Harry Potter and the Ancient Order

Chpt. 8. Tryouts

The remainder of Harry's first week back at Hogwarts were very uneventful. Malfoy was still seething about Xander, muttering "Muggle scum" every time he saw him, but not daring to openly challenge Xander. Harry was slightly surprised at Malfoy's new levels of vindictiveness, never thinking that he would resort to endangering the life of a student in front of a teacher, even if it was Snape.

Krum's first class with Gryffindor was a tense moment, as Ron and Hermione were still arguing when time came to attend. Much to Harry's relief, he treated Hermione very formally, and she quietly accepted the small amount of razzing that came her way from the other girls in class. She answered as many questions as she could, as usual, but never spoke more than was necessary. Krum called her "Miss Granger" when referring to her and treated her as he did every other student. It was refreshing that he was so fair in his treatment, and that he seemed so down-to-earth considering his international fame as a Quidditch player.

Much to the excitement of the students, Krum informed the class that they would be studying the curses universally used in dueling. He said that their O.W.L.'s would be judged on how well they could defend themselves on the barrage of curses he threw at them, and Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief. Having survived a duel with the most evil wizard just months ago, he felt confident he could easily pass. The Class groaned when he informed them that the written part of the exam would consist of the theory of wand-making.

"Ve vill coffer the proper care ov vands in class," he had said in his broken English, " as they are the most important tool in dueling. The powvers ov each vand and the, er," he pointed to a word on his course syllabus, and Lavender Brown told him what it said, "Thank you, my English still needs vork. The 'uniqueness' of each vand must be studied on your own, as ve vill not be coffering that in lessons. How vell you do on the written part vill be determined on how vell you can explain. It is vairy important to be able to study and prepare on your own in devending yourselvz against Dark Vizards and I hope that you vill perform vairy vell on the written test."

In Herbology, they were told that their O.W.L. would consist of explaining why some plants needed to be cared for in a given way. Neville shocked the whole class when he quoted a line from the forward in the Advanced Herbological Guide: "if a plant be not gathered by the rules of Astrology, it hath little or no virtue in it." Professor Sprout went on to explain the Polyjuice Potion as an example, stating that the fluxweed had to be picked at night during a full moon. Hermione blushed slightly, but went unnoticed by everyone except Harry and Ron. Only they knew exactly why Hermione was grinning so devilishly.

Xander had announced his ideas for the party that he was sponsoring with his winnings from the death pool.

"A 'Cheers Movie'," he announced when Fred and George broached the topic. Everyone looked politely confused.

"A what?"

"Cheers Movie," Xander repeated. "We watch a good old-fashioned slasher flick. When someone gets bumped off in the movie, we raise our drinks and 'cheers' their death."

"Ugh, disgusting," said Hermione as she crinkled her nose.

"Brilliant!" said Fred.

"Fabulous!" offered George.

"That's barbaric," said Alicia, though not with the look that Hermione had.

"You'll see," said Xander. "By the end of the movie, you'll be too drunk to care about the fact that we're toasting death." He had a peculiar grin on his face. Not an evil one, just the kind one gets when they're anxious to share an experience with someone.

"Drunk?" asked Hermione. "You mean, with alcohol? How do you expect to sneak alcohol into the castle?"

Xander nodded at Fred and George. "I'm told that these two are quite capable of pulling that off."

The twins nodded somberly. "On behalf of Gryffindor, we formally accept your challenge," said George as the both bowed low.

"We won't fail you, sir," saluted Fred. "So when are we doing this? Tonight?"

"Oh, no, we need time to prepare and to spread the word. It's for the whole school to enjoy. Halloween night. And to celebrate Halloween, we'll watch 'Scream'." He grinned devilishly.

"But you don't seriously expect me to let you drink, underage, in this tower, do you?" Hermione said sternly. "I could get into so much trouble for even entertaining the thought."

"Oh, lighten up, Hermione," said Ron teasingly. He was careful with his words, as it had taken them two full days to begin speaking to each other again after their spat.

"Do you agree that people your age are capable of making responsible decisions?" Xander asked as he patted Alicia on the rear as she walked by, drawing giggles from those girls who saw it. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well, yes, but-" Hermione began.

"Then would you agree that none below fifth year will be allowed alcohol? Only those old enough will be able to choose. Non alcohol beverages will be supplied. Agreed?"

Harry sniggered into his shoulder at the sight of Hermione being cornered by her own logic. She looked like she was trying to think of a more stable argument.

"C'mon, Hermione, " Ron whispered into her ear. "After all we've done together, are you gonna spill the beans on us now?"

"You're evil," she told Ron with a hint of a smile on her face. "But I will be monitoring the drinking. If anything gets out of control, I'm going straight to Professor McGonagall."

"There's the girl we've come to love," grinned Harry. Ron was suddenly overcome with a fit of uneasiness, looking everywhere but at Hermione while she glowed at Harry's compliment.

"So we can invite anyone from any house?" asked Dean.

"Yeah," answered Xander. "I'd pose a limit on Slytherins, but it kills the point of having a 'Cheers Movie'. It's supposed to bring people together so they can get to know each other. I thought it a good way to get to know the rest of the students here," he said, waving his hand vaguely around.

On the morning of the first Saturday back, Harry woke up in high spirits. It was the morning that had been agreed upon would consist of holding Quidditch try-outs and voting a new captain. Harry always missed Quidditch over the summer holidays, but felt better as he and Ron had worked so much on it during his stay with the Weasleys. Throwing a pillow at Ron's snoring frame, he jumped out of bed excitedly.

"Grab your broomstick, slacker," Harry said in his best drill sergeant voice, which wasn't very good. "Tryouts today!" He was in a very cheerful mood as it was the first night in months he hadn't had any nightmares.

"What're you on about, Harry?" Ron said sleepily, pulling the covers up over his head.

"Get up, Ron, unless you want to miss your chance," said Dean, who Harry had just now noticed was awake and walking around his trunk.

"Right," muttered Ron, forcing himself out of bed. "Can't we eat first?" he asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Ugh, time is it?" Xander murmured from his bed, clutching his journal.

"Seven-thirty," said Dean. "You wouldn't be so tired if you hadn't spent half the night writing in your journal."

"Go to hell," snapped Xander, carefully packing his journal away in his trunk. "You the new house-mom, or do you always spy on what people do?"

Fred and George entered the dorm, thankfully ending the argument. They spied Ron still lying on his bed rubbing his eyes, and promptly began jumping on the bed all around Ron.

"Wake up, Ronniekins! Time to get up! Big day ahead for the ickle sleepyhead!" they teased.

"Shove off," said Ron, pushing George off the bed in mid-jump. He hit the floor with a hard thump, but didn't appear to injured. Fred looked over to Xander, who was gathering his toiletries for a morning shower.

"You coming, mate? You said you might try out."

"I don't think so. I thought that I might disturb the teams' chemistry by trying out. You lot have been playing together for years and know each other. I've never played with you. I'll just wait for the All-Star tryouts," he added, slinging a towel over his shoulder. "Am I allowed to watch, though?"

"Whatever. Suit yourself," Fred answered as he and George exited the room.

"Can we eat now?" Ron asked again, now fully dressed.

"Let's go, tapeworm," Harry laughed, and they made their way down to the Great Hall, Hermione joining them on the way.

"You know, Xander, I've been thinking," Hermione said as she joined the group. Xander stopped and started sniffing the air around him.

"Hmm, I don't smell smoke," he grinned.

"Ha ha ha," Hermione said sarcastically. "I mean about your 'Cheers Movie'. I think it's a good idea to have people from other houses come. Like Dumbledore said, we need to put our differences behind us. I just wanted to tell you that I approve."

Xander winked. "Thanks, Mom," he said with a smile.

"Does that mean you're coming?" Ron asked, with a trace of hopefulness in his voice.

"Of course. Someone has to take responsibility," she said, looking pointedly at Seamus. He had neglected to wear his Prefect badge at times, and this seemed to irritate Hermione. Seamus just shrugged his shoulders and began to scold the Palone twins, who were acting out a "Three Stooges" parody on each other. "Why do you ask?" Hermione looked at Ron.

"Well, I... um, was wondering," he began before looking at Harry. Harry took the hint and walked into the Great Hall, but stood just inside to door to listen, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Yes, Ron?" Hermione said in an encouraging voice.

"I thought that, maybe... we could go together?" Ron stumbled over the words, looking at the floor the whole time.

"Ron Weasley, are you asking me on a... date?" Hermione said softly.

"Maybe... you interested?" Ron said sheepishly, slowly drawing his gaze off the floor and into Hermione's eyes.

"Maybe," Hermione answered, blushing a little.

Harry grinned at Xander, who was standing nearby waiting for them to enter. "It's about time," Harry said. He quickly moved to his seat, not wanting his two friends to know he had eavesdropped on their conversation.

It didn't take long for them to finish breakfast, and they were out on the Quidditch pitch before the sun had a chance to warm the morning air. The cool breeze felt refreshing on Harry's face, and he had to suppress the urge to take off on his broom. There were several people trying out for Keeper, Ron and Dean among them, and a couple of younger students that Harry didn't know. They were asked to stand off to the side while the six members of the team held a meeting.

"O.K., first we need a new captain since we didn't get a chance to pick one last year," said Angelina Johnson. She had taken charge of the team so far this year in Oliver Wood's absence, booking the pitch and posting tryouts. "I thought we should vote for-WILL YOU TWO STOP ALREADY!"

She looked angrily at Fred and George, who were poking each other in the ribs with their brooms and knocking the back of each other's knees with their beaters' clubs the whole time she had been talking. They both dropped their clubs and stood at attention.

"Thank you," Angelina said sharply. "Now, if we've all grown up in the past few seconds, I thought we might vote on a new captain. Take a bit of parchment and write your choice, we'll add them up."

Harry picked his bit and took a few seconds to think. Angelina had organized the whole tryout and even thought to book the pitch for today, so Harry wrote her name down thinking she was the obvious choice. Fred and George had finished first and tossed their parchment on top of the Quidditch Ball box. It didn't take long for the vote to conclude.

"O.K., let's see who our new captain is," Angelina said, crouching down to count the votes. She picked up Harry's vote first. "One vote for me," she said, failing to hide her pleasure. "One vote for," she opened the parchment, "Fred," she said, looking sour.

"Aww, you shouldn't have," said Fred in mock shyness.

"You voted for yourself, didn't you, you rotten git?" George accused him.

"How dare-" Fred began, but was cut off as Angelina raised her voice.

"One vote for George," she read. Harry grinned as George instantly looked at the ground at Fred's interrogating stare.

"One vote for Harry," said Angelina, her voice remaining neutral. Harry blushed, not expecting to gain any votes as he was the youngest on the team.

"A second vote for me," Angelina continued, her spirits rising. She opened the last piece of parchment and smiled. "The last vote is for me," she said, trying to keep her comment a statement and failing.

"O.K., that's settled. Let's get on with the tryouts. You lot!" she shouted at the hopefuls. "Let's go! Bring it in!"

Ron and Dean led the group as they made their way over. Ron stood next to Harry, and he patted Ron on the shoulder reassuringly. Fred, who was looking at the other end of the pitch, spoke up.

"Why are they here? I thought we had the pitch?"

Harry turned to see the Hufflepuff team gathering around the far goal. Why are they here, he thought.

"We have to share the pitch for tryouts," explained Angelina. "They have to find a new Seeker since... they don't have one this year," she finished hurriedly, noticing Harry's downcast expression. Why did she have to bring that up, thought Harry bitterly.

"Anyway, here's what we're gonna do. We'll try two out at a time. Three people shooting goals at each potential keeper, and I want one of our beaters at each station, hitting bludgers towards them. Towards them, not through them," Angelina said sternly to Fred and George, who had simultaneously broken out in delightful grins.

"Wait," said Harry, a thought occurring to him. "We're short two shooters."

"I thought of that," said Angelina. "I asked Roger Davies from Ravenclaw if he could help us out. Said he'd try to find another to come along."

They waited for a few moments, looking around expectantly. Roger Davies appeared from the locker rooms, alone. He took his time walking up to the Gryffindor team, an odd sort of strut in his step. His ego had been bolstered through the roof since last year's Yule Ball, when he was fortunate enough to go with Fleur Delacour, an extremely desirable young lady.

"Only you?" Angelina asked evenly.

"I asked Cho Chang to come, but her hand blistered in Herbology yesterday. Didn't notice her gloves had a hole in them and got undiluted bubotuber puss on her skin," Davies said, though he didn't sound very sorry. Harry looked around in the stands and noticed her sitting there, her right hand bandaged thickly. His stomach gave a small lurch as she smiled at Harry.

"Fine, whatever," Angelina said. "Who can we get for a second shooter?"

"Majere thought about trying out for chaser, but chose against it," Fred said. "We could ask him, he's right there." He pointed over to the sideline, where Xander was standing with Hermione.

"I'll go ask," Alicia said quickly, and ran off before anyone could answer. She talked with him for several moments, then pointed towards the cabinet that held the school broomsticks before rejoining the team. Xander opened it as she spoke to Angelina.

"He'll do it," Alicia informed the team, her cheeks a rosy shade of red.

"Why are you blushing?" asked Katie Bell, smirking at Alicia.

"He said that he'd only do it if I agreed to go out with him tonight," Alicia smiled, looking at the ground. Fred and George were woo-ing and whistling as Xander walked up.

"O.K. Roger, could you team up with Majere and Harry? Take the right side goal," Angelina instructed. "Katie, Alicia and myself will take the left side. First two!" she shouted at the hopefuls. "Line Up!"

Harry took off on his Firebolt, letting the air cool his face. He flew around their half of the pitch a few times, enjoying his first flight in weeks. He noticed that quite a few people had come out to watch, mostly players from other houses coming out to see who would make the team. Cho gave Harry a small wave, which Harry returned quickly. He fought hard to put her out of his mind and focus on the task at hand.

The first two trying out were the two that Harry didn't know, so he didn't feel bad for launching several hard-to-block shots at them. Fred was the beater working with him, and he hit the bludger without mercy. He never hit it directly at him, but always managed to steer it in the path the try-out was flying in. Xander raised more than a few eyebrows. His shots were the most powerful that Harry had ever seen, easily surpassing Roger Davies' shots. The first one Xander launched knocked the hopeful back several feet and knocked the wind out of him. Harry noticed that the three Gryffindor chasers had not started right away and were watching Xander intently. Those shots that Xander launched that were stopped were paid for in pain. Even George took notice and nodded with approval.

"Alright, hold your shots!" Angelina shouted after about five minutes. Thank you, Harry thought to himself. His arm was beginning to ache. He landed with the rest of the team, rubbing his arm. Several people watching were talking excitedly and pointing at Xander.

"Take a breather for a few, then we'll try the next two," Angelina said. Harry noticed with a small pang of jealousy that the three girls didn't seem tired in the least. "You," Angelina pointed at Xander. "Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"

"I've played for a few teams," Xander shrugged, taking a drink from the bottle of water he had brought with him. "I was also a pitcher for my baseball team when I was in America."

"Baseball?" asked Angelina. "Oh, yeah, Muggle sport. We could use a reserve chaser, just in case. How's your defense?"

"I'm much better at defense than offense," Xander said, his tone still not changing. "I play as dirty as I'm allowed."

"We don't play dirty on this team," Angelina said stiffly.

"Hey, relax," Xander said. "Everything I do is allowed in the rules. I just push them a little."

"I still don't approve of dirty play," Angelina repeated.

"This," Xander said, waving his hand around, "is competition. I like to win and do what it takes to win." He had a hungry look in his eyes now. He looked as if someone just might appear out of nowhere and challenge him to a fight.

"I like your attitude. But if you do make it into a game, tone it down a bit," Angelina said with an approving nod. "O.K., let's finish this. Ron, you're with us, you have too may friends over here. I don't want any unfair treatment, understand, George?"

"Never," George said innocently.

They began again, Harry firing shots at Dean. Dean was performing admirably, stopping the majority of shots, and moaning as he took several of Xander's shots in the ribs before tossing the quaffle off to the side. Harry stole several glances at Ron, who was also doing very well, but let in a soft goal as he dodged a well-times bludger from George. When Harry saw this, he increased the velocity of his shots, trying to improve Ron's chances of making the team. The prospect of playing Quidditch with all three Weasley brothers was too promising to pass up.

"Hold Your Shots!" Angelina cried just as Dean frustrated Harry again by stopping a well-placed shot. "On the ground!" she called to everyone.

Harry joined the rest of the team on the ground, winking at Ron who was very winded but smiling. I think you made it, Harry told Ron silently. Ron apparently understood the unspoken comment and smiled more broadly.

"Thanks, Roger, we appreciate your help," Angelina said, excusing Davies. He shrugged and muttered a quiet "No problem" before walking away. Much to Harry's ire, he walked directly to Cho and began to chat. Her back was to Harry so he couldn't see her expression, but he didn't like Davies' wolfish grin one bit. Angelina smacked Harry on the shoulder.

"Pay attention!" she snapped. "Now, as I was saying, we'll post our decision tomorrow. Thank you all for trying out," she said, and the hopefuls walked off into the locker room. Ron met up with Hermione, who was smiling at him, and they walked up to the castle together.

"So who makes it?" Harry said immediately. He was anxious to congratulate Ron if he made it.

"What did you think of Dean?" Angelina asked evasively.

"He was very good," said Harry honestly. He carefully chose his words, not wanting to sound biased, but not wanting to hurt Ron's chances.

"He had good movement and anticipated well," Xander offered, accepting a glare from Harry. "But he didn't do well when someone challenged him from close-range," Xander finished. This last comment made Harry feel better.

"Ron was great from close range, but doesn't handle bludgers as well as I'd like. He looked confused at times, but recovered well," Katie stated.

"Yeah, but who hits bludgers better than me?" George said smugly.

"Me," said Fred. "But Majere's got a point. Everyone saw Dean struggle at close range. That might hurt us in scouting."

"Dean looked like the better decision-maker," Angelina said thoughtfully. "But Ron had better reaction time." She ran her hand through her hair. "I didn't think it would be this close," she mumbled to no one in particular.

"So who should we pick?" asked Alicia, who was busy gawking at Xander to add much to the conversation.

"Let me sleep on it," Angelina told the team. "I'll post my decision in the morning. Do NOT tell Dean or Ron that it's between them. I find out anyone does, your off the team for one match," she added sternly, looking pointedly at Harry. He was still busy stealing sidelong glances at Cho and Davies, and felt better when he saw them walking separately up to the castle.

"I won't," promised Harry.

"Good," Angelina said. "First practice is Monday after lessons." Groans from everyone followed. "We have to be sharp early," she continued, irritated. "The whole season is going to be played within two months. If we want to play in the Tournament, we have to train earlier, harder, and better than everyone else." Harry was taken aback by how much she resembled Oliver Wood now. "We get a small break, it's Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff a week from today. That's to our advantage, since it gives Hufflepuff a week to train their new seeker and the Ravenclaw seeker's got an injured hand. Slytherin's got a few graduates to replace, too. We're in the best position to take the Quidditch Cup this year. Almost our whole team is still intact. The abbreviated season is in our favor. Stay out of trouble this year," she said, staring hard at the three boys, whose detention records would impress any trouble-maker. "We can't afford anyone to be kicked off the team this year."

Angelina ended the meeting, and Harry walked up to the castle feeling that the Quidditch Cup was theirs to lose.