Extracurricular activities - year 6

One of the house-elves must have gotten everyone a change of clothes during the evening. They finally all were up and waiting to go to Diagon Alley.

When they went through the back of the Leaky Cauldron and opened the magical entrance to Diagon Alley, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley were already there with Hermione. "You all stayed at Harry's? That's not fair," Hermione protested

Mrs. Weasley said, "You're late. Did anything go wrong?"

"Of course not mum. We're not babies," Ginny replied.

"I need to go to Gringotts. Harry, do you want me to get some money for you?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Harry remembered the Head Goblin wanting to meet him and he wanted to see his new vault. "Thanks Mrs. Weasley but I need to check on some of R.J.'s things. I'll meet you guys back at Florean Fortescue's."

Harry walked into Gringotts with Mrs. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley went to one of the goblins to get some money and Harry went to the Head Goblin counter.

"Excuse me sir. I'm Harry Potter and you asked me to come to you the next time I came in. I'm returning my key since my things were moved to Miss Veganos' vault."

The goblin peered over the desk with a menacing look at first but warmed up quickly. "Yes Mr. Potter. I remember meeting you when you came in the first time. That seems like only yesterday. Allow me to accompany you to your new vault." They took the little carts into the caverns. Harry couldn't tell how deep they were. When they got to the vault, the goblin opened it the same as they had when Hagrid got the Sorcerer's Stone out of Hogwarts vault. When the door opened, Harry couldn't believe how large the room was. He saw a stack of coins near the front left corner and then a huge stack toward the back. In addition, there were many boxes and bags that were holding items. There were other paintings leaning against the wall and two big piles of parchment. Harry looked confused.

"This is your money from your old vault Mr. Potter," the goblin said pointing to the smaller pile. "The rest are the assets of Miss Veganos. She had a long life and has been doing business with Gringotts for many years. These parchments represent various partnerships and investments she made with us. We managed these investments and the businesses for her. We would be honored if we could continue to do the same for you. There are fees of course, but none would change due to you taking these over. Miss Veganos was a very astute investor. One thing I must tell you is that some of these investments are not completely honorable. Miss Veganos was concerned about maximizing return. She did not bother with most of the details as long as they were making money. If you wish to divest yourself from any of these it can be arranged but may take some time."

Harry stared at her pile of coins and wondered how much was there. He also had no idea how much was invested with the goblins. He just filled up his bag from his old pile and said, "I'll just leave things as she had them for now. I have a lot to learn so I don't make any big mistakes."

"Wise choice Mr. Potter. Let me just say that Miss Veganos was very wealthy. You have a great many assets at your disposal now."

Harry met up with the Ron and Hermione at the ice cream parlor. They made sure to let Ginny know that she was welcome with their group. Harry felt more comfortable being back with his friends in the wizarding world. Even though he was feeling better at the castle, he just felt better here. Before heading off Hermione said, "Harry. Did you tell Ron you are learning French?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure he'll ask now," Harry said smiling

"What was that all about? I got Harry, Ron and French?" Ron asked annoyed.

"Mrs. Wilkins has been teaching me French. Hermione asked me if I had told you yet."

"Why would you want to learn French? At least it doesn't sound as creepy as that snake language."

"It was something to do where I didn't have to think about magic. C'mon. Let's get our stuff."

Everything had gone perfectly. They had gotten almost everything and only had a couple books left to get. When they heard the annoying voice of Draco Malfoy say, "Finally woke up Potter? Always have to be the center of attention don't you?"

"Malfoy. I knew they day was going too good," Harry said back.

"Good, you're back to Malfoy. I'm going to say something that may shock you all. Don't get used to this happening." Harry, Ron and Hermione looked confused when Draco continued, "I was sorry to hear about R.J. It may surprise you to know this but I really liked her classes. Doesn't mean anything changes with us Potter, I just wanted you to know that."

"Um...Thanks. I miss her as well. And don't expect to hear me say thanks to you again either," Harry said and then Draco left the store.

"Now that's weird. Don't go adding him to our group Harry. You're lucky we're letting Cho hang around us," Ron said.

"Speaking of Cho, what caused you to tell her when my birthday was?" Harry asked.

"Well... um Hermione and I thought it would be a good idea if..." Ron started.

Turning to Hermione, "You were in on that too? Actually I'm glad you did," Harry said smiling.

"You pushed Ron into asking me out so you don't have much room to talk," Hermione said.

"Hey, he didn't push me. I'd say a slight nudge in the right direction was all," Ron quickly added.

They were all back at the Leaky Cauldron mainly listening to other people talk when Mrs. Weasley asked, "Did you find out everything you needed from the Head Goblin?"

"Not really. He showed me R.J.'s vault. She has a bunch of parchments that the goblin said were partnerships and investments she had made with them. He didn't say what they were or anything. I guess I'll need to go through all of that sometime."

"Partnerships with goblins? I wonder what they could be," Hermione asked.

"If you're interested, you can help me when I go through them. Maybe you can explain it to me," Harry said. Hermione looked pleased with this thought.

Harry went to Ron's so he could ride with them to the train station. They had arrived at the station before Hermione, found an empty compartment and waited for her to arrive. The door to the compartment opened and Cho stepped in. "Mind if I ride with you guys?" she asked

"Not at all!" Harry said excitedly. "Won't your friends be mad?"

"Oh, they understand. They suggested it," Cho responded and sat next to Harry.

Soon Hermione had joined them. "I can't wait to get started this year. We have to start thinking about N.E.W.T.s," Hermione said.

"That's not until next year for you," Cho stated.

"Well we have to start preparing this year to do well. You'll be taking them this year. Are you ready?"

Cho looked a little concerned and said, "I hope so. They're supposed to be really hard. I can't believe this is my last year."

That hit Harry hard. He had forgotten that Cho was in her seventh and final year at school. He didn't want to think about her not being there any more. Ron finally showed up with Ginny along side. The ride started off good with everyone telling stores of their summer activities. Harry spent the time listening since everyone had asked him questions at the party. After a bit, Harry saw Ron leaning into Hermione's shoulder with his eyes closed. He caught her eye and smiled. She looked at Ron and just rolled her eyes. Harry turned and started talking quietly to Cho, "Cho, what did your parents think of the other night? Was it ok?"

She smiled broadly and said, "I haven't seen my father so impressed with anyone. I think he really likes you. Mom likes you too, but it's just strange hearing my father talking about how much of a fine young man you are."

"Why, don't you agree with him?" Harry asked with a sly smile. She pinched his arm and just smiled.

Harry waved at Hagrid and headed on up to the Great Hall to wait on the sorting. Cho left them at the door to go to the Ravenclaw table and the rest of them were at the Gryffindor table talking to the other house members when the first years came in. Then Harry noticed a familiar face setting at the teacher's table.

"Hermione. What do you think Fleur is doing up there? I don't see Mrs. Figg either. You don't think Fleur is doing Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Harry asked.

Ron jumped in, "There's no way someone who looks like that could do the Defense class."

Hermione glared at him and snapped "What do her looks have to do with anything Ron?" she then turned to Harry and said, "That's the only teacher I see missing Harry, maybe she is."

Harry was looking at Fleur when she caught his eye and she waved openly to him. He smiled and waved back. They didn't really pay much attention to the sorting. Since they never had much interaction with the new students, after their third year they just did the polite clapping and greeted the new arrivals to the Gryffindor table.

Professor McGonagall got everyone's attention, and then Professor Dumbledore spoke. "I'm anxious to get another year started. A couple quick announcements if you don't mind. For the benefit of our first year students hearing this, the Dark Forest is strictly off limits. Now some of you may hear rumors about a student being rescued by a centaur but I do assure you that there are more things that would do you harm in there than would help you. At least to most of you. Second, at the Ministry's request, Mrs. Figg has returned to her previous career as an Auror. In her place, I'm happy to announce that one of our most distinguished teachers, Professor Snape will be taking over Defense Against the Dark arts. He has been convinced to give up potions to help with our current need. Taking his position as potions instruction, some of you may remember a Fleur Delacour from the Triwizard Tournament a few years ago. She has graciously agreed to join our staff. Make sure you welcome her to her new position and congratulate Professor Snape on his. Let the feast begin."

After the meal they didn't get a chance to talk to many of their other friends so they just went up to the common room. Even though Harry liked his new home, he still felt like Hogwarts was his real home. It was the place he felt most comfortable.

"Ron. We need to find two new Quidditch players," Harry said.

"I know. I really want to win again. I want to go undefeated in my reign as captain. Harry, maybe you can practice your French on Fleur," Ron said with a smirk.

The next morning everyone was at breakfast when mail came. As usual, there was a package for Neville, something he probably forgot again. Hermione got her Daily Prophet. Ron and Harry both got letters. Ron's was from his mom but Harry didn't recognize his own. He opened the letter:

Mr. Potter

My name is Francois Gialli, I am the coach of the French National Quidditch team. Due to a fairly recent accident, we are holding tryouts for a new seeker. A common acquaintance of ours; Viktor Krum suggested I invite you. Normally I would not consider someone of your age but Viktor assures me you both act and fly like someone older. Coming from Viktor this is high praise.

If you are interested, please come to our practice pitch outside of Paris this Saturday at 8:00am. You will not need to bring your broom. The team uses a newer model and one will be available for your tryout.

The league is familiar with the restrictions for having a student as a player since Viktor was doing the same thing a couple years ago. The only rule you may not be aware of is that if you make the team, you cannot play on your house team. This shouldn't be an issue since playing on our National Team would be much more challenging.

The tryouts will be hard and there will be other seekers competing for that position. Professional Quidditch is much rougher than school level. I imagine that you all play as good sports and try not to hurt each other. At the professional level, they play to win and to push the rules as far as they can to do that.

Francois Gialli

Harry just stared at the letter. He re-read it a couple times. He was being offered a chance to tryout for a professional Quidditch team, his dream. But if he made it he had to give up playing on the Gryffindor team with all of his friends. Hermione noticed his face and asked what was wrong. He handed her the letter to read. She quickly read it and said, "Harry, this is sounds too rough for a student to do."

"What's rough? Give me the letter," Ron demanded. Harry asked them to keep their voices down and when Ron was done reading he said, "This is just wicked. Just think if you made it, you'd be playing for a National Team. This is your dream."

"What about the Gryffindor team? If I was to get picked, I'd have to quit our team."

"To heck with our team Harry, this is serious Quidditch." Harry was surprised by Ron's reaction. He expected Ron to want him to keep playing on the house team. "You're going to the tryout even if I have to stun you and take you myself. Then when you get picked you can worry about telling the rest of our team."

That seemed like a reasonable thing to Harry. "That's a good idea Ron. At least I could go meet the team. Then when they laugh me off the field I can still say I met them and come back here and play."

"Viktor wouldn't have recommended you unless he thought you could do it. You know how he takes his Quidditch," Hermione said.

"When have you been talking to Viktor?" Ron asked with more than a hint of jealously.

"Not since the summer after I met him, you know that. But you know how serious he is about his flying too."

"I guess it would be interesting to go. I should talk to McGonagall before class."

Harry got to Transfiguration early. "Professor McGonagall, may I speak to you for a moment?"

"Of course Mr. Potter. Is something wrong already this year?"

"No Professor. I got this letter and wanted to get your thoughts." He handed her the letter and waited while she read it. She looked very excited.

"What opinions would you like Mr. Potter? I hope you intend to go to this tryout. I would be very disappointed if you passed up an opportunity like this."

"That's what Ron said. How would I get there?"

"For once I agree with Mr. Weasley. I'll speak to the headmaster about getting you there this Saturday and for someone to accompany you. We can't have a student going off to Paris by themselves." Other students started coming in so the Professor said, "I'll speak to the headmaster directly. Plan on going."

He went back to his seat near Ron and told him and Hermione about the conversation. "See, McGonagall had the same idea I did Hermione," Ron said smugly.

They weren't going to have Potions or Defense Against the Dark Arts for a couple days so everything was pretty normal. Harry was really worrying about the tryout and spent a lot of time just sitting and thinking. This worked out well because Ron and Hermione were spending more time together. Harry was glad things were still working out well between his friends. Before evening meal Harry was sitting on the front steps and didn't notice someone come up and put her hands over his eyes and say, "Guess who?"

"Cho! You startled me."

"Good answer Harry," she said smiling. "Anything wrong, you looked lost in thought?"

He hadn't talked to her since term started. "Don't tell anyone, but I got invited to tryout for the French National Quidditch team on Saturday. I probably just make a total git of myself but I'm going to go to the tryout."

"Really? Would the school let you do that? What if you do get picked?" She didn't look happy for him.

"I think they would let me. Remember Viktor Krum played for Bulgaria when he was going to Durmstrang. If I get picked I won't be able to play for Gryffindor anymore."

"So, this is your plan to keep me from beating you this year?" she said with a smile. "Do your best Harry. If you're not sure you want to play, you can always say no if they do pick you. It's probably going to be a really tough tryout."

The day came for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Professor Snape as the instructor. Luckily the schedule had them with Ravenclaw and not Slytherin like it had been for the last five years. Snape was a very good teacher for this subject and unlike potions which Harry didn't do very well in; this class was one of his best so Snape had fewer chances to take points away. Snape mentioned that he would be starting out showing them more subtle ways that Dark Wizards intimidated people other than using the unforgivable curses. He had ended the class by saying, "Those of you who think that the unforgivable curses are all you have to fear from Dark Wizards will soon learn that there are much simpler ways to cause pain and terror."

Next they had potions with Fleur. Harry hurried to get there early to try out his French. She was alone in the classroom when he entered. She saw him and smiled brightly coming to greet him, ''Arry! 'Ow are you?" she said and then quickly kissed him on each cheek causing Harry to blush.

"Hello Fleur, it's good to see you again," Harry said trying hard to get it right.

"Harry! You have learned to speak French! What made you learn my language?"

"A neighbor is from Paris and she taught me over the summer. I have much to learn yet. I just wanted to try it out on you."

Some of the Ravenclaws came in and were listening to their conversation. "Wait 'til I tell Gabrielle. She still thinks you are her hero. She is going to Beauxbatons this year. "

"You mean when I was the only one stupid enough to believe she would actually be hurt? I should have known better."

"We'll talk more later. Class is getting full."

The Ravenclaw girls glared at him while he found a seat and waited for Ron and Hermione. Potions was so much more interesting with Fleur teaching. Harry; and most of the other boys hung on every word she said. Before long, even the girls realized she knew what she was talking about and warmed up to her.

During the next Defense class Snape said, "I need a volunteer who won't mind having some new curses put on him." He waited and when no hand immediately went up he continued, "Miss Granger is something wrong? Normally you start waving before I finish the request. No. Ok, Mr. Potter front and center."

Harry tentatively walked up to the desk. Snape said, "When I curse you, try to stand it as long as you can. Say stop and I will. Then I want you to describe to the class how the curse felt. Whenever you can't stand anymore, you can sit down and I'll find someone else."

Well, this wasn't Potions but Snape was going still to make it hard on Harry. "Can I block the spells or use a shield charm?"

"Where would be the lesson in that Mr. Potter? Request denied. Ready?"

Snape said the first spell and Harry felt like his feet had caught fire. He started jumping around trying to stand the pain. He knew from training that this wasn't real pain; he just needed to figure out how to throw it. In just a couple seconds the pain was getting tolerable and then it was gone completely. He was able to stand still in front of Professor Snape now. One of the Ravenclaw girls asked, "Why did you stop Professor?"

Snape glared at her and then pulled his wand up. Harry knew the professor hadn't stopped the spell. "Describe it Potter, and then explain why you stopped jumping around."

"It felt like my feet were on fire. If I couldn't see them, I would have sworn they were burning. But, I knew it wasn't real. The pain was just in my head and could be blocked, so I blocked it. Kind of like the Imperius Curse."

"Potter is correct Miss Kraemer. That is the key flaw with Dark Wizards using curses like this. If a wizard has a strong will and fully believes the pain isn't real, he can block the curse. Let's try a few more so the rest of the class will know what to expect before they get their turn up here." Snape spent the rest of the time doing various spells on Harry, who had been able to block them all after a few tries. Harry really had trouble with one spell that made him feel like he was falling, but after about ten tries, he finally blocked it as well.

"I can't believe he cursed you so much. I don't think I'm going to like this class with him teaching," Hermione said.

"Yeah, he just took the position to have an excuse to hex us," Ron added.

"Better from him in school than from a real Dark Wizard," Harry said quickly drawing strange looks from his friends. "I bet you'll both be able to block the spells with some practice. Then when the Slytherins hex you, you can just turn and hex them back."

They were walking down the corridor when Cho came over not looking too happy. "So, I hear you were getting friendly with the new Potions instructor Harry? Since when did you learn to speak French?"

"Good to see you too Cho," Harry said smiling at her. "I learned this summer. Mrs. Wilkins is from Paris and she taught me. I just wanted to try it out. You remember Fleur don't you?"

"Of course I remember her. Every boy in school was falling over themselves when she came by," Cho replied with an annoyed look on her face.

"C'mon Ron, let's go on," Hermione said pulling Ron.

"Wait, this'll be good," Ron was exclaiming as Hermione was dragging him down the hall.

Harry leaned in and whispered, "I was falling over myself when you came by back then if you really remember," then he smiled at her.

"Oh...Why can't I be mad at you? I do remember Harry," she said and was warm to him again. "Are you excited about the tryouts?"

"Scared mostly. I don't want to make a fool of myself"

Professor McGonagall walked by and said, "Mr. Potter. 7:30am Saturday morning in my office."

"Yes Professor, thank you."

"What was that about?" Cho asked.

"Sounds like she's coming with me to the tryouts. Great, even more pressure."

"Let's take a walk. It'll get your mind off of it."

On the way back from a nice quiet walk, Harry said, "Thanks Cho, this has been really nice." Harry was thinking back to a couple years ago and how nervous he felt around Cho back then. Now it just felt comfortable and he was happy that she had been the one to suggest the walk.

"Well, I can't take you on midnight walks in the forest so this will have to do," she said smiling.

They walked back inside and went to where Cho's friends were talking, "So, where have you two been?" Cho's friend Sandy said slyly.

"Trying to teach her French Harry?" another friend joked.

"Man, you girls are tough," Harry quipped.

"Don't forget it," Cho added. Harry had a nice time talking to her friends. This was the first time he really had talked to the other Ravenclaw girls much. It wasn't the same as talking to Ron and Hermione, but he did enjoy being around them.

Harry got to Professor McGonagall's office a little before 7:30am. He hadn't been able to sleep much so had gotten up extra early and went for breakfast. "I hope you don't mind that I'm the one accompanying you Harry?" She had called him Harry. He took that to mean that she considered this a non-school activity.

"Not at all Professor. I'm really nervous."

"Just do your best. You know they'll be playing harder than the school teams do. Well maybe not rougher than the Slytherins but rough," she smiled.

"Yes Professor. I remember how it was at the Quidditch World Cup. That's where I saw Viktor Krum the first time." Harry was picturing how fast everything happened when he was watching Viktor play and was worried about keeping up with the French team.

They traveled by floo to the practice pitch outside of Paris. The weather was about the same as Hogwarts. It was a nice clear day. There were two men waiting to greet them.

"Welcome. You must be Harry Potter, and you Professor McGonagall. It is a pleasure to meet you both. My name is Francois Gialli. This is another coach Michael Tilman."

Professor McGonagall stepped and shook their hands saying, "Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you both. Thank you for greeting us."

Harry stepped up and said, "Hello. It is nice to meet you. I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to tryout for the team."

McGonagall looked surprised since she didn't know Harry had learned a bit of French. Mr. Gialli said, "Ah, you speak French. Don't tell me you learned that after finding out about the tryouts," then chuckled.

"No sir. Over the summer a neighbor began teaching me. I have much to learn yet. But I'm sure Professor McGonagall would rather know what I'm saying if you don't mind."

They all laughed and headed to the field. There were three people standing around looking kind of nervous. They noticed Harry come out and began mumbling to themselves. Mr. Gialli said, "Here's a broom Harry. Take a couple minutes to get used to it. It's the latest model so you may not be comfortable with it."

Harry looked at it closely. It was straighter than his Firebolt and the twigs were pulled together much tighter. It didn't look comfortable being so straight. On the side it had 'XANDARI MK 1'. He mounted the broom and rose up a bit. Then he felt the broom mold itself to fit him comfortably. Within a few seconds, it felt much better than his broom. He took off down the field and quickly realized this broom accelerated much faster than his broom as well. He tried some quick breaking and then some tight turns to get a feel for it. It felt like the broom just knew what to do; it was so easy to fly. Harry really wanted one of these and reluctantly returned to the ground.

"Nice warm-up flying Harry. Didn't look like you had too much trouble with the broom, excellent. Here's how the tryouts will go. We will have you compete against each other. There will be no chasers or keepers, only seekers and beaters. This means that the beaters will have no one else to target except you. Whoever catches the snitch first moves on. Simple. Let's go."

Harry was glad he didn't get picked to go in the first pairing. He wanted to at least get an idea how good the other seekers were. Harry watched the two seekers spend most of their time dodging bludgers. They seemed ok, but nothing like Krum had been. There were a couple good moves but nothing spectacular. Then the taller man got the snitch and they sent the other one home. Harry started to think he may actually have a chance. If the guy he was going against wasn't much better than those other two he may be able to win.

"Ok, you other two. Harry, there is one thing I think you should know. You're going up against Marcus Yuergen, the ex-seeker from Wales. He was recently replaced on their team and is trying to make ours." Harry looked at the guy and his optimism faded. Marcus looked like a more solid Draco Malfoy as the man glared at Harry. Now Harry was worried again.

They took off and Harry realized immediately that Marcus was much better than those first two. Now he wished he had gone first just so he could make it to the second round. He heard the whistle and then the sound of bludgers rushing around. He was making good moves dodging bludgers and feeling more comfortable when Marcus made a dive for the ground. Had he seen the snitch? Harry dove after him, scanning ahead trying to see if it really was the snitch. He didn't see it and decided it was just a feint so he pulled out of the dive to continue searching. Marcus pulled out and when he saw that Harry hadn't followed gave him a dirty look. After a couple minutes, Harry really did see the snitch. Diving down he leveled off and headed straight for the box seat area. The snitch was right near the wall. Harry didn't know where Marcus was and thought he would win when all of a sudden the other seeker crashed into him sending him out of control. Harry barely regained control in time to miss the tower. Marcus knew Harry would get to the snitch first but wanted to stop Harry from being able to grab it. The other seeker played rough. Harry didn't want to lose sight of Marcus to prevent that from happening again. The next time, they both saw the snitch and headed toward it. It was flying toward the box seats again. Harry just got a feeling the snitch was going to curve down so he went into a dive and left Marcus heading straight for the snitch. Right above the ground, Harry leveled off and headed toward the box seats. Looking up, he saw Marcus go into a dive and then saw that he saw where the snitch was also. If he guessed right, he would get there before Marcus. The other seeker stretched out his arm to grab the snitch and then was surprised to find his arm knocked away and Harry streaking by grabbing the snitch as he went. Harry had beaten him.

Back on the ground, he could see the pride in Professor McGonagall's eyes. Mr. Gialli said, "Impressive Harry. It looks like Krum was telling the truth." The coach shook Harry's hand and continued, "I wasn't exactly honest with you earlier. Marcus here is the ex-seeker from Wales, but he's not looking for work. He's here as a favor to an old friend to help us try out new seekers. We've been holding tryouts all week and this was the last one. The first two were going for the reserve spot."

"Nice flying Harry," Marcus said, "You kept your head when I fouled you and didn't automatically go for my feint. You have good instincts."

"Harry, let me talk to the other coach and Marcus for a minute will you?" Mr. Gialli said and the men walked a few meters away.

Harry went back to where Professor McGonagall was standing. "That was excellent flying Harry. Even if they don't pick you, I think you impressed them."

Mr. Gialli came back over. "Well Harry, we want to thank you for coming. You came on short notice and flew on an unfamiliar broom against a world class seeker." The man extended his hand to Harry.

Harry shook the man's hand and spoke anxiously, "Thank you Mr. Gialli. I really enjoyed the experience. I'm glad I came, even though I didn't make it."

Calmly Mr. Gialli said, "Who said you didn't make it Harry?" The coach looked calm but Harry's eyes started to get huge. "You'll need to learn that Quidditch players are big practical jokers. Here," he handed Harry a contract.

"You meant it? I really got picked! I can play for France?" Harry was exited beyond words.

"We had hoped Viktor's comments about you were true and had the contract prepared already. We wouldn't have offered you the reserve spot, it was all or nothing. We'll give you a week to decide. This is a standard rookie contract. The only special item is that as your signing bonus, we'll give you a Xandari of your own. Have that contract back by next Saturday and you're on our team. Congratulations." He shook Harry's hand.

"Thank you sir. I can't believe it," Harry was saying still not believing what had just happened.

"Remember Harry. No school Quidditch if you come with us. We don't want people seeing you play for free if you're under contract to us. That won't be a problem will it?"

"Um... No sir. Thanks again," Harry said, still trying to contain he excitement. "Professor. I can't believe I made it."

"I could tell by their comments here on the ground that they were pleased," McGonagall said. "You're going to accept aren't you? This is the chance of a lifetime."

"I think so, but I want to think for a couple days," Harry said and then got a concerned look, "Could you look over the contract also? I've never dealt with this kind of stuff." Harry asked, realizing he had no clue what to look for in the contract.

"I'd be glad to help. If you want, I can take it and read it when we get back. You should let them know soon, that will let them know you're anxious to get going."