Guts and Glory - Trouble with Twins, Book 2

Tryouts

Today was the day. When we went down to the Hall for breakfast, I thought I would be a lot more nervous than I was. I was excited, and that feelings shook off any of the usual nerves. All of us Gryffindors who were trying out strode through the staircase and the doors to the Great Hall grinning from ear to ear.

We took our seats and instantly dug into the food surrounding us. I was so excited that I almost couldn't control how much I was eating.

"Easy there, Jamie, don't weigh yourself down too much." Charlie had just arrived, decked out in his Quidditch uniform. He gave me a shove on the shoulder and sat next to me.

"I'll try." I smirked, downing a glass of orange juice.

"Oi, Charlie, stop playing favorites!" Fred threw a piece over at his brother, who caught it easily.

"I would never. This one has to work just as hard as you two do." The four of us laughed.

Charlie claimed he had set tryouts early on this Saturday morning to test our alertness, but I suspected he just wanted to torture us before we had a chance to wake up.

Once everyone finished, we started off for the Quidditch pitch. There were other Gryffindors who distantly followed us, and judging by how they were pointing at Charlie, they were also going out for the team. I looked back at them for a moment, and quickly grabbed everyone I could before I raced ahead of them. Everyone was caught by surprise, but no Gryffindor would object to a race, so they all obliged. We bolted into the locker room and quickly grabbed our brooms.

Charlie led the way onto the field. I couldn't hide the stunned look on my face. The pitch was huge when you watched from the stands but it was massive when you looked up at it. The stands looked about a hundred feet tall, and the hoops extended even higher. I noticed their were even some people who had come to watch the tryouts. One could imagine my amusement when I spotted Percy Weasley had even turned up.

Charlie whistled and called everyone to attention. He started to separate everyone by their respective positions. Only a couple had turned up for Keeper, though that was likely because Oliver Wood was back again this year. I remembered seeing him last year. I wouldn't want to try to score against him, but I suspected that would be happening today. Fred and George looked like they owned the place, over by the Beaters. They were juggling each others bats, and all their competition looked nearly afraid to be near them. Charlie shook his head and smiled at that. Then there were the Chasers. Besides Angelina, Alicia and I, there were three others, and they were all older. They seemed even cockier than me, which I found particularly impressive.

"Alright, listen up, you lot. Don't assume you've got your spot because you were here last year. There's always young talent that could take over." I glanced over to the twins and grinned. The captain continued.

"You're going to be playing against each other. We've got enough for two teams. Go ahead, divide yourselves up and take your places." He took off on his broom and go into position to watch.

Naturally, we had all our Chasers and Beaters already. We flew to one side of the pitch, and were very relieved to see Oliver Wood come over to join us.

The Quaffle was given to the other side and Charlie signaled the game to begin. The opposing Chasers set off, and we closely followed them. They played a little more aggressively then I would have liked, but that wasn't going to stop us. I looked over to my side, a Bludger was surrounding the six of us.

"Fred!" I called out to the nearest twin. I signaled to him to send a Bludger my way, and at first he looked confused. Wasting no time, I yelled to reassure him ("Trust me!), and he whacked the ball our way. The boy on me was blissfully unaware, and before it had a chance to take both of us out, I made a nosedive underneath. Once I heard a scream, I knew my plan had worked.

I swiftly dodged the falling Chaser and snatched the Quaffle that had fallen out of their grip in the process. Leaving the opposing team far behind, I began my pursuit towards the goal. The other teams Beater noticed this, and tried to send a nice little present flying my way.

"Not so fast." George flew in front of me and sent the Bludger right back towards him. The boy, another second year I recognized as Kenneth Towler, clearly hadn't expected this, and as a result got knocked off his broom for it. He fell about twenty feet, clutching on for dear life, and hit the ground. Knowing his chances were dashed, were skulked off the field, cursing.

But that didn't matter at all, I had the Quaffle, and I had a clear shot to the goalpost. Their keeper was favoring the left side, and that was something to take advantage of. I sped up and catapulted the ball into the right side hoop. Our team hollered, and the keeper frowned.

This went on for about half an hour. Angelina was proving herself to be a worthy player, commanding respect from the much older competition. And of course, Fred and George looked as though they were having the time of their lives. Our team won in the end, but the others put up a good effort. Charlie called it and flew down to the ground.

"Come around everyone, I've made my decisions. Wood, you're our keeper. Beaters, Weasley and Weasley, and for our Chasers, I'm taking Johnson, Moore, and Faye." Everyone who made it cheered, and celebrated together. The twins and I jumped up and down, fashioned with huge smiles all over our face.

Everyone exited into the locker room and we started to put all of our equipment away. But before we were finished, I noticed something.

"Where's Alicia?" I said, looking around.

"Charlie isn't in here either." George noted.

We didn't have to wonder for very long, as within a few seconds, the two of them had emerged into the room. Alicia was downcast, looking at the ground as she came back. I had been too focused on myself making the team that I didn't notice she hadn't. Our group of friends went over to support her.

"Only a reserve this year." She shrugged, sighing.

"Don't worry, Alicia. He doesn't know what he's missing." Fred took a gander over at his brother, who was in conversation with Oliver Wood. The girl gave a meek smile, knowing we wouldn't let her stay sad for long.

Back in the common room, Angelina went up to the dormitory with Alicia to comfort her, leaving me and the boys to hang out around the fire.

"Well done, you three." Charlie said, fully reclined in one of the couches.

"Thanks, Captain. I'll have to write my Mum. I'm carrying on her legacy." I said, pretending to gloat.

"That's a hell of a legacy. Good luck on that one, Faye." His admiration for my mother always amused me. I shot him a smile.

"I don't know how well I would've done today without these two staying on my tail." I smirked over at Fred and George.

"Can't let you get banged up before the season even starts. You'd end up like old Kenneth Towler." George said, looking back up at the boys dormitory, where Towler was long asleep. Charlie looked between the three newest members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"I think I've found a winning team this year." He grinned, and we all nodded in approval.

We stayed for much longer than we should've. But that was to be expected from us at this point. Three Weasleys and a Faye in one room is a recipe for chaos.