As Strong As We Are United
Chapter 16 –Tryouts and Birthdays
During one of his free periods during the second week of classes, Harry sat at the small table in the Scooby common room with Shannon and Ginny. The three teens were diligently working on flyers inviting all interested Gryffindors to participate in tryouts for the house quidditch team. Since Katie Bell graduated the previous year, there was an open Chaser position on the team.
"I thought Dawn was supposed to help with this," commented Ginny.
Shannon shrugged. "Hermione convinced Dawn to spend some time in the library looking up spells that can help with our training. She felt bad about ditching us, but what she's doing is more important." Harry raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "Yes, Harry," sighed Shannon. "There are more important things than quidditch."
Ginny giggled. "You'll never convince Harry or Ron that anything is more important than quidditch. Speaking of which, where is Ron? I would have figured he would be into helping with the team."
"He volunteered to recruit some professors to chaperone the lock-in," explained Harry. "I can't imagine having to ask Snape to participate in a fun activity." Harry shivered at the thought.
"I doubt he'll be asking Snape," said Ginny. "He'll probably get the Scoobies to do it. They seem more the fun type." She returned her attention to the flyer on which she was working.
After several moments of silence, Harry spoke again. "I was thinking that if we have some good players at tryouts, we might want to put together a reserve team."
"Planning on having players out of commission?" asked Shannon.
Harry frowned. "No, but it isn't like it's never happened before. Besides, everyone but Ginny and Collin are graduating this year. If we already have a reserved team trained, it will make it much easier for next year's captain."
Ginny smiled, knowing that the next captain would most likely be herself. "I like that idea. The team really lucked out with Shannon and Dawn last year. Replacing four team members would have been really hard."
"Hopefully we can build a reserve team of fifth years and younger," said Harry. "That will definitely help Gryffindor's chances after we graduate."
Before the conversation had a chance to continue, Draco entered the common room. "What are you working on?" he asked.
"Confidential Gryffindor quidditch strategies," replied Harry.
Draco wandered over to the table and looked at the flyers that the three teammates were finishing. "Yeah, real confidential," drawled Draco. "I already hung my tryout flyers this morning."
"I forgot that you have to replace a Chaser and the Keeper," mused Shannon.
"Something like that," mumbled Draco. "Hey, have any of you seen Dawn?" he asked, tearing the group away from quidditch talk.
"She's in the library doing research with Hermione," replied Shannon.
"Maybe I'll go help them," commented Draco. "We still have an hour before class." Draco wandered down the stairs to the boys' quarters. Minutes later he returned with his books. "See you later," he called, as he left through the portrait hole.
Ginny stared after him. "Did either of you notice that was acting shifty when I mentioned the open positions on the Slytherin team?" Ginny asked.
"He's Malfoy. He always acts shifty," replied Harry. Shannon did not agree with her boyfriends' assessment. There was definitely something going on with Draco, but as long as it concerned quidditch, she was not about to waste her time worrying about it.
****************
Draco found Dawn and Hermione sitting at a small table in the back of the library. "What are you two working on?" he asked, taking a seat beside Dawn.
Dawn smiled at her boyfriend. "Mione and I are researching protection spells. Wanna help?"
"Sure," Draco replied, taking a book from the pile on the table.
The three students read quietly until it was time to go to class. Fifteen minutes before the start of their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, they each checked out a few books to continue researching later.
After leaving the library, they spoke quietly while making their way to the dungeon classroom. "So does anyone have anything special planned for this weekend?" asked Hermione.
"Quidditch tryouts," replied both Draco and Dawn simultaneously. The Slytherin tryouts were scheduled for first thing Saturday morning, and the Gryffindor tryouts were scheduled to follow immediately after.
"Oh," replied Hermione, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"What's wrong?" asked Dawn.
"Nothing," replied Hermione too quickly. She looked upset. "I forgot a book I wanted to check out. I'll meet you in class," Hermione added, before rushing off in the direction they had just come.
"What was that all about?" asked Draco.
"I'm not sure," replied Dawn. "I'll ask Ron if he knows what's up with her."
"Good idea," replied Draco. The two teens silently walked to class, wondering if Hermione would make it on time. They were both surprised to find that Hermione was not in class at all. She did not make an appearance at lunch either.
Dawn sat beside Shannon for lunch in the Great Hall. "Where's Hermione?" Shannon asked.
"I don't know," replied Dawn. "I'm getting worried though. It isn't like her to blow off a class."
Before Dawn could say another word, Ron took Hermione's usual seat between Dawn and Shannon. "Have either of you seen Mione?" he asked, the concern evident in his voice. Both girls shook their heads. "Wasn't she with you in the library this morning?" Ron asked Dawn.
"Yes, but she got weird when we were walking to class." Dawn explained to Ron and Shannon what had happened. "Is there something important this weekend that we're forgetting?" asked Dawn, after finishing her explanation of the morning's events.
Ron nodded. "Yeah, it's her birthday. Normally, she's not one to make a big deal about it, but maybe it's got her thinking about her parents."
Dawn and Shannon both looked sympathetic. "Maybe we should do something special for her, like a surprise party," suggested Shannon in a near whisper.
"Surprise party for who?" asked Ginny, who had come up behind them. "Lavender and Parvati are over there discussing how romantic it is that you're obviously worried about your ex," she said pointedly to Ron, who rolled his eyes in reply.
"I better get back there then," he said standing. "Why don't you three work out the details of Shannon's idea and tell me about them later." Ron traipsed over to sit beside Seamus and Dean.
"So, surprise party for who?" asked Ginny again. "And, where's Hermione?"
Dawn again explained what had happened that morning. "Poor thing," said Ginny. "I like the party idea, but we should make it a double party." Dawn and Shannon both looked confused. Ginny explained further. "Luna's birthday is next week. It would be nice to have a party for both of them, especially since they both have acceptance issues."
"That's a great idea," agreed Dawn. "Let's get together after classes to talk about it."
"I'll get Harry to call a meeting of the quidditch team," suggested Shannon. "It'll be a perfect cover. You two can tell Draco and Neville afterwards."
"Let's do it on Wednesday night then," added Ginny. "Collin has a prefect patrol that night; so, he won't think that we forgot about him. And, Hermione has Astronomy that night; so, she won't be around." Dawn and Shannon both agreed that it sounded like a good plan.
The three girls finished eating quickly and went to check on Hermione before afternoon classes. They found her sitting in the common room reading. She appeared to have composed herself.
"Are you okay?" asked Dawn tentatively.
"Oh yes, I'm fine," Hermione claimed. "I just had a terrible headache. I took a potion and feel much better now. What did I miss in class?"
Dawn, Shannon, and Ginny knew that their friend was lying, but decided not to call attention to it. "We began working on Patronuses," replied Dawn.
"Nothing to worry about," added Shannon. "Most of the class didn't do too well, and you already know how to do one."
Hermione nodded, as she collected her books from the table. "We should be getting to our afternoon classes," she said briskly. The other girls agreed and followed Hermione out of the common room. Nothing else was said about Hermione's earlier disappearance.
****************
Harry called a Gryffindor quidditch team meeting on Wednesday evening. Collin was upset that he was unable to attend because of his prefect duties. Harry assured him that they were only going to discuss how best to conduct tryouts, and that he would personally give Collin the details the next day.
Harry, Ron, Dawn, Shannon, and Ginny gathered in the Scooby common room for their meeting. Draco and Hermione both had an Astronomy class. The professors all seemed to be away doing their own things as well.
"Okay, for purposes of calling this a team meeting, let's quickly go over how we are going to hold tryouts," said Harry. "We can then move on to party plans."
Shannon rolled her eyes. "You weren't kidding when you said you were going to be a hard ass as captain."
"That isn't exactly what I said," replied Harry, grinning at her description of him.
"Yeah, but it's what you meant," said Shannon. "So, captain, how are we going to hold tryouts?"
"I was thinking that we should put everyone through the paces for all positions. Just because someone wants a certain position doesn't mean they'll be best at it. Also, we want to put together a solid reserve team, especially for the positions that will be open next year."
"Eye, eye, captain." Dawn saluted Harry, causing fits of giggles from the rest of the team members.
"Seriously though," said Ron, still chuckling," it's a good plan."
"Great, so let's get to the fun stuff," urged Ginny. "What do we need for a birthday party?"
"I can hit the kitchens for food," offered Harry. "I haven't seen Dobby in awhile."
"I think Ron and Draco should decorate the common room," said Dawn. "Shannon and I can keep Hermione out of the way, and Ginny and Neville can do the same with Luna."
"Oh, and we have to make sure we invite Andrew," added Ginny. "Luna will be thrilled to see him."
"I'll write him a letter tonight," Dawn volunteered. "I haven't sent him anything yet this year, and you all know how he gets if we ignore him for too long."
"That's good," said Shannon. "Tell him to floo here on Saturday night. Oh, and sign my name on the letter; so, he doesn't whine that I'm not paying attention to him too."
"I'll also mention to the professors what we're planning," said Ron. "We don't want to annoy them too much by taking over the common room without a fair warning."
"I think that's it then," said Harry. "Everyone make sure that you're in top form for tryouts on Saturday morning."
"Eye, eye, captain," the team replied, each with a quick salute in Harry's direction.
"I'm not that bad," mumbled Harry. "Am I?"
Shannon wrapped her arms around him. "We're just teasing. I'm sure that you'll be a brilliant captain and that we'll definitely take the cup this year."
****************
On Saturday morning the Gryffindor quidditch team met in the changing rooms. When they were all dressed in their quidditch robes, Harry addressed the group. "I just want to take a minute to review our goals for tryouts today." The group nodded quietly in understanding.
"We have one position open on the team this year, Chaser. However, because four members of the team are graduating this year, we are going to be looking for people to fill reserve positions. I prefer to have fifth years or lower in these reserve positions, but I am not against filling them with a sixth year who's good."
"So, let's get out there and give all the potential players a hard workout," Harry finished.
"Eye, eye, captain," replied Ron, Dawn, Shannon, and Ginny, while saluting Harry. Collin looked confused but followed the lead of his fellow teammates and saluted Harry as well. Harry rolled his eyes at his teammates and headed out to the quidditch pitch.
The team was surprised to see that so many people had turned out for tryouts. "I'd be surprised if you found a single good player in that lot," commented Draco with a sneer, as he stomped off past Harry toward the changing rooms.
"What's wrong with him?" asked Shannon.
Dawn shrugged. "Maybe his tryouts didn't go so well. I'll talk to him later." While the rest of the team sized up those who were awaiting tryouts, Dawn's attention stayed focused on Draco. She watched him stomp off to the changing rooms and disappear.
Harry called everyone's attention and explained that they would all be put through the paces for each position. "We're going to start with the Chaser positions, since that is what we are missing for the current team. Dennis Creevey, Natalie McDonald, and Euan Abercrombie, take to the air and try to get the quaffle past Ron. Christina Wood, hey are you related to Oliver?"
A small second year girl, who looked like she could barely hold a quaffle let alone block one, stood in front of Harry with her broom. "Yes, he's my cousin," she replied in a soft voice.
Harry smiled at the small girl. "Well, let's see if you're anything like your cousin. I want you to guard the hoops on the other side of the field. Ginny and Collin will try to get the quaffle past you." The small girl nodded, mounted her broom, and sped off to the other side of the pitch.
Harry turned his attention back to the remaining students. "Let me see Malcolm O'Shea and Tyler Davies as Beaters. Shannon and Dawn, make sure that none of their bludgers hit the other people on the pitch. The four students took to the air, bats at the ready, as Harry released the two bludgers.
"And lastly," said Harry, "I'm going to release the snitch. I want the rest of you in the air searching for it. I will be watching your ability to avoid the other players and the bludgers, in addition to your ability to find and catch the snitch. Now, go." The rest of the potential team members took to the air.
Harry mounted his own broom. He flew around the outskirts of the field, watching everyone play. After several minutes he landed and took out a small pad of paper and a self-inking quill. Harry diligently made notes, while watching everyone in the air.
After a half an hour, Harry called everyone back to the ground. "That was very good," he told the group. "Now, I want to have you switch positions." Harry assigned new positions to the potential new team members. In a matter of minutes, they were all in the air again. A half an hour later, Harry switched their positions one last time.
At the end of the tryouts, Harry once again called everyone back to the ground. "I want to thank all of you for coming to tryouts today. As you know, there is only one position currently available on the team. However, we are looking for several reserve players as well. I will be consulting with the current team. I will post our selections on the bulletin board in the Gryffindor common room tomorrow evening. You are all dismissed."
The current team headed back to the changing rooms, as the students who had tried out stumbled back to the castle. After the team had showered and changed, they all took seats. "I was thinking that we should start by discussing who should get the position of Chaser," said Harry. "What do you think?"
"That makes sense," said Shannon.
"The only two people who managed to get the quaffle past me with any kind of consistency were Dennis Creevey and Semira Patil," said Ron matter-of-factly.
"Is Semira Parvati's sister?" asked Shannon.
"I think so," replied Ron.
"Both of them looked good to me too," said Harry. "Do the rest of you have a preference of one over the other?"
"Obviously, I would vote for my brother; so, it's probably only fair that I sit this one out," said Collin.
"Why?" asked Ginny. "I know for a fact that Fred and George voted for Ron only because they're his brothers."
"Thanks, Gin," said Ron sarcastically.
"What? It's true," stated Ginny. "It doesn't mean that you didn't wind up deserving the position."
"What year is Semira?" asked Dawn.
"She's a third year," said Harry, looking down at his notes.
"And Dennis is a fourth year, right?" asked Dawn. Collin nodded. "Then I think we should put Dennis on the team and make Semira a reserve Chaser," suggested Dawn.
"That sounds fair enough," agreed Harry. "Let's move on to the rest of the reserve players. Is there anyone else that would make a good reserve Chaser?"
"Euan Abercrombie," said Ron.
"I agree," said Harry. "I think that two reserve Chasers are enough, since Ginny and Collin will still be here for another year. So, let's move on to Keeper."
"Malcolm O'Shea," said Ginny.
Collin agreed enthusiastically. "He blocked quite a lot of our shots. Definitely more than any of the others."
"Fine," said Harry. "Beaters?"
"Tyler Davies and Andre Johnson," said Dawn.
"Absolutely," agreed Shannon. "All of the other would probably injure themselves with their own bats."
"Andre is Angelina's little brother. He told me that he's been working with her and Fred," added Ginny.
"Once again, I agree," said Harry. "Lastly is reserve Seeker. I want Christina Wood. I know that she's only a second year, but she flew better than anyone else out there. Is everyone okay with that?"
Everyone happily agreed. "Great," said Harry. "I'm glad we have some definite talent going for us this year. That cup will be ours." Everyone cheered. "I'll post the positions tomorrow. Everyone is dismissed."
The team dispersed. Collin and Ginny walked back to Gryffindor tower together. Ron went in search of Hermione, and Dawn went in search of Draco. Harry and Shannon found themselves alone in the changing room.
Shannon immediately wrapped her arms around Harry. "I like when you get all captainy," she whispered in his ear, as she began nibbling on his neck
"You know, you and I haven't had a chance to really be alone since we got back to school," replied Harry. He wrapped his arms around her and walked her backwards into the captain's office. They locked the door behind them, before sliding to the floor.
****************
Ron and Dawn found Hermione and Draco sitting in the Scooby common room immersed in their homework. Ron slid beside Hermione. "I missed you," he whispered in her ear.
"You were only gone for two hours," replied Hermione, not looking up from her work.
"I was thinking that we could spend some time together this afternoon," Ron suggested.
Hermione looked into his eyes. "Any reason in particular?" she asked.
"Do I need a reason to want to spend time with you?" Ron asked in reply.
Hermione sighed loudly. "I have work to do," she stated, turning her attention back to the book in front of her and pointedly ignoring Ron. He finally gave up and went down to the Great Hall for lunch.
Meanwhile, Draco was acting similarly to Hermione. He had his nose buried in a book and seemed to have no desire to talk to Dawn. "Come on, Draco. Don't be like this. Something is obviously bothering you. Just tell me," said Dawn exasperatedly.
Draco finally put his book aside. "I thought that being quidditch captain would be cool," he said.
"And?" pressed Dawn.
"And, I'm still persona non grata among my housemates. I wanted to try something a little different, and all I got for my effort was a whole lot of attitude. It's going to be a long season." Draco sounded defeated.
Dawn's heart went out to her boyfriend. She placed her palm on his cheek and forced him to look into her eyes. "Draco, you are a great quidditch player, and with your leadership skills, I'm sure you will be an excellent captain. Hang in there. It may take them awhile to realize it, but you are the one person who can take your team to the cup. If we don't beat you, that is." Dawn giggled.
Draco smiled for the first time all morning. "I love you," he said, before capturing Dawn's lips with his own.
****************
Shannon and Harry lay beside each other on the floor of the captain's office, breathing heavily. "I've missed that," said Shannon.
"Me too," replied Harry, rolling over to kiss her.
They were interrupted by the banging of the outside door to the changing room. Both teens froze. "Hello. Is anyone here?" called a boy's voice.
"Collin," Harry mouthed to Shannon, who nodded.
They heard one of the lockers opened and then shut. A minute later the outside door banged shut again. Harry and Shannon both released the breath that they had been holding. "That was close," said Shannon.
"Yeah," agreed Harry. "We better get back to the castle before anyone notices we're missing."
Shannon was already half dressed. "I'll go first. We don't want anyone seeing us walking back together, and you have more of an excuse than I do to be here." She finished dressing, gave Harry a quick kiss, and left Harry standing alone in the office.
****************
After dinner that night, Dawn made a point of dragging Hermione to the library to continue their research. "But it's Saturday night," argued Hermione.
Dawn raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Since when do you not want to research?"
"I'm just not in the mood," replied Hermione. "I was thinking of going to bed early. I just want this day to be over."
Dawn was beginning to worry that Hermione would go back to the Scooby common room and ruin the surprise party. "Look, Mione, just work with me for an hour or two. I really don't want to sit in the library alone." Hermione finally grudgingly agreed.
As they entered the library, they saw Willow and Luna working at a table toward the front. Because Ginny and Neville could not come up with an easy way to keep Luna occupied, Willow volunteered to help. She asked Luna to meet her in the library after dinner to work on some lesson plans.
Willow gave Luna a large book of prophecy and asked her to catalogue its contents, while Willow did the same with another book. The professor and her assistant worked diligently for nearly two hours.
Meanwhile, back in the Scooby common room Ron, Draco, Ginny, and Neville were busy decorating with the help of several of the faculty members. They hung two large banners from the ceiling. One said, "Happy Birthday, Hermione," and the other "Happy Birthday, Luna." They had also blow up several balloons that littered the floor and strung brightly colored streamers throughout the room.
Harry was busy in the kitchens, talking to Dobby. The house elf was thrilled about providing refreshments for the party. He even provided two cakes, one for each of the girls. Dobby promised to magic everything to the common room within the hour.
Harry stayed in the kitchens for nearly a half an hour talking to Dobby, before heading back to the common room to see if anything else still needed to be done.
****************
After nearly two hours, Dawn finally agreed that they should return to their quarters. As the two girls were leaving, Willow suggested to Luna that they finish their work in the Scooby common room.
When the four of them arrived at the portrait guarding the common room, Willow and Dawn made a point of standing back to allow Hermione and Luna to enter first. The two girls climbed in to find their friends and the Scoobies, standing under the large "Happy Birthday" banners.
"You remembered," said Hermione softly.
Ron put his arms around her. "Of course, we remembered. Do you really think we would forget your birthday?"
"This is nice," stated Luna.
"You think so?" asked someone lurking behind the rest of the group.
Luna smiled more broadly. "Andrew?"
He walked out from behind the group and pulled her into a big hug. He spun her around several times, before placing her back on the ground and kissing her. "Happy Birthday, honey," Andrew said.
The students had a very good time. They picked at the refreshments and ate the cakes provided by Dobby. Cat spun some CDs, and the teens danced. Both girls were surprised to see several brightly wrapped gifts. "What's a birthday without presents?" quipped Buffy.
As the girls happily opened their gifts, Ron sat behind Hermione with his arms around her waist. He whispered into her ear. "I want to give you my gift after everyone else has gone to bed. Okay?"
Hermione turned her head smiling and gave him a quick kiss. "Okay," she replied.
After a few hours of eating, talking, and dancing, the faculty members retired to their rooms. Ginny and Neville returned to Gryffindor tower just before curfew. Luna followed after them. She was thrilled to know that Andrew was staying the night and that she would see him for breakfast in the morning. After kissing Luna goodnight, Andrew went to sleep on a cot that had been put in Harry and Draco's room for the night.
Dawn, Shannon, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco stayed up for another hour or so. They sat in the common room talking about birthdays past and parties they had attended in their childhoods. Eventually, Dawn, Shannon, Harry, and Draco wished Hermione a final "Happy Birthday," and retired for the night.
When they were alone, Ron pulled a small messily wrapped package from the pocket of his robe. "I wanted to give this to you without everyone else watching," he told her.
Hermione took the gift and unwrapped it quickly. It was a small, black velvet box. "Open it," whispered Ron. She did and was surprised to see a simple sapphire ring.
"It's beautiful," she said. "But it must have cost a fortune. You shouldn't have."
"I used my first paycheck from Weasley Wizard Wheezes," Ron explained. "You'd be surprised at the demand for their products at Hogwarts. Anyway, I wanted to get you something special." Ron took the ring out of the box in Hermione's hand. Looking down at the ring, he spoke. "This is a promise ring. It symbolizes my promise to always be here for you. I don't want you to ever have any doubts that I intend to spend my life with you. I want to marry you someday, Hermione Granger."
Ron looked up, evidently worried about her reaction. Tears were silently sliding down her flushed cheeks, but she was smiling widely. "I want to marry you someday too, Ronald Weasley."
Ron slid the ring onto Hermione's right hand and kissed her deeply. "I wish I could put this on your other hand," said Ron quietly. "But, that would look kind of suspicious since we are supposedly broken up."
Hermione smiled. "This is fine for now. All that matters is that we know what it means." She leaned in and kissed him again.