Chapter 16 – Tryouts
Darren had been trying all week to convince Neville to tryout for the position of beater on the Gryffindor house quidditch team. It had not been easy. It had not been easy at all. For three days he had tried to cajole and persuade him but to no avail so far. On Tuesday he had thought Neville might give in just so Darren would leave him alone about it but then Neville's timidity had taken holds again and he once again had told Darren no. To day was Friday, the last day Darren had any realistic chance to get him to come out the next day.
"Come on Neville, what have you got to lose anyway?" Darren had asked for what had to be the two hundredth time. "You tryout and if you don't make the team, who cares?"
"I care Darren. Besides, I would probably get hurt the first time I try to hit a bludger anyway. And anyway, I don't even have a broom of my own. I would have to use one of those old Shooting Stars that belong to the school."
Darren's patience was beginning to wear thin. He was starting to get very tired of the attitude that Neville was showing. If Neville would not or could do what Darren needed him to do then he figured he might have to make him do it.
"Goddamn it Neville! Are you going to sit around and watch everything go by? You sit around like a fucking lump all damn day and let everybody walk over you about everything. Didn't your father teach you anything when you were growing up?"
The change that came over Neville shocked Darren. For the first time he saw a hint of possible violence behind Neville's eyes.
"I would appreciate it if you don't talk about my father, or mother either for that matter Darren," Neville said coolly.
Darren stood quiet for a moment before saying "Okay, sorry Neville. I didn't mean to upset you. I just want you to start to stand up for yourself. That's all, I swear."
"Well, I will do what I think is right Darren, no matter what anybody else says."
What Darren did not understand or comprehend was that by Neville not giving in to what Darren wanted him to do he was already learning to stand up for himself.
"Okay, fine Neville. If you don't want to tryout you don't have to. I just thought you might like to have a little fun. You love quidditch and this is the best way to enjoy it really."
The two friends sat in silence for a few more minutes before Neville spoke again.
"Why do you want to tryout Darren?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you never played when you were in Slytherin, so why play now, if you make the team that is?"
"Well, I have always loved quidditch. But, I hated Malfoy, Snape and all the rest of those assholes that were on the Slytherin team. I couldn't stand being around Malfoy as much as I was normally, so I decided to not go out for the team. Who knows? Maybe if I was on the team I could have hit him with a bludger and done the rest of the school a big favor."
Neville guffawed at the thought of Malfoy creamed by a bludger sent his way by one of his own team members. Darren had to admit to himself that although he had not tired out for the team, and if he had, hitting Malfoy would have more than likely been a top priority.
They both had a good laugh at the prospects of hitting Malfoy with a bludger and Darren tried one more tactic.
"See Neville? See how much fun it would be to finally get Malfoy back after all the things he has done and said to you? He deserves it anyway, the little git."
"We don't play Slytherin again Darren, so it is no sense in trying to join the team for that reason."
Darren let out a sigh and acknowledged defeat. Neville would not tryout and he could not make him without using the Imperius Curse, and that was something he would only attempt as a last resort. No, the Veritaserum would hopefully do the trick.
"Well, will you at least come and watch the tryouts tomorrow Neville?"
"Yes, I'll be there. And I will be on the ground too."
The next day Darren awoke earlier than he had planned. It was six o'clock but his alarm was set for eight. He grabbed the clock to check if he had read it correctly and sure enough, it was six in the morning. The sun was just beginning to come up over the mountains and Darren got out of bed and dressed to go to breakfast. Then he realized that breakfast on the weekends didn't start until eight so he lay back down in his clothes to try to get some more sleep. Sleep did not come but thoughts of his family filled his head. Thoughts that made him angry and more determined to finish his job here.
Before he knew it his alarm rang and so did everyone else's. Harry and Ron got up and pulled their brooms out of their trunks. Darren decided to leave his own broom where it was until it was time to go down to the quidditch pitch. Seamus was hurrying around the dormitory as he got dressed. Darren had no idea that Seamus had any desire to play, but his unbridled excitement was obvious to everyone in the room. He had his pants on backwards at one point and Dean and Neville had almost split their own pants laughing at him.
"Oh shut up you two. I'm a little nervous that's all."
"Don't be nervous Seamus. It doesn't help, believe me," Ron told him. "Just do your best and don't worry what anybody else says or thinks."
"Okay Ron, thanks," Seamus replied half-heartedly to Ron's advice.
At breakfast Darren had sat with Seamus, Dean and Neville as usual. The talk around the table had covered everything from Snape's exam coming up two weeks from now to the weather but they all had purposefully avoided the subject of quidditch. Darren had realized that Seamus and the five other boys that were trying out were now his adversaries and did not deserve any small talk or advice from him so he stopped talking and began to concentrate on the task at hand.
His mind began to wander back to the days when his father and he would go out on the grounds that surrounded his childhood home and throw the quaffle around and hit bludgers for fun. His father had been a quidditch player at Hogwarts and he had passed on everything he knew about the game to his son. Now Darren just hoped that he would remember what he had been taught all those years ago.
After breakfast Darren had run up to the dormitory and gotten his Nimbus 2000 out of his trunk. It had been a Christmas present from his father three years ago and it was something Darren prized very much. He was a good flyer, but he had never mastered the art as well as he had hoped. As he ran back downstairs to the quidditch pitch he saw Malfoy, his idiot friends and the Slytherin quidditch team in the Entrance Hall. They laughed and pointed at him as he went past and Darren had a good idea where they would be spending the morning. At the pitch he ran out onto the field and saw that there were seven Gryffindors there as well as Hermione and Neville. The two Creevey brothers were trying out, along with Seamus, Euan Abercrombie and two other second years that did not look like any real competition and then Geoffrey Hooper who had tried out for keeper the year before. Harry and the rest of the team were in the middle of the group and Darren moved to the back of the small gathering so as not to be too conspicuous. However he could not hide from the jeers and insults hurled at him by the gathered Slytherins in the lower bleachers.
"Okay folks. I want to thank all of you for coming out. We will be letting each person have a go at a bludger by himself as well as having each person work in tandem with the others while the rest of us fly around to simulate a real game. When you are working alone, you will be using one bludger and when you are working together we will let both of them out. The two that work the best together will make the team. Are there any questions?" Harry said to them once they had gotten quieted down.
The Creevey brothers seemed to be very excited at the fact that the two that worked the best together would be chosen. They seemed to think that since they were brothers they would work the best together. Darren had no reason to believe them wrong, but their small size would be to their disadvantage. Darren looked around and determined that based on the type of person that played beater he and Seamus were probably the favorites going in, and he could really see no other person that would give them much competition.
"Okay, Colin Creevey. You are up first."
Harry walked to the trunk holding the quidditch balls and opened the lid. Colin mounted his broom and nodded to Harry that he was ready. Harry let a bludger loose and Colin took to the air. He flew well enough but the three times the bludger ran at him he only hit it once, and not with enough force to drive it far enough away from himself to avoid another immediate attack. The other times he had actually gotten hit in the chest and once knocked from his broom. Thank goodness for him that Hermione had been walking around under him because she caught him with a well aimed Cushioning Charm that broke his fall. As expected the Slytherins howled with laughter at Colin's failure and Darren felt himself feeling sorry for him a bit, but not too much. He was an adversary after all and Darren wanted to be picked. There was no room or time for sentiment here today.
"Okay Dennis, your turn."
Dennis didn't fly as well as his younger brother, but he did do better with the bat against the bludgers. The Slytherins were yelling and screaming insults at him about his size and Dennis actually buzzed them at a very low level. However, in the end he was also knocked off his broom and Darren had the feeling that another competitor was out of the way.
Euan Abercrombie and the other two second years were horrible and so was Geoffrey Hooper. That left Darren and Seamus. Darren didn't care who got on the team, as long as he got the other spot. Seamus mounted his broom and flew very well. He was good with the bat too and had no problem fending off the bludger. Darren had the feeling that one place had just been taken, so he knew he had to do well to get the other. When his turn came he had no problems. His size and natural strength allowed him to beat the bludger around with ease and he landed after a few minutes. Harry used a Summoning Charm to retrieve the bludger and put it back in the trunk. The Creevey brothers were the first pair and they failed magnificently. If enthusiasm would win quidditch games Gryffindor would never lose, but unfortunately it was skill that was needed, and they had none. Darren had to work with Euan and he did well, but Euan could not get to the bludgers fast enough to keep them off the other players. When Ginny had taken a bludger hard to the back the Slytherins had yelled with glee at the prospect that Gryffindor's best chaser might have gotten hurt. Too bad for them that she was tougher than her size seemed to allow. For two hours the team had endured the attacks of the bludgers until finally Darren and Seamus got together in the air. Then it seemed to all work together. Darren and Seamus had the bludgers easily under control and not one of the other flyers was hit while they were in the air.
After about five minutes Harry had called them to the ground and huddled with the rest of the team. Less than five minutes passed, but to Darren is seemed to be more like an hour. Finally the team came over and Harry told them all that Darren and Seamus had been chosen to be the new beaters and that practice would be the next Saturday ant nine in the morning. The others not chosen were obviously disappointed but they were good sports and shook the hands of the winners and wished them well. Darren could see Malfoy staring a hole through him and found himself upset that the two houses did not face each other again this year. The chance to hit Malfoy with a bludger was too good of a prospect to miss if the chance presented itself.
After the congratulations and small talk were over the group started to filter out of the stadium. The Slytherins had left well before the rest and now Darren found himself alone with Neville in the stands. Darren was pleased to see that Neville had a pitcher of pumpkin juice and two goblets. He was very thirsty after all the flying and downed an entire goblet in one gulp.
"Congratulations Darren, you were very good. Seamus too," Neville told him excitedly.
"Thanks Neville. But I still think you should have tried out anyway."
"No, I wouldn't have beaten you two for the spots so it is best that I didn't."
Darren sat quietly for a minute to enjoy his drink as a plan formed in his head.
"Hey Neville, why not take my broom for a ride? It'll be fun."
Neville looked mortified at the prospect of getting on a broom.
"No way Darren. I never got over the first time here when I broke my arm."
Darren remembered that incident very well. It was the thing that had made him start hating Malfoy. Poor Neville had lost control of his broom, fallen off and broken his arm and Malfoy had thought that it was hilarious. That and the fact that he had taken Neville's Remembrall and almost gotten Harry in trouble for getting it back for Neville.
"Come on Neville, give it a whirl." He got up and walked out onto the field. "Here, take it."
Neville looked like the last thing he wanted on earth was to fly a broom but he eventually came out to the field after some more encouraging by Darren. Darren handed the broom to Neville who got on very tentatively. Darren showed him how to grip the handle so as not to fall off and then told him to kick off the ground. Neville did and to his and Darren's surprise didn't fall off. Soon Neville was flying around the pitch at moderate speeds and Darren took his seat again as Neville had his fun. While Neville was flying and not paying attention to what Darren was doing, Darren reached in his pocket and took out the small flask of Veritaserum that he had been carrying around with him at all times in case he got a chance like this.
He looked around to make sure that nobody else was in the stadium, and seeing no one he put three drops of the Veritaserum in Neville's drink. He had just put the flask away when Neville landed in front of him.
"Wow, that was fun," he said as he swept his hair out of his eyes.
"It looked like it was. Now, was that so bad Neville?"
"No, it was fun," Neville admitted.
"Se, I told you so. Here, have a drink Neville," Darren told him as he offered Neville his goblet of pumpkin juice.
Neville took the goblet and emptied it. Darren did not say anything but for the Veritaserum to take effect. After a few seconds Darren saw Neville's expression change. His face went slack and all expression melted away. To Darren Neville looked as if he were hypnotized. Darren waved his hand in front of Neville's face but Neville did not even blink. That made Darren decide he had better got on with it and hopefully get what he was after.
"Neville, can you hear me?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Okay Neville, good enough. I need to ask you some questions now and I want you to answer them completely. Do you understand that?"
"Yes."
"Last June you were in the Ministry of Magic with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"Was anyone else there as well?"
"Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley."
Darren leaned back in slight shock. Ginny didn't really shock him, but Luna Lovegood did.
"Why did you go there Neville?" These questions were probably not what Lucius Malfoy wanted asked, but he would get around to the others soon enough.
"We went there to save Sirius Black."
That really shocked Darren.
"Why save Sirius Black Neville?"
"Because Harry had a vision that he was being tortured in the Department of Mysteries so we went to help him save him."
"Was he there? Did you save him?"
"No, he wasn't there. He showed up later with Professor Lupin and Professor Moody as well as a young witch and a black wizard I don't know."
"What happened that night Neville?"
"We found a glass ball in the Department of Mysteries that had something about You-Know-Who in it. Then Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange and a bunch of other Death Eaters showed up and told Harry to give it to them."
'The prophecy,' Darren realized.
"We destroyed a couple of shelves as a distraction and ran to get away. We had to fight them to try to save ourselves but Ron got attacked by some kind of brain thing, Hermione got knocked unconscious, Ginny broke her leg and Luna got hit by a door that a Death Eater burst through as she was trying to seal it."
"What happened after the fight Neville? Tell me about the prophecy Harry had taken."
"We kept running. Harry knew that as long as he had it he could use it as leverage against Lucius Malfoy to try to keep us safe. I got kicked in the face by Antonin Dolohov and my nose broke so I could not speak clearly enough to cast any spells. Harry ended up in a room with some kind of archway in it that was shrouded with a veil and was surrounded. I ran in and tried to help him but I got grabbed and Bellatrix Lestrange used the Cruciatus Curse on me to try to get Harry to give them the prophecy but I told him not to."
"You were under the Cruciatus Curse but you told Harry to not give them what they wanted?" Darren asked incredulously.
"Yes. I was so scared too."
Darren had to nod his head in respect at Neville's courage. He wondered why Neville had never shown any of it before or since.
"What happened then Neville?"
"Then Professors Lupin and Moody and the other two rushed in and down the stairs. They were fighting the Death Eaters and the young woman got beaten by Bellatrix Lestrange. Professor Moody and the black wizard were knocked out of the fight and the Death Eaters started to win."
"What about the prophecy Neville? What happened to it? Does Harry or Dumbledore still have it?"
"I got hit with a Jelly Legs curse and when Harry tossed it to me. I had it in my pocket and when Harry tried to get me up the steps my pocket tore and I accidentally kicked it and it fell on a stone step broke."
"Did you hear what it said Neville?"
"No. There was too much noise from all the spells and yelling and I was not close enough to hear it. I could hardly hear anything then."
"Did Harry hear what it said?"
"I don't think so. He was too busy trying to get us away from the fight."
Darren had what he needed then. Neither Harry nor Neville had any idea what the prophecy contained and he could stop questioning Neville. But, his curiosity got the better of him then. He decided that he wanted to know what else happened in the Department of Mysteries.
"What happened then Neville?"
"Harry and I were on the steps when Dumbledore came through the doorway and the Death Eaters started to run like roaches. All except Bellatrix Lestrange. She was fighting with Sirius Black and he fell through that veil. Professor Lupin told Harry he was dead and Harry went into a rage."
"Why would Harry go into a rage Neville? Was he friends with Sirius Black?"
"No, they were more than friends. Sirius Black was Harry's godfather. They had come to save us and Sirius Black had died trying to save Harry."
"You said Harry went into a rage. What did he do then?"
"He pulled away from Professor Lupin and tried to go after Bellatrix Lestrange who had gotten away from Dumbledore. He was screaming that he was going to kill her and he chased her out of the room."
Darren was dumbfounded. Harry Potter had chased and attempted to kill Bellatrix Black? She was one of the worst Death Eaters that Darren had ever come in contact with. To Darren she had seemed completely psychotic. She was someone that enjoyed inflicting pain and agony on anyone that didn't live up to her expectations. Darren had felt her rage on more than one occasion.
"What happened then Neville? Did Harry catch her?"
"I don't know if he did. Dumbledore went rushing after him and we could all hear giant booming noises coming from above us. We were pretty far underground but we could still hear the sounds of a fight."
"Harry was fighting Bellatrix Lestrange then?"
"No. Dumbledore was fighting You-Know-Who. When it was all over and we were leaving we could see that there had been a big fight in the Entrance hall and the Fountain of magical Brethren was destroyed and there was a lot of damage to the room."
"And then Neville, what else happened?"
"Dumbledore had us all brought back by portkey to Hogwarts and everyone but Harry ended up in the infirmary. I got my nose fixed by Madam Pomfrey and later the next morning a bunch of Aurors came and talked to us all."
"What did they want?"
"They wanted to know what had happened the night before so we told them. They were pretty angry that we had been able to get into the Department of Mysteries so easily but Ron got mad and yelled that we were the least of their worries. You-Know-Who had gotten twelve Death Eaters in there and nobody knew it had happened. The Aurors got really embarrassed and left not to long after that and we all stayed in the infirmary for the rest of the day and went back to our houses after that."
"Have you told anyone else this story Neville?"
"No."
"Good. Is there anything else you want to tell me now Neville?"
"I am glad we are friends Darren."
Darren raised an eyebrow in shock at Neville's statement. He had not expected Neville to say anything of the sort but he needed to know why Neville would say such a thing.
"Why do you say that Neville?"
"The whole time I have been here I have never had a friend to spend time with. I hang around with Harry, Ron and Hermione and sometime Seamus and Dean I never felt that they have been my true friends. You have always been nice to me and encouraged me to do things I would never do like go to the Halloween Ball. I think you are my best friend Darren."
Darren could feel the tears and anger welling up inside him then. He was sick at himself for doing this to Neville. Neville had done nothing to deserve this and he was going to end up hurting Neville terribly. However, he had a job to do and that was more important than what Neville felt about anything.
"Neville, I want to know something else, okay?"
"Okay."
"What happened to your parents?"
Darren had almost expected Neville to be able to fight off the effects of the Veritaserum and not answer. However, other than a small tear that ran from his right eye, Neville answered quickly.
"They were tortured by Bellatrix, Rudolphus and Rastaban Lestrange as well as Barty Crouch Jr."
"What do you mean by tortured Neville?"
"They came to our house looking for You-Know-Who and they used the Cruciatus Curse on my parents to try to get information."
"Why your parents? Why did they think your parents would know?"
"My mother and father were Aurors."
"What happened to your parents after that?"
"They are in Ward 49 in St. Mungo's. The mental ward. The torture drove them insane. Darren. I go to see them all the time when I am at my grandmother's but they don't even recognize me."
Darren sat and waited for several more minutes without talking to Neville. He had to let the Veritaserum wear off before he could proceed further. Plus he had to convince Neville that he had fallen off the broom and that was why he felt groggy. After about ten minutes Darren could see Neville's eyes start to focus and shortly after Neville was trying to stand woozily.
"Neville! Neville, are you okay?" Darren asked excitedly.
"What happened Darren?" he asked groggily while rubbing his head.
"You fell off the broom Neville. You scared the hell out of me. Are you okay?"
Neville shook his head to clear the cobwebs and said "Yeah, I think so Darren. I told you I couldn't ride a broom very well."
"Well, you're okay now. Let's head back to the castle and get lunch. You'll feel better after eating something Neville."
Darren grabbed his broom and put his arm around Neville's shoulder to steady him. Neville was still a little groggy and his walking was shaky but by the time they got to the castle he was fine. Darren, however, was not. Not so long as he had the vision of Neville's parents being tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange who probably enjoyed the act.