Chapter 8
{Sunday 8/9/1991}{10:00}{The Quidditch Pitch}
“I don’t know Hermione-”
“Harry, you have to do this. You’re a great flyer, even Snape thinks so.” Hermione encouraged.
Ordinarily, first years aren’t allowed to try out for the house Quidditch teams – they’re not even allowed to bring a broom! This year however, the professors have decided to open up the try outs to everyone, not just second year and up.
Everyone was excited. The turnout was amazing with about half of first year turning up to each house try out.
Harry didn’t get to reply to Hermione as Draco came over and joined them.
“I’m so excited for this!” Draco exclaimed “Are you excited Harry?” he asked.
“Sure.” Harry replied, looking around them at all the older students that had turned up to try out.
They didn’t get any more time to talk as the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, joined them on the pitch. “Morning everyone. We’ll get straight to it; I’m looking for three chasers, that’s all. Now, let’s get started.”
Flint started them out flying around the pitch, eliminating those he thought wouldn’t get very far. That brought the group down significantly. He then split them into groups of three and had them run Chaser drills. They did this for most of the morning, leaving everyone absoloutely exhausted. Eventually, Flint let them all come back to the ground, letting them all catch their breath as he conferred with Fred, George and Hermione.
“Okay.” Flint called “You were all okay, but, at the end of the day I have to make a choice. Our three new Chasers will be Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. Thank you.” He said, dismissing everyone and gesturing for the three new Chasers to make their way over.
“Well done you three, you were actually quite good.” Flint started “Now, make no mistake, you are not on this team because of your names, you are on this team for the talent that you possess for Quidditch. I will be finalising the training schedule tonight and I’ll give you a copy tomorrow. Go and get some lunch.” He said, letting everyone go.
~~~~~
“How did it go?” Pansy asked as the four Slytherin’s made their way over to the Slytherin table for lunch.
“Great.” Draco beamed “We’re the new Chasers.” He said, gesturing to himself, Harry and Ginny.
Quidditch was the only topic of conversation that lunchtime. The first match would be at the end of the month, so they had a lot of work to do.
“Have you heard back from your parents yet?” Pansy quietly asked Hermione when the others were engrossed in conversation.
“I got a letter this morning. I haven’t opened it yet though; I was going to read it tonight.” Hermione sighed “I’m not sure how they’ll take me being in Slytherin. They said that they would be happy no matter what but, I don’t think they’ll be happy with this.”
“Well, no matter what they say, we’re all happy that we get to have you as a friend.” Pansy said, making Hermione grin before she tucked into her lunch.
~~~~~
{19:00}{The Library}
Hermione had spent the rest of her day exploring the castle with her friends. They hadn’t had a chance to do this yet. Fred and George offered to show them some hidden spots that they had found – Hermione didn’t ask how they had managed to find them.
Eventually, once they had eaten dinner, Hermione took herself off to the library to read her parents letter uninterrupted.
Dearest Hermione,
We’re so glad that you’ve settled in so quickly! Well done for helping your friend, that was a very kind thing to do and I’m sure he appreciated it. We hope that you found the toad. It sounds like you’ve made so many friends already – we’re so happy for you sweetheart.
We remember stories of Hagrid from your parents, he’s a lovely man and would always appreciate a visit from you and your friends for a cup of tea. That sounds exciting, arriving in boats – the view must have been amazing. We’re glad that you saw Draco again, he really does seem like a sweet boy. We would love to meet your new friends when we collect you for Christmas.
How does the sorting work? It would be great to know. We’re glad that you’re happy, being sorted into Slytherin. Nothing changes, we still love you the same infinite amount and hope that you are still open to learning the traits of the other houses as that could always come in handy later in life.
You’ll have to tell us more about the books you read about your family, we’d love to know more. What lessons do you have at the moment? Potions sounds like fun, is it a bit like chemistry? Your teacher can turn into a cat?! That’s amazing! Just make sure to stay on the good side of your Defence teacher – perhaps he’s just nervous?
We’re so glad that you’re enjoying yourself and we can’t wait to see you at Christmas. Write again soon!!
Lots of love,
Mum and Dad Xx
Hermione was pleased once she had read the letter. She thought that her parents would be annoyed that she had been sorted into Slytherin, but they were just happy that she was happy. Hermione decided that she would write back to her parents tomorrow – for now, she opened up a book on the history of magical customs.
~~~~~
Hermione stayed in the library as late as she could, until Madame Pince kicked everyone out for the night. Checking out the book on magical customs, Hermione made her way back down to the dungeons and into the common room.
“Crikey Hermione, you’ve been gone hours.” One of the twins – George – exclaimed when she walked in.
“I got carried away reading.” She replied, blushing slightly “I best be getting to bed though. Night George.” She said, making her way up the stairs to her dorm. She quickly went about her night routine, getting into her pyjamas and climbing into bed, ready for another day of lessons tomorrow.
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