Atropos → george weasley

xx. slytherin nepotism

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twenty

slytherin nepotism

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Quidditch tryouts were at the end of the first week.

Every morning until then, just before sunrise, Ottilie went to the Quidditch pitch to practice. She enchanted a small bouncy ball to act in the place of a Snitch, knowing that the Seeker position was open. Of course, it wasn't nearly as quick as a real Snitch, but it would have to do.

She practiced for an hour at least until her hair was windblown, her cheeks burned, and she was ravenous. Then, she'd hide her broom somewhere it was safe, hoping that no one on the Slytherin team would know what she was doing until tryouts, worried they'd not even allow her to show up if they found out.

She was keenly aware that there was no way in hell Marcus would accept her onto the team unless he had literally no other choice (and even then, she wasn't sure). She knew she would be laughed off the field. But she really wanted to be on the team. 

Sure, she wasn't exactly a sports fanatic, but she was competitive. But it was more than that.

Flying was something that felt natural to her. Somehow, when she was darting through the air, eyes watering in the wind and breath catching in her throat, she was in her element. It was reminiscent of how she immediately felt at home the moment she'd first stepped foot into Hogwarts's castle, albeit less profound.

She was small, and she had a decent Comet 260. It was not as nice as that Nimbus 2000 Harry Potter had, but it was still fast and didn't constantly drift to the left as the flying lesson brooms had last year. She wouldn't be a terrible choice for the new Seeker.

Despite her relative lack of experience, Ottilie figured she was all right and would have stood a chance if she were in any other house.

Finally, though, it was Friday afternoon. Slytherin tryouts were up first, just after lunch.

Feeling nervous and a bit sick, Ottilie collected her broom and headed to the field early to warm up. At first sight of the figures of green heading her way, she landed up in the spectator stands, wanting to find her moment to announce her presence.

The group got closer. It wasn't until they were physically on the green grass of the pitch that Ottilie noticed something strange.

The group already looked like a team, with all members dressed in proper Quidditch equipment. She had to squint her eyes to see that they were also all carrying the same model of broom. A Nimbus 2001—the model Ottilie knew her parents couldn't afford and so didn't even bring up while she was at the shop with her mum.

She didn't need to squint at all to see that, standing amongst the group, was a boy with white hair. Draco. His father was responsible for these brooms, she supposed. 

Off in the distance, Ottilie could see a few prospective Seekers dotting the grounds, making their way to the field. They wore non-Slytherin protective gear and were holding older broomstick models.

"Piss off, Malfoy's already Seeker!" Marcus barked at the straggler Slytherins.

"What d'ya mean, he's already the Seeker? This is the first tryout!"

"Stuff it, Flint. You can't make him Seeker before getting the chance to see anyone else fly!"

"Did the Malfoys bribe you lot with Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones or something?"