wanted all the current players to be in uniform for the tryouts. Harry was nervous, and his hands were trembling as he pulled on his bright green and silver robes, which, supposedly, Snape had needed to have altered to fit him as he was smaller than their previous Seeker by a good margin. Once he'd got his gloves on, he went out to the pitch with the others, taking one of the school brooms as he wasn't allowed to have his own as a first year, and waited for Flint to give them directions.
There were more than twenty Slytherins waiting to try out for the team, including Draco and two other first years. They all looked hungry for the opportunity to be on the team. Draco looked positively
'All right, you lot,' Flint told the contenders, 'mount up and give me a half dozen sweeps by the stands. If you can stay on your broom that long, you'll get to take the next test.'
There were a few chuckles as the group got on their brooms over the next few seconds and rose into the air. They started almost as one, but thinned out quickly, as the faster and more confident fliers took the lead in rounding the pitch.
Meanwhile, Flint turned to the current team. 'Bletchley, I want you up as Keeper, obviously. Don't let any of the new snots get anything by you, or we'll have words, got it?'
'Yeah.' Flint shot him a cold look, and Bletchley added, 'Captain,' before Flint had to remind him.
'Pucey, you'll be working as a Beater today, with Bole and Higgs—'
'Three Beaters! What're—'
'You'll do as I say, Pucey, without any lip, or you'll step off the field right now. We've got to take these buggers out hard and fast. Three Beaters'll separate the players from the fakers right enough.'
Pucey grimaced, but said no more, and Harry stood perfectly still so it wouldn't seem as he was giving any lip either.
'Potter, all I want you to do is keep an eye out for the snitch. Think you can handle it?'
'Yes, Captain.'
Flint gave him a steely smile. 'Let's get to it, gentlemen.'
The next two hours were bloody and sweaty and violently nasty for those who were trying out, at least from what Harry could tell from his own angle, far above them. He sought out the snitch and caught it over a dozen times before Flint had him running interference with the hopefuls, too, just sweeping through their ranks and catching them off guard when he could. Several players had to leave the field to go to the infirmary when they were smashed by bludgers, crashed into other players, or dove too steeply to pull up in time to keep from hitting ground. Of the fifteen who survived that round, Flint had them go against Bletchley while being hounded by all three Beaters as well as Harry. Anyone who didn't score at least half the time was automatically rejected.
Finally, they were down to just three.
Marcus looked them over. His expression just as fiercesome as it had been all afternoon. 'Right. Malfoy and Wilkes, you'll be on reserve. I expect you to be at every practice, and you'll need to learn Chaser and Beater positions equally, so you can fill in if there's an injury. Rufford, you're the new Chaser. All of you get fitted for uniforms and be at practice on Thursday at 7. Got it?'
'Got it, Captain,' Draco said, pink cheeked and pleased, and the other two, both fourth years, agreed.
'Hit the showers you lot,' Flint told them, and stalked off.
Draco grinned at Harry as they made their way to the changing rooms, bumping his shoulder in comradely fashion as he went by. 'I
Harry grinned back, more glad than he could say that another first year was going to be playing with him. He didn't enjoy the pressure of being the 'youngest Seeker in a hundred years,' and Draco seemed to like the attention more anyway. He really soaked it up at dinner.
As a congratulations, Harry gave him a couple of Chocolate Frogs from the box he'd been toting around all afternoon. Recognizing the box, no doubt, Teddy lifted his eyebrows at him in silent reproach. But even though they both watched Draco closely, nothing bad happened when he ate the sweet, so Harry figured the rest of them really were okay. And no one at the table looked at the box with anything more than slight curiosity, if that, so Harry figured it wasn't any of the Slytherins who had given it to him. Weird.
After dinner, Harry made his way back to Snape's office for detention. His steps dragged a bit, and if he was honest, he would say he was scared. The process of un-Obliviating him, last night, had hurt an awful lot, like someone was slicing up his brain piece by piece, like a boiled ham, and though it was done with sharp, precise cuts, there were still bits hanging off like raw, exposed nerves.
The thought of doing that again made him sort of nauseous, actually, and he paused for several long moments before knocking on the office door. Snape had said this, whatever it was they were doing tonight, would not hurt as much. He certainly didn't imagine anything could hurt any
At the professor's call of, 'Enter,' he opened the door and sidled into the room. He noted that the Bloody Baron was already there, hovering near Snape's desk. Unlike other times Harry had come in here, Snape was not marking any papers, and he looked up at once instead of making Harry wait.
Thank god.
Snape pulled out his wand, but before Harry could duck out of the way or even think of flinching, he had cast a few spells on the door. Silencing and privacy wards, he imagined . . . the silencing one, particularly, was familiar, and he realized his attacker had used it on the hallway they'd fought in, as one of his first spells.
'Sit down,' Snape said and pointed at the chair in front of his desk. Harry complied, and Snape watched him for a few minutes. Harry didn't meet his gaze, not wanting to let the man into his head again, not wanting to feel that excruciating pain like before. 'Do not be afraid. This won't hurt; I told you.'
'Yessir,' Harry said in a breathless voice. His hands were caught in the sleeves of his robes, and he clenched the material tightly to keep them still. 'But then, you said the other thing might just feel a bit strange.'
A pause, then, 'I did. I was . . . unaware of how much discomfort you would feel.'
Harry's nose wrinkled. 'So you mean I'm just a weakling?'
