POV of Parvati Patil
When James handed me his Nimbus 2000, I could hardly believe my luck. After all, the captain of our Quidditch team had allowed me to use the field for a test flight. In addition, I would be able to watch the selection of the Chasers. Wood was still talking to the five students who wanted to be accepted into the team for that position when I mounted the broom and pushed off strongly from the ground. I quickly gained height and was once again intoxicated by the wonderful feeling of freedom that had fascinated me so much during the flying lesson. At first, I flew a few small rounds at a leisurely pace on one side of the field, then I began to test how fast I could fly with the broom. I felt so liberated as I accelerated, as if I had just been freed from a heavy burden that had been weighing me down. For me, there was only the broom and me; I didn't notice the other students, who were still not in the air.
Suddenly, I had the urge to dive towards the ground. I intended to return to a horizontal position about 3 meters above the ground. As I got closer and closer to the ground, I finally noticed what was happening around me. Everyone on the ground was staring at me in disbelief and shock, which briefly confused me until I finally reacted and pulled the broomstick up to avoid crashing into the ground. Instead of being 3 meters high, I was now about a meter above the grass. Suddenly, I realized how stupid the idea had been. I could have seriously injured myself. After all, I had hardly ever flown and was incredibly inexperienced. Moreover, this broom reacted quite differently from the school brooms, which were much older and didn't reach nearly as high speeds. I must have completely lost my mind.
I quickly landed and avoided looking towards the Quidditch players. Only then did I notice James, who was first staring at me in amazement and then grinning. He was about to say something when Wood spoke up: 'Have you flown before, other than in class?' He said nothing more but seemed to be waiting impatiently for an answer. I shook my head and still avoided looking at him. I was still expecting a lecture about what I was thinking, flying so recklessly, since I shouldn't have been flying at all as a first-year, and I only had the opportunity thanks to him. However, Wood remained completely calm, which confused me. Finally, I dared to look up and saw him studying me with fascination. 'What's your name?' 'Parvati Patil,' I replied. 'Okay, Patil. I'll make you an offer. You participate in the tryouts now, and I'll keep this risky maneuver to myself. If you're good enough, I'll go to Professor McGonagall today and get permission for you to play.' I couldn't believe what he had just said. I never in my life expected that! After looking nervously at James, who was still grinning at me I nodded in agreement to Wood.
Now it was James who sat in the stands with Fred and George while Wood grabbed a Quaffle and flew with us towards the three goal hoops. There, he instructed us to split into two teams of three to play against each other. Wood wanted to observe how well we worked as a team and who had the quickest reactions to take the ball from the opponent and score goals. I teamed up with two of the girls, while the other team consisted of the last girl and two boys. Wood threw the Quaffle into the air, and the 'battle' began. The dark-skinned girl from my team, whom I later learned was named Angelina Johnson, shot directly at the ball and grabbed it. She confidently steered towards Wood but then passed to the other girl from my team, Katie Bell, instead of shooting at the goals herself. Katie didn't hesitate long, feinted to aim at the right of the three hoops, then threw to the left and scored! Wow, those two were really good! Wood nodded appreciatively at them and threw the Quaffle back into the crowd. This time, I was closest to the Quaffle from my team. However, the girl from the other team caught the ball first. She accelerated to get past me, but with James' broom, I was faster than her and intercepted the pass that was supposed to go to her teammates. Now all three opponents separated me from the goals. Without thinking, I accelerated on the broom so fast that I zoomed past them on the outside and passed to Angelina from the left side of the goals, who was hovering centrally in front of the goals. She scored us a second point as Wood couldn't get to the right hoop in time. I was having a lot of fun with all of this; my team was really good! Of course, the other team wasn't completely without chances either, they also got their opportunities for goal shots and scored a few times, but when Wood announced that the training was over, we were leading by a large margin. I had also significantly contributed to many of the points.
When we all landed back on the ground, James, Fred, and George came over to us, eager to hear Wood's decision. Without making it too suspenseful, he announced that he was so impressed with the teamwork of my team that we were accepted into the squad. I couldn't believe how lucky I was today! It had already been incredibly great to be allowed to fly at all, but to have the chance to join the team and then actually make it was simply unbelievable for me! And to do it together with my best friend! Overjoyed, Angelina and Katie hugged me. I learned that Angelina was in the third year, while Katie was only in the second year, which meant that with me and James, she wouldn't be the youngest on our team. I felt that we definitely had a chance against the other teams, given how well we had worked together today.
After all the students who weren't accepted into the team had left, Wood distributed sheets with the next training dates to us. The dates for the first games were also already noted there.
On the way back to the castle, which I started with James alone since the others wanted to chat a bit more, it occurred to me that I would need a broom. As if James had read my thoughts, he said to me: 'Don't worry, your parents will surely be proud when they get the notification from McGonagall that you were accepted into the team. They'll definitely get you a broom.' 'I hope you're right,' I replied, not very convinced. I hoped to get one even remotely as good as the Nimbus 2000 because flying with James' broom was just a thousand times better than with the old school brooms. 'McGonagall is desperate for us to finally win the cup again, she won't let up until your parents get you a good broom,' he added, which made me put aside my concerns about this.
As it was a beautiful, warm day, we quickly put away James' Nimbus and then sat by the lake with Hermione, Ariana, and Ron to enjoy the rest of the day and tell them the incredible news.
