Vita Mortem

The stands on the Quidditch pitch were crowded with both students from Gryffindor and students from the opposing houses. Amongst the noisy lot, students trying out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team could be easily seen on the pitch, standing out with their ever-increasing nerves.

“Alright, listen up! If you’re trying out for the Gryffindor team, line up in front of me,” Oliver commanded in a voice that brooked no arguments. Ravan and Scarlet moved with the small number of Gryffindor students who wanted to try out as Oliver continued to give instructions.

“First of all,” Oliver addressed the youngest-looking, “if you’re a first-year, you can leave now. Only second years and higher can be a part of the team.” At this stern message, three students hung their heads and dragged their feet behind them as they slowly left the pitch. “Right, now that that’s been dealt with, we can sort out who wants to try out for what. Try-out Chasers, see Katie, Alicia and Angelina. Hopeful Seekers, see Harry. I don’t think there are any Beaters, so we can leave it at that. Get to it!” Oliver yelled, scattering all students but one.

Ravan raised an eyebrow at him, “What, you don’t think anyone could be better than you in the position of Keeper?” She folded her arms, staring at Oliver as he laughed.

“You’re serious?” Oliver asked, after his laughter had died down. “No-one’s tried out for Keeper ever since I’ve taken the position, so that has to mean something.”

“That just means I’m free to knock you out of your position, doesn’t it?” Ravan smiled cockily, before walking off and picking up a broom.

Over by the Chasers, Scarlet listened intently to what Angelina was saying. “Being a Chaser means you’re ready for anything. Bludgers, the Quaffle, your teammates, they’re all coming at you, and you have to be ready to react in an instant. We’re going to test your reaction time, and how you react to situations. Grab a broom, and we’ll get started,” Angelina said, kicking off the ground on her own broom, followed by her fellow Chasers.

The small group of hopeful Chasers rushed to the pile of Cleansweep Sevens that was a little ways away, Scarlet quickly grabbing an available broom and then moving over to where Ravan stood.

“Noir, come on, we haven’t got all day!” Oliver yelled out as Ravan took her jumper off.

“Oh, sorry Scar, duty calls in the form of a cute guy. Can you put my jumper with my things? Thank you!” Ravan smiled, handing Scarlet her jumper before kicking off to meet Oliver in the air.

Scarlet simply smiled, running over to where the girls had thrown their bags and packing Ravan’s jumper into her bag, before picking up Ravan’s water bottle. The smile dropped from Scarlet’s face as she reached into her own bag and pulled out a vial of clear liquid, her eyes narrowing slightly in concentration as she deftly poured the vial’s contents into the bottle. The contents of both bottles mixed with no visual change, and Scarlet smiled once more. She made her way back to the Chaser try-out area, and lifted into the air, ready to begin her trial.

The trials for qualifying for a position on the Gryffindor Quidditch team were tough. Ravan, as a Keeper, had to block shot after shot after shot made by the aspiring Chasers, and avoid Bludgers sent towards her by Fred and George. Scarlet was made to fly around Bludgers out for her blood, act as a block, score 20 yards away from the hoops, and attempt to pull off a Finbolt Flick. After the group-only try-outs, teams were made, with the most promising qualifiers forming one team and the Gryffindor Quidditch team playing against them. The impromptu game lasted for three-quarters of an hour, the hopeful applicants scoring 80, the Gryffindor team scoring 150 and catching the Snitch.

“Good game everybody,” Oliver praised, after the game had concluded and everyone had gathered around him, “I’ll let you know in a few days on who was successful. Keep an ear out, I’ll probably announce it in the Common Room. Go on, get out of here!” he yelled, dismissing the group.

Ravan and Scarlet met on the ground, exhausted after such a draining try-out. They began to walk to their bags when they were forcefully clapped on the back, knocking Ravan to the ground and making Scarlet stumble. “What is it with you and falling for me?” Fred laughed, smiling coquettishly.

Scarlet sighed. “As much as I want to watch you two flirt, I feel that George and I may have already had enough of this over the weeks, so I’m going to drag Ravan with me to the changing rooms so we can get clean. We’ll talk and flirt at dinner all you want, I promise,” she proclaimed, giving the boys a grin before picking up the bags and walking towards the changing rooms.

Ravan groaned before slowly getting up, shooting Fred a flirtatious grin before following Scarlet, throwing “I can’t help it, it seems to be a natural impulse,” over her shoulder.

The Weasley twins watched the two girls go, their eyes lingering on the girls for a few more moments before turning to each other with a cheeky grin as they headed off to the boy’s lockers.

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After cleaning up from the physically and mentally demanding trials, Scarlet and Ravan took a few moments to collect their thoughts and catch up on the day’s events. “How do you think you did?” Scarlet asked Ravan, pulling her shirt down over her torso.

“Considering I’m the only one that tried out for the position as Keeper, I think I did pretty well.” Ravan smirked.

“Good point,” Scarlet conceded, before grabbing Ravan’s water bottle and throwing it at her. “Here, you must be thirsty,” she remarked, taking a long drink out of her own water bottle.

“Ah,” Ravan’s eyes darkened as she took a swig of her bottle, “Yeah, I truly am,” she replied.