Someday, I will own something of great value. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.
Quidditch Tryouts
"Excuse me, miss, you is wanted in the common room." A high squeaky voice startled Ryua out of a sound sleep. Her body snapped awake in an instant, left hand grabbing the person on her bed, right hand aiming her wand at what should have been a throat. "I is sorry, miss, I is very sorry. Would miss please put Pucky down? Pretty please? Pucky did not mean to startle miss..."
Ryua's mind came to a few seconds later. "What? Oh, house elf... A word of advice, elf, never do that again. Now, what do you want?" She lowered her wand from the elf's forehead, and let go of its tea towel.
"Pucky is sorry miss, but Mister Flint is wanting to talk to miss."
"Flint? Why doesn't he just come get me then?"
"Because boys can't go in girls rooms miss. They would be burned by big burny traps." Oh, well, that made sense. Now that Ryua thought about it, she wouldn't really want Flint, or any other Slytherin boys walking in here.
"Burned, eh? Well, I guess it makes sense he sent you then. What does he want?"
"Mister Flint didn't tell Pucky, miss. Just that miss had to come out quick."
"Alright, I'm coming, I just have to get changed." Pucky elf-apparated with a quiet pop, and Ryua pulled out a set of weekend clothes. She folded her red pajamas (they were getting tired, she needed a new pair) and hid them under her pillow. She replaced them with a pair of soft black capri pants, and a viridian long-sleeved top. Grabbing her cloak and slipping on shoes, she went quietly out the door, wishing the dungeons had windows so she could see what time it was. "Morning, Flint, what's going on?"
Much to Ryua's surprise, Draco, Derrick, Warrington, and a half dozen other Slytherins were sitting sleepily on the couch as Flint paced up and down. He stopped when he saw Ryua and said, "Well, it's about bloody time! What took you so long, anyways?"
"That house elf of yours just woke me up two minutes ago, so quit yelling. Now what do you want that you woke me up so early for?"
"Quidditch tryouts, of course," Flint frowned. "What, didn't anyone tell you?"
"No," Ryua sighed, "Probably slipped their minds... (Draco slipped just a little lower in his seat) So, these the replacement players?"
"Yeah," Flint had even more of a scowl than usual now, "although they might be replacing more than the graduates if someone 'forgets' to pass on a message to one of my players again..." Draco was now completely hidden behind Derrik on the couch. "Alright, let's go before we lose any more of the morning."
Outside on the quidditch pitch in the cloudy morning light, Flint started bellowing at his new players. "Alright! All of you useless kids who think you've got talent, let's see if you can actually stay on your brooms. MOUNT!" Ryua was already up (although her Nimbus still technically belonged to the school, as Father would never buy her one), and gliding lazily around the pitch. If Father was going to curse her for playing quidditch, she might as well really play quidditch. "Derrik! Malfoy! Grab a bat and see if these wet-behind-the-ears babies can dodge a bludger or two. Derrik was actually a beater, and would be looking for a compatible partner out of the tryouts. Ryua was just intrigued to see if she could knock a few off their brooms.
She did. It wasn't quite as satisfying as cursing them would be, but still quite enjoyable. Her first target went vaulting off the broom, landing in one of the stands. Derrik unbalanced a second, Ryua's bludger tripping his broom against the turf, sending him sprawling. She cheerfully sent another bludger after her brother, noting with disgust that he actually dodged it. Then, he crashed headlong into a goalpost he forgot to notice, causing Ryua to grin.
Derrik sent both bludgers, one after the other, hurtling towards some kid, Bole, Ryua thought. He somehow managed to dodge them both, and Derrik signaled for Ryua to toss him her bat. Almost sadly, she did, but was actually impressed with Bole's skill. He needed a lot of practice, of course, but could be a lot worse.
"Malfoy, back to your goal! We're starting the chasers now!" Flint seemed to be enjoying himself, even though there were only three new players still on their brooms and Draco was moaning on the ground. Two had been taken out by bludgers, and Derrik clearly wanted Bole for a beater. It was up to Flint and Warrington to pick their partner chaser now.
Ryua was back in her element. Guiding the broom almost entirely with her knees and feet, she held her hands ready to catch the small red quaffle. All three prospective chasers were on at once, Flint and Warrington diving in to help or hinder at will, and the occasional bludger sent their way by the practicing beaters. They weren't all bad, Ryua thought, although that one boy must be related to Millicent. He moved reminiscent of an overweight turtle, even on a broomstick, and panicked when someone threw the quaffle at him, diving to the ground with one arm waving frantically around his head to fend it off. With a noise of disgust, Flint caught it neatly, volleying it off towards Montague, a fourth year boy. He fumbled it a bit, but recovered and hurled it towards the goalposts, where Ryua was waiting for it. "Not bad!" she called as she fielded it with her left hand, switching it to her right to pass it back. "Try flying forward as you throw it, you'll have more power."
Montague reached out to catch the pass, eager to try it again, when the last chaser streaked through, intercepting it, and pulled up in what he no doubt thought was a heroic pose. "You'll have to get better at catching, Mongague!" Ryua groaned. It was Blaise Zabini, no doubt trying to show off.
"Fine, Zabini!" Ryua snapped, "You think you can do so much better? Try me." Ryua held herself taught on her broom, her only motion being her hair and cloak blowing in the wind, and a slight vibration from her tight muscles. The entire team stopped to watch, even Draco, who had by now given up on getting any sympathy and had gotten back on his broom.
Blaise grinned, perfect teeth flashing in the brightening morning light. Oh, great. I had to pick the north hoops For the sun had just risen, and had burned away the morning cloud. The sun was almost directly in Ryua's eyes, a fact she was sure Blaise had planned. "Scared, Zabini? Don't think you can fly against a girl with the sun in her eyes?" she called out, taunting him.
"Yeah right. Just get ready, Ryua." Don't call me that, you little idiot! The name's Malfoy, to you! Odd, she hated it when most people called her Malfoy. Oh, well, he'd given away his position, which was all she'd really wanted. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the quiet sounds of the pitch. Mentally, she envisioned Zabini's position, and tensed, waiting for the whistle of the quaffle. There! Ryua leaned sharply to her left, arm stretching out, the quaffle smacking square into her palm.
She opened her eyes and drew it in, crossing her legs over in a decidedly ladylike pose as she glided sidesaddle up to Zabini, who was glaring incredulously at her. She moved right up next to him, and said very sweetly, "Now, don't you feel silly? You woke up so early, showed off your flashy moves, challenged a little girl with the sun in her eyes, and yet you couldn't be bothered to learn how to throw a quaffle. Sad." She threw the quaffle just a centimeter past his ear to Flint, and smirked as he flinched. "Oh, Flint, I do believe there's no real competition for the position of chaser. Montague seems quite competent to me. Since I'm no longer needed, I'll just go to breakfast."
She glided serenely down, smiling at Flint and Warrington's approving whistles, and Draco, Montague, Derrik, and Bole, jeering at the brilliantly red Zabini.
Author's Note: I just had to make Flint a little more likeable. Just because he favors Ryua a bit, however, doesn't mean he's interested in her. He just cares that his excellent multitasking quidditch player gets treated so well she never wants to stop playing.
Thanks to Athena Diagon Cat, Dragonwing, JeanieBeanie33, Annemarie, and Alana for reviewing. It makes my day.
