Flint's Decision

“Bletchley… you’re Keeper. Gaunt, I want you as a reserve.”

Perriss nodded and was a much better sport than Montague had been, “I know when I’m beaten. This means I can focus on my prefect duties and preparing for my O.W.L. Exams.”

“A Reserve Keeper?” you repeated.

“You’re still scrawny and inexperienced,” Flint insisted. “We almost had to carry you out of here. I want my Keeper to be able to take a hit.”

You felt the urge to point out that none of the other teams played as aggressively as Slytherin but you held your tongue. If Flint was basing his team off of size rather than skill then you were lucky to get the reserve spot. Admittedly, you were small and inexperienced compared to the others.

“As a reserve, you’ll attend practice with the rest of us once a week,” Flint stated. “By next year you’ll have hopefully put on some extra weight and gained more experience along the way.”

You nodded and had to accept his decision. Reserve Keeper was better than nothing. If you objected, you wouldn't be able to play at all. “Aye-aye, Captain Flint.”

“Now switch off with the Beaters and Seekers,” Flint ordered.

You ignored the throbbing behind your eyes as you headed off the field. Draco approached from the other direction and you faked a smile and whispered, “I made the team.” You intentionally left off the ever so crucial ‘as a reserve’ because you didn’t want to discourage him before his tryout.

You looked up at the stands and saw the first year Slytherins applauding. You waved in response and were happy that they'd been there to support you. But you noticed that Gemma and her fifth year friend had mysteriously vanished. Bletchley and Warrington stepped away from you almost as soon as you reached the sidelines. The two colluding third years had a quiet discussion where the names ‘Montague’ and ‘Gaunt’ came up a lot.

Adrian Pucey stood beside you and struck up a friendly conversation while Flint organized the Beaters and Seekers. “That was impressive, Gaunt.”

“Thanks,” you replied, “You were really good too. I don’t think I could’ve managed five saves with you. I’m glad Flint switched us up - even if Montague did try to tackle me.”

“So am I,” Pucey agreed. “I was on the team with Flint last year. He’s serious about making everyone fight for their position but he isn’t above playing favorites. Flint underestimated you. He thought he was giving his roommate a free pass by pairing him up with a first year in the first round. But that backfired when you revealed that you were some kind of crazy Keeper prodigy. I’m glad I wasn’t put against you or I likely would’ve lost my spot to one of those third year conspirators.”

“If you were against me, both of us likely would’ve been cut,” you reasoned as you cast a glance over at Bletchley and Warrington. “I suppose there’s nothing wrong with helping a friend get on the team. We’re Slytherins. I probably should’ve expected a cunning conspiracy like that. But I guess nobody counted on me being a good Keeper.”

Pucey nodded, “Yeah, no one saw that coming. Have you been playing Keeper for long?”

“Er… no,” you admitted, “This was my first time.”

The fourth year stared at you in surprise. “Seriously?”

“My first time on a broom was at my Flying Lesson last week,” you stated. “Madam Hooch said I was a natural. She also was the one who told me that it wasn’t against the rules for first years to try out for their house team. I’m just not allowed my own broom. I was as shocked as anybody that I did so well against Burke. But then again, he didn’t take any of the fancy shots that you and Montague did.”

“Well, as good as you were, you could definitely stand to gain some experience,” Pucey said. “You’ve shown that you’re good at blocking one-on-one penalty shots. And on this team, that’s a good thing since we get a lot of those. But there’s a big difference between blocking for one Chaser versus a team of three. So my advice, if you want it, is to gain as much experience as you can at practice while you’re a reserve. Next year you’ll have your own broom and you’ll be an even better player.”

You nodded. He made some good points and was clearly a different kind of thinker than Flint. “So who’re the top prospects over there?”

“Well, the top prospects for Beater are the fifth years Lucian Bole and Peregrine Derrick,” he answered. “No offense to your little friend Malfoy but Terence Higgs is likely to make Seeker. He’s a sixth year and was our Seeker last year. Plus he’s on a Cleansweep Seven which doesn’t bode well for your friend on the school broom.”

“Fair point,” you agreed, “I was lucky since the Keeper doesn’t usually leave the scoring area. A slow school broom didn’t hamper me that much since I didn’t have to fly from one end of the pitch to the other like everyone else does. Draco’s got a Comet Two-Sixty at home but I doubt even that would help him match up to Harry Potter and his new Nimbus Two Thousand.”

“WHAT!?”

Pucey, Bletchley, and Warrington were all staring at you. “Oh… you didn’t hear? Harry Potter is the new Seeker for Gryffindor. Remember that big package that was delivered at breakfast yesterday? That was the Nimbus Two Thousand that Professor McGonagall bought for him.”

“Does Flint know?” Pucey inquired.

“Of course,” you replied. “Why do you think he even agreed to let us attend tryouts? He was the first person we told when we found out.”

Warrington swore. “Is Potter any good?”

“I wasn’t there, but I heard he caught a Remembrall on a fifty-foot dive,” you explained. “The fact that it was his first time on a broom and that the broom in question was one of these ancient Shooting Stars makes it even more impressive. Professor McGonagall apparently saw him do the dive and immediately dragged him off to meet with Oliver Wood.”

“Well… shit,” Pucey cursed. “At least we know ahead of time. We’ve got time to prepare for Gryffindor’s not-so-secret weapon. I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if we only found out about Potter the day of the game.”

“I’m sure Professor Snape would have found out and told Flint,” you replied. “Or someone would’ve heard the Gryffindors bragging. Either way, whoever becomes Seeker will have to deal with Potter. That’s half the reason Draco’s trying out for the position.”

You settled in to watch the tryouts with the three older Slytherins. Flint partnered up the prospective Beaters and had them batting Bludgers back and forth. Since there were two Bludgers, two pairs went at a time. The pair that lost control of their Bludger first got cut.

Meanwhile, Flint also paired off the Seekers and had them competing against each other to catch a Golden Snitch. The Seeker that caught it would continue in the tryouts while the loser got cut.

A Bludger broke free during Draco's first Seeker run and whizzed towards him while he was struggling to keep pace with an older Slytherin Seeker in a race for the Golden Snitch.

Pansy Parkinson screamed from the stands, “LOOK OUT, DRACO!”

Draco looked back and saw the Bludger coming and flattened himself down on his broomstick at the very last second. The heavy iron ball whizzed over him and smashed into the older Seeker's back. The older Slytherin went crashing to the ground which left Draco unopposed in his race for the Golden Snitch.

Marcus Flint cut the two offending Beaters on the spot and ordered them to bring the injured Seeker to the Hospital Wing. He drew his wand and summoned the errant Bludger back to him. Flint managed to overpower the Bludger and **** it back into the crate. But during this, Draco managed to catch the Golden Snitch and advanced in the tryouts.

“YEAH DRACO!” Pansy Parkinson led the first years in a loud cheer. You made a show of applauding when your roommate looked in your direction.

“He’s got good instincts to be able to dodge like that,” you remarked to Adrian Pucey. “In an actual game, there’ll be two Bludgers and two opposing Beaters that are trying to hit him.”

Pucey nodded and agreed with your point. However, his assessment from earlier proved to be correct because the last Beaters standing were Bole and Derrick. The final pair of Seekers were Terence Higgs and Draco Malfoy.

Unfortunately, Draco’s luck ran out in the final Seeker run. Higgs’ Cleansweep Seven was much faster than your roommate’s borrowed school broom. Draco spotted the Golden Snitch first and dove for it but Higgs’ faster broom allowed him to catch up. The first year Slytherin lunged for the Snitch but the bigger sixth year elbowed him in the face then used his longer reach to snag the Snitch.

Draco was left with a black eye for his troubles. You were pretty sure that elbow to the face would’ve been a cobbing penalty in a real game but no one said anything. You knew from personal experience that the Slytherin team played rough so you didn’t speak up.

“In Draco’s defense,” you spoke up for the other half of your ‘Quidditch Alliance’, “that school broom hurt him a lot more than it did me. He really is good at flying. And the fact that he dodged that Bludger shows that he’s ready to play in a proper match.”

“EVERYONE OVER HERE!” Flint yelled. You, Pucey, Warrington, and Bletchley joined the Team Captain in the middle of the pitch. “I’ve made my decision. Bole, Derrick, you’re the Beaters. Higgs, you’re Seeker.”

“I-” Malfoy opened his mouth to protest but Flint spoke over him.

“Malfoy, you need a better broom for that position. I spoke with Snape and he said he’s not going to sink to McGonagall’s level and break rules to get you your own broom. You’re also really scrawny compared to the rest of us. One elbow screwed you over. I’ll make you a reserve like Gaunt so you can practice once a week with the rest of us. But I won’t play you as Seeker until you have a better broom.”

Malfoy shot you an annoyed glare.

Flint turned to address everyone at once. “All of you piss off. I’ve gotta get the balls back to Hooch’s office before dinner. I’ll tell you when I’ve scheduled practice once I book the pitch.”

Draco hung back as everyone else made their way off the pitch. You went back to him.

“You lied to me.”

“No, I didn’t,” you replied, “I made the team.”

“As a reserve!” Malfoy exclaimed.

“I didn’t want to discourage you before your tryout,” you attempted to explain. “Everyone saw what happened. I was the only Keeper who blocked all their shots in both rounds. But that wasn’t enough. Flint said he wanted a Keeper who could take a hit, even though I showed I could do that too! Can you honestly tell me you would have tried as hard as you did if you knew that you wouldn’t make starting Seeker even if you did everything perfectly?”

The Malfoy heir still didn’t look happy. This was likely the first time anyone had refused to give him something that he wanted. Well, other than Harry Potter's friendship and being able to bring his broomstick to school.

“I’m sorry I misled you,” you said, “But think about it this way, everyone saw how well you flew. You were the first one to spot that last Snitch. You would’ve caught it if you had a faster broom. Even Flint knows that. And that’s why he made you a reserve instead of cutting you along with everyone else.”

“Then I’ll write my father,” Draco decided. “I’ll have him look for a broom that’s even faster than Potter’s precious Nimbus Two Thousand!”

“That’s the spirit,” you encouraged him as the two of you walked off the pitch. “Wear that black eye with pride, Draco. We've accomplished what we set out to do: we made the team. Both of us have one foot in the door. And now we can go to practice and repeatedly remind Flint that he made a mistake by regularly outshining his starting players.”

Malfoy reached up and smirked as he lightly touched his black eye. “Come to think of it, if Higgs did this to me - a fellow Slytherin - I can’t wait to see what he does to Potter.”

“You have a point there,” you agreed. “My chest still hurts from when Montague clobbered me and I’ve got a splitting headache. I think we both learned first hand why first years don’t regularly try out for their house team.”

You left the Quidditch Pitch and found the other first years waiting outside.

“How’d it go?” Pansy asked almost immediately.

“You’re looking at Slytherin’s new Reserve Seeker and Reserve Keeper,” Malfoy announced.

“Reserve?” Millicent repeated. She looked at you in confusion. “You were the best Keeper there.”

“Flint decided he wanted a Keeper who was bigger and could take a hit,” you explained.

“You did that too,” Blaise pointed out. “But then again, you got knocked clear off your broom and nearly fell to your ****.”

You glared at him, “So sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Morbid.”

“...” Theodore remained silent as per usual but you did see him roll his eyes.

“Is that why you kicked Montague in the face during that last shot?” Tracey asked.

“I kicked him in the face because he was charging me,” you stated. “If I hadn’t, he might’ve knocked me through the hoop instead of the Quaffle.”

“It still seemed unnecessary,” Daphne insisted.

“I liked it,” Vincent spoke up.

“Yeah… it was a good kick,” Gregory immediately agreed. “You gave ‘im a bloody nose.”

“Seeing what’s-his-name get clobbered by that Bludger was fun too,” Vincent added.

“It was a good dodge,” Blaise Zabini admitted, “That would've taken your head off if you hadn’t dodged.” Draco puffed up and looked extremely pleased with himself.

You wrote off Zabini’s usual morbid sense of humor then looked at Crabbe and Goyle with a newfound understanding. “You guys have a thing for ****, don’t you? That explains why you can actually pay attention to Professor Binns in History of Magic. You like the violent battles. Maybe you can try out as Beaters once Bole and Derrick graduate. That way, instead of just watching **** you can inflict some of your own.”

Crabbe and Goyle’s almost eager grins made you uncomfortable. You were saved when you felt someone place a hand on your shoulder. Gemma Farley’s tall, dark-haired friend was standing behind you.

“Gemma’s waiting for you by the broomshed,” she informed you.

You blinked in surprise, “Really? I’ll be right over. Draco, gimme your broom. I’ll take it back.”

“Hurry along, Marvolo, mustn’t keep your girlfriend waiting,” Pansy called after you and then giggled along with Daphne and Tracey.

You nervously looked up at the fifth year girl, “Er… I don’t suppose you’d keep that a secret?”

“She already knows about your crush on her,” the tall seventeen-year-old replied as she led you away from the others.

“She does?” you squeaked.

“You make it fairly obvious,” she told you then she smirked. “But wait until I tell her that you actually admitted to it.” You gaped in shock. “If it makes you feel any better, she thinks it’s adorable. That’s probably why she did what she did.”

“What did she do?” you asked.

“It’s not my place to spoil her surprise,” she stated.

The fifth year girl led you to the broomshed and then around behind it where you found Gemma Farley leaning casually against the wall.

“Thanks for bringing him, Lysandra,” Gemma thanked her friend.

“Have fun,” the dark-haired girl said before she walked off.

You struggled to fight down your blush, “Er… she said you had a surprise?”

Gemma pushed off from the shed and stepped away to reveal Graham Montague stuck upside-down to the wall behind her.

“That… can’t be good for his bloody nose,” you remarked.

“Oh, I took care of that already,” Gemma reassured you. “Graham helped me practice this healing spell that I’ve been having trouble with. It’s called ‘Episkey’. It took a couple of tries but I finally got it right. Afterward, Graham and I discussed his unsportsmanlike conduct during tryouts. Graham, I believe you have something to say to Marvolo...”

“Sorry…” the upside-down third year apologized in a near monotone that told you this was a rehearsed line that he’d been repeating for a while now. “We’re both Slytherin which means we’re both on the same side... I never should have attacked you… and I apologise for my deplorable behavior…”

“Marvolo, do you accept Graham’s apology?” the fifth year prefect prompted.

“I… er… yes,” you answered, “And… I’m sorry I had to kick you in the face. I was… only defending myself, you know.”

“I’m glad we could resolve this dispute without any more bloodshed,” Gemma resolved. She drew her wand and flicked it at the wall. “Finite Incantatem.” Montague dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Gemma glared down at him, “Go.”

The third year scrambled to his feet and ran off.

“Thanks, Gemma,” you said. “Er… what spell was that anyway? A Sticking Charm?”

“Not quite,” replied the fifth year prefect who had stuck the third year that had given you a hard time to a wall and then proceeded to ‘****’ him as she attempted to repair his nose. “It’s actually a Transfiguration spell called ‘Epoximise’. You transfigure the surface of an object to make it adhesive.”

“Seems useful,” you noted. “Combining it with the Knockback Jinx you taught me would be a nice way to end a duel.”

“The only problem is that you’ll have to transfigure the surface ahead of time,” Gemma said. “It’s hard to transfigure things from across a room. Try learning the Stickfast Hex first. It sticks a person’s shoes to the ground and makes them an easy target for a follow-up spell.”

“Right, I’ll do that,” you agreed.

“So…” the older girl prompted, “Based off the fact that you decided to ask me about a spell in favor of boasting about being Slytherin’s new Keeper, I’d guess that Flint picked Bletchley.”

You nodded sheepishly, “I’m Reserve Keeper. He said he wanted someone bigger who could take a hit.”

“I figured as much,” Gemma said with a sigh, “You think Flint’s bad? This jerk named Selwyn who was Captain before him was even worse. He became Captain and wanted the rest of the team to be filled with muscle-bound meatheads like him. He booted all the girls off the team and filled it with big, brainless boys like Flint. He wouldn’t even let girls tryout. It’s actually a wonder that Pucey even made the team. And now Flint’s following in Selwyn’s footsteps in favoring size over skill."

“I didn’t know you were good at flying,” you admitted.

“Good?” the auburn-haired girl repeated as she folded her arms under her chest. “I could show a green little firstie like you a thing or two.”

You glanced down and realized that you were still holding two broomsticks. You grinned as you held one out to her. “Prove it.”

“...” Gemma silently raised an eyebrow at your challenge as she slowly uncrossed her arms.

It turned out that Gemma Farley was actually a really good flyer. And no amount of teasing from Pansy could remove the smile that was on your face for the rest of the weekend.