Making his way to the Quidditch Pitch, Harry could not contain his excitement to finally get to play Quidditch again. While he played some Quidditch at The Burrow, they did not have the luxury of a full pitch where they could play proper Quidditch and where Harry could play his preferred role of a Seeker.
"You look way too excited," Cho commented as she nudged Harry.
"Because I am," Harry replied.
"I wish I was as excited," Ron commented, sulking a little due to his nervousness.
"Oh my days Ronald," Hermione protested, "you literally won the championship last season, you are good enough to get into the team."
"I might, but starting is not guaranteed," Ron retorted.
"You will do well Ron," Harry reassured his best friend, "anyways, Madam Hooch will be taking into account our past performance as well, and you did shine pretty brightly last year, you will do alright."
"I hope so," Ron sighed as they entered the pitch.
Taking a look at the newly renovated pitch, Harry was amazed by how much better it looked, while renovations were going on in the previous year, that was mostly to increase the capacity. During the holidays however, the pitch had gone through a complete renovation, from the stands to the changing room and even the pitch itself, it truly looked like something from a professional team and Harry was excited to play on it, both for his house and his school.
Making their way to the crowd of players, Harry quickly took his attendance along with Cho, Ron, Ginny and Dean. They then moved to their respective groups based on their position. Immediately, Harry realised how little competition there was in the Seeker role, in total, there were only four other players, one being Zacharias and the other being the new Slytherin Seeker, Dahlia, the other two were complete randoms who Harry had never seen before. Compared to the other positions, it was evident that the Seeker role had the least competition.
"You reckon it's because we two are here?" Harry asked Cho.
"Possibly," Cho admitted, "I mean we are both signed."
"Let's dominate like we should then," Harry said, something Cho nodded in agreement to.
"Alright alright, everyone gather around me," Madam Hooch announced to the crowd who obeyed her command without question.
"Now, all of you know why you are here today," she continued, "you are here to fight and earn your spots in my team, for your information, I will only be accepting fourteen to sixteen players into the team, with seven starting and at least seven in reserve, while I will take into account your past performances for those who play in the House Cup, the focus is truly on how you perform today, all of you are grouped by your roles but if you are able to play multiple, you can inform me after this briefing."
Madam Hooch then waved her wand and from inside the changing room, brooms started flying out and to each individual player, taking his broom, Harry quickly inspected it for any possible defects.
"This is the broom that you all are using today, as Nimbus is sponsoring our school for this tournament, they have kindly helped to replace our broomstick collection in the school with their new training brooms, this broom is modelled to perform similar to their new Nimbus Lightning 1.5 which will be given to every player selected for them to use in the Tournament, when given, the broom will become yours permanently so consider it as a gift from the school and the Nimbus company," Madam Hooch explained, "however, you will have to get onto the team first, I will give all of you ten minutes of warmup before we proceed onto the tryouts."
Swiftly getting onto his broom, Harry sped into the sky with as much pace as he could muster, he then did a few agility and flying drills in the air, testing the mobility. To Harry's delight, the broom felt brand new with its performance similar to what Marcus had borrowed him to test out during the holidays. Being a Nimbus Brand Ambassador certainly brings some benefits, Harry chuckled to himself as he continued testing out the broom.
The ten minutes swiftly passed by as they landed and Madam Hooch began assigning each group of players their schedule.
"For you Seekers," she said, "we will begin with a speed test, we will be having a race around the pitch, you are to fly around the pitch three times and I will record your time, go and prepare for the start."
Flying up to the starting line, Harry observed his competitors, none of which looked confident apart from Cho who looked relaxed but determined. Lowering himself onto his broom, Harry got ready for the start.
"On your mark, get set, GO!"
Without hesitation, Harry pushed his broom to it's limit, bursting forward with immense pace, immediately getting the lead. Lowering his body even more to achieve the best aerodynamics, Harry maintained this lead, slowly gaining time on his other competitors, Cho however, was keeping him honest, tagging along beside him, just a few tenths or hundredths behind. Using even more power, Harry pushed his broom even harder, mustering all his core strength as he attempted to gain a larger lead, with his energy levels draining and his muscles starting to ache, Harry finally passed the finishing line, just one-tenth ahead of Cho. The next closest was Zacharias who despite finishing third, finished one and a half second behind Cho, establishing Harry and Cho as the clear fastest.
"That was close," Harry said to Cho, still panting for air.
"Yeah," Cho replied, similarly out of breath, "we dominated though."
"We definitely did," Harry smiled.
After taking a short break where Harry and Cho watched the Chaser tryout where Ginny and Blaise especially, were tearing apart the competition, they were finally called up again for their next drill.
"Next up is a flying drill," Madam Hooch said, "in the air are several magical markers, I wanted all of you to fly through every single one of them in as quick of a time as you can achieve, you can take any route you want but you must follow the order marked on the markers, you have three attempts, who wants to go first."
"I would do it," Harry said without any hesitation, flying up to the starting line, taking a quick survey of the markers, Harry formed a virtual route in his mind. Readying himself, Harry shot past the startling line as the timer started.
Harry flew straight through the first marker, he however, flew through it from the right, setting up a much smoother turn into the second marker, keeping his turn smooth and easy, Harry maintained maximum speed through the second marker, he then dived down to the third marker, however, instead of making a steep dive, Harry made a wider turn into the dive, pushing his broom as much as possible to achieve its maximum speed despite the turns. The next turn however, was as sharp as Gryffindor's sword, requiring him to make a sudden turn to the right to the fourth marker, Harry however, performed it perfectly, allowing him to accelerate much earlier and blast past the fourth marker. On to the last one, Harry had to once again make a slightly sharper turn, still attempting to maintain the maximum speed, Harry fought against his broom as hard as possible to make as smooth of a curve as possible while still making it through the last marker. Turning back to see his timing, the board showed that he took 12.3 seconds to complete this course, something Harry reckoned he could beat.
And beat it he did, with a few small adjustments, Harry managed an 11.8 in his second attempt and improved more in his final attempt, with a final time of 11.5, something he reckoned was hard to beat. This thought however, would be put to the test as the next person to go up was Cho. Taking the route rather similar to Harry's, Cho only made a few adjustments to the route, taking some turns sharper than Harry would as it suited Cho's style more than Harry's. When she crossed the final marker, the time showed was 12 seconds, impressive for a first try. Cho continued to improve in her second, managing an 11.7 and finally finishing with an 11.4, narrowly beating Harry by a tenth.
"Very impressive," Harry commented as Cho landed next to him.
"You would have done better if you didn't go first," Cho admitted.
"Nah, I think I did my best there," Harry replied, "I will give you this."
"We are level now then," Cho replied as Zacharias finished his first attempt which was a howler as he made a mistake on the fourth marker, ending up with a 15-second timing.
While Zacharias improved in his next two attempts, no one came close to Harry and Cho, with the next best being the Slytherin seeker who managed to get a 12.5 timing. Clearly, the lack of experience with Nimbus brooms was showing as many took their turns too sharply.
"This will be all for the drills," Madam Hooch said, "but we still have the games and that's where the real test comes in, it will be a one vs one between two seekers, I will release a specialised practice snitch which will fly around and try to not to get caught, the first two seekers, Potter and Chang."
"Good luck," Harry said to Cho, giving her a nudge before flying up.
"Three, two, one, GO!" Madam Hooch announced as both Harry and Cho made a mad dash for the snitch.
Harry had the edge in terms of his initial acceleration, managing to achieve a small lead. Cho however, wasn't going to let Harry get away with it, engaging in a physical battle to try and win back the lead, both sides jostled with each other to the snitch which eventually sensed their presence and made a dash for it. It immediately flew down and away from the two seekers. Taking a wider turn, Harry found himself ahead of Cho by even more as he lost less speed in the turn, Cho however, continued jostling with Harry, unwilling to give up. The snitch similarly did not want to get caught, making a rapid move to the right. Knowing that Cho would push him off the optimal line if Harry turned right, Harry instead flew a separate route, going over Cho and making a loop and down onto the snitch while Cho took the straight path. Harry however, had played his cards perfectly, knowing that the snitch could not go down any longer, the snitch flew back up, giving Harry the perfect opportunity to catch it as he flew straight at the rising snitch, calculating his timing perfectly, Harry dove in and snatched the snitch, winning the battle.
"Brilliant flying," Madam Hooch cheered enthusiastically, clearly elated about both Harry and Cho's performance, who despite getting out-flown, fought Harry straight to the end.
"I don't think anyone told you this before," Cho commented, "you are gifted as fuck when it comes to flying, who the fuck thinks at the speed of you to fly above me like that, that was the perfect move, literally perfect, the snitch had to fly up really soon and it places you in the perfect position to catch it, even if it continues changing between left and right you would still be rather close to me and you will always have the edge when it finally flies up again, you are fucking amazing."
"Thanks," Harry roared with laughter as he watched his girlfriend analyse his entire move and complained that he made it, "but hey, you flew pretty well also."
"Yeah but you definitely beat me there," Cho replied, "and you are the one who doesn't think he would go professional."
"Who knows," Harry replied, "I might still decide to go professional in the end."
"Yeah fat chance," Cho replied, "your motivation to become an Auror is too much, it's very noble and amazing though."
"As long as I don't get myself hospitalised."
"As long as you don't get yourself hospitalised," Cho agreed.
The rest of the opponents frankly stood no chance, both Harry and Cho outflew them easily, both managing to win all their one vs ones, solidifying them as the definite choices for Madam Hooch, while she haven't confirmed her choices yet, Harry and Cho were both sure that they were in.
"Good job everyone today," Madam Hooch announced to all the groups when they finally finished, "I will take the next week to decide the final lineup which I will be displaying on the noticeboard outside the Great Hall, to those who make it into the team, good work but there will be a lot more training and hardship ahead of you, to those who do not make it, keep your head high up, you can still try to make it into your house teams and some of you might be able to have a second try four years later, I wish all of you the best of luck, you are dismissed."
"So how was the tryout?" Harry asked Ron, Dean, Ginny, Demelza, Katie, Ritchie and Jimmy as they made their way back to the common room to clean up.
"It went pretty well honestly," Ron revealed, "saved eight out of the ten shots."
"And guess who scored the two he didn't save," Ginny said with a smug smile.
"I was watching the Chasers play," Harry said, "you and Blaise were tearing up the competition."
"Yeah," Ginny agreed, "only Katie stood a chance at defending, the others were either mid or pretty bad."
"What about you Demelza? How did you do?"
"I did alright," she sighed, "I reckon that I will make it into the team but not the starting seven, I really should have done better."
"You will still have the chance to get into the starting seven, just keep working hard," Harry reassured her, "what about you Dean?"
"Yeah no chance," he laughed, "I think I'm alright, but not good enough, if I'm really lucky I would be the fifteen or sixteen, but otherwise nah, no chance."
"You are good enough for the Gryffindor team though," Ginny reassured him, "you will definitely make the reserves."
"Well, drop by during the tryouts then," Harry said, "we have quite a number of positions to fill up this year."
"I would," Dean replied with a confident smile.
"What about you Ritchie, Jimmy?"
"We are getting into the lineup," Jimmy said confidently, "the others just are not good enough, and if they are decent, the pairs do not have the chemistry we have, a result of your training of course."
"Nah give the credit to Fred and George," Harry replied, "when it comes to chemistry training, those two are legitimate experts, they are naturally gifted."
"How did you and Cho do?" Ron asked.
"Frankly, we just dominated," Harry said, "we were more than a second faster for the speed test, a second faster for agility and we both won every one vs ones."
"I saw your battle with Cho," Katie said excitedly, "that was bloody brilliant, the way you outplayed her."
"Thanks," Harry smiled, "but ya, the Seeker role is essentially confirmed, no one came close to me and Cho."
"I just realised how much Gryffindor would fill up the team," Ginny said, "for Chasers, Katie, me and Demelza should all make it in, you are the Seeker, Jimmy and Ritchie as Beaters, Ron as the Keeper, Ryan might have a chance but I reckon he just missed out on it, bloody hell, seven players from Gryffindor?"
"Yeah," Harry agreed, "just shows how good of a team we have."
"The credit is yours mate," Ron patted him on his back, "Wood might have been responsible for last year's starting team, but this year's is literally your making, you are bloody brilliant Harry."
"Thanks," Harry chuckled, "but let's actually win this year first before we talk about how good my team is, this year will be way more competitive."
"Yeah, Ravenclaw still have Cho so they will always be a threat, Lila is pretty impressive as well," Katie listed, "Slytherin with Blaise leading them looks terrifying, Hufflepuff… well the less said the better."
"Oh poor Zacharias," Ginny laughed, "he is going to have a rotten year."
Entering the classroom for his first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, Harry sat in the front row alongside Ron and Hermione, all three waiting with bated breath for Sirius to appear. Suddenly, the room turned pitch black, with yelps of fear and shock being heard from around the room. Many also tried to use their wands to cast Lumos to no avail. Harry however, knew exactly what was going on.
"Solis Exactorem," Harry muttered, performing a complex wand motion, instantly brightening the room with magical sunlight.
"Brilliant brilliant brilliant," Sirius chuckled as he was now sitting on his table, facing his students with a wide smile on his face, "excellent spell there Harry."
"Thank you Professor Black," Harry replied, attempting not to laugh at the new name.
"Good afternoon all," Sirius announced to the class, "I am Professor Sirius Black, if you want to go into detail, Sirius Black the Third because I was named after some wretched ancestor who I would very much never recommend you to look up, now back onto our lesson, can anyone tell me what happened a few moments ago."
Instantly, Hermione hand shot up, eager to answer the question.
"Go ahead Hermione."
"Instant Darkness Powder," Hermione immediately responded, "it creates a shroud of darkness when used and is immune to many light-creation spells."
"Five points to Gryffindor, excellent answer from Hermione over here," Sirius said, before lifting up a bag of fine dark crystals, "this little toy here is Instant Darkness Powder, to be specific, the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, there are many iterations of this powder but the Peruvian version is largely known as the finest and most effective, like Hermione said, it is immune to many light-creation spells, there are some complex spells which would negate its effects, for example, the spell Harry used earlier, Solis Exactorem, a rather complex spell which brings temporary magical sunlight into the room, perfect for countering this powder, and if you are wondering where I got this from, it is from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, runned by Fred and George Weasley, ex-students of this school, some of the most creative and inventive the school have ever made."
"While I would not be teaching Solis Exactorem today or explaining the magic behind the powder, I'm using this demonstration to show you how when it comes to defensive magic, your wand is not your only form of defence, there are many instruments out there for you to make use when defending yourself, while a wand is the most convenient and useful method, it's also useful to learn about other products that can protect yourself," Sirius continued, "this powder for example, is able to buy you time to run and hide from your attacker, a perfect method as not many know how to counter this powder, with that, let's begin our lesson."
"My lessons with you all will be very different from your different professors, especially last year," Sirius grinned at the thought of Umbridge, "my lessons will be very hands on, I will even have magical demonstrations here in the classrooms, I will show you the usefulness of some spells, the effect of them, how to counter them and train you to fight with and against them, I will also teach about Dark Creatures and while I definitely cannot bring them into the class, I will ensure that you have the best understanding of these creatures, and when possible, try to simulate their effects or at least provide first-hand accounts of it, but fret not, this is very much a safe space, none of you will get injured in my presence, but the fact remains that I am training you for the real world, you will be exposed to dark spells whose effects may be troubling to you, should you need any help, whether it is additional lessons or some counselling, I will be here for you, so let's begin with our first topic, non-verbal magic."
"Many Professors would have emphaised their importance this year, with it being a huge part of your curriculum due to it's difficulty, unfortunately for all of you, that would not change in my lessons, non-verbal magic, are in fact, one of the most important factor when it comes to DADA, let's have a demonstration shall we, Harry, come up would you."
Complying with his Professor and Godfather, Harry got to the front of the class, wand out and faced Sirius.
"Now, why is non-verbal magic one of the most important parts of DADA, because of two very simple reasons, the element of surprise and defending against anti-sound spells, Silencio."
As usual, Harry had anticipated the spell, he however, let it hit him, knowing that it was part of the demonstration.
"As you can see, Harry here is unable to talk, and by extension, unable to verbally cast a spell, try it Harry."
Attempting to shout a spell, only strained noises came out of his throat.
"As you can see, he is unable to defend himself, I can simply stun, maine, torture or kill if I want to and he can only run and hide," Sirius said, "now let's see what happens if he can use non-verbal magic."
Without any warning again, Sirius casted a Disarming Charm at him, Harry however, saw it before it happened, casting a Shield Charm which absorbed the spell.
"Great work," Sirius said, giving Harry a round of applause as Harry performed the counter spell on himself, now able to speak again, "fifteen points to Gryffindor for an excellent display, now let's practice non-verbal spells shall we."