Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it ain't mine.
Author's notes: I know, I know, I'm late again, but this time, it's not my fault! First I was bedridden for three weeks thanks to a very evil dentist who took pleasure in making my wisdom tooth withdrawal as painful as it could get just so that it would still be impossible for me to open my mouth when Christmas came around *grunt*, then there were the holidays (which just happen to be high season here, meaning loads of work), and my computer crashed again! But enough of that, As it is, I only have six months to finish this baby and its sequel before JK puts out HBP, and if I don't make that deadline, I'll end up just like I did with KoaM, forced to write as fast as possible to be able to actually read it (and I won't read it till this is finished), so if I miss my one week deadline, please hunt me down and force me to do it, flaming is welcome in this case as well.
Anyway, responding to some reviews (which, on FFN are still too few and far between. I LIVE on reviews, people, they're what fuel me to write, and I'm rather starved at the moment!) Voakands: Iridis won't be that big of a part in Hermione's rescue, but she will be a very big part of Harry's year, and as far as DADA goes, for now, Harry's just reviewing (it's always good to review! Shameless plug). Loudnproud223: Actually I was born in the States, but my parents moved to Italy when I was about 6 months old, where I lived until I was twelve, then for business reasons we moved to Florida for 4 years, and now it's been 4 ½ years we're back in Italy, so, even if I wasn't born there, you can pretty safely consider me a native of Italy, meaning that I do speak Italian, every day of my life in fact, and am damn proud of it! ^_^ And I'm very flatter that you read my fics even though you don't float the boat (actually you'd be surprised how many non H/Hr shippers are fans of mine…can't understand why, but I'm flattered nonetheless). ^____^ Trowa no Miko: sorry that you found it boring. I really don't blame you, but you might find this boring as well, still, I hope you stick around because the plot will be coming back next chapter. YAY!
Chapter 9: Ron and Quidditch Tryouts
It was beginning to get unsettling. He'd had two days' worth of meals in the Great Hall (the ones before those two days had been consumed in the kitchens with the house elves, where prying eyes couldn't reach him), and at each of those meals those eyes were staring at him incessantly.
The both of them were trying to drive him insane; that had to be it.
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Professor Iridis Larvae would eat with their eyes trained on him, speak in hushed, whispered tones, sometimes involving Head of Gryffindor house McGonagall-who at least was far more discrete and less persistent-and then resume their staring of him once again.
Once, Tonks had been there making a marvellous job of distracting them from him but, he discovered, most of the time Tonks was nowhere to be found, or rather, he was pretty sure that most of the time she was hiding amongst students disguised as one of them. He'd tried to pick her out of the crowd of students during lunchtime, but apparently she was much smarter than she appeared to be-well, she had to be if she was an Auror-and much subtler as well. In all honestly, he'd have thought that she would be the kind to stick out in a crowd, even without the peaky hair colours and strange noses.
Or maybe he was just imagining things, though he didn't think so.
In any case, he knew he wasn't imagining those stares. And he knew, that, if they'd intended to be covert they would have been, but as it was, they were openly inviting to stride up to them and spill his turmoil.
Right. Like that was going to happen anytime soon.
And Professor Larvae was getting even more overwhelming. She'd stare at him as though trying to tell him that she knew he was hiding something-or someone-within his mind (and she seemed hell bent on convincing him of the latter) with just those looks, and it was as though she was trying to drive him to tell her of it.
And most of the time that was precisely what he wanted to do, he wanted to so much that it was almost unbearable, but he knew he very well couldn't. After all, she'd go straight to Dumbledore with the information, and Harry and Hermione couldn't afford him knowing. He wanted so much to tell someone about Hermione's life still beating within her, if at least to stop the whispers and looks. The Slytherins derogatory comments on Hermione's heritage, and how the school was better without her, the Hufflepuffs giving him those sympathetic grieving looks, and the Ravenclaws not quite hushed remarks on how he might have been in part responsible for her death.
Worst of all were the Gryffindors. Not because they insulted Hermione or because they were mourning her or because they thought that he was responsible but because they didn't.
As Harry had discovered from Dean and Seamus, Ginny had found quite a passion for Extendable Ears since coming back to Hogwarts in her first week, or rather, since Hermione fell. She was determined to know what had happened to her friend. Especially after the knowledge of her disappearance spread through Hogwarts-after all, since the presses had been banned, everyone in school had become obsessed with knowing why it had been such, much like the Quibbler episode a year prior. Apparently, the day that article had been published, Ginny had noticed a lot of commotion at the faculty table, and she'd seen Headmaster Dumbledore leave with Professors Larvae, Snape, McGonagall, Flitwick and Hagrid, and had decided that, whatever the commotion was for, she had a right to know about it since it would have most likely have been about either Harry or Hermione.
And she'd been right.
It had been decided that Harry was to be called back to Hogwarts-the reason for which Gryffindor house was not surprised-and, apparently, Hermione's death had been called a hoax quite sometime before since Dumbledore had been the one to first know of Hermione's disappearance through a complaint from the Grangers on behalf of their missing daughter.
From there, she had spoken to the whole of her House tower about this to know what they thought, and the vote had been unanimous. Hermione Granger was still alive somewhere-like she could truly die that easily-and was probably a captive of Death Eaters.
Now, even if those conjectures were both very true, that didn't stop the whole of Gryffindor to discuss them, analyze them, and ponder them out loud whenever there was no interaction with the differing houses (Ginny had only told Luna).
It was all that which was impossible for him to handle. The constant wondering, reminding him that not even he-who was directly involved-truly knew what was going on with Hermione.
His housemates kept questioning him. Did he know? Did he think? Did he act? All the questions drilling into the back of his mind, at the front of his sanity.
And despite the fact that this had all been instigated by Ginny, she was his only reprieve in the situation, the only one that cared for him as a friend, as a sister, as someone truly worried for Hermione. Someone who hadn't-at the time-grieved for the bookworm, bushy headed Prefect; but for Hermione Granger, the clever, introspective young woman with an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
Ginny was a lot of help because she wasn't trying to replace Hermione, like many others were. Not like she'd be able to.
"Hey, Harry!" The youngest Weasley sat next to him, as though his thoughts had conjured her. Her voice wasn't quite chipper, but rather agitated, and almost nervous.
"What's up?" he asked, noticing her mood as she twisted a lock of fire red hair.
"Well-McGonagall called me to her office earlier to talk to me," she began, and he turned slightly in his seat to let her know that she had his attention, "to talk about the Quidditch team." Harry didn't speak, so she was forced to elaborate. "She asked me, to be Captain."
Harry blinked. That was unexpected, but then again, there was nobody else, was there? Katie had told him already that she'd refuse Captaincy for the simple fact that she would be graduating and didn't want the extra distraction; Alicia, and Angelina had graduated; the replacement Beaters were horrible, and therefore their spots had to be tried out for again; he had that big black mark on his record where he had been banned-and despite the fact that it had been removed, he had still been involved in a public fight on the Quidditch Pitch-so that left the two remaining Weasleys still attending Hogwarts. "That's great, Ginny!" He told her truthfully.
"Great, my bum!" she screeched quietly. "Do I have to remind you that I have OWLs?!" Oh, yes, the only times she tore herself from studying were when snooping was involved. "I told her you should have the spot! I mean, you're the only one left with any experience! And I don't even have a fixed position!" she told him, trying to be as quiet as possible while whispering her shouts.
"Er-thanks, Ginny, but I don't think McGonagall was going to make someone who was banned from the game Captain," he told her awkwardly.
She sighed. "Yes, that's what she said, too, though she made it clear that she wanted the spot to be yours." She sighed again, more heavily. "So I did the only think I could do."
"Er-you accepted, right?" He questioned.
"No," she sighed once again. "I told her to give the spot to Ron."
Harry thought about it. "Well, that's good. I mean, he's the one that likes to work on strategies and things, and he seemed to have gotten over the whole `Weasley is our King' thing, right?"
"Yes," she answered, sighing yet again, "if only he wasn't such a royal git right now though."
"Er-" Harry spoke. He really wouldn't know about that. He hadn't quite had a lot of contact with Ron Weasley lately.
"In any case, he's coming over here now, which means that McGonagall's told him, so try and act surprised when he tells us," she instructed as she began to pile her plate high with food, while muttering something about needing strength for her studies. She hadn't even managed to dig her fork into the first bite that a throat was being cleared behind them. She visibly forced herself to be pleasant. "Yes, Ron?" she questioned as she turned to face her brother.
"I just wanted to let the two of you know that I've been made Captain of the Quidditch team," he told them in such Percy-esque way that it was somewhat scaring Harry, especially when taking in Ginny's new animosity for him.
"Oh," Ginny voiced in a way very reminiscent of when Hermione had found out that he was Prefect instead of Harry. "That's great, Ron."
"Yeah, good one," Harry added quietly, not really knowing what to think of the current situation.
"Oh, and Harry," the redhead turned on him with a malicious solicitude that would have made Malfoy proud; "you're going to have to tryout for Seeker again, since you lost the spot last year."
Harry blinked stupidly for a few seconds. "Okay," he said slowly, "that makes sense," but even so, Harry had never actually had to try out for his Seeker position before, which made him feel awkward now.
"Tryouts are Saturday in two weeks, I'm going to spread the word," he said, and, right before storming off toward where Dean and Seamus were seating, he added, "and be there this time, Potter."
Harry and Ginny were staring with their mouth agape after him, until Mark Evans' quiet, curious voice pulled them out of their stupor with a simple, outrageous question. "What's Quibblitch?"
*°*°*
They were snug. Very much so. And short as well. For the first time in his five going on six years of Quidditch seeking this had never happened to Harry Potter. Never once did it occur that after only one summer away-okay, it was a little more that that, but still-his loose Quidditch Gryffindor coloured robes were tight on him. That could only mean one thing.
He'd finally hit a growth spurt, and was going to be like other normal boys, or as close as he could get. Judging by precisely how short his robes were, he guessed he'd gotten a good four inches, which was miraculous by his standards. His mouth widened into a face splitting grin, and his first instinct was to call out to Hermione in his mind to tell her.
But he stopped himself. He'd rather see her face when she saw him next, whenever that would be.
With that thought in mind, he took off his robes and changed into a pair of Muggle castoff jeans and one of Dudley's old jumpers. Not the best way to show up at a try-out, but at least he could fly well without the hindering thought of his robes splitting on him at an inopportune moment.
He'd spoken to Hermione earlier that morning, and she'd wished him the best of luck, though she'd made it very clear that she had no intention of `seeing' what he would be, so he would have to give her a shout when it was all over and done with. He hadn't bothered telling her about Ron's strange behaviour, since the day right after the incident he seemed to be back to his old temperamental Weasley self, though she seemed to have sensed it somehow since she kept asking questions pertaining to their friendship. He had always been very vague. She knew it, but didn't push him.
Making sure the belt was buckled so that his cousin's pants didn't decide to slide down of their own accord, he grabbed his Firebolt reverently from the bed, gleaming after a good polishing the night before, and made to go down to the Common Room. It was true that he'd been able to familiarise with her again on his birthday, but he knew very well that taking her back on the Quidditch Pitch where she loved to be would be entirely different.
It was rather early-tryouts were at noon, and there was more than and hour and a half before the time rolled around-and he expected most of his Housemates to be outside on the pleasantly warm day, so he was quite surprised when he saw his newfound little magical cousin sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs in front of the hearth reading the copy of Quidditch Through the Ages that Harry had lent him. He was apparently enjoying it. A lot.
Not bad for someone who didn't even know what `Quibblitch' was.
"Whoa, Harry, what's that?" His usually shy voice sounding eager and awestruck at the sight of what the older boy held in his hands.
Harry couldn't hold back the grin. "This," he said holding out his treasure, "is a Firebolt."
"Wow," Mark said as he abandoned his book for a closer look at the broomstick of wonders. "That doesn't look like the brooms Madame Hooch gave us for flying!"
"I'd hope not," Harry replied jovially-how could he not be in a good mood when there was flying in sight-flashing him a playful smile. "It can kick off so fast that you'll be left behind if you're not an expert flyer."
"Cool! Really?" Mark was practically jumping out of his skin in excitement.
"Yep, want to see?" He didn't know why he was offering this-he wasn't generally very generous when it came to his Firebolt, as it was a gift from Sirius, especially towards a first year-but, in a way, Mark was the only real blood relative he had-or better-the only one that he liked and actually liked calling family.
Mark looked ready to burst. "Whoa! Can I really?"
"Sure," Harry grinned at him. "I was just about to go and get a bit of practice in before tryouts. If you want, you can come and watch."
"All right!" And with that the little boy was out of the portrait hole before Harry even saw him, leaving him laughing and thinking that the Seeking reflexes didn't seem to come entirely from his father's side.
*°*°*
He was truly at home.
There where he was halfway between the deep green of the Scottish grass covering the Quidditch Pitch's land and the infinite blue of the cloudless sky above and could choose to be closer to one of the other.
There he felt truly at home, where he could dive and feint and shoot up and just be one with the wind, using it to his advantage or choosing to challenge it.
He'd never felt so welcomed in that patch of sky before, maybe because he'd never quite appreciated it as he should have before losing it. Not unlike his friendship with Hermione.
He sighed and looked below. The other flyers were pouring onto the Pitch now, as it was almost time to tryout. With another sigh he dove for the ground, lifting up at the last possible moment, and dismounting in one fluid, nearly impossible movement. He looked to the stands, where Mark had decided to stay after he actually got to see what could be done with a broom firsthand. The little boy was practically jumping out of his skin in excitement.
In all honesty, Harry was more than a little nervous. He had never actually tried out for the team before, he didn't know what to expect, and, most of all, he didn't know what to expect from Ron. And there was the fact that Ginny was trying out as well-this time for a Chaser position-and therefore couldn't give all that much support, though she had been a great help. There was also the fact that Ron wasn't exactly acting chummy toward…anybody, two out of three Chasers had graduated, the Beaters-one of which had graduated-would have to try out again, Ginny was trying out for a different position, and he-well, he was in the situation that he didn't really understand all that well.
Looking around, he noticed that there were about twenty people who had come to try out, most of which he didn't know. The ones he did recognize were the Creevey brothers-whom, he thought, didn't appear to have a high chance of making the team since they'd brought their camera and were already firing it at him-Dean Thomas-who seemed rather bored and might have come only to appease Ron-Seamus Finnigan which was giving certain glances that made Harry think he was just there for Ginny, and-Neville Longbottom?
Yes, that was Neville alright, holding one of the school brooms and talking nervously with Ginny who appeared to be trying to reassure him. When she looked his way, Harry raised a questioning eyebrow at her, to which she replied with a hand gesture that clearly stated she would explain later.
He shrugged. He liked Neville, and at the Department of Mysteries he proved that he wasn't as inept as everyone made him and that he could hold his own in difficult situations, though Harry didn't know if he could hold his own with Quidditch, but he could be very determined. If Neville made it, Harry was certain that it would be great for his confidence.
"Alright, everybody, I'm Ron Weasley, for those who don't know me, and I'm Captain of this team." At this declaration much whispering arose from the gathered crowd, most of which consisted of things along the lines of `I thought that Harry was a given for sure!' which didn't seem to please Ron in the least, as his ears were turning rather a remarkable shade resembling that of his hair.
"First, we'll have the Beaters so the rest can take up on the stands and wait for your turn," his voice sounded quite unpleasant and it unsettled some of the younger years.
Harry really didn't know what to think, so he made his way to where Mark was sitting to be able to watch. Ginny and some of her friends that he didn't know came close to him. The Creevey brothers weren't far behind, picking a spot at medium distance for better shots.
"Hey, Harry," the redhead greeted at she took the seat next to him.
"Hey, Ginny," he replied, turning toward her, "so…Neville?" He asked, not really knowing what to ask or how to put it.
"Yeah, Neville," she replied with a deep breath. "He heard about trying out the day that Ron told us, and he asked for my help. I really wasn't sure about it, but he was really insistent, so I agreed. I've been helping him for three hours everyday for the past two weeks."
Harry raised his eyebrow again. "You missed three hours of studying a day to help him?" He remembered far too vividly how much studying had been important the previous year, and how difficult it was to keep up with it.
"Yeah, that's why I didn't want to at first, but keeping up with it hasn't been so hard really, I mean, I just followed Hermione's advice and organised my time as best I could," she gave him a sad smile, "I think that none of us really listened to her as we should have. But Neville's been great, really great. I just hope he doesn't freeze up out there. I mean almost everyone is trying out for Beater and he's bound to be nervous enough as it is without the added pressure."
Harry started as he looked out towards the Pitch. Neville was trying out for BEATER? But nonetheless, there he was, with Dean, and Seamus and seven other boys and one girl, listening to Ron as he gave them instructions.
"Yeah, I know, I was surprised, too, but he's not half bad. He's got a good arm, stronger than he looks, if he practices he could hit as well as Fred and George. Good aim. Much better than I would have thought. His only real problem was flying, he was scared of it, I guess, but he's doing better. And then there the fact that he has almost no confidence in himself," Ginny explained.
"Yeah," Harry agreed, "but if he makes the team it should help him a lot with that."
"Exactly," Ginny smiled brightly at this, "that's really the reason for why I was helping, once I saw that he wasn't all that bad. I just hope Ron doesn't go git on us today, though."
Harry remained quiet at this. Looking back over the Pitch a question struck him. "So…he's the only one actually judging the tryouts? Where's Katie?"
Ginny nearly laughed. "Oh, no!" And then she really did laugh. "Katie knows how close minded he can be sometimes, she saw it last year, so she decided that she would assist as well even though she's already behind with her NEWT studies, and the members would be picked based on their joint opinions, so we should be okay. See she's on the other side of the Pitch, taking notes already."
Harry nodded and went to watch how the Beaters would be selected. Ginny explained, for Mark's benefit as much as his own, since Katie had been keeping her up to date with everything `to keep Ron in line'.
"First, they're going to be tested on their aim. They each take up different sections of the Pitch, then, they have to send the Bludgers that have been charmed to fly at them, back to that marker, and hit it as centrally as possible. They get points for this, based on accuracy and strength, which are going to be taken into consideration." Harry nodded, and followed the different students with his eyes. Dean was hitting with good strength, but it seemed that he was hitting out of annoyance, therefore often missing the target, but more than anything he seemed to be having problems flying, the broom was rather temperamental, and he didn't seem to be able to show that he was in charge; Seamus on the other hand, seemed to be having a grand time, he had great control over his broom, but he also was completely lacking in the eye-hand coordination department.
The only girl on the Pitch, a Latino looking girl with braids who seemed to be about a fourth year, at the moment was doing quite well, but her hits weren't very strong at all, and she was built more like a Chaser in any case. Harry was actually quite pleasantly surprised to see that Neville was one of the best ones out there. He really did have a good arm, and his aim was steady. Sometimes the broom would act up beneath him, but he would get it under control without too much time and effort. The only one doing better than he was a heavy looking boy, probably a fifth year, with sandy hair that stayed straight and neat even up in the air, and an arm that could easily take off a limb with a bat and Bludger at hand.
At this point, Harry hoped that Ron wouldn't be too biased by Neville's reputation, and that McGonagall would give him the chance that he seemed to deserve. Neville really needed to have the confidence booster.
"Looks like they're done with that. Now, they'll be tested on speed," Ginny continued lecturing, "Ron told Katie that he wanted to have a team based on speed, to be able to work with the better fast acting strategies, so if they're good but too slow, they'll be cut." She sounded rather nervous at this, probably remembering that it was the flying part that Neville was having problems with.
Looking over the Pitch, Harry tried to reassure her. "Well, they all have pretty much the same level brooms, none of them are made for speed, so that should keep them all level, Seamus might be good here, but if he's the fastest, he won't make it, because he missed the target too many times, and Dean doesn't have a high chance here, because he doesn't control his broom well. That girl should do alright here, but I don't think she'll be picked for this position. Most of the others aren't even to be taken into consideration. That big kid with straight hair seems a given, so if Neville stays calm he should be able to make it just fine," it was, of course, all true, but it was still all up to Neville.
As it turned out after two racing laps of the Pitch, there was nothing to be worried about, though Neville seemed uncertain in curve, in a straight line he did just fine, and he ended forth, after Seamus, the sandy haired boy, and the girl in the lead. Considering their previous standards, it ought to have been good enough.
Harry watched as Ron and Katie seemed to discuss for a few minutes the situation, their argument heating up for a second before settling down, and then they called over the only girl and spoke to her for a few seconds.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Ginny asked anxiously as she wrung her hands.
"I don't know," he replied as he watched the happening from afar, "but if it were me, I'd ask her to try out as Chaser."
As it was, Harry was right. When the Chasers were called onto the Pitch, the Beaters reached the stands, while the girl stayed on the field for the next tryout.
"Hey, Harry," Neville called happily as he sat next to him, looking rather satisfied. Dean and Seamus followed, giving annoyed grunts of salutation.
"I hope I didn't make it," Dean called out as he sat heavily on the stand before Harry's.
"Why?" Mark asked, almost outraged, speaking for the first time since the selection had begun.
"Because, I don't even like Quidditch, and, even if I did, I wouldn't want to play with Ron as Captain. I mean, he's an okay bloke and all, but not only he's obsessed, but he's been a right pain in the arse lately," Dean answered bitterly.
"Hear, hear, mate," Seamus called from next to him. Harry, not knowing what to say, remained silent and turned his attention to the selections. There were seven girls trying out for the positions, and no boys-maybe because to the Gryffindors it seemed like a given female position based on its previous history. For the Chasers the speed race had been the first trial, and Harry was quite glad that they had all been rather fast, with Ginny in the lead, followed by the girl who had tried out for Beater, another girl that Harry recognized as one of Ginny's roommates, and a little way back a seventh year, and another fifth year, the rest he didn't know.
After Ron gave instructions for the next trial, he took position at the goal posts, and the girls lined up in rows of three, following the line up in which they'd ended the race. First they had to pass to each other, than steal from each other, and finally they would all have to fly and score, using whatever measure they thought appropriate, before the next group could try.
The first three, Ginny, the Latino girl, and Ginny's roommate did exceptionally well, and they had great teamwork as well, though the roommate seemed to lack creativity. The other groups weren't too shabby, but Ginny's seemed to have the most fun while flying, which, in his opinion was a very important factor while playing. The Chaser tryouts took forever, though, since Ron mixed the groups several times, and, by the time it was over with, it was nearly sunset, and Harry wondered if he would have to try out without sunlight.
When Ron called the Seekers, there was only one other person beside Harry, a thin looking third year with a speedy built, who would be trying out as well.
Looking back out over the stands he realized that everyone would be staying to watch the last tryout, which, in a way, made him relax, making him feel like there was actually a game going on.
As it was, his try out would be rather similar to what he had to do during the game, find the Snitch, catch it, and avoid the Bludgers that had been charmed to chase anything that moved on Pitch. Two minutes into it, and Harry figured that the same spell that Dobby had charmed the Bludger with in second year must have been placed on them now. They were quite a bit more vicious than they usually were, and they seemed to be attracted to his broom-possibly because of its power. But Harry found that it wasn't much of a problem. The other potential Seeker was just following him, apparently not knowing what to do, and the reddish setting light of the sun made the glimmering gold of the Snitch nearly impossible to miss, at least for him. It was hovering right behind Ron's head, so Harry, after dodging a rather nasty Bludger after his tail, dove into one of his trademark heart stopping dives, nearly giving Ron a stroke, pulled up right in the nick of time and landed with the wings of the Snitch fluttering insistently against his fist, fighting for its freedom.
However, despite the cheer that rose from the stands, Harry was rather unsettled by Ron's less then pleasant expression. With a heavy heart, he went to sleep, trying to figure out what was going on, and what the results would be when he went down to the Common Room the following morning. Yet when morning came, it was with a happy note that he spoke to Hermione, reading the names off the list that had been posted.
Judging by the faces of those around him he could easily guess which of them matched the names on the list.
Beaters-
Daniel Jacks-5th (the sandy haired heavy boy)
Neville Longbottom-6th
Chasers-
Ginevra Weasley-5th
Marina Lopez-4th (the girl who tried Beater)
Seeker-
Harry Potter
Practices will be Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 6pm to 8pm, from 8am to 11am on Sundays.
To be continued.
You know the drill, whatever thought you had about this, as flimsy as it might be, I'd like to hear it, so either leave a review, or contact me at Robbygal@hotmail.com
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