Quidditch

Although he had looked through plenty of material and photographs-the moving kind-Harry still felt a shiver run through him when he actually saw someone race across the sky on a broom before him, then hurl the Quaffle through one of the three hoops.

It was as though every hair on his body stood on end at that moment. For sheer visual impact, even Van Basten's volley or Jordan's dunk from the free-throw line fell short.

At that moment, Harry knew he had become a Quidditch fan.

Whether it was the Quaffle being thrown all over the place, the Bludgers charging straight at people's heads, or the tiny Golden Snitch flying ridiculously fast, he found it all fascinating.

Well, he felt especially fond of the bats in the Beaters' hands. They reminded him of Dudley's baseball bat.

Dudley liked baseball, but his pitching was mediocre, and he was downright hopeless in the outfield-with his build, running and jumping really were asking too much of him. Batting, however, was his strong suit. A secondary-school scout had even approached him once, but Aunt Petunia had ultimately turned down the school's invitation.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had their hearts set on Smeltings School.

Back to the Quidditch Pitch.

One of Gryffindor's starting Chasers-the players who put the Quaffle through the hoops-had graduated. Today's tryouts were mainly to choose a new Chaser, along with a few reserve players.

The oldest player on the team was a seventh-year student who played Seeker. However, he was planning to leave the team to prepare for his Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test. After all, his Quidditch skills were fairly average, and he was unlikely to become a professional player, so his wizarding qualifications would be important when he looked for work after graduation.

After him, the next oldest was Oliver Wood, a fifth-year Keeper who had just taken over as captain.

There were two fourth-year players, a Seeker and a Chaser, but both had only been reserves up to now.

According to what Ron had heard from Fred and George, those two older students had plenty of enthusiasm, but their skills really were rather poor.

Of the team's seven starting players, no fewer than four were only third-years.

Besides the Weasley family's twins, who played Beaters, there were two starting Chasers, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet.

Angelina Johnson was the sort of girl who easily caught boys' eyes, with black hair and a healthy tan. Tall and well proportioned, she had delicate features with a spirited edge that most girls lacked. She was very attractive.

In the stands, Fred and George's friend Lee Jordan was shouting himself hoarse cheering Angelina on.

No fifth- or seventh-year students were taking part in the tryouts, since they had to sit their ordinary wizarding levels and Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test respectively that year.

Unless they were genuinely talented and intended to become professional players-like Oliver Wood, who had already attracted the attention of a Puddlemere United scout-they would naturally focus their energy on their exams.

That left the third-, fourth-, and sixth-years as the main pool of candidates.

Unfortunately, apart from the sixth-years, who had been preparing for their ordinary wizarding levels the previous year, all the third- and fourth-years who wanted to join the Quidditch team had already tried out last year.

And those who had failed to make the team last year and shown no noticeable improvement this year still lacked the ability to make anyone see them in a new light.

Even from far away, Harry could feel the frustration coming from the Keeper and captain, Oliver Wood. It was so obvious that Harry did not even need to make a deliberate effort to sense it.

Of course, that probably also had something to do with how diligently Harry had been practicing meditation and Occlumency during his week at Hogwarts.

Harry felt that both his mental power and his magic seemed to be growing at a rate he had never experienced before. He even wondered whether, if he kept progressing like this, he might actually be able to use those powerful spells from Neil, rather than the simple levitation and unlocking spells in his Charms textbook.

"They're awful," Ron sighed repeatedly as he watched the players trying out. "Even worse than that new Chaser on the Chudley Cannons..."

"You're actually comparing them to professional players? I honestly don't know what to say to you..." Beside him, Parvati could not help rolling her eyes. She was pretty, though, so even her eye roll looked cute.

"Ron, do you support the Chudley Cannons?" Lavender asked.

"Yeah, the Cannons. The bloody Cannons. They get worse every year. It's so frustrating," Ron grumbled.

Despite his complaints, Harry knew Ron was a die-hard Cannons fan. They had known each other for less than a week, yet Harry had already heard him complain about the Cannons manager's ability to pick players at least twenty times.

It was a classic case of caring so much that he judged them all the more harshly.

Just like when England lost to West Germany on penalties in last year's World Cup, and Uncle Vernon, Dudley, and Harry had cursed so furiously they had nearly smashed the television.

"Hey, she seems pretty good, doesn't she?" Harry paid no attention to Ron's complaints. His attention had settled on a girl taking part in the tryouts.

She had golden-brown hair and very fair skin. She was not as pretty as Angelina, but she was quite good-looking and seemed quiet and gentle. Her flying skills, however, appeared to be very good.

Riding a battered broom with splayed twigs at the tail, she deftly dodged the Bludger the twins had sent her way, then accelerated sharply and put the Quaffle through one of the three hoops.

"Hey, she really is good." Ron's attention shifted to her as well, and he nodded repeatedly.

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