Author's Notes: Okay, I am very sorry for not posting in the last few weeks, but my laptop monitor died and I had to find a desktop monitor that I could plug into my laptop in order to use it. Also, the process of attempting to get my laptop fixed is not over yet, as my sound system is not working properly.
Anyway, thanks to all the readers out there who read my stories in the past few weeks. And a special thanks to all my reviewers.
ProfessorChris: I just added in the bobby for the Monty Python reference (more about that in a second). It certainly would have been an odd situation for Harry and Gary if he had reverted back in front of the officer. As for Harry playing the hero, it isn't a role he chose, but rather something that was shoved into his care. I'll explain this more in a few chapters, but Harry just doesn't want any more blood on his hands. Thanks for the support.
Fugatad: Thanks for the comment.
Gundanium-Heart: I'm glad you're excited about where this story is going. However, I'm certain there are 5'6" 11-year-olds out there. However, I do have a habit of making people too tall too young. Thanks for pointing that out. And yes, some of my paragraphs are awkwardly worded. Sometimes, there's just no avoiding it. And thanks for the suggestion about unsigned reviews, though I would encourage readers to submit signed ones if they can.
Okay, last chapter's Monty Python reference was the line, "What's all this, then?" spoken by the police officer upon seeing Gary and Harry leaving the orphanage. This line is often used by bobbies in Monty Python sketches. I don't know if it is standard operating procedure for a British police officer to say this, but there you go.
Just a new note, this story has been added to the "Deliciously Long Fics" C2. This is the first time this has happened to one of my stories, so I guess I'm getting somewhere in this fan fiction world. But I guess this means I REALLY need to finish this story. Not that I had any intentions not to, of course.
Well, time for the students to meet a celebrity of sorts.
Chapter 16: Quidditch Tryouts
It had been two weeks and a day since the Gryffindors and Slytherins had flying lessons together. On this Saturday (by the school schedule), both Gryffindor and Slytherin were having their Quidditch tryouts; Gryffindor in the morning and Slytherin in the afternoon. Gryffindor's session on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch started at nine in the morning, so Mohammad and Henry made sure they were on the pitch a whole 15 minutes early to make a good impression on the team captain, Ron Weasley.
"Alright, I'll take you through the fundamentals since we don't have any brooms right now," Henry told Mohammad once they got onto the pitch from the main gate, "The Quidditch pitch is an oval, 500 feet long and 180 feet wide."
"And the pitch barrier extends upward from those lines on the ground like a cylinder?" Mohammad inquired as he pointed at the pitch outline on the ground.
"That's correct," Henry affirmed, "And you can't fly outside that boundary if you have the Quaffle. If you do, play is stopped and the other team gets possession of the Quaffle from where it was when play was stopped."
Mohammad nodded in understanding. "And you can fly as high as you want to?" he inquired.
"Yes, but generally play doesn't go much higher than the goals up there," Henry replied as he pointed to the two sets of three goals, "Those are the rings mounted 50 feet in the air on those poles. The goal of the chasers is to get the Quaffle through one of the three goals protected by the opposing keeper. Each goal is worth 10 points."
"Now, I notice that the area around both sets of goals is marked off," Mohammad pointed out as he referred to the scoring areas, "Can the keeper not leave that area?"
"No, this is the scoring area," Henry explained, "The keeper can leave this area whenever they want, but only one opposing chaser is allowed inside it at a time. If more than one opposing chaser is inside the scoring area at the same time, it's a violation called 'stooging,' and results in a change of possession."
Mohammad nodded. "How many violations are there in Quidditch?" he asked.
"Seven hundred," Henry informed, "Now, there are two balls called Bludgers which seek out the nearest person after they are hit by a beater's bat. Each team has two beaters, and it's their job to disorient the other team's players using the Bludgers, and maybe even knock one of them out of the game."
"And the Golden Snitch?" Mohammad asked.
"The most important ball in the game," Henry began, "The Golden Snitch can only be caught by a seeker, of which there is only one per team. If anyone else touches the Snitch, it is a foul called 'snitchnip,' and the other team gets a penalty shot with the quaffle. When a seeker catches the Snitch, they win 150 points for their team and the game ends immediately."
"So catching the Snitch is worth 15 Quaffle goals," Mohammad commented, "Then why do you bother putting the other players out there?"
"Because Quidditch is always based on a cumulative system of points in a league," Henry replied, "At Hogwarts, each team plays three games, one against each other house. After all the games have been played, the team which has scored the most points overall wins the cup, not the team with the best win-loss record, although win-loss record is the first tiebreaker in the event of a tie in total points."
"So, those are all the basics?" Mohammad asked.
"Pretty much," Henry affirmed, "You'll start to understand this game a lot better once we get airborne, trust me."
"I'm sure I will," Mohammad replied as he looked back toward the main gate of the Quidditch pitch, "Looks like the others are coming now."
Henry looked and saw that about two dozen other Gryffindor students were approaching the Quidditch pitch. Most of them were not first years.
"Tryouts for the reserve team are in two weeks," third year Gryffindor student Euan Abercrombie informed the two, "This tryout is for the first team."
"Yeah, we know," Mohammad replied, "We're here to make the first team."
"Not everyone can be Harry Potter, you know," Euan retorted.
"Hey guys, calm down," Ron Weasley ordered as he walked onto the pitch, appearing to be excited by something, "We got a celebrity here today."
Everyone looked back toward the gates and saw Professor Gryffindor and another wizard approaching them. Some of the Quidditch hopefuls' jaws dropped upon seeing this wizard in his late-40's, who was carrying a Firebolt firmly in his left hand. He was about the same height and build as Geoffrey, but his hair was blonde and had a crew cut and blue eyes. He was also wearing a Quidditch uniform colored with red and blue stripes with white stars all over, with a white "1" on the back of the uniform. His very stride spoke of confidence in himself.
"That's Maximus Brankovitch III!" Henry exclaimed silently, "He just won the Quidditch World Cup for the USA!"
"Gryffindor Quidditch hopefuls! I have someone to introduce to you this morning," Geoff announced, "This man is an accomplished professional Quidditch player from across the pond. Among his many accomplishments are seven U.S. Quidditch Cups and one Quidditch World Cup. Gryffindor hopefuls, this is the seeker of the Fitchburg Finches and the U.S. Quidditch team, Maximus Brankovitch III."
Most of the students looked at Brankovitch in awe; it was the closest anyone had ever been to a professional Quidditch player, let alone one of his caliber. However, Mohammad, who had never heard of him before now, just looked at him with a blank expression.
"You know, I hate it when people look at me like that, as if I'm a god or something," Maximus commented in a voice whose pitch was higher than one would expect for a man of his stature, "I know most of you grew up with heroes, and so did I. I admired some of the greatest sports players of the past. I had their posters all over my bedroom walls and I went to sleep at night and dreamed that I was them. But then, about the time I was the age you kids are at, I realized two things. The first was that I could actually play Quidditch for a living. And the second was that I no longer wanted to be like my heroes." He looked and pointed at the first student he saw who didn't look in awe at him. "You there, what's your name?" he asked.
"Mohammad Hazan," Mohammad replied after a short pause.
"Mohammad Hazan," Brankovitch repeated as he nodded his head, "I like that name. Mohammad, always remember this. You don't want to be the next Maximus Brankovitch III. You want to be the first Mohammad Hazan."
Mohammad smiled upon hearing this and nodded. He understood exactly what Brankovitch meant, but most of the students look dumbfounded. "Alright, let me put it this way to the rest of you," Maximus began, "I'm Maximus Brankovitch III, and you don't want to be me. You want to be better than me."
Most of the students now understood what he was telling them. Seeing this, Brankovitch said, "Well, I'm not the most eloquent guy in the world, but I'd sure love to see some Quidditch, so lets get this show on the road."
"I couldn't agree more," Geoff agreed as Gryffindor seeker Ginerva Weasley ran onto the pitch. Everyone looked at her awkwardly as she panted to recover her breath.
When she finally did speak, she said, "Sorry guys, I overslept."
Brankovitch smiled and clapped his hands together. "Ah, next to Quidditch, my favorite occupation!" he exclaimed. And that got a laugh out of everyone there.
--
"Alright, here's what's going to happen," Ron announced to the group of students standing on the Quidditch pitch, "We only have one position on the first team that we need to fill, and that position is a chaser. You should already know what the chasers do, but if you don't, they pass around the Quaffle and attempt to throw it through one of the three goals of their opponent. Now, there are twelve of you here, so we'll form four teams of three chasers and have you do some scrimmages against each other. That will comprise the first half of the tryouts, with the four best chaser hopefuls moving on to the second half of the tryouts."
"So, we won't be facing any Bludgers in the tryouts?" Henry inquired.
"That's correct," Ginny affirmed, "We're going to assume that their presence would affect all of you in the same way. Plus, we'd prefer if none of you were injured today."
"Now, for this part of tryouts, I will be one of the keepers," Ron continued, "And Mr. Brankovitch has agreed to be the other keeper. He assures me that he's as good at that position as I am, and I'll trust his judgement on this one."
"So, everyone split into four groups of three and lets get this going," Ginny ordered as Ron flew up to the undefended goals on his Cleansweep 11 while Maximus was using his Firebolt to guard the other set of goals.
"I haven't played keeper since I was about 15 years old, so I may be a bit rusty at first," Maximus pointed out as he tried to do some maneuvers on his Firebolt, "And the Firebolt wasn't exactly made with keepers in mind."
Mohammad and Henry ended up on the same three-person squad, along with Amanda Tynes, a second year girl. Geoff then opened up a large chest that he brought with him to the pitch. Inside were twelve Nimbus 1000 broomsticks.
"The Nimbus 1000 is more than 30 years old," Geoff explained as he passed one broom to each Gryffindor hopeful, "But it is still a remarkable piece of work. It can reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour and can turn on a fixed point in midair a whole 360 degrees. And since everyone has the same broom now, we have a level playing field."
Mohammad got on his broom and realized that he was using a much superior broom to the Shooting Star he had used before. He could feel the superiority of this broom as he grabbed the broom handle and flew around with it a little, though he didn't perform another loop-de-loop.
"Henry, how do you stay on this thing at 100 miles per hour?" Mohammad inquired, "Wouldn't you fly off your broom at that velocity?"
"For brooms that go as fast as these, there are various dampening spells that protect you from the air rushing around you," Henry explained as he mounted his broom and pushed himself into the air, "However, I don't feel comfortable going that fast, so try to keep your speed down."
"I'll try, but if I see an opening, I'm going to take it," Mohammad warned as he, Henry and Amanda took to the air above the pitch to face off against another group of three.
Ginny walked onto the pitch and organized the two groups into the starting positions that the chasers would take at the start of a game. Amanda took her position just outside the small center circle, with Henry and Mohammad positioning themselves behind and to either side of her in order to catch a tipped quaffle. Henry looked behind him and saw that their keeper was Ron.
"Alright, guys and girls," Ginny announced as she got ready to throw the Quaffle straight up in the air from the center circle, "Lets have a nice, clean game here." And with that, she threw the Quaffle into the air and stuffed a whistle into her mouth.
Amanda went up and beat her opponent to the Quaffle, which she tipped backwards toward Henry. He managed to catch the Quaffle and started to move forward with Mohammad and Amanda. They passed the ball around with each other in order to keep the ball from turning over to the other squad. Eventually, Henry passed the Quaffle to Mohammad, who was entering the scoring area. Mohammad looked at the goals and at Brankovitch and, without hesitation, threw the Quaffle at the left-side goal, which was the one he was closest to. Brankovitch moved toward the right-side goal, believing that Mohammad would think that he would cover the left-side goal. He guessed wrong, as the Quaffle flew right through the left-side goal.
"Yeah, Mohammad!" Henry shouted as he flew up next to his friend and hugged him, "You did it!"
Mohammad looked a little dumbfounded, then said, "I threw the ball first time, and there it went through the hoop!" He then started laughing as they soon got back to playing Quidditch.
Brankovitch looked a little embarrassed at this point. He shrugged and remarked, "Like I said, I'm a little rusty at this keeper thing." However, even once he got back into the groove of things, Mohammad had his number for another two goals and an assist.
--
"Alright, that's the end of the first half of the tryouts," Ron called to the 12 hopefuls as he and Brankovitch flew back down to the pitch, "Four of you will be moving on to the second half of the tryouts, where you'll be flying with the other two first team chasers; Dean Thomas and Demelza Robins. For those of you who don't make it, you are more than welcome to tryout for the reserve team in two weeks. And I'd like to thank Mr. Brankovitch for helping us today."
"Don't mention it," Maximus replied, "We're just taking a little break from the world tour circuit, so it feels good to get some time in on the pitch."
"Alright, here are the four players who will be moving on to the second half of the tryouts: Euan Abercrombie, Mohammad Hazan, Dennis Creevey, and Natalie MacDonald," Ron announced, with cheering coming with each name and a collective groan at the end, "Everyone else, I hope I'll see you here in two weeks."
Most of those who didn't make it left the pitch in dejection and disappointment. But Henry remained in the stands to watch Mohammad play on.
"So, what do you say now about first years on the first team?" Mohammad asked Euan tauntingly.
"You haven't made the team yet," Euan pointed out, "And trust me, you aren't going to."
"We'll just see about that," Mohammad replied, pointing a finger in Euan's face as he finished.
"Hey, knock it off, you two," Ginny ordered sternly, "That isn't going to help you make the team."
Mohammad and Euan stopped their talking at this point. However, Geoff had taken notice of Mohammad's feisty nature.
"Alright, here's how it's going to work," Ron announced, "Each one of you four are going to get a chance to play with the other two first team chasers and will try to score on me. And MacDonald will go first."
--
"Okay, good job Dennis," Ginny called as Dennis Creevey flew back down to the ground after a rather unimpressive performance, "Mohammad, you're up."
"Let me show you all how this is done," Mohammad remarked as he took off into the air to join the other two chasers.
"He's got confidence," Maximus mentioned to Geoff, "I like that. Mohammad is going to be something special in Quidditch."
"He has the potential to be a world class keeper," Geoff agreed, "But today, is he better at chaser than Euan Abercrombie?"
"Probably not," Brankovitch admitted, "And Euan is definitely more of a finesse player. But if you want physical play, Hazan is your man."
"Agreed, but Gryffindor has always been more of a finesse team," Geoff informed, "So Euan will probably make the team."
--
"Alright, this will be the last series for you Mohammad," Demelza informed, "So we'll let you choose the play sequence here."
Mohammad knew he needed to show the team something impressive in order to make the team. "Alright then, I'll make this simple," Mohammad said, "Dean, how strong is your arm?"
"Strong," Dean replied simply.
"Good," Mohammad began, "We'll pass the Quaffle around while working our way toward Ron. I'll take the Quaffle into the scoring area. Dean, you wait behind me, outside the area, and get the pass and shoot whatever goal is opened up. Demelza, if Dean misses the pass, you make sure you get it and shoot instead."
Both Demelza and Dean nodded in agreement as Dean took the Quaffle and began moving up the pitch toward Ron's position. As they neared the scoring area, Demelza passed the Quaffle to Mohammad and then hung back behind Dean as Mohammad went into the scoring area and started to move to the right. Ron went over to guard that goal. Mohammad motioned as if to throw the quaffle at the right-side goal, but did not release the ball. Instead, he continued to hold the Quaffle through the throwing motion and released it when his right hand reached his left shoulder. The Quaffle flew backward out of the scoring area and into the hands of Dean Thomas, who immediately threw the ball at the wide-open left-side goal. Ron had no chance of getting the save.
"YEAH!" Mohammad yelled as he raised both his arms into the air.
"Oh wow!" Maximus exclaimed, "That was amazing!"
Everyone who was still present at the tryouts had some sort of reaction to the score; from Henry Gryffindor, who started jumping up and down in the front row of the stands in excitement, to Euan Abercrombie, who shook his head at Mohammad's show of deception.
"Great job, Mohammad!" Ginny called out as Mohammad landed near her, "That was a great pass."
Mohammad barely registered her compliment as he ran toward the stands and jumped up into the seat next to Henry, broom still in his right hand. "What do you think of that?" he asked Henry loudly.
"I say you're going to give Slytherin a nightmare next month," Henry replied as they embraced each other, "That was unbelievable!"
"Gryffindor, I want that kid on the Fitchburg Finches the moment he leaves Hogwarts!" Brankovitch demanded.
"I think Puddlemere United might have something to say about that, Maximus," Geoff pointed out, "Do you think you can outbid them with the state of Quidditch in the States?"
"Trust me, within the next seven years, U.S. teams will be beating the best Europe has to offer on a regular basis," Maximus assured Geoffrey, "Quodpot will drop in popularity now that we won the cup."
"I like Quodpot, actually," Geoff informed, which earned a long, dirty stare from the American Quidditch star.
--
"Alright, a great job to all four of you," Ron told the four finalists after he, Ginny, Demelza and Dean had deliberated for ten minutes about who should make the team, "But only one of you can make the first team. For those of you who don't, I expect to see you two Saturdays from now for reserve team tryouts.
"And the third chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch first team will be Euan Abercrombie."
"Yes!" Euan shouted with an arm pump as he stepped forward and joined his teammates. Mohammad, meanwhile, appeared to be sickened by the fact that he failed to make the team.
"It's alright, Mohammad," Henry assured his friend as he sat down on the ground and stared blankly ahead, "You'll make the reserve team easily, trust me."
Mohammad shook his head slowly as Ginny come up to talk to him.
"Mohammad, I'm sorry you didn't make the team," she said, "You came really close, but Dean and Demelza have had some prior experience with Euan and he knows the game more than you do. You'll make the team next year, just keep your head up."
Mohammad continued to sit for another few seconds until he finally stood up and began walking back to Geoff. He tried to hand the Nimbus 1000 back to him, but Geoff declined to accept it.
"Kid, you've earned it," Brankovitch informed Mohammad, who now was looking up instead of down, "You hang on to that broom."
"Mohammad, why don't you hang on to this broom?" Geoff inquired, "You'll be needing it again in two weeks, I would think."
Mohammad sighed as he nodded and walked back toward the castle.
"He must have a huge chip on his shoulder," Maximus concluded as he watched Hazan walk away, "I've never seen anyone react like that to being the second-best player on the pitch."
"His family immigrated to Britain from Pakistan," Geoff informed Brankovitch, "And he's a Muggle-born."
That drew a look of concern from Maximus. "Oh boy, if Christians want us burned at the stake, I can't imagine what those Muslims think of us," he commented as he shook his head, "I'm glad that kind of intolerance isn't tolerated in our world."
"Trust me, Maximus, a lot of people in Wizarding Britain openly hold prejudices against Muggle-borns," Geoffrey said with a sigh, "And I'm sure that hatred is also present in America."
Maximus glanced back at Geoff momentarily. "Maybe, but in America, Muggle-born hatred is taboo," he pointed out, "It has been since the late 60's, and I'm happy it is that way."
"Just because something is taboo doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Geoff argued.
"But at least you aren't allowed to act on that racism in the United States," Maximus retorted harshly, "You know, you Brits act all high and mighty, like you are all somehow superior to all other nationalities somehow. But every time I come to this country, I always hear things like, 'Mudbloods aren't welcome here' or 'All those mudbloods should be banished from the country' or whatever. And then there's this Voldemort pest committing acts of terrorism against both wizards and Muggles and too many people here hail him as a hero for it."
"Maximus, those who support Voldemort's actions are very much in the minority, and you know that," Geoffrey replied as he and Brankovitch turned to look at each other when they saw that all the Gryffindor students had left the pitch, "And our Ministry is trying to bring Voldemort to justice as we speak."
"If even one person is allowed to support terrorism in public without being punished in some way for it, that's bad enough," Maximus responded angrily, "Freedom of speech doesn't extend to open support of terrorism. Your Death Eaters would never have stood a chance of succeeding in the States because they would have been cracked down on by our government from the earliest stages."
"You and I agree on all those thing, Maximus," Geoff defended, "You know that. We've known each other for years."
"But the stakes aren't as high for you, Geoffrey," Maximus pointed out, "You're a pureblood, so you aren't discriminated against. But I came to Britain last year for an exhibition match against the Chudley Cannons and someone denied me service in a restaurant because I am the son of two Muggles. I have to endure the hatred; you don't. You don't understand what it is like to face this kind of discrimination."
"Neither do you, Max!" Geoff angrily retorted, "Like you said, that sort of thing isn't allowed in the States. You only had to deal with that one time."
"Once was enough," Maximus replied, "I felt so humiliated that we almost lost to the Chudley Cannons! Do you realize how far back that would have set American Quidditch?"
Geoff decided to end this conversation at this. He took a long glare into his friend's eyes and then said, "If that was all you lost because of this hatred, consider yourself lucky. I wish that was all I lost to it."
Maximus felt a wave of shame wash over him upon hearing this. He knew about all the close friends that Geoffrey had lost in 1981. Geoff told him the story years ago and he never wanted to hear it again. "I'm sorry Geoff," Brankovitch apologized with his head looking to the ground, "I got carried away. I didn't mean to insult you."
"I know, Max, I know," Geoff assured as he put his right hand on his friend's left shoulder, "And trust me, I will do everything in my power to stop Voldemort. But you have to remember that we haven't had a rights movement like you had in the 1960's. We're still waiting for that change."
Maximus nodded and then looked back down the path leading back to the castle. "Looks like the Slytherins are coming," he commented as he saw someone approaching the pitch.
--
Author's Notes: Ovciously, the situation in the USA Wizarding community between Quodpot and Quidditch is a mirror to the real-life situation here in the States between gridiron football and association football (a.k.a. soccer), except that the USA has never won the World Cup... yet (hopefully, that will change in 2010). Also meant to be a mirror situation like this (one that is more of my invention) is the status of racism in Europe (allowed and even encouraged in certain respects) and racism in the United States (looked down upon in practically all situations).
Well, that's about all for this week. Until next time, read, review, and enjoy.