Starry skies and Gardenias

Chapter 23

The drizzle was still persistent when she went down to the Quidditch pitch. The only good thing about this was the there was only a small number of people sitting in the stands watching the tryouts.

When Isabella went down to the pitch, her anxiety growing with every step she took, she saw that there were a lot of people trying for beaters and six people, including herself for the seeker position.

Clearly, she was the youngest of the lot.

Isabella took a seat beside the other 'Seekers'. She could use this to her advantage if she tried. A Seeker's position relied a lot on tactics too. She had just practised them in that room, and this was her first time outside. Well, she'd have to try. 

"She's tiny," Marlene blurted out before she could stop.

"Who?' James said tearing his gaze away from Lily and her friends.

Marlene pointed the little girl out. It was incredibly hard to miss. Jefferson stood out too much, because of how small she was. She was shorter than most her age. 

"Jefferson?" Sirius said, then laughed. "Did you know, Regulus is shorter than her,"

"Oh, dear," Frank said, trying incredibly hard not to laugh along with Sirius. "That's. . ."

"Incredibly short," Sirius nodded. "My mother says he'll grow up. Let's hope he does. Can't remain a midget forever, can he?"

"Well, we need more girls in the team," Marlene sighed. "After Phoebe left, the team feels incomplete,"

"Yes, that's because she was the Seeker before," Frank said. "And now we need someone to fill the position, obviously,"

"No, no," Marlene said. "I mean we need a girl in the team to fill the void. I alone can't handle all of you idiots. I need someone to share my burden with. You know what I'm saying?"

"The chances she'll get in are. . .not that great," James said truthfully. Everyone agreed.

"Between Fawcett and her, I'll take Jefferson," Sirius said. 

Obviously. Both Sirius and Fawcett had explosive personalities. The team did consider Sirius more bearable because he could take a joke and have fun, but Fawcett was rather uptight.

"If we focus on skill alone, however," Frank said pointedly.

"Oh, well," Marlene shrugged. "Nothing wrong with hoping for a miracle,"

And maybe a miracle was exactly what they'd get.

Isabella put her arms around herself and hugged herself. She was sitting outside in the rain. 

She loved the rain, but right now she was a bit too tense to relish the feeling. The rain didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon either. The raindrops only seemed to pelt faster as time went by.

She absentmindedly watched the beaters fly around the pitch. 

She put her arms out and stretched her fingers, stifling a small yawn. She didn't get much sleep last night. 

She was worried about the winds. . .They were coming from the east? Or was it the west? . . .Oh, well, she didn't know nor did she care at the moment. It was coming from her right and it was only growing stronger.

The tryouts for the Beaters took most of the morning. When it ended, it ended with a couple broken teeth and a slightly splintered broom and a huge raging argument.