Chapter Five
Rob woke up the next morning, extremely nervous. "It's just five other people you are competing against, and two of them aren't even going for Keeper." he kept thinking to himself. He had wrote to his sister, telling her how he was trying out of the Quidditch team, and she hadn't responded yet.
As Rob was getting ready for breakfast, Chris had woken up, and looked just as nervous as Rob did. "You think we have a good shot at joining?" Chris asked Rob.
"If all the practicing we did proves anything, yes." Rob replied. "But if the competition is better than us, no." Chris was then silent. The two walked out of their dormitory, and were met by Jessica in the Common Room. She looked slightly better than the two, but not by much. The three walked to the Great Hall together, got seats, and attempted to eat breakfast.
"For once, I can't eat." Chris said, pushing away his plate. Then a girl with long red hair sat down next to him.
"Hey guys, I'm Rebecca Green, one of the Chasers. Just wanted to let you all know that there really is no need to be that nervous. And yes, I can tell you all are nervous as hell." she said to them, pointing at their concerned looks. She smiled at them. "Just give it a good shot, and get something in your stomachs." she added, before going back to her seat.
"That was actually reassuring." Jessica said. She then began to eat some toast, while Chris at some bacon, and Rob finished up his eggs. The trio then got up, and headed out to the locker rooms to get changed into the practice gear. They found practice uniforms, numbered 1-6, with their names on a piece of paper. Chris was 6, Jessica was 4, and Rob was 3. The other Hufflepuffs who were trying out then showed up as well; one guy, and two girls. Once they were all in their gear, they sat in silence until James showed up.
"Follow me you lot." he said. He was wearing the actual match uniform. The six followed him out to the pitch, where the rest of the team was at. Andrew Tirk sat around, cleaning his broom. Rebecca smiled and waved at the group, while an African American guy looked eagerly at the group. "Since we all are in the same House, you probably know most of us, but for a quick meet and greet, Andrew Tirk is our Seeker, Derek Malcolm and Rebecca Green are our Chasers, and I am a Beater, and Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain. What we are going to do is start off with the Chasers. Once we found our Chaser, we are going to try for our Keeper. Once that is done, we will move on to the Beater try out. Once all is said and done, we will figure out the numbers for this year, and then we begin practice next Tuesday. Any questions?" he asked. No one had any questions. "Alright, for Chasers, we have Amber Jennings, and Jessica Bell. Let's see what you got."
Jessica and an African American girl grabbed their brooms. Amber went first, and did not pass the Quaffle at all, and failed to make any goals. Jessica went second, and not only passed well, but scored all the goals she needed to make.
"Congratulations Jessica, you are our newest Chaser." James said. Jessica received a warm reception from the other Chasers. "Alright Keeper time. We have Conner Matthews, and Rob Lockwood."
A tall boy with frizzy blonde hair went first. And missed only two of the five goals he had to stop. Next up was Rob. He mounted his Cleansweep Fifteen, and flew up to the goal posts. Jessica gave him a thumbs up and an encouraging smile. Rob smiled back, and then Issac blew the whistle. Derek took the first throw at the left post, which Rob blocked with ease. He threw the Quaffle to Rebecca, who passed it to Jessica. Jessica threw the Quaffle at the right post, which Rob managed to kick out of the way. It was caught by Derek, who passed it to Rebecca who faked throwing at the left post, and threw it at the center post. Rob barely managed to stop that. He threw the Quaffle back to Derek. Derek then passed it to Rebecca, who passed it to Jessica, and then back to Derek, who threw it at the left post. Rob caught the Quaffle with ease. Jessica threw the final attempt with a fake at the center post, and then actually threw it at the right post. Rob sped over and nearly missed, but managed to smack it away with the back of his hand.
"Alright! Rob is our new Keeper." James said. Rob smiled. He had finally done something that beat out his sister, who didn't make the team until her Third Year. Rob landed his broom, and received a hug from Jessica.
"That was amazing Rob! I threw my best stuff at you!" she screamed in his ear. He was then greeted by Derek and Rebecca.
"Excellent job!" Derek said, shaking Rob's hand.
"Told you it wasn't that bad." Rebecca said.
"Alright! Last but not least, Beater try outs! For this we have Ariel Welch, and Chris Bell. Grab a bat." James said, pointing at the two bats laying on the ground. Both Chris, and Ariel, a very muscular brunette girl picked up a bat and rose into the air. James released a Bludger, and also rose into the air. Amy went first, and could hit the Bludger well, but had extremely poor aim. Chris went second, and proved why he was a good Beater; he had good aim, and managed to hit the Bludger multiple times.
"Well we found our Beater. Congratulations Chris. Welcome to the Hufflepuff Quidditch team you three. We will have a meeting tonight in the locker rooms after dinner. Do not be late" Issac told them.
The trio went back into the locker rooms, and changed out of their practice gear, and into their normal clothes. Jessica was the first one done, and waited outside for the boys. One Chris and Rob were done, they walked into the castle, and walked into the library, and immediately saw Violet.
"Hey V." Jessica said, sitting in a seat next to her. Violet looked up.
"Oh! Hey guys. How were tryouts?" she asked.
"We all made the House team." Chris said proudly
"Very nice!" Violet said. "I thought about trying out for the Ravenclaw team if the position I want to try out for opens up." she said.
"What position?" asked Rob, though he really wasn't paying much attention. He was looking for a good book to read. He loved to read, and spent many hours reading any kind of book he could find.
"Seeker." was Violet's reply. Chris, Jessica, and Violet chatted quietly while Rob continued looking. He then found a book called Animagi: How to identify. Having heard all about Animagi, he picked it up.
The others were getting ready to leave the library when Rob was checking out the book. Violet noticed the book in Rob's hands. "Animagi? Very complex thing from what I understand. Professor McGonagall is a cat Animagus." she said.
"I find them fascinating." Rob replied. "The fact is you all don't know I want to become one" he thought to himself. Violet bid the others farewell as she headed for the Ravenclaw tower, while the others headed for the Hufflepuff Common Room.
"I am still so happy we made the team." Chris said excitedly. "Wait until Katie hears about this." That thought then truck Rob.
"I should write my sister and tell her I made it on as Keeper." he said.
Before they knew it, they reached the entrance to the Hufflepuff House. Chris knocked on the barrels, and the passage way opened up. Rob went into the dormitory and grabbed some parchment, and a quill and ink. He then began to write:
Dear Jamie,
All those times you made me play Keeper while you practiced Chaser finally paid off. I made the Hufflepuff House Quidditch team as Keeper. My friends Chis and Jessica Bell made the team as well as Beater and Chaser. Their sister's fiance is Oliver Wood, the Keeper for Puddlemere United. Maybe you have played against him or have played against him.
School is going well. I love all my classes. I think Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts will be my favorite classes.
Hope the Ballycastle Bats are treating you good.
Love
Rob.
He wrote the address on the envelope, and headed for the owlery. During his walk, he mulled over the first week. He was loving Hogwarts, his classes, his friends, and now he got to look forward to playing Quidditch.
He had finally reached the owlery, and saw Tawn. "Hey Tawn. Come here!" he said. The owl flew down to him. "Good boy, glad you listen well. I need you to take this letter to my sister. Can you do that?" Rob asked the owl. The owl nipped at his finger, grabbed his letter, and flew off with it. "I love owls." Rob said to himself.
The rest of the day went by fast. Rob spent most of the day reading his book, while Chris and Jessica worked on their homework. Soon it was dinner, and then after that, the trio headed down to the locker room.
"Wonder what the meeting will be about?" Chris wondered out loud.
"Probably about practices, Quidditch numbers, and what not." Jessica said.
Once inside they saw that the Hufflepuff Quidditch robes had been hung up. The robes were canary yellow, and they had black writing on them, their last names on the back of each robe. The robes had a Hufflepuff Badger patch sewn on the front of the robe. They each had a pair of tan pants, a tight yellow and black jumper, leather gloves, shin pads, and light boots. The lockers were also labeled by the name of the player, and had the equipment needed for each position; Chris and James had Beaters bats, and Rob had chest gear and a helmet.
Soon the other members started arriving, and once James showed up, everyone got quiet. "Alright, first order of business, its time to pick numbers. Andrew, what number you want?" James asked Tirk.
Tirk scoffed "Number one of course." James rolled his eyes, and waved his wand. A large number 1 appeared on the back of Tirks robe.
"Chasers, what numbers do you want?" James asked the Chasers. Derek, Rebecca, and Jessica muttered a bit, and then Rebecca spoke up.
"We would like numbers five through seven. Jessica wants five, Derek wants six, and I want seven" she said politely. James waved his want, and the numbers 5, 6, and 7 appeared on Jessica's, Derek's and Rebecca robes.
"Rob, what number do you want?" James asked Rob. Rob had to think. Five had been his sister's number, and he had wanted to go with that, but that wasn't going to happen.
"Um, number two." Rob said. James again waved his wand, and a number 2 appeared on Rob's robes.
"Chris, that leaves you and me with three and four. What do you want?" James asked Chris.
"Three." Chris said.
"Alright, that leaves me with four." James said as he waved his wand, with a 4 appearing on his robes, and a 3 appearing on Chris's robes. Once that was done, James turned his attention back to the team. "Alright, listen up. Last year, we came in second place, losing to Ravenclaw by a total of fifty points. I still have no idea what strategy they came up with, but it was good. This is mine, and Andrew's last year at Hogwarts, and I want us to go out with a Quidditch Cup victory. We have good talent here. Derek and Rebecca, you two are awesome Chasers, and Jessica, I feel as though you will fit in the mold quite nicely." he said, nodding to the Chasers.
"Thank you James." Jessica said, blushing.
"Thanks mate." Derek said.
"Aww shucks." Rebecca said. James then turned his head to Chris.
"Chris, I think you will make a great Beater, especially after I train you up a bit, and I guess I'm a good Beater too." James said, adding the last part a bit hastily.
"Thanks." Chris said.
"Andrew, despite your arrogant attitude, you make a good Seeker, and have yet to fail catching the Snitch." James said, trying to sound humorous. Andrew just waved it off.
"Naturally. I am third generation Tirk. Every Tirk that played Quidditch was great, therefore I am great." he said arrogantly. James rolled his eyes, and then looked at Rob.
"Rob, I saw you make some great saves up there. I think you will turn into a great Keeper." he said. Rob was shocked.
'Th...Thank you." he muttered.
"Practice starts Tuesday, and we have Ravenclaw as our first match. So show up ready to work hard. We are going to win the Cup this year!" James said. The team nodded their heads, and began to exit the locker rooms, and back to the Hufflepuff Common Room. Rob, Jessica, and Chris were on their way out when they were stopped by Andrew Tirk.
"Listen pipsqueaks, my future career is riding on a Quidditch Cup victory for Hufflepuff. You all had better be ready to work your asses off, so I can get what I want, or you can clear out now." he said menacingly.
Rob stepped forward. "Listen you giant prat. We will do what we can, but get off our backs. We just joined the team." Tirk then crouched down to Robs height.
"I will personally make your life hell if you aren't going to help me get what I want." he said. Rob glared back at him.
"We will do what we can. Get off our backs, you giant prat." he said slowly, making sure Tirk got every word of what he said. Tirk was then tapped on the shoulder, annoyed, he turned around to see who it was, and then suddenly there was a loud smacking noise. He grabbed the side of his face and moved, and standing behind him was Rebecca Green. She had been the one to slap him. Behind her was James and Derek
"That's for blaming me for the loss to Slytherin last year." she said in an angry tone.
"You bitch." was all Tirk could say before he left the locker room. James just rolled his eyes.
"Do you feel better now Rebecca?" he asked. Rebecca turned and smiled.
"Much better." she said. She then turned back to the trio. "Sorry about that. He is a massive jerk sometimes."
"No problem." Chris said, still laughing over what just happened. Derek was also laughing.
"Damn Rebecca, you spend all summer planning that?" Derek asked. He too had been laughing about the slap.
"You have no idea." Rebecca muttered. James, Derek, and Rebecca then exited the locker room, followed by Rob, Chris, and Jessica.
"Well, Quidditch ought to be fun." Chris said.
"Well Tirk had no right speaking to us like that." Jessica replied. She then looked at Rob "And Rob had no problem standing up to him, did you Rob?"
Rob thought for a moment "No I honestly didn't. I'm not about to spend an entire year making sure he gets what he wants if he is going to treat us like that. If he is like that all season, either he can clear off the team, or I will." Rob said. The other two just looked at him.