Emerald and Scarlet ~ Drarry

Quidditch Trials

Malfoy had moved back into the Eighth year dorm by the weekend hex free. Harry tried to smile at him whenever their paths met but he could never catch his eye. 

This, however, was pushed to the back of his mind when he and Ron walked down the Quidditch pitch on Sunday afternoon to conduct the Gryffindor Quidditch trials. 

The air was chilly and the sky was overcast but this did not stop plenty of students, second through to seventh year, from coming down to the pitch to try out. There were many familiar faces in attendance but Harry tried to keep in mind that he needed to be strict and without favouritism, well, maybe not when it came to Ron. 

"Right," he shouted, causing the group of Gryffindors to freeze and turn to him. "Let's go." 

The tryouts were a breath of fresh air for Harry. He felt so at peace to finally be up in the air in brand new Quidditch robes purchased through Owl-Order and his team flying around him. 

Ginny and Ron performed brilliantly as always. Demelza Robins was adamant that she resumed her position as a chaser as well. Jimmy Peakes and Richie Coote both gained their old positions on the team as beaters as well. Harry only became uneasy when the tryouts had been on for nearly an hour and he couldn't find a suitable player to fill the final spot on his team. 

He began running drills focused on the chaser position but he found most of the applicants bull-headed and seemed to just have shown up to get a glimpse of him. He had Ron play keeper as three at a time Harry assessed how willing they were to cooperate as a team and if they could actually get a quaffle past Weasley. 

Harry was beginning to reach his breaking point and just elect Michael Timms, a chubby fourth year who almost fell off his broom while taking an impressive shot at the goal posts which Ron just barely missed. That was when another boy stepped up (figuratively, they were on brooms after all) and managed to weave his way in and out of the other chasers and score a goal to the cheers to the team. 

Harry stared at him uncertainly for a while, he couldn't recognise the boy until he turned to him with a signature smile that twisted his gut. 

He had not recognised him for it had been over a year since he had seen the now fifth-year boy. He gazed sadly at Dennis Creevey as he high fived his friends. 

The image of his brother's face as he lay dead in the Great Hall flashed across Harry's mind, the sight of the underage boy who died because of him etched into his brain forever. 

"Harry, Harry!" He had not realised he had been staring into space until Ron had flown over to check up on him. "Are you okay mate?" 

"Fine," Harry mumbled, flying away from Ron and toward Dennis. "I didn't know you could fly."

"Oh, hi," Dennis beamed, quite flustered at the attention from Harry. "I spent some of the summer at my friend Makrov's house. they're a wizarding family see, so he taught me how to play."  

Harry did not know how to reply. The eyes of the entire pitch were on his conversation. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he could tell Dennis was no longer the babbling and carefree first year that fell in the lake. Dennis sighed and looked at the ground some twenty feet below, he definitely knew why everyone was staring. 

"I tried to tell him not to go," Dennis said quietly. "He told Mum he was going to one of our muggle friend's houses but he told me what was happening here and that he was going to fight. He showed me the Galleon, the one from the DA. I had lost mine. He said he'd be back before Mum and Dad found out," he wiped his face on his sleeve, determined not to cry. 

All your fault. Your stupid war. Should have done better. Should have been better.

"Harry?" Dennis snapped him out of his spiralling thoughts. "Are you okay."

"I'm fine," he squeesed his eyes closed to reground himself. "The final team will be posted on the common room notice board. Try-outs are over, thank you, everyone!"

Harry hung in the air a little longer while the rest of the Gryffindors descend onto the grass below. He caught Ron and Ginny slowly flying in his direction out of the corner of his eye. He forced a weak smile as he turned his Firebolt to face their Cleansweeps. 

"Mate, you don't seem fine," said Ron. 

"I'm just stressed I think," lied Harry. "Doing our N.E.W.Ts after a year of being out of practice." 

"You're a little pale Harry," said Ginny softly. Ron looks at her, then at him. 

"You know what McGonagall said, Harry, you've got to-"

"I know, I know!" Harry cut Ron off. "I've got it under control." 

The three descend in silence, Ginny heads in the direction of the girl's locker rooms while Harry and Ron head to the Broom Shed to pack away the Quidditch supplies as they had gotten changed in the Eighth year wing. 

"She told me you know," said Ron. 

"McGonagall? Yeah, she made it clear she'd have you keeping an eye on me," Harry grimaced. 

"No," sighed Ron. "Well, yes, but that's not what I'm talking about. Ginny told me about what happened." 

"Oh," Harry nodded while he opened the creaking door. "What about it?" 

"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your best friend for Merlin's sake!" Ron folded his arms across his chest. 

"It slipt my mind I guess," Harry threw the quaffle in the large basket. "Or I assumed she would sooner." 

"In summer!" He made his point clear. "Why'd you do it anyway?" 

"It was her idea really." Harry wasn't really lying but he definitely wasn't telling the whole truth. She had said it aloud, but he had thought it for a while before. "After the war, we both changed. We're different people." 

Ron did not respond to this but Harry could tell he was still annoyed that he had kept this a secret, even unintentionally, from him. 

They trekked back up to the castle and after a quick shower, had gotten dressed in casual clothes to laze around the common room for the rest of the day. 

Their plans, however, were brutally disrupted by Hermione bursting into the common room declaring that they were meant to meet her at the Quidditch pitch after tryouts to visit Hagrid. 

+ + + 

Hagrid seemed close to tears when he opened the door of his groundskeeper's hut to see Harry, Ron and Hermione beaming up at him. He quickly engulfed the three in a rib-crushing hug which left them gasping for air. 

Hagrid explained how he had been living in the Forbidden Forrest with his half-brother, Grawp, for most of the year after the Carrow's kicked him out of his hut just after Halloween. He said he had been doing what he could for the students but of course, found it hard to leave the grounds where he could do anything really useful. 

He said it was mostly Neville and Luna who snuck into the forest, often during their Care of Magical Creatures lessons who kept him posted on the happenings inside the school. 

The trio sipped tea out of Hagrid's homemade mugs as they filled an interested Hagrid in on some of their mishaps during the last year. 

"I can' believe you broke in ter the Ministry of Magic! With Polyjuice potion!" He exclaimed as Ron told him about their escapade with their stolen identities. 

Harry stayed mostly silent during these retellings, the memories playing in his mind like a theatre as he relived every dark and terrifying moment. Hermione sensed this and placed a hand on his forearm which he felt tethered himself to reality, even just a little bit. 

They just talked for nearly an hour and a half until the sky was lit up in beautiful hues by the setting sun when Hagrid quickly ushered them back up to the castle for dinner, lest they are caught out of bounds after dark.