08; TRY OUTS - NO BULLSHIT

Elara reappeared outside a massive stadium that had HOLYHEAD HARPIE written above the entrance is glowing gold outlined with dark green. Behind the text was a huge golden talon. It all felt so surreal to Elara. The last time she was here was to watch the team play against the Chudley Cannons and absolutely annihilate them.

She had gotten to meet Gwenog Jones, the current Captain and one of the Beaters for the team. If Elara managed to get the other Beater position, she would be playing alongside her childhood role model.

Elara took a deep breath, gripping her broom tightly in her hand and then walked into the stadium. Once she was in, she looked around in awe at all the stands, now empty, unlike during matches, when there was barely seats left.

She could see a bunch of people gathered in the centre of the field and so she made her way over. Some of them were members of the team, she recognised those, and other that she didn't recognise, she guessed would be the others trying out. Her competition.

"Morning, everyone!" She said as she joined them, plastering a bright smile on her face. They all turned to face her, smiles on their faces as well. They all greeted her back.

"You're here to try out, I assume?" Gwenog Jones asked her.

"Absolutely." Elara nodded.

"Wait, hold on. I know you! You were at the match against the Cannons!" Gwenog snapped her fingers in recognition.

"I can't believe you remembered. Yes, I was!" Elara laughed. "I'm Elara Black."

"Lovely to meet you, Elara. I see you got your wish." She gestured to the Captain symbol on her robes. Last time they spoke, Elara told her she wanted to be Captain.

"Indeed I did. This is my first year as Captain, actually. We had our first game a few weeks ago. The game Matilda spoke with me at. We won." Elara winked.

"Atta girl!" Gwenog high-fived her. "Right, well, maybe you and I will be teammates in the future."

"Hopefully."

When more girls showed up, Gwenog stood in front of everyone and began speaking with them. She introduced herself and the other team members, along with the retiring Beater. Then, she told them what they would be doing today, from endurance testing, to different moves on the broom and how much they could push themselves. It wasn't all about hitting Bludgers.

Elara was happy to say that she enjoyed herself thoroughly during try outs. She got to know the other people trying out and most of the team. She did the activities and challenges swiftly and perfectly. The only question was, was it good enough? Was she good enough for the Holyhead Harpies?

Her question wouldn't be answered for another week or so. After they finished at around 12 in the afternoon. Gwenog thanked them all for coming and told them that they would be owled the day before the news went on the Daily Prophet, announcing to all of Britain their new Beater.

All the girls waved goodbye and went on their own way. Elara apparated to Hogsmeade, not having another Portkey to take her back to the castle. She made her way from the wizarding village all the way to the castle, getting some weird looks at her attire.

She walked into the Slytherin common room and right to the dorms where she took a much needed shower and dressed in casual clothing, pulling a beanie on her head. It was almost lunch time, so most people would be in the Great Hall.

Elara grabbed her wand and walked to the Great Hall, grinning when she saw her friends seated at the Slytherin table. "Hello, everyone." She greeted, sitting beside Theodore and kissing his cheek.

"El!" Bianca smiled. "You're back!"

"How was London?" Theodore asked.

"Lovely. I missed Dad, so it was nice seeing him." Elara replied swiftly, lying through her teeth. She knew she couldn't tell them. Not until the news went out about who was Beater, which she hoped with everything in her, was her. It was a long shot, considering most people trying out were older than her. There were only one or two people her age.

The night of her birthday, after a long day filled with celebrations and presents, and an expected Howler from her father, screaming his well wishes to her, Elara was laid on the bed in the dorm, Theodore beside her, his eyes closed.

Suddenly she heard a tapping on the door, and she opened her eyes, walking over to it. There was a random student stood outside, holding a letter atop a box. "Uh, we found this in front of the door. It was addressed to Elara Black."

Elara took the letter and the box, and her eyes widened when she saw the official wax stamp closing the letter. "Thank you." She said absent-mindedly to the boy, who nodded and walked away. Elara closed the door. The stamp was one of the Holyhead Harpies.

"What's that?" Theodore sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"I have an inkling but I'm not sure." She sat down on the carpet, putting the box in front of her and carefully opening the letter. Her eyes flew over the words written in careful cursive.

Elara Black,

First of all, I would like to start this by wishing you a very happy birthday, and many happy returns! I suppose it's good we sent this when we did, it's like a present to you.

I'm sure you know what this is. We've had time to look over all the candidates that tried out for the position of Beater, and my mind kept going back to you. I was thoroughly impressed by your skills, flying and otherwise. I thought Matilda was exaggerating when she kept gushing about you, but I can see that was not the case.

It didn't take much for the team to be convinced that you were the one we needed. I've sent a letter to Professor Dumbledore and asked if you would be able to complete your exams early so that we could work with you full-time. He was happy to oblige.

He said to see Professor McGonagall for more details in the morning.

Congratulations, Elara. Welcome to the Holyhead Harpies. I look forward to working with you.

Gwenog Jones

P.S. Your robes are in the box. They'll resize once you put them on.

Elara dropped the letter to the floor and drew a hand to her mouth in shock. Her eyes welled up with tears of happiness and she let them roll down her cheeks. "Lara?" Theodore sounded concerned as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing is wrong. Theodore, everything is alright in the world!" She cried out. Her hands shook as she brought them down to the box and carefully untied the ribbon that was wrapped around in, sliding it to the side.

She removed the lid and dropped it beside the box before pulling out the robes inside. She held them up to see the front had the mark of the Holyhead Harpies. She turned it around and Theodore saw the symbol now, his eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open.

Elara looked at the back, tearing up once more when she saw her last name plastered on the back with '23' under it. it was official. She dropped the robes back into the box and looked up at her boyfriend.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"What do you think it is?"

"Robes from the Harpies?"

"Absolutely." Elara grinned, tears still running down her cheeks.

Theodore rushed over to her and tackled her in a hug, both of them laughing. "When the fuck did you try out?"

"Remember when Matilda came to see me after the match?" She sat up. "Uh, she said they wanted me to try out. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone till the results were out. Try outs were the 1st, and I got it! I'm Beater! I get to play alongside Gwenog Jones!"

"That's brilliant! I'm so proud of you!" He cupped her face and gave her a strong kiss. "My girlfriends going to be famous!"

Elara laughed. "Theo, I won't be staying in Hogwarts very long. Gwenog's sent a letter to Dumbledore to ask if I can take my N.E.W.T.s early so I could work with them full-time. I'm seeing McGonagall about it in the morning."

"I would normally be upset you're leaving me, but I can't be! This is your dream, darling! You absolutely deserve this! Go ahead and live your dream. Just don't forget about me." He nudged her.

"I could never forget you, Theodore Nott. Never."