Chapter 3
Ron's Big Day
Ron meets with the Cannons...and his new agent.
Ron gripped the handle of his broom so tightly that his knuckles were white and he was starting to worry that the handle might actually break. He had played Keeper for the Gryffindor House Team for 3 years, off and on between horcrux hunting and battling Voldemort, but was sure he had never been so nervous.
"Why am I so nervous?" he thought to himself. "I'm not even trying out – they just want to see me fly and catch a few quaffles. I already have the position." Unfortunately, his pep talk to himself wasn't helping. He still felt like he was about to throw up slugs – a feeling he had hoped he would never have to endure again.
After nearly an hour on the pitch, a tour of the facilities and a hot shower Ron found himself in a small conference room with an older gentleman who introduced himself as Ashton Barrington.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Weasley. I'm Ashton Barrington and I will be representing you as your agent. Please, call me Ash. I can see by your expression that I am a bit older than you were expecting – have no fear, I have been in this business a long time and have represented many successful players. You are in good hands, Mr. Weasley. It may comfort you to know that your sister and Mr. Potter have also procured my services."
Ashton noticed that Ron was still a bit nervous, so he opened his briefcase, produced a small flask and two small glasses. He proceeded to pour a small amount of liquid into each glass and then offered one to his client.
"Here…looks like you might need this. Slainte!" Ashton then pointed to a small dish on the corner of the desk with some hard candies inside.
"Don't forget to pop one of those in your mouth. We don't want the Cannon's to think you're a boozer your first day, now do we?" smirked the crafty Agent. "Now, let's get down to business!"
After a brief run through of the contract, Ashton explained that since Ron was a rookie he would not be able to negotiate much on this first contract. However, the offer was a good one to start out on – two years, guaranteed starting Keeper, standard league minimum salary, standard bonuses for goals saved, matches won, play-off wins, etc.
"You just sit there and look confident and I will take care of the rest," said Ashton in a way that finally put Ron at ease. "He might be an old codger, but he sure seems to know what he's doing!" thought Ron to himself.
After moving to a larger conference room, successfully negotiating Ron's contract which did, indeed, consist of Ron looking as confident as he could (the shot of firewhiskey helping immensely) while Ashton skillfully set the tone of the negotiations, being assigned permanent lockers, being fitted for uniforms and receiving a small mountain of "new hire" paperwork, it was early evening and time for Ron to leave the Cannon's headquarters.
"You have my card, Ron. I am your agent now, so if you have any questions…and I mean any questions…you owl me, straight away! You are paying me good money, I suggest getting your money's worth." Ashton turned on the spot and disapparated with a pop.
Ron apparated outside the wards of The Burrow and made his way to the kitchen door, his arms full of binders and folders containing all of his "new hire" paperwork; League Rules, the League Code of Ethics, The Chudley Cannon's Employee Handbook, his contract and numerous other forms and letters…some of which he didn't quite understand. For instance, there was one form that was called "direct deposit' or something of the sort – the witch in payroll had explained that it was a muggle idea where money doesn't actually exchange hands but is placed directly in your vault, thus alleviating lost notes or stolen galleons. Ron was sure his dad would be quizzing Harry or Hermione about this as soon as he heard about it. As Ron entered through the kitchen door he was met by the smells of his mother's cooking.
Oi, Mum! That smells great! I thought maybe I had lost my appetite after that contract negotiation, but…nope, it's still there!"
"Well, thank goodness for small miracles!" came Ginny's response from the sitting room.
"Always the smart arse." replied Ron.
"Ronald Weasley, watch your tongue!" Molly scolded as Ron made his way through the kitchen to the sitting room.
"Sorry, Mum."
"Rather a smart arse than a dumb arse, I always say," Ginny said in a low tone, grinning widely and hoping her mum didn't hear her.
Ron made his way to one of the chairs and set all of his paperwork on the coffee table in front of him.
"Looks like you have some serious reading to do, mate. Hermione would be impressed."
"It'll take me all season to get through all of this," sighed Ron, rubbing his face in his hands.
"Especially if you spend all of your time snogging, like you have been lately," snickered Ginny. "Speaking of which, where is Hermione? I thought she was coming to dinner tonight?"
"She had an appointment with the Ministry today for her security clearances and all of that. She said they have to do all of that before she can officially accept the position," Ron informed them.
Ron slumped back into his chair and the three soon fell into what was becoming a common conversation amongst them: quidditch…gear, uniforms, training or anything else associated with it. After a rousing discussion about strength training Harry brought up the topic of brooms.
"If you had your pick of any broom, which one would you pick?"
Ron was the first to jump in, "Well, there are 4 new models of Firebolts this season and they are position-specific. I think I would pick the Firebolt K series, since it's designed for Keepers with a more nimble lateral, horizontal and vertical movement. It sacrifices forward speed for the x-y axis movement."
"I think Hermione's starting to rub off on you, Ron. If your voice was a bit higher I would have thought that was Hermione!" laughed Harry as he put his arm around Ginny and pulled her closer to him.
"What about you, Harry? What broom would you want?" asked Ginny as she snuggled in a little closer to Harry and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Oh, I think I would stick with my trusty old Firebolt. She's my good luck charm. I thought I had lost her forever when Hagrid and I escaped on Sirius' motorcycle and were hit. I can't believe Tonks actually found it…and in one piece! She flies straight and fast and has served me well so far…I don't think I could find a better broom."
Harry's voice caught with a hitch when he mentioned Tonks. He had to swallow hard to hold back the tears that threatened to leak from his eyes. Ginny could feel his body tense up a bit so she gave him a gentle hug and kissed his shoulder. She felt him relax again and could tell that although the painful memories and guilt he felt for those who had died fighting with him against Voldemort was almost gone, it still showed its ugly head every now and then. But, what once would have taken hours of comforting and soft, soothing words to calm him now, after their therapy sessions during the school year, only took a few seconds and a tender touch.
Ron noticed Harry's anxiousness, so he pushed the conversation along,
"What broom would you pick, Sis?"
"Ooh, I think I would take one of the new Firebolt Shooting Stars!" she said as she stared off into space. "They are a Seekers broom, but I think I could really use the agility to my advantage as a Chaser. I guess after playing Seeker a while I got a better insight into Chasing. A Seeker has to be so alert to everything around them – beaters clubbing bludgers at you, the general play of the match, the other Seeker and, of course, the Snitch. Now, as a Chaser, I am much more in tune to the rest of the team and what is going on all around me – I fly more like a Seeker, darting in and out and making more dramatic moves…it seems to throw my opponents off."
Harry mentally took note of these comments from Ron and Ginny, tucking them away for later use. Now he had to find a way to get to Diagon Alley by himself without raising any suspicion. He would have to work on that later. Hermione stepped from the floo, brushing off soot as she stepped into the kitchen at The Burrow. Her arms were laden with pamphlets, folders, binders and scrolls. She blew a wisp of hair out of her eyes as she looked around for somewhere to set everything before she dropped it all.
"Oh, dear….look at you! Ronald…come in here and help Hermione! She's about to go under in a sea of paperwork." called Molly from the kitchen.
Molly rushed from the sink and tried to help Hermione get control of the slowly falling tower of papers. Unfortunately, everyone was just a wee bit too late to keep the mountain of papers from falling and scattering all over the kitchen floor.
"Sorry, love. I wasn't quick enough" crooned Ron as Ginny and Harry also scampered in, also a bit too late, to try to help.
"It's o.k., Ron. It's mostly just employee handbooks and that sort of thing."
Ron gripped the handle of his broom so tightly that his knuckles were white and he was starting to worry that the handle might actually break. He had played Keeper for the Gryffindor House Team for 3 years, off and on between horcrux hunting and battling Voldemort, but was sure he had never been so nervous.
"Why am I so nervous?" he thought to himself. "I'm not even trying out – they just want to see me fly and catch a few quaffles. I already have the position." Unfortunately, his pep talk to himself wasn't helping. He still felt like he was about to throw up slugs – a feeling he had hoped he would never have to endure again.
After nearly an hour on the pitch, a tour of the facilities and a hot shower Ron found himself in a small conference room with an older gentleman who introduced himself as Ashton Barrington.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Weasley. I'm Ashton Barrington and I will be representing you as your agent. Please, call me Ash. I can see by your expression that I am a bit older than you were expecting – have no fear, I have been in this business a long time and have represented many successful players. You are in good hands, Mr. Weasley. It may comfort you to know that your sister and Mr. Potter have also procured my services."
Ashton noticed that Ron was still a bit nervous, so he opened his briefcase, produced a small flask and two small glasses. He proceeded to pour a small amount of liquid into each glass and then offered one to his client.
"Here…looks like you might need this. Slainte!" Ashton then pointed to a small dish on the corner of the desk with some hard candies inside.
"Don't forget to pop one of those in your mouth. We don't want the Cannon's to think you're a boozer your first day, now do we?" smirked the crafty Agent. "Now, let's get down to business!"
After a brief run through of the contract, Ashton explained that since Ron was a rookie he would not be able to negotiate much on this first contract. However, the offer was a good one to start out on – two years, guaranteed starting Keeper, standard league minimum salary, standard bonuses for goals saved, matches won, play-off wins, etc.
"You just sit there and look confident and I will take care of the rest," said Ashton in a way that finally put Ron at ease. "He might be an old codger, but he sure seems to know what he's doing!" thought Ron to himself.
After moving to a larger conference room, successfully negotiating Ron's contract which did, indeed, consist of Ron looking as confident as he could (the shot of firewhiskey helping immensely) while Ashton skillfully set the tone of the negotiations, being assigned permanent lockers, being fitted for uniforms and receiving a small mountain of "new hire" paperwork, it was early evening and time for Ron to leave the Cannon's headquarters.
"You have my card, Ron. I am your agent now, so if you have any questions…and I mean any questions…you owl me, straight away! You are paying me good money, I suggest getting your money's worth." Ashton turned on the spot and disapparated with a pop.
Ron apparated outside the wards of The Burrow and made his way to the kitchen door, his arms full of binders and folders containing all of his "new hire" paperwork; League Rules, the League Code of Ethics, The Chudley Cannon's Employee Handbook, his contract and numerous other forms and letters…some of which he didn't quite understand. For instance, there was one form that was called "direct deposit' or something of the sort – the witch in payroll had explained that it was a muggle idea where money doesn't actually exchange hands but is placed directly in your vault, thus alleviating lost notes or stolen galleons. Ron was sure his dad would be quizzing Harry or Hermione about this as soon as he heard about it. As Ron entered through the kitchen door he was met by the smells of his mother's cooking.
Oi, Mum! That smells great! I thought maybe I had lost my appetite after that contract negotiation, but…nope, it's still there!"
"Well, thank goodness for small miracles!" came Ginny's response from the sitting room.
"Always the smart arse." replied Ron.
"Ronald Weasley, watch your tongue!" Molly scolded as Ron made his way through the kitchen to the sitting room.
"Sorry, Mum."
"Rather a smart arse than a dumb arse, I always say," Ginny said in a low tone, grinning widely and hoping her mum didn't hear her.
Ron made his way to one of the chairs and set all of his paperwork on the coffee table in front of him.
"Looks like you have some serious reading to do, mate. Hermione would be impressed."
"It'll take me all season to get through all of this," sighed Ron, rubbing his face in his hands.
"Especially if you spend all of your time snogging, like you have been lately," snickered Ginny. "Speaking of which, where is Hermione? I thought she was coming to dinner tonight?"
"She had an appointment with the Ministry today for her security clearances and all of that. She said they have to do all of that before she can officially accept the position," Ron informed them.
Ron slumped back into his chair and the three soon fell into what was becoming a common conversation amongst them: quidditch…gear, uniforms, training or anything else associated with it. After a rousing discussion about strength training Harry brought up the topic of brooms.
"If you had your pick of any broom, which one would you pick?"
Ron was the first to jump in, "Well, there are 4 new models of Firebolts this season and they are position-specific. I think I would pick the Firebolt K series, since it's designed for Keepers with a more nimble lateral, horizontal and vertical movement. It sacrifices forward speed for the x-y axis movement."
"I think Hermione's starting to rub off on you, Ron. If your voice was a bit higher I would have thought that was Hermione!" laughed Harry as he put his arm around Ginny and pulled her closer to him.
"What about you, Harry? What broom would you want?" asked Ginny as she snuggled in a little closer to Harry and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Oh, I think I would stick with my trusty old Firebolt. She's my good luck charm. I thought I had lost her forever when Hagrid and I escaped on Sirius' motorcycle and were hit. I can't believe Tonks actually found it…and in one piece! She flies straight and fast and has served me well so far…I don't think I could find a better broom."
Harry's voice caught with a hitch when he mentioned Tonks. He had to swallow hard to hold back the tears that threatened to leak from his eyes. Ginny could feel his body tense up a bit so she gave him a gentle hug and kissed his shoulder. She felt him relax again and could tell that although the painful memories and guilt he felt for those who had died fighting with him against Voldemort was almost gone, it still showed its ugly head every now and then. But, what once would have taken hours of comforting and soft, soothing words to calm him now, after their therapy sessions during the school year, only took a few seconds and a tender touch.
Ron noticed Harry's anxiousness, so he pushed the conversation along,
"What broom would you pick, Sis?"
"Ooh, I think I would take one of the new Firebolt Shooting Stars!" she said as she stared off into space. "They are a Seekers broom, but I think I could really use the agility to my advantage as a Chaser. I guess after playing Seeker a while I got a better insight into Chasing. A Seeker has to be so alert to everything around them – beaters clubbing bludgers at you, the general play of the match, the other Seeker and, of course, the Snitch. Now, as a Chaser, I am much more in tune to the rest of the team and what is going on all around me – I fly more like a Seeker, darting in and out and making more dramatic moves…it seems to throw my opponents off."
Harry mentally took note of these comments from Ron and Ginny, tucking them away for later use. Now he had to find a way to get to Diagon Alley by himself without raising any suspicion. He would have to work on that later. Hermione stepped from the floo, brushing off soot as she stepped into the kitchen at The Burrow. Her arms were laden with pamphlets, folders, binders and scrolls. She blew a wisp of hair out of her eyes as she looked around for somewhere to set everything before she dropped it all.
"Oh, dear….look at you! Ronald…come in here and help Hermione! She's about to go under in a sea of paperwork." called Molly from the kitchen.
Molly rushed from the sink and tried to help Hermione get control of the slowly falling tower of papers. Unfortunately, everyone was just a wee bit too late to keep the mountain of papers from falling and scattering all over the kitchen floor.
"Sorry, love. I wasn't quick enough" crooned Ron as Ginny and Harry also scampered in, also a bit too late, to try to help.
"It's o.k., Ron. It's mostly just employee handbooks and that sort of thing."
"I thought you had to go through security clearances before they would give you the job?" asked Ron.
"Technically, that is correct," stated Hermione "But Amos is sure that my clearances will come through all right so he gave me all of the Ministry handbooks, the Department handbooks and some initial case files and summaries to look over and get familiar with before I officially start on August 30th."
"August 30th, huh? Sounds like we start around the same time, 'mione. Do you two know when you start training?" asked Ron, directing his question toward Harry and Ginny.
Ginny shrugged and answered, "I won't find out until my try out…if I make it. I know Gwenog usually has the rookies in a week earlier than the rest of the team to break them in, start their conditioning routines and start drilling them on plays. That would put me in practices the last week of August."
"I'm in the same boat as Ginny. I won't find out until my interview." responded Harry.
"I thought you had to go through security clearances before they would give you the job?" asked Ron.
"Technically, that is correct," stated Hermione "But Amos is sure that my clearances will come through all right so he gave me all of the Ministry handbooks, the Department handbooks and some initial case files and summaries to look over and get familiar with before I officially start on August 30th."
"August 30th, huh? Sounds like we start around the same time, 'mione. Do you two know when you start training?" asked Ron, directing his question toward Harry and Ginny.
Ginny shrugged and answered, "I won't find out until my try out…if I make it. I know Gwenog usually has the rookies in a week earlier than the rest of the team to break them in, start their conditioning routines and start drilling them on plays. That would put me in practices the last week of August."
"I'm in the same boat as Ginny. I won't find out until my interview." responded Harry.