Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 51: Scorpius Hosts Quidditch Tryouts

Sixth year has proven itself to be unbelievably stressful. Scorpius's classes and workload were mind-boggling, which led to late sessions of studying and cramming nearly every night. Rose had managed to slip ahead of him in grade-status, making him second in their class. He also had his duties as a prefect, as well as rigorous Quidditch practices. In a way, the drunken Halloween party had been worth it, since now Scorpius was elected the Gryffindor Quidditch team captain. 

The pressure and stress was almost too much to bear. Also in the pile of stress in his mind was Rose. Ever since Halloween, the two had been distant. Scorpius knew what he did that night had highly disappointed and disgusted her. Now, being two weeks after that incident, Rose barely uttered a word to him anymore. 

Holly assured him that Rose was just going through a phase, and that she was being like that to everyone. But Scorpius knew his girlfriend was still angry at him. 

He tried putting the thought of her aside, for it was an important day. Today, Gryffindor's Quidditch team was holding tryouts. This was the first decision as captain that Scorpius was responsible for making, so the pressure was immense on him. The team desperately needed a new Keeper, since James graduated, and two Chasers. 

Ten people were due to show up for tryouts. Right now everyone was standing awkwardly at the Quidditch pitch while Scorpius counted everyone. He only counted eight out of the ten people who were trying out. When he read the name of one the people missing, he sighed and rolled his eyes. Of course.

"I'll be right back," muttered Scorpius, charging towards the locker rooms.

When he walked into the locker room, he spotted one of the lucky missing people sitting on the bench, struggling to put on some Keeper gear.

"Albus, I know you're just in here avoiding my tryouts," Scorpius said, amused when Albus jumped at his voice.

Albus appeared disheveled. His Keeper gear was too loose on his skinny body, and he looked like he was going to vomit. He could be so dramatic sometimes.

"I don't think I can do this, Scor," Albus replied, his voice quivering. "I told you, Quidditch isn't my thing."

"Yes it is!" Scorpius assured him, patting his shoulder. "You're great at being Keeper. Whenever we practice together, you block almost all of the Quaffles."

"That's only because you aim at me," Albus said.

Scorpius snorted, only because that was kind of true. "Well, other than that, I still think you'd be great at doing it for real. Please, Al, it'll be great if you get on the team. You could continue James's legacy..."

"Please don't compare me to my brother," Albus said bitterly.

Scorpius winced, wishing he hadn't said that. Then he threw up his hands in defeat and said, "Dude, you're my only hope. The only other people out there trying out for Keeper are three 2nd years." 

Albus rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. But I won't like it. And don't expect me to do well."

Scorpius prayed he would do decently for the sake of the team. He really didn't want to be responsible for the undefeated Gryffindor Quidditch team losing for the first time in five years.

The tryouts went badly, as Scorpius expected. The majority of those trying out acted like they'd never even heard of Quidditch before, while there were some who were only okay. Scorpius had his eye on two particular candidates for the two open Chaser positions. They were pretty good, but were no match for Lily Potter, who was better than the two 7th year Chasers who'd previously graduated. Seriously, that tiny girl was a Quidditch prodigy, just like her mother.

As for the Keeper position tryouts, well, it was kind of depressing to watch. The three 2nd years were identical boy triplets, so it was hard to keep track of them individually. The brothers bickered all through their tryouts. Albus was a nervous wreck the whole time, causing him to mess up even more. Scorpius considered using the "eenie meenie miney mo" technique to choose his new Keeper. 

At the end of the tryouts, Scorpius clutched the clipboard in his hands tightly, unsure of the decision he was about to make. Hopefully practice would perfect the train wreck of new Quidditch players on his team. 

"Okay, everyone. Um...I've decided on our new players. The Keeper position goes to..." Scorpius paused, sighing as he blurted out, "Albus Potter."

Albus's eyes widened, clearly shocked by the verdict. He even mouthed to Scorpius, "Are you sure about this?"

Scorpius nodded, trying to act confident about his decision. Then he stared back at the clipboard, wondering if he made the right call on his new Chasers. "Okay, our new Chasers are...Anthony Graham..."

"Are you serious? Yes!" Anthony exclaimed, surprising Scorpius with his outburst.

"Great," mumbled Lily, eyeing Anthony with disgust. Great, now there would be tension on the team. Just what Scorpius needed.

"Uh, yeah..." Scorpius smiled meekly at the excited new 4th year Chaser, then continued, "Alright, and our other new Chaser is..."

"Sorry I'm late, but I'd like to try out, please," said a familiar voice from outside the group. Scorpius eyes widened when the girl walked over to him, carrying her broom with a smug smile on her face. 

"Rose, what are you doing here?" Scorpius gulped.

Rose shrugged her shoulders innocently. "I'm here to try out for the Chaser position."

Scorpius stepped closer to her and whispered, "I thought you hated Quidditch."

"Well, now I don't."

Scorpius didn't know what she was doing. Rose was supposed to be mad at him, not trying out to be a bloody Chaser on his Quidditch team. She'd been so detached from him the past two weeks. Why was she suddenly trying to be cordial with him again?

"Uh...I guess you can try out." Then Scorpius turned to everyone else and said uneasily, "Alright, Lily, Anthony, and Albus, take your positions. Rose, whenever you're ready, you can begin."

Rose grinned at him and took off on her broom, flying after Lily, who had the Quaffle. 

Scorpius stared in awe as Rose was in total control of the game. She managed to get ahold of the Quaffle each time and successfully get it past Albus into the goal. Scorpius never recalled her being this good at Quidditch. Heck, she might be better than Lily. Rose was fantastic. 

Once her tryout ended, the team gathered around in a circle, waiting for Scorpius to make his verdict. He held the clipboard in his hands and pretended to be in deep thought about the decision. Rose fidgeted impatiently as he did this, making him chuckle.

Then Scorpius rolled his eyes and said, "Alright, Rose, welcome to the team."

She squealed and jumped into his arms, surprising him. Scorpius really missed her hugs. Wait, did this mean they were on good terms now?

"Thank Merlin I'm not the only girl on the team anymore," Lily joked, hugging Rose. 

While the team congratulated Rose, Scorpius stood back watched them. He pictured them dominating every Quidditch game. With him as Seeker, Rose, Lily, and Anthony as Chasers, Albus as Keeper, and Dennis Finnigan and Max Thomas as Beaters, he might lead his team to victory. 

Keyword, might.

~ ~ ~

Well, there's chapter 51! Hope it wasn't too cheesy...

I'm so excited about this story omg. I think you guys are gonna like what's in store for our beloved characters ;)

Anyways, question: Who is your favorite POV in this story and why? Answer in the comments! 

You know the drill! Vote, comment, and share please! Thanks for reading! *infinite kissy faces*