Karina Potter, Aunt Marauder

Chapter 21

Karina pushed Harry hard when she was teaching him how to play Quidditch. She taught him every position so he could beat Draco at any position. She was sharp with him if he started to fuss, and she granted him with breaks once he had done well. 

Harry had enjoyed this at the beginning. He loved Quidditch and he loved to make his mother happy, and he'd do anything to do just that. So he obeyed, and if he fell, he'd giggle and get back up again. But each time Karina spoke to him in a sharp tone, the more ornery he got.

"Come on, Harry! You've got to get this!" She told him, tossing a small rubber ball up and down. They were practicing catching a Snitch, but of course, they didn't have an actual Snitch, so she made due with what she had. She threw it down the field and Harry would have to race after it to catch it. The further he caught it, the further she'd throw it. 

"Momma! I'm tireddd!" He fussed, kicking the grass from where he sat on his broom. 

"Harry, let's go!" She shouted, throwing the ball. He didn't cry, however. He just went after it obediently. By the end of the night, the poor boy was so tired, he could barely keep his head up to eat his dinner.

The day of the try outs came, and Karina woke up very early. She wanted to make sure Harry had a good breakfast to get him ready for it.

"Come on, Harry!" She called, coming into his room and opening his curtains, making the small boy fuss. "Time to rise and shine! Big day today!" 

"No!" He shouted at her, making her jump. Harry had had his tantrums before, but she had never heard him say "no" to her before.

"What do you mean?"

"No more Quidditch!" He told her, taking his blanket and crawling under his bed with it. 

"Harry? What's wrong?" She got down on her hands and knees, looking underneath.

"I don't like Quidditch anymore!" He told her furiously, and she felt her heart drop.

"But Harry, you loved Quidditch! You loved watching me play with James!"

"Quidditch makes you angry at me! I don't want to play anymore!" He covered his head with his blanket, and Karina felt her heart drop. She realized she had been pushing him a little hard, fueled by her hatred for Narcissa and her own competitive spirit. Harry was still a little boy, and he needed to be treated as such, no matter what it was.

"Harry, I'm sorry." She said, feeling terrible. "I didn't mean to get angry. Quidditch is such a competitive sport, and I get myself in this mad mood, and I forgot that you weren't the same. Can we try again?" He peeked out from under the blanket, curling it under his chin so she could only see his eyes and little bit of his nose.

"Promise you won't yell anymore?" She nodded, smiling at him.

"Only when I'm cheering for you." He smiled back, uncovering his head, his mop of black hair poofing out like an Afro. "Now come on, Mini Prongs. Can't get on a Quidditch team if you don't have a healthy breakfast inside of you!" He jumped up and hurried out of the room, tripping on his long pants leg, but getting right back up and continuing his run.

MARAUDERS

They arrived to the tryouts, and it was packed! There was no set type of kid. There were all sorts, from the active kids running around, to the troublesome ones such as the little boy hitting a little girl with a broomstick, to the ones who looked like they didn't want to be there. Harry clung to Karina's leg, a little apprehensive about the entire scene. 

Then the parents. They were all loud, and talkative, and judgmental. Karina felt like she was back in the sixth year just watching this. She could even see two preppy moms whispering to each other like a couple of gossip girls while their kids sat playing in the dirt.

But one pair of parents got her attention, and she narrowed her eyes. Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy, with Draco standing in between them, holding an obviously expensive and not for children broomstick. While the other children who had brooms, Harry included, held ones that were about the same size as themselves and had their age limits labeled on the sides with shiny plastic handles and softer bristles, Draco's was nearly twice as tall as he was. It had dark black wood with stiff bristles as the end, wrapped around with a metal ring that had two curly ends that mad it look as though it were tied with a bow. It looked positively dark, and was obviously for an adult and not for a group of kids barely old enough for school that were just starting out in Quidditch. She hated to admit it, but she secretly hoped that Draco would fall off or cut himself on the sharper bristles just to teach his parents a lesson. 

Then, there was a sharp whistle, and the noisy bunch quieted down. They all looked towards the whistle, and there stood a man wearing pair of red gym shorts and a white polo shirt, wearing a red ball cap and a pair of red sneakers. He didn't really look like any wizard that Karina had ever seen. At his sides were four others, three men and a woman, all wearing robes in different colors and with different team names.

"Welcome, everyone! To this seasons Quidditch try outs!" The man in the shorts called out. "My name is Coach Richards! And before you ask about my attire, I'll have you know that I am a Muggle Born, and this is what the coaches in the Muggle World wear!" There were a few murmurs from some of the parents, but nothing more. "And I'll have you know, those Muggles have to work hard without the luxuries of magic, and that's the kind of behavior I want to see out of the youngsters that are going to be on these teams! Hard work, and lots of focus! Just because we have magic, doesn't mean we work any less than the Muggles! So, line up, Muggles!" He blew his whistle, and the kids ran over and stood in a line, chests puffed out and eyes big and wide. Except for one kid, who started crying because he was scared, and his mother took him away. Karina almost wanted to be that kid as she looked at the coach. She was not expecting this, and this could be harder than she thought.