Only a Boy

Chapter 4

"So who did you think was the best?" Ron asked.

The remaining members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team sat around the fire in the common room, ostensibly studying but actually discussing the tryouts that had been held that afternoon. Ron sat in an armchair facing Harry, while Katie Bell leaned on the back. Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper sat on a sofa nearby; Kirke appeared to have fallen asleep over his Herbology books.

"Howard will be Keeper, I think," Katie said. "He's not as good as Bletchley was, but then it was only his first try, and he's the best of a bad lot."

Harry nodded agreement. "Malfoy's changing their playing style. He's getting some decent players for once."

Ron snorted derisively. "He's still got Crabbe, Goyle and Warrington, how good can they be?"

"Warrington's actually not bad," Katie told him. "A little violent maybe, but then it's a violent game. At least he can think about what he's doing. And I've noticed that Crabbe and Goyle at least hit the Bludgers more often than their team-mates."

"There are two Chaser positions, aren't there?" Seamus Finnegan asked. He was lying on the hearthrug levitating his Charms book open above him as he read.

"That's right," Katie agreed. "Montague, Bletchley and Pucey finished last year." She looked thoughtfully at Harry. "I think it'll be those two girls - what were their names? The sixth-year and the fourth-year."

"Blaise Zabini and Caroline Rosier," Hermione's voice supplied from behind a stack of Ancient Runes books.

"You think so?" Ron twisted round to look up at Katie. "I would have thought he'd take Andrew Rosier, not his sister."

"Yeah, but you saw him get hit by that Bludger," Dean said. "It nearly took him off his broom; Malfoy won't take that kind of playing."

"And Caroline is fast," Katie added. "She'd make a good Seeker as well, if it came to that."

"Malfoy's better," Harry said. "Especially now he's got a Firebolt."

Ron sat up fast. "When did that happen?"

Harry shrugged. "Present from his parents, I suppose."

"Still not as good as you, though," Katie assured him. Harry smiled at her.

"Blaise Zabini is better than Caroline," Seamus said. They all looked at him. He spread his hands defensively, and his book dropped to the floor. "You know I'm right."

"Is he right?" Katie asked, looking from Harry to Ron. They glanced at each other.

"Yes," Harry said reluctantly.

"Better than Warrington?"

"Easily," Ron told her heavily. Katie looked alarmed.

"Really? I don't like the sound of this."

"Join the club," Harry said. He told Katie about Blaise's spectacular catch above the stands. Katie's expression of concern intensified.

"Well we'll just have to make sure we get an even better team together than Malfoy does," she said firmly.

Harry and Ron looked simultaneously over at Sloper and Kirke. Katie sighed.

"I know, I know. We can't just kick them off the team, though, can we? We'll have to make do with what we've got."

"You could always re-try the whole team," Dean suggested from the floor, where he was practicing Summoning Charms on a box of Every-Flavour Beans, trying to Summon specific flavours. Katie, Ron and Harry all looked sharply at him.

"Think about it," Dean said, laying aside his wand and lowering his voice to prevent Sloper and Kirke hearing him. "The team players we have at the moment, other than those two, are supposedly the best in the house, right?"

"Not supposedly," Ron corrected him.

"Right, right, not supposedly," Dean agreed amiably. "That means, even if we did have new tryouts, you'd all still keep your places, wouldn't you? Of course Harry would have to stay, they already made him Captain, and anyway you need someone to pick the team. So, you hold tryouts for all the other positions - three Chasers, two Beaters, and a Keeper. For Ron and Katie, it's basically a formality. But for Sloper and Kirke..."

Light was dawning on Ron's face; Harry and Katie looked at each other in surprise.

"D'you know, that could work," Harry said thoughtfully. "Even if they still turn out to be the best in the house, at least we'll know."

"Exactly," Dean said, and Summoned a raspberry bean.

* * *

The next morning, Quidditch notices were posted on the boards in both the Slytherin and Gryffindor common rooms.

The Slytherin notice was the new team roster. Pansy dragged Blaise out of bed much earlier than she would have liked on a Sunday morning to come and see what she knew perfectly well already: that she and Caroline Rosier had been made the new Slytherin Chasers. The new Keeper, as Katie had predicted, was Barry Howard, who was currently being slapped on the back by his fellow third-years.

Joanna Mustachinn was, unsurprisingly, furious at her failure to make the team. Unfortunately for her, she made the mistake of demanding from Draco himself why she hadn't been chosen. Draco, to whom tact was an unknown virtue, told her exactly why, in front of the whole common room, causing Joanna to storm out, slamming her dormitory door so hard a long crack appeared in the top panel.

The notice in the Gryffindor common room had been devised by Harry and Ron [with a little help from Dean] in their dormitory the previous night. A Gryffindor lion holding a Golden Snitch in its jaws prowled back and forth across the top of the sheet, which was headed: GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TRYOUTS.

Players Needed

Tryouts Are Being Held For The Quidditch Team

All Positions Available [Excluding Seeker]

Tryouts Take Place Wednesday Evening

Sign Up Below

Any Questions, Please See Harry Potter [Captain/Seeker]

By the end of morning break, the parchment was half-filled with names, and Harry was beginning to panic.

"How am I going to give everyone a fair tryout in three hours?" he demanded of Ron and Hermione. "There must be twenty names up there at least, and it's only the first morning!"

"Have two tryouts," Hermione suggested, and so Harry booked the Quidditch pitch for Thursday evening as well, making himself very unpopular with the other house teams.

"I don't understand why everyone's suddenly so interested," Ron said at lunch. He reached across Hermione for a plate of baked potatoes. "I mean, everyone likes Quidditch, the stands are packed every time there's a match, but last year when they held tryouts for Beaters and Seeker, hardly anyone showed up."

"It's the beginning of the year," Hermione explained. "Last time the tryouts were held in the middle of term, so everyone already had other commitments. Harry's caught them all before any other clubs have a chance to get off the ground, so more people can try out."

"Plus the fact that with all positions except Seeker going, there's more chance of getting on the team," Dean added.

"And there are all the second-years who couldn't try out last year," Harry put in. "With all the new brooms they got over the summer."

Ron nodded thoughtfully. "What are you going to do if someone shows up who you think is a better Keeper than me?"

"Never happen," Harry said confidently. "Weasley is our King, right? You'll be the best there is - and you already have your own fan song."

Amy Hewitt, passing behind them on her way to the Slytherin table, overheard the last part of the conversation and immediately went to pass the news on to Draco, Blaise and Derek Warrington.

"The whole team? Are you sure?" Warrington demanded. Amy nodded.

"Yes, positive. Every position except Seeker, that's what Dean Thomas said. And apparently there are loads of people signing up for it."

"That's why Potter booked the pitch two evenings in a row," Draco muttered.

"I wonder what happens if they find someone better than Weasley for Keeper?" Warrington mused.

"Shouldn't be too hard, even for Gryffindor," Draco said maliciously. "But Weasley will stay on the team whatever happens, I guarantee it. Potter will make sure he does."

"They're doing it to get rid of their Beaters," Blaise suggested. "Remember how bad they were last year?"

"Why not just kick them off the team?" Amy asked in surprise. "Why have tryouts for every position?"

"Because that's not how things are done in Gryffindor," Warrington told her. "They're giving Sloper and Kirke a second chance to prove themselves."

Draco shook his head pityingly. "Morons."

* * *

By Wednesday evening it seemed to an increasingly agitated Harry that half of Gryffindor House were planning to attend the tryouts. In desperation, he tried to get the pitch for Friday evening as well, but Roger Davies refused to give up Ravenclaw's first practice.

The pitch was crowded with chattering students when Harry, flanked by Katie and Ron, came out of the changing rooms. People were carrying all kinds of brooms, from Comets to Nimbuses to Cleansweeps, and Harry even saw three second-years arguing furiously over one of the old school Shooting Stars.

In the stands, Blaise sat between Draco and Warrington, wrapped in her winter cloak, and watched with amusement as Harry attempted to create some organization. Eventually it was agreed that several mock games would be played, with the hopefuls taking the positions they planned to try out for. Since they would not be using the Snitch, this allowed Harry to hover high above the game and watch the players below for any who looked promising.

As with the Slytherin tryouts, the Captains of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had turned up to watch, along with some of their team-mates. Blaise noticed with some annoyance that Harry's gaze kept moving to where Cho Chang was sitting.

"Let the games begin," Draco murmured.

Blaise watched as Harry soared upwards. He really was a remarkable flier, she thought; at once daring and impulsive, but with complete control. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Draco frowning slightly, and hastily returned her attention to the other players.

As the tryouts progressed, it became evident that not one of the Chaser hopefuls could match Katie Bell; although that was hardly surprising, given her five years of experience. However there were several who looked good. Ginny Weasley, easily identifiable by her vivid hair, was one of the ones who stood out; she was speedy and agile on her broom, her experience from the previous season showing to good advantage. Seamus Finnegan, too, was good, and surprisingly Colin Creevey made a few good saves playing Keeper.

By the time it got too dark to see, everyone had had their chance to play, and Harry looked considerably more cheerful as he returned to the ground. He, Ron and Katie waited till the others had left the pitch, taking their names and laughingly refusing to give out hints of who looked most likely to become the new players.

Blaise refused to accompany Draco to Thursday's tryout; not only was it pouring with a heavy, numbingly cold drizzle, but she had a Charms essay to write. The common room, with its armchairs and roaring fire, was a considerably more attractive option.

* * *

"So it comes to this," Katie said. "Myself, Ginny Weasley, and either Seamus Finnegan or Natalie McDonald for Chasers; Ron stays as Keeper, and we make Darren White and Chris O'Hara our Beaters."

Harry nodded, yawning hugely. It was close to midnight, and other than Ron, Katie and himself the common room was deserted. They had spent the last two and a half hours going through the lists of names of would-be players, discussing the pros and cons of each as they whittled them down. Some - such as Sloper and Kirke - had been easy to decide; others had given more trouble. Colin Creevey, in particular, had been a difficult one to cross off. Harry had a strong suspicion that Colin would actually make a better Keeper than Ron, with a little practice, but, he reasoned, there was no point in electing an inexperienced Keeper when Ron had played through the last season, and knew what he was doing.

He looked consideringly at the sheet of parchment with the long list of names lying before them on the table. It was scarred with crossings-out, random notes beside this name or that name ['Bad at dodging Bludgers', 'Good shooting aim', 'Seems to be scared of heights'], and various doodles. In the upper left corner two heavy black Bludgers chased a stick figure labelled 'MALFOY'; Harry guessed this was Ron's work. Ron himself sat asleep at their table with his head pillowed on his folded arms.

Harry touched Seamus' name on the parchment idly with the tip of his battered quill, then traced it down to rest on 'Natalie McDonald'.

Natalie was faster than Seamus; that much was certain. However, Seamus was older than Natalie, he had more playing experience, and he knew better than her what he was doing in respect to the game rules and tactics. In coordination and aim they were about equal. Natalie was smaller and could manoeuvre more quickly; Seamus had an uncanny ability to dodge Bludgers, it was like he could see out of the back of his head like Alastor Moody.

He looked at Katie, curled up in her chair. "Which do you think?"

"I think Seamus," Katie said after a moment's thought. "If it turns out badly, he's only got two more years to go before he can be replaced."

Harry smiled. "Cynical."

Katie shrugged. "You're Captain. It's up to you."

Harry groaned and covered his eyes theatrically. "Why me?"

"Because Ron's not experienced enough and I didn't want the job," Katie told him.

"I don't think Ron would have wanted it either." Harry leaned forward and decisively drew a line through Natalie's name.

Katie yawned, covering her mouth with one hand. "When do you want to put up the roster?"

"Monday," Harry said after a moment's consideration. "It gives me a chance to change my mind if I want to." He leaned over and prodded Ron's shoulder experimentally with the tip of his quill. Ron responded by slipping sideways out of his chair and promptly falling asleep again on the hearthrug.