An American Fangirl at Hogwarts 《3》 of the ☆Ink and Pixels series☆

Chapter Eight: Tryouts

"Is that what I think it is?"

"It is."

"I want it."

"It's a beauty, innit?" Hagrid asked upon hearing Grace, Sara, and Madison talking.

"Fer our firs' lesson, I though' we coul' look at these beauties," Hagrid announced to the class as he held up an ashy colored Niffler. "Now, this 'ere is Rory."

The little Niffler snuggled against Hagrid's chest lazily.

"Nifflers are after shiny stuff," Hagrid continued, lifting up a shiny compass before the Niffler. Rory, the Niffler, dove after the compass and tucked it in their little pouch.

"Cute, ain't 'e?" Hagrid asked, rubbing Rory's head.

Madison and her friends nodded fervently.

"An' fer yer firs' assignment, yer gonna group up an' take care o' a Niffler. Now come on and pick 'em."

Madison, Sara, and Grace shared a look before racing to the enclosure just so they can be the first group in line.

"You lot are eager, aren't ya?" Hagrid asked with a bearded smirk before presenting the Nifflers as though they were game show winners being presented a prize. "Pick yer Niffler."

The group crouched down, scanning the pen when suddenly Madison felt a tug on her neck. She looks down to see that a Niffler was tugging at her locket.

"I don't believe this is yours," Madison remarked, gently plucking the necklace from the creatures hands. The Niffler's face visibly sank in disappointment.

"Now look what you did," Sara said, "you made the Niffler sad."

"Well they can't have my necklace," Madison responded in protest.

"They're just trying to live their best life, Madison," Grace added.

Madison chuckled and rolled her eyes. But she did have to admit she admired the Niffler for sneaking up on her. She was impressed.

"How 'bout this one, guys?" Madison asked, nodding to the Niffler, who was now reaching through the pen. The Niffler strained before they started toying with her charm bracelet, clearly satisfied.

"Seems good to me," Sara said and Grace nodded in agreement.

Madison carefully reached out a hand to the Niffler. The creature sniffed her hand before rubbing lightly against her.

"Hey little guy," Madison cooed. She tried to reach in to pick the creature up, but the Niffler shied away from her.

"They're a lil shy," Hagrid said, reaching in to get their selected Niffler. "It migh' take 'im sum time 'fore they trust ya. Jus' feed 'im and bond with 'im and he'll warm up."

"Well what will we name him?" Madison asked as she joined Sara and Grace at their Niffler's separate enclosure.

"Diablo," Sara answered plainly.

"Diablo?" Madison asked.

"Diablo," Sara said, tossing some food to the Niffler.

"Looks like a Diablo to me," Grace agreed.

"Diablo it is then."

☆☆☆☆

The following day at lunch Mallory, Blaire, Grace, Sara, and Madison were gathered as Mallory stuffed her face.

"Mallory. You're going to choke. You have to slow down."

"Only cowards slow down," Mallory responded, shoving another bite of pasta into her mouth. Her cheeks were so full she looked like a chipmunk.

"You're going to puke on the field," Blaire pointed out.

"Only cowards throw up on the field," Mallory said, talking a large gulp of pumpkin juice.

"Whatever you say," Blaire said before turning to Madison. "Ready for tryouts?"

"Uh. I guess?"

"Only cowards guess," Mallory deadpans.

"Well I'm not in Gryffindor for a reason," Madison said.

"I guess that means we'll feed Diablo tonight," Grace said as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Who the bloody hell is Diablo?" Mallory asked.

"Our Niffler," Grace answered.

"But we call him Diablo now," Sara added.

"Okay," Mallory gave them a weird look before trailing off. She checked the time. "Alright I should go set up. Make sure you guys are there in an hour."

Mallory's plate cleared itself as she gathered her things and headed to the pitch.

"Are you ready for tryouts?" Madison asked Blaire after Mallory was out of earshot.

"Honestly? I'm not sure," Blaire answered with a shrug. "Mallory could take this too far. Quidditch makes her a little intense. Especially since she wants to win. Really badly."

"That's understandable."

"Yeah, except she's pretty insistent on recruiting the dream team, but I'm not sure she'll find the perfect team she's looking for."

"What makes you say that?"

"The team hasn't been the same since Cedric died. Cedric was the glue that held the team together perfectly. And now, the team's progress seems to keep going downhill. And she's determined to push the team to their fullest potential."

"And you're worried about that?"

"I'm worried she'll work herself and the team to death. Or scare everyone away after day one."

Blaire sighed and rubbed her temples.

"It'll be fine," Madison said, trying to reassure her, "Mallory will find her dream team and everyone will survive."

"I hope you're right."

☆☆☆☆

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT?!" Mallory screamed.

"A throw?" Madison responded questioningly.

"You throw like a girl!"

"I am a girl."

"No!" Mallory screamed back, "you're a strong and independent woman! Throw like one!"

Madison flew back into position with the Quaffle. Mallory was having each player try for a different position. Currently they were working on Chasing and Madison was sucking at it.

"What are you waiting for?!" Mallory screamed at Madison. "Take the shot!"

The ball soared through the air and slammed lamely into the goal post.

Mallory wasn't pleased.

"Outta the way!"

☆☆☆☆

"I'll have the results posted on the common room notice board by Monday," Mallory announced after tryouts. Madison's eyes swept over the other candidates faces and they looked as exhausted as she felt. "In the meantime, take a shower and get some rest."

Madison trudged up to the castle well before Mallory and Blaire. Her body ached with every step and her head was pounding. If every practice was going to be like this, then she wasn't sure if she wanted to make the team.

A/N: Hey guys! *waves* so I know this is a shorter chapter, but it's mostly a filler for some great stuff to come in the next few. Be ready for a big surprise! Now in the meantime feel free to leave a vote or a comment or even drop a message because feedback is appreciated and so are you! Love ya! 💛💙❤💚