Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures
Chapter 1308: Keeper Tryouts

Evan and Hermione were seated near the goal posts, where all the students waiting to try out for the Keeper position had lined up.

So, like Harry, they saw Ron, who was a delicate shade of green.

Ron’s reaction wasn’t unexpected — he had always had a problem with nerves and was prone to stage fright.

However, the uncontrollable shaking of his body might be due to him being angry.

Not far from him, McLaggen openly commented on the performance of every student trying out. He made some unpleasant comments and unfounded rumors, which was really annoying. It was unclear if he was doing it on purpose, but McLaggen’s main comments were focused on Ron, and he kept talking about his embarrassing moments last term…

Ron had probably heard him since McLaggen’s voice was loud, as if it was meant for him.

The main reason why he had been able to restrain himself and not rush over to beat him was because McLaggen was a senior in Gryffindor.

Besides, McLaggen had been careful not to name Ron directly when making those sarcastic comments.

But the things he said, about falling off his broom, missing all the balls, and not being able to tell left from right, were all very reminiscent of Ron’s performance last term.

“That guy’s so annoying!” said Hermione. She and Evan had also heard what McLaggen said.

“He really is. I bet Harry wouldn’t want someone like him in the team…” Evan nodded.

McLaggen’s deliberate attempt to bring others down in order to elevate himself was a low-level move.

He kept bringing up Ron’s poor performance last term, thereby trying to put pressure on Ron and affect his performance.

After failing to get special treatment from Harry through the backdoor, this was probably his plan now. It sounded very much like the style of Slytherin House, but most of those politicians’ families were the same as pure-blood wizarding families, so it was not surprising that McLaggen acted this way! It seemed that he had learned these methods from his uncle, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, and could use them flexibly.

The only real difference between pure-blood Wizarding families and political families might be that the latter weren’t as extreme. They didn’t preach pure-blood supremacy or claim pure-blood wizards were inherently superior. Instead, they focused on putting their own interests first.

The common point between the two sides was that they didn’t care how dirty the means were, as long as they were useful and could help them succeed.

Five minutes after the Beater tryouts concluded, it was time for the Keeper tryouts.

As before, most of the students didn’t perform well, and none of the first five applicants saved more than two goals apiece.

The sixth person to come on the field was Cormac McLaggen. Surprisingly, he successfully saved the first three penalties. The attempts by Alicia, Ritchie, and Demelza — the three Gryffindor Chasers — were all stopped effortlessly. Only Ginny and Elaine were left to take their shots.

Although McLaggen was annoying, one had to admit that he was quite capable.

Putting aside his antics, his abilities were on par with Ron’s.

From Evan’s admittedly amateur understanding of Quidditch, McLaggen’s skills might not match Ron at his very best. However, they were certainly better than Ron’s average performance, enough to make him a strong contender for the Keeper position.

Ginny started her turn. If McLaggen managed to block all the shots, Ron’s chances of becoming Keeper would diminish significantly.

“We should help Ron…” said Hermione, but then she shook her head, “No, we can’t do that!”

“What’s your plan?”

“I just suddenly thought about using Confundo on him to make him lose his direction, unable to stop the ball,” said Hermione, her face turning red. “But we can’t do that. It’s dishonorable and would compromise the fairness of the tryouts. …”

At a time like this, Hermione was still prioritizing fairness.

That was the weakness of upright wizards — they were too bound by principles and rules, always worrying about whether their actions were honorable and just.

However, knowing Hermione, Evan thought that if the situation became truly dire, she might actually be the one to make the boldest move.

In other words, if Evan were in Ron’s position, Hermione might have already cast the Confundus Charm.

“Don’t worry, there’s no need to interfere with the tryouts. I don’t think he can get past Ginny and Elaine.”

Just as Evan said, Ginny’s shot was precise and very tricky.

She lured McLaggen toward the left hoop, tricking him into thinking she was going to shoot, but Ginny made a beautiful turn in the air, flew to the right at top speed, and lobbed the Quaffle in. The Quaffle brushed McLaggen’s fingertips and he glared at her.

When it was Elaine’s turn, McLaggen became visibly more cautious, but he couldn’t keep up with the speed of her Firebolt.

After circling a few times, a gap appeared in his defense, and Elaine easily scored.

“I protest!” said McLaggen fiercely, flying straight at Harry. “They both have very good brooms.”

“The quality of your broomstick is part of Quidditch prowess, and that applies to everyone who tries out,” said Harry, ignoring McLaggen’s complaint. “Alright, next!”

McLaggen gritted his teeth and stepped aside. Harry had a point. It was fair to everyone.

If Ginny and Elaine maintained the same difficulty level, no one would be able to stop their shots.

Unless that person’s broom was as good and as fast as the Firebolt or the Starcatcher…

That person was Ron, and the broom in his hand was the Starcatcher, the only one besides Ginny’s.

From this perspective, the situation was very favorable for him. Ron was the thirteenth to appear on the field.

The performances of the players after McLaggen were not particularly well — none of them managed to block more than three goals.

When Ron came on the field, the person cheering the loudest in the stands was Lavender.

In the small section where the Slytherins were watching the tryouts, they spontaneously began singing “Weasley Is Our King.”

Because the rhythm was catchy and fast, soon many students from other Houses started singing along.

The singing and noisy laughter drowned out the cheers.

In the center of the pitch, Harry wanted to shut up these Slytherins or drive them out, but he couldn’t do it.

He was a little afraid to watch Ron’s performance, afraid that he would miss all the balls.

But he thought that as the Captain he ought to show slightly more grit, and so turned to watch Ron do his trial.

Yet he needed not have worried: Although Ron looked nervous, he performed very well.

Amid cheers, he saved one, two, three, four penalties in a row…

Now, only Elaine had yet to take her turn, but Ron had already outperformed McLaggen and won the trial!

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