Chapter 26

[Chapter Size: 1800 Words.]

---------------------------------------

Although he had read a lot about it and seen many moving pictures, Harry still felt a shiver run down his spine when he saw someone flying swiftly on a broomstick across the sky in front of him, striking the Quaffle straight through one of the three goalposts.

It was as if every hair on his body stood on end at that moment. The impact was so visually striking that not even Van Basten's volley or Jordan's free-throw dunk could compare.

At that moment, Harry knew he was already a Quidditch fan.

Whether it was the long passes of the Quaffle, the Bludger speeding dangerously toward players' heads, or the small, exquisite, yet incredibly fast Golden Snitch, he found them all fascinating.

However, what particularly caught his attention was the bat in the Beater's hand, which reminded him of Dudley's baseball bat.

Dudley liked baseball, but he was an average pitcher and an even worse outfielder, his size made it difficult for him to run and jump. However, batting was his strength. He was even approached by a school scout, but unfortunately, Aunt Petunia declined the offer.

Smeltings High School was Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's obsession.

Back to the Quidditch pitch.

One of Gryffindor's top Chasers, the ones who scored goals, had graduated. Today's trials were mainly to select new Chasers and a few reserve players.

The team's oldest member was a seventh-year student who played as a Seeker. However, he was planning to leave the team to focus on his N.E.W.T. exams. After all, his Quidditch skills were only average, and it was unlikely he would go professional. His magical qualifications would be far more important in securing a job after graduation.

Next in seniority was Oliver Wood, a fifth-year who had just been appointed captain and played as the team's Keeper.

The fourth years had two players, one Seeker and one Chaser, but both had only recently been promoted from the reserves.

According to what Ron had heard from Fred and George, these two older players were enthusiastic but not particularly skilled.

Of the seven core team members, four were only in their third year.

Besides the Weasley twins, who played as Beaters, there were two primary Chasers, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet.

Angelina Johnson was a girl who easily caught the attention of boys. She had dark hair and a healthy bronze complexion. She was tall and well-proportioned, with delicate features, but also possessed a bold, confident aura that most girls didn't have. She was truly captivating.

In the stands, Fred and George's friend, Lee Jordan, was cheering enthusiastically for Angelina.

No fifth or seventh-year students were trying out, as they had their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s to prepare for.

Unless someone was exceptionally talented and aiming for a professional Quidditch career, like Oliver Wood, who had already been noticed by Puddlemere United scouts, their priority had to be their exams.

As a result, the main candidates for selection were third, fourth, and sixth-year students.

Unfortunately, aside from the sixth-years who had been busy with their O.W.L.s last year, most of the third and fourth-years who wanted to join the team had already tried out the previous year.

Those who hadn't been selected last time and hadn't significantly improved their skills were unlikely to be taken seriously now.

Even from a distance, Harry could sense the frustration radiating from the team's captain and Keeper, Oliver Wood. It was so obvious that he didn't even need to focus on it deliberately.

Of course, this could also have something to do with the fact that Harry had been studying Occlumency and mental defense techniques at Hogwarts this week.

Harry felt as though his mental strength and magical power were growing at a rate he had never experienced before. He even suspected that if this continued, he might actually be able to use powerful spells like Neil's, rather than just the basic levitation and unlocking charms found in beginner spellbooks.

"What a shame," Ron sighed as he watched the tryouts. "This is even worse than the Cannons' new Chaser…"

"You're really comparing them to professional players? I don't even know what to say to you..." Parvati, sitting nearby, couldn't help but roll her eyes. But she was beautiful, and even when she rolled her eyes, she looked cute.

"Ron, do you like the Cannons?" Lavender asked.

"Yeah, the Chudley Cannons. The bloody Cannons. Their performance gets worse every year, it's infuriating," Ron grumbled.

Despite his complaints, Harry knew Ron was a die-hard Cannons fan. Even though they had only known each other for a week, he had already heard Ron rant about the team's recruitment choices at least twenty times.

Typical, deep love often leads to harsh criticism.

Just like last year's World Cup, when England lost to West Germany in a penalty shootout, Uncle Vernon, Dudley, and Harry had shouted at the TV, nearly breaking it in frustration.

"Hey, she looks good," Harry said, ignoring Ron's complaints as his attention shifted to a girl participating in the trials.

She had golden-brown hair and very fair skin. She wasn't as striking as Angelina, but she was still quite pretty, with a gentle demeanor. However, her flying skills seemed very impressive.

Mounted on a battered broomstick with a split tail, he skillfully dodged the Bludger launched into the air by the twins, then sped forward and sent the Quaffle soaring through one of the three goalposts.

"Ah, she's really good." Ron's attention shifted, and he nodded repeatedly.

"Isn't that Katie Bell?" Parvati looked at the girl in surprise. "She actually plays Quidditch?"

"Is something wrong?" Harry asked, curious, not understanding why Parvati reacted that way.

"She's a second-year student. She's usually carrying a book, reading in the common room or the library, just like Granger," Parvati explained. "I never expected someone so quiet and gentle to be interested in Quidditch, let alone be such a good flyer."

Katie Bell was indeed an exceptional flyer. Since the tryouts had started, whether it was older students or her fellow second-years (first-years weren't allowed to try out), none of them could match her skill in the air.

Even after Wood stepped in as Keeper, she managed to score two out of five goals.

That wasn't easy. In an actual match, Chasers had to work together to break through the Keeper's defense. One-on-one, the Chaser usually had the disadvantage, especially considering Katie was only a second-year and Wood was a fifth-year.

"Looks like it's her," Harry murmured, nodding. He could sense Wood's emotions shifting rapidly from frustration to sheer excitement. It was clear Katie's performance had exceeded his expectations.

"We still have to find good talent among the younger students! Just like last year, when we discovered four promising first-years at once!"

That was what Wood had thought at the time.

But he soon realized that finding a standout player like Katie was rare, having four of them in one year, as they did the previous season, was nothing short of Merlin's blessing.

The other second-years, however, performed even worse than expected.

Harry and the others watching couldn't help but stifle yawns.

"If the seventh-year doesn't compete, does that mean the fourth-year Seeker has to play?" Ron muttered. "He's awful. It looks like he couldn't catch the Snitch even if it landed right in front of him."

"Ron, are you good at Quidditch?" Lavender asked.

"Not really. Fred and the others won't let me borrow their brooms, and Charlie's old broom is practically falling apart," Ron pouted. But after saying that, he glanced at the fourth-year reserve Seeker practicing his speed drills.

"But I think if I had the chance to practice, I could do better than him."

————————————

No one knew if Ron was actually better than the fourth-year reserve Seeker, but it didn't really matter, first-years weren't allowed on the Quidditch team unless they received special permission from their Head of House. Ron doubted that the ever-strict Professor McGonagall would grant him that exception.

After the trials, Harry caught up with Fred and George and asked them to buy some sweets for him. That was when he realized there was a time limit for Hogsmeade visits. The first open day of the year wouldn't be until mid-October.

That left Harry feeling a bit awkward. It was only the beginning of September. Would he really have to wait an entire month to deliver the sweets he had promised Padma?

Just as Harry was considering whether he could order some treats via owl post, and worrying about how he would handle his young snowy owl, Hedwig, he hadn't expected Fred or George to grin triumphantly.

"But since our Gryffindor hero has made a request, we'll have to find a way. Don't worry, the sweets will be in your hands before dinner."

"Huh? How are you going to do that?" Harry asked, skeptical.

"Oh, that's a secret, Harry," one of the twins said with a wink. "When you become more interesting, we might consider letting you in on our grand cause..."

"I dedicate my entire life to pranks!" the other twin declared, puffing out his chest with great enthusiasm.

Harry: "…"

After paying two Galleons for enough sweets to feed five people, definitely more than enough, Harry politely declined the twins' offer to join their long and glorious career in mischief.

Although Harry himself enjoyed a good prank, the level of dedication Fred and George had was a bit much.

Still, when it came to keeping their word, the twins were nothing if not reliable. Before dinner, they had promised enough dessert for five people, but somehow, there was enough left over for fifteen.

God knows well, Merlin knew how they had pulled that off.

But Harry had a feeling that at least five school rules had been broken in the process.

He confiscated almost a Galleon in change that the twins had mysteriously found. It was hardly appropriate to call it a tip, so Harry simply told them he might need their help in the future and would hold onto the money for now.

Later, he and Ron delivered some sweets to the Patil twins and Lavender. As for the rest, they, of course, took them back to the dormitory to share with their roommates.

It wasn't until all five boys were happily stuffing themselves with sweets that Harry suddenly realized.

He had completely forgotten about Hermione.

******

Support me and be 60 chapters ahead of webnovel:

patreon.com/DylanBriak