Chapter Five: The Results
The try-outs were brutal, to say the least. The second-year who was also trying out to be the Seeker had quickly let him know that she wasn't messing around.
"I am going to be Slytherin's Seeker." She had accosted him under her breath. "So don't think for a second that you have a chance."
Her words only exacerbated the overwhelming feeling of panic that was causing him to feel out of breath- and he hadn't even mounted his broom yet! Severus turned away from her and assessed his other rival- an aggressive-looking boy who was in seventh-year. Great, Severus thought in his head. Even if I manage to do better than her, there's no way I'm going to beat him.
Fortunately for Severus, the Keepers were being assessed first, then the Beaters, then the Chasers and finally the Seekers were going last. For half an hour, Severus watched in wonder as students from all years battled against each other to secure their place in the Slytherin Quidditch team. The Chasers proved their strength by hurling the Quaffle towards the hoops, and the Keepers showed their skill in their ability to stop the goal being scored. The Beaters were tested in their ability to aim Bludgers with accuracy and precision, and also how well they could block and dodge Bludgers coming their way. Severus watched as Mitchell Clearwater scribbled those who had gotten into the team in his notebook, and he wondered whether his name would make it to the lined paper. Every so often the crowd of Slytherins who had come to watch the try-outs would cheer at a skillful move, and Severus greatly wished that they would leave before he would go on. But he had no such luck.
"Alright Seekers, it's your turn. Since there are only three of you, this should be quick. I'm going to release this Golden Snitch," Mitchell opened up his hand to reveal the small snitch sitting comfortably in his palm, "and whichever one of you is able to catch it, wins."
The three contestants nodded and began to mount their brooms, and Severus watched as the second-year girl confidently smiled to him and whispered, 'Don't worry, I won't take long."
Why are all Slytherins so arrogant and overconfident? Severus wondered. No wonder no one liked them. In fact, it was rather peculiar that he was in this house at all as he was anything but confident.
"Are you all ready?" Mitchell asked.
"Yes, hurry up already!" The second-year complained with an exaggerated yawn. "I want to eat lunch someday!"
Mitchell rolled his eyes and then extended his arm out, with his fingers outstretched. He then counted to three and then released the snitch into the air. Without a moment's hesitation, the second-year girl and seventh-year boy zoomed upwards into the sky as they began chasing the miniscule snitch. The speed of their departure left Severus dumbfounded for a few seconds, until he shook his head and rapidly joined them. He scolded himself for having lost three precious seconds, but he quickly forgot about his mistake as he focussed on the task ahead: getting that bloody snitch!
But they were so far ahead, and Severus could tell that he was going to have to find a different way of getting his hands on the snitch; following their lead was not going to work. He could see that the boy was slightly ahead of the girl, and he could also see that this annoyed her greatly.
The pair were making their way around the bend of the far-right of the stadium and the snitch was a good five metres away from the seventh-year's grasp. They're going to pass me any second, so I just need to get in position… Severus thought, but the thought left his mind when he heard something travelling fast towards him. A Bludger. Severus soared downwards just in time, and the Bludger then started hurtling towards the two other contestants. They were now dangerously close to catching the snitch, as the golden ball was now a mere metre and a half away from them. It appeared that the girl had caught up, and the two were now neck-and-neck to each other.
I'm going to lose. Severus confirmed in his head. One of the pair was going to catch it, and they would become Slytherin's new Seeker. Why did he even bother? He was just Snivellus, after all. Maybe Potter was right.
The boy and girl kept on advancing forward when all of the sudden the Bludger that had been flying their way abruptly came into contact with the pair of them, and the girl's scream of anguish resonated in the stadium ground. They both managed to stop themselves from crashing to the ground but they had fallen at least ten metres or so, and the damage had been done. Severus took his chance while he could- he sped up as fast as his rubbish broom would allow him and he started to follow the tiny snitch. Up and down, left and right, he was soon feeling dizzy as the snitch relentlessly travelled in all directions. However, in no less than thirty seconds, Severus knew that he had some company. He could sense the two now angry students behind him, and he knew that if he wanted to be the next Slytherin Seeker, he had to catch the snitch fast.
Another Bludger bolted towards Severus and again he managed to successfully avoid it, but still keep the snitch in his line of sight. More and more Bludgers were being directed his way, and Severus had to twist his body and the broom in all sorts of awkward positions just to avoid it. He could vaguely hear the cheer of the small crowd and he knew that he was doing well.
The snitch was only one metre away from him now. Severus could almost feel the snitch's rims and dents in his own hands. He carefully let one hand go from the broom's grip and stretched as far as he possibly could. But it was not far enough, so he then pulled his hand back and tried again, this time adjusting himself further along the broom so he could reach out and grab the snitch. Time seemed to stop as his fingers inched closer and closer, and when he felt the cold exterior of the small sphere with the tips of his fingers, he could hardly believe it. But it was not over yet.
Another Bludger was quickly approaching, but Severus hardly had any time to react when the Bludger advanced towards him. He managed to dodge it, but the sudden movement had caused him to lose his balance and he then felt himself cascading downwards. The snitch escaped from his fingertips and he could no longer find it once he had managed to regain control of his broom, which earned another cheer from the crowd.
"THE TRY-OUTS HAVE ENDED!" Mitchell declared loudly, and all three contestants flew back to the ground.
"He never touched the snitch!" The girl shouted angrily before she had even reached the ground.
Once her feet touched the grass, she threw her broom to the side and marched up to Mitchell.
"He never touched the snitch!" She repeated.
"The snitc-" Mitchell started, but he was quickly interrupted.
"We need to re-do this!" The girl insisted. "He never actually touched the snitch!"
"I agree." The boy from seventh-year said. "I don't think he ever actually touched it. Where is the snitch anyway?"
"Are all of you stupid?!" Mitchell exclaimed irritably. "Don't you know how Quidditch works? I've got the snitch."
He once again revealed the snitch that was sat in his palm.
"Why didn't you let it fly so someone could actually catch it and win? You ended the try-out for no reason because it looks like he touched it, but he didn't!" The girl argued defiantly.
"I didn't do anything! The game ends when the snitch is caught, and Severus Snape did indeed touch it. The snitch is designed to recognise who touches it first, so that arguments like this about whether someone really touched it or not don't happen. Don't you know the basics of Quidditch?" Mitchell accused them both.
"But that doesn't count as actually catching the snitch!" The girl spat back.
"If you have a problem about what actually counts as catching a snitch, then you can go and file a complaint to the International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee." Mitchell told her in annoyance.
"Even if he did catch it, you never told us we were going to have to dodge Bludgers!" The seventh-year boy protested.
"Exactly!" The second-year girl agreed. "That's completely unfair!"
"That's how Seekers have to operate in actual matches!" Mitchell shouted, now very frustrated. "You weren't supposed to know, that was the whole point. It was a test to see how well you can operate with Bludgers being thrown at you, as would happen in a normal match."
"That wasn't part of the try-out last year." The boy grumbled.
"I decided to add it in to see who's really the best Seeker." Mitchell shot back. "And it's proved very effective."
"I bet you told him!" The girl criticized, pointing at Severus who had been quietly making his way out of the stadium, out of earshot.
"You can keep thinking that, if it will make you sleep better at night." Mitchell told her in the most condescending tone he could muster.
The look on her face proved that it was worth it, and he proceeded to watch her storm out of the stadium, shoving Severus aside as she did so. Mitchell then ran and caught up with Severus.
"I'm not sure if I told you, but the results will be up next week on the notice board in the Slytherin common room." Mitchell told him.
Severus nodded, but he was too shaken up to start a conversation. The try-outs had left him feeling a mixture of frightened and happy. Technically he had caught the snitch, but he had only really touched it. Did that mean he had really won? He continued to walk to the changing rooms as fast as he could so that he would be able to leave before the seventh-year came in. Severus wanted to avoid an encounter with him at all costs.
Once he had finished getting changed, Severus began to make his way to the Great Hall so that he would be able to have something warm to eat before afternoon lessons. On the way there he was joined by Sophie who had also gotten changed.
"There you are!" She exclaimed. "I've been looking for you. We finished try-outs ages ago."
"Well, the Keepers were the first ones to be assessed! I just finished mine." Severus replied.
"And how did it go? Amazing, I presume?" Sophie smiled.
They had reached the entrance to the Great Hall, and the mouth-watering aroma of spaghetti bolognaise hit them instantly.
"Alright," Severus replied, "but I'm not sure I've gotten through."
The pair sat down and began eating, and Sophie reassured him that she was sure he had done great. She asked who else had tried for the position of the Seeker, and had informed Severus that the name of the aggressive-looking boy in seventh-year was George Walters.
"Oh, he's horrible." Sophie shook her head. "Mitchell doesn't like him anyway, so don't worry about him."
Severus also told her about the arrogant second-year, which earned an eye-roll.
"Don't take any notice of people like that." She told him dismissively, and Severus forced himself to take her advice.
Severus then asked her how she thought she had done, and Sophie replied happily that all had gone well. Fifteen minutes later the bell rang that signalled the start of afternoon lessons, and they both had to run to class to make it in time.
When Severus woke up the following Monday morning, he wasted no time in throwing on his school robes to rush downstairs to the Slytherin common room. There was already a crowd of students surrounding Mitchell, who held a sheet of paper in his hands.
"Would you guys give me some space? I need to pin this up!" Mitchell complained.
The students moaned but still stepped back and a few seconds later the sheet was up on the board. Severus joined the group of students and scanned the sheet. He could feel his heart racing madly in his chest as he continued to reads off the list of names.
Slytherin Quidditch Team
Chasers: Mitchell Clearwater (7th year) (Captain), Molly Andrews (5th year), Jacob Harper (7th year)
Beaters: Ella Bakersfield (6th year), Rohan Sandhu (7th year)
Keeper: Sophie Evergreen (7th year)
Seeker: Severus Snape (6th year)
Substitutes: Priya Johar (7th year), Margaret Gates (5th year), Adrian Wood (4th year), George Walters (7th year)
Severus could hardly believe it. His name was on the board! His own name, Severus Snape was actually on the board! He suddenly felt two hard thumps on his back and turned around to see Avery and Mulciber.
"Well done, mate!" They congratulated him.
"Thanks." Severus smiled back.
He then suddenly realised something- he needed to go and tell Lily! It felt like he hadn't spoke to her in forever as he hadn't seen her during the weekend. She probably had gone to Hogmeade with her friends, whereas Severus on the other hand had spent the entire weekend doing homework.
He once again thanked Avery and Mulciber and then dismissed himself before making his way out of the Slytherin common room. He couldn't wait to tell her the good news. She would change her mind about Quidditch now!