Little White Lies | Book 4

Chapter 9: Making The Team

My training sessions with Harry turned out pretty well. But, even though I had regained all my skills, I was still pretty nervous about tryouts, which were approaching soon. Ron, however, was a nervous wreck. Every day, he'd nervously tell us how many more days until tryouts were held, at least four of five times. I guess that makes it pretty obvious that he was pretty much hyperventilating when the day finally came.

We were at breakfast, on a breezy Saturday morning. I was loading my plate with as much food as I could, while Harry did the same. Meanwhile, Hermione had her nose in a book, and Ron was poking his eggs with his fork. "Come on, Ron, eat up. Don't want to go to tryouts with an empty stomach, do you?" Harry asked. He only shrugged, and looked up at us. "I dunno, guys. Maybe I should just give up altogether. It's not like I'll make it anyway." I rolled my eyes at him, while taking a sip of Pumpkin Juice. "With that attitude you won't. You'll never know whether you'll make it onto the team or not if you don't try. I'm sure you'll do just fine if you put your mind to it."

Hermione lowered her book, and gave him an encouraging look. "She's right, Ron. We know you can do it." He smiled a little, and took a bite of toast. "Well, come on, then. You two have a team to make it onto." Harry announced happily. He took my hand, as the three of us stood up. "See you at tryouts, Hermione!" I called behind me, as we hurried out. She waved in reply, then went back to her book.

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I stood a couple feet behind Harry, as he stood before a huge crowd of people in scarlet robes. All of them, except Ron, were chattering to each other, not even paying attention to him as he tried to speak. Cormac continually glanced in my direction, while talking to his friends. Finally, I got fed up with everyone's rudeness, and shouted out, "SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!" Sure enough, they all turned, and looked at us. Harry turned his head, and smiled at me. "Thanks, love," I nodded, as he looked back at the others. "Now, just because you made it onto the team last year, does not mean you are guaranteed a spot this year, is that clear?" He asked. A few people muttered a 'yes,' making him nod. "Good,"

After that, we began doing a few drills. We flew around the Pitch a few times, then we all moved to the Positions we desired to tryout for. I lined up with Ginny, and some unknown girl. Harry threw the Quaffle up to us, and blew his whistle. Just as we had practiced, I made a dive for it. Luckily, I managed to grab it just before Ginny, and made my way to Cormac's goalpost. I threw the Quaffle as hard as I possibly could, but he managed to catch it, and throw it to Ginny, who soared towards Ron's goalpost. He gave me a flirty smirk, making me grimace and follow Ginny. I watched as she gave the Quaffle her hardest throw towards her brother. He barely managed it, but he kicked it back.

I caught it, and turned back around. I so badly wanted to make sure Cormac didn't make it onto the team, and by scoring, I could do it. But, I have to admit, he was pretty good. I tried all of my strategies, and none of them worked. I even tried aiming for one hoop, but throwing at the one farthest from it. Not even that worked. But, when I tried it for the fourth time, he jerked to the side, allowing me to score. A few people from the stands cheered, but he only wore a confused, and angry expression.

Ron had managed to block all four goals, meaning our small scrimmage was over. Harry blew his whistle, and we all touched back to the ground. I was grinning triumphantly, while giving Ron a proud pat on the back. I knew he'd be guaranteed a spot on the team now. Hopefully I was as well. "Alright, you all did great today. I'll post the results as soon as possible in the common room. Thanks, all of you," Harry said. Then, we all headed to the changing room to get out of our robes.

As I pulled one of Harry's sweatshirts over my head, Cormac approached me. "What do you want?" I asked bitterly, stuffing my robes into my bag. "Just here to congratulate you. I'm sure you'll make it onto the team. Not only because you're the Captain's girlfriend, but because you've got quite the talent." He told me. "Yeah, I know. Now, move so I can leave." He blocked me, so I couldn't move from the corner I had changed in. "I see you dig guys who have a thing for Quidditch. Not trying to brag, but I've got something going on myself. If you're looking for a man with real skill, you're looking at him." I scoffed, and crossed my arms over my chest. "If you're trying to get me to fall for you, you're doing a pretty good job if your goal is to suck at it." With that, I pushed past him, and headed back to the castle.

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After a few days, Harry finally posted the results of the Quidditch tryouts. He already told me I made it onto the team, so I was lucky not to have to push through the huge crowd in front of the bulletin board to see the results. Ron of course, was simply overjoyed about making the team. In fact, he wouldn't shut up about how he had managed to block the four required goals during the drill. "That last one was a pretty tough block, but I managed it," He was saying as we sat in the common room one night. "Ron, if you don't shut your mouth, I will shut it for you!" I snapped, looking up from my essay. Harry snorted, burying his nose further into his Advanced Potion Making book, while Hermione grinned slightly, but quickly hid it. Finally, the room was silent, and I was able to focus on my essay.

I hope I don't regret making the team this year...