Defend

Chapter Six I Overload A Portrait's Auditory System

 "Quidditch tryouts tomorrow," Ginny turns to me. "Are you doing it?"

 "Are you?"

 "No, I think not."

 "I think I'm going to be a chaser."

 "You can do it! Hopefully you're a natural at quidditch like your brother."

 "I hope so too."

~~~~

 The Slytherin captain is taking this whole ordeal very seriously. "Alright Slytherins. This year we are going to grind Gryffindor into the ground! So let's start tryouts!"

 I turn around to my broom. I'm using an old broom belonging to the school until I make the team. I feel sure I can convince my parents to get me one, after all they have given Ced the Nimbus 2000.

 "Mount your brooms!"

 I place my hand above my broom.

 "Up!" I command, it immediately flies up and I grab it, clutching the wooden handle as if my life depends on it. I have to contain myself from screaming with joy.

 The Slytherin team captain is impressed. "Good job, Diggory."

 I smile and climb on my broom as it rises in the air. "Woah." I mutter beneath my breath, vying to stay steady.

 "You three!" the captain points to the three people who managed to mount their brooms, me included. "Fly a lap around the field."

 I slowly raise into the air and steadily fly towards the goals. The wind tousles my hair back and a smile cracks my face. I bend forward and fly faster, ending the lap in less than a minute. Any fear I had off tipping to the side has disappeared from the joy of flying through the air.

 I dismount my broom, and pull the hair out of my mouth.

 "Definitely never thought I'd say this, but Diggory, you're on the team," the team captain says.

 I'm ecstatic. "Seriously?"

 "First game is in two weeks. Practices are every Thursday. You'll get your jersey first practice."

 "Yes! Thank you!"

 I run to the Gryffindor common room and scream past the fat lady. "Ginny!"

 The fat lady covers her ears. "Can you not?"

 Ginny scrambles out of the portrait hole, and shakes my shoulders. "What?! Are you alright?!"

 I wrench out from her grasp and prance around like a mooncalf. "Guess who made the Slytherin quidditch team?!"

 Her smile lights up the entire west tower. "You!"

 We hug and dance like first years at King's Cross Station, discussing my future quidditch glories.

~~~~

 "I'm nervous about the game."

 We're in my dorm and Ginny is helping me get ready. "You'll do brilliantly." She straightens out my collar. "You should wear your hair down for once." she says, tugging at my ponytail. "No, actually, pull your hair down right as you're about to get on your broom and Draco's looking at you." She jokes.

 "If it weren't for the helmets I would. Can't look gorgeous if you're dead right?" We laugh and I head out to the pitch.

 The game is Ravenclaw versus Slytherin so only a few Gryffindors appear, including Ginny.

 And apparently Hermione, Harry, and Ron.

 I run up to them. "What are you lot doing here?!"

 "We would never support Slytherin in a game," Ron starts. "No offence."

 "None taken."

 "But we wanted to see your first game." Harry smiles.

 "Ginny convinced us!" Hermione laughs.

 I give Ginny a big hug. "Thank you so much!"

 "If it wasn't such a big deal I would have brought a Slytherin banner. But instead we'll just be secretly rooting for you, not your team."

 I have to laugh again. "That works for me."

 I run over to my new broom my parents sent me.

 Nimbus two thousand and one.

 Take that, Cedric.

 I mount it carefully, totally not glancing around for Draco. He's talking to the captain, who shoves him towards his broom.

 I fly into the air on the whistle blow, and can feel the eyes on me as the game commences. I sprint around, guarding the quaffle from getting to any Ravenclaws.

 It's a rough game, with only a few goals made, and Lee Jordan's hilarious commentary occasionally earning a side glance from Professor McGonagall.

 Someone passes the quaffle to a fellow Ravenclaw, but I'm too close to let this pass. I put my head down and catch the quaffle before it can reach the Ravenclaw chaser. I spin around as quickly as I can and toss the quaffle into the goal with all my strength. The crowd cheers. I scored a goal! My first point!

 Smiling, I pull back into the game when the crowd screams again. I whip around.

 Draco caught the snitch!

 I land my broom and before I can stop myself, throw my arms around Draco's shoulders. "You did it!"

 He turns around and sees me and I quickly back off, thinking he's going to kill me.

 Instead, he actually cracks out a smile and takes a step closer. As we walk to the changing room, he whispers in my ear.

 "Have you ever been to a Slytherin common room party?"

~~~~

A/N 

Thank you sm if you've actually read all this, I promise it gets a lot better, just bare with me through the terrible writing ahaha i love you all <3