Chapter 27: Quidditch Tryouts
It was two hours before her tryout. Phoenix said goodbye to her aunt and found Hermione coming out of class. The girls exchanged the details of their day while walking back to Gryffindor tower.
"Thanks for the notes, Mione. I didn't realize I was out that late."
"No problem. I am grateful for you fighting to let me keep my memory. I am glad you trust me enough to keep your secret."
"We are friends, Hermione. Besides, they wouldn't have wiped all of your memories. It would have been the parts on the Book of Shadows."
Once they made it to their dormitory, Hermione explained the class assignments and helped Phoenix when she saw confusion. When they both finished, Phoenix tried to occupy her time. She grabbed her sketchbook and worked on her next painting idea.
Time went slowly. Phoenix sat her sketch pad down and paced. When it was five o'clock, Phoenix's nerves hit her. Hermione followed her with her eyes. Phoenix watched the clock slowly move. Maybe if she paced faster, time would speed up. Hermione continued to watch her until becoming dizzy..
"You seem nervous." Hermione stated.
"Me? No, I'm not nervous. I was just thinking you know about how well I hope I will do at the tryout. I... I… I mean you're right, Harry was the one that did all the flying, and,"
"Phoenix."
"I was just the passenger. But it felt great to be flying. It was like freedom. But I also did some controlling."
"Phoenix, you will do fine. If you don't make it, you will always have next year. You shouldn't have been able to tryout for the team until next year, anyway. They do not even allow first years to have brooms, and they made that exception for you and Harry."
"Thanks for the words of encouragement. You're right, though, I mean about being fine. Sorry, I attend to ramble when I'm nervous."
Phoenix looked at the clock again. The clock read five thirty. Hermione looked over, seeing the change on her friend's face.
"I think you need to head over to Professor McGonagall's office. You don't want to be late for your own tryout."
"Do you think? Or do you know?"
"Just grab your broom and good luck."
Hermione huffed and rolled back onto her bed. She picked up the black book and started reading where she left off. Phoenix was very interested in the black book. But Hermione had the patients to read it. She even forgot to mention it to her mother and aunt. She was so busy trying to persuade her mother and aunt not to use memory dust on Hermione, she didn't have time to talk about the "BOS2" as she called it.
Phoenix walked to her bed, knelt down, and grabbed her broom from underneath. Partially wrapped, she pulled the paper off while walking downstairs. Once down, she looked around to see who was in the room. No one was there except Harry and Ron. She let out a sigh of relief and walked towards the exit.
"Where are you off to?" asked Ron, looking at the broom in her hands.
Harry to saw the broom and realized where she was going, "Going to your tryout? Wood mentioned it during our training."
"Yeah, I hope I do well. I'm nervous."
"Wood doesn't bite. At least he didn't bite me. You will do fine. You were a great passenger."
Phoenix laughed, releasing some stress. She really liked Harry. He was a good friend.
"Well, I need to go. Hermione will have a fit if she found out I was late. See ya!"
"Good Luck!" Harry yelled as Phoenix slipped through the closing port hole.
Holding tight on her broom, Phoenix nervously walked down the corridor heading towards McGonagall's. The closer she got, the closer she knew the tryouts were. When she arrived, she knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Phoenix opened the door. McGonagall was sitting at her desk talking to Oliver Wood. They both stopped, watching Phoenix approach them. She had the look of a nervous first year.
"Hello Miss Matthews. I believe you have already met Mr. Wood."
Phoenix shook her head in acknowledgement as McGonagall stood from her chair.
"I believe it is time for us to go to the Quidditch pitch."
All three walked down the corridor in silence. Wood glanced at Phoenix, giving her a reassuring smile. This made Phoenix relax a little.
When they reached the pitch, Phoenix noticed four figures with brooms standing around a closed trunk.
'Are they trying out as well?' But as they got closer, Phoenix recognized two red beacons. It was the Weasley twins. 'Didn't Ron say his brothers were already on the team?'
"Great! You're all here!" McGonagall said excitingly.
"Phoenix, here are other members of the team. See in Quidditch, there are seven players: the Keeper, which is what I play, the Seeker, which is Potter, two Beaters, which is the Weasley twins, and three Chasers. Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson are two of our Chasers and the third, I hope, will be you."
Each player shook her hand as Wood introduced them. She had seen them around Hogwarts, but the twins were the only ones she had spoken to because of Ron.
"Now, what is in the mysterious trunk?"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot."
Kneeling down, Wood unfastened the trunk, revealing four different-sized balls. He took out the ball in the middle, which was bright red. Estimating it, Phoenix figured it was the size of a soccer ball or basketball.
"This ball's called the Quaffle." Wood explained.
Phoenix listened to every word Wood was saying. She wanted to understand the game better. Ron was not the person you want to explain something. He was extremely confusing to her.
"The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other, and they try to get through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Are you with me so far?"
Phoenix looked at the Quaffle Wood held, then at the hoops. Taking the Quaffle, Phoenix tossed it in the air multiple times and higher each time. She wanted to get the feel for the ball. She wanted to know how heavy it was, how it was going to fit in her hands, and how she was going to throw and catch it. After Phoenix finished, she tossed the Quaffle back to Wood.
"Yeah, I got it. It's kind of like basketball, right?"
Wood looked at Phoenix quizzically.
"Potter had mentioned that. What is basketball?"
"Oh nothing, just a muggle sport."'
Wood ignored her and went back to explain the rest of the game. He didn't know any of the muggle sports, but he doubted there were any that were as exciting as Quidditch.
"Now the Keeper flies around their team's hoops and stops the other team from scoring."
"Kind of like the goalie in hockey and soccer, right? Or is soccer called football here? I can never get it right in foreign countries."
"Are those other muggle sports?"
"Yeah, never mind. Um... What are those that are moving?"
"Oh, uh, Fred, George come over here."
The twins stood on either side of Phoenix. Both held a small club, which reminded her of a mini baseball bat.
"These two are bludgers. I'm going to show you what they do."
The two balls were on either side of the Quaffle. Phoenix looked at them. They were smaller than the Quaffle itself. She determined they were no bigger than a softball. Instead of red, the two balls were identical jet black.
Phoenix stood back. Seeing how determined the balls wanted out of their cage, she didn't want to be a target. Wood placed the Quaffle back in its spot and released the bludgers. It was as if the balls knew they were free. One jet black stream went around Phoenix and Wood. Then it aimed itself at Fred, who smacked it hard with his club. The ball went flying. Phoenix could have sworn it made weird noises. The second ball, however, went straight up in the air. Then it placed its target on Phoenix. She grabbed hold of George's club and intercepted the ball before it hit her.
"You and Potter could be great Beaters! Anyway, the bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team. It is their job to protect the players on their side from the bludgers and try to knock them towards the other team."
"Okay, so where is the snitch? Ron and Harry were telling me about it. Well, it was mainly Ron. They said the snitch flies so fast, no one can see it unless you have a trained eye for it, like the Seeker."
"Ah!" Wood exclaimed. He kneeled down and opened a secret compartment. The compartment held a tiny gold ball. "This is the snitch." He held it out for Phoenix to see. The gold ball, possibly the size of a golf ball, spread its hummingbird wings.
"This thing is the snitch?! It isn't even doing anything."
"Oh, but it is hard to see when it is in action. When the Seeker catches the snitch, their team wins and the game is over. This is Potter's job. Think you got everything down?"
"Uh… I think so." Phoenix looked over at the other players and Professor McGonagall who she forgot was even there. They all gave her reassuring smiles.
"Okay, now what I would like for you to do is mount your broom and take a lap around the pitch. I want to see how well you are riding a broom. Don't worry. I know you are a first year. I just need to see how many practices it will take for you to feel comfortable on your broom."
Phoenix swallowed a huge lump in her throat. Mounting her broom, she pushed off, keeping a firm grip. The wind whipped through her hair. It felt great. She had no trouble keeping her balance like she thought she would have.
'This was way easier than I thought it would.'
Shifting her weight, Phoenix realized her broom followed her. She tested it by shifting to the left. The broom followed by turning left. Then she shifted to the right. Again the broom turned to the right.
'I wonder how to pick up speed?'
She smiled a little. The wind in her hair really felt good. Leaning forward, she sped up.
'Oh, yeah! This is fun!'
The wind pounded in her ears. It felt great, like she ought to be up there. She felt free. She didn't realize she made a lap until she heard Wood hollering.
"Phoenix! You can come down now!"
Phoenix slowed her broom leaning backwards and landed softly next to George.
"Wow, you did extremely well. I don't think we need to help you out. You look like a natural." One twin said, giving her a wink.
"Thanks, George."
"Okay, now for the official tryout."
Wood walked over to Phoenix, putting a hand on her shoulder. He waved over the others, placing them in a huddle.
"Okay Phoenix, I'm going to make the scenario like a real Quidditch game. That is why I invited these four to come. So for your tryout, I want you to pass the Quaffle three times to Katie before you score, and I want three scores in each hoop. Angelina will play as an opposing team member."
"So, you want me to pass the Quaffle three times before I score: three to Katie and three to each hoop while Angelina tries to steal it."
"Right, I am going to release the bludgers so they will be out. This is where the twins come in. Fred will also play as an opposing team member. He will try to knock you off your broom. George will try to protect you."
"George is good. Fred is bad got it."
"I am going to protect the hoops from you. Professor McGonagall will keep watch and count on your scores."
"Okay."
"Then, let us begin."
They mounted their brooms and pushed off. Katie and Angelina showed Phoenix where she would be in an actual game. McGonagall released the bludgers, allowing a few moments to pass. When everyone was in place, she tossed the Quaffle in the air, and Katie intercepted. Katie flew a little, then tossed the Quaffle over to Phoenix. Phoenix caught with ease. Then the Chasers were off.
Phoenix swerved through the air, dodging two bludgers along the way. When the opportunity approached, she threw the Quaffle, which Angelina intercepted. Katie knocked into Angelina, snatching the Quaffle. Katie flew off and, when close enough, tossed it to Phoenix. Phoenix did a little lap, almost getting hit by Fred. Finding Katie, she tossed it to her, who tossed it right back. Phoenix was about to toss it again when Angelina slammed into her. Phoenix gripped the Quaffle while Angelina continued slamming into her. Phoenix looked for Katie, who was opened. Taking a chance, she tossed the Quaffle high over Angelina. Katie caught with ease. Angelina left Phoenix, allowing Katie to toss the Quaffle back to Phoenix. Phoenix flew towards the hoops passing Wood and scored.
They continued this until McGonagall gave Wood the word that all hoops were scored in. Phoenix did one last lap and, with the others, landed next to McGonagall. Everyone was out of breath but patted Phoenix on the back with a comment.
"That was a great tryout! Well done, Miss Matthews! That was wonderful flying! Wood, what do you think?"
George leaned in, whispering into Phoenix's ear. "She is very competitive when it comes to Quidditch."
"I can tell." Phoenix whispered back.
"Professor, we may have found our third Chaser!"