Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

"Look at that sunshine. Look at that sunshine! Hardly a cloud in the sky. Gentle wind." Will nearly bounced up and down in his step. He was decked out in red and gold Quidditch gear and was gripping his beaten-up broom in one hand and his Beater's bat in the other. "Amazing day for Quidditch tryouts!"

"What if you don't get onto the team?" Margaret asked innocently, looking up at him with mischievous eyes.

Will scowled down at her. "Of course I'm going to get on! Austin and I are the best Beaters Hogwarts has ever seen!"

"Well, Robert Wood is going to sneak onto the pitch and try out. Word says that he's going to try for the spot as Beater." Margaret's comment was almost too innocent.

Will's scowl deepened. "First years aren't allowed to try out! There's no way that he's going to best me at being Beater." He strode ahead of us, muttering to himself. Margaret giggled while I just fondly shook my head at my friend's antics.

"Oi, Will!" Stuart Richards, a fifth year, waved cheerfully at our friend. "Ready for tryouts?"

"I was born ready!" Will hurried to meet up with Stuart and Edmund. They both played as Chasers the previous year, and Stuart was confident that he would make it back on the team. I wasn't sure about Edmund, who kept quiet most of the time.

"Why did he want us to come along?" Margaret muttered to me as we stood a little ways from their conversation.

I shrugged a small smile on my face. "I'm just coming along to enjoy the fresh air."

"And what wonderful fresh air it is!" Donna Clark came to stand next to the two of us, her blue eyes glowing. "Perfect day for flying."

"I wish you luck today, Donna," I said, smiling. "I'm sure you'll make it on."

Donna shrugged modestly. "There could always be someone better. That's why even though we were on the team last year we still need to try out this year."

"So it's really only a Seeker you need?" I asked curiously.

Donna nodded. "Yes. Basil graduated last year, so the spot is open." She lowered her voice and leaned in towards us. "I hear that Malcolm is gunning for the spot. I don't want him on the team, though. He's rude and arrogant."

"Yeah, I can see how that'd be a problem," Margaret agreed, glancing around.

"I'm sure that Cora won't let him on the team," I said comfortingly.

"Who do you want on the team?" Margaret asked.

Before Donna could reply, Cora beat her to it. "Are you lot going to stand around and chat all day or are we going to go fly?" The three of us looked up to see the rest of the students who were trying out had arrived in the courtyard, decked out in their Quidditch gear. Cora Russell stood to my immediate right, waving the group forward. "Let's go, already!"

"Not so fast, Russell!" Everybody turned to look as the Slytherin Quidditch Captain strode up, his team behind him. A smug look was on his face. What was his name again? "Slytherin tryouts are today."

"What?" Cora was outraged. "We specifically booked the pitch for today! You lot need to clear off!"

"Who's going to make us? You?" a plump boy called, snickering. He looked to be no more than thirteen.

"Maybe we will!" Will snarled, pushing his way to the front.

Not again…

"Aren't you just itching for a fight, Harrison?" Abraxas Malfoy shoved the plump kid out of his way. "Perhaps we should give one to you?" He pulled out his wand from inside his robes, Will immediately following suit.

"No!" Cora hissed, stepping in front of Will. "You're going to have to get permission from Dippet, Walton, before you set foot on that pitch. We have it for today."

"Are you going to stop us, then?" Malfoy jerked his head towards Cora, smirking. "Pathetic."

"I'll show you pathetic!" Will jumped out from behind Cora and fired off a jinx at Malfoy, who immediately deflected it with his wand. The smirk slipped off his face, as he raised his wand to retaliate, ignoring Cora's order of "STOP!"

I pulled out my wand and shielded the curse for Will, coming to stand next to him. The curse rebounded and hit Malfoy square in the chest. Malfoy immediately began to do a jig, his feet dancing uncontrollably. "HA!" Will pumped his fist in the air. "Don't mess with the Gryffindors!" The members of my house were laughing at Malfoy, but Walton and the rest of their team raised their wands at us.

"Fighting again?" a voice drawled. Everybody stopped to see Riddle standing outside of the school with a raised eyebrow. He flicked his wand and Malfoy stopped dancing. Riddle's eyes landed on Will, Cora, and I standing there, with the rest of the Gryffindors hanging back. "Twenty points from Gryffindor." He looked steadily at me. "You, Miss Linden, can have detention."

"What?" Will shouted furiously while my friends behind me started whispering. "She was just defending me from Malfoy's jinx, you old codger!" Everybody from Gryffindor froze in shock while the Slytherins grinned with anticipation.

Riddle took slow, measured steps towards my foolish friend, twirling his wand in his long, thin fingers. His visage was cold and his eyes fixed on Will. I tensed, gripping my wand, ready to defend Will if the situation called for it, though I doubted my ability to duel against Riddle.

I could have sworn I saw Will gulp as Riddle came to a stop in front of him. "Detention for you as well, Mr. Harrison." He leaned closer to Will's face, and Will took a slight step back. "I suggest that if you value your… freedom… you will not mock me again." I could have sworn that he was going to say something other than freedom…

Will gave a small nod, seemingly unable to speak. Without a word, Riddle turned around and walked towards the doors to the Entrance Hall. The Slytherins, grinning widely, pushed their way through the Gryffindors and walked out of the courtyard towards the Quidditch pitch. Unsurprisingly, no one tried to stop them.

I turned to look at Will, who was staring at the spot where Riddle disappeared into the school. "I have said this many times before, and will say it again; you are an idiot."

"He's going to give you the worst detention that he can think of," Margaret added, walking up to us. "I'm sure that he can be pretty creative as well."

Cora turned to face the Gryffindors, her face tight. "We'll have tryouts tomorrow. In the morning, before the Hufflepuffs. If any of you-" she shot a venomous look at Will, "-gets into a duel with a Slytherin before that time, you are not allowed on the team." She stalked off inside the castle. After a moment, different Gryffindors began to trickle away from the group.

"Bloody hell," Will muttered, storming out of the courtyard and out towards the covered bridge.

"Will?" Her face worried, Margaret hurried after our friend, leaving me with Donna.

"That went well," Donna said mildly.

"Yeah. Sure." I shook my head. "I'll see you later, Donna. I'd better go find the idiot before he gets into anymore trouble." I hurried off after the two of them. I was led across the covered bridge and down near the grounds where Ogg had his house that he lived in with Hagrid. I slowed my pace, seeing Hagrid down near the pumpkin patch.

Dumbledore believes him to be innocent. Everyone knows that. I want to trust Dumbledore, but what else could have killed that girl and petrified the students? I frowned. I don't know what kind of monster Hagrid had been keeping down there, but Riddle managed to catch him. Of course Riddle was the one to catch him. Who else? Riddle also said that Hagrid had been keeping werewolf cubs under his bed and that he would run off into the Forest to wrestle trolls.

I don't know. Something doesn't seem right, and I want to trust Dumbledore's judgement, but what else could it have been?

I'm just glad that Hagrid can still stay at Hogwarts.

I caught up to Margaret, who stood staring up into the sky, where I could see Will hovering some ways up. "Is he alright?"

"He won't talk to me." Margaret bit her lip. "Why wouldn't he talk to me?"

I let out a sigh. "It's nothing personal against you, Margaret. He's probably just feeling rotten right now." We watched as Will began to zoom towards the forest. "Idiot." I rolled my eyes.

Margaret took a couple steps forward. "Shouldn't we stop him?"

"He's flying over the forest, not in it. Just let him get some frustration out." I took Margaret's arm and led her over to a rock. "Let's just wait for him to come back."

"Yeah," she replied softly, settling herself down comfortably.

We had a halting conversation about classes, but neither of us were really into it. I couldn't stop my thoughts from racing. Margaret was right. Riddle is probably going to give him a really bad detention. I knew that his foolish bravery was going to cost him one day. I scanned the tree line, looking for him. He'll be back to normal in no time. Nothing like this really gets him down. He was probably more shocked at Cora's announcement than his encounter with Tom.

"There he is!" Margaret said suddenly, bolting upright. We watched as Will flew down to the ground and dismounted in front of us. His sandy hair was windswept but he did seem better than before. Margaret went forward and hugged him tightly. Will looked a little surprised, but returned the hug.

I hid my smile. I always suspected… He's oblivious, though.

"Let's go back up to the castle," I said, and the three of us started walking back up.

"I'm sorry," Will said suddenly, looking at me. He shifted his broom to the other shoulder. "You got in trouble again because of me. I just acted again without thinking."

I put a hand on his arm. "While that may be true, I have to say it doesn't matter a lot to me that I got in trouble. I'd rather get in trouble anyday than leaving you to fight them alone."

For once, Will didn't defend his pride. "I know, but if I hadn't shot that curse at him in the first place-"

"-then we'd still be there, arguing. Or Stuart would have started the fight. He was about to pull out his wand and jinx Walton into tomorrow, but you beat him to it." I grinned when I saw Will smile at that. "Don't worry about it."

"If you didn't want to fight Slytherins all the time, then you wouldn't be Will." Margaret smiled up at him. "Don't change, Will. Please."

Will looked down at her. "Yeah… You're right." His smile widened. "I won't change. I'll go back to fighting Slytherins!"

"Not until after Quidditch tryouts," I reminded him. "Cora won't let you back on the team."

"After tryouts, Malfoy will get what's coming to him." Will's face twisted with his famous scowl. "Prick."

The rest of the walk up to the castle was shared in companionable silence.

A/N

I apologize on the lateness of this chapter. I hope that you all are sticking with me. I have many more chapters written that will be put up soon.

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