CRUSHING DARKNESS (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter 16

Draco did not turn up for the next two weeks and on the thirteenth day, Harry was seriously considering sending Kreacher out to look for him. He could be anywhere and in any state. He could be in a dark cell being tortured every day for all they knew.

Professor McGonagall had been informed about the incident at the party and she had been mortified, claiming there was no way someone could have apparated into Hogwarts without her knowledge. Nevertheless, she had said that the matter was being looked into and that the aurors had been alerted of Draco's kidnapping. They had checked everywhere but had not managed to find him.

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"Harry, you need to do it!"

"No, not in this weather."

"You can't put it off forever, mate."

"Look, I'll do it next week, okay?"

"No!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione were seated at the dinner table in the Great Hall and Ron and Hermione were trying to talk Harry into holding tryouts for the Quiditch team.

Harry sighed, knowing they were right. He had put it off for way too long. He should have done it at the beginning of October but the task had slipped his mind. At the end of November, the Quiditch Cup would begin and he desperately needed a strong team by then.

"Alright," he decided. "I'll do it."

"Good," said Hermione. She had for some very odd reason started taking an interest in Quiditch.

"When are you planning on holding try outs then?" Ron asked, shoving a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Tomorrow," replied Harry.

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The next day, it started drizzling in the morning and Harry was feeling nervous as ever. He wanted to pick a strong team and make sure they won the Cup. He knew he would pick Ron to be Keeper, but what if there was someone better than him?

Plenty of people had turned up, though he highly doubted all if them were there to try out for the team. Sure enough, only a few of the students walked up when he called everyone who wanted to try out to stand at the edge of the pitch. Romilda Vane and her gaggle of friends were giggling away and would actually swoon when he said basically anything. It was getting on Harry's nerves.

"Okay, so I want the Keepers to try out last," he said and four students made their way to sit in the stands. Good, he thought. Four people meant less competition for Ron.

The beaters were all incredibly talented, but in the end Harry picked two identical twins called Roger and Andrew Bishop to play the part. They reminded him of Fred and George with their cocky remarks and goofy smiles.

Picking the chasers was easy too. Alicia Spinnet who was in his year and had returned after the battle, had tried out. He had immediately chosen her. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw Ginny in the group lf people wanting to be Chasers.

"I didn't know you wanted to be a Chaser," Harry said to her as everyone was lining up.

"I wanted to be a Seeker, but since you already are one, I decided to give this a shot"

"You'll be a great one," smiled Harry. "I saw you in my sixth year, remember? You were amazing!" Ginny turned scarlet, but smiled.

"Good luck, Gin," Harry whispered as Ginny threw the Quaffle. In the end, it was no surprise when Harry picked her. She had been amazing and had been able to shoot perfectly. The other chaser, Justin Rustings, was in his fourth year and knew how to score well.