A/N: and now, time for a wonderful little break from the angst... a sliiight detuour from the plot, maybe, but in true HP style: when the plot starts getting to thick.. play Quidditch!!

Everyone thank Remi and Linny for hassling me into updating.. mainly Remi this time, since she threw a fit and pretty much threatened to cry. lol.

Chapter 4: Quidditch is not for the faint of heart

It was a brisk morning, the first of November, a Saturday. The perfect day for Quidditch tryouts.

"Welcome to tryouts!" Madam Hooch yelled to the few dozen asorted students meandering around the field curiously, some on foot, others on broomsticks. "We ask that you all sort yourselves by your house, please, and join the others of your house by the stands with your house colors! Thank you!"

Rakka sat back, bored out of her skull, between Tomas and Zeke, in her rightful spot on the 'terrible trio,' as the other teams called them. Three of the top Quidditch players in Hogwarts, Rakka being one of the two best Seekers, Tomas the number one Keeper, and Zeke one of the two top Beaters the school had to offer, all on one team, all notorious for their amazing communication skills, even occasionally accused of learning some form of telepathic communication, to be able to understand eachother from opposite ends of the field so clearly. Truth was, it was simply one of the perks of being triplets, the ability to sense the slightest changes in eachother, which they also were able to half-sucessfully apply to their teammates, so far getting them second only by mere points last year, behind Gryffindor, who housed the only other notable Seeker and Beater, along with the two best Chasers in the school.

However, things were going to be changing for the better soon, thanks to Tomas becoming captain, taking over for Sam after he graduated. Sam had been a great Chaser, but for a Slytherin, he didn't have much in the ways of the leadership qualities that the house prided themselves on. Considering his house, Sam had actually been quite sheepish, and was not happy with the role of captain, and would have easily passed it on, had Elanora, the only other last year student on the team, been willing to take over, which she certainly wasn't. She had always been a bit of a loose cannon, preferring to work by herself, which made her both an excellent Chaser on her own, and a poor one in the ways of the teamwork necessary to be a proper Chaser. If Rakka hadn't been such a superior Seeker, she would have switched places with Elanora, since the Seeker role was not so much one requiring a group effort, but that was the one thing Sam had ever firmly put his foot down about. Rakka was to remain a Seeker, because she was the only one they had, 'and a damned good one, at that,' as he had said.

"Slytherin!" Tomas yelled, getting the attention of the buzzing group as Eara 'Remi' Remillius, one of Rakka's best friends and the only remaining Chaser from last year, sat down next to him, and Jacob, Zeke's Beater friend, sat at the other end, beside his partner in crime, and what remained of last season's team was reunited.

"Now, for those of you who aren't aware, we are only in need of Chasers, and only two of them," Tomas lowered his voice a little from his prior shout, now simply projecting a louder version of conversational speech. "Anyone who came here with the intention of becoming a Beater, go home and practice until next season, when we'll be needing you. Anyone who intended to become a Keeper or Seeker, try out if you want, but keep in mind that you will be a secondary only, to take over is either myself or Rakka are for some reason unable to play."

Only about three students left, leaving a crowd of about a dozen or so.

"Very well, then," Tomas reached into the trunk, pulling out Quaffle. "Those of you who plan on being secondary Seekers or Keeper, sit for a while. Let's see all you prospective Chasers toss some Quaffle, shall we?"

He threw the Quaffle out onto the field, watching all the students on their brooms dash off after it. He and Remi watched, murmuring back and forth, but since only those two would really be judging the two newest Chasers, Zeke and Jackob started talking, and Rakka sat back, closing her eyes for a little bit.

"Have I missed anything?" a soft, smooth velvet voice asked behind Rakka, who jumped, her eyes jerking open, and turned around quickly.

"Oh, Professor Snape, you startled me," she laughed lightly as he sat down on the row behind her. "Tomas and Remi are just watching the students trying out for Chasers."

"Tomas is your brother, right? The one that's captain?"

"Yeah," Rakka nodded, following his gaze out onto the field. Snape squinted a little, watching the players.

"The one with the reddish blonde hair, she's doing quite well," Snape commented. "She looks alot like Tomas. Is she a relative of yours?"

"My cousin, Isamu Perrelfoot," Rakka nodded again. "She looks just like her mother.. and our mother. They were twins."

"She looks familliar," Snape puzzled. "Wait.. twins? The Muddlin Twins?"

"Yeah," Rakka smiled. "You've heard of them, too? Mother and Aunt Trista had a little bit of fame with Quidditch, I hear."

"Yes, they were the stars of the team in my first and second years," he smiled. "They played for Ravenclaw, didn't they?"

"Yeah," Rakka looked out on the field. "They were Chasers. My father was a Seeker, and Uncle Ronald was the Keeper, both for Slytherin, a year ahead of Mom and Aunt Trista. Quidditch is in our blood."

"So I see," Snape nodded. Rakka kept her eyes on her cousin, using all her self control to not turn around and stare openly at her teacher. It seemed the more she saw him, the more she felt herself drawn to the young professor. It was going to be a long year, having to see him for two different classes, and being Head Girl, which meant having to see him even more often. Thank all that was that she wasn't going to have to see him once this year was over.

As the practice progressed, another prospective Chaser became dominant, a fifth year Rakka recognized as Michael Swinder. Tomas and Remi watched the ball tossing going on for well over an hour, until most of the students trying out were sitting in the benches, having given up, before they started telling certain students to sit down. By the time Tomas and Remi had agreed on the two new Chasers, they were the only two still playing, the strongest players in the beginning, and playing just as firmly once everyone else had sat out, tossing the ball back and forth, trying to make eachother slip up, unaware that they were the only ones left, since they had been focused on knocking eachother out of the runnings from the beginning. Michael rammed Isamu, nearly knocking her off her broom, as she hung upsidedown off of it,when he threw the Quaffle at her head. Rakka sat forward, horrifed, as the ball spiraled at Isamu's face as she clung to the broom with both hands and her legs, bracing herself tightly...

... and reaching up with both arms, catching the ball, the force of it making her spin as she used that force to right herself. The crowd that had been on the field a while earlier cheered, and Michael zoomed over beside her to shake her hand.

"Congratulations, both of you!" Tomas yelled. "And welcome to the team!"