Sixth Year in the Life of Draco

The first month of school flew by. It was October fifth now, and everyone was preparing for their midterms. Somehow, Ella had managed to stay in Advanced Transfiguration, but not because McGonagall liked her. She had convinced her to allow Draco to tutor her, and that was going extremely well. Truth be told, they only spent about half of their sessions studying...

Ella woke sleepily that Saturday afternoon. Sleeping in was something she enjoyed doing very much. When she walked into the Common Room, she saw that there was a group of boys, younger and older, around the bulletin board. She had noticed more and more people checking it for something these past few days. They were all extremely excited this time.

She made her way over to find out what the news was. Glen was standing there, talking to the two giants, Crabbe and Goyle. She pushed through them and had to throw a few elbows to get to the front of the crowd. When she finally did, she saw what the commotion was about.

The tryouts for the Slytherin House team will be held this evening at five o'clock.

Please be down at the Quidditch Pitch no later than four-thirty.

You must have your own brooms in order to make it.

If you have any questions, please contact Draco Malfoy.

Silently, Ella was extremely excited. She looked at the clock. It was just striking three. She had to eat first, of course, but then she would get into her Quidditch robes and fly for a little while to loosen up. Her hair was a mess and she was still in her nightgown, but she didn't care. Quickly, she made her way to the Great Hall for some lunch.

There was a group of boys gathered around Draco asking him questions about the tryouts tonight. He saw her and waved from where he was. Ella waved back and quickly grabbed a few sandwiches before heading back to the common room, eating as she went. When she got there, she hurried back up the stairs to her dorm.

"Oh, hi Ella," she said unenthusiastically. Oh, how she missed her private, warm, comfortable room at Durmstrang...

"Are you honestly trying out for the team?! You'll never make it!" she said. Ella smiled. She could wipe the floor with any of the other players and she knew it.

"Whatever you say," she said, strapping on her shin guards. She through her light-weight cloak around her shoulders and grabbed her broom. Walking casually from the room, she pointed at her head with her wand. Her hair twisted and pulled itself into a perfect pony-tail.

The walk by the Great Hall was an interesting one. There were stares and some laughter. No one thought that this little girl could possibly be good enough to make the very talented Slytherin team. But she knew otherwise, and ignored them. She went through a side-door and out into one of the courtyards. Savoring the moment, she kicked off from the ground and soared through the air.

The wind on her face felt refreshing. Since she had come here, she hadn't ridden a broom. She had been too focused with school, and Draco, and meeting people that it was too hard. Now, she had the time and she was happier than she had ever been here.

She was nervous not to go to high right away. Her fear of heights was still there and she hoped to one day overcome it... maybe so she could be a Seeker again. For now, three hundred feet was her limit.

First, Ella flew over the lower towers of the castle. She did a flew loops to warm herself up. She could feel a flush rising to her cheeks. It almost hurt to smile, but she couldn't help it. All her fears, her worries... it all melted away.

She could see the Quidditch Pitch in the distance and decided to get a few laps in before the tryouts started. It was already almost four. Her sleepy self had let her sleep in until almost two-thirty, and it had taken close to an hour to get all her stuff together. She could see kids in green heading down to the pitch and noticed Glen's perfect brown hair blowing in the wind.

She flew over their heads and landed gently on the ground of the pitch. Draco was just walking out of the locker room. He was rubbing his neck nervously and rubbing his hands together. Ella was sympathetic. She was also nervous.

Quickly, the floor of the stadium seemed to fill up with hopeful players. Ella leaned against her broomstick, a Firebolt 2000, and watched the look on their faces. She began to analyze all of them like they were a cow at an auction, picking up on their flaws and trying to figure out what position they would be best at.

I know Glen is a Chaser, but I think he'd be better as a Keeper... Crabbe and Goyle are the beaters, I know that. Draco is the Seeker, but he's a little on the big side for than position. That redhead would be a good Chaser. He seems to have the arms for it. I don't know who that other kid is, but he's too lanky to play Quidditch...

It finally hit her after a few minutes that she was the only girl there. She looked around, thinking that she must have missed someone, but she hadn't. This whole team was entirely boys. Confused, she walked over to Glen to ask him about this.

"Hey, Glen! Come here, I have a question for you!" she yelled. He turned his head to look at her and came quickly over to where she stood.

"What are you doing here, Ella?" he asked. She had deliberately asked Draco to keep her talent on the field a secret. It was something that she felt people really didn't need to know.

"I came to try out. I thought there would be a lot more girls here, though," she said. Glen chuckled.

"Ella, girls never make the Slytherin team. I don't think we've had a girl on this team for a good hundred years," he said. Ella's jaw dropped.

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope. No girl ever makes the team. I think its because we get all the sissy girls," he said, trying to be funny. Ella didn't take this as a joke. In fact, she was quite offended by his rude comment. She turned on her heel and walked off, leaving a confused Glen standing by himself. Finally, Draco stepped from his little corner to make an announcement. Any conversation that was going on ceased.

"Ok, I'm not going to take twenty minutes explaining why we're here because you know perfectly well why you're here. We're here to play Quidditch and I will say that if you don't want to work your ass off every day of every week, get off this field and stop wasting your time and mine," he said. Ella was proud of him. He could take control when he needed it. A few kids sauntered off and Draco glared after them.

"Now that we've separated out the slackers, I would like to begin the tryouts for Keeper. Cunningham, you're up first. At this time I would also like to try Chasers, so Rutherford, you're in," he said. Cunningham, the lanky kid that Ella had seen, stumbled trying to get on his broom. Ella snorted. This was going to funny.

Surprisingly, Cunningham was quite skilled on a broom. His awkwardness on his feet seemed to disappear when he was flying. Glen, too, was rather skilled. He held the Quaffle easily under his arm and flew quickly, even though there was only one hand being used to steer. Cunningham was watching him like a hawk and moved cautiously around the hoops. Finally, Glen took a shot. Cunningham caught it effortlessly.

Glen caught the Quaffle again and set up another shot. After doing a few difficult spins and fakes, he managed to put it through the right hoop. The crowd below cheered and Ella applauded as well. Glen flew down to the floor of the pitch and bowed. Cunningham followed after him, stumbling on his landing.

"Jake, excellent job. Don't call us, we'll call you," said Draco, making a few notes on the clipboard in his hand. Cunningham, whose name Ella now knew was Jake, left the field with his broom on his shoulder. Glen took a seat on the grass, off in the distance. His hair was blowing in the steady breeze. Ella decided that he should be a model.

"Ok... Michael, you're next as Keeper. Ella, you're up," he said. Ella snapped back from her daydream about Glen as a model. Wait, had he said her? "Ella, I said it's your turn."

Well, there was her answer.

"Um, ok then," said Ella. There were a few boys that whistled. Then, the snide comments started.

"Hey cutie, can I help you with that?"

"I think you'd look better on my broomstick."

"Don't break a nail, gorgeous."

Ella's cheeks flushed with anger. She had forgotten her wand in her dorm, which was probably a good thing. Still, she wasn't going to let them get away with this. If they wanted to get nasty, she'd get nasty.

With her most flirtatious grin, she walked over to the leader of the comments. He was a tall, brown haired boy. Ella recognized him as a seventh year. She gestured with her finger to come in closer. He raised his eyebrows and puckered his lips. Ella gritted her teeth and took aim with her knee.

She hit the spot she was aiming for.

"How do you like that, jackass!?" she said. The boys moved in and one tried to lay a hand on her, but she slapped him across the face. "Don't you dare touch me!"

"Hey, hey! Let's act like gentleman here!" yelled Draco, who came running over to break up the fight.

"Then she should act more like a lady!"

"You all need to shut your bloody mouths! She didn't ask for those comments. The next time you say something like that to her, I'll see to it that you are personally injured more than a little kick to the groin," he said. They all shut up and backed away. "Now can we please get back to my tryouts? You're lucky I'm not kicking you out of here," he said. Ella waited until Draco's back was turned and then threw another kick at the boy on the ground. He grunted and she was satisfied with that. She walked back over to her broom, which had fallen in the grass. Draco jogged over to her for a moment and whispered in her ear.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm fine but you may want to check on Mr. High-and-Mighty over there. I kicked him a little harder than I wanted to," she said, kicking off hard from the ground. Draco shook his head and laughed. Thanks to Ella, he wasn't sure if that poor boy was ever going to be able to have children.

Michael was the Keeper from last years team. He was one of the best at Hogwarts. Draco had deliberately matched him and Ella. He wanted to show these pigs that she had talent and was not just a nice piece of eye candy.

Ella started slowly. Draco could see where she was going to move because he knew her strategies. Fake to the left, dive a bit, move forward, stop short, shoot. Low and behold, Michael hadn't been expecting it and the Quaffle went easily through the middle hoop.

Ella retrieved the Quaffle and went at it again. This time, she wanted to show her skill at flying. She started with some more difficult fake combinations. Then, she flew back behind the hoops, cut Michael off, causing him to dive. Then she threw the Quaffle with all her strength through the left hoop. The crowd below just watched in shock.

Ella landed swiftly on the ground. She walked through the crowd of opened mouth boys. A few applauded. She paid them no attention as she walked off the field, a smile from ear to ear.

~*~*~*~*~

One week later, Ella walked into the Common Room after lunch. Her eyes were met with a scene much like the one she had seen before. A large group of boys were gathered around the bulletin board. Draco hadn't mentioned when the results of the tryouts would be posted, and she had paid close attention to the bulletins all week. Finally, she knew that she would get her answer.

As she walked to the front of the room, she got looks from a few people and some turned to whisper. Yes, she wanted to know what they were saying. At the same time, however, she wanted to know if she had made the team. When she got to the group of boys gathered around the board, they parted. She looked at them curiously, but they just smiled at her.

She pushed forward and looked at the list. Biting her lip nervously, she went down it, reading every name.

Ella squealed with delight when she read her name at the bottom of the list. Draco heard her from where he stood in the corner shadows. He smiled to himself as he walked from his place to the staircase. Going up to his dormitory, he knew he had made the right decision when he put her on the team. He was going to need some help this year with his responsibilities, and she was just the right person.

~*~*~*~*~