The next few weeks passed smoothly as Devon, Hugo, Samantha, Ainsley, Stephanie and Lily settled into life at Hogwarts.
On the morning of Saturday, September 14th at 9 A.M. Hogwarts time, Devon, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie, and Samantha all turned up on the Quidditch pitch for the trails. Though Lily was already on the team, Wesley had asked her to come to trails because he wanted a short practice session with the team after it was chosen. And Lily would have tagged along to support her friends anyways. James also came along both to support them and to get a look at the Gryffindor team whose games he would be commentating when the Quidditch season started.
"Because it is the most subjective position to select," began Wesley clearly, "I will be holding the Beater trail first. Please step forward if you are trying out for Beater."
Stephanie stepped forward and was the only girl to do so.
Her opponents for the open Beater position were a massive sixth year boy named Gilbert Brown, a skinny third year named Ryan Rollins, and James's and Lily's fourth year cousin, Fred Weasley, who wasn't very close to anyone expect his sister Roxanne, who had come out to support him.
Stephanie smiled to herself. If she was to become the first girl to ever play Beater at Hogwarts, she would have to beat out boys to earn the spot as opposed to beating out another girl. This was exactly how Stephanie wanted it.
"Let me see you four take a lap around the pitch," ordered Wesley. "I want to make sure you can actually fly before I give any of you a tryout for a position."
This eliminated Gilbert Brown, who struggled to control his broomstick.
Wesley then decided to simply give Ryan, Fred, and Stephanie each a bat and let two bludgers loose. He would now give this trail somewhat of a game simulation.
After five minutes, it was crystal clear that Ryan was the weakest of the three remaining Beaters and Wesley told him he was eliminated.
Fred and Stephanie then went through twenty very intense minutes of back of forth. Both were masters of handling the bat and both knew how to swing hard and send the bludgers where they wanted. It was a mono e mono. Fred would make a great hit, and then Stephanie would make a great hit. Stephanie would make a great hit, and then Fred would make a great hit.
James, Hugo, Devon, Ainsley, Samantha, and Lily cheered on Stephanie while Roxanne cheered on Fred. This cheering was polite and clearly rooting for Stephane or Fred and not against the other.
Then, finally, Fred hit one bludger so hard that it fell around the earth and became a satellite.
"That's the clincher," called Wesley, "Congratulations to Fred Weasley on becoming a Gryffindor Beater."
Stephanie felt her heart sink to her feet and had a few silent tears fall down her cheeks. She knew that she hadn't lost the trail so much as Fred had won it. That made the defeat hurt so much worse. Her best was awesome, but not good enough to make the team.
Rather than an engage in celebration, Fred went over to Stephanie and gave her a gentle pat on the back.
"Stephanie," said Fred gently," Look, I know how heartbroken you must feel to have come so close to becoming a Gryffindor Beater only to be denied in the end. But I want you to know how much I respect and admire the performance you gave today. You were just as worthy as I was. It came down to when Wesley could spot a defining moment. That moment came for me before it did for you, but you know what? You are actually one of the two best Beaters in all of Hogwarts right now. There was only room for one of us. It's a harsh reality of sports that somebody's triumph is somebody else's tragedy, but you should be very proud of how you performed today. I know it hurts like hell right now. You are Marcus Paige to my Kris Jenkins. But you were truly my equal and I hope you realize that."
"Um, thanks Fred," said Stephanie weakly. Fred's words of respect had made her feel a little better. And it would be Lily who would complete the process of helping her feel better.
"Stephanie," said Lily "This is not the end of your hope of becoming a Gryffindor Beater, Wesley is a fifth year and Fred is a fourth year. That means, based on Wesley's and Fred's graduation years, there should be an open Beater position for Gryffindor again in our fourth year and again in our fifth year as well."
Stephanie actually smiled at this. As disappointing as today's outcome was, Stephanie would have two more chances down the road to achieve her dream.
Lily then dug into her hot pink school bag and pulled out a bag of gummy bears. Knowing that Stephanie loved gummy bears, Lily handed Stephanie the bag of gummy bears and said "This is for you"
"Thanks, Lily," said Stephanie kindly, a smile coming back to her face.
Stephanie starting munching on a few lemon-flavored gummy bears and after a few minutes she felt closer to being like Stephanie again.
"Thank you for your support, Lily," said Stephanie gratefully, "You're always a great friend to us all. And thank you Fred for your kind words. You really helped me feel better about myself. The loss will sting a bit for a while, but I feel better about myself going forward because of your kindness. Good luck this season."
"Good luck to you too, Stephanie," returned Fred," I predict you will snatch a Beater spot after Wesley graduates."
Stephanie smiled at him and Fred went over to his sister Roxanne to celebrate with her.
"I want to do Keeper trails next," said Wesley," Anyone wishing to try out for Keeper please step forward now."
Samantha stepped forward, as did an overweight seventh year boy named Brain Block and a small and short second year black boy named Rajon Reject.
Once again, Wesley decided to start with a flying test. This eliminated Brain, who walked away from the pitch cussing.
Wesley then summoned a Quaffle Shooting Machine.
Wesley ordered Rajon to the north hoops of the pitch and Samantha to the south hoops.
"The Quaffle Shooting Machine will alternate between shooting at the north hoops and shooting at the south hoops," explained Wesley. "There are twenty Quaffles loaded into it at this nanosecond. Each of you will get ten save attempts. Whoever saves more shots will become the Gryffindor Keeper."
Both Rajon and Samantha showed great quickness, agility, and reflexes. They were also both disciplined about staying near the center hoop most of the time.
James, Hugo, Devon, Ainsley, Stephanie and Lily all cheered on Samantha with it obviously being pro Samantha and not anti Rajon.
Both Rajon and Samantha saved nine out of ten Quaffles shot their way.
Wesley reloaded the Quaffle Shooting Machine with ten Quaffles and on the second go round Samantha and Rajon both saved four out of five Quaffles.
Finally, Wesley settled on a round by round to decide it. Samantha and Rajon each saved the first three Quaffles shot at him or her during this process. However, Rajon's fourth quaffle, got by him and went the left hoop on the north end. On Samantha's fourth turn, it looked like she too would let the Quaffle in. But at the last nanosecond, Samantha got a fingernail on it and made the save.
"YES!" screamed Samantha.
"Congratulations to Samantha Saver on becoming the new Gryffindor Keeper" said Wesley.
"Take that Rajon," rubbed in Samantha, "I was the best Keeper here and I proved it! I was better than you and I proved it! Gryffindor will be so much better off for my being made Keeper!"
Samantha waved a finger in Rajon's face before running over to Lily.
"YOU LIKE THAT! YOU LIKE THAT!" shouted Samantha, "I was freaking awesome out there!"
While Lily would've preferred Samantha to have had a little more humility, she was glad to have Samantha on the team. Samantha was clearly a GREAT Keeper and Lily was happy to know she would have at least one of her friends from her year on the team with her.
James, Hugo, Devon, Ainsley, Stephanie and Lily all quickly congratulated Samantha on making the team. With Chaser trials still to come, there wasn't much to time to celebrate
"We're teammates now, Lily!" said Samantha proudly, puffing out her chest.
Lily smiled at her new teammate as pride in Samantha engulfed her.
Lily felt bad for Stephanie, but she liked the team Wesley was assembling so far.
Now it was time for the Chasers.
The Chaser trails had attracted more hopefuls than the others and it was hard to see who all was there. James, Samantha, Stephanie, and Lily focused on Hugo, Devon, and Ainsley.
"I should warn you all now," said Wesley clearly as the Chasers took the pitch, "That I hold Chasers to higher overall flying standards than Beaters or Keepers. It will be harder for Chasers to survive the basic flying test than it was for Keepers or Beaters."
Hugo slightly shook his head at this. He knew that having a higher overall flying standard for Chasers would make it harder for him to make the team.
He had flown on brooms and played variants of Quidditch a fair few times at Potter Manor but being Hermione Granger's son meant that flying and Quidditch weren't part of his own home life at all as Hermione had no interest in flying or Quidditch.
When he flew and played Quidditch at Potter Manor he was a competent flier, but he now doubted he could meet the standard Wesley would want.
Sure enough, the basic flying test eliminated Hugo from consideration for a Chaser spot. He was a little disappointed but not too upset. Even before Wesley's announcement about Chasers being held a higher flying standard, Hugo had put his own chances to make the team at 40%. He thought he might stand a better chance in a future year, but he wasn't counting on that either.
Predictably, Devon was also eliminated. He was not even disappointed at all because he knew all along that he was a longshot to make the team. Not only had he flown poorly at flying lessons, but he had never been good at sports in general.
Upon their eliminations, Hugo and Devon went to join James, Lily, Samantha, and Stephanie.
"Sorry Hugo and Devon," said Samantha empathically, "Sorry about you too Stephanie."
Samantha looked between Hugo, Devon, and Stephanie and felt a few tears forming in her eyes.
"I know hearts can't get any heavier than your hearts must be right now," said Samantha sadly to Hugo, Devon, and Stephanie.
"That's only accurate for Stephanie," said Hugo reasonably," I'm only a little disappointed. I wasn't that close, and I didn't really expect to make the team."
"And I knew all along I was a longshot," said Devon flatly, "I've never been very good at sports anyway. But when you really like your chances and come so close and get beat by a nanometer thin margin… I can't even begin to fathom the devastation and anguish that poor Stephanie must be feeling."
"True," agreed Samantha in a clearly heartbroken voice, "She's the\person I feel the worst for. I've never felt sorrier for anyone in my life"
"It does bite my heart," admitted Stephanie, "But all hope is not lost. I will have another chance in the future."
"So, we will we," added Hugo and Devon.
"Go for it!" said James encouragingly, "Chase your dreams. Never give up."
"Glad to see you have some fighting spirit," said Lily approvingly,
"Let's focus now on supporting Ainsley," said Devon. "I really want to see her make it"
"As do we," chorused James, Hugo, Samantha, Stephanie, and Lily.
"For the actual Chaser trails," called Wesley," I'm just going to put a quaffle in play and see how you all play. Beware that I will give passing and quaffle handling = weight as goal scoring."
From the nanosecond the Chaser trails started it couldn't be clearer that Ainsley was BY FAR the best Chaser on the pitch.
The first time Ainsley touched the quaffle; she was at the south end of the pitch and fired a shot all the way to the north end that went straight through the middle hoop.
James, Hugo, Devon, Samantha, Stephanie, and Lily all started clapping their hands, stomping their feet, and chanting "Ainsley! Ainsley!" at the top of their lungs.
Hearing this made Ainsley even more eager to show off her skills. It meant a lot to her to hear all of her friends, including those whose own trails had not ended the way they would have liked, to be so excited for her chance to make the team.
Heeding Wesley's warning, Ainsley made sure to pass the quaffle enough times for Wesley to see she was just as skilled a passer as she was a scorer. And her quaffle handling was superb. When Ainsley wanted to keep the quaffle in her hands, it almost seemed as though her hands were made of stickum. And when she wanted to pass or shoot, the quaffle seemed to come off her fingers effortlessly.
Ainsley was so good that she made all the other Chasers look "meh"...
Still, there were three spots to fill.
After twenty minutes, Wesley called off the trail and said, "Here are my selections. Because I want an older Chaser on the team and because she proved so adept at avoiding bludgers, seventh year, Rachel Robins. Because I'd like a Chaser from a Quidditch family and because she works well in a team concept, second year Roxanne Weasley."
Fred ran up to Roxanne and hugged her.
"Hey, sis, we're teammates now!" said Fred happily.
Roxanne smiled. She was shy, not that close to anyone, and largely a loner but she was happy to play with her brother.
"And the final Chaser spot goes to…." Said Wesley, dragging his voice out," Ainsley Cochlain, the greatest Chaser Hogwarts has seen these many years."
"YES!" cried Ainsley, jumping up and down.
James, Hugo, Devon, Samantha, Stephanie, and Lily all ran up to Ainsley to congratulate her.
"Teammates!" called Lily and Samantha happily.
"Teammates!" said Ainsley, high fiving Lily and Samantha.
"BTW," said Ainsley meaningfully, "I especially want to thank Hugo, Devon, and most especially Stephanie for how excitedly behind me they were during my trail. That couldn't have been easy after your results."
'It was very easy," said Devon firmly while Hugo and Stephanie nodded, "You're our friend. Friends support friends unconditionally."
Lily and Ainsley both smiled
Wesley called for a short practice that went smoothly.
Ainsley, Roxanne, and Rachel proved to work well together, though only Ainsley could beat Samantha to score. Fred also proved a good compliment to Wesley at Beater. And Lily caught the snitch effortlessly the first time she spotted it.
After Lily caught the snitch, Wesley dismissed his team and told them to be on the pitch for a practice om Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily came off the pitch and greeted Devon, Hugo, James, and Stephanie and Devon said, "I'd like to sing a song. Lily, Samantha, and Ainsley, this is for you."
Devon burst into song.
"The quaffle is tossed
And there you are
You're running for your life
You're a flying star
And all the years
No one knows
Just how hard you worked
But now it shows...
(in) one shining moment, it's all on the line
One shining moment, there frozen in time
But time is short
And the road is long
In the blinking of an eye
Ah, that moment's gone
And when it's done
Win or lose
You always did your best
Cuz inside you knew...
(that) one shining moment you reached deep inside
One shining moment, you knew you were alive
Feel the beat of your heart
Feel the wind in your face
It's more than a contest
It's more than a race...
And when it's done
Win or lose
you always did your best
Cuz inside you knew...
(that) one shining moment, you reached for the sky
One shining moment, you knew
One shining moment, you were willing to try
One shining moment."
"Wow, that was beautiful, Devon, "said Lily warmly as the others smiled.
"Guys, there is something I want to do tomorrow," said Devon as they walked off the pitch.
"What?" asked Lily.
"I want to visit the Room of Requirement tomorrow," said Devon clearly. "I really want to see my family tree. I know for a fact that no one with the last name of Dursley has ever attended Hogwarts or had magic. Ever since I arrived at Hogwarts, I've simply assumed that no one even remotely related to the Dursley family has ever come to Hogwarts or had magic. We are a very old British family. But I've got to know for sure. The question is nagging me a bit. I'm 99% sure that no one even remotely related to family has ever been magical, but I've got to know for sure."
"How about tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.?" suggested Lily kindly.
"That'll be perfect," said Devon, "What do you all think the % chances are that I have any family or relations, even remote family, that have had or do have magic."
"90%" said Ainsley, "Most muggleborns have at least had a magical ancestor even if it was hundreds of years ago."
"I agree with Ainsley," replied Stephanie, 'But as it's not totally unheard of for a witch or wizard to have literally no magical linage, I'll go with 80%."
"Tough to say," said Hugo, "Maybe 50%."
"20%," said Samantha, "Just by what we know of the history of the Dursley name and family I have a hard time imaging them having any magical relations."
"Bingo, Samantha," agreed James instantly, "In fact I'd go even lower, I'd say 10%."
"1%" said Lily, "I'm just as confident as you are that your family doesn't have and has never had any magical family or relations. I think it's an extreme longshot that you and your family have even remote magical connections. But you are doing the right thing in wanting to find out for sure."
The next afternoon around 2 p.m., James, Hugo, Ainsley, Samantha, Stephanie and Lily tagged along as Devon made his trek to the Room of Requirement.