply die if that happens I think," Astrid laughed.
"Probably. At any rate, each player is going to try out for every position and the top seven will be chosen with two reserves," Harry said.
"Only two?" Astrid asked.
"Yes, only two. They will have to be good all around players," Harry said, "so they can play every position on the field without much of a problem."
"So who do you think the team will be?" Astrid asked.
"I don't really know that I'm in a place to predict," Harry replied, "because if it was up to me, we would go with George's suggestion of changing the Gryffindor name to Hogwarts Team for those matches."
"What if you all make it?" Astrid asked.
"Away matches would be a lot of fun," Harry said, "but I don't think that's possible."
"Who is the impartial judge?"
"I think it is Madame Hooch," Harry replied.
"She's the impartial judge? How is she impartial?" Astrid asked.
"Well, she has to be somewhat impartial to officiate the matches," Harry said, "So short of bringing in Ludo Bagman, she's probably the most impartial." Ron issued a loud snort from somewhere near Harry's end of the couch at the mention of Ludo Bagman. "I was kidding, Ron." Ron didn't answer Harry but kept up his pacing around the couch.
"What about Ludo Bagman?" Astrid asked.
"He wasn't exactly what you would call impartial during the triwizard tournament," Harry explained.
"I don't imagine Karakaroff was impartial either though," Astrid reasoned.
"How do you know about Karkaroff?" Harry questioned.
"Lucius wanted to send Draco to Durmstrang," Astrid replied.
"Just Draco?"
"Well, Draco and Keiran. Mother wouldn't stand for it though."
"What about you?"
"He says Hogwarts is good enough for me and Emma because we're girls," Astrid explained.
"That's ridiculous," Harry said.
"That's Lucius," Astrid replied.
"How did he react to you being in Gryffindor?" Harry asked.
"I think mother is about the only reason I'm not disowned. Maybe mother and the fact that I'm a girl. If I was a son, I would probably not be allowed to call myself a Malfoy anymore," Astrid said.
"Why such a big difference between his sons and his daughters?" Harry questioned.
"Good question. I think he's stuck in the dark ages and missed the bit about women's suffrage and equal rights for women," Astrid replied.
"How do you know about women's suffrage?" Harry asked.
"Mother told Lucius Emma and I were going to a boarding school for young witches from the time we were five until we got our Hogwarts letters. In fact, we went to Muggle boarding school," Astrid explained.
"Did Lucius ever find out?"
"I'm not sure. I don't think so, or if he did, he doesn't care because we're not boys." Astrid said.
"So Keiran and Draco are his favorite two kids?"
"Oh definitely," Astrid replied, "Draco especially, because Draco is afraid of him."
"Why isn't Keiran?"
"Keiran, I don't know. Keiran is just fearless I think," Astrid said quickly, "So who all is trying out for the school Quidditch team?"
"Well, the other seekers are Cho Chang, Malfoy, and, I don't know who the Hufflepuff seeker is, Hannah didn't tell me." Harry said.
"Hannah Abbott!" Ron said in a taunting voice from behind the couch.
"You know Ron, if you don't stop that, you're going to wear a hole in the floor," Astrid laughed.
"They can fix it," Ron replied.
"I'm still going to laugh when you fall through it." Astrid said.
"No, we're both going to stand at the edge and peer over and laugh at you," Harry amended.
"And wave," Astrid added.
"And wave," Harry echoed. Ron rolled his eyes at both of them. He still hadn't stopped pacing around the couch.
"Is pacing really that relaxing?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Ron snapped. Astrid rolled her eyes at Harry. "Where is Hermione?"
"I think she and Ernie are working on their History of Magic project," Harry said.
"You guys are doing those too?" Astrid asked.
"I think Dumbledore is making the whole school," Harry replied.
"Is she not coming to the trials?" Ron asked, stopping dead in his tracks.
"Of course she's coming to the trials. She, Dennis, Ginny, Colin and I are going to sit together and cheer all of you on," Astrid insisted.
"And Colin will inevitably take pictures," Harry laughed.
"What if I fall off my broom?" Ron asked.
"Keep both hands on it," advised Astrid.
"But what if I don't stop as many shots that way?" Ron asked.
"Then don't," Harry laughed.
"How can you be so calm?" Ron questioned. Panic rose in his voice.
"Whatever happens will happen, regardless of the time spent contemplating it. No amount of worry will help," Harry said.
"Boy you've been spending too much time with Dumbledore," Astrid laughed.
"Did that sound like a Dumbledore-ism?" Harry asked.
"Yep," Astrid and Ron both said.
"That was a Harry Potter original!" Harry laughed. Astrid rolled her eyes and smacked him with a pillow.
"Astrid Malfoy, as a prefect you do realize I could take points off for that!" Harry said, quite seriously.
"Yes," Astrid said, she feigned a scared look.
"You're lucky I find this a better course of action," Harry said. He pulled a pillow from behind his back and hit her over her head with it. She drew her pillow back to hit Harry, but he pointed at Ron who had stopped in front of the fire with his back to Harry and Astrid. Astrid smiled deviously at Harry and pitched her pillow at Ron. It bounced off of the back of his head. He turned around and glared at the two on the couch. Harry clutched his pillow tightly and glanced towards the empty-handed Astrid.
"ASTRID ANNE MALFOY!!" Ron cried. He picked up the pillow and threw it back at Astrid.
"My name's Abigail!" Astrid squealed. Harry tossed his pillow at Ron.
"ABIGAIL ANNE MALFOY!" Ron cried. He picked up Harry's pillow and advanced on Astrid with it. Astrid shrieked loudly and clambered to the back of the couch. At the last possible second, Ron turned and bashed Harry across his head with the pillow. Harry jumped backwards, screaming something about how you never hit a guy with glasses. The combined weight of Harry going backwards at a high rate of speed, and Astrid, who was perched on the back of the couch, caused the couch to rock onto its back legs. When the couch rocked backwards, Ron fell forwards onto the couch and caused it to fall completely backwards. Astrid screamed and jumped onto Ron's back as the couch headed towards the floor.
"10 Points from Gryffindor!" a familiar voice shouted from just inside the portrait hole. After a moment, Ron, Harry, and Astrid got themselves situated to peek over the seat of the couch at the prefect.
Hermione looked with amazement at the three guilty faces peering at her over the seat of the overturned couch. Astrid, Ron then Harry all stared at her wide-eyed. She ran her fingers through her frizzy brown hair.
"What part of being prefects don't you boys understand?" she asked.
"Astrid started it!" Harry insisted. He and Ron jumped up and went to opposite ends of the couch. They grabbed the back of it and pulled it back upright. Astrid had been on her knees on the back of the couch looking over the seat when the boys decided to upright it. She ended up lying on her stomach on the seat of the couch staring at the floor when the couch was upright.
"New rule," Astrid began as she struggled to return herself to a sitting position, "tell me before you decide to move furniture I'm sitting on."
"How about you just don't flip anymore furniture," Hermione scolded.
"Do we still lose points?" Ron asked, worriedly.
"I don't think there is anything I can do," Hermione replied, looking over to the hourglass on the wall that documented the points.
"Don't worry, I'll say something to Keiran to provoke a nasty response from him in the presence of a teacher and Slytherin will lose points," Astrid said. Ron turned to Astrid, a broad grin on his face. Before she could protest, he enveloped her in a bear hug and lifted her straight off the ground. He began spinning crazily around the common room. She squealed loudly, and Hermione and Harry just laughed.
"Ron, if you don't stop that, you're going to fall and knock the couch over again!" Hermione exclaimed. Ron promptly stopped and returned Astrid to her feet. She clasped a hand to her head and staggered backwards into a chair.
"See Ron, you've made her dizzy!" Hermione scolded. Astrid smiled drunkenly up at the fifth years.
"Do I have sign on my head on my head that says 'pick me up and spin me if I do something good or say something funny'?" she asked. Harry and Ron both nodded solemnly. Hermione shook her head at both of the boys.
"Dinner?" Harry suggested. Hermione nodded in agreement but Ron started back towards the couch.
"Pace around the Gryffindor table, you may actually get somewhere," Astrid suggested from the chair.
"Are you coming with us?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, I might as well," Astrid replied, "Dennis, Colin and Ginny said something about going to the library before dinner. Or maybe to the owlery or something." She jumped up from the chair and started towards the portrait hole. Harry and Hermione followed her. They all three paused just before climbing out and turned back to Ron. Ron was still pacing around the couch.
"Ron, trials have been moved up, they're starting without you!" Astrid cried. She, Harry and Hermione all jumped out of the way as Ron charged through the portrait hole.
"Should we mention that he forgot his broom?" Hermione asked Astrid conspiratorially.
"Nah," Astrid laughed. Harry shook his head and followed after his friend. Hermione and Astrid laughed and started after both of the boys.
*****
"So what are your predictions for this one?" Hermione asked as she settled into her seat in the Gryffindor stands next to Astrid.
"Honestly?" Astrid replied.
"Honestly," Hermione said.
"Harry, Fred and George, and Draco definitely," Astrid replied.
"How do you figure Draco and Harry will both make it?" Hermione questioned.
"Just a theory on the politics of the whole thing," Astrid said.
"Politics? I didn't realize Quidditch was political," Hermione laughed. Astrid rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Fred and George?" Ginny asked, "Do they really have a chance?"
"They're the best bloody beaters this school has!" Colin cried.
"Colin, please, the word bloody just doesn't sound right coming out of your mouth," Dennis said. Astrid and Hermione both laughed, but Ginny looked down at the pitch.
"Fred said he would score for me," Hermione laughed.
"He's a beater, that's impossible!" Astrid cried.
"I know," Hermione replied.
"How can I get on the team?" Ginny asked, ignoring Astrid and Hermione.
"Lock Harry in a closet and polyjuice yourself from now until the end of the year," Hermione replied promptly.
"We'll tell everyone that something mad and hairy has been set loose about the castle and has whisked you away to its secret lair," Colin supplied. Ginny glared at him.
"I don't really think Braeden would enjoy kissing you if looked like Harry," Hermione laughed.
"Besides, it's a little late to lock Harry in a closet, he's already standing down there," Astrid said. Ginny glared at her. All five of the friends looked down towards the pitch. Dumbledore, Madame Hooch, and an unfamiliar younger man stood in the middle of a group of 28 hopeful members of the school Quidditch team.
%%%%%
"Welcome to the trials for the first ever Hogwarts School Quidditch team," Dumbledore began his speech, smiling benevolently at the group of students gathered before him. "Trials today will be judged by our very own Madame Hooch," he said, indicating to the witch on his left. She, too, smiled at the students. "The trials will take the form of a round robin tournament. Everyone has been assigned a team and the teams will play each other in 10-minute matches. Madame Hooch will judge the matches, and the 21 best people will move on to the next round, creating three different teams. After those three teams play, the best 14 will move on and the remaining two teams will play each other. From the remaining 14, the team and two reserves will be chosen. The teams are designed based on the positions played on your house team, however do not be surprised if some of you find yourselves playing a different position in a later round of the trial," Dumbledore explained, "Any questions?'
"Who is he?" Orla Quirke asked, pointing at the young man standing next to Dumbledore.
"This is Thomas Watson, he will be the referee of the matches," Dumbledore said, "Any other questions."
"What are the teams?" Draco Malfoy queried.
"Team one consists of Potter, Midgen, Bole, Boot, Johnson, Princeton, and Pucey," Dumbledore read from a sheet of parchment. The people whose names had been called separated themselves from the group.
"Team two is McMillan, Derrick, Anderson, Spinnet, Finch-Fletchley, Warrington and Turpin," Dumbledore continued. "Team three consists of Malfoy, Raymond, George, Abbott, Zabini, Quirke, and Ron, and team four is Chang, Fred, Gudgeon, Alexander, Brocklehurst, Bell and Sanguinis."
"Right then, teams split up, you have five minutes to discuss tactics. Teams one and three will play the first mach," Thomas Watson said, taking charge from Dumbledore. Harry looked at his teammates and started towards the far end of the field.
"Harry, what do you think of this?" Angelina asked. She caught up with him as he walked.
"It should be interesting," Harry said worriedly.
"We're against George and Ron right off," Angelina said.
"Oh no," Harry cried, grasping his broom tighter.
"Oh yes," Angelina replied, "I think George and Ron both want this, so I say we leave our chasers to figure it out for themselves."
"Let's just hope they do the same for us," Harry said.
"Let's just hope little Weasley goes easy and lets me score a few times," Angelina said.
"He's got to. They've got Malfoy, so none of us will advance if he doesn't mess up a little."
"I'm praying his nerves get to him," Angelina admitted, "And since when are you scared of Malfoy?"
"I'm not necessarily scared of Malfoy, and Ron is quite nervous," Harry said.
"So what are our tactics?" Terry Boot ventured to ask. Eloise Midgen and Bole eyed each other testily and Adrian Pucey crossed his arms over his chance menacingly.
"Score," Harry suggested. Both of the Slytherins snorted loudly.
"How is Ron as a keeper?" Amanda asked, "I mean I realize he's fanatic about Quidditch, but I've never seen him play."
"Your best bet is to toss in the trash," Angelina advised.
"The trash?" Amanda asked.
"The stuff he hits back. Good luck scoring on him on the first try," Angelina admitted. Harry glanced at her, but knew that Ron, if playing up to par, wouldn't start tiring until the fifth and sixth consecutive shots. "Now do you guys play Left, right or center?" Angelina asked.
"Left," Terry said instantly.
"Left," Amanda said, looking cautiously at Terry.
"Shit," Angelina muttered.
"You play left too?" Harry guessed.
"You should know that," Angelina spat back.
"What are you guys going to do?" Harry asked.
"I'll play center," Terry volunteered.
"I'll play right," Angelina said, rather resignedly.
"Are you guys ready?" Harry asked the keeper and the two beaters. Bole and Pucey grunted and Eloise nodded furiously. A whistle blew from the center of the field. The team started towards the middle. Their opponents came from the other side.
"You play left?" Harry asked Angelina. They had both dropped back from the group a bit.
"Ah, technically yes, but Oliver believed in ambidextrousness," Angelina said with a sly smile. Harry smiled back at her and stepped to his position across from Draco Malfoy. He mounted his Firebolt and waited for Thomas's whistle to start the game. The rest of the teams lined up quickly, before Dumbledore rushed to the center of the field.
"We must do something about these uniforms!" He insisted, and he was right. Both teams were a mixture of all four house teams, and therefore a rainbow of colors. He pointed his wand at team three and muttered a spell. Quickly, all of their robes turned to a uniform Orange. Harry didn't miss the ecstatic smile on Ron's faces, but he didn't get to pay much attention because quickly enough he was clothed in bright purple.
"There, much better," Dumbledore said, and Thomas nodded in agreement. Dumbledore headed over towards Team two and Thomas looked back towards the two gathered teams.
"On the sound of my whistle," Thomas said. He leaned over and released the three balls from their crate and then placed the whistle between his lips. As soon as the snitch disappeared from sight, he blew a shrill blast on his whistle. Sixteen figures, Madame Hooch and Thomas included, kicked off of the ground. The snitch had taken a sharp left towards the orange teams goals, before it had disappeared, so Harry headed in the last direction he saw it go. Ron and Pucey streaked towards their respective goals. Angelina grabbed the quaffle right off and rocketed towards Ron. George Weasley got to the bludger first and hit it sort of but not really in Angelina's general direction. Harry smiled to himself. Hufflepuffs weren't the only ones who believed in team play. Bole got to the bludger and cracked it straight at Harry.
"I'm on your team!" Harry screeched as he dived out of the way of the bludger. He heard Malfoy laughing close behind him and only then became aware of the announcing.
"And she scores! 10 points for the Purple team! Beautiful goal, Angelina!" Harry recognized the voice as Dumbledore's. Ron tossed the quaffle out to Hannah Abbott. She spun her broom around at a high rate of speed and headed towards the purple goal. Almost instantly, a bludger courtesy of Bole nearly took Hannah off of her broom. The quaffle slipped out of her fingers and Blaise Zabini few underneath her and intercepted it, continuing the quest towards the purple goals. Eloise had hit a bludger back to Bole, but Bole refused to hit it towards Blaise.
"Hit the bloody ball you great git!" Angelina cried. Bole paid no attention to the Gryffindor and allowed his fellow Slytherin to continue towards the Slytherin keeper. Harry took off to fly above the action. Since Bole apparently wasn't going to do anything to stop Blaise, Harry decided to take matters into his own hands. He instantly turned the broom to almost a 90-degree angle straight towards the ground and pushed it towards top speed. He ripped right in front of Blaise, causing Blaise to loose control of the quaffle. Angelina collected it and shot off towards Ron. George aimed the other bludger towards his girlfriend and hit it as hard as he could. Of course he "forgot" to compensate for the fact that she was moving in a forward direction so the bludger reached the spot she had been a few seconds previous.
"Pass it here!" Terry Boot cried. Harry couldn't help but laugh at the "you must be kidding me," look Angelina shot him a split second before she flung the quaffle at the goal on Ron's far left. Ron was playing in his typical "No hand's" style so he stretched as far as he could and knocked the ball away before using his legs to draw his broom back underneath him.
"Beautiful save by Ron Weasley!" Dumbledore cried. Terry grabbed the quaffle and tossed it at the left goal, which Ron was now fully in front of. Ron caught it easily and threw it to Orla Quirke. The second year Ravenclaw caught the ball and streaked towards the other end of the pitch but was almost instantly knocked off her broom by a bludger from Eloise. She instantly dropped the quaffle and Angelina collected it again. Harry was slightly amazed at Angelina's seeming omnipresence. George aimed another bludger at his girlfriend as Angelina once again flew towards Ron. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed Draco rocketing straight towards Angelina from above, so Harry took off to intercept him before he could get to her. Harry pushed the Firebolt to the limit and let out a shriek as he paralleled Angelina about 10 meters over her head. Draco looked over just in time to swerve out of the way as Harry cleared the path for Angelina to enter the scoring area. He pulled his broom up at the last second to avoid being called for anything besides blatching. Of course, the referee hadn't called him earlier, and he hadn't called Draco either. Suddenly, Harry noticed something shimmering and gold fluttering on Pucey's end of the field. He turned his Firebolt and rocketed towards what he hoped was the snitch. Before he could get there, a shrill whistle sounded. Harry stopped mid air and waited for the ref to call the foul.
"Time," came the Ref's only word.
"And the purple team wins! 20 to 0!" Dumbledore cried. Harry hadn't realized Angelina had scored again.
"Teams two and Four, take the field," Dumbledore called. Harry landed his broom and walked over to Angelina.
"Good game," he said.
"You too, I wonder who we play next." She said.
"Hopefully a team with no Slytherin chasers," Harry muttered.
"Arse! We are the team with no Slytherin chasers," Angelina laughed.
"Oh, right," Harry said,
"Damn quaffle hog," Harry heard Terry Boot mutter in Angelina's general direction. Angelina spun around and glared at him. At 5'10", Angelina was a formidable opponent. Terry, at only 5'6", was instantly quiet.
"Yeah, Angelina, why didn't you pass it to him?" Harry joked.
"I don't have a responsibility to get him on the team," Angelina replied.
"And you've got a responsibility to any one else?" Harry asked.
"I don't suppose I do, but I can't help but feel I need to do anything I can to help get you guys on the team too," Angelina said.
'Just don't be as blatantly obvious about it as the Slytherins," Harry laughed.
"Don't worry."
"You sure didn't go easy on Ron," Harry said.
"I didn't tell the other chasers about his issue," Angelina replied. Harry chuckled to himself. Ron had a real problem stopping fast consecutive shots to opposite goals when the first shot was fired on the left goal and the second on the right.
"GOAL! FRED WEASLEY!" Dumbledore cried. Harry and Angelina exchanged an incredulous glance before looking up at the game taking place over their heads. Sure enough, Fred was making a victory lap around the pitch.
%%%%%
"Do I have to sit here for this entire trial?" Hermione asked Astrid.
"Yes," Astrid replied.
"Why?" Hermione asked.
"Because your two best friends and your boyfriend are on the team," Ginny said. Hermione frowned at her.
"I have a Defense essay I need to write!" Hermione insisted.
"It's Friday. You have tomorrow AND Sunday," Colin laughed. Hermione glared at him.
"Just pay attention to the game," Dennis said. He and Colin both turned to watch the action on the pitch.
"What is Fred doing?" Hermione asked, looking at the form of her boyfriend, speeding across the pitch. He had the quaffle tucked under one arm and was wildly wielding his beater bat with the other hand.
"It looks as though he forgot we're not playing Weasley-style Quidditch," Ginny said, her jaw dropping.
"What?" Astrid asked. Ginny ignored her because she was intently watching her brother streak towards the opposing teams goals.
"I think Fred Weasley is about to make Quidditch history!" Dennis muttered. Hermione figured Fred must have been doing something good, so even she paid attention. He cracked a bludger towards an oncoming chaser and swerved around another. Lisa Turpin happened to be stationed right in front of the goal Fred was flying at, so Fred faked throwing the ball at that goal and instead lobbed it through the center.
"GOAL! FRED WEASLEY!" Dumbledore cried, and Fred started off on his victory lap. The Creevey brothers exchanged several high fives. Hermione jumped to her feet, screaming and clapping for her boyfriend. "He said he'd score for me!" she cried. Ginny picked Astrid up and spun her around several times. Fred's head suddenly appeared floating at the edge of the stands.
"That was for you, Hermione," He said with a smile and a characteristically Weasley blush.
"Get your arse back into the game!" Ginny commanded, glaring at her brother as she returned Astrid to her feet.
"Yes mum," Fred replied before turning back to the game in progress.
"Is the Weasley motto 'if you're happy and you know it spin the kid'?" Astrid asked as she sank dizzily into her seat. Ginny raised an inquiring eyebrow in her direction.
"It seems as though you and your brothers have a wonderful habit of spinning Astrid around whenever something good happens," Hermione said.
"We do?" Ginny asked.
"Yes," Astrid muttered, "Not that I really mind or anything. It's just funny."
"When?" Ginny asked.
"Ron spun me earlier, you spun me just then, and George spun me after we beat Ron in chess a couple of weeks ago," Astrid explained. Ginny and Hermione both laughed at her but were quickly silenced by glares from Dennis and Colin.
"Do I really have to sit here for the rest of this?" Hermione whined. Her questioned was greeted by looks from Astrid, Ginny and the Creeveys that said "We're not dignifying that with verbal responses." Hermione resignedly looked back towards the game.
*****
"GROUP FOUR WINS WITH A SCORE OF 70 TO GROUP TWO'S 10!"
*****
"GROUP ONE, 180! GROUP TWO, 60!"
*****
"Is that the snitch? Yes, Draco Malfoy has the snitch! Group three, 150, Group Four, 50!"
*****
"VICTORY FOR GROUP 1! 60-50!"
*****
"GROUP 2, 40. GROUP 3, 30. This, ladies and gentlemen, concludes the first round of Quidditch trials. Everyone please report to the center of the pitch for the results."
"How do you think I did?" Ron asked Harry as the two of them walked towards the middle of the pitch.
"You were fantastic," Harry replied.
"Really think so?"
"Yes," Harry said.
"Thanks, you were really great too, as were the girls. And I can't believe Fred scored!" Ron crowed.
"That was fantastic!" Harry agreed.
"After careful deliberation, we have decided on the 21 people that will continue to the next round," Dumbledore announced. Immediately everyone turned to look at the old wizard.
"I will read the names, then I will tell you your groups," Dumbledore said. "Potter."
"Figures," Muttered Draco.
"Malfoy." Draco looked more than slightly pleased with him self.
"Arrogant shit," Astrid muttered from her seat next to Hermione.
"Chang, Derrick, Weasley, Weasley, Anderson, Gudgeon, Bole, Spinnet, Johnson, Bell, Brocklehurst, Alexander, Finch-Fletchley, Abbott, Boot, Warrington, Sanguinis, Pucey," Dumbledore paused for a moment. The look on Ron's face was of partial terror, partial confusion. He and the twins weren't quite sure which Weasleys Dumbledore had been talking about. "And Weasley." Dumbledore finished. A hand from Harry on his arm was the only thing keeping Ron from leaping straight into the air.
"Tact Ron, tact," Harry whispered. Ron nodded furiously.
"So then, group one consists of Potter, Derrick, Anderson, Spinnet, Brocklehurst, Abbott and Sanguinis. Group two is Malfoy, Fred, Gudgeon, Johnson, Alexander, Boot, and Pucey. Group three consists of Chang, George, Bole, Bell, Finch-Fletchley, Warrington, and Ron. Group three plays group one first. You have five minutes." Harry looked over to Alicia. She smiled at him.
"Great catch of the snitch last time, Harry," she said as he approached.
"Thanks," Harry replied, "you did pretty well yourself." Alicia smiled sweetly at him.
"Hey Harry," Hannah said from just behind Harry. Harry turned to look at Hannah.
"So what is the game plan?" Mandy asked.
"Score," Harry suggested. Alicia, Mandy and Hannah all laughed appreciatively. Carter and Derrick scowled at each other and William did a few basic stretches.
"So how is Weasley as a keeper?" Mandy asked. Hannah raised an eyebrow questioningly at her friend.
"He's good," Alicia and Harry replied simultaneously. They looked at each other and laughed.
"Anything we should know about him?" Mandy asked.
"He's single," Harry laughed, raising an eyebrow in her general direction. She turned bright red and Harry's suspicions that she had been the other girl in the bathroom with Hannah on the first day of classes were instantly confirmed.
"I think she means about his skills as a keeper," Hannah spat, with a slight smile at Harry.
"Oh, I wouldn't know," Harry laughed.
"He's a good keeper. Consecutive shots on extreme goals are way to get them past him," Alicia instructed. Mandy and Hannah both nodded.
"What about Bole?" Alicia asked Derrick.
"Why would I tell you, mudblood?" Derrick asked.
"I'll have you know that both of my parents are wizards!"
"Wizards?" Harry cracked.
"Okay, no. A witch and a wizard," Alicia corrected, "my uncles are the wizards."
"I should hope so," Carter laughed.
"Only one of them is any blood relation to me," Alicia said with a raised eyebrow in Carter's direction. By the time Carter had processed Alicia's statement, Dumbledore had called them all to the center of the field.
"Good luck Hannah, Good luck Mandy," Harry said. Alicia glared at him.
"Good luck, Spinnet!"
"Good luck, Potter!" she replied, glaring at him with a smile on her face. Thomas looked at both of the groups.
"On the count of three," He began.
"Three, two, one!" Sixteen people kicked into the air at the blast of Thomas's whistle. Ron and William took off towards their goals. Alicia grabbed the quaffle and took off after Ron. She pushed her broom to its limit and pulled up even with him. He didn't have time to stop and turn around before she flung the quaffle through the center hoop.
"Damnit Alicia!" he joked. She smiled sweetly at him. He threw the quaffle out to Katie. Alicia spun her broom and took off after Katie. Derrick and Carter both hit bludgers towards Katie. She passed the quaffle to Justin-Finch-Fletchley and easily dodged both bludgers. Justin tore towards William. Carter flew in front of him to chase after a bludger and George Weasley, so he tossed the quaffle to Casey Warrington. Derrick had possession of one of the bludgers, but, like Bole, he refused to hit it towards his fellow Slytherin.
%%%%%
"What did you think?" Fred asked. He hopped off of his broom and sat down on the bench, squeezing himself a place between Ginny and Hermione. Hermione sniffed in his direction.
"I think you need a shower," she replied. He laughed and ran a hand through his sweaty red hair.
"Thank you mum," he said, "I meant the goal!"
"Great!" Colin cried.
"Fantastic," Dennis added.
"Wonderful," Ginny said.
"Splendiferous even," Astrid deadpanned, with a smirk in Fred's direction. Fred reached around Hermione and tousled the little girls hair. Astrid looked towards the sky. "Thank goodness! He didn't spin me!"
"Good job," Hermione said, lacing her fingers through Fred's. Fred blushed and smiled at her.
"AWW!" Ginny and Astrid chorused. Fred smiled sweetly at Ginny and Astrid before dropping a kiss on Hermione's forehead.
"So who do you think will make it past this round?" Fred asked.
"The Gryffindor team," the five friends chorused.
"You guys have that much faith in us?" Fred questioned.
"Fred, you pretty much solidified your spot on the team with that goal," Astrid said, rolling her eyes at Fred.
"How did everyone else do?"
"Pretty great," Ginny said.
"Harry probably needs to catch the snitch one more time for good measure," Astrid added.
"I'll be sure to pass the message along," Fred laughed.
"Shouldn't you be down there discussing tactics with your team?" Ginny asked.
"Let's see. We have three Slytherins. The girl, what's her name, Finney? She's so far stuck up Draco Malfoy's arse that she can't see straight. Pucey is a great git who is more concerned with hurting Warrington that playing Quidditch."
"Her name is Finley, and please, the mental image of anyone stuck up my brother's arse is a little harsh!" Astrid cried.
"Sorry, Astrid," Fred replied.
"What kind of parent names their child Finley?" Colin asked.
"Her mother was Juliet Finley before she became Juliet Alexander, so Finley got her mother's maiden name," Astrid explained.
"You know them?" Ginny asked.
"Met them all at a party of father's this summer. She has an absolutely adorable baby sister, Sloane," Astrid said.
"What about the rest of your team?" Dennis asked, switching the subject back to Quidditch.
"Danny Gudgeon, George, Carter and I practiced together earlier this week, so he and I work together pretty well. Angelina, well, Angelina is just fabulous. I have no need to worry about her, and Terry. I think he barely made it past round one, but Angelina should make up for that easily enough," Fred laughed.
"LOOK!" Ginny cried, pointing towards a spot near Ron's goals on the pitch. Hannah Abbott had the quaffle tucked under her right arm, zooming towards Ron. On either side of her, Bole and Casey Warrington flew straight at her.
"Oh my," came Hermione's only statement.
%%%%%
"HANNAH!" Harry screamed, but his attempt was futile. He was at their goals and she was on the other end of the field. He noticed Katie, Justin and Mandy flying frantically towards Hannah, and Cho screaming something from about 20 meters above Ron's goal. Hannah didn't notice the two large Slytherins flying straight towards her. George, beater bat in hand, took off after Bole despite the fact that they were supposed to be on the same team. Alicia, closest to Hannah finally realized what was happening and let out a shriek loud enough to wake the dead. Hannah flung her the quaffle but only just before Casey slammed into one side of her and Bole into the other. Two sickening cracks ensued and when the boys pulled away, Hannah slumped over her broom and started sliding to the left. Harry rocketed off towards Hannah as fast as the Firebolt would go, but she hit the ground before he could catch her. He and George almost collided in their attempts to keep Hannah from hitting the ground.
"FOUL!" Thomas Watson cried. Harry hovered a little ways over Hannah. He couldn't get off of his broom, so he lay as close to the handle as he could and reached down to her. Her left arm was bent at a highly unnatural angle and her eyes were closed.
"Hannah!" Harry called. He reached down and shook her right shoulder a little. He was vaguely aware of Alicia putting two goals home above him for the foul shots.
"Hannah!" he called again. Her blue eyes fluttered open.
"Wha-What happened?" she asked. "My arm feels funny."
"Your arm should feel funny," Harry replied, "you had a little run in with some great goons up there. He pointed to the goals, where her broom still hovered the goals. Hannah stretched to look past him.
"My ribs hurt too," she complained.
"They should," He replied. He pushed her dusty blonde bangs out of her face.
"Okay. You go play, we've got a match to win," she instructed, sort of dizzily. "Someone will come take care of me." Harry sat up on his broom and looked up towards Hermione. He waved at her. She grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her towards the stairs out of the stands.
"My friend Hermione is on her way down to help you," Harry said.
"Okay," Hannah said happily before her eyes fluttered shut again. "Harry? Could you get my broom for me?'
"Sure thing, Hannah," he replied. He brushed her hair back again before turning back towards the game.
"TIME!" Alicia screamed. Thomas blew his whistle and the remaining purple players gathered around Alicia.
"Is Hannah going to be able to come back?" Alicia asked.
"She fell off her broom," Mandy said.
"Oh yeah, that," Alicia said.
"And even if she hadn't, her arm is pretty screwed up," Harry said.
"So what are we going to do?" William asked. He looked ready to kill everyone who had started the trials wearing a green uniform, causing Derrick to skip the team meeting.
"Have you seen the snitch yet?" Alicia asked.
"Nope," Harry replied.
"What's the score?" William asked.
"30-40, them, and we've got about 6 minutes left," Alicia said.
"I'll take Hannah's place," Harry said.
"Are you sure?" Alicia asked.
"We'll do better without a seeker than we will without a chaser, especially against Katie and Finch-Fletchley," Harry reasoned.
"And with Ron as the keeper, there is no way we can pull it off with just two chasers," Mandy said.
"Reasonable," Alicia agreed. "But have you ever played chaser?"
"TIME IN!" Thomas cried. The players all flew back towards their positions. Alicia still looked imploringly at Harry for an answer.
"Nope!" he admitted with a smile. Alicia's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped.
"Shut your mouth Alicia, I'm sure I can handle it," he scolded. She rolled her eyes and flew off towards Thomas. Thomas tossed the quaffle to Alicia and Alicia took off towards Ron's goals. Harry distanced himself off to her right side and flew along with her. Mandy chose to fly above Alicia. George cracked a bludger in Alicia's general direction, again, not meaning to hit her. Of course his aim was slightly off, but not enough to show that he wasn't really trying. Bole hit the other bludger towards Alicia. His aim was truer than George's. The bludger hit the twigs of Alicia's broom and she spun out of control, dropping the quaffle. Harry raced after it, but Katie beat him to it. Without another thought, she took off towards William. Cho still circled the pitch high above them, trying to see the snitch. A well directed bludger from Carter caused Katie to throw the quaffle to Justin. Both of the chasers ignored Casey for his part in what happened to Hannah. Justin caught the quaffle easily and continued towards William. Harry was almost sure he noticed a smile pass between William and Justin seconds before Justin flung the quaffle directly into William's hands. Bole hovered with his back to William about 15 meters away. William flung the quaffle as hard as he could directly at Bole. It bounced off of the Slytherin's head and fell directly into Harry's luckily waiting hands.
"FOR HANNAH!" William screamed. Harry pushed the Firebolt and spun to head towards Ron. Bole rubbed the back of his head and tried to figure out what had hit him. George cracked a bludger in Harry's general direction, but more at Bole.
"GO HARRY!" Alicia and Mandy, as well as a familiar but unidentified female voice, all screamed. Harry quickly registered the voice as Astrid's as he got closer to Ron's goals. Harry became vaguely aware of Alicia flying behind him, so he flew straight towards Ron and stopped. Ron prepared himself for the shot, so Harry acted as though he was going to throw the quaffle through the right goal, but instead flung the ball blindly backwards over his head and rushed to get out of the scoring area.
"GOAL! ALICA SPINNET WITH AN ASSIST BY HARRY POTTER!" Dumbledore cried. Harry flew over and gave Alicia a high five. Ron scowled at both of them. Alicia waved sweetly at him.
"Great job, Harry!" Alicia cried.
"Not to bad yourself," Harry replied before flying back towards the game.
%%%%%
"I can't believe Harry and Alicia pulled that off!" Ginny squealed.
"Is it that hard?" Astrid asked.
"Fred and George have tried it in the orchard more times than I can count. They're twins. They're supposed to have some sort of freaky connection and they can't even manage to pull that one off," Ginny said.
"They can't?" Astrid asked.
"Nope. George usually throws it weird and Fred can't get to it." Ginny said.
"How is Hannah?" Colin asked. Ginny had just arrived back into the stands from helping Hermione with Hannah.
"Hermione's fixing her," Ginny replied.
"Hermione knows about medi-magic?" Dennis asked.
"She's probably read several books on it," Ginny explained. Astrid, Colin and Dennis all laughed appreciatively.
"Do you think the two guys that hit her will make it past this round?" Dennis asked when the laugher subsided.
"Nope," Astrid replied rather definitively.
"Why not?" Colin asked.
"Dumbledore won't let them," Astrid replied.
"You really think so?" Ginny asked, as Harry and Alicia assisted Mandy in putting another quaffle past Ron.
"Of course. He's not going to let people on the team who will do that to their own teammates, and do you really see Bole being able to beat Fred and George?" Astrid asked.
"But what about Warrington, he is their captain, after all," Ginny said.
"Only because Draco's a fifth year," Astrid replied. "Casey really isn't that good. In fact, I'd say Finley is probably better than Casey."
"She's only a fourth year!" Ginny cried.
"Harry was a first year when he made the team," Colin countered.
"Harry is a special case," Astrid replied.
"Always," Ginny laughed.
%%%%%
"AND GROUP ONE WINS WITH A SCORE OF 70-40!" Dumbledore cried, "Groups two and three are up next". Harry landed his broom on the pitch and was almost immediately knocked over by a ferocious hug from Alicia.
"Harry, you were great!" she cried.
"Fantastic!" Mandy agreed, she patted Harry on his back.
"You all were awesome too," Harry said. He pulled away from Alicia and started over to where Hermione and Hannah were sitting on the sidelines.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I'm doing alright," Hannah replied weakly. Harry sank onto the grass next to her.
"I think she broke her elbow and some ribs," Hermione said.
"Why don't you go see Madame Pomfrey?" Harry asked, eyeing the bandage Hermione had fashioned to hold Hannah's hurt elbow to her side and bind her ribs all at once.
"I want to see the rest of the trial," Hannah explained.
"Evidently Quidditch craziness isn't totally a guy problem," Hermione muttered.
"I heard that," Harry and Hannah both spat.
"You were supposed to," Hermione said.
"I'm not going to make the team," Hannah said. Harry dropped his arm around her shoulders.
"You always have next year," he said.
"But I wanted to make the team this year!" Hannah insisted.
"If it makes you feel any better, I doubt Bole and Warrington will be allowed to continue with the tryouts," Harry said.
"Neither will I," Hannah complained.
"At least you didn't sink to the level of cheating and hurting other people," Hermione said.
"Did you notice? George, Katie, Cho and Justin were all trying to stop them, and they're on the same team," Harry laughed. Hannah smiled lazily at Harry.
"Did they really?" she asked.
"Yep," Harry replied, "Cho, Katie and Justin were all screaming, and George took off after Bole."
"He did?"
"I think he was going to rip Bole's head off with the beater bat if he had caught him," Hermione laughed.
"I would have paid to have seen that," Hannah said. She leaned her head back against Harry's arm. "What about Ron?"
"He looked a little torn between protecting the goals and protecting you," Harry admitted.
"I don't blame him," Hannah said. Hermione and Harry shared a smile over the top of Hannah's head.
"Are you sure you don't want to go up to Madame Pomfrey?" Hermione asked Hannah.
"I'm sure. I want to stay and see who makes the team besides Harry and Fred," Hannah said.
"What makes you so sure they're going to make it?" Hermione asked.
"They've both either scored or had assists and they're not chasers," Hannah explained logically.
"Do you really think that's what it will take?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Hannah replied.
"So if Ron wants to make it, he shouldn't play keeper in the next match?" Hermione asked.
"If he scored from keeper, that would be something," Hannah laughed. She tried to adjust the position she was sitting in, but winced in pain instead.
"Are you SURE a trip to Madame Pomfrey wouldn't be a good idea?" Harry asked.
"Mmmhhhmmm," Hannah said through clenched teeth. She nodded vigorously to accent her positive reply. Harry glanced at Hermione over Hannah's head. Hermione looked slightly worried about Hannah. Harry noticed Alicia waving at him from the other side of the field, where the rest of the team was gathered.
"I think Alicia wants me over there," Harry said, pulling his arm away from Hannah. He picked up her broom and handed it to her. "Here is your broom."
"Thanks, Harry," Hannah said weakly.
"No problem," Harry said. With that, Harry grabbed his broom and headed over to where Alicia, Carter Mandy and William were standing.
"What are we going to do for the match against group two?" Alicia asked before Harry really got to the group.
"Shall I continue to play chaser?" Harry suggested.
"How is Hannah?" Mandy asked.
"She's alright. She needs to go to Madame Pomfrey, but she won't," Harry said.
"That's stubborn Hannah for you," Mandy laughed.
"Why won't she go?" Alicia asked.
"Probably a cross between not wanting to miss the rest of the trials and not liking Madame Pomfrey," Mandy said.
"Not liking Madame Pomfrey?" Alicia asked.
"Hannah has an interest in medi-magic and is convinced a lot of Madame Pomfrey's methods are old and outdated," Mandy explained.
"So we're going to play without a seeker again then?" Carter asked.
"We have no choice," Alicia said, "They have Angelina. We're hopeless without three chasers."
"They have Angelina. We have me. I think we're hopeless anyway!" Harry said.
"Finley isn't bad either," Derrick mumbled.
"You're finally going to talk to us?" William asked.
"I feel bad about what happened to that girl. Bole and Casey should have never done that," Derrick said.
"So they've got two good chasers and we have a seeker turned Chaser," Harry said.
"Seems like it," Mandy said, "We'll just have to make the best of it."
"How is Pucey as a keeper?" Alicia ventured to ask Derrick.
"Couldn't tell you. He's been more concerned with killing Casey Warrington in practice than actually being a keeper," Derrick replied.
"Danny Gudgeon?" Harry asked William.
"Danny is pretty good. Not as good as Weasley though," William said.
"Which Weasley?" Alicia laughed.
"Take your pick," William replied.
"AND CHO CHANG HAS THE SNITCH! GROUP THREE WINS! 240-40!" Dumbledore cried.
"Oh no," muttered Harry.
"What is it?" Alicia asked.
"Malfoy, Cho and I have all caught the snitch. If I don't catch the snitch in this match, I might not advance!" Harry said quietly to Alicia.
"Play chaser like we decided," Alicia instructed. "That proves you're a team player." Harry nodded and headed towards the middle of the field with the rest of his group.
"Hey Alicia," Harry said.
"Yeah," Alicia asked. Harry held out the Firebolt.
"Take this, you might need it to keep up with Angelina," Harry said. During their previous practice the twins had decided they needed a break. Harry had allowed everyone to take turns flying the Firebolt, so Alicia was familiar with the broom's handling.
"Seriously?" Alicia asked.
"Do you think it would help you?" Harry asked.
"Puts me at a distinct advantage now doesn't it, but what about you?" Alicia said, looking down at the Cleansweep Seven she clutched in her fist. Harry looked over to Ron. Ron had noticed what was transpiring between Alicia and Harry. He wordlessly held out his Nimbus to Harry.
"Accio Nimbus," Harry muttered, holding his hand out towards Ron's broom. The broom jerked from Ron's hand and flew into Harry's
"Ron's letting me borrow his," Harry said with a smile. Alicia took the Firebolt from Harry, a huge grin on her face.
"You do realize you just summoned Ron's broom without your wand," she said. Harry looked down at the black broom in his hand.
"I guess I did," He admitted.
"On the sound of my whistle," Thomas began. Alicia dropped her Cleansweep and mounted the Firebolt. Harry climbed onto the Nimbus and Thomas issued a shrill blast from his whistle. Again, sixteen figures kicked off.
The next ten minutes comprised some of the most intense Quidditch Harry had ever played. It turned into a battle between Alicia and Angelina, mostly. Finley contributed a few goals for Group two, and Mandy contributed two for Group one. Harry mostly flew around and alternated between moving the quaffle up the field for his team, and looking for the snitch. Draco circled the pitch from above like an overgrown bird of prey. Luckily enough, the snitch decided not to show up.
In the end, Alicia on Harry's Firebolt beat Angelina on her Nimbus, but only by one goal. At the end of ten minutes, Group one had 100 points while Group two had 90. Harry landed his broom and tripped off of it trying to get to Alicia.
"Alicia, that was fabulous!" he cried.
"Thanks to you!" Alicia screamed. She jumped into Harry's arms.
"I wasn't the one who scored eight goals by myself," Harry replied.
"But it was because of this fabulous broom," Alicia replied. Harry hugged her tightly.
"You just need to do that again in our match against Slytherin," Harry replied.
"If Angelina and I could both have repeat performances of this match every time we played this year, we'd be practically unbeatable!" Alicia laughed.
"I'd say so," Harry said, "especially when you get Katie back with you and people you're comfortable with playing with." Alicia smiled broadly at him.
"Thanks," she said. She handed him his broom.
"No problem," Harry replied. He turned to find Ron, but didn't have to look far. Ron had appeared right behind Harry. Harry handed Ron his broom.
"Thanks man," he said.
"No problem, you guys helped me out a lot!" Ron cried, taking the broom from Harry.
"How so?" Alicia asked.
"You pretty much made Pucey look like a moron," Ron said, smiling at Alicia. Alicia grinned back at him.
"Everyone over here!" Dumbledore called, "We've made our decisions on the final round!" All of the players hurried over to where Dumbledore stood. Harry noticed that even Hannah had made it over.
"First of all, there are a few points I feel need to be awarded," Dumbledore said.
"10 points each to your respective houses for Cho Chang, George Weasley, Katie Bell and Justin Finch-Fletchley for putting aside differences in teams and remembering that this is just a game," Dumbledore said. Cho, George, Katie and Justin all looked quite proud of themselves.
"Right then, the people who advance to the next round," Dumbledore said, looking down at his list. "Potter, Chang, Malfoy," he began reading. Harry looked over at Ron with a terrified look on his face. All three remaining seekers had made it to the final round. Ron shrugged and turned back to Dumbledore.
"Weasley, Weasley, Weasley, Gudgeon, Derrick, Alexander, Bell, Spinnet, Johnson, Finch-Fletchley, and Sanguinis," Dumbledore said. Confused looks abounded. Dumbledore had named three seekers, four beaters, five chasers and two keepers.
"Now I warned you that some of you would find yourselves playing an unfamiliar position, and some of you already have," Dumbledore said, "and more of you will. Group one consists of Potter, Fred, Ron, Alexander, Johnson, Finch-Fletchley, and Malfoy. Group two is Chang, the remaining Weasley, Gudgeon, Derrick, Bell, Spinnet and Sanguinis." Only then did the Gryffindor team realize that all seven of them were still in the trial. Only three Hufflepuffs, three Slytherins, and one Ravenclaw remained. Fred and George would more than likely get their wish of having a majority Gryffindor team.
"Teams, you have 15 minutes to prepare before the final 20 minute match," Dumbledore said. He smiled benevolently at them all and the student's split up into their distinct groups. Harry, Fred, Ron, Finley, Angelina, Justin and Draco started towards their end of the pitch.
"What are we going to do?" Harry asked Fred. All of the Gryffindors instantly turned to Fred as an authority figure.
"We've got one beater and two seekers," Fred said, "So which of you wants to play beater?" Fred asked Draco and Harry.
"Not me!" Draco insisted.
"Harry played chaser for a match and a half last round," Angelina argued, glaring down at Draco.
"That concerns me how?" Draco asked.
"He played chaser because of two of your Slytherin goons," Fred said.
"I'm still not seeing how this has anything to do with me being a beater," Draco spat.
"Draco, be reasonable," Finley warned, "The only way you're going to have a chance is to act like you like these people and attempt to get along." Draco glared down at the fourth year.
"Get along with Gryffindors?" Draco asked. Finley glared at him coldly. Draco glared back, equally menacingly.
"Yes," she said.
"So what are we going to do?" Fred asked.
"Someone needs to come up with something reasonable," Justin declared.
"Can any of you play any positions besides the ones you play?" Finley asked.
"Harry, before you say anything, your chasers skills aren't really up to par," Angelina said with a grin in Harry's direction.
"Astrid said you played keeper," Ron muttered in Draco's direction.
"You've been TALKING to my SISTER!" Draco roared.
"They're in the same house, what would you expect?" Finley asked, placing her hand on Draco's arm to stop him from ripping Ron's throat out.
"He's been talking to my sister," Draco said to Finley. Finley turned to Ron. "Yes, Draco is Slytherin's reserve keeper." Angelina, Fred, and Harry all caught onto Ron's train of thought and turned to him with amazed smiles on their faces. He scowled back at them. Finley seemed to have a clue as to what was happening and she smiled at Draco.
"Someone care to tell me what's going on?" Justin asked.
"Are you willing to do that?" Harry asked Ron.
"You're more used to playing with Ginny," Fred pointed out.
"Would you rather work with a Weasley or a Malfoy?" Angelina asked Fred.
"True," Fred said.
"Hello?!" Justin asked. Draco and Ron looked like they were trying to Avada Kedavra the other with their eyes.
"Come on, Ron," Fred said.
"Be reasonable, Draco," Finley said.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!" Justin cried.
"The war of the stubborn arses," Finley replied, glaring at Justin. Justin closed his mouth and took a few steps back from the group. Ron finally nodded his head.
"I'll do it," he said.
"You'll do what?" Justin ventured to ask.
"If he's willing to play keeper, then I'll play beater," Ron said, glaring in Draco's direction. Finley, Harry, Fred, Angelina and Justin all turned to look at Draco. Draco crossed his arms across his chest defiantly and took a step back from the group.
"Why do I have to do this?" he asked.
"Because you want to make the damned team, Draco," Finley said, glaring at Draco.
"Why can't Potter play a different position?" Draco asked.
"Didn't you see me playing chaser?" Harry asked, attempting to make a joke of the situation. No one laughed. Finley winked at the Gryffindors before turning to fully face Draco.
"Because you're a bigger person if you do this," she said. Ron started to jump towards Finley, but Harry and Fred held him back.
"Shut up Ron, or he won't go along with her," Fred hissed.
"I'll do it then," Draco said, seemingly pleased with the prospect of being better at something than Harry.
"Thank you," Harry said.
"Who do you think they'll pick as their third chaser?" Fred asked, looking over to the other team. A heated battle between George, Danny Gudgeon, and Derrick was taking place.
"It's not going to matter," Draco said.
"Why not?" Finley asked.
"Because if I've gotta play keeper, those fuckers aren't going to score on me." Draco explained. Ron stepped towards Draco again but Harry and Fred held him back.
"Let him be a cocky bastard. He'll probably try harder if he thinks he has something to prove," Fred whispered to his temperamental younger brother.
"He's going to need to try against 'Licia and Katie," Angelina added.
"You're the bigger person for doing this without being forced or tricked," Harry said. He dropped his hold on Ron's arm.
"One problem guys," Ron said.
"What's that?" Fred asked.
"My bat is in Gryffindor tower," Ron said.
"No it's not," a small voice from just behind them said. They all turned to see Astrid Malfoy standing there with Ron's beater bat in her hands.
"How did you get that?" Ron asked.
"I figured you might need it when I heard the teams announced, so I asked Dumbledore if I could fly Hannah's broom up to the castle to get it," she explained.
"Astrid, you're the greatest!" Ron said, leaning down towards the younger girl.
"Ron, if you touch me, you may very well die," Astrid said, peeking around Ron to where her older brother stood.
"Oh, right," Ron said. He took the bat from the girl.
"Thanks," the four Gryffindors chorused to their younger housemate. She smiled at them and ran back towards the stands to re-join Dennis, Colin and Ginny.
"You did it again," Draco said, his voice quietly menacing.
"Draco, if you say another word to him," Finley began.
"You'll do what?" Draco asked.
"This," Finley replied. She brought the twigs of her broom down over Draco's head. Draco's scowl turned into a smirk and he turned to Finley.
"You're going to get it later," he laughed. The four bewildered Gryffindors looked at each other. Justin stepped up to them.
"I heard she likes him and he doesn't mind her too much," he said. The four Gryffindors all rolled their eyes, amazed that anyone could like Draco Malfoy.
"He must," Harry said. He cringed at the thought of what would happen to anyone else if they tried to hit Draco with a broom. Of course, pretty much anyone else who hit Draco with a broom wouldn't do it quite so playfully. The hit would more than likely end with a broken broom or a broken Draco. Maybe both. Thomas Watson summoned the two teams to the middle of the pitch with a sharp blast on his whistle. They lined up across from each other. Every player wore looks of grim determination on their faces. Every player, except for Draco, that is. Draco looked generally irate at having to play keeper.
"On the count of three," Thomas said, looking at both teams.
"One… Two… THREE!" For the ninth time that night, sixteen brooms kicked into the air.
"And they're off!" Dumbledore cried. Katie immediately grabbed the quaffle and took off towards Draco. Harry noticed that Derrick had been chosen as the third chaser for the other team. He shuddered to think of what would happen if he and Draco failed to make the team. Both of them would blame it on not being able to play their usual positions during the last round of the trial. Harry banished the thoughts from his mind and took his customary position high above the action. He began circling the pitch, looking for the snitch. Cho did the same, only she circled in the opposite direction so they passed each other twice on every circuit. Katie passed the quaffle to Alicia who took a shot on the left goal. Draco stretched almost off of his broom and caught the ball in both hands. He threw it out to Finley, who shot towards William. Fred and Ron had fallen into a routine quite comparable to Fred and George's usual. They had no discretion in where they hit the bludgers. Katie and Alicia were just as likely as Derrick to be a target for a bludger, and the brothers' aims were much more accurate than they had been. George was equally unafraid of cracking bludgers at Angelina, his girlfriend. However, he failed to stop Angelina from tossing one past William. William tossed the quaffle to Alicia and she started towards the other end of the field. She passed to Katie and Katie took a shot on Draco. Draco knocked it away and Alicia grabbed the rebound. Draco also blocked Alicia's shot.
Fifteen minutes later, Harry was still circling the pitch. The score was 30-0. Angelina had scored three on William, but no one had been able to get a quaffle past Draco, despite close to 15 attempts. The Weasley brothers had all made it hard on everyone with their well-placed bludgers. Harry noticed something gold shimmering about 20 meters off to his left. Cho was on the opposite side of the field, so Harry quickly flew over and grabbed the snitch.
"Harry Potter has the snitch and Hogwarts has its new Quidditch team!" Dumbledore cried. Slowly, all sixteen brooms sank to the ground. The two teams dismounted and went to the center of the field. They had been about equal in play, so no one was quite sure who would make the team. Draco Malfoy was especially worried. Cho hadn't given Harry much competition for the snitch.
"Harry, you were wonderful!" Hannah cried. She and Hermione approached the group of players.
"Thanks," Harry said.
"I would hug you, but," Hannah began. She finished her sentence with a look down at her bandaged arm and ribs. Harry dropped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.
"We've made our decision," Dumbledore announced.
"That was quick," Ron muttered.
"This years Hogwarts School Quidditch team will consist of," Dumbledore began. "No wait. Before I announce that, I should thank you all for coming out for the trial. You all played wonderfully. Secondly, I need to speak with Miss Granger after the announcement!" Hermione looked slightly surprised.
"And lastly, I just want to say that this has been a hard decision on all of our parts, but we think we've made the best choice based on what we've seen out here today." Everyone in the group looked very impatient at Dumbledore's stalling.
"So the school team will have Harry Potter as the Seeker!" Hannah slung her good arm around Harry's waist and pulled him into an awkward hug. Cho smiled at him from across the group, and Malfoy looked ready to snap his Nimbus in half. "The beaters for this year will be George Weasley." Dumbledore paused for a minute and Fred and George shared a nervous glance. No one ever listed George before Fred. "And Fred Weasley!" No one, that is, except Dumbledore. The twins exchanged a high five. Ron threw his arms happily around both of them. Fred pulled away from Ron and searched the crowd for Hermione.
"The chasers will be Alicia Spinnet!"
"We've got a Gryffindor majority!" Harry heard one of the Weasley twins mutter.
"Angelina Johnson." Harry noticed the three chasers all holding tightly to the others hands off to the side of the group. Alicia and Angelina didn't look happy about making the team, just worried for Katie.
"And Katie Bell!" Dumbledore finished. The three girls jumped into a three-way hug. Ron began shaking his head and looking at the ground.
"What's wrong?" George asked.
"The entire Gryffindor team making it would be too good to be true," he muttered.
"The reserves for this team will be Ron Weasley and William Sanguinis!" Dumbledore announced. Ron looked excitedly at his brothers.
"I'm a reserve!" He whispered excitedly.
"So who is the keeper?" William asked loudly.
"I'm pleased to announce that the keeper for the years Hogwarts Quidditch team is Draco Malfoy!" Dumbledore said. Draco looked positively stunned. Finley jumped into his arms and although he made no move to catch her, she held on to him and planted a kiss right on his cheek.
"Thank you all again for trying out," Dumbledore said. He quieted his voice and started back towards the castle.
"I will announce your first practice at breakfast on Monday after I speak with your coach," he called over his shoulder. Madame Hooch and Thomas Watson joined Dumbledore in his walk back to the castle.
"WE DID IT!" George and the chasers screamed. They ran over to Harry and grabbed him in a massive group hug. Hannah only just stepped out of the way. Harry noticed Fred and Hermione snogging off to the side, and Ron, Ginny and Astrid jumping around in circles squealing.
"Congratulations, Harry," Hannah said after the Gryffindor/Hogwarts team had finally untangled themselves from each other.
"Come on, I'll walk you to the hospital wing," Harry replied. He draped his arm around her shoulder and they started off towards the castle.