Chapter 35: The Dancing Patronus

April, Seventh Year, Easter Holidays

"Pull your collar up."

I blinked, turning to find Mike grinning at me, dressed in the smartest quidditch uniform I'd ever seen. The only thing I had to wear was my Hufflepuff uniform, and I'd thought that would be fine. His finger poked into my neck and I felt a slight twinge at the same time as I realised that was the exact spot Santana had latched onto last night for quite some time. I reached up quickly to pull my collar higher, and Mike laughed.

"I forgot you were going to be here too," I admitted, glancing around the pitch. There were a lot more people here than I'd thought there would be. Most of them were older than me as well - one man must have been about thirty. Some of them were carrying expensive-looking broomsticks, and I wondered if maybe I should have brought mine. It had said in the letter that it wasn't needed, though.

"Finn's meant to be here too, but I haven't seen him yet," Mike replied. I nodded; Finn had been excited about it for weeks. Karofsky had, too, until he'd left. I didn't think I'd be seeing him today. "You nervous?"

I nodded, shifting from foot to foot and putting Karofsky out of my mind. "You?"

"A bit. The scouts are already up there," he said, pointing up to one section of the stadium where a small selection of witches and wizards were seated. "There's way less than normal."

"How do you know?"

"My brother tried out a few years ago. He didn't get in, but he said there were at least twenty scouts."

I gazed up at the scouts, doing a quick count. Eleven. Looking around the pitch, there had to be fifty of us trying out. I was starting to get even more nervous.

"Hey guys!"

I turned to see Finn approaching - at least he was in his Hufflepuff uniform, although he was carrying a broom under his arm. I started to greet him, but a booming voice suddenly echoed across the pitch.

"Thank you all for coming! We are almost ready to begin, but first we need to sort according to position. Chasers, please collect a broom and tag from the north tower - anyone who has brought their own broom will need to store them in the provided lockers until the end of the trials. Beaters, west tower. Keepers, south tower. Seekers, east tower. We will be beginning position-specific tests in ten minutes."

"Oh, I guess I'll see you later. Good luck!" Finn called as he headed off.

I glanced at Mike, and he gave me an encouraging smile. I was glad I was with him. I never normally got so worried. I was good at quidditch. I knew I was. Playing it was fun, I didn't have to think. But what if I didn't get into this? What would I do then?

There were thirteen of us trying out as seekers. We had to wait in a line for a broom and some sort of magical wristband with a number on, apparently so they knew who was who while we were in the air. Then an old man came over with a box full of snitches.

"We're going to be releasing these one at a time, in the order of your numbers."

I checked my wristband again to find the number seven.

"You must catch the snitch with your number and only your number," the man instructed, lifting up one snitch as an example. I could see a glowing number one on both sides as he rolled it in his fingers. I realised straight away that to see which snitch was mine, I'd have to be flying right next to it, and make sure to look before catching it. I didn't want to get penalised for catching the wrong one. "The snitches will be confined to the east section of the pitch, so there is no need to venture further afield. Any questions?" No one responded. "Good. You must wait for the whistle before taking off. Snitch number one…"

I got on the broom I'd been given, watching quietly as the snitches were released in order. The moment he let go of the number seven my head jerked up, eyes following it. But then it started spinning about with one of the other snitches - and then two more flew straight past, and after only a minute I had completely lost track of it. We waited on the ground for five minutes, until there was no chance that anyone still knew where their snitch was. Then the whistle blew.

The wind roared in my ears as I flew upwards towards the first snitch that caught my eye. It darted to my right and as I turned I almost flew straight into another player, who was surprisingly large for a seeker. I ducked just in time, feeling the top of my head skim his broom, and I was already reaching out for the snitch when I suddenly remembered the rules. I pulled my hand back quickly, urging my broom forward and aware of another person just behind me on my right. I pushed myself forward more, so much that I almost went straight past the snitch, but pulled back just in time that I was hovering right next to it. I turned my head to examine it, but after a few seconds I could see that it was either a three or an eight, not seven.

I pulled up and away, twisting as I did to examine the surroundings. Mike zoomed past me with his hand outstretched, and I dropped down to tail after another player. This was crazy, everyone trying to catch so many snitches. To my left I could see four people going after the same one. But I had to focus. I had to stop getting caught up in my head.

I sped up so I was right next to the other player, ignoring him. This wasn't a proper quidditch match, I didn't have to worry about him ramming into me. After only a few seconds he veered off anyway, allowing me to get close enough to the snitch to locate the glowing number. I squinted, trying to make it out. Was that a seven? Or a one? It looked like a seven, but I had to be sure.

I lowered myself closer to my broom, edging to the side so the snitch was on my right as I started to speed up a little. I thought someone else was behind me, but I paid no attention to them as I worked myself closer. The snitch was skittish, jerking up and down and spinning as I tried to get a good view of the number. It was definitely a one or a seven, though. It suddenly spiralled up and I followed, struggling to get back into my position next to it. But it turned again - this time giving me a clear view of the seven engraved onto it. I switched back to my normal seeking mode, reaching out my hand and accelerating steadily, getting me closer and closer to it but not going past. It twisted and turned, trying to get away, but the whole time I kept up with it, edging nearer, until finally my fingers grasped metal and I pulled it into my closed fist.

I pulled up abruptly as soon as I had it, and the person who'd been following me looped off in another direction. I turned, finding about half the players still chasing snitches and the rest on the ground. Apparently I hadn't been as fast as I'd hoped. I flew down quickly, seeing that Mike was already there and smiling at me. I returned the snitch to our instructor and went to stand in line with him.

"That was great, Britt," he whispered.

"You were faster," I pointed out.

"They're not looking at speed for this, it's mostly chance. They just want to warm us up, see our flying style. My brother said there's all sorts of tests - flying, turning, actual seeking. Then fitness as well, and we'll be in matches at the end. They want to see everything we can do."

I nodded, feeling a little more confident now I knew some of what would be happening. I wished Santana could be in the stands to cheer me on, but that was impossible. I had to do this myself.

Not everyone got a chance to catch their snitches. After ten more minutes our instructor called the last couple of people down, summoning their snitches with his wand. Then it was onto the next test - and Mike was right, they did vary a lot. There was more seeking, where they partnered us up to see who caught it fastest. Then everyone was brought back together for speed and reaction tests, and after that we had to put our brooms to the side and do lots of running as they timed us. I disliked that the most - everything else I was comfortable with. I wasn't the slowest at running, but I definitely wasn't the fastest either. We didn't even stop for lunch - apparently they wanted to test our endurance too, with how long some of the professional matches went on for without any breaks.

By the time they were splitting us into teams for the matches, it was drizzling and my stomach was protesting at the lack of food. I was aching, and cold, but we weren't even done yet. We still had an hour to go. They were timing the matches so they wouldn't go on forever, and splitting the pitch into three so everyone could play at once. The match I was in had only two chasers and one beater on each team so that the numbers would work, and I soon noticed that I'd be playing against Mike. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. I knew Mike's style - but he knew mine, as well.

"Listen up, everyone."

I turned away from looking at the opposite team to find the same instructor from earlier motioning us into a circle. I noticed the diagrams in front of him and started to get worried again, like I had been at the start of the day. I wasn't good with tactics, at all - but now the instructor was speaking directly to me.

"You - Pierce, is it? You need to keep an eye on the bludgers. With only one beater, that's vitally important. Communicate with Langley," he said, pointing to the burly man to my left who had to be almost seven feet tall, swinging his bat like it weighed nothing. He nodded once at me before returning his attention to the instructor. I tried to listen as well, but it was hard to understand everything that was being said. I was good at catching the snitch; that was my job. Finn had never asked anything more from me.

Everything passed in a blur and before I knew it, we were hovering in position. The whistle blew, and we were off just as the wind picked up, making it even more difficult to manoeuvre. I managed, though. I soared high up above the pitch to begin my normal circles of the pitch, noticing Mike start up his zig-zags. I tried not to focus on him too much, although it was always good to keep an eye on him in case he saw the snitch first. I kept my eyes open for that little glint of gold, but then I remembered I had to watch for bludgers as well. I tried to look for Langley, but it was hard. I wasn't used to looking for other balls or players as well as the snitch.

Something shimmered in the corner of my eye and I spun quickly to locate it, but it was only the referee's goggles. I was vaguely aware of both teams scoring, but I didn't know who was winning. A bludger suddenly flew straight past me and I dropped several metres out of shock, twisting again to try and find where it had gone. I had to remember to pay attention to them too. It had disappeared into the rain, but a moment later Langley flew straight past, shouting something I didn't hear. I took a moment to breathe slowly, trying to get my head back into the game. Snitch, and bludgers. That shouldn't be hard.

Mike dived suddenly from his position across the pitch, and I followed as fast as I could, speeding towards the direction he was flying in rather than towards him to gain on him. He was just as fast as me, though. He always had been, and he had the lead. He swooped down close to the ground and I managed to fly just above him, finally catching sight of the snitch. It was moving from side to side just like the one I'd caught earlier had, and I knew that at any moment it could dart in another direction. I prepared to follow it even as I outstretched my hand on the off chance it flew towards me.

It didn't. The snitch veered even lower to the ground, further away from me. I flew to the side, trying to drop down next to Mike… but it was too late. He was flying up with his fist clenched, the whistle was blowing, and the match was over. As the referee announced the final scores, I realised we had lost spectacularly.

"It can't have been that bad."

"Santana, we lost by two hundred and ten points. In a game that lasted half an hour! That's terrible!"

"Well they're not going to judge everything by that performance, are they? Mike's a good seeker, but so are you - you must have been close. And you did okay in the earlier tests, right?"

I nodded, twirling a red pen between my fingers as I stared down at the very colourful star map I'd been making for the last hour.

"I think so. I just wish they'd tell me already. I mean, what if I don't get picked? What happens then?"

She turned to me, moving her hand to hang over the edge of the bed. I took it slowly.

"Then we'll find you something else. Quidditch isn't the only thing you can do, Britt."

I shrugged, not really wanting to think about that. Santana had confidence in me, but I really couldn't see what other paths were open to me apart from just working in a shop - or doing what Professor Schue had said, and going into the muggle world.

"How are we supposed to memorise all of this anyway?" Santana sighed, changing the subject as she dropped the astronomy book onto the bed, her face following shortly after. "It's late. You've been flying all day, you must be tired. Can't we just stop now?"

I picked up my giant sheet of paper and some pens and crawled up onto the bed, knocking her with my foot until she rolled over to give me enough space to lay down my star map.

"Look," I said, glad she had given me the opportunity to feel useful. I was so nervous about getting the results of the trial I didn't want to think about it at all anymore. She did so through half-lidded eyes, finally rolling them and sitting up again properly. I pointed to my map. "The green dots are planets. Red and yellow and orange are stars. Red high magnitude, yellow low, orange in between. Then the purple lines are the constellations. Okay?"

"I get that. And this is great, Britt. But I'm not going to remember just by staring at it. I have to do something, and there's nothing to do to help me learn this! We can't even see half the constellations we'll need to know until May!"

I frowned down at my map, trying to work out how to make it easier for Santana. She always helped me so much in Defence Against the Dark Arts, I had to find a way that she could remember. Colours always worked great for me - I could picture them when I was in the exam.

"Maybe you just need to relax," I suggested, shuffling over so I was sat behind her and lifting my hands to her shoulders, gently pressing in with my fingers. She sighed under my touch and I used one hand to lift her hair over one shoulder so I had better access, massaging gently and leaning in to nuzzle my nose against the back of her neck. I smiled when I noticed the gold chain - I hadn't seen her take that necklace off once since I'd given it to her.

I pressed a light kiss to the top of her shoulder blade, then whispered my lips in a diagonal line upwards. One kiss to the left of her spine, one in the middle, one on the right. My lips moved again, running up her neck to place three final kisses in a triangle just under her ear.

"What constellation's that?"

She twitched a little when I spoke.

"What?"

I grinned against her skin. "Pay better attention this time," I murmured, starting the pattern again. I began with the triangle this time, then worked my way down over her spine to end up back where I started. "Get it?"

"Uh… serpens?"

"Which one?"

"…Serpens caput?"

I rewarded her with a stronger kiss to the back of her shoulder, my tongue slipping out for a second before I pulled my lips away, hearing her sigh as I did. I reached up to pull down one strap of her top, revealing more skin for me to work with. I thought for a moment, then leaned in again to start a trial of kisses almost in the shape of a house with its floor missing. This time I kept my lips on her back the whole time, my tongue pressing into her skin for each star. Halfway across I had to pull on the other strap so I had enough space to finish drawing the outline with my lips, sliding the material down to bunch around her middle. I rested my hands on her sides, fingers brushing against the bottom of her bra as I finished the next constellation.

"And that?" I whispered.

She didn't reply at first, but I could hear her breathing was heavier than before.

"It… um…" She gulped, then spoke with a stronger voice. "I think you should do it again."

"Yeah?" I asked lightly, teasing her with the tiniest of kisses on her back.

"Mm… yeah."

"Alright," I agreed, moving back to my original spot next to her arm. "Pay better attention this time, or we'll have to find another way to study," I reminded her with a grin, starting up my kisses again across the plane of her back. I was careful to pause after each star, to help her distinguish them better. "So?"

"Scorpius."

"Nope," I replied, pulling my lips away from her. She let out a tiny whine of protest and I giggled. "Come on, Santana."

"Libra?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed, swooping in to kiss her cheek briefly. She tried to follow me when I pulled away, and I laughed into her shoulder as I retraced the pattern of the constellation, this time with my finger. "So what else? How far away is it?"

"What?"

"Come on! You need to learn this! You said you needed a different way, so this is it. If it's okay…?" I added tentatively, wanting to make sure.

She nodded straight away. "Oh yeah, this is great. No way I'm forgetting this," she replied. "It's… um, five hundred procul charms?"

"Almost."

I started kissing her shoulder again, pressing my lips against her four times then stopping.

"504?"

"Exactly," I said with a grin, glad my method seemed to be working. "Lie down," I instructed suddenly, moving away from her and ignoring her objection.

I grabbed my sheet of paper, studying it for a moment to check the next constellation, then dropped it carefully onto the floor so there was more space for her. When I turned back to the bed, I found her sat exactly where she had been before, pouting. I tried not to laugh at her, twiddling my finger instead as a way of repeating my instructions. She sighed overdramatically, and was moving to lie down when I interrupted her.

"Wait, wait. Take your top off too, it'll get in the way."

She eyed me for a moment, then smirked and pulled it off in one quick motion, throwing it in my direction then settling down onto her stomach. She folded her arms and rested her head on them, still giving me that same look, and for a few seconds I forgot to breathe. Then I scrambled back onto the bed, lifting one leg so I was settled on the top of her thighs, her whole back open for me to kiss constellations into except for the strap of her bra. I considered for a moment, then reached up to unclasp it, pushing it away as I leaned further to whisper into Santana's hair.

"Remember we're studying. No funny business."

She turned her head then to raise an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't move. I dropped one kiss on her cheek then returned to her back. I ran my fingers slowly down each side of her ribcage as I started to kiss a square into the centre of her back. Then I started on the arms and legs - or at least, what were meant to be arms and legs. To me, the Hercules constellation looked more like an old man waving a stick than some muscled Greek guy.

"Hercules," Santana muttered the moment I finished. I grinned against her skin, wondering how long she'd known.

"How many stars?"

"Lots."

"Santana!" I poked her lightly in the side. She laughed, batting my hand away.

"Alright, alright. Uh… 50,000."

"See? You do know it!"

Her head turned, and suddenly I was faced with that same sly grin that made it hard to breathe.

"Sounds like it's your turn," she said quietly.

I opened my mouth to object, but she was already rolling out from underneath me, reaching to pull my top off and burying her lips against my neck.

1 week later

Sometimes I wondered how much other people appreciated their girlfriends when they didn't have to struggle for them. I appreciated every single thing about Santana. Even the bad things, because that just made her who she was, and she could be a lot worse. I heard Finn moaning a lot to Rory about how Rachel's so loud, but shouldn't he be talking about the good parts of her, not the bad?

Walking to the Great Hall and being able to hold hands with her was wonderful. We rarely had just our little fingers linked now - there was no need. I'd loved that when it was the only option, but it really didn't compare to properly holding her hand. We settled at the Hufflepuff table without discussing it, and Santana was just reaching for some toast for both of us when the Great Hall was invaded by a hundred screeches.

I looked up quickly, searching the flock of birds even though I had no idea what kind of owl I was looking for, or if it would even arrive today. I'd been doing the same all week. I glanced up the table at Finn and was slightly alarmed to see that he had a regal brown owl right in front of him. Looking over at the Ravenclaw, my stomach clenched at the sight of the same kind of owl next to Mike. My attention only wavered when a flutter of wings almost caught the side of my head, before the owl landed next to my plate, dropping an official-looking envelope. It waited until I had picked it up before setting off again. I looked across at Santana and found her staring intently at the letter. Her eyes twitched up to look at me instead and under the table her hand slipped onto my knee to squeeze lightly.

"You want to go back to the dorm?" she asked.

I shook my head. I didn't want to wait any longer. I just had to know. But even though I was so desperate to read it, my fingers moved so slowly as I ripped the top of the envelope and reached inside for the thick sheet of parchment. I pulled it out, staring at it for a moment without unfolding it. Santana was watching me, but for once her presence didn't help. My fingers were trembling as I unfolded the letter.

Dear Miss Pierce,

Thank you for your attendance at the National Quidditch Trials at Chudley Stadium last Saturday 14th April. Unfortunately on this occasion you have received no applications of further interest from our scouts. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest and wish you all the best for future involvement in the quidditch industry.

Yours sincerely,

David Marshbank
National Recruitment Manager
British and Irish Quidditch League

I felt numb. I folded it up, hiding it in my lap so no one else could see. I knew Santana had been reading the letter at the same time I had, so I didn't have to tell her. She was watching me, waiting for a reaction, but I didn't know what to do. The only thing I could think of, I turned my head to find Finn. He was walking away from the table, his letter scrunched up in one hand. I looked over at the Ravenclaw table. Mike was talking excitedly, waving his letter in front of anyone who showed interest. I felt simultaneously happy for him, even as jealousy burned in the pit of my stomach. I shouldn't feel like that. He was better than me. He was a captain, and he'd caught the snitch in that match.

"Brittany."

I turned back to face Santana. I didn't want to look at her, though. I'd let us both down. Now she was going to be all distracted from our exams, trying to work out some way to fix this, when I was the one that messed up. I was the one who wasn't smart enough, or quick enough. I was the one who couldn't even watch out for bludgers for one match.

"Come on."

She reached for the letter in my lap, stuffing it into her pocket as she rose from the table. I moved with her, letting myself be led out of the Great Hall.

Brittany still wasn't speaking. I watched her from my place at the desk, one hand covering the letter in front of me in case she came over. I didn't want to get her hopes up if my idea turned out to be in vain. But she wasn't likely to approach - she was currently directing balls of coloured light with her wand, spinning them in patterns. As I watched she jabbed hard at one with her wand, popping it suddenly. She poked again - another pop. Within a few seconds all the lights were gone, and she was dropping her wand back onto the bed, closing her eyes with a sigh. When we went to the Great Hall earlier for lunch and dinner she'd tried to act like her usual self, cheerily deflecting any questions about the quidditch. But now we were back in the Room of Requirement, she had dropped the act. She didn't feel like she had to act happy around me when she wasn't. Part of me wished she did, but a larger part was glad she was herself.

I turned back to the table, folding up the letter and placing it to one side for owling later. I rose from the seat, walking over to the bed and tapping her lightly on the arm. I was going to distract her. I was going to prove to her that she could do anything if she put her mind to it, never mind what anyone else said.

"Come on, Britt. We're going to sort your patronus once and for all."

She sighed, opening her eyes to gaze up at me tiredly.

"Santana, I can't do it. There's no point."

"Yeah you can. So long as you get up off that bed, anyway," I argued, reached down to tug at her hand.

She lifted her head, staring at me for a few long moments before finally sitting up, swinging her legs around so she was sitting on the side of the bed. I pulled again on her hand, lifting her to her feet, and leaned up for a swift kiss before stepping backwards.

"Okay, show me how far you've got."

She sighed, but turned at my words to face the middle of the room, her wand held out loosely. Her eyes closed, and I was a little reassured to see a small smile play on her lips - even if it was nothing like her normal radiant smile. Her wand moved just as slowly as it had the last time I'd seen her try in class, and her smile shifted into a frown as she spoke.

"Expecto patronum!"

A small stream of silvery mist escaped from the end of her wand, and she dismissed it straight away as she turned back to me.

"See?"

I smiled encouragingly at her, shaking my head. "What memory do you use?"

"It changes. Just then it was that time in the Prefects' Bathroom last week."

"Britt, it's got to be stronger than that."

"It's a happy memory!"

I grinned, remembering it too, but shook my head again. "But the memory you use for your patronus has to be the happiest."

Brittany sighed, surveying the ground. "Well what do you use?"

"That night, on the lawn. After London. When I told you I loved you, and you said it back," I admitted quietly.

She couldn't help but smile at that. "That is pretty happy."

"Yeah. So try with that?"

She nodded, looking more determined this time as she raised her wand. She was smiling wider, but then once again it changed to a frown just before she said the words. Another wisp of pale smoke left her wand, a little stronger this time, but still not enough. She turned to look at me unhappily, shrugging her shoulders. I approached her slowly, trying to think of the best way to do this. She turned more towards me, but I motioned her back to where she'd been standing a moment ago as I stood behind her.

"You need to concentrate less on the actual spell. It's the memory that needs to fill you up - not worrying about the wand movements, or the words." I reached around her to lightly grasp the hand that was holding her wand. "Here's what we're going to do. I'm in charge of the wand, okay? Don't think about that. Just think of that night. The two of us, on the lawn. And when you feel me moving your wand, say the words. Got it?" She nodded and I smiled, going on tiptoes to kiss her cheek. "Okay, close your eyes. And just think of that."

I stayed as still as I could behind her, feeling her breathing begin to slow. When I thought she was about ready, I began to move her hand, making the wand motion faster than she had been before.

"Expecto patronum," she whispered. A white shape shot out of her wand. She flinched and it dissolved - but there was no doubt that it was there.

"You did it!" I exclaimed, hugging her tightly from behind and kissing her again on the cheek. "I told you!"

"I… I did…" She sounded more shocked than happy, but when she turned I found a massive grin on her face. "I did it! What was that, did you see?"

"No. Something with four legs, though. Let's try again - and don't jump this time when you see it!"

She nodded eagerly, spinning around and reaching for my hand. I gripped her wand with her, leaning up again to whisper in her ear.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she murmured, her eyes already closed and a wide smile on her face. I continued to whisper, recalling the conversation that was permanently ingrained in my head.

"I want this day to last forever. Just you and me," I murmured into her neck. "I hurt you, and I'm sorry… But I love you, Brittany."

I began to move her wand, and she said the words as quietly as before. The white creature appeared just as suddenly, but this time it didn't go away. It danced happily across the room on all fours, its whiskers and tail twitching before turning back to face us, its mouth open in what almost looked like a grin.

"An otter…"

It twirled once around us before setting off to dance around the room again. I lifted my wand, easily summoning that night back into my mind and producing my own leopard. It snarled, prowling for a moment until the otter swerved right between its legs, prompting a hasty, playful chase around all four corners of the room.

"Otters hold hands when they sleep, so they don't lose each other," Brittany said quietly. I moved my hands, twining them around both of hers as we watched our patronuses dance.

Pato arrived back late the next day with mamá's reply. I was just popping into my dorm to collect clothes for the next day so I wouldn't have to come back in the morning just to change, and found him waiting patiently in the window that had been propped open. I opened the letter quickly, not wanting to take too long in case Brittany came looking for me.

Dear Santana,

I have made some enquiries at the Ministry, and you are correct that a muggle relations committee is being organised - it is following the recent amendments to the Statue of Secrecy. It is not due to begin until the New Year, but a secretarial post is being arranged prior to its setup. I have passed on Brittany's details with a personal recommendation, and Mrs. Macdonald has agreed to an interview next month, if that is convenient for her?

I hope you are well. Send Brittany my condolences regarding her quidditch trials - it is a difficult industry to get into.

Love, Mamá

A wide grin spread over my face as I re-read the letter to make sure I'd got it right. For once, I was glad I had actually read the Daily Prophet when Quinn had shoved it in my face a few days ago and insisted I pay more attention to the news.

I knew I didn't want my family interfering with my own work at the Ministry. The more I thought about it, I wasn't sure I even wanted to go there, knowing that abuela would constantly be breathing down my neck. But for Brittany, that wouldn't be an issue. She just needed a foot in the door, so people could see how amazing she was. Once she had a job she'd be just fine - I just had to ask mamá for a little help on her behalf.

I fed Pato a few sweets from the bag I found on Niamh's bedside table, and as he took off to return to the owlery I turned to rush out of the dorm, the letter in my hand. It was only when I was halfway to the Room of Requirement that I realised I'd forgotten to pick up my clothes.

Thanks to letswriteadodgytvshow for the info on astronomy and sports trials. I hope I got it all right. A little further explanation on Britt not succeeding at the quidditch trials: Brittany is an excellent seeker, but as has been shown before (the 5th year quidditch final), she is not great at following team tactics which is kind of a necessity in professional quidditch. That, coupled with her nerves on the day and the odds being stacked against her in terms of numbers, resulted in her not being picked for further trials.

But anyway, apart from that I hope the chapter was enjoyable to read :)