Disclaimer: Bryn's mine, but most of the other stuff in this belongs to J.K. Rowling.
A/N: Thank you, sirladyknight! I've been waiting for someone to ask about Bryn's Walkman. It works at Hogwarts because it's enchanted – it runs on magic. I know, that's probably illegal, but it's not like she's going to attack someone with it.
Chapter 5 – Quidditch: The rest of Bryn's week was uneventful, except for continuing dreams of someone trapped in fog. The dreams were beginning to annoy her, but on Friday, she forgot all about them. This was because she now had something more to worry her: Quidditch. She wanted to try out for the Gryffindor team, but she was on probation. There was a chance her probation meant she couldn't be involved in any extracurricular activities. She didn't know, so she resolved to ask Professor McGonagall about it. So, after dinner, instead of following the rest of her House up to Gryffindor Tower, she headed for McGonagall's office.
Steeling herself, Bryn knocked on the door. No answer. She must still be in the Great Hall, Bryn realized. Well, she would just wait here until McGonagall came back. There really wasn't any other choice; tryouts were the next morning.
Bryn had only been waiting for roughly 15 minutes when a voice barked, "Sayre! Why are you standing outside of my office?" It was McGonagall. Bryn spun around. "Oh, hi, Professor. I, um, needed to talk to you." McGonagall raised her eyebrows as she drew level with Bryn. She surveyed the girl for a moment, after which she said, "Well, come in then."
McGonagall strode into her office, Bryn trailing behind. The teacher sat down behind her desk and gestured for Bryn to take a seat across from her. There was a moment of silence, then - "You said you wanted to talk to me, Sayre?" McGonagall demanded. Bryn took a deep breath. "Yes, I did. It's about probation, I guess." McGonagall frowned. "You're not getting it cut short," she warned Bryn.
"It's not that. I just..." Bryn sighed. "I wanted to know if I'm allowed to get involved in extracurricular activities. If I can, I was thinking of trying out for the Quidditch team." To Bryn's great surprise, McGonagall smiled. "You can play Quidditch if you want, Sayre. Have you played before?" Bryn grinned in happy relief. "Yeah, I can. I've played Chaser since first year, and I've got a really good broom." McGonagall nodded. "Good. We need good players." Seeing the confusion on Bryn's face, she added, "I'm very interested in my House team and their chances for the Cup. We've won twice in the past three years, and one of those years, there was no Quidditch because we were involved in a three-school competition. I confess, I'm used to seeing the Cup in here." Bryn looked around, noticing the silver cup on a shelf. "Oh," she said. "Well, I should go." McGonagall nodded, and Bryn left.
When Bryn got back to Gryffindor Tower, the first thing she did was head for the notice about Quidditch tryouts. Underneath the date of the trials and the open positions were lines for hopefuls to sign up. It was pretty full, probably because Harry was Captain this year. Bryn wished him luck. She'd been Captain at Salem last year, and she never wanted to do that again. She didn't like being responsible for anyone but herself.
It took some time to find a space to put her name, but eventually she managed it, and then she went up to the dormitory. There she pulled out Necronomica Advantica – which was still covered – and began to read. Her first Necromancy lesson was at seven the next evening and she wanted to be ready.
Saturday morning dawned clear and sunny. Bryn went to the Great Hall for breakfast, ignoring the sudden nervousness she felt. After eating, she hung out in the common room with Harry and Ron – Hermione was in the library. The boys asked her if she was trying out. She nodded. "Excellent," said Harry.
At a quarter to ten, the three teens split up to get their brooms. Bryn reached her dormitory and opened her trunk, pulling out her broom. It was a Pegasus, an American style second only to the Firebolt in speed. With a handle of pale oak and a tail of silver birch, it was a very light-colored broom. It had been a twelfth birthday gift from her mom – the last birthday gift Julia Sayre would ever give her daughter – and it was one of Bryn's most prized possessions.
Carrying it out to the Quidditch pitch, Bryn surveyed the other people who were trying out. Some looked like they could barely mount up, much less fly, and still others weren't even from Gryffindor! Must be because of Harry, she decided with a slight smirk.
She was right. There were quite a few people who couldn't fly, and several times, Harry had to kick non-Gryffindors off the pitch. Finally, her group (Harry had split the kids into groups of ten for a lap around the pitch) was allowed to take off. Bryn rose into the air easily. The wind whipped her hair; everything left her mind except the sense of flight. She flew once around the pitch, went into a tightly controlled dive, pulling out only a few feet from the ground, and then she landed.
Soon it was time for Chaser tryouts. Finally Bryn could use her speed and her years of practice. She dodged every Bludger and made sixteen goals, not missing one shot. The only person to make more goals was Ginny Weasley, who made seventeen.
In the end, a veteran named Katie Bell, Ginny, and Bryn made the team. She and Ginny grinned at each other and went into the stands to watch the Beater and Keeper trials. In the end, Harry chose Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote as the new Beaters, and Ron made Keeper. Bryn wondered about this; another Keeper hopeful, Cormac McLaggen, only missed one shot, and he'd seemed Confunded. More, she was almost positive she'd seen Hermione pointing her wand at McLaggen and muttering something right before his screw-up. Not that it was her business; besides, McLaggen seemed like a jerk and she'd rather play with Ron any day, though Ginny said he had a tendency to panic before games.
All in all, Bryn was in a pretty good mood until after dinner. Then she headed to the library to wait out the time until seven, Necronomica Advantica in her bag, which she brought along. As seven o'clock drew closer, she got nervous. What would this Professor Morta be like?
At ten to seven, Bryn headed for East Tower. She reached the top just as the clock struck seven. She looked around and saw a door with a small plaque that read, Professor Morta, Necromancy teacher. She knocked on the door, nervousness and curiosity warring for control inside her...(A/N: Come on, you know me. Didn't you see that coming?)