The Forgotten Prophecy [Book 2]

IV. Quidditch Tryouts

...
'I wanna fly
Come alive
Watch me shine'
...

         Uncle Severus pours me a cup of tea. It's been two days since I've seen Draco after the Buckbeak incident. What could he be up to? "What's troubling you?" Uncle Severus asks me as he sits down in front of me. "Nothing," I lie. He nods. "How are your classes going?" "Fine," I say blandly. I think back to Divination class. Could Harry really die? Everyone seems to be watching him carefully as if he might drop dead any second. "Ellie?" Uncle Severus calls me, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Talk to me." I sigh. "Oh, um... It's just.. Harry got the Grim in Divination two days ago and now everyone's making it seem like he's going to die any minute. Draco insulted Buckbeak and got himself injured because of it and now I'm afraid that his father is going to fire Hagrid or doing something even worse.." I say, thinking about what he might do to Buckbeak. Uncle Severus takes a sip of his tea. "I assure you Potter won't die because of some tea leaves. No need to worry about that.. As for Hagrid, I'll look into that," Uncle Severus says. I nod and thank him. "But Uncle Severus, Harry told us Sirius Black is after him.. What if he.. you know?" "Nonsense, that's why we all are here. We're looking after Harry to make sure that doesn't happen," Uncle Severus assures me. I nod and take a sip of the tea. Talking to Uncle Severus always helped me feel better. 

Uncle Severus walks to a cauldron on his desk. Something is brewing. He takes a spoon and pours the potion from the cauldron into a goblet. I walk over to it. "What do you have there?" I ask. A faint blue smoke comes from the cauldron. "Just brewing a potion for someone," he says. I examine the ingredients on his table. Some of these ingredients are extremely rare. Is that wolfsbane? "Yes it is," Uncle Severus says, reading my mind. "I see you still need to master Occlumency." I nod slowly. He wasn't wrong. I was able to practice Legilimency over the vacation and control it better, but I still struggled with Occlumency. "That's okay, we'll work on it," Uncle Severus informs me. I look back at the potion. "Uncle Severus, if I'm not mistaken, you're brewing a Wolfsbane Potion," I say, examining the ingredients. "You're not mistaken," he replies. "But for who? Is there a werewolf at Hogwarts?" I ask him curiously. Uncle Severus closes the cauldron and looks up at me. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe you have Herbology class to get to?" He asks me as he eyes the clock. I look over and notice the time. Sugar sticks! I turn back to Uncle Severus. "I have to go, but I still want to know who you're brewing that for," I tell him as I gather my belongings. "Good luck at tryouts today," Uncle Severus says. I thank him and dash out the door to fourth period. 

~•~

          The Quidditch field is filled with students ready to try out for the Gryffindor team. I clutch my broom and take a deep breath. Finn chitters. "Thanks Finn," I tell him. I stand in the stadium, unable to convince myself to go down to the field. "I hope you know that Quidditch is played down on the field," a voice says from behind me. I turn around to see Alexander smiling at me. "You came!" I say to him. Finn jumps onto his shoulder. "Of course," he replies. "He's not the only one," Leo says as he approaches us. I smile brightly at the two of them. "Thank you," I say to them. "Alright, enough chatting. Go down there and kick some arse!" Alexander says. Finn chitters telling me to do the same. I laugh. I turn back and head down to the field, nervous but excited. "Alright, I hope everyone is here. I don't think we should wait much longer," Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor captain and Keeper says. I examine the group of students who are trying out. Most of them are older than me. 

"The only position we're looking to fill is Chaser," Fred whispers as he stands beside me. "And how many of them are trying out for that Chaser position?" I ask him. "All," George replies. I gulp. Okay, a little competition never hurt anyone. "I'm going to split you into four teams. Two teams will play first. Then, the next two teams. I will be watching and noting your movements and strategies. In the end, I'll discuss with the team and we'll tell you who's received a position," Oliver says. Everyone nods. He begins to split everyone up. "Ellie Bane," he calls me. "Good luck, Ellie," the twins say. I walk up to Oliver. "You'll be in the fourth group," he says pointing to a group of students. I make my way over to them. Oliver ushers the first two teams to get into position to play. I sit on the sidelines watching the team play a scrimmage game. "Half of them tried out last year," Fred informs me as he sits down next to me. "Wood wasn't impressed by them," George adds. I watch the players. Oliver is intensely watching the game. "Good luck, Ellie!" Harry says as he approaches us. I smile, "Thanks Harry." He walks over to where the team is sitting. Oliver calls the two teams back to the ground. "Blow them away," George tells me. "Good luck, Ellie Bear," Fred says. They join Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team on the sidelines. Oliver calls the two remaining teams onto the field.