This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

Ron and Hermione, predictably, did not react well to the news.

"It's a trap," Ron said immediately. "She's going to rat you out."

"Umbridge must have put her up to it," Hermione agreed. "That's the only explanation."

"It's not a trap," Harry insisted, rather annoyed by his friends' reactions. Did they not trust him to be suspicious?

"How can you be sure, Harry?" Hermione asked. "For what reason do you think Daphne Greengrass would possibly want to help you?"

"She gave me her reasons," Harry defended.

"And you believe them?" Ron asked incredulously. "Harry, she's a Slytherin. You can't trust her, she'll only sell you out."

"Not all Slytherin's are bad," Harry argued. Ron scoffed.

"Yeah, right, next you'll be telling me Malfoy is just misunderstood," Ron retorted. "Face it, Harry, there is not a single Slytherin who has ever been looking out for anyone's interest but their own."

"You mean like Peter Pettigrew," Harry said sharply. "Oh, right, he was a Gryffindor. So I guess it's fine that he's out there on the loose and my parents are dead." That shut them up. That shut them up big time.

"Harry," Hermione said, her voice softer this time as she attempted to salvage the situation. But Harry wasn't having any of it.

"We've got to go," he told her, standing up. "Quidditch tryouts." Hermione didn't look happy but she didn't complain. Harry guessed she had realised they'd gone too far.

"And for the record I think it's about time the two of you kept an open mind," he added, fixing a stern gaze on both her and Ron. "I know Daphne's reasons and I trust them. And if I'm wrong and she is trying to double cross me then better she does it now rather than wait until Umbridge has even more power. You don't have to be there Hermione, I'll meet her alone if I have to, but this is our chance. I'm not going to let it slip away." And with that he left.

Ron was quiet as they walked down in the darkness towards the Quidditch pitch. It was November and now that the clocks had changed night was falling much earlier, before even their afternoon classes were finished. Still, habit led them safely down to the Quidditch Pitch without fuss until Ron stopped them short, just outside the stadium.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said back there," he muttered, keeping his voice low as he heard the sound of chatter from inside the changing room. "Hermione too. We just want to be cautious, that's all."

"I know that," Harry said, slightly exasperatedly. "But Daphne…" Ron waved him off.

"If you trust her then I do," Ron told him, and Harry was struck by the sincerity with which he said it. "We'll be there, both of us, when Greengrass comes over. We're by your side Harry, always."

Nothing more was said on the subject as Harry and Ron entered the changing room, the last of the remaining team members to do so. They changed quickly, the three Chasers leaving them after a few moments, before they followed them out onto the Quidditch Pitch.

The atmosphere was different than it had been during the original tryouts at the start of the year. Admittedly it was a similar situation, with only one position, although two places, up for grabs, but the circumstances couldn't have been more different. For one thing visibility was so terrible that only with the floodlights on, the ancient devices taking an absolute age to warm up, could Harry see the whole field.

The attitude of the trialists was different too. Before there had been a lot of excitement among the hopefuls as they went after the position of Keeper with all they had. This time around, whether due to the cold weather, the events of the last game, or some sort of guilt or fear of taking over the position of Fred and George, the energy was much more subdued this time around.

Everyone else was already out on the field. The trialists, like before, were huddled off to the side, staying close to each other to try and retain some heat, while the three Gryffindor Chasers stood in a circle in the middle of the pitch. Fred and George, dressed in plain clothes, wandered over to them.

"So you came," Harry said as they approached. "Lee was worried you'd skip tryouts altogether."

"Might as well have," Fred scowled. "Angelina has been right short with us all week. Good thing you guys turned up or we'd have no one to talk to."

"She still holding it all against you?" Harry wondered.

"Definitely," George said. "You should see her in class. She doesn't speak a word to us, pretends like we don't even exist."

"But it wasn't your fault," Ron said passionately. "You were only doing what we would have done if we'd been down there."

"Yes, well, thanks for the support but it would be best to keep your voice down, unless Angie hears you," George told him, glancing carefully over his shoulder. "No need for her to be mad at you guys too, the team's already suffered enough."

"That's why we're here, of course," Fred added. "Some expert opinion on Beating, since it's none of your expertise. I don't know if there's anyone good, we haven't been challenged since we got our place in the team, but hopefully we'll be able to find replacements good enough to keep that cup in McGonagall's office."

"Too right," Ron agreed.

Their conversation was ended by Angelina calling them over.

"Team," she commanded, gesturing to them. "And only team," she added as she spied Fred and George walking their way. Harry sighed.

"Come on, Angelina, give it a rest," he said, ignoring the twins' advice.

"Not a chance, Potter," she said harshly.

"But we can use them."

"No, we can't," Angelina said angrily. "Their behaviour ensured that." She was not to be moved, as Harry had suspected all along. Angelina, much like Wood before her, could hold a grudge, especially when it came to Quidditch.

"We'll be on the sidelines," Fred told Harry, clapping him on the shoulder as he passed and walking right past Angelina as though she weren't there. Angelina returned the favour, not giving even a hint of acknowledgment of his presence. From behind her back George rolled his eyes.

"Lets get started," Angelina said brusquely, brushing away the incident as though it hadn't even happened, leading the team across to where the prospective applicants were standing. A hushed silence fell as Angelina stopped before them, the team fanning out behind her.

"It's cold," Angelina said simply. "And dark. So lets not waste time. If you aren't serious then go now. If you are then listen to every word I say, got it?" There was silence from the crowd. Angelina nodded in satisfaction.

"The tryout will be separated into two parts," Angelina told them. "The first is designed to test your ability to influence Chaser play. Hitmonlee, Hitmontop and Lopunny will take the Quaffle and attempt to score against Machoke. Your objective is to protect the goal and prevent us from scoring to the best of your abilities. Ashby, we'll start with you."

The trial was short, efficient, and uninspiring. Each of the applicants waited patiently for their turn and each of them proved incapable of throwing a wrench into the well oiled machine that was Hitmonlee, Hitmontop and Lopunny.

It wasn't exactly easy, the three Chasers were monumentally talented, but even with that caveat the performance was still hopeless. On more than one occasion one of the Chasers was allowed to simply take the Quaffle forward on their own and shoot, with absolutely no interference. Needless to say the idle applicants got plenty of exercise fetching the Quaffle after every time it flew smoothly through one of Machoke's mostly unguarded hoops.

Angelina was far from happy.

"Part two," she said, not even bothering to tell the final applicant that they were finished. "You will attempt to help Weasley's Pidgeotto beat Potter's Talonflame to the snitch. This will test your ability to disrupt an opponent's Seeker. Without such an ability we'll never win."

She levelled a steely glare at the group. "I trust you'll put a better showing into this than you did the last drill." The applicants looked incredibly nervous.

Harry, on the other hand, was completely relaxed. Part of that was because he knew it didn't matter if he got to the snitch or not, and not getting there would actually be a good indicator, but an even bigger part was that after the first few applicants it became clear that he was never going to lose.

When the toughest obstacle in catching the snitch is an inexperienced Pidgeotto you know something's going wrong. Not to say Pig wasn't putting up a good fight, he was scrappy and inventive, but Talonflame was by far the better flier and Pig didn't stand a chance without help. And it didn't seem like he was getting any help at all.

Angelina called them in.

"Well this is bullshit," was her frank assessment. "We can't go on like this. Not one of them is fit for this team."

Harry always tried to be an optimist in situations like this but, as he watched the trialists begin their journey back up to the castle, he realised there really was no silver lining. They were all terrible.

"So who do we pick?" He asked instead. "Did any of them stand out?" The team shared glances.

"I suppose Jumpluff had some effect," Katie suggested hesitantly. "It did better than any at stopping Talonflame, right Harry."

"Jumpluff just took up space," Harry argued, shaking his head. "It was way too slow. It tried to use Stun Spore and nearly hit Pig instead."

"Potter's right," Alicia said quietly. "Jumpluff would be a disaster."

"They would all be a disaster," Angelina retorted angrily. "We're looking for the one that will be the least disaster so we can fight our way through."

"You mean the two that would be the least disaster," Ron spoke up. "We have two spots open. And while we're at it why don't we actually ask Fred and George what they think. You know, they are the experts." Angelina pursed her lips.

"No," she said sharply. "I do not want either of those idiots anywhere near my team."

Katie sighed. "Come on, Angie, you've got to let this go," she said, half sympathetically but with a lot of agitation. "George didn't even do anything."

"He would have," Angelina said harshly. "And they're not part of the team anymore. I'm the captain, it's my decision."

"Well it's a stupid decision," Katie retorted. Harry's eyebrows rose. He had never heard Katie talk like that before.

"And you think you can do better," said Angelina hotly. "Why, you can be captain. Have a go sorting this mess out. And then when we lose to Ravenclaw we can hold another tryout for your position."

"Angie, Katie, please," Alicia whispered anxiously, stepping between the two teammates and looking overwhelmed. "We mustn't fight."

"Alicia's right," Harry spoke up and all three girls turned to him. "We can't turn on each other. Angelina, involve them or don't involve them but know this team thinks they can still help. Katie, it's Angelina's decision. Whatever she decides is final. Got it."

Both girls looked awkward. It seemed like they were starting to regret their actions.

"Sorry, Angie," Katie said quietly.

"It's okay," Angelina replied hoarsely. It seemed like her voice had gone. "Maybe I should be including Fred and …" She was cut off as she spotted just the people she'd been talking about and her attitude changed immediately.

"Fred, George, what do you think you're doing?" She demanded as the two jogged up to them.

"Steady on, we're not interfering," George said quickly, trying to head off Angelina's ferocious temper.

"Yeah, we just have another applicant," Fred added, coming to a stop beside his twin. That caught everyone's attention.

"Really?" Angelina asked, anger temporarily forgotten. "Who?" And from out behind her twin brothers stepped Ginny Weasley.

"Ginny?" Ron gasped, mouth hanging open.

"Another Weasley?" Was Angelina's response. Despite himself Harry felt his lips twitch.

"A last minute entrant," Fred said. "And given what we just witnessed you could use it."

"Definitely," Katie said enthusiastically but Angelina cut her short.

"And where was she when tryouts started," she demanded, looming over the much smaller girl in a way that would be intimidating to anyone. Ginny merely looked a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry, I wanted to be here," she said earnestly. "I just had to give Michael the slip." Again Harry's lips twitched.

"Michael?" Angelina questioned. "Who's Michael?" This question gained the attention of the three Weasley boys, who leaned closer and stared intensely at Ginny. The girl rolled her eyes.

"My boyfriend," she said, shrugging off the theatrical gasps of dismay from Fred and George. "I really wanted to try out but he's from Ravenclaw, see, and I didn't want to let on I might be on the team."

Didn't want to give away the element of surprise, Harry finished in his head. He was impressed, and from the look on her face he could tell Angelina was impressed too. This was exactly the tactic Wood had used when Harry had joined the team.

"Can you play?" Angelina asked brusquely, now eyeing Ginny with much more interest. Ginny grinned.

"Just watch me."

If there was any suspicion that Ginny's confidence was a front or was otherwise misplaced it was quickly demolished when she took to the field. Her Pokémon of choice, Haunter, was a spooky customer and, at first glance, a lightweight. But as Hitmonlee, Hitmontop and Lopunny took possession of the Quaffle and headed towards Machoke's goal they were all shown Haunter's true power.

Silent as the night Haunter appeared and disappeared with nary a whisper. The three Chasers were thrown into disarray, dodging left and right, looping back on themselves as Haunter popped up often and unexpectedly. And though they did eventually score, Hitmontop skilfully firing into Machoke's right hand ring, that only came after many minutes hard grafting which included, at one point, Lopunny falling asleep. Even on the Quidditch Pitch Hypnosis could work its magic.

When it came time for Harry to do his part he approached it with a lot more focus. Ginny had proven herself tricky, much trickier than any that had come before her, and there was more than a decent chance that Talonflame could be caught out after a stream of weak challengers. He could lose, it didn't matter, but both he and Talonflame were too proud to allow that to happen.

Talonflame took to the sky, Pig joining him a second later. They waited for the whistle.

"Three, two, one," and they were off, and so too was Haunter.

"Confuse Ray!" Ginny called, right off the bat, and as he had done many times before Haunter materialised right in front of his target.

"Dive!" Harry responded immediately. He'd seen that move too many times to fall for it.

Yet it was still effective. While Talonflame dodged the attack, with room to spare, he was forced out of his flight path and, for the first time, Pig got to the snitch first.

"Ember!" Harry called and Pig was forced to arc away, flying right and further from his goalpost. It was only a momentary respite as Harry knew it wouldn't delay him for long, and Haunter was already back.

"Shadow Ball, Haunter!" Ginny cried and Harry was taken aback by the direct attack, Ginny having relied on status effects up until that point. It worked, Talonflame only just dodging the brunt of the attack as the Shadow Ball graze his spine, and again Pig was able to make progress back towards his own pole.

"Flame Charge, Talonflame!" Harry called. The speed boost was necessary, with Haunter's interference he couldn't get a clear run at Pig and so he'd have to go the long way round. "Now Ember, again!"

This time Pig was hit, and hit hard, and Talonflame was able to catch up.

"Hypnosis!" And Talonflame became drowsy. Like Lopunny before him he had not seen that coming.

Harry had to work quick.

"Flame Charge!" He called. It was a desperate effort, if Talonflame fell asleep it was all over, but it was enough. Talonflame caught fire, burning fiercely, and the fire did enough to clear up Talonflame's head as he set his sights firmly on Pig and charged.

"Good job!" Harry called as Talonflame connected, the snitch falling loose from Pig's talons. "Now catch it and bring it home!" Which was easier said than done. Talonflame did the first part, athletically plucking the snitch from midair, but the second part was where things went sour.

Haunter was there, every way Talonflame turned, and with the Hypnosis firmly on his mind Talonflame did not dare do anything else but turn away from the haunting ghost type. He was getting nowhere.

This was bad, Harry knew, for he knew there was only so long before Talonflame would unwillingly turn right into Haunter and be caught out. Then Pig would have no problems taking the snitch. He needed a plan.

And he got one. A bluff, sure, but Harry had learned in Quidditch that between equally matched opponents the difference was in the heads of the trainers. And Harry was the expert there.

"Talonflame, to me!" Harry called. "Fire Blast!"

Inexperience and overeagerness proved to be Haunter's downfall. Before Ginny had the chance to do more than widen her eyes and open her mouth Haunter materialised right in the path of the Fire Blast. He was no match for Talonflame's power.

"That's it," Angelina announced, not even waiting for Talonflame to hang the snitch on his pole. Haunter had not been able to take that last attack. He hung motionless in the air before the red light of a Pokéball pulled him back to safety. "I think we've seen all we need to."

And they had. In fact they'd seen it some time ago. There was no doubt, not even a shadow of it, that Ginny Weasley was by far the best applicant they could possibly have received.

Unfortunately there was only one of her.