CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO - Bad Beater

Sunday afternoon, after Attuoria helped Harry and Ron finish their homework, the three of them made their way to the quidditch pitch as arranged. The rest of the team was already there, with the exception of Katie and Alicia, who truthfully admitted that they weren't interested in their affairs. However there were a few extra people who came unannounced, namely Lee and Hermione. While Lee was just as excited as everyone else, Hermione was skeptical about Attuoria's use of the Strengthening Potion.

Everyone had gathered at the center of the pitch, surrounding the trunk containing the game balls. After an overnight snow, the ground was covered in a sheet of white. However, sunny weather had persisted throughout the day, so bits of green were already peeking through the snow.

"So I guess we forgot one thing - Attuoria doesn't have a broom." said Angelina, pointing at Attuoria's bare hands. Only Angelina and Ron had their brooms by their sides.

"Not a problem," said Attuoria, pulling her wand out of her trench coat (Narcissa had pretty good style). "Which of you has the better broom?"

Ron immediately pointed at Angelina. She held in her hands a Nimbus 2000, which looked rather old but was still of pretty good quality. Attuoria glanced at Ron's broom, which was so new that the wax coating of the wood still gleamed under the sunlight.

"I might have to go with yours, Ron," said Attuoria. "Yours is newer."

"But Angelina's is faster."

"Ah you see, speed isn't my concern. Hold out your broom, please."

Ron held out his Cleansweep Eleven obediently.

"Geminio." A second broom suddenly appeared in the air with a pop, and Attuoria quickly caught it before it fell on the ground. "Good to go."

"Great!" Angelina beckoned for Fred and George to get the balls out of the crate. George handed Attuoria a bat, which was made of wood and looked unimposing. It was about the length of her forearm.

Attuoria spun the bat around in her palm. It was like an extension of her arm. She could get used to it.

"Alright, everyone back up now. Attuoria, stand over there." Angelina ordered. The group quickly shuffled out of the way, and Attuoria went to stand a few feet away from Angelina. Fred was kneeling next to the open crate, his hands on the latch that kept the bludgers inside.

"On the count of three, Fred will release the bludger. One, two, thr-"

"WAIT! THE STRENGTHENING POTION!" George yelled, running forward and trying to stop Fred. But it was too late.

The large black ball of iron whizzed straight towards Attuoria, and only then did she realise what she got herself into. As she watched the bludger get closer, she couldn't help but think there was a chance this thing could kill her human body.

"HIT IT!" Angelina screeched, and everyone else began yelling as well.

Watching the ball closely, Attuoria brought her arm up in a ninety-degree behind her. She envisioned the way Fred and George swung the bat during quidditch games. It couldn't be that hard. She just had to replicate their movements.

But at the last moment, she realised that she lacked something the twins had: arm strength.

Attuoria ducked her head to the side as the bludger zoomed past her face, only inches away from the tip of her nose. It flew out for a few feet before changing course, and swerving back towards her again. This time she was ready, she reassured herself. She pulled back her arm, but all she could think was: impedimenta.

A line of turquoise light shot out from the tip of the bat and hit the bludger in mid air. The iron ball froze in place, hovering only a foot in front of Attuoria's face.

The crowd grew silent, staring at the unmoving bludger.

At last, Angelina sighed. "At least we know you have good aim."

"Sorry," Attuoria said sheepishly. She reached up with her bat and knocked the motionless ball a few times. It didn't budge.

"How did you just turn a bat into a wand?" Lee marvelled, his eyes wide.

"Oh no, that was just wandless magic." said Attuoria matter-of-factly.

"Wandless magic?" Lee's eyes widened even more. "That's so difficult, I don't even think Dumbledore could -"

"Where she's from, they don't usually use wands." Hermione said hastily. Perhaps wandless magic wasn't as common as Attuoria thought.

While they waited for the bludger to unfreeze, Fred and George taught Attuoria how to properly swing the bat with one hand. It was easy for her to imitate and follow instructions, because the process of it was purely logical. She got the movement down almost immediately.

"If you use your whole torso and swing enough, I doubt you'll really need the potion," said Fred.

"Try it again," said George, handing the bat back to Attuoria after demonstrating. "Same movement with your arm, but twist your body a little more so that you go from facing your right to facing left."

Just as Attuoria brought her arm back up over her shoulder, she heard a whizzing noise from nearby.

"Watch out!" Angelina yelled. But Attuoria was ready. She spun around to face the bludger, pulled her arm back, and with a loud whack, the ball collided with the wooden bat. It immediately changed direction and was sent flying the others way - straight toward where everyone else was standing.

There was a flurry of shouts as everyone dove out of the way. The bludger missed Hermione by a hair and made a turn around the crowd, back towards Attuoria.

"HIT IT TO ME!" Fred hollered. He was down the pitch and had his arms held out. Attuoria tracked the bludger coming towards her, and once it was close enough, she swung. She swung so hard, in fact, that she lost control of her arm and the bat smacked straight onto the back of her head.

"Attuoria!" Multiple voices yelled as she dropped to the ground, the bat falling out of her hands. She clutched her head in pain, feeling the back of her head throb and pulse heavily. With her forehead on the snowy ground, her vision was black - she could see small dots of white flickering rapidly.

The sounds around her were muffled, and she felt a hand push her over so that she lay flat on the ground. With her eyes still squeezed shut, the cold of the snow on the back of her head immediately eased the pain, and the throbbing slowed significantly.

"Is she unconscious?"

"Attuoria? Can you hear me?"

Attuoria groaned, pressing her hands in front of her eyes before slowly opening them. The stars in her vision were mostly gone, and she could see the blurry outline of many heads peering down at her.

"Are you okay? Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?" Hermione asked with concern. When Attuoria chuckled, a frown appeared on Hermione's face.

"Oh no," Ron moaned. "She's got a concussion. Look at that, she's laughing like a maniac."

Attuoria propped herself on her elbows as she tried to sit up, wincing slightly as the pain behind her head shot up her skull for a brief second. Immediately, Fred and Harry's arms were behind her, supporting her back.

She gazed around her, noticing how worried all her friends looked. A smile broke onto her face. "That must've looked so stupid."

"Honestly, it could've been worse." said Fred. "This guy who tried out for Beater the same year as George and I, he hit himself on the head so hard that he actually got a concussion - Couldn't remember his name for weeks."

"Look," said Angelina, crouching down in front of Attuoria. "Aside from the fact that you lost control of your arms and hit yourself, your aim and timing is impeccable. When Fred asked you to hit it to him, you managed to aim it with such accuracy that it landed straight in his arms. He didn't even have to move. Of course, that could've just been beginner's luck because you did hit your head, but I have faith in you." Angelina stood up and held her hand out. "Get on your broom. Let's give it a go."

"So no Strengthening Solution?" Attuoria asked, grabbing Angelina's hand and pulling herself up. She rubbed the back of her head gingerly, feeling it ache as she applied pressure. There was definitely going to be a big bruise there.

"No offense, but if you had to drink a potion just to hit a bludger, I would never let you on the team. Not in a million years."

"Well that's reassuring."

"No pressure, Attuoria!" Ron called teasingly. "Don't fall off your broom!"

"You couldn't get me off my broom even if you tried," Attuoria called back before kicking off on her duplicate Cleansweep Eleven. She wasn't actually flying with the broomstick. With her abilities in unsupported flight, the broom was almost a hindrance to her. But a simple Sticking Charm was sufficient enough to keep the broom between her legs - enough to fool everyone into thinking she could actually ride a broom.

This also meant that unlike most beaters, who relied on their upper body strength to hit the bludger, she could use her entire body to swing at the ball. Although she wasn't very strong, the momentum generated from her body weight was enough to send a bludger flying the other way.

(Plus a little bit of magic, but she wasn't going to let anyone know.)

As Attuoria whacked at each bludger that flew towards her, Angelina hovered in the air near her, watching her every move.

"Why are you swerving so badly after every hit?" Angelina yelled over the sounds of wood on metal.

"Cuz - I'm - Swinging!" Attuoria yelled through breaths. Her hits were getting weaker as her stamina went down. Her magic could only do so much if she wanted to keep it lowkey. She was the only target the bludgers had, so they were coming back towards her at insane speeds.

"Are you tired?"

"If I'm tired, does that mean I can use magic?"

"No, it means you should stop."

"Oh." Attuoria ducked down as a bludger swooped at her head. "Did I do okay, at least?"

Angelina pressed her lips together, staring at her. "Hm, you need to train at least twice a week up until tryouts on the thirtieth."

"To get into the team?"

"No, to maybe get a shot at beating the other people who try out." said Angelina. A bludger whirred towards Attuoria once again, and she hit it downwards with all her might. It took such a big swing that she did a small loop-the-loop on her broom.

"My goodness," Angelina huffed. "You need to get rid of that dramatic spin. So embarrassing."

***

Weeks passed and December creeped close. Snowfall grew heavier each day, but Attuoria insisted on training twice a week, forcing Ron to supervise her in the sky. The twins watched and gave her tips, but no matter how hard they tried, she wouldn't stop doing those dramatic spins after each hit. It wasn't that she was trying to show off her flying skills - she was simply putting so much weight and momentum into each hit that the inertia caused her to swerve in that direction.

DA meetings still ran every week. They were now learning the stunning spell, which took a lot of practise. There were simply not enough cushions or space for thirteen people to be stunned at the same time, so they had to split in half and take turns.

Attuoria always knew she was a fast learner compared to the average human, but she was surprised at how slow some people could be. Neville and the Creevey brothers made the most amateur mistakes on the simplest of spells. She couldn't understand why. Spells were so easy for her.

The morning of her quidditch tryout was a sunny one. With warmth overhead, the layer of snow on the quidditch pitch had thinned since the night before. Attuoria's boots squished satisfyingly onto the grass as she trudged over to the crowd, the duplicate of Ron's Cleansweep Eleven in her gloved hands. Harry had kindly lent her his quidditch uniform, and it hung off her shoulders loosely. Her small frame was enlarged by the many protective guards strapped onto her shins and arms.

There were around six people trying out today. All of them were boys except for one: Ginny Weasley. She stood off to the side, nearer to Angelina than the rest of the group. One look at her confidence, and Attuoria could tell she was going to make the team.

"Hey," Ginny greeted as Attuoria approached them. She stuck her hand out. "Ginny Weasley, as you probably know. We haven't formally met, but I know who you are."

"Yeah, hey," said Attuoria, shaking her hand. "What position are you trying out for?"

"Seeker," Ginny replied. "I'm assuming you are, too?"

Attuoria shook her head. "Beater, actually."

Ginny raised her eyebrows in a look of disbelief. "You're trying out for Beater? Against those chunks of meat over there?" She nodded her head over to the boys, who were literally head-butting and wrestling one another. She let out a huff. "Now I'm tempted to try out for Beater. Imagine how cool we would look with two female Beaters - I bet we'd make history at Hogwarts."

"Probably." Attuoria said, distractedly. She was staring at the boys opposite them, already sizing them up and down. A few of them didn't look very smart. Judging from their wrestling skirmish, she could already tell which ones had slow reflexes, which ones were strong, and which ones had spacial awareness.

In terms of reflexes and awareness, Attuoria knew she had won already. But in terms of strength, she was leagues away from them.

"Alright, I think everyone's here," said Angelina, folding a clipboard underneath her arm. "Only two people are trying out for Seeker, so you guys will have to wait until the Beaters are done. Alright Beaters get on your broom, let's go!"

Attuoria straddled the broom and stuck it to her quidditch pants using a quick charm. She kicked off into the air, using her unsupported flight to carry her over to the rest of the group. Angelina hovered in front of them, occasionally glancing down at the pitch where Katie and Alicia stood.

"Here's the drill: everyone will line up and take turns hitting the bludger. Your goal is to get the bludger through each hoop once." Angelina pointed at the three golden hoops behind them.

Attuoria found herself at the very end of the line, her view of the goal completely obstructed by the wide frame of boys in front of her. Beneath her, Alicia and Katie released the bludgers from the case. The two balls of iron shot into the air, aiming straight towards the boy at the front of the line.

Unable to see what was going on, Attuoria stared down at the stands instead. Fred and George were both there, accompanied by Hermione. Harry and Ron were back in the common room catching up on homework, which was a decision Hermione forced them into agreeing to.

One by one, the boys finished their turns in hitting the bludger. Attuoria was up next.

With the wooden bat in hand, she glanced around to locate the position of the two bludgers. One was down near the ground, twisting it's way back up; the other was sailing through the left hoop and coming straight towards her.

Bringing her arm back, Attuoria tilted her broom to the side. The bludger came closer, closer, closer - She swung her arm out as hard as she could and struck the ball. As the bludger soared through the left hoop, she quickly swerved around just in time to hit the other one, casting it through the center hoop.

The momentum of her two conjoined hits pulled her into pirouette. Laughter erupted somewhere behind her. She spun around twice before regaining control again. The first bludger was coming back at her.

Taking aim at the last hoop on the right, Attuoria whacked the ball with all her might from a downward angle. The bludger went in perfectly, but she herself jolted upwards, the weight of the bat leading the way.

Attuoria grabbed onto the handle of the broom and pushed it down, descending herself down to her original position.

She looked over at the crowd and was surprised to see how shocked they were. Angelina was beaming at her so brightly that her cheekbones went up near her eyes.

"Well, now we know who definitely made the team," said a dark haired boy near the front.

"Yup," Angelina said. Her smile disappeared after glancing at him. "The two of you."

"Me?" Both Attuoria and the dark-haired boy said, pointing at themselves.

"Yes, you two." Angelina rolled her eyes. "Attuoria and Jack, welcome to the team. Everyone else can go."

Without casting anyone an extra look, she flew back down to the ground. Attuoria swore she heard her mutter "Absolutely dreadful, but at least Attuoria can aim…"