It was Saturday morning at last, and Ron and Harry were anxiously awaiting the Gryffindor Quidditch team tryouts right after breakfast. Although Harry was too nervous to eat, Ron, who was confident his plan would work, shoveled down several pieces of toast and some scrambled eggs before they hurried down to the pitch for the tryouts.
The Gryffindor hopefuls all stood in the middle of the pitch before Cameron Hodge, the team’s Captain as well as one of the Chasers. Harry and Ron noticed, with relief, there was an opening for Keeper and Seeker, and one Beater. There were about forty people trying out, so Ron figured it wouldn’t be too hard to get the position on the team.
“Welcome to tryouts, everyone,” said Hodge, causing everyone to quiet down. “Now, I am going to hold tryouts separately for Chaser, Keeper, and Seeker hopefuls, in that order. First, though, I want to run a few drills. Everyone please get into groups of ten and fly a lap around the pitch.”
Ron and Harry joined eight other boys and they were chosen to go first around the pitch. Ron mounted his broomstick, happy to finally be flying with other riders other than just Harry. When Hodge blew his whistle, the ten of them took off from the ground, headed around the outside of the field.
No more than ten seconds into the flight, two fourth-years bumped into each other and spiraled to the ground. A few seconds later, a third-year swerved in front of Ron, and the latter dove down five feet to avoid him. This caused a sixth-year directly below Ron to freak out and roll out of the way, crashing into the stands. Luckily, there were no other incidents in the flight, and seven of the ten in the group had made it past the first round.
After the other three groups had flown (and ten more people got eliminated), Hodge had the remaining 27 people fly a relay across the field as fast as possible. Ron and Harry had no problem flying at high speeds, as they both had Firebolts, but six people couldn’t handle the speed and crashed. 21 people now remained, and Ron and Harry had yet to be noticed as first-years.
As luck would have it, seven people remained for each position, so Hodge divided them by position, which meant Ron and Harry would be separated for the first time. The Chasers tried out first: each took turns taking five shots on Hodge, who was standing in as Keeper, and the one with the highest percentage would go on. A fifth-year girl named Laura Townsend won with a perfect score of five out of five.
As the Keeper hopefuls mounted their broomsticks to try out, someone finally noticed Harry. “Hey, that kid’s a first-year!” someone yelled out, and everyone turned their head. Hodge walked over to Harry, towering over him. Harry stood, looking defiant, but he still shook slightly.
“Is that true?” Hodge said. “Are you a first-year?”
“Yes,” Harry said softly.
“So am I,” Ron yelled out boldly, stepping forward to stand next to Harry. “But believe me, we are ten times better than anyone here.” That statement brought many boos from the other hopefuls, but Ron kept going. “My father was the Seeker in his first year, and in six years at Hogwarts, he won three Quidditch Cups.”
“And m-my dad was Keeper for two years at Hogwarts,” Harry piped in nervously, “and he won the Cup both times.”
“Harry Potter was an exception to the rule,” Hodge said simply. “Somehow, I don’t think you can match his skills.”
“Oh, really?” Ron said. As planned, he and Harry mounted their brooms and flew high into the air. Ron pulled a small, Snitch-like ball from his pocket, and at a height of over 200 feet above the ground, he dropped it. He let it fall for a second or two before diving after it. Wind whipped through his hair as he reached out his hand for the ball, as several people below gasped as the ball (and Ron) hurtled right at them. Twenty feet from the ground, Ron put on an extra burst of speed and caught the ball, pulling out of his dive and missing Hodge’s head by mere inches.
As he had been diving, Harry had taken a position in front of the hoops. Ron chucked the small ball at the farthest hoop from Harry, but Harry nearly fell off his broom catching the ball in time. Everyone was in awe as the two made a show of Ron shooting and Harry saving shots, and after a while, they swooped back to the ground and touched down right in front of Hodge.
“Well?” Ron said, smirking. Hodge was glaring at them.
“What in blazes do you think you’re doing?” he yelled. “You risked your own safety, as well as the safety of everyone else here!” He put his hand up to his face. “I want you to leave.” Dejected, Ron and Harry began walking off the pitch.
“Not you,” Hodge said irritably. “Them.” He motioned for the remaining nineteen hopefuls, who gasped. However, after Hodge said nothing more, they left, feeling cheated, and booed once again at the two first-years. Ron and Harry felt a bit anticipant, but still nervous about what would happen. Are we getting on the team, or just getting reprimanded in private? Ron wondered, dismayed.
Just then, Professor Potter, who had been in the stands, ran out onto the pitch. “Is there a problem here, Mr. Hodge?” he asked.
“Your son and his cousin are very good, sir,” Hodge said. “I wouldn’t mind having them on their team at all.” Ron and Harry shared a glance, excited. “However, I don’t think it would be smart to break the age rule.”
“I broke that very same rule when I was a first year, Mr. Hodge,” Professor Potter remarked. “And as a professor, I have the authority to make acceptable exceptions to rules. I give you permission to have these boys on your team.” Ron and Harry whooped with joy at this news.
“Thank you, sir,” Hodge said, nodding. He turned to Ron and Harry. “I still expect you to act as though you are as old as everyone else here. You don’t get it easy.”
“Of course,” Ron replied. He was very excited to actually be on the team!
“All right, then,” Hodge said. He turned to the other four members of the team now. “Our first practice will be next Wednesday at seven,” he told them. “I expect everyone there.” With that, he walked into the locker rooms to change, and the other four followed. Ron and Harry, however, chose to walk back up to the castle with Professor Potter.
“Dad, what were you doing in the stands?” Ron asked.
Professor Potter laughed. “Do you think I wouldn’t expect my son to go through his first year without Quidditch? I knew you would try out. You’re my son. I know what you’re going to do before you do it.”
“I’m just excited to be on the team!” Harry put in, grinning from ear to ear. “I can’t wait to tell my parents!”
“Go ahead,” Professor Potter told him. “They’re in Professor McGonagall’s office discussing work.”
Harry whooped with joy and sprinted up to the castle. Ron turned to his dad after he was gone. “By the way, Dad,” Ron said, “I thought your class was really good on Wednesday. I wondered, though...aren’t you going to be mean to Marilyn Malfoy to get back at her father?”
“Ron, when I was a boy, I thought the same as you,” Professor Potter said. “However, you must realize that revenge is not the answer. Snape, on the other hand, is still sore about his debt to your late grandfather, and hates both you and I. Don’t make the same mistakes he did.”
Ron nodded slowly. “So do you get along at all?” he asked.
“Who, me and Snape?” inquired Professor Potter. “Well, he doesn’t yell at me or anything, but he isn’t exactly friendly. I think you can live with it for seven years. Just remember that revenge is not the answer.”
“Okay,” Ron said. When they reached the castle, Professor Potter headed for his classroom to prepare for class on Monday, and Ron walked up to his dormitory to put his broomstick away. He found that a Quidditch uniform had been hung from his four-poster, and he smiled when he saw it. It was finally beginning to settle in. I’m on the Gryffindor Quidditch team with Harry! He put his broom in his trunk and ran for Professor McGonagall’s office to say hi to his aunt and uncle.