"You, my dear, seem to have a knack at Potions."
Aria's eyes widened at her head of house's statement. Professor Snape stood next to the Herbology professor and Professor McGonagall stood on her other side. Why Aria needed an entire audience for ju...
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~*~
The air in late September had started to cool down quite a bit by the time Quidditch tryouts rolled around. Corryn and Thomas sat in the stands along with Fred, George, Ron, and Harry. Aria was surprised to see the glasses-wearing boy (they were now fixed, thankfully) sitting in the stands, supporting her, but he seemed rather excited. He was finally getting his first taste of Quidditch. Aria just hoped her skills lived up to his standards. Knowing all of her friends were sitting in the stands, waiting to see how she did, made her shake with anxiousness and embarrassment. What if she missed the Quaffle? What if she didn't make the team? They were her friends, right? They wouldn't judge her.
"Welcome, team!" Boe Harrison called from not to far in front of the group. Aria was surprised to see how many people had showed up for the tryouts. For only four spots open, There sure were a lot of candidates. Ten, to be exact. The rest of the team that had played last year was there as well, standing with Boe. He was a shorter boy, with slicked back brown hair and a funny looking crooked nose, but what he lacked in looks, he made up for in courage and leadership. Aria could see why he was chosen as team captain for this year.
"There are a few things you all must know before we get started," Boe continued. "There are only four spots open, and there are more than that of you here, so there are going to be a lot that don't get chosen. For those of you that leave here without a position on the team, there's always next year, so don't give up hope. But also, please don't be a baby about it. That'll almost guarantee that you weren't meant for the sport. And with that, we'll start by splitting you into different groups based upon what you're here to try out for. First, who's here for the Keeper position?"
There was a beat. Then another. And no one raised their hand. Aria realized that most people here were probably here for the two Chaser positions since those had the highest chance of getting into the team. Before Aria could stop herself, she raised her hand. What was she doing? She was a chaser, not a keeper. But Boe smiled, and pointed straight at her.
"Brave of you to lie, kid. But we'll give you a shot." He could read her like a book, though she assumed by the way she was shaking, it was quite obvious that she didn't look like she wanted to play Keeper. "What's your name, kid?"
"Aria," she said quickly. "Aria Rivers."
Boe nodded. "You're Snape's prized pupil then? You can be our secret weapon. Why don't you go grab what gear fits from that pile and fly over to the hoops on the south end, yeah?"
Aria agreed and moved toward the pile Boe had pointed to, asking herself how everyone seemed to know her for different things, and if everyone really thought that she was a favorite pupil of Snape's. Looking to the stands, she saw Fred and George on their feet, shouting at each other in argument. Corryn looked quite worried and Thomas was pumping his fist. She assumed that the twins had no idea why she was trying out for Keeper. Corryn was worried that Aria didn't know what she was doing, and Thomas thought she had the guts to do something that no one else would do. Ron was bent over towards Harry, likely telling him why Aria was making the biggest mistake of her life. She hardly ever played Keeper unless Ron was tired of it. Chaser was her spotlight and she was going to just give it up. But if she did well, she'd likely be guaranteed for the team, so that was good enough for her. Besides, no one else would do what she just did. She had to take a chance.
