Chapter Six
The Tryout
The remainder of my first week at Hogwarts passed in a blur. With the extra four-hour training sessions Haylie was putting me through every night, it was a miracle I managed to stay on top of all my homework. Well… to be honest, after a few days of minimal sleep, I did take Haylie’s advice and copy a little bit off of Micky’s work.
The teachers here at Hogwarts really must want us to do well. Either that, or they’ve got a high reputation to fill because they all seem to be giving us mountains upon mountains of homework. By the time Friday was done, I had four essays to write, two books to read, a spell to practice, and a bunch of notes to memorize for a test next week. On top of that, Haylie insisted on spending all Saturday afternoon training.
My other friends seemed to be taking the Quidditch thing pretty well. Micky, who was a bit worried on how I would find time to do my homework, understood what it meant to beat Tanaka Reeves, and fully supported Haylie’s training plans. I mentioned it before, but she even let me copy some of her homework so I could get a decent night’s sleep.
Lily didn’t quite understand the whole Quidditch hype, but she could tell that it was important to me, so she was fine with it. “Amelia,” she said to me on Saturday evening at dinner, “I may not understand why everyone loves the sport so much, but since this is so important to you I’ll be there in the stands, cheering you on.”
Leah, on the other hand, wasn’t too thrilled that her new classmate was spending the majority of her time on a broomstick. She was nice to me about it, but I could tell that she disapproved when I would enter the common room with Haylie in the evenings, all sweaty and exhausted.
Sunday, the morning of the tryouts, began like any other morning. I woke up, sleeping a little later than usual, and met Lily in the common room. We headed down for breakfast, chatting about whatever random things entered our heads. Leah, according to Lily, was in the library, looking up things for one of our numerous essays.
As usual, we were just finishing up breakfast when Haylie and Micky joined us. Haylie was all pumped for the tryouts.
“Remember Amelia, be down to the pitch at one, we need to go through our warm up drills before anyone else gets there,” she reminded me for the fifteenth time that morning.
“Haylie, you’ve already told me that,” I said stiffly, feeling the lump of nerves in my stomach grow a bit bigger. Haylie kept reminding me what to do, and it was only making me feel worse. It was like being Sorted all over again, but this time people actually knew who I was. The risk of rejection was worse than ever.
Sirius, who had arrived a few minutes prior to this conversation, laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder. My nerves calmed a bit, but I continued to gaze blankly at my empty plate. “Amelia, you’ll do fine. You’ve trained hard all week, there’s no way Tanaka can beat you.”
I smiled weakly. His words may or may not be true, but they made me feel better.
“He’s right. I’ve seen you play, and now that I’ve got you whipped into shape, you’re just as good, if not better, than Tanaka.” Haylie pointed out, finally making an effort to make me feel more confident.
Despite my nerves, I lifted my head and took in the supportive smiles of my new friends. They were right, I had put almost all my extra time into preparing for these tryouts, and there was no way I was going to let Tanaka win.
d23;d23;d23;
I spent the morning with Leah in the library, catching up on all the homework that I had neglected on Saturday. Tryouts didn’t start until two o’clock, and so I had just enough time to write out a few essays and memorize some notes.
At twelve thirty, I packed up my things and said goodbye to Leah. I dropped by the Great Hall for a quick sandwich, and then hurried up to the common room, where I changed into my Quidditch training robes and traded my books for my broom.
The grounds were bustling with people. It was a beautiful day, and most of the students preferred relaxing in the sun to studying inside on a Sunday afternoon. I passed group after group of people. A handful of them were doing homework in the sun and a few couples were spending quality time with each other in the shade of some trees around the lake, but most of the people were just lying around talking aimlessly and enjoying their time outside of class.
Haylie was waiting for me when I arrived at the pitch. The large stadium was empty, just like I had expected. We ran through all the things we had worked on that week: the broomstick handling drills, the Quaffle catching exercises, and the position of Keeper.
We had time for about fifteen goal attempts, but after saving fourteen of these, we headed back to the ground. A bubble of confidence was growing in my chest, and for the first time all day, I felt secure about my Quidditch abilities.
“The team should be arriving any minute; we’re having a team meeting to discuss what’s going to happen for the tryouts. You can wait here for the tryouts to start. I’m sure other people will join you.” Haylie pointed to a spot in the stands. She smiled widely. “You can do this, Amelia! Just keep your confidence up, and there’s no way you won’t make the team.”
I returned her grin and carried my broom to where she pointed. I plopped down in one of the seats, and waited.
One by one, the other team members arrived. Not long after the team had sat, down James and Sirius showed up, and Micky arrived a few minutes later. After that, two girls I didn’t know joined their teammates.
I watched the team as they formed a circle and discussed something quietly. I watched the two girls I didn’t know. One of them was short and stocky with wide, brown eyes and frizzy blonde hair. The second girl had long, night-black hair and pale blue eyes.
Sirius said something, and the whole team laughed. I wondered what he said, feeling extremely left out. Watching the team interact with each other only made me want to be on it even more.
It wasn’t long before the other people trying out showed up. Tanaka was there first; she took one look at me and smirked. She then mounted her broom and did a few warm up laps around the field. Her broom control was amazing; it was clear that she was a brilliant flier.
Watching Tanaka seemed to worsen my nerves, and I took to gazing at my feet. Despite this, my mind was up by the goalposts, running what was like an internal Quidditch match inside my head.
I was vaguely aware of the footsteps of my contenders, but I paid them no notice. Nothing was going to break my concentration. The only important thing in the world was those goal posts, the round red Quaffle, and I.
I was so engrossed in my head that I hadn’t noticed the two pairs of feet that stopped directly in front of me. I could feel eyes boring into the top of my head, but I paid them no notice. My mind tried to will them away, but they remained put.
“Amelia?”
Despite my vows, I looked up to find myself gazing directly into the bright green eyes of Lily Evans. Her red hair was pulled into a loose braid, and an encouraging smile was painted across her pretty face.
Next to her was Leah, looking slightly put out. Her hair was in its usual bun and the look in her eyes told me that this wasn’t her ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
“Hi, Amelia, we just wanted to come over and wish you good luck!” Lily said brightly as I got to my feet.
Leah nodded. “This isn’t my ideal way to spend my time, but I know what it feels like to work hard towards a goal, and you’ve been working extremely hard. I may not get the whole sports thing, but good luck anyway. I hope that you make the team.”
Hearing Leah’s speech boosted my confidence. I smiled and gave them both hugs. “Thank you so, so much - it really means a lot to me that you’re here. I’ll do my best.”
Down on the field, the team meeting had come to a close and James was now trying to get everyone’s attention. He scanned the stands and seemed to do a double take when he saw Lily. Her green eyes met his hazel ones, and for a split second, he looked like he would say something. Instead, he nodded politely at her and went on with his task of catching the attention of the small crowd.
Lily’s mouth fell open slightly and she blinked several times before she realized what she was doing. She looked back at me, with shock showing clearly in her forced smile. “Good luck,” she said distractedly, before turning and following Leah to a different part of the stands, a puzzled look on her face.
Down on the field, Sirius caught my eye and gave me double thumbs up. Everything was going according to the plan. James was being polite to Lily, and so Sirius’s part of the scheme was done for now. All I had to do was to convince Lily that he wasn’t so bad after all…I would set my full attention to this after the tryouts were over.
“HEY!” James shouted at the top of his voice, and the talking of the small crowd stopped. “Now that I have your attention, we’re going to get started. Welcome to Keeper tryouts. As you all probably know, I’m James Potter: Chaser and Team Captain. My fellow Chasers are Sirius Black and Micky Lee.” There was a twitter of excitement from the girls in the stands when Sirius’s name was mentioned. I rolled my eyes and James continued. “Our Beaters are Maria Reynolds and Donyal Nettles.” Maria was the blonde, and Donyal was the girl with black hair. “Lastly, our Seeker this year is Haylie Burch.”
James took a deep breath and continued. “Before we start the actual tryouts, I would like to remind you all that Quidditch is in fact, a very dangerous sport. Any injuries that occur are at your own risk. There are nineteen of you here to try for the position, but only one will make it. Whichever of you that one happens to be, practice will be two or three times a week, maybe more if we have a match coming up. You’re expected to attend every practice and every team meeting. I know you have homework, and there’s always the occasional detention: trust me, I know what that’s like, so I may make an exception.”
“Now, we’ll start off with a warm up around the pitch so I can see your flying ability. We’ll go in groups of five. People that are not able to fly as well as I think they should won’t be able to progress to the next stage of the tryouts.” James then began calling names down to the field.
I watched as the group James named off made their way down to the field and mounted their brooms. They soared around the stadium, while James took notes on his clipboard.
My name was called in the second group and I followed a shaking sandy-haired kid down to the grassy pitch. I took to the skies, enjoying the familiar feeling of freedom that I always got by getting on a broom. I passed everyone in my group, leading the way around the stadium.
When James’s whistle blew, I returned to my seat, feeling my confidence go up again. Well…it was up until Tanaka had her turn flying around the pitch. She was amazing; it was as if her broom were simply an extra limb.
After all the groups had gone, James called off the names of people who had passed the first round of tryouts. My name was called along with Tanaka’s and a handful of others, and we joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team on the grassy field.
We stood in a line facing the team. James paced up and down the line, looking us each in the eye. Suddenly, he stopped. “You, you’re Tristan Gale, right?”
The sandy haired boy I followed down to the field earlier nodded shakily.
James nodded as he took a long hard look at Tristan. “Head to the stands.” Tristan’s mouth fell open slightly, but he did as he was told. James turned to the rest of us. “When I look into your eyes, I can sense your attitude. Those of you who want this with all your heart are allowed to proceed. I sent Tristan on his way because I saw that he wasn’t willing to fulfill my expectations.” He paused. “Now, here’s what we’re going to do. Each one of you is going to have a chance up there, defending those goals. You’ll get ten tries, and whoever saves the most gets the position. Everyone got that?”
I nodded, setting my jaw tightly. I could see now why James was named Captain. He took this seriously; he wasn’t going to take any crap from anyone. James had high expectations, and I hoped with all my heart that I could meet them.
James looked down at his clipboard. “Jen Cildare, you’re up.”
Jen, a very tall girl with dirty blonde hair stepped forward, mounted her broom, and took her try at Keeper. In total, she saved five.
One by one, the people in the line stepped forward and took a stab at saving the goals. Tanaka, by far, was the best so far. She saved nine of the ten goals, only missing one thrown by James. When she was done, she smiled smugly at us all, swished her long, dark ponytail, and sauntered over to the group of people who had already gone.
I watched as a few more people tried out, none beating Tanaka’s amazing score. There were only two people left in line when James spoke the dreaded words. “Amelia, you’re up.”
I smiled weakly and mounted my broom; my hands were shaking. I took a deep, steadying breath, and returned to the place before the goalposts that had become so familiar in the past week. Tanaka had missed one…so I either had to save all ten, or save nine and face her a second time.
I kicked off the ground, feeling the usual boost of spirits that I always got when I take to the air. Tanaka who? My friends cheering in the stands seemed miles away, but I knew they were down there, supporting me whether I made the team or not. These past few days had been an emotional rollercoaster for me, but now, I wasn’t going to think about it. The only things in the world right then were the Chasers, the Quaffle, the goalposts, and me; the cheers were only the background music.
I nodded at James, telling him I was ready. The Chasers wove in and out in a complex weave. The Quaffle switched from James, to Micky, to Sirius, to Micky, to James, to Sirius again. Sirius, his eyes narrowed in concentration, threw the round red ball into the left hoop.
I swerved in midair, and just like that, the Quaffle was in my hands. Throw after throw after throw; I caught them with ease. After saving six, I missed one. I bit my lip, feeling the familiar pressure to do well, but I shoved it aside. I knew that I had to make the next three goals.
The Chasers soared in and out, Micky took the Quaffle, and”I saved it. The next one, another of Sirius’s, was a little harder. It seemed as though he was going to throw it into the center hoop, but then he did a complex throw and it hurled towards the right hoop. With as quick of a reaction as I could manage, I reached out and caught it with the tip of my fingers.
I closed my eyes and took another deep breath, this was it…make it, and I face off Tanaka. Miss it, and it’s all over. Everything I’ve worked for this past week has been working towards this last goal. I opened my eyes again, my face determined. Nothing would break my concentration…absolutely nothing.
The Chasers were discussing tactics at the other end of the pitch. I took the opportunity to steal a glance at Tanaka. She was watching me carefully, one hand in her pocket, and the other to her lips. The amazing Tanaka Reeves was biting her nails because of me.
A few rows into the large stands, Lily was on her feet, and screaming encouragement at the top of her lungs. I smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
Haylie was standing with Donyal and Kasie, the Beaters, and she looked extremely anxious. She was biting a strand of hair that had escaped her usual twin loops and was pacing back and forth, her eyes locked on the Chasers.
I turned my attention back to the Chasers as they began flying towards me. I watched carefully as the Quaffle went from one Chaser to the other. My fingertips were ready for anything. If they did anything unexpected, I could move my broom, reach out, and snatch the Quaffle.
The Chasers were within throwing distance, I watched, and waited. Then, out of the blue, the most peculiar sensation came over me. My ears buzzed, like a mosquito that wouldn’t go away, and my head was filled with fuzzy stuff.
I blinked and shook my head, and the feeling was gone instantly. It was then that I noticed all the eyes on me. Haylie was gaping up at me in stunned disbelief. Lily, still on her feet, had a puzzled expression on her face, while Leah was glaring at Tanaka, who quickly stuffed something in her pocket, a victorious smirk painted across her face. Micky, Sirius, and James, still on their brooms, had confused expressions. James and Micky’s expressions were questioning, while Sirius’s was full of disappointment.
I was confused, why were they all staring at me? It wasn’t like I”
The reality sunk in, like a rock dropping into my stomach. My head shot so I could see the ground, fifty feet below me. There the Quaffle lay, uncaught. My mouth fell open. I was so concentrated; so ready to catch it! What had gone wrong? I sat there, fifty feet in the air, putting the pieces together. The Chasers were right there, and that was when the weird feeling started. When it was gone, the Quaffle had already been thrown.
I cast down my eyes as I headed for the ground. I stood in the small crowd of the other kids who tried out as the last and final person took their turn on being Keeper.
“What happened up there?” one of the kids asked me. “You just let them score on you!”
“Yeah, I was counting on you to beat Tanaka!” another girl piped up.
I shook my head, unable to answer.
I was lost in thought as the last person returned to our group after failing to beat Tanaka’s score. I didn’t look up as James announced that Tanaka was the new Keeper and that there was a team meeting in the locker rooms.
I avoided Haylie’s eyes as I made my way into the stands to where Lily and Leah were waiting. I hadn’t made the team. The thought seemed to be taking ages to sink in.
Leah smiled at me encouragingly. “You did great, Amelia. I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go to the library right now.” With that, she was gone.
I stared at her retreating back, trying to keep the tears that were brimming in my eyes from falling. Lily, being the sweetheart that she is, could completely sense that I wanted me to be alone, and steered me from the stands.
She then linked my arm in hers, but instead of taking the path back to the school, we turned the opposite direction, heading off towards the Forbidden Forest.
“I can tell you want to be alone, so let’s not go back to the castle just yet,” she said semi-cheerfully. “I really have no idea why Leah left like that, it was kind of rude.”
I smiled at her weak attempt to start a conversation. “She said she had to go to the library. I don’t see why you aren’t going with her.”
Lily stopped, giving me a look like I was insane. “What? It’s a beautiful day outside, and you’re in desperate need of a friend! How can you think I’d be inside studying on this occasion? Plus, I got everything done yesterday.”
“Well, I just figured since you don’t know me very well, you wouldn’t want to sit and endure me and my sob story.” I replied, my voice hollow.
“No, Amelia! I may not have known you long, but you’re my friend, and you need a shoulder to cry on.” Lily said, her bright green eyes intense. “Enough of this depressing talk, let’s go to Hagrid’s. That’s where I always go when I’m upset.”
I frowned. “Hagrid? Isn’t he the big man who brought us to the castle?”
Lily nodded. “The very same. He’s the gamekeeper, you know. His cabin is over on the edge of the forest.” She must have seen the tiny hint of worry in my expression. “Don’t worry, Amelia, Hagrid may be huge, and he’s got a strange love of dangerous creatures, but he’s the nicest person I know.” I smiled faintly, disagreeing completely. Nobody could be nicer than Lily.
We walked the rest of the way in silence. My mind seemed to be filled with the same fuzzy stuff that it was when I missed the last goal. I kept replaying the whole thing over and over, trying to figure out how the fuzziness came to be there in the first place.
In no time, we were standing in front of the round wooden house on the edge of the forest. Lily pulled me up onto the front step and knocked loudly.
There was a shuffling noise form inside, and the door burst open. There stood Hagrid, the massive man I met on my first night here.
“Lily!” he boomed. “What can I do for ye?”
Lily beamed at him. “Hey Hagrid! We came to visit. Amelia’s feeling a little…well…a little upset, so I thought we’d come and see you.”
Hagrid turned to me. “I remember ye, one of the transfers, right?” I nodded, and he continued. “Come on in, don’t worry. I don’t bite.”
I smiled weakly at him as I followed Lily into the house. It consisted of one large, circular room. There was a large bed against one wall, a fireplace against the other, what looked like a small kitchen in one corner and a table in another. There were animal skins hanging from the ceiling, and a bookshelf filled with old books next to the bed.
Lily led me to the table, where we sat down. I stared at the lines in the wood, not wanting to completely embarrass myself in front of Hagrid. Despite all this, the tears that I had been forcing back finally came, and they streamed down my face.
“What’s the problem, Lily?” Hagrid asked quietly.
Lily looked at me questionably. “Go on,” I said, “you can tell him. It’s actually pretty stupid.”
“It is not stupid!” Lily protested before turning to Hagrid. “Amelia just had Quidditch tryouts. Let’s just say…they didn’t go so well.”
Hagrid nodded in understanding. “That was you with Haylie Burch all those evenings on the pitch, right?”
“Yeah. It was.”
“Oh no, I take it you didn’t make it?” Hagrid took my silence as a yes. “That’s terrible. After all those hours of practice!”
“It was close, too,” I told him. “One more goal, and I would have been tied with Tanaka Reeves. One more goal…and we would have faced off…but I messed up…” I shrugged hopelessly.
The rest of the afternoon dragged by slowly. I didn’t want to go back to the castle. I didn’t want to face Haylie, or Sirius, or anyone else for that matter. They were all counting on my, and I let them down. Lily and I stayed at Hagrid’s until the sun was beginning to fade.
Lily was right about Hagrid, as visiting him did make me feel better. I got all my tears out, and after that we just talked. We didn’t discuss anything important really, just a little bit of this and that. It took my mind off my humiliating defeat, and I was grateful.
Lily and I walked up to the school arm in arm, talking about what I thought of Hagrid. It was nice to know that at least one person didn’t hate me; that someone still liked me after what happened with the tryouts. I had never felt so down before, but in my time of need, Lily was there to help me feel better. Despite all my self-doubts and humiliation, Lily’s friendship made me feel like the best person in the world.
A Girl Like You by Lady Alanna
Chapter Notes: Ok, first of all I am SO SORRY for such a long wait! Like any other fan fiction author, I do have a list of excuses! I had horrible problems with unresponsive betas last fall, and then the whole hacker thing really set things back. But, on the bright side, I have a bunch of chapters already written so hopefully the updates will be faster from now on. Thanks so much to Kate for betaing! Also, please leave a review!
Chapter Endnotes: Once again, I'm SO SORRY for such a long wait! Please, please, please leave a review, they make my day! Also, while I haven't been updating, I've written a bunch of one shots that will hopefully be up soon. I've got one up, "Secrets of a Lonely Heart", so if you're a Lily fan I recommend it!