Harry Potter and the Siren's Song

Two bright spots kept Harry moving through the rest of the week: Quidditch tryouts and the party that Saturday night in Hogsmeade. Without the hope that these provided, he very much doubted whether he would have survived his first week back at school without a visit to Dumbledore for attempting to curse the Slytherins out of existence.

All of the fifth years had noticed a significant increase of workload this year, but in addition to that the number of classes they had was mind-boggling. Up until now, they had been limited to five and a half hours of class a day. Now their schedules started 30 minutes earlier and allowed only 30 minutes for lunch, relegating them to 7 hours of classes a day, with their only breaks being a full hour lunch on Friday and the last hour and a half free on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

"I suppose they think this is the best way to get us ready for our O.W.L.'s," Hermione said thoughtfully Wednesday morning over breakfast.

"What, trying to see if any of us will jump from the roof of North Tower?" groused Ron.

Harry was picking at his sausages, too tired to comment. Tuesday and Thursday nights involved Astronomy lab from 11 to midnight, and his arms were covered with pinch marks from where he'd been fighting to stay awake.

"Harry," said Ginny softly in his ear. "Try some Pepperup in your tea - you won't be able to get through tryouts tonight if you're falling off your broom."

"I suppose not," he yawned, taking the bottle from her. Their hands brushed, and Harry felt instantly awake. Her hands felt very soft, and somewhat chilled but that wasn't what had woken him up. It had been the undeniable spark he'd felt.

"How did you two manage?" he asked Fred and George, who looked annoyingly awake, despite the fact that as 7^th years, their schedules mirrored the 5^th years, owing to their need to prepare for the N.E.W.T.'s.

"Glamour spell - made us look awake in class when we were actually napping," George replied, grinning.

"But we don't cover glamours until 6^th year," Hermione said, frowning.

"You're not the only one who knows how to use the library, Hermione. Madam Pince nearly fainted when she saw us there, but then it was one of the few rooms in the castle we'd never seen." Fred's eyes danced. "We also discovered the benefits of coffee...tea wasn't quite cutting it." He lowered his voice. "Any of you nabbed dates for this weekend yet?"

"What?" Harry said, so startled he choked on his tea.

"You know Harry, I'm starting to think that chart Malfoy talked about may not be such a bad idea!" Lee Jordan snickered. "Eliminates the guess work out of eating and drinking."

Smiling wanly, Harry asked Fred "What dates?" as he mopped up the spilled tea.

"For the party, you prat." George now looked thoroughly amused. "There's going to be dancing, you know. That skill you demonstrated for us so well last year. Unless you want to start a whole new trend in solitary socializing, mate, I'd suggest you land a date - soon."

Harry saw Ginny's cheeks flush as she scrambled to her feet. "See you at lunch!" she chirped, and sped out of the Great Hall.

"What was that about?" he whispered to Hermione.

"The party's for 5^th years and up, Harry." She gave him a significant look.

"Oh." Feeling more tired then ever, Harry ran his hands through his hair. "Who are you going with?" he asked.

But exactly whom Hermione was going with, Harry didn't get a chance to find out. Cho Chang suddenly appeared at their table. Harry goggled at her. They hadn't spoken since before the Third task last year. She was as pretty as ever, but somehow the sight of her no longer sent his stomach into knots.

"Harry - could I have a word with you? In private?"

"Sure." Harry stood up quickly, wanting to put as much distance as possible between himself and the twins, who were making suggestive noises and howling at their own entertainment. Hermione, he noticed, looked less then pleased.

Following Cho outside the Great Hall, he said curiously, "What's up?"

"Well, as you've probably heard, this Saturday night's the Seges party..."

"Oh, that. Yeah, I heard - I didn't know what it was called, but..."

"And I was wondering if you would go with me?"

"Come again?" Harry stared at her.

"I asked if you would like to go with me?" Cho flushed as she said this, but didn't look away.

"Um, sure." Harry hoped his voice sounded natural. "Yeah, sounds great."

"Great." Cho smiled. "So I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall around 7?"

"Um, sure." Didn't I just say that? Harry wondered frantically.

"Bye then. See you Saturday." Cho reached up to kiss his cheek before heading up the stone stairs.

Harry gawked after her, then remembered he'd left his book bag in the Great Hall. Wishing he were in his invisibility cloak, he slunk back to the table to collect his books.

"What'd she want?" Ron asked promptly.

"Asked me to the Seges party," Harry said in a low voice.

"You're kidding!" Ron's eyes were wide. "I heard she still misses Cedric."

"Maybe that's why she's going with me," Harry said uncomfortably. "Figures I'm hardly a threat, since there's no way I'd ever put the moves on her. Not now."

Hermione didn't say anything, but her expression was very grave. "I'll see you in History," she said to Ron, standing and picking up her own backpack. "Harry, I just remembered McGonagall wanted to see us in her office before class started."

"Oh." Surprised, Harry hefted his bag, called a quick "See you!" to Ron and followed Hermione out into the hallway.

"What did McGonagall want?" Harry asked the second they left the noisy hall.

"She didn't - we need to talk," Hermione said shortly. She pushed him into an empty classroom and shut the door behind her. "I can't believe you're going with Cho." Hermione looked surprisingly angry.

"Why not?" Harry was taken aback.

"You know what hell you put Ginny through last year, mooning around after Cho! And now that you're finally acting as though you've realized that Ginny's worth your notice, you're going to the Seges with someone else - I swear I don't understand what's going through that head of yours!" Hermione yelled.

"Excuse me, but I believe you're the one who pointed out I can't go with Ginny," Harry snapped back. "And as long as we're on the subject, who are you going with?"

Hermione looked temporarily deflated. "I hadn't planned on going with anyone - I thought the three of us-"

"No, Hermione - that's not how this works," Harry said hotly. "It's called a date, and I believe that any more then two counts as a crowd. I'm sure Ron-" he stopped short at the look on her face. "What?"

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said in a miserable whisper, before throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tightly. "That's just it - I don't know what to do about us." Her voice was muffled against his chest.

"What us?" Harry asked the top of her head - she seemed unwilling to let him go so he could look her in the eyes.

"The three of us." Gasping a little, Hermione stepped back, looking miserable. "I don't know how I feel about Ron. Or you. Or any of it." She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, and gave him a tremulous smile. "This is so hard."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell Ron about breaking up with Krum?"

"Because I needed time to figure out who and what I want." Her voice was very soft. "I know how I felt. But now everything's kind of confused."

Harry took her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "I haven't said anything about you and Krum to Ron. And I won't. But Hermione - if you want him, don't wait around. Life's too short."

"Talk about pot calling kettle..." Hermione started, but Harry interrupted her.

"I mean it...don't worry about what happens to us. We'll be fine." His voice was thick as he said this, but he meant every word. This was what Sirius meant by sacrifices, Harry thought to himself. Hermione was incapable of hiding her feelings on anything, and everything she felt for Ron was clearly written on her face.

"I'm going to be late for Trelawney," Harry said, filling the silence. "I'll see you in History." Hesitating, he bent and kissed her cheek. "And don't worry about Ginny...Cho and I are going as friends, nothing more." She nodded mutely, and he saw himself out of the room.

As he hurried up the tower stairs towards Trelawney's classroom, Harry's head was spinning. All three of them were thinking the same thing: if Ron and Hermione became a couple, what would that do to their friendship? Nothing would be the same, and they all recognized that fact. And if no one acted, they risked an even greater chance of hurting each other, he realized. Neither Hermione nor Ron would wait on one another forever.

It was time for drastic action, Harry realized. Slipping into the seat next to Ron, he whispered "When are you asking her?"

"What?" Ron asked blankly, before blushing. "I don't know. The whole thing's getting too complicated."

"Ask her, Ron, before someone else does and you'll be exactly where you were last year," Harry said urgently. "You do want to take her, don't you?"

"Of course!" Ron whispered back. "But Harry, we talked about this, it's not that simple!"

"Yes, it is. Just do it." As Trelawney's eyes settled on their table, Harry hissed out of the corner of his mouth. "Do I or I'll do it for you." Then he pretended to focus on what Trelawney was saying.

After dinner that night, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the rest of the team headed down to the Quidditch field. The news that Gryffindor was seeking reserve players had run through the school like wildfire, and even Harry was startled at the large crowd gathered there. He quickly realized that not everyone there was supporting the new candidates. Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini were also watching, no doubt hoping to get a pre-season look at the team to beat. Take a big steamy look, Malfoy, 'cause that Cup belongs to us.

Realizing that all eyes were on him, Harry spoke. "Ok, everyone interested in trying out, stay on the field - anyone here to watch, please move to the stands." As approximately half the crowd began drifting towards their seats, Harry focused on the small crowd of eager faces in front of him.

"As you know, Gryffindor House is the reigning Quidditch Cup champion. We're looking for a few people to help us keep that tradition going." Applause met these words, along with a few catcalls from the Slytherins. Harry ignored them.

"I need you to split up into the following groups: Keepers, line up here with me; Beaters if you would please stand next to the Weasley twins; and Chasers, if you would join Angelina, Katie and Alicia. We'll be running you through some basic exercises, before going to actual tryouts." Within a few minutes, everyone was sorted out. Besides Ron there were three others trying out for Keeper. He recognized one second year, Natalie McDonald, one fourth year, Owen Reed and Michael O'Toole, the first year he had watched being sorted. Glancing over at the twins, he grinned when he realized that the Creevey boys were among those interested in becoming Beaters. And felt his jaw drop when he realized that Ginny Weasley was among those trying out for Chaser.

He punched Ron. "Did you know about that?" he asked, nodding over towards Ginny.

Ron looked over, and appeared nonplused."What of it? Oh, you've never seen her play, have you? She's pretty good."

"It's just that Chaser's kind of, you know, an aggressive position," Harry muttered.

"Relax - just watch. If you don't think she can handle it, then don't pick her," Ron said shortly. "We getting started?"

Surprised by Ron's attitude, Harry nodded and had them all mount their brooms. The field was quite crowded, but the experienced team members helped keep it all under control. Harry was throwing Quaffles as hard as he could past the prospective Keepers. Ron was undoubtedly the best of the lot, although Harry couldn't help but be surprised by Michael O'Toole, who only let two shots get past him.

"OK!" Harry yelled, after approximately 20 minutes. "Let's split up into teams and run a scrimmage."

"A what?" George asked.

"Practice run." Harry clarified.

"Gotcha." Ron was paired up with Meghan O'Toole and another Chaser candidate that Harry didn't recognize, with the Creevey twins as Beaters. Ginny, he saw, had been matched up with another fourth year, Ashleigh Mahdavi, with Michael O'Toole as Keeper, and Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan on Beater.

"Go!" yelled Angelina, throwing the Quaffle up into the air.

Ron hadn't been joking - Ginny was good. She swerved nimbly out of the way of the Bludger that Colin Creevey had belted in her direction and began a swift passing game with Ashleigh all the way up the field. Without warning, however, he saw her duck out of the way of another Bludger and lose the Quaffle to Meghan O'Toole. The younger girl sped up the field, almost bowling over her partner in her haste to get to the goal. Despite her best efforts, her twin blocked the shot and passed the ball back up the field to Ginny, who retaliated by attempting to score on Ron twice in two minutes.

Twenty minutes later, the score was still zero-zero, although it wasn't for lack of trying on either team's part. Ginny and Meghan were clearly the most skilled Chasers, and each unsuccessful drive up the field was leading them to do more and more outrageous stunts in an attempt to score. Ginny's perfect Reverse pass was countered by Meghan's Porskoff Ploy. Ron, not wishing to be outdone, resorted to a Starfish and Stick to block Ginny, which resulted in excited whoops of support from the twins.

The sun was starting to set when Harry called for a time out. The score was still zero-zero and both sides looked exhausted. "All I can say is 'Wow'!" Harry told the excited but worn group of hopefuls. "Same time tomorrow? Hit the showers and try and get some sleep - you've earned it." They all grinned wearily at him, and slowly the group began winding their way up towards the castle.

Not even the sound of the Slytherins jeers could distract Harry. "They all looked really good, didn't they?" he asked the rest of the team excitedly.

"Beyond good," Fred boasted.

"Never would have thought the Creevey's had it in them," George said, shaking his head and looking impressed.

"You were really great, Ron!" Hermione beamed at him.

"Thanks. Urm, could I have a word?" Ron didn't wait for an answer, just took Hermione's hand and pulled her a little away from the group.

"Shouldn't you wait 'till you're cleaned up a bit, Romeo?" yelled Lee Jordan after him. "You know, Harry, I've been thinking - you're not having anyone try out for Seeker?"

Harry hadn't even thought about that. "Well, I wasn't really planning on going anywhere..." he said slowly. For some reason, the thought of replacing himself was not a comfortable one. "But I don't see why we shouldn't hold tryouts. We'll add that for Thursday. Spread the word?"

"Count on it." Lee grinned at him. He slid an arm around Alicia's waist and whispered in her ear, making her giggle. "Toodles," she called back as they walked off together.

Harry was watching them go, his mind on Ginny and how it would feel to be that comfortable with her, when the sound of angry voices behind him made him turn.

He recognized the sound of Ron bellowing and Malfoy's drawling sneer and he sped over the hill, coming to a stop beside Ron. Hermione had a firm hand on his arm, and Blaise appeared to be doing likewise with Draco, although while Hermione looked simply furious, Blaise simply looked amused.

"Oh, yes - Heaven forbid we should have a good knockdown between Wesley and Draco without the Golden Boy making an appearance." Blaise's crystal blue eyes glinted in the red-gold light from the setting sun, setting her pale blond hair on fire. Harry had to admit she was striking, in an over-polished sort of way.

"What happened?" Harry asked Hermione - Ron and Draco were still too busy looking daggers at one another.

"Nothing," Hermione said instantly. "Come on, Ron." When Ron seemed loath to move, she stomped on his foot. "He's not worth it!" she hissed. "Move. Now!" As if following orders against his will, Ron slowly headed for the castle, his lips white with rage.

"What the hell happened?" Harry asked in an urgent voice. He'd only ever seen Ron that angry one other time - when Draco had unintentionally given Hermione a pair of oversized fangs outside the Potions room last year.

"Malfoy saw us." Hermione said in a low voice. "Talking about the Seges."

"And he asked her to go with him and Blaise." Ron said in a choked voice. "Said he figured her for being into threesomes, and that at least this way she would have a good time out of it, rather then be bored to death and counting the cracks in the ceiling for entertainment."

Harry's eyes met Ron's. A look of silent understanding passed between them. They were going to make Malfoy pay.

"It's not important," Hermione said quickly. "Just Draco being his usual charming self."

"It is important!" Ron said fiercely. "Why didn't you just let me go flatten that smarmy little git?"

"You really think that will be the end of it?" Harry asked quietly. "You know why he's acting so cocky, don't you?"

"Yeah - 'cause he's got the brains of a Doxy-" Ron started.

"No," Harry interrupted, staring out at the field. "It's because of Voldemort."

There was a long silence before Hermione asked softly, "What do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Harry asked bitterly. "His father's right there in Voldemort's circle...Malfoy knows what's going to happen, and when, and he's getting his jollies by trying to distract us...thinks it'll put him in Voldemort's good graces if we're totally off-guard, more so if he manages to knock any of us off."

"No..." Hermione said slowly, "Harry, I know that Draco's awful, but I just can't see him trying to get any of us killed."

"He's evil, Hermione - just like his Dad." Harry stripped up the sleeve of his sweater, throwing the scar on his arm into sharp relief. "Evil enough to make jokes about Cedric's dying, and evil enough to do this." He shook his head slowly. "And it almost worked, you know. I can't not focus on him...the rest of it's all a distraction." Even Ginny, he thought silently.

Ron and Hermione were silent. Finally Hermione said, "Come on, Harry - you look dead on your feet." And the three of them made their way back up to the castle, shoulders touching, but completely isolated by their own thoughts.

Thursday's classes were anything but restful. McGonagall had them working on cross-elementary transfiguration, and had given them each a bucket of water that they were to transfigure into fire. Poor Neville had accidentally aimed his efforts at the ceiling of the classroom instead, which had rained steaming hail down on their heads. In Potions, Snape had started the class on Medi-Potions, and the Cranius headache cure. Unfortunately, the Cranius required fresh salamander blood as a core ingredient, meaning that several members of the class were nursing burns as they attempted to capture and drain the fire-loving lizards of their magical blood. After lunch, they worked with Sprout on spreading the freshly-collected droppings of moon calves in greenhouse five, which housed such dangerous plants as Grimassi elms, whose leaves were valuable additions to memory charms but whose smell made unprepared students float around the greenhouse, and the Biting Belladonna, whose venomous leaves were constantly trying to snap at on-lookers. Ron, who had been so busy ducking the Belladonna's violent limbs that he had neglected to pay attention to where he was walking and managed to connect directly with the trunk of a Grimassi, got the worst of it. It had taken the better part of half an hour for Hermione to brew up the antidote and get Ron off the ceiling of the greenhouse, which struck Harry and Hermione as highly entertaining but seemed to greatly annoy Ron.

"Cheer up - at least you won't be floating around the Quidditch field tonight." Harry said encouragingly over dinner.

"Speaking of which, Harry, you'd tell me if you thought I was awful, right?"

"Don't be such a prat," Harry grinned at him. "You were fabulous."

Ron speared a potato, giving it a fierce look. "So was Michael O'Toole," he said in a low voice.

"I don't want to hear it - at least you don't have to find a replacement for yourself tonight." Harry reached for seconds on roast beef. "Good to know we're covering all bases, just in case Voldemort does something really ugly this year-"

Crash! Ginny's hand slipped and she managed to drop the jug of pumpkin juice she was passing to Katie Bell. "That's not funny!" she said fiercely.

"Not tryin' to be 'unny - jus' statin' the way thin's are," Harry said through a mouthful of potatoes.

"Yes, well all this quiet is starting to get to me," Hermione said, looking up from where she was rereading that morning's Daily Prophet. "Not so much as a peep about Voldemort, and for some reason I find that more suspicious then anything."

"It's Fudge," Ron said promptly, his eyes lighting up as he spied the desserts appearing on the table. "He'd rather announce his engagement to a Lethifold then admit that Voldemort's back - he's probably censuring anything even remotely out of the ordinary."

"Yeah, but we're not talking about squashing some stupid rumor - if the Death Eaters are active, there would be witnesses, wouldn't there? You know them, the bigger the show, the better." Harry said in disgust.

Ginny's hand had made its way onto his knee again, and was giving it a squeeze. He looked up, and reached under the table to take her hand in his. They just stared at one another for a long moment, too focused on the feel of their skin touching to notice anyone else.

"Come on, Harry!" Lee Jordan had to poke him in the ribs to get his attention. "Tryouts, Quidditch - any of this sounding familiar?"

Harry walked down to the field with Ginny. Their hands kept brushing, but rather then their usual awkward reaction, they merely glanced at one another and kept walking. Something between them had definitely changed, and it had started with something as simple as her taking his hand. For the first time in his life, Harry was content simply to walk next to someone and not say a word...knowing she was at his side was somehow a source of peace. Even as in the back of his head, a small voice kept saying You'll put her in danger - you can't get involved - it's all a distraction...He chose to ignore the demons in his own mind, and focused his attentions on the crowd waiting.

"Same teams, same drill...anyone interested in Seeker, gather over here...we'll send you up shortly." He waited, and soon a small line stood in front of him. Mostly second and third years he didn't know, but to his great shock Neville Longbottom stood in the line, looking anxious. Hiding his surprise, he assigned the two second years as Seeker, and told the rest to wait.

On the field, once again the biggest competition seemed to lie between Ginny Weasley and Meghan O'Toole. Harry had to suppress a grin, as he watched the younger girl suddenly dive towards the ground, while her teammates struggled to follow, before shooting upwards and attempting to get the Quaffle past her twin. He deflected it, but only just. Looks like we found our reserve Chasers.

His eyes narrowed as he watched the Creevey brothers knock a single Bludger towards Ashleigh Mahdavi with the force of a cannon, which narrowly missed taking off the top of the girl's head. Not to be outdone, Seamus and Dean retaliated, firing their own Bludger towards Ginny. She actually leapt over it, before resettling on her broom and continuing up field. Harry was torn between wanted to yell his approval and hopping his own broom to yank her back to the ground and relative safety.

Neither of the second years seemed to be having much success in nabbing the elusive Snitch. Harry nodded to Neville and a third year, Nat Sherman, and they sped off in the direction of the glimmering orb as the disheartened younger students hit the ground. Harry resisted the urge to give them both a pat on the shoulder as they would no doubt find it patronizing, to say the least. "You all did well - keep practicing and we'll see again next year." That seemed to do the trick, he thought, as he saw the fire he recognized all too well spring up in their eyes.

Shifting his attention back to the scrimmage, he watched as Neville flew after the Snitch, Nat on his tail. Seeing what was happening, Seamus swung his bat at a Bludger and sent it flying in Neville's direction. The normally awkward boy swerved deftly, and kept going, his hand outstretched. A bellow of applause shifted Harry's attention momentarily, and he saw that Ginny had managed to score against Ron, much to the delight of the twins. The yells however turned into a chorus of screams, and Harry's head turned quickly, just in time to see Neville suddenly dive, the Snitch hovering only a few feet from the ground at the end of the pitch.

It was a good dive, Harry recognized. Any second now, Neville would pull up, and- wait, he wasn't pulling up! Harry felt his heart momentarily stop as Neville, his eyes focused on the golden ball, plowed headlong into the grass.

Harry sprinted out onto the field, the twins right behind him. He couldn't hear the screams of the onlookers now. His only thought was Please, don't let him be too badly hurt! Nat had jumped from his own broom and was running to Neville's side.

Dropping to his knees, Harry turned Neville over, and saw that the other boy's eyes were wide and unfocused. His arm was at a funny angle, and Harry winced as he recognized the symptoms of a broken bone. And then Harry saw it. Neville's other hand was closed, unbelievably, around the small struggling Snitch.

"I got it, Harry. I got it," Neville was saying in a harsh whisper, as he tried to sit up, swaying a little.

"Yeah, Neville - you did." How, Harry wasn't quite sure. The last time he's seen the Snitch, it had looked a good few inches from Neville's grasping hand. But the proof was displayed a foot away from his disbelieving eyes. Neville had sacrificed himself in the attempt to get the Snitch.

The twins were also staring. "Jesus, Neville - it was just a scrambladge." Fred said, sounding half-shocked, half-impressed.

"Scrimmage," Harry corrected automatically.

"Whatever," Fred brushed his mispronunciation away. "Point being, it's not like you getting the Snitch was going to get the Slytherins exiled to outer Urtblekistan or something...what were you on about, pulling a stunt like that?"

"Had to get it," Neville grunted. "Had to prove I could."

The rest of the players had touched down now, and were crowding around Neville. Harry could hear the shocked whispers.

"Is he all right?" he heard Meghan ask.

"Fred said he got the Snitch," Seamus said, sounding dazed.

"What? No way..." on and on. Harry gently took the Snitch from Neville's uninjured hand. "We need to get you to Madam Pomfrey," he said firmly.

"But the tryouts," Neville began, his face looking pale.

"I think you've proven yourself, Neville." Harry nodded to the twins, who helped set Neville on his feet. He had in Harry's mind anyway...although he was wild to find out exactly when Neville had learned to dive like that...

"Come on, Neville." Hermione's face was full of concern as she wrapped a steadying arm around his waist. "Madam Pomfrey can fix bones in about a second. Harry will let you know about your tryout." The Gryffindors pulled back, letting Hermione lead Neville away.

They had only progressed a few feet before it started. The slow deliberate clapping. The shouts of approval. Started by Lee and the twins, it spread through the onlookers like fire and soon everyone on the field was yelling, stomping, and clapping their support. Harry watched as Neville's pale face broke into a grin.

"Think that settles the open Seeker position," Lee shouted over the hubbub.

"Yeah," Harry grinned.

It took a few minutes for everyone to settle down. Even Nat Sherman, who had put on a fairly good performance, was shouting his support for Neville. Harry held up a hand, and quiet began to spread through the crowd.

"I want to thank everyone for a great tryout. The team and I will meet, and results will be posted in the Common Room tonight. For everyone selected, practice begins next week. If you aren't chosen this year," his eyes drifted over the younger students, "please keep up with the practice, and we'll see you again next year...everyone did a fabulous job, and it would be an honour to share the field with any one of you." He started the applause then, knowing how much it would mean to those not selected this year.

"Team - locker rooms." Harry said in a low voice as the applause drifted away, as did the crowd of hopefuls and onlookers.

In the locker room, Harry wrote the names of everyone who had tried out beneath their prospective positions. "Angelina, why don't you tally the votes after each name?" he suggested. "We'll all vote yay or nay, and narrow it from there?" This seemed the best way, so they proceeded.

Unsurprisingly Ginny ,Meghan O'Toole, Ron, Michael O'Toole, the Creevey brothers, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and Neville received rousing votes of support. In the end, it was decided to make Ron Keeper, with Michael as his reserve. "That'll give Michael two more years to bulk up before he's Keeper on his own," Harry said approvingly.

"And it will make it a lot easier to explain why we're breaking the no-first years rule to McGonagall." Angelina said. "If he's a reserve, we can have him practice on a school broom...he can use one of ours if he ever actually gets to play."

"Right." Somehow that fact that first years were rarely on the House teams had completely slipped Harry's mind. "Moving on to Chasers-"

"I think we need both Ginny and Meghan," Alicia said firmly. "I'd say to go with three reserve Chasers but that gets too confusing."

"Ashleigh was pretty good, but Ginny and Meghan were great!" Katie Bell agreed fervently. "Why didn't you tell us about Ginny before?" she asked the twins, puzzled. "She could have been practicing with us for the last few years."

"Um, that's because Mum made her promise not to try out until this year," Fred said. "To be honest, she's not going to be to thrilled that Ginny tried out this year, but at least we'll both be around and able to keep an eye on her."

"And Ron." George added.

"OK, that takes care of Keeper and Chaser." Harry said, crossing out the names of the others who had tried out for those positions. "What about Seeker?"

There was a pregnant silence. Finally, Angelina said, "I never thought I would be saying this, but it's clearly Neville, isn't it? I mean, if I hadn't known it was him I would have sworn that dive was yours, Harry."

"Tell me about it!" George said. "Guess something good came out of him looking for that blasted toad all the time - made it easier for him to spy the Snitch."

"Everyone agree?" Harry asked.

There were silent nods. Harry circled Neville's name, and crossed off the rest. "Last one - Beater."

"Fitting, as we're damned hard to replace," George grinned at them all. Everyone snorted, but nodded. Fred and George really were going to be a hard act to follow.

"The Creeveys did well, but then so did Seamus and Dean." Katie said slowly. "This is hard!"

They all sat in silence for a few minutes while they thought. Harry could see what was taking so long in their minds. It was thought to be good luck to have a set of brothers on the team - in any position - and without question the Creeveys had been very good. In the end, they listed the good points and bad points of each team of Beaters, as called out by the twins.

"Seamus and Dean definitely have more upper body strength - they can hit that thing a country mile if they need to," Fred said while George nodded. "However, when it comes to aim, the Creeveys are bloody well fantastic...I think they'd be able to put out a candle and leave the wick perfectly trimmed if they tried. It's probably the brother thing - they can almost hear what the other one is thinking."

"Yeah, but think about the teams this year!" Angelina argued. "You know the Slytherins are like a troll-fest, and Ravenclaws' Beaters aren't exactly lightweights. We need someone to balance things out and I say strength's a big part of strategy.

In the end, it was decided to go with Seamus and Dean, though both Creevey's would be given a special talking-to with both the twins and Harry, reminding them to try out again the next year. Angelina neatly scribed their choices onto a piece of parchment and offered to post it in the Common Room.

Harry followed the rest out of locker room, and thought over the tryouts. They really had gone well. There was just one more post he wanted to fill, though. He caught up to twins.

"You know, Lee's going to be gone next year too. What say we let someone act as his colour man on commentator?"

The twins nodded. "We've been talking about that," Fred said seriously.

"Needs to be someone who knows the rules, and has a big mouth," George grinned. "And who can hold their own against Lee."

Only one name came to mind. "I'll talk to her," Harry volunteered. He only hoped she would consider it....