His tryouts had gone fairly well. Callum had picked up a few members for his quidditch team. Now he was scheduling a practice so that everyone get accustomed to working with each other, and give a few more Slytherins the chance to try out for other positions on his team or for alternate positions. He had put up some flyers in the quidditch common room and contacted his current team.

Callum sat out in the middle of the pitch stretching as he waited on the rest of his team to arrive. Hopefully things would go smoothly and he could fill up the last couple of slots on the roster as well as gain a few alternate players in case things went awry. He was hoping that word had gotten around to the rest of his house that he had changed and that he wasn't a tyrannical quidditch captain. Callum liked to think he was actually very easy to work with and play for- he just expected dedication and hard work.

A pale-headed blob near the castle gradually resolved itself into one Erin Harper, his broom slung over his shoulder and his robes abandoned for something a little more flying-practical. He looked to be hurrying, skidding down the steeper inclines towards the pitch. Once he spotted Callum all alone he slowed to an amble, no longer worried about being late.

It still didn't take him long to reach his captain. Erin swung his broom upright, planting the wooden end in the grass with a familiar ease. "Cheers, Knight. You find any other players yet?"

He wondered, idly, if he'd have to compete for his position as Seeker. His hands, bereft of quidditch gloves, tightened on the broomstick handle, anticipatory, restless. That would be fun.

Erin had once again wondered how she wound up here.  Though she had no idea if Callum still even wanted her on the team, or even at the tryouts- she had no choice.  There were seven positions on a team, and as far as Erin knew Callum had a roster of six.  Erin did not even know if Callum still wanted her at keeper or somewhere else, but she was always looking for an excuse to spend time with Bellatrix.  So when Callum posted flyers advertising another round of tryouts she was partially relieved and partially worried.  She was relieved, because this meant that another warm bodied-person could take her place on the team.  She was slightly worried, since it seemed like she would have to go through a tryout again.  The last one was nerve wracking enough.

It was an entirely weird sensation -  not wanting to fly, but wanting to belong to the team.  Whatever her thoughts on those matters may be, Erin lacked sufficient focus to continue on that train of thought.  Consequently, she focused on what was in front of her.  Noticing Knight and Harper, she joined the captain stretching.  She started by stretching her hamstrings, and offered the two men a salutation.  Though she did not see Harper until she had already greeted Callum.

"How's it going captain? - oh hi Erin" she said with a smile upon her face.  Figuring she needed to be more eloquent than that in front of her dormmate's fiance and another fifth year boy, she struggled to come up with something witty to say.  She failed, so she simply asked about the agenda.

"What are we doing today?" figuring it needed to be asked anyways.

It was an odd feeling, but not one Billy was totally unfamiliar with: He was nervous and felt terribly out of place. Had every right to be, really. He wasn't bad on a broom, he might even go so far as to say he was good - he'd spent much of his childhood riding one, playing with his brothers and sister. No, it was being, well...here. And the fact he'd have to impress Knight. Somehow.

The fact they were related - in Bilius's case, his family descended from a neat little burned off bit on the Knight family tree - didn't aid his gut any either. His best bet, he supposed, was to be polite - no easy task - be quiet, and do his best.

Off at the edge of the crowd as usual, he quietly retched. Acting like one of the Ravenclaws. Bloody suck-ups. At least Knight had calmed down recently. That was the only reason Bilius had dared show up - before he'd kept out of the older boy's way, much like he did with most of his house. Times like this, he sometimes wished he'd let the hat put him in Hufflepuff - but what was worse, this or being in the same house as Oliver?

Hmm, definitely the second. Thank Merlin for Slytherin.

Still, standing in a small group like this made it easier to hide at the edge. He gripped his broom handle tightly, suddenly very aware he was one of the few hopefuls here.

Bit late to sprint for the castle,though.

Callum was glad to see everyone so prompt. "Good to see you, Harper!" he greeted jovially. "Missed you at tryouts. Lucky nobody usurped you," he grinned- to show that he wouldn't let something like that really happen. Callum was going to be fair of course, but Harper had already proven to be capable on the pitch- which helped.

"Hello, Little Dark," he said when she sat down next to him to stretch. "Been practicing any?" he asked. "Not going to take it as easy on you today. Managed to find some smaller gloves for you, though," Callum said. "I figured the standard ones might be a bit too big. Nice, hard dragon hide. Should dull the pain of any quaffles coming at you too quickly. Just make sure you can stick to the broom well- don't want any injuries before we get started in official games."

Callum looked up when he saw another body. Clogg-Spleen. Callum was fairly sure that he was related to him- even if his family didn't acknowledge it. You found a lot reading familiar records. "Well don't sit there with your thumb up your butt, Clogg-Spleen. Get ready to practice. Need a chaser and a beater- so if those don't interest you, you'll land an alternate position."

He then looked to Harper. "Heard from any of the others?" he asked. "They should be along soon. If someone doesn't show up, I'll have their heads. We can't afford to dick around anymore. This team has to get its act together before any games."

"Good to see you, Harper! Missed you at tryouts. Lucky nobody usurped you."

Erin's return grin was quick and bright as the Snitches he caught, there and gone again. "Nah. I knew no one would beat me."

The Dark girl who joined them was a pretty little doll of a thing, but Erin had not the slightest idea whether she'd inherited her elder sisters' mercurial temperament as well. The twins were one thing - he'd kissed both, dated one, pursued the other - but he didn't know anything about the younger girl. Knight greeted her cheerfully enough, but then, Knight had been bizarrely nice to everyone recently. Even his insult to the goblin boy was mild. As someone whose relationship with the other boy consisted almost entirely of the handful of times they'd ganged up on someone else, combined with small talk in the dorm and on the pitch, it surprised Erin to see Callum so friendly.

"Heard from any of the others?"

"Haven't heard a thing," Erin replied, frowning a little at the reminder of how disjointed the team actually was. He shifted his weight, leaning heavily upon his broom so that the end dug slightly into the half-frozen ground. "They're "dicking around" somewhere, I s'pose. Next time maybe make an announcement in the common room; I think I saw someone using the posters for fire fuel."

After Callum mentioned he had new gloves for her to wear, Erin smiled.  Though the smile was chased away from her face when he asked if she had been practicing.

"New gloves - aces," Erin spoke more to herself, though it was audible.  Continuing her train of thought, she said, " I have not been practicing as much as I would like," Erin said, realizing she needed all the practice she could take.  Though she had been using the pitch a bit more, that was mainly because she was distracted from whatever it was supposed she was supposed to be doing (usually studying).  Sometimes she would wind up playing catch but most times she flew aimlessly and without purpose.  It was about as close to self-practice as Erin would ever achieve. 

"Speaking of that, do you have any keeper drills to do by myself?  Usually I just get someone to throw the quaffle at me, but none of them throw anywhere near as hard as Bella," Erin asked, her thoughts holding for the moment. 

As the two boys commented on the others, Erin realized that it was a sparse practice so far.  Erin was wondering if Bella would show up or if she had other plans for the afternoon.  Erin then remembered she was supposed to be stretching.  Deciding her hamstrings had been stretched enough, she moved on to her calves and the rest of her legs.  Trying to think of someway to engage Billius and Erin in the conversation, she added her two cents in the conversation.

"Not that long ago you were holding mid-year tryouts.  To me it seems as though the team is coming together nicely.  Even if we're not, the team at least looks better with me on it," Erin commented innocently, unaware of how much ego was in that statement.

That insult was positively nice, coming from Knight. Bilius managed not to let his jaw drop.

"Was hoping for Chaser, Captain," he informed him simply, his voice stern but polite. "Beater would be a bad idea, honestly." He might get mistaken for the bludger. 'Mistaken'.

Possibly by his own team.

He let them have their friendly talk without interruption- though the sight of Erin Dark made him restrain an eye roll. If they had to stop a game because the dumb twat broke a nail, he was out. Girls! Maybe Oliver would join the Hufflepuff team, though - he's try out Beater for that...he grinned.

Erin's last comment made him ponder hitting her on the head with his broom. At least Foley wasn't on the team, or he'd have to.

"If people aren't responsible enough to check the boards for announcements, that's not my problem. If they aren't serious 'bout quidditch, I don't want them on my team," he said to Harper. And it was true. They weren't little kids, it wasn't hard to check a board or to hear by word of mouth. Callum had told a lot of people in the common room- and made sure to let his team know.

He smiled at Little Dark. "Hard to practice keeper by yourself. Try some speed drills. If you need someone to come out, I usually have the free time. I've been looking into some charms to make the quaffles come at you- but haven't found one that is easy for younger players to cast. There's got to be something the professionals use that's simple enough. Glad to hear you've been trying, though, Little Dark. Maybe Clogg-Spleen can help you out." Might as well go on and let the kid know he was needed.

"Right then. Chaser's a good spot for a little fellow- size ought to make you a bit faster than others." He refrained from making a joke about how Billy's nose would interupt his aerodynamics for the diving a seeker would have to do.

Callum mounted his broom and kicked off the ground. "Right then everyone, up in the air. Do some laps first, see how fast we can get. Need to start practicing at a quicker rate. I've thought about setting up some practice games. Maybe if we keep some of our best plays secret, we can manage to trick a team or two into thinking we're worse off than we actually are." Sounded sound enough to him.

"Careful not to knock each other off your brooms," he added. "That's for later."

"Need a chaser and a beater"

"Rule me out already have ye?" Xavier's thick Scottish brogue lifted over the pitch from where he had just emerged. With a shiny new broom hoisted up over his shoulder Xavier was sporting a clean set of slytherin quidditch robes - ones that were obviously just for practices - and a thick set of new gloves, swinging a pristine looking beaters bat. Arathorn had made true on his word to buy Xavier a whole new set of equipment if he had joined the team, although it would have been quite a waste of galleons if Knight was already planning on replacing him.

He came up alongside the rest of his team mates with a winning smile. Things had been so hectic in the past three months he had finally come to a point where he had just come to accept it, everyone else could just sod off he was going to do his own thing and he didn't give crap if people didn't like it. He didn't need Bella or Kit or any other dumb broad. He was going to be filthy rich in two short years he'd have plenty of women to pick from them.

As Callum gave the order he mounted his broom and kicked off. Up in the air he began doing laps as instructed marvelling at how well his new broom was responding to his own commands. He'd definitely have a leg up on the other teams that had to use the dingy old school brooms.

As Erin heard Callum make the captainy announcement about responsibility and all that other stuff Erin avoided like the plague, she sort of tuned out.  Following Callum's lead, she took to the air.  She noticed that the spring air had not yet completely set in, and that there were a few clouds overhead, though the weather was still relatively fair for Scotland just coming out of winter. 

Picking up a little altitude, she noticed how different everyone seemed at different angles.  Wondering what people would look like upside-down, she wondered if she could pull off a barrel-roll.  Deciding that she probably did not have enough time to do so, she just flew lazily in the air, not really trying to keep up with anything.  She had heard something abo9ut Bella and Xavier, but Erin did not know the particulars of it.  Once again, Erin was sort of left out of the loop, so she just asked about the task at hand.

"So when is our first game?" she called, being slightly drowned out by the wind.  She would have to make a note of that for the games.   

Outfit

Strellie walked out into the pitch with her broom in her hands. She had mentioned her interest in the team earlier in the year, but had refrained from going to the last try out. She knew that Knight wasn’t fond of girls playing. Still, she decided to go by the pitch to ask if there were any spots that he hadn’t managed to fill. If they had a full team, it was good. But if he still needed another Chaser, it was better yet.

The tiny Russian set her broom down for a moment as she paused to pull back her hair. It was a rare style for the girl, but it was practical, so style had to be thrown aside. Despite being a wealthy pureblood, Demitria’s broom was a hand-me-down from her brother Maxim. It was well worn, but Strellie knew every dip of that broom like it was her own hand. So when she picked it up, her nimble fingers fell into their place.

When she entered the pitch itself, she noticed the others already in the air, some circling the perimeter of the field. Strellie scowled. She was late. Oh well, she thought. She dropped her bag on the ground and shot into the air. She would go ask Callum if he needed anyone first.

She pulled up next to him. “Hey, Knight,” Her Russian accent identified her even though she was slightly behind him. “Is the team full or do you still need a few players?”

Outfit

Strellie had shocked Kitty earlier that morning: Quidditch? Tryouts? Sport? She couldn't quite believe it. It's not that they were above the game, in fact, there had been plenty of days spent cheering on the Slytherin team. Something inside Kitty told her that it wasn't what proper witches did - her mother would not be seen dead dribbling a Quaffle, and her grandmother would rather dine on beluga caviare than beat a Bludger. Yet, Violet had been quite the star player (ugh, of course she had), and those faithful cogs of strategy began to turn in Kitty's head.

Demitria could do it, Violet could do it, for Merlin's sake even your usual saps could do it, so why couldn't Kitty? She could fly, she was nimble enough. There was nothing to stop her. After about an hour after Strellie had left to get ready, she'd chosen a chic yet practical ensemble (it was a rare ocassion if Kitty wore trousers, never mind... denim jeans ) and was determined to show exactly how it was done. Kitty was the sort of girl that wanted to excel at everything. She was academically capable, and although she never tried all that hard in lesson, Kitty was content with the knowledge that she could adequately handle subjects like Artihmancy or Potions. It was a device of self-assurance of sorts: Kitty wanted to prove to herself and others that she could ride a broom, she could score those hoops, and she could bully anyone she wanted off the pitch. Li was adept at striking them down in the courtyard, so why would Quidditch be such a problem?

She strode onto the pitch, seeing Strellie next to Callum Knight. Of all the people to be captain, it'd be the biggest pig in Slytherin - he wouldn't be a problem. Kitty had bigger fish to fry. All she needed to do was impress him: he didn't have to like her (and Kitty knew he definitely didn't), he just had to see the potential. Having a half-decent Quidditch player who was a social cobra in her spare time was undoubtedly an asset.
"Count me in also," she butted in, putting a hand on Strellie's shoulder. Behind her goggles, Kitty gave a brief smile before that usual expression of despondence appeared on her face. "I'd be more than happy to try-out, Knight."

Callum grinned at Xavier. "Heard a rumor you'd decided to quit on me," he explained with a shrug. "But I'm glad to see that's not the case." Callum gestured toward the beater's bat. "Grab one and mount up."

It wasn't long before a couple of others joined him on the pitch. More girls. But he was desperate for players, and at least he had Xav and Billy and Harper. That was better than some teams, he supposed. "Need chasers," he said to Demitria. "Got Tawse on beater and Harper seeking, Little Dark over there is on keeper. Laps for now," he said to her. "Get up some speed and such, get accustomed to the brooms before we get started."

"Only position you can get on first string with is Chaser," is all that he said to Kitty Li before he answered Erin's question from earlier.

"Our first match is in about a month- so we haven't got a long time to get our team together and get practicing. But it's better than nothing. Let's just hope people stick to it. We lose as many team members as we recruit it seems. So if anyone on this pitch isn't serious about playing- walk now. Because if you miss a single match, you're off my team and I won't let you back on!"

Callum then leaned forward slightly on his broom and started racing away from the others for his laps- hoping to encourage everyone to pick up some speed and get going.

"If people aren't responsible enough to check the boards for announcements, that's not my problem. If they aren't serious 'bout quidditch, I don't want them on my team."

Callum's words washed off Erin like water; he gave a noncommittal shrug. He was here, wasn't he? He let the matter drop.

When they finally took to the sky he loosed an explosive sigh, the teenage boy equivalent of loud relief. It was a pleasure to finally dig his boots into the ground and push off. With all the winter weather, Erin hadn't been flying in months.

He looped lazily along with the others, straying farther afield and then pulling up tight when he thought he heard Knight calling back some orders. It felt good to fly, and he leaned into the wind, relishing the way his hair whipped away from his face, the feel of the broom beneath him, the others at his hind. He was assured of a position; Knight knew he was good, and Erin had nothing to prove. So he kept himself to a slower pace, matching the rest of the team and allowing him to gaze down at the latecomers when they finally straggled in. Tawse, Strellie, Kitty.... the last was busy smiling up at Knight, wearing an outfit more practical than Erin had ever seen her don. Erin trained his eyes forward again, even letting his gaze wander to Dark and Clogg-Spleen keeping pace nearby, but he didn't particularly care to catch Kitty's eye. The last time he'd seen her, she'd pegged him as her property and ruined his chance of a snog with a hot club gi - well. Actually that had been a boy in disguise, so maybe Erin should be thanking her instead. Still, he hadn't appreciated the implication that he should come running at the snap of her manicured fingers, just because he was a Slytherin and they'd traded a few loaded looks. He was no one's dog.

But again, she'd saved him from the gigantic embarrassment of snogging Hogwarts' most closeted Hufflepuff, so there was that. At least there was no way Kitty could find out. For now, it was even easier to avoid her once Knight racing away.

"About bloody time," Erin said under his breath, leaning forward over his broom handle as he picked up speed. But his tone was pleased, and the spark of his eye as the wind stung his cheeks and the ground began to blur was the complete opposite of sullen.

He wondered, as he quickly caught up beside Knight, whether it was a no-no to exceed to team captain. Erin wanted to go faster. Were they playing nice for the newbies?