Sparks Fly (Harry Potter FanFiction)

Chapter 10

Rose's last lesson was a free period, so she had scheduled Quidditch tryouts to start now and finish just before sunset. Students who wished to tryout were permitted to miss their last class so that everyone would have a chance to tryout.

Quickly running back to the common room, she changed into her flying clothes and collected her Firebolt on the way to the field. The broom had been a gift from her uncle Harry and aunt when they found out she had been successful in her tryout for the Quidditch team in second year. She beamed at the memory of opening it.

The sky was clouded over, dark clouds threatening to rain at any moment. Rose desperately hoped it wouldn't rain too hard. A large crowd of students waited on the field, all huddled in their friend groups. Rose called over the hopeful Gryffindor Quidditch players. She recognized the people who had been in the team last year, including James Potter and Jessica. Despite their parents' great skill at Quidditch, only James Potter had wanted to play on the team. Albus said he liked Quidditch, but didn't want to play and Lily was too focused on her studies. Many of the players last year had been in their seventh year, so only about four were left. For the team, she needed to fill the open spots and have a reserve for each position, possibly even two reserves for some positions.

"Alright everyone!" She said, slightly raising her voice so that everyone could hear her. "Welcome to the try outs. Glad to see so many people wanting to be in the team. We'll have two tryout sessions, today and Wednesday, then I'll post a notice of the team in the common room. Remember that even if you have played in the team previously, a spot for you is not guaranteed. We'll start with some warm ups, then we'll play a few games, rotating the people in each position so that I can see you all in action. Ok! Let's get started!"

Retrieving the brooms from the shed, she started off with basic flying maneuvers, then had the pass the Quaffle around. After splitting them all into their desired positions, she released the two Snitches and had the Seekers find them, the Beaters whack a Bludger around and the Chasers and Keepers doing some flying drills.

After almost an hour of various drills and exercises, she organized everyone into three teams that would each play a twenty minute game. Halfway through the first game, the rain suddenly started, pouring down on the fliers. The cold weather combined with the rain was miserable, but Rose had experienced it many times in her years on the team. Those who were waiting to play their game started to complain loudly, but Rose just told them to put up with it. "If you want to be on this team you're going to have to deal with a lot of rainy training sessions!" She said. Everyone stopped complaining, but some of them still looked miserable and cold.

Throughout these games, Rose noticed several people who showed potential, including many younger students. Of course, the four previous players were as skilled as always, so they would most likely be on the team. There were many people who obviously had no flying talent, but Rose didn't want to disregard them just yet, as there was still one more tryout session.

At the end of the games, everyone was exhausted. Rose had really put them through their paces. "Ok everyone." She said to the group. "You've all done very well today. Quidditch is a big commitment so if you don't think it's for you, that's fine. But I hope to see you all the same time on Wednesday. Thanks!" the group slowly dispersed, some staying behind to help Rose put away the brooms.

As she was walking back to the common room, Jessica came up to her. "You're going to be a great captain." she said.

"You think so?" Rose replied.

"Definitely! You handled those tryouts so well. Everything was well set out and you made sure everyone got a turn. You're so much better than what Julia would've been like."

"You're just saying that because you're my friend." Rose said, not convinced at all by Jess' comments.

"No it's true!" Jess said, "Julia was a bit scatterbrained. She would've been a good captain, just not as great as you."

"Thanks Jess. That's really nice. But don't think flattery will get you a place on the team."

"Damn it. I thought I had you convinced to put me on the team." She said jokingly.

Both girls laughed.

Rose thought about what Jess had said, hoping that she could live up to everyone's expectations.