Extended Family

Chapter 126: Tenacity

Starts between chapters 111 and 113 of Family

Angelina released a deep breath, shaking her arms and flexing her fingers.  She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, eyes never quite still.  More than a few of the others there gave her considering looks, evaluating her.  Some looked impressed, others less so.  On the surface she looked like them, dressed in Quidditch gear, appearing calm and ready.

Below the surface, her stomach roiled.  It was not due to the breakfast either.  She was nervous.  She had arrived at the practice field and was unprepared to see all the people there.  There were so many, a couple from all the Houses that just graduated from Hogwarts like her.  Others were a few years older, some she vaguely recognized when they were years above her in school.  There were even older people than them there, and more than a few looked like they were foreigners, people from outside the United Kingdom.

When she graduated, she had not received a letter from any of the Quidditch teams directly.  It had crushed her a little until she received an invitation for the Open Camp Tryouts.  The invitation said that while she had not been directly approached by any of the teams, her name had been recommended by more than a few of them.  Prospective players would attend the camp and work out and practice and play there for a few weeks.  At the end of the camp, teams would then make offers after watching them perform.

Angelina definitely jumped for it, supported by her family and friends.  She had arrived at the camp with high hopes and enthusiasm, but her hopes lowered and her feelings waned some as she saw the amount of people who were invited.

"Hello everyone," Levi smiled, standing at the front and addressing them.  "In case you don't remember me," everyone chuckled at that, "I'm Levi Timms and I have the honor of being a League Scout.  I run this camp every year and I'm glad to see you lot here.  I'm not going to lie to you.  The next few weeks will be tough.  You're going to be put through the wringer.  And you'll be watched by reps from all the teams the whole time.  Not everyone will be given an offer or an invitation at the end of the camp."

Everyone listened to him quietly, gulping at his words.

"But you all were invited to be here.  The camp is invitation only so that is already a step up for you.  You're here because there is interest in you, that they and I saw potential in you.  So work hard, do your best, and we'll see what happens."

Angelina swallowed hard but nodded.  She would do her best or die trying.

Whichever came first.

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A few of the candidates fell over, gasping and coughing with one retching.  Others bowed over, huffing and puffing as they tried to get their breath back.

"Why the hell are we running so much?" one gasped.

"Seriously, we fly, not run," another grumbled.

Angelina was sweating and she felt tired but she grinned all of a sudden, remembering of a time back in her third year, of a certain practice where an absent-minded captain had doubled their laps without noticing, where her best friend had a pitcher of water dumped over her, her other best friend encouraging said dumping and soaking, her boyfriend and his brother before they were a couple, and of a very small scrawny boy slowly coming out of his shell.

She was still smiling as she jogged on, not noticing how the others looked at her as she ran.

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