I flew in lazy circles, paying more attention to the potential new beaters than the bludgers. I wanted to watch them in action without getting in their way so I stuck to the outside of the pitch, flying backwards and forwards so I was close enough to smack the bludgers away from the group of chasers and potential chasers if the kids trying out as beaters let any of them through.
We had lost a chaser, beater and seeker with the graduating students last year and so we were trying out new players to replace each of those positions. It was pretty chaotic trying all three positions at once but it seemed to be working – we had narrowed each position down to a top two and were watching them in action. I knew who my pick was as my fellow beater, and I was fairly sure James would agree with me. I grinned in satisfaction as my preferred pick swooped into the path of a bludger and smacked it away from the chasers and into the stands. I looked down at the group of chasers and would-be chasers, watching them perform drills. The two remaining had obviously been the strongest candidates, one of them being Marlene McKinnon. I was a little surprised she had decided to try out given I had never seen much interest from her in playing before, but she flew well. She seemed to be working well in sync with James and our other existing chaser, Stephanie Smith, which was just as important as actual flying skills. I was distracted from watching McKinnon and Smith pass the quaffle back and forwards over James' head, when there was a shout behind me. I turned to see that Jessie Boot had caught the snitch – for the third time out of three contests between the two strongest candidates, no less. She would join her brother and the team as our new seeker then, I assumed. I watched as James flew over to her and she passed him the snitch.
"Well done Boot," he grinned at her. He blew his whistle and motioned towards the ground, and we all headed down to land on the grass. I grabbed one of bludgers and wrestled it into the box while Stephanie did the same with the other.
"Thanks everyone for coming along," James said loudly, smiling. "It was a good try out and you all flew well. I'll discuss with the other team members from last year and we'll let you know if you were successful by the end of the week." The potential new players shouted their thanks and walked towards the change rooms, chatting amongst themselves. Stephanie, Daniel and I turned to follow them, but James called us back.
"Quick team meeting to get early indications of what you're all thinking," he announced. The four of us huddled together so we wouldn't be overheard.
"Let's start with Seeker; both finalists flew well in the warm up and drills but I think Boot's three for three catches makes her the obvious choice. Does everyone agree with that?" We all nodded our agreement, Daniel grinning proudly at the thought of his sister joining the team.
"Excellent," James said briskly. "So then for the second beater; Sirius, what are you thinking?"
"I like Johnson; he's got quite an arm and a good sense of where the bludgers are and which direction they're going. The other finalist could hit harder but he didn't have that natural ability to read the bludgers and that's hard to teach," I offered.
James nodded. "I was thinking the same thing." He looked towards the others, who both voiced their agreement. "Brilliant, now for the third chaser. Smith, who did you prefer?"
"I'd be happy with either of our top two; they were both good fliers. I think McKinnon was picking up our drills and placements quicker and was more aware of where we were in relation to her, so I have a slight preference for her." Daniel and I both nodded in agreement again.
James smiled in satisfaction. "I was thinking the same thing," he said. "So, we're agreed on the three new players then, that was easy. I'll have a chat with all of our final candidates over the next couple of days to let them know who was successful before we put it up – I think it's nicer that way for those who didn't make it. Thanks for your time today, I'll let you know as soon as we have a timetable worked out for training." The four of us grinned at each other and turned towards the changerooms.
Not long after, James and I left the changerooms together, both in good moods.
"I reckon we'll have a strong team this year," I told him. "All three of them are good players."
"Yeah, they are." I was prepared for an in-depth discussion about our chances at the Quidditch Cup, but James seemed distracted. I didn't have to spend long wondering why because he abruptly changed the subject.
"McKinnon's a nice girl, don't you think?" He asked. I wondered if he had worked out that I had had a slight crush on McKinnon last year and was hinting at that, but he wasn't smirking at me as he said it. In fact, he was watching the path carefully, as though determined not to trip over – or determined not to look at me.
"Yeah, she's alright," I responded after a pause. "Should be good fun having her on the team."
James paused, then still looking at the ground he said; "well, I'm glad you get along with her since I'll probably be spending more time with her."
"Why's that?" I asked him, confused. We'd both spend the same amount of time with her at quidditch training. He hesitated again, and I thought back to last Saturday and how close they had been standing when I walked into that classroom. When he did finally speak, I almost knew what he was going to say before he said it, but my stomach still sank.
"Because I've asked her out. We're going to Hogsmeade together," he said quietly, still not looking at me.
"Oh right," I said, forcing a smile. "Well, nice one. Hope it goes well," I hoped my voice didn't sound too strained. It was bloody typical, really. I'd had a crush on McKinnon for six months and just when I was starting to actually get the chance to spend time with her outside of class, James would finally give up on love-of-his-life Evans and choose to ask McKinnon out. I wondered if they had kissed on Saturday night when I found them alone together, and was about to ask, but then decided I'd rather not know. I was saved from having to think of anything else to say when James spoke again.
"Anyway, I'm glad Stephanie wanted her on the team too – I didn't want it to look like I was doing her a favour, you know?"
"Yeah, I don't think you needed to worry about that," I told him. "Daniel and I both think she's the best choice too."
James nodded, finally making eye contact with me. "Yeah, I'm just glad it worked out that way. I didn't want to have to start my first date by telling the girl she didn't make the team!" We both laughed at that, and the awkwardness between us dissipated as we discussed our opponent teams in the upcoming quidditch season the rest of the way back to Gryffindor tower.
