September 2019 – Fifth Year

My grip on my broom tightens as I stand next to James on the Quidditch pitch. "How did I let you talk me into this?"

"Need I remind you, Meredith, that you came to the decision yourself?" I shoot James a glare and he smiles back cheekily. "Besides, the only way you would ever do something I told you to do would be if I was Quidditch Captain and you were on my team."

I bounce nervously on the balls of my feet, watching the other Quidditch hopefuls make their way onto the pitch. Quidditch Captain Davin Fletcher is standing center-pitch looking a little overwhelmed. "I still can't believe Fletcher is Captain."

"Who else was it going to be?" he scoffs, ruffling his messy hair and gazing out over the crowd of students.

"You," I say, without hesitation.

James drops his broom and quickly bends over to pick it up before turning back to me. "What?"

"Please, James," I say in disbelief, not looking at him. "You're loads more qualified than Fletcher to be Captain."

James is silent and I turn my head towards him to look at him properly. He's staring at me, slack-jawed, with the hint of a grin on his face. "You really think that?"

I nod seriously and add, "Plus, then you could have just put me straight on the team so I could keep your over-inflated noggin at a manageable size."

"It's not that big of a problem," he replies, defensively. "If it was, I wouldn't be able to properly ride a broom." I glance over to him again and as soon as we make eye contact, we both start laughing.

"Meredith?" Fred pops up behind James. "Are you trying out for the team?"

Nerves grip me once again, sobering me, and I nod. "I thought it might be interesting to give it a go."

"What position?"

"Seeker," James answers for me.

Fred stares at him a moment. "You knew about this?"

"Of course. I know everything that has to do with Quidditch."

"Meredith? What are you doing here?" Phillip and Roger join me, James, Fred, broomsticks in hand.

"She's going out for Seeker," Fred answers.

"Brilliant," Roger says, looking to me. "I didn't know you played, Meredith."

"She's phenomenal," James tells them. "She's a stellar flier and has the sharpest eyes of any prospective Seeker in the school." I blush as they stare at me, but I can't help but feel proud that James thinks so highly of my abilities.

Fred looks past me and an odd look crosses over his features. It reminds me of a mix of confusion and exasperation. He leans over to James and whispers something in his ear and pointing across the pitch. James's gaze follows his gesture and his expression suddenly mirrors Fred's.

"Bloody hell," James says to no one in particular. "What in Merlin's name is she doing here?"

Fred rolls his eyes, still pointing in the same direction. "I thought you said you knew everything that has to do with Quidditch."

Roger, Phillip, and I simultaneously turn to look in the direction Fred had indicated. Walking down the pitch, bringing a sort of golden aura around her, is Dominique Weasley. Phillip and Roger both gape unattractively and Fred smacks them both on the back of the head.

"Oi! What was that for?" Phillip shouts, rubbing his head and scowling. Roger is doing the same.

"I would thank you not to ogle our cousin like imbeciles," Fred answers crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sorry mate," Roger says shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts. "I don't know how she manages to do that to me every time."

James is still watching Dominique's progress across the field, a slight frown forming on his face. "Seriously, though. What is she doing here?"

Dominique has attracted attention from what feels like every male within the stadium… including Davin Fletcher. "Bloody hell," Fred says this time. "This may be a problem."

"Why?" Phillips asks, pointedly looking in the opposite direction of Dominique.

"Do you know what position she's interested in?" I ask Fred and James.

"I don't know," James answers, obviously distracted. His brow is furrowed in concentration and he glances at his watch and shakes his head. "He had better get a move on, or we're going to run out of time," he says to himself. "I'm going to go talk to Fletcher," he says, now addressing the group, and he takes off at a jog towards Fletcher without another word.

"Do you know, Fred?" I ask, watching James close the distance between him and the Quidditch Captain.

"I have a suspicion," he answers, vaguely, also watching James as he approaches Fletcher. Together, we see James walks up to the Captain, briefly speak to him, and then shake him roughly by the arm.

It doesn't work.

Especially not when Dominique arrives next to James and the tell-tale stupid grin is plastered onto Fletcher's face.

She's sucked him in.

There's no way trials are going to be fair. Everyone who's competing for the position she's going out for had better watch out.

Fred and I continue to watch as James attempts to get Fletcher's attention, failing miserably. Having Dominique in such close proximity has made the guy completely oblivious to James's presence. Dominique is speaking animatedly to Fletcher and Fletcher is nodding and grinning like an idiot. Dominique smiles brilliantly, flips her bright, blonde hair, mounts her broom, and flies to the far end of the pitch into a group of students who appear to be separated by which position they are trying out for.

Phillip and Roger are both standing with their backs to Dominique in an effort to keep their minds clear, but turn around quickly as Fred, in response to her landing and joining one of the groups, inhales sharply and says, "Yep. She's going out for Seeker."

My stomach drops.

She's going out for Seeker?

I have to compete against her?

I clutch my broom tightly once more, feeling dizzy.

I look back to James just in time to watch him shove a still-dazed Fletcher to the ground. His face is bearing a rather frightening scowl and he says something to Fletcher whose mind seems to have cleared momentarily. Fletcher pushes himself back into a standing position and shrugs his shoulders. He does not look happy with James as he brushes grass off of his kit.

James's face reddens and he pulls his free hand through his hair before telling Fletcher one more thing and storming away from him.

Looks like I'm not the only one who isn't happy with how today is going.

James approaches us and kicks the turf of the pitch hard. "He. Is. Such. A. Tosser."

Told you so, I tell him in my head. I would have said it out loud, if I didn't think I would vomit if I opened my mouth. I just nod emphatically, instead.

"What's the deal with Dom?" Roger asks, eyes once again glued to Dominique, though his expression is clear.

"She was over there buttering him up like she does with everyone," James explains with a deeper scowl. "And Fletcher was just going along with it! He doesn't even have any plans for how these trials are going to go. He's just winging it, today."

The three other boys groan loudly. James pulls both of his hands roughly through his hair in frustration and begins to pace in front of the four of us.

"You know she's going out for Seeker, right?" Fred asks him cautiously.

A new wave of nausea comes over me.

"Of course I know Mer's going out for Seeker!" James shouts, still pacing. "I told you lot that."

"I'm not talking about Meredith, you dolt," Fred says rubbing him forehead with his hand. "I'm talking about Dominique."

James stops abruptly and spins around to look at Fred, wide-eyed. "No she isn't." It's more a statement of disbelief than of contradiction.

Fred just nods seriously and juts his thumb in the direction of the groups of students present for the trials.

"That b…" James takes a breath, shaking his head. "I can't believe this. She doesn't even hardly play."

A whistle sounds and Fletcher gestures for the five of us to join the other students. As we make our way over to them James pulls my arm lightly to get me to walk with him a little behind the others.

"What's up?" I ask, confused.

"I know you can do this, Mer," he says sincerely. I watch him closely as he keeps his attention forward. "Fletcher might make this hard, but I know that you deserve to be on the team."

I catch movement in the corner of my eye and notice Fletcher examining us as we make our way across the pitch. The look on his face as he follows us is making me uncomfortable. "You probably shouldn't have shoved him," I tell James as Fletcher frowns and brushes more grass from his clothes.

"He deserved it."

"Won't that hurt your chances of getting on the team?" That's not really my question, but I'm too scared to ask what I'm really worried about.

"What?" James looks at me. "No way! I'm way too much of an asset for him to cut just because I pushed him a bit," he says confidently.

"Don't you think that was a bit reckless?"

"Does that matter? I'm pretty much a shoo-in. Besides, I do stuff like that all the time."

"I'm well aware," I reply, annoyance seeping into my voice. Its times like this I just want to push him off his broom for being so self-centered. "Did you stop to think that maybe you shouldn't piss off the Captain of the team three of your mates are trying out for the first time? He knows that we're your friends. He might not be able to pass up a talent like yours, but we don't have the luxury of having experience to pad our résumés with, so starting us off on the wrong foot with him was not the best idea."

James walks in stunned silence beside me. "Meredith…" he starts as we reach our destination.

"I'll talk to you later, James," I say, cutting him off. I make to walk towards the small group of Seekers, but James grabs my arm again and I face him.

"You're going to do great, Mer," he says with an apologetic smile. "Fletcher's not going to be able to consider anyone else because your performance will be so obviously superior."

His words are encouraging, but only for a moment before I remember the sappy look on Fletcher's face as Dominique spoke with him. I sigh and say, "Thanks," before continuing towards the Seeker group.

One thing I have to say about today: trials could definitely have gone better.

I sit on the pitch with the five other bored Seeker hopefuls watching Fletcher's sad excuse for an organized event. It had started out standard enough with each group flying a lap or two around the pitch. Beyond that, I don't think Fletcher knew what the hell he was doing.

I glance at James as I have been doing quite often since trials started. Currently, he's standing on the grass in the center of the pitch knocking his head against the handle of his broom as a group of Chasers haphazardly fly around in the air above him. I can tell he wishes he was in charge right now.

Not to mention Fletcher keeps flying over to him to ask him for advice. If James wasn't around, I'm fairly certain that Fletcher would not have made it this far into the trials.

"Do you know when the Seekers are going to be doing anything else?" Dominique asks cheerfully from my right.

I tilt my head in her direction and shake it. "It can't be much longer," I tell her. "This should be the last batch of Chasers."

I've been sitting silently for a majority of the time, watching each person trying out as they did their best to understand the instructions Fletcher shouted at them. Phillip and Roger, from what I could tell, didn't even bother trying to understand what he was saying and just did what Chasers do.

If they end up on the making the team, this is probably pretty indicative of how the year will go.

Beater and Keeper trials were a joke. Everyone knew those positions were pretty much locked in with Fred, Fletcher, and the girl Beater from the previous year (whose name escapes me at the moment) still at Hogwarts.

"Why couldn't we have gone first?" she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't I wish I knew."

Dominique and I have said very little to each other since we've been sitting here. I met her at James's birthday party and I liked her alright then. James thinks she's annoying, but he doesn't really understand girls who act really girly.

Maybe that's why he and I get on so well. I've never really thought about it.

Finally, Fletcher blows his whistle and gestures for the Seekers to prepare for our trials. We all get to our feet, mount our brooms, and fly to meet him in the air.

James is standing on the grass below us and we make eye contact briefly. He gives me an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up and my nerves once again ease slightly at his confidence.

I would say that I wish I was as confident as he is, but that would probably make me intolerable, so I'll say I wish I was half as confident as he is.

The five other Seeker candidates and I hover around Fletcher as he attempts to explain what we're going to be doing. He appears to be avoiding eye contact with Dominique.

That's a good sign. Maybe he's not as dense as I'd thought.

"I'm going to release two Snitches," he starts.

Okay, easy enough.

"I want you to catch them."

No kidding? I thought they were just for show.

"You can try to do some stuff."

What? Never mind about not being dense.

"Or you can try to fly around and such."

Oh Davin Fletcher, how in Merlin's name are you Captain?

"Once I say 'go', just do whatever."

A quick glance at the other's faces shows me that they really didn't understand anything he said either. Well, except for Dominique. I'm not sure she was even listening, but she's now throwing a winning smile at Fletcher, who, with a single glance, becomes the dopey-looking idiot from before.

I roll my eyes and fly to hover over the top of the pitch, hoping that Fletcher will snap out of it sooner rather than later.

I snort unattractively as I watch a dazed Fletcher almost slip off his broom. He manages to catch himself and the close call seems to have jerked him out of his stupor.

Good.

Fletcher lands quickly and walks over to a chest containing the Quidditch equipment. He carefully releases two Snitches and they flit quickly away from him.

My heart starts beating faster in anticipation as I wait for Fletcher's signal. The sharp trill of his whistle sounds and I zoom down the pitch in the direction I saw one of the released snitches disappear.

The rest of the pitch melts away. All that matters is me, my broom, and the two Snitches I'm searching for. I am focused.

I fly to the end of the pitch, eyes peeled for any hint of gold in in the stadium. A glint below me catches my attention and I immediately turn into a dive to chase the Snitch. I gather speed as my broom angles towards the ground and I easily pull up to the same height as the elusive golden ball. Keeping my momentum, I race forward, right arm outstretched and clasp my fingers around the cool metal.

That's one.

I smile to myself and lift my arm over my head as the Snitch struggles against my grip. I scan the pitch for Fletcher and find him easily standing center-pitch.

He's not looking at me.

He's watching Dominique on the opposite side of the pitch as she flies lazily back and forth. How she expects to find the Snitch that way is beyond me.

But Fletcher isn't watching me. He didn't see my catch.

My attention is brought to James who is standing a few feet away from Fletcher pumping his fist in the air and grinning at me. He taps Fletcher on the arm and points to me, telling the Captain something.

Fletcher waves him off and continues staring at Dominique.

I watch as James's face reddens again and he looks back to me. I shake my head at him hoping it will remind him not to do anything stupid in the middle of my trial and I release the Snitch I caught and let it fly off.

My stomach turns as I see Dominique throw a flirty little wave to Fletcher, but I take a breath and return my focus to finding the snitch. I'm going to just have to blow her and everyone else here out of the water if I have even a ghost of a chance of making onto the team this year.

A few minutes later, raucous cheering from the other end of the pitch diverts my attention again. Dominique managed to catch one of the Snitches.

Not good. I have to step it up.

I fly faster over the pitch, carefully scanning every possible inch for the Snitch.

There!

I throw myself against the handle of my broom to accelerate swiftly and pull up quickly as the Snitch flies higher into the air. It unexpectedly does a complete change of direction and, tilting myself forward into a steep dive, I follow. The floor of the pitch is rapidly approaching, but I maintain my stance. I reach forward and grasp the orb again while simultaneously pulling out of my dive with only ten yards to spare.

There are a few cheers, but not many.

Everyone is still enraptured with Dominique… including the 'effing Captain.

I feel the anger start to bubble in my stomach, but I force myself to take a breath and release the Snitch. James is still watching me determinedly from Fletcher's side. He nods to me and I nod back flying back to hover over the pitch. I fly around, searching a little desperately for another sign of the Snitch. My focus hasn't returned.

Five minutes later, Fletcher's whistle sounds and he motions for all the people at the trials to join him at the center of the pitch.

I land lightly next to James and he gives me a big smile and a hug. "You did excellent, Mer. Really, excellent. Fletcher will have to be an idiot to pass you up for Seeker."

I throw him a grateful look and turn towards Fletcher. Dominique is standing near him and the look on Fletcher's face tells me that he is quite aware of it. My heart sinks and I say, "Then I don't have much of a chance do I?"

Before James can respond, Roger, Phillip, and Fred race up to us and thump me roughly on the back with huge smiles on their face. Their words are jumbled, but, all the same, I really appreciate their support.

"That was amazing!"

"You caught that first Snitch in, like, a minute!"

"Where did you learn to do dives like that? I don't think anyone else could have pulled off that last one even half as well."

"You're in for sure."

"Gryffindor is definitely going to be the House Cup Champions this year!"

The large crowd of students is suddenly silenced by Fletcher's magically magnified voice. "ATTENTION EVERYONE." All eyes are on the Captain and he removes his wand from his throat and continues. "I have made my decision on the team slots for this year. For Chaser: James will be joining me, again, this year along with Roger Thomas and Phillip Finnigan."

Phillip and Roger whoop and James gives them both high-fives. Good for them. They definitely deserve it.

Fletcher must not be so angry with James that it prevented him from putting Roger and Phillip on the House Team. Maybe I actually have a shot.

Just to Fletcher's right, Dominique flicks her long, blonde hair and smiles a brilliant, winning smile.

Then again, maybe not.

Fletcher goes on. "For Beater: Tracy Pollard will be joining me, again, as well." No surprises there. He's worked with her for three years and I doubt he would want to change that when they're so used to working with each other.

"Keeper: Fred Weasley." Again, no surprise there.

Only one position left. I grip my broom so tightly, my arms start shaking. James reaches out and rubs my back soothingly, then reaches down unexpectedly and grabs one of my hands. My surprise at his movement loosens my grip on the broom handle, otherwise, he would have not been able to pry my hand off.

He smiles at me again and gives my hand an encouraging squeeze. My racing heart slows a pace.

"For Seeker:"

My breath catches at his words. I feel the nausea wash over me and I grip James's hand tightly.

"I have chosen…"

Oh Merlin, please just say it.

Please let it be me.

"Dominique Weasley."

Loud cheers and whistles greet his announcement (mostly from the males in the crowd). My stomach has completely dropped out. All I can do is stare at the ground. My hand drops from James's and I fall weakly on my knees.

I knew it was going to end like this. I knew it from the moment Dominique stepped onto the field.

How did I ever think that I had a shot?

She outclasses me in every respect. No one wants to watch me. No one wants to recognize me for what I can do. I'm always lost behind the prettier, more-outgoing, popular people… like Dominique Weasley.

I knew I shouldn't get my hopes up.

But I wanted this so bad.

This was my chance to really fit in with my friends; to prove that I deserve to be a part of the group.

And I blew it.

My four mates haven't said anything since Fletcher's announcement. I'm glad they haven't, though. I don't want to hear their disappointment.

I drag myself back to my feet, using my broom for support, and avoid eye-contact with the guys around me. I can feel the stinging in my eyes and the water starting to pool and I blink determinedly to keep the tears from falling. I don't want them to see me cry.

Fred breaks the silence. "He has got to be bloody joking," he says furiously. "Dominique? Over Mer?"

My head snaps over to Fred who is glaring in the Captain's direction. He just called me Mer.

That's the first time he's called me that.

James is the only person who has ever called me that.

My eyes dart to Roger. "I can't believe it! Did he even look at anything besides Dominique's arse the whole time?" he seethes, breathing hard. "Mer is loads more qualified than her."

"How the hell is he Captain this year?" Phillip hisses beside Roger. "You would have to be blind to not notice how much better Mer flew, today."

The three of them are silently glaring at Fletcher and I cautiously turn towards James. His expression is positively frightening as he shoots daggers at the Quidditch Captain. He's wearing a rather obvious I-may-not-kill-him-but-I-might-maim-or-seriously-injure-him kind of look.

James takes an intentional step forward and I instinctively grab his arm. He twists to face me, his face falling to a less-semi-murderous state. James frowns. "Let me go, Mer. I need to knock some sense into him."

"No, James," I tell him. "This isn't worth the risk of getting you thrown off the team."

"But you deserve the slot!"

"He made his choice."

"I can change his mind!"

"But Dominique is still your cousin. She's family and I'm sure she would be really upset if you forced her out of a position that she won."

"But it wasn't a fair trial. No family member of mine should behave like that!"

"Behave like what? She wasn't acting any differently than she normally does." James starts to argue back, but I shake my head. "Look, James. I'll be fine. Sure, I wish I had gotten the slot, but there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Mer's right, James," Fred says behind me. "You can talk all about how irreplaceable you are, but you have to realize that you aren't the Captain and Fletcher can very well give your slot to someone else if you do anything to him."

"We'll deal with having Dominique as best we can this year," Roger says next. "But we'll just look forward to having Mer on the team for sure next year."

"We're on the team now, too, James," Phillip puts in, pointing between himself and Roger. "The three of us can focus on the offensive and even if Dominique tanks, we'll do our best to make it through. Mer will help us out and come to our practices and everything, right, Mer?"

Phillip turns to me for an answer. With every utterance of 'Mer' by my three friends, the hurt of not making the team eases and I stand, smiling, realizing that even if I'm not on the team with them, these guys are my friends. Even though I'm not Seeker this year, I still finally feel a complete part of the group.

I smile warmly at the four boys staring at me. "Thank you. All of you." James's face clears and he smiles back along with Phillip, Roger, and Fred. "And of course I'll be there to help. How else will James be able to function when he will try to make every play end with him scoring?" I look James full in the face seriously. "James, not every goal can be about you."

The five of us make our way back to the castle, conversation and laughter flowing easily between us. As I look between the four of them, I can't help but smile when I think about just how great these next three years will be.