Harry Potter and the Legend of the Twelve

A Team Comes Together

For the students, the next several days went by like any others at Hogwarts. James, Jason, and Danny complained about their homework, and Albus, Rose, and Carly got used to life at Hogwarts. The two fledgling couples of Albus and Carly and Danny and Rose spent a lot of time talking and getting to know each other. All in all, life was no different than it was for any of the thousands and thousands of students who had attended Hogwarts before them.

Life was far from normal for some of the other occupants of the castle. Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, and Neville, tried to find out anything they could about the Prophecy of The Twelve. Their efforts were met with failure. All they found was some vague references to it, but none gave them any more information than Neville had got from his gran's story. They did try to stay calm about the whole thing. They weren't going to let it consume them, though Harry struggled with that a little more than the others, but he managed to keep from panicking, and the search continued.

Thursday came, and it was time for Quidditch tryouts. The glory days of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, when Harry was seeker had long since passed. It had been ten years since Gryffindor had won the cup, and had sunk to dead last the previous year, a distant last at that. It was the only time in Hogwarts history that Gryffindor had finished last. Only two members of last year's starting team, and the only two worth retaining, remained. Beater and Team Captain Fred Weasley, and Chaser Victoire Weasley would be the foundation for the team this year. They knew they had little chance of winning this year or even next, and knowing that few older students were planning to try out this season, the real hope for the Gryffindor team lay in the first and second years trying out, and building to a return to Gryffindor's glory in the next few years.

In the Team Room, off the changing rooms, the Gryffindors trying out for Chaser and Seeker were waiting for their time to tryout. Jason had already been selected to join Fred as a Beater this year. James was at that moment, on the pitch trying out for Keeper, but as he was the reserve Keeper last year, it was almost a given he would make it.

Albus sat next to Rose and Danny who were waiting to try out for Chaser.

"So, Al, do you think I have a shot?" asked Rose.

"When we played this summer, you gave my mum a run for her money, and she played professionally," said Albus encouragingly. Albus wasn't feeling very upbeat, he really didn't think he had much of a chance of making the team, but he was sure Rose would make it.

"You'll do fine, Rose," Danny assured her. He grinned. "I promise not to take it badly when you make the team and I don't."

Rose laughed. "Come on, I'm not that good. You're much better than I am," said Rose.

Albus shook his head. "I think you're both nuts if you think any of these others have a chance to make the team. I saw you practicing yesterday. You two work perfectly as a team," said Albus. A smirk crept across his face. "Of course, you do better when you keep your eyes on the Quaffle, and not on each other." Albus was trying not to laugh.

For that comment, he got a jab in the arm from Rose. Just then, James came running through the door.

"I made Keeper," James shouted happily.

"Congratulations, mate," said Danny, as he stood up and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"That's great, James," said Albus. He was happy for his brother. He might have been happier if he thought he had a chance of making Seeker.

"How did the new broom handle?" asked Rose.

"Perfect," said James. "The Keeper-Sweeper 9000 handles perfectly." James had received a new broom for his birthday in June, but hadn't had much time to actually practice playing Keeper with it. The Keeper-Sweeper line of brooms was made specifically for Keepers who needed greater speed side to side than other positions.