Confident | Fred Weasley

Chapter 46 | Uzigeor

Fred dragged Sarah down to the Quidditch Pitch. Sarah was lugging along a broom.

"Fred, I play chaser," Sarah told him, as if she hadn't told him before.

"Well, you're going to learn how to play beater," Fred replied, dropping a chest of Quidditch related items onto the grass of the pitch.

It was chilly, as it always is in October. The sky was clouded over, but otherwise it was fairly bright. For a Quidditch player, these conditions were decent.

"Okay, but the tryouts are tomorrow. Why did you leave this so last minute?" Sarah crossed her arms, watching Fred open the case.

"Because - " Fred straightened up, " - that's all the time we'll need."

He handed her a bat - his bat. Sarah  held it, trying to get used to the weight in her hands. Fred always told her that the bat makes the beater, and holding this bat made her believe that he was right. It was evenly weighted, practically perfect to hit a bludger with.

"Now, what makes this easier is that you're a chaser, so you're already good at flying," Fred began.

"Right," Sarah nodded. She couldn't quite believe she agreed to do this.

"So, I just have a to teach you how to hit a bludger!" Fred beamed.

"Okay," Sarah urged him to continue.

"So, what better way to teach - " Fred leaned down, " - you than throw you into the deep end."

The bludgers were released into the air, whizzing around in circles. For a moment one stopped, before hurtling straight down to the ground.

"Okay, here you go. Forehand swing," Fred told her.

Sarah swung, hitting the bludger and sending it through one of the goal hoops.

Fred beamed at her, "This shouldn't take long."
   
   
   
  
Sarah returned from the pitch at Lunch, her arms aching and her stomach rumbling.

"So, how did it go?" Angelina asked Sarah, sliding a plate of food across the table.

Sarah smiled slightly, "A lot better than I expected. Fred said I'm ready for tomorrow."

"Good! It'd be great if we had someone with Fred's skills on the team," Alicia replied with a firm nod.

"I'm not as good as him, I didn't mean for it to come across like that," Sarah said immediately, her eyebrows furrowing. She didn't want her friends to think she was some insane beater.

"Oh no, neither of us expect you to be," Angelina told her, as she tucked into her lunch.

"Thank merlin!" Sarah sighed.

Fred, George and Lee arrived at the Lunch table, all looking fairly cheerful.

"What's this I heard then, Sarah? Trying out for the team?" Lee asked, taking a seat beside Angelina.

Patricia replied for her, seeing as Sarah was eating, "Yeah! Isn't it exciting!"

Fred grinned, "Yeah - "

Before Fred could finish his sentence, River and Spike slid into seats on their table, immediately turning to Sarah.

"Are the rumours true?" River began, his lips tilting upwards into a smile.

"Are you going for beater, then?" Spike asked too, leaning forwards.

Sarah put her fork down, "Yeah, I am."
   
   
   
The next morning, Sarah found herself on the Quidditch Pitch alongside a lot of other hopefuls. There was a light patter of rain, slowly drenching the people stood on the pitch and sat in the stands.