BECOMING PRONGSLET ⟶ Harry Potter

Chapter Nine

As Milo would learn, his abilities as Chaser drastically improved when it came to working one on one with Cedric over the course of a couple of weeks. Cedric woke him during the early morning hours, something Milo was not very accustomed to when he was out of school but he knew he was a guest at the Diggory household. They were kind enough to fix the boy his own bed, plenty of meals, and make sure that he had everything he needed during his stay with them. The least he could do was push himself out of bed a couple of hours earlier than he anticipated.

Cedric was entering his fourth year and the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team was still and the captainship of  Quincey Benson, but it seemed he had taken Cedric under his wing as the next possible captain. Cedric knew all the plays when it came to the team and he was a well-rounded quidditch player in the sense that he could rotate positions if ever needed. He had definitely encouraged Quincey to take Milo onto the team, even though he didn't have the final say.

Cedric saw potential in Milo's abilities, he had a good balance on a broom which was always needed, no matter what position was a person was playing. Milo had demonstrated through his first game and during the tryouts that he great control and was able to make stealing plays with the quaffle. There was only one problem when Milo got a hold of the quaffle, it seemed a mixture of determination and excitement got the best of him and he would knock whoever the Keeper was straight through the goal. While it was effective to the point of getting the quaffle through the goal, it was still technically a foul. 

They had been fortunate that Professor Snape had been refereeing during the match as the man was willing to pass anything to make sure Gryffindor didn't get ahead. But they couldn't afford to let that keep happening because Madam Hooch did not take kindly to that sort of behaviour. 

Milo was going to have to learn how to score from a distance, rather than up close and personal. For now, Cedric had set up some makeshift goals and acted as the Keeper on the ground, allowing Milo to have the freedom on practising without worrying about maintaining balance on the broom. It definitely took a stab in his skills as Milo seemed to struggle with making any goal from a distance, leaving to fret. He didn't want his best friend to suddenly be taken off the quidditch team and be replaced. 

"I'm sorry," Milo called out after failing to make yet another goal. "I-I...maybe I'm not exactly cut out for this, Cedric. If I can't make a goal without making a foul, I don't think there's any sense of me being on the quidditch team."

"Milo, don't talk like that," Cedric scolded him. "You're doing just fine. You haven't made a goal past me, but not to brag, I'm a pretty amazing Keeper a well."

Milo glanced up at him to see Cedric smiling cheekily in his direction. "That may be so, but Oliver Wood is an amazing Keeper as well. If I can't get it past you, I'm not going to get it past him either."

"Yes, you will, Milo. Come on, you've been doing great...you just need...you just need to add some...what's the word...uh...Ooomph!"

The two boys fell silent as Milo just continued to stare at the other boy. "What?" Milo finally said, " what's oomph?"

"You know, you have to put some energy, some power behind your throws...meaning, you have to be more confident while throwing the quaffle. Even a split second of hesitation can ruin a perfectly good shot because that's what the Keepers look for. They're not only looking out for the quaffle, they're looking at you."

"Is it because I'm extremely handsome?" Milo said in a teasing tone.

"Yes," Cedric nodded, only to register what Milo had said. "Wait, I mean...Milo!"

The other boy began to giggle only to let out a small scream as Cedric threw back the quaffle to him to try again. "Let's go, Handsome," Cedric scoffed, " try again. We're not leaving this pitch until you make a goal."