Hermione, Draco, and James found that a week after the incident with the dog that they got identical letters at the breakfast table. Essentially Snape had given them their training schedules and told them that their brooms would be ready for them at the pitch.
They looked at each other excitedly. They could hardly wait. But they weren't really supposed to tell others.
"What are you so excited about?" Pansy asked.
"Some extracurricular activities," Hermione said using slightly large words to hide her feelings.
"I know why you'd want to do extra school work Granger," Pansy said. "It's not as if you'd have much else to offer to your match. If you ever even get one."
Draco and Hermione shared a look. They knew that it didn't matter what education Hermione got. It was just something she wanted.
"You know most matches aren't settled till we're fourteen," Theo said. "And I wouldn't want to hurt my chances if I were you."
"What do you mean?" James asked.
"It's tricky to explain," Draco said. "It's something that happens in predominantly wizarding families."
"Most people with parents who are magic have arranged marriages," Hermione said. "Don't listen to Draco. It isn't that tricky to explain."
"Isn't that a bit… medival?"
"Not really," Hermione said. "It's supposed to help raise children in an environment that they would be comfortable with. Since most muggle parents aren't equipped to handle all of the learning and such that a magical child needs."
"But what do people who don't have magical parents do?" Harry asked.
"Well, not everyone does wind up with a match," Blaise said. "So some of them marry for love or make some sort of agreement with muggleborns."
"Like you?" Theo teased.
"Am I missing something?" James asked.
"Blaise's mother has been married, how many times has it been now?" Draco asked.
"I lost count after five."
"What does that have to do with anything?" James still couldn't quite the concepts they were trying to explain.
"Since Mrs. Zabini is looking for a new husband for herself she'll leave the negotiations for Blaise here until quite late." Theo ruffled his best friend's hair affectionately.
James laughed. He could tell that it was a subject he was going to need to get Hermione alone for to get straight answers. The rest of his friends weren't exactly willing to tell him. And they were getting a little rambunctious.
The three of them managed to get through the day, but Draco and James were obviously distracted. Hermione was as diligent as ever and made sure to take detailed notes knowing that they would need copies. They all needed to keep their grades up.
Then they had quidditch practice. They wandered down to the pitch in casual clothes all having difficulty containing their excitement.
"Firsties," Flint said. "Brooms are here. That means we can get to work."
They did some warm ups of laps on the brooms. Once that was over they all hopped off to start stretching and Flint frowned.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Stretching. It helps keep your muscles loose enough to avoid injury."
"I'd listen to her. Her parents are mouth healers," Draco added.
"And it's something they teach all muggle children," James added.
Flint shook his head. He didn't see the point of stretching but he wasn't about to tell the three of them what to do. Especially since he was sure of their athletic prowess.
They did lots of flying and throwing exercises. The three of them found that once they were done, they were exhausted. And they still had homework to finish.
After a shower, they were sitting on the couch to finish homework before they could go to bed.
"Do you think Snape would mind if my essay was a few inches short?" Draco asked.
"I hope not," James said. "Though Hermione could probably help you lengthen it a little. Or you could try larger writing."
Draco shook his head. "Already tried that."
"Snape's going to expect us to be able to do our work and sports. He'll take the chance away if we fall behind."
The boys knew Hermione was right. Snape would expect them to be capable of handling both school and quidditch. If they couldn't handle it they wouldn't be allowed to be on the team. It was probably the reason that students weren't supposed to be on the team until second year.
A/N: Sorry for keeping you waiting. I've been trying to write this chapter for a while. And I lost part of it and had to retry it. Also reading the actual book, the first part was just an explanation of how quidditch works, so I don't feel bad. Also, I have chronic pain and today was a bad pain day. So this is a bit short. Also if there are parts that are bad this might be why.