V had woken up very early in the morning and no matter what, she couldn't quite go back to sleep. She wasn't exactly nervous, but she felt the importance of the day which was about to dawn on her and that seemed to be enough to keep her from her lacking sleep. Today was the day in which she fulfilled her first duty as a quidditch captain; today was the day of the trials. So instead of trying and failing to sleep in anymore she could, she got up and began to pace the common room while giving herself a pep talk about how she was a strong, respected woman who wouldn't let the swaying of a puny pubecsant boy get to her.
So after she paced around the common room for about the twentieth time, she decided to get some fresh air and made her way down to the green houses. Throughout the first hour of the morning, she spent her time recieving positive affirmations from Professor Sprout as she told V similar things to what V had been telling herself.
Once V felt confident enough, she walked back to the castle and sat herself down for breakfast. She noticed quite a few stares going her direction, especially from those who put their names down for positions.
Adrian, Lucian and Draco sat with her at breakfast, all of them telling her who the think would be suitable for each position. V was nodding along to them, pretending to listen but not really. She was trying very hard to clear herself from all biases.
So after she finished her breakfast, she made her way down to the quidditch pitch holding her clipboard, broomstick and whistle while Lucian and Adrian helped carry the rest of the equipment down behind her. Draco was at her side talking about brooms for the new members.
"So my father will be providing the new members with the nimbus 2001 as he has done in the past. The brooms will be arriving on Tuesday so if we could decide the members by then, that would be excellent."
"Tell your father that I am thankful for his support." V said nodding her head Draco's direction.
"My father also says that we should strongly consider putting students with better families in, you know students with the right sort of family line and upbringing are more disciplined, talented and loyal to a solid house like Slytherin." He added.
V looked at him wondering how on earth he seemed to have forgotten that her mother was a half blood murdered by you know who and that she herself grew up in an orphanage.
"Talent is what I'll consider first and foremost." V replied. "But I may consider those other things if need be."
Draco didn't say anything after that, but that was probably because they had finally arrived at the quidditch pitch. V wrote down all the different warm ups on a chalk baord when they got down while she told Lucian to grab some spare school brooms and to lay them out.
After half an hour from their arrival, everyone who put their names down slowly started to turn up and in the end their were about thirty Slytherins. That didn't include all the people who came to watch.
"Right everyone, after I do a roll call I want you all to do the warm ups and drills on the chalk board. And Just saying, I'll most likely be asking half of you to leave afterwards."
"That's not fair! What if someone is pretty mediocre at warm ups but great in actual games." A fifth year boy interupted.
"You want to argue with me? Do you want to leave before even warmi-" But before she could finish having a go at the boy she turned around, took a deep breath and told herself to stay positive.
She turned back around with a more pleasant, apologetic look on her face saying, "We have enough people here to make up four quidditch teams and frankly, I only need three players. So if your technique and warm ups aren't to my standard, I won't waste anymore of your day." V said.
Everyone stared back at her seeming nervous but a lot more alert. "Well what are you waiting for, get started! I value punctuality!" V snapped and everyone suddenly made a dash for the brooms and started with four laps of the pitch.
As everyone got started on their first lap V already noticed a fair handful of people who were quite clearly not as experienced and skillful as she wanted. So with the help of Draco, she crossed names off the list of people who put their names down.
"You should put stars next to the names of people who are especially good, like Crabbe and Goy-"
"No one whose turned up so far deserves to have a star next to their name." V cut in plainly. That seemed to keep Draco quiet for the time being.
After everyone had finished their laps and did some drills led by Adrian, V had crossed half the names off the list as she had promised. She prepared for disappointment as everyone gathered round her.
"Alright everybody," V started. "If I don't call your name out, then I'll have to ask you to leave. Don't throw a sissy fit, you'll only be embarrassing yourself by doing that." So V went on to read the names of the fourteen she deemed fit enough for further trial.
"Tommy Wilcox, Lucy Lament, Cleve Hudson, Samwell Tarly, Miles Bletchley, Carly Vance, Kennith Seagull, Donald May, Edric Jefferson, Vincent Crabbe, Theresa Trump, Lawrance Archer, Sherilldine Richards and Gregory Goyle." V finished.
There were many disappointed sighs but no protests, no one seemed to want to protest with V when she was in one of these moods.
"For the rest of you, I want to see how you apply your above average skills in an actual game. So I'm going to put you in positions while I referee. If I put you in a position that you didn't put your name down for, suck it up and play it. I will eventually rotate you onto your desired position. Adrian and Lucian will also play so that I can see how you lot play among the actual Slytherin team." V said, and after organizing them into positions they started playing.
As soon as they game started, Adrian got hold of the quaffle and passed it to Kennith who didn't see it coming and got smacked in the face by the quaffle, nearly falling off his broomstick. Everyone stopped while V let out a dreary sigh.
"Adrian!" She called out
"Yeah?" he yelled back
"Be a little more gentle would you." She yelled up at him.
But instead he shrugged with a sly smile on his face and flew back into his starting position. V shook her head with a dismissive smile and reminded everyone to stay alert. Next time round it went a little more smoothly; this time they managed to get three passes in before Crabbe hit himself in the head with his bat instead of hitting the bludger.
V sighed for a second time but was then distracted by a familar voice. "Your team seems to be coming along nicely." George said leaning casually against a stand with Lee and Fred at his side.
But before V could say anything, Draco pushed himself in front of her and decided to deal with George himself.
"No one asked for the likes of your opinion Weasley." Draco sneered. "Your girlfriend is way better then you in every way- well was better then you. You let her slip through your fingers the same way your family does with money."
"Draco! Just leave it." V said but before she could tug him away, Adrian and Lucian had landed on the ground and made the situation much worse then it needed to be.
"Piss off weasel, V broke up with you, get over it." Adrian said.
"Correction she broke up with me." Fred jested.
"Guys why don't we just-" V began but was interupted by the likes of Lucian.
"You're a thugly copperhead weasel!" He slandered.
"And your probably the thickest person I've met." Fred replied almost sounding a bit astounded.
"Look, we don't need any dimwitted Gryffindors disturbing our training, so go back to ther hole you call home-" Adrian said only to be interupted by George.
"We're dimwitted, i can't think of anyone more dimwitted then you!"
"Your mum." Draco said and the twins went dead silent while Adrian and Lucian just about pissed themselves laughing.
George then suddenly tackled Draco to the ground and they began to wrestle, with George quite clearly being stronger, because of this Adrian decided to help out and soon everyone except V was in some sort of massive brawl. Everyone who was trialling then gathered round and started chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight! FIght!"
"Guys could you not- Guys! Listen to me!" V yelled but they clearly didn't hear her. She tried getting closer and louder. "GUYS!" She yelled but still, there was no response, just more tackling, punching kicking. She turned around took a breath then turned back around.
"WON'T YOU JUST FUCKING LISTEN TO ME YOU IMMATURE DIPSHITS!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
Everyone finally stopped chanting and fighting and stared at V with mild fear in their eyes.
"Are you kidding me?" She said in a dangerous undertone. "I'm trying to run a quidditch team here yet you are all acting like a herd of wild animals. Is this because I'm a girl? Do you think you have the right to treat me like this because I'm some deranged person's daughter?
George looked at her with regret in his eyes. "Look Mia, I'm sorry-"
"I don't want to hear it, just go back to the castle." She hissed and so he did, realising that he would have to try mend this some other time.
"And to all of you," She said turning to everyone else. "Lucy is the only person in the position I told you all to be in." V stated pointing towards her who was still flying in her starting position away from everyone else. "That makes her ten times more likely to make the team than any of you."
After the trial finished, V was exhausted. She told everyone that she would put a notice up in the Slytherin common room for who made the team on Monday, but for the time being V needed some serious alone time.
After she returned the equipment back to Madam Hooch, she wondered down to the black lake and lay underneath a tree. V recognised the spot she was at as the place the George and her had almost had their first kiss, but she was too angry at him to even smile at the memory. She even tried thinking abut the things that she should be grateful for but half way through that she fell asleep.
V woke up in what must have been the early hours of morning realising that she fell asleep under the tree. It must have been a mixture of the soft murmuring water and tiring frustration from the trial that sent her to sleep so unexpectantly.
So in a groggy state, V walked back to the castle ready to wash up and get changed. Afterwards she stumbled to the great hall for an early breakfast being one of the first to arrive. She sipped on a coffee slowly gaining full consciousness and enjoyed the quiet that came with being an early riser. But with the quiet also came an emphasis for the what would otherwise be more subtle sounds.
Her early morning thought was soon interupted by the soft flapping of an owls wing flying into the great hall. It was strangly early and strangely dark and V couldn't help but feel pity for it as it was probably a bit too early for whatever student was recieving it.
But the owl swooped down before V and dropped a message that she only just managed to catch. She eyed the bird as it flew back out and the closer look made her realise that the bird was actually a raven. V already felt very weirded out by this strange coincidence of time and the choice of bird that she was sent.
So with wariness she proceeded to open the letter and soon saw it was quite a short one.
Show support to the true chosen one. Guidance to me can be found through those with the right sort of family name. Games have been played, lines have been crossed, but now is the time you become the witch you were destined to be.
V felt her heart rise to her chest as she gently lowered the letter. She knew very well who that letter was from and she was far fom mentally prepared for even a letter from him.
When she looked up she only got confirmation for what she was thinking. Draco was standing at the entrance of the great hall looking right back at her with a look that was extremly unnatural on him. He looked solemn and even a bit nervous. V wanted to walk over to him and say something to him but had no idea what. But before she could think of what to say or do, he had disapeared down the hallway.