Adventures of Beatrice the Basilisk

Chapter 15: Quidditch Tryouts with Basilisk Girl

TELEGRAM:

From: barbieque_swine. 8:10 PM, 15 June 2021. barbieque_swine HQ, Bermuda Triangle:

Dear lovers of barbieque_swine,

Hey guys... it's been a hot minute...

We owe you a full explanation for our absence... this week has been tough...

On Monday the 7th June, at 8:23 am, we got arrested for feeding our beautiful horse Mackeighleigh-Anne-Reigh home cooked narcotics... while in gaol, we had a lot of time to reflect on our actions. (JK Rowling called us again from the prison phone but we didn't pick up... she's acting really weird!) We thought our lives were over, however, due to the kind, alive, beating heart of one of our lovely and faithfully devoted followers, our bail was paid and we were released!

We had thought that gaol would be the end of our hellish and diabolical week of self reflection and soggy meals, however, we were wrong... shortly after we were released, we were taken into custody once more. It turns out the money from the bail did not belong to the follower. After harsh and rigorous questioning, multiple lie detector tests, seven (now broken) pinky promises and one very sick Mackeighleigh-Anne-Reigh, we're back.

And feistier than ever.

Sincere and formal regards,
Yours truly,
-barbieque_swine xx <3
(p.s. If you were the follower who posted our bail, hide.)

As November came to a close, the school seemed to finally be returning to normal. The colour orange was still banned, and just as well, Beatrice thought, as she still flinched every time she saw the orange sun set as it dipped below the horizon. The school, being made of stone, was rather drafty, and that was only exaggerated as the days began to get colder and winter approached. Beatrice often found herself shivering in her classes and had to run to her dormitory at break times to get another jumper.

On Monday morning, before breakfast, as Beatrice, Onika and Tom were sitting in the common room doing their homework, Beatrice saw a new note on the common room noticeboard. Curious, she went to see what it was, there were a few other students already crowding around it. One of the girls reading, squealed in excitement, Beatrice pushed her out of the way so she could reach the front of the little crowd gathering around the pinboard.

The new notice was a letter from Professor Slughorn:

'Dear Slytherin Students,

The Hogwarts quidditch season will be beginning soon, and therefore quidditch tryouts will be held next Saturday at 9:00 am. If anyone is interested in trying out for our champion team lead by Walden Macnair, please write your name below and be sure to be at the tryouts! The following positions are available for tryout:

Beater

Chaser

Wishing everybody a wonderful week,
Horace Slughorn.
Head of Slytherin House, Potions Master.'

After the letter there was a roll of lined parchment for aspirants to write their names down. Beatrice saw that there were already a few names.

"Are you seriously thinking of trying out, Beatrice?" Tom appeared behind her, Onika was on her other side.

"Yeah, maybe... I think it would be fun..." Beatrice responded, Tom made her look stupid for doing just about anything, he was really quite awful sometimes.

"Well, maybe he has a point. I mean, a first year hasn't got onto a school quidditch team in nearly forty years. And we've only been having flying lessons for 2 weeks," Onika said earnestly. Yeah, she had a point, but Beatrice was a pretty good flier for a basilisk, and was much better than anyone else in their flying class. Tom had a hard time getting off the ground. Beatrice suspected it was due to his chicken legs.