"Hey Chaser!" Wood says to Hermione, tapping her back.
"Oliver Wood?!!" Hermione exclaims excitedly.
"Welcome back! You've grown well, but are you ready to kick arse in Quidditch? Or have you forgotten the gameplay?" Wood mocks.
"Never, and I AM ready to kick arse. And stop saying that. Everybody I meet keeps telling me I've grown. Like, I know! It's been 2 years, you all have grown too, for god's sake. But I don't point that out all the time now, do I?"
Hermione asks him, partly annoyed.
"It's just a drastic change is all, no need to get in a huff now. Anyway, ready? Take your position." Wood commands, as Hermione beams at him, ready with the broom.
"It's been a sweet while since I've done this," Hermione exclaims, as she soars up into the sky.
"That's good!" Wood praises Hermione.
"Thanks!" Hermione tells him, circling the grounds.
As Wood passes the quaffle to Angelina, Hermione's stomach suddenly begins to churn.
She remembers that dreadful day when someone jinxed her broom. She feels lightheaded as her broom goes out of control.
"Granger! Watch out!" Wood calls out, as the bludger heads straight for Hermione.
Hermione notices it at the right time and charges downwards, landing on the ground.
She still needs to recover from her trauma. And also, 2 years of no quidditch, has left her with little to no practice.
Hermione sighs, looking at Wood guiltily, who's stopped the practice just for her.
Harry joins in, worried.
"You okay Granger?" Wood asks Hermione, panting.
"Um yeah, but I think I'll sit this one out. I'm sorry Wood," Hermione meekly says, backing away.
"That's okay. You seem to be a little out of practice. We'll practice seperately later. You sit this one out today, like you said." Wood says, Patting her shoulder.
Hermione smiles, and walks out of the Quidditch grounds.
Dang it.
First Quidditch practice of the year, and she's already backed out.
She then notices other Houses' players coming towards the field. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
Oh! It's Quidditch tryouts!
She sees determined students walking past her, as Madam Hooch leads them to the field. Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, smirks at Draco Malfoy, who smirks back.
His smirk, although, vanishes when he glances at Hermione, who looks at all the students.
He glances the other way, not wanting to set his eyes on a filthy mudblood.
Hermione notices Draco, and his unusual coldness. She wonders what she did to deserve such treatment from him.
Why oh why was he ignoring her so much? That's all she wanted to know. She'd catch him after the tryouts, and ask. Settle it, once and for all. Whatever.
She decides to stick around now. She wants to see how the tryouts go, and who will be chosen as which position in each House.
Afterall, it'll come in handy in future matches.
Hermione feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns around to find Ron.
"Hey! What're YOU doing here?" Hermione asks him.
"To see the tryouts ofcourse, wanna watch together?" He asks her, munching on candies.
"Yeah, let's go," Hermione says, walking behind the crowd.
They both take a seat in the stands, as Madam Hooch stops the Gryffindor practice, making them stand in a line.
"Alright. As everybody knows, today is where you all will be tested in the field of Quidditch. Do you have what it takes to be a Quidditch player? Are you skilled enough?
Are you trained enough? To answer all these questions, we'll hold trial matches.
Gryffindor against Slytherin, and
Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw.
Whichever two teams win these matches, will go to the finals and play against each other, and there will be a separate match for the losing team,
And only those who are new to this will be playing. Old players sit by, relax, and watch the show."
Madam Hooch bellows in the Mic, as there is an air of excitement spread immediately all around the field.
"Tch, Slytherin against Gryffindor she says, like that's going to be an easy win." Ron says to Hermione, as she nods.
Harry approaches both of them, wiping off his sweat.
"Intense game?" Hermione asks him, patting an empty seat beside her.
"Tough," Harry says, panting hard. He sits beside them, his stomach in stitches.
"Well, rest up now. All we have to do now is sit back and watch the others getting selected. And well, observe how well they're playing, as to get an idea of who our opponents are. And allies." Hermione says to Harry.
Harry agrees with her, intending to focus on the match from hereon.
"First Game: Slytherin VS Gryffindor." The board reads at the top of the stands.
Madam Hooch throws the quaffle high into the air, as players from each team charge forward to pass the quaffle from one chaser to another, but the bludgers stop them from scoring a goal.
Eager second year students of the Gryffindor team charge forward, beaters probably, to prevent the bludgers from knocking their teammates off their broomsticks.
They smack the bludger hard, so that it goes flying towards the Slytherin Team, who're precariously flying on the broom, exposed to peril.
When suddenly the Golden snitch is let out into the air by Madam Hooch.
It's 10 - 20, not looking good for the Slytherin team, but Draco Malfoy, the supposed Seeker of the team, has a quick eye and aims for the snitch.
He zooms past all the Gryffindor players, as their brooms wobble precariously and almost gets them knocked off.
Draco smiles smugly, controlling the broom with great speed, so that the Golden snitch is actually visible to the naked eye.
He then charges forward to grab it, but it slips away from his grasp, and so he gives his all, pushing his body forward, his right arm outstretched, ready to make a grab at the Snitch.
He's almost got it, YES, he thinks to himself.
"Victory is mine," he whispers, as the seeker of the Gryffindor team is right behind him.
But that doesn't faze Draco at all, as he's the closest to the Snitch.
But somehow, his glance falls onto the stands, where the Gryffindor team is sitting.
They all boo at him and the whole of Slytherin team, but that's not what's troubling him.
The problem is, that Hermione Granger stares at him intently, biting her lips nervously. Her brown eyes, even from afar, are piercing.
Draco's broom starts to wobble. He loses balance, causing him to lose focus on the Snitch.
The Gryffindor seeker, seizes this opportunity, and charges ahead, catching the Golden Snitch with much effort.
"And that's that! The Gryffindor team wins with 170 points against Slytherin!!"
Madam Hooch shouts, as The Gryffindor team cheer, whirling around the field in circles, hugging the seeker.
Draco looks at them in disbelief.
Then, he looks at Hermione Granger, who's
smiling at Ron and Harry, celebrating Gryffindor's success.
But she also notices Draco staring at her angrily, and looks guilty.
And Draco? Well, his blood boils.