It was early on Sunday morning when Draco walked out onto the Pitch, inhaling the crisp autumn air and assessing the weather. Small cloud coverage blocked the sun, so no one could complain about glare. There wasn’t a drop of rain in the sky. The wind was a calm breeze that made him smirk. No excuses could be found today, so he would be able to fairly judge every applicant for a place on his team. This would be the year he finally defeated Potter; Draco could feel it.

His black slacks and oxford shirt stood out against the dull day, and his grey eyes sparked as he watched for his potential team to show up. Draco silently summoned his broom, knowing he might need to fly above some of them to watch their try-out better. He refused, however, to dress in full quidditch garb. These people would not know about his potential in his new position until the first practice. They also wouldn’t know about his leaving his old position until the roster was posted in the common room. Let them all be confused. It was more fun that way.

Watching silently as the applicants showed up, Draco waited for them all to file in and finally focused on them, a smirk crossing his lips. ”Welcome to try-outs. You all will show off your skills to the best of your abilities in roughly ten minutes time each. Balls are by me, you can release whatever ones you prefer. I will use my broom to observe and only to observe.”

His arms were crossed and his foot tapped the flattened grass. ”If there are no questions, we will begin at one end of the line and go along to the other. You. Begin. Now.”

It was the day quidditch tryouts for Slytherin house were being held and Blaise suited up for the occasion in all his chaser glory. He didn't have a doubt that he would make the team again this year, having played for the last four and unlike most of the players in previous years he actually possessed some talent when it came to the game and the position he played.

Dressed in full quidditch garb Blaise hoisted his nimbus 2001 over his shoulder and sauntered through the castle and out it's doors looking like a man with a purpose. His dark eyes quickly evaluated the weather conditions while he made his way to the pitch and found that it was pretty much perfect conditions. "Maybe Draco knows what he's doing after all.." He muttered to himself with a half grin on his face.

It seemed he was one of the first to arrive and as more did come Blaise looked over them all with a superior gaze. There was not one ounce of nervousness in the dark skinned wizard. He knew what to do and when to do it, he knew how to handle the quaffle and he knew how to score with the damned thing. He found this to be mere formality for him.

Draco's speech made him smirk and on the blonde's command Blaise stepped up to the plate, more than willing to show up the remaining snakes who had shown up for a shot at a spot on the team. "Right you are Captain." He muttered with a roll of his eyes mocking the blonde in a way only the other would be able to tell was playfully. Few people had known Blaise as long as the Malfoy heir and so few people could pick up on his mannerisms like the blonde wizard.

He threw one leg over his broom after grabbing the quaffle and tucking it under his arm and pushed off the packed soil that served as the ground of the pitch. His ascent into the air was quick and his handling of both the broom beneath him and the quaffle in his arm expert. Blaise evened out his broom when he was on level with the hoops and whoever was trying for keeper and would be attempting to block his shots.

Flying directly at him was McKlintock and Blaise didn't hesitate in shooting forward at the other chaser. When it looked like they were about to crash into each other Blaise leapt completely off his broom and over the other, landing safely back on his broom on the other side of McKlintock. He didn't look back but a small smirk appeared on his dark face. He had been performing that particular move for years and did it with excellence.

Getting closer to the goal posts he focused on getting the quaffle past the keeper and through one of the rings. He made his move as if to circle the posts, but at the last second turned up behind the hoops and dropped down from over them, tossing the quaffle in the center ring while the kid who was trying for keeper was still looking for him to come around the other side.

The dark skinned wizard shook his head and raced off towards his opponent who had received the ball after Blaise had put it through the hoop. Recovery was Blaise's strong point as a chaser, and he was usually the one sent in plays to steal the quaffle and get it to a more accurate scorer. Coming at McKlintock full speed he pulled his broom up to shoot over the other boy and used his foot to kick the quaffle out of arm lock his opponent had it in at the same time.

The ball shot upwards directly into Blaise's outstretched hands and he leveled his broom out again once he had the ball safely tucked under his arm again and shot towards the goal posts. This time as he came closer he tossed the ball ahead of him in a high arch and put on an extra burst of speed to catch up with it. Timing it perfectly he brought his broom into a fish tail swatting the ball with the back end of his broom with enough force to send it streaking almost to the point it couldn't be seen through the left hoop.

Blaise had to admit a decent keeper might have stopped that one but this kid trying was abysmal at best. He heard the whistle sound signaling his ten minutes of try out time was up and flew down touching down on the packed earth lightly. He dismounted smoothly at the same time and with the same superior look over the rest he stalked off to the side. He was here already and thought he might stick around to see what the rest had to show.

Skyler woke early Sunday morning after only a few hours of sleep. Her weekend was not shaping up to be the greatest and she had only gone to sleep finally a few hours earlier, but today was the day for quidditch try outs and she was not about to miss that for anything. The brunette gave herself a small slap to the face to wake herself up, and forced herself from the comfort and warmth of her bed before it could call her back to sleep.

She gave herself a minute to clear her mind and focus, because she definitely needed to be focused if she was going to steal her boyfriend's spot on the team. The rest of her roommates were still happily in dreamland, so Skyler silently made her way to her wardrobe, pulling out her quidditch gear. Her robes and such were not the green and silver of Slytherin house, but a tasteful purple and black she had selected for when she went flying at home.

She dressed for the occasion and put her hair into two French braids along either side of her head, making sure her hair would not be an issue for visibility. Finally, she slipped on the new boots Draco had felt she needed for some reason, as well as the gloves he had selected, flexing her fingers in them to break them in a bit, and grabbed the new sleek broom that had been delivered. It really was a work of art, and the teen felt she could stare at the beauty all day, but she had a position to steal.

Skyler strutted through the castle the same way she always did, like she owned the place, and with a smirk on her face. It was clear from her dress where she was headed, and before she knew it, the ground of the quidditch pitch was beneath her feet. She rolled her purple eyes toward the nearly clear sky as Draco gave his directions, but secretly she thought he was sexy as all hell when in control and giving out orders. But now was not the time for such thoughts, so she focused on the weather elements.

It was nice out. Perfect, really, for quidditch. The sun wasn't blaring so she didn't think she'd have glare issues, thank Merlin, because that was always a bit hindering. Limited wind too. The air was nice and cool. All in all, she couldn't have asked for better weather conditions. The brunette watched as the first few there to try out for chaser and keeper gave it a go before deciding it was finally time to show off her own skills. Sky was also anxious to give her new broom a try, seeing how everyone had goggled at it when she arrived.

Strutting over to the chest of balls, Skyler winked at her boyfriend, sending him a superior smirk as she released the snitch, watching it beat it's tiny wings faster than a hummingbird, and take off into the sky. Mounting her broom expertly, she didn't even give another thought to the fact that this was the first time she would be riding it. She pushed off the ground hard, and shot up into the air like a cork being released from a bottle.

The speed was exhilarating, and the wind whipped past her in a blur. Actually, everything did, and within seconds she found herself above the rest of the players there. Her joyful laugh could be heard on the wind as she did a circuit around the pitch, her eyes quickly adjusting to the new speed and searching for the little golden ball. It didn't take long for her to notice she was not the only one out for Draco's position however. Skyler seemed to be being tailed by a boy in her year she knew as Philps.

Her broom, which seemed to react more to thought than to touch, had her rising higher above the others, and her eyes darted this way and that. She knew she only had ten minutes, and five had already past. She needed to find that snitch, and fast. The brunette noticed Philps had followed her to her new height, apparently finding it a better strategy to let her seek the ball and just follow her. That didn't sit well with Skyler, and she employed an old tactic for such trickery she had used before.

She leaned forward on her broom, shooting forward across the pitch at break neck speed, and she knew to anyone watching it would look like she had spotted the snitch. Except she hadn't. But Philps took the bait and streak after her, but his broom was not nearly as fast, though it could be said he was pushing his to it's maximum potential. Crossing her legs under her broom for better grip, Skyler pulled up on the handle, coming to an abrupt halt that was so powerful she could have slid right off had she not been prepared. She flattened herself out against her broom simultaneously, and watched as the boy went spinning past her, having tried to stop as well and not been prepared for the backlash.

The brunette watched only long enough to make sure the kid wasn't hurt before taking off in the opposite direction, and was halfway back across the pitch when the snitch went flying past her. She quickly veered off her current course, leaning her body into the turn, sharpening it so she came out of it bursting forth like from a slingshot. Suddenly everything else faded away, and she had eyes only for that golden ball.

But the snitch was a ball with a mind all it's own, and was determined not to get caught. It veered in and out of the other's in the air, and Skyler had to deviate to keep from crashing into people. But these little deviations created space between herself and the snitch, and she wasn't within reaching distance yet. It switched gear at a second's notice, and headed straight up, and the teen followed, now catching up to it. She was just about to stretch her hand out for it when suddenly, it dropped like a canon, streaking back down.

There was no hesitation. Skyler turned her broom down, leveling out into a stiff and insane nosedive. The effect was both incredible, and scary. The broom shot straight downward, and she could see the ground coming up at her in a rapid pace behind the snitch, which was her main focus. She knew that she had a limited time before she went SPLAT! on the pitch ground. She was about twenty feet from the ground when she saw her opportunity, and in a move that could be considered insanely talented or completely idiotic, Skyler forced her broom to shoot forward by leaning the handle away from her that much more, and it gave her the extra burst of speed she needed. Her hand flashed out as she simultaneously pulled the handle of her broom up toward her chest, wrapping here legs around it and pulling against the momentum to pull herself out of the dive in call so close, the toes of her boots skimmed the ground.

Struggling in her secure and small fist, was the golden snitch, beating it's wings in it's bid to escape. Clutching it tightly, looking incredibly windswept, and with the largest grin spreading across her face, Skyler flew back to where she had started, hopping off her broom lithely, and handing the snitch to Draco. "And that's how it's done."

Orion had sauntered onto the field in his Slytherin quidditch garb with a scowl on his face. He was obviously annoyed with the fact that he was being made to try out again for his rightful place as keeper on the team. However, Malfoy was not only the captain, but the guy practically owned all of Slytherin house, and even Orion had the sense to not question the blonde heir. But that did not mean he was happy with the other wizard's decision.

Taking his place in the throng of others who had come to try out, the tall teen couldn't keep the smirk off his face as he looked at what was apparently his competition. It was clear that he would be walking away from the field that day with his position as keeper back in his rightful hands, and that this was a waste of his time. He supposed it was a good thing he didn't mind showing off, since he was obviously going to spend his time there that day showing all the others exactly why he was Hogwart's best keeper.

Orion observed the others as they took there shots at impressing Malfoy, and the keepers that went before him only paled in comparison to him and he had no trouble stating that. He leaned casually on his broom, looking every inch the arrogant pureblood he was, watching as the chasers took to the sky.

It seemed Zabini had much the same idea as himself, showing off simply because he was that good. The surprise came in the small and obviously determined form of Riddle. There had never before been a girl on the Slytherin team, each captain having previously gone by some unspoken rule of no witches allowed. The teen was further surprised to find the girl going after Malfoy's position of seeker. Orion had to smirk at the girl's balls, and hoped she made the cut if just so changing in the locker rooms would be that much more interesting.

Finally it came down to his turn, and he took to the air as naturally as a bird, with a gracefulness some wouldn't initially give his long form. There was nothing awkward about Orion, especially not when he was on a broom, and he made that excruciatingly apparent. He took his place in front of the goal posts, his face setting into a blank look. His sharp, blue eyes narrowed on the chasers flying about, easily zeroing in on the one with the quaffle heading his way.

It occurred to Orion as he watched every move the fourth year he knew as Jaxon that not many people realized exactly how hard it could be to perform as keeper and how much talent it required. One's reflexes had to be above normal and a certain instinct had to be developed, and even that didn't promise a good keeper. Good for him, he was a great keeper with years of experience under his belt and Orion easily swatted the quaffle away from the right goalpost and simultaneously dodging a bludger sent his way when the fourth year attempted the shot after feinting to the left.

His piece-of-cake attitude was short lived however when in the next short moments things changed dramatically as they tended to in quidditch. For while he was busy grinning gloatingly, Orion failed to see a second bludger get smacked his way as another chaser snatched the quaffle as it plummeted through the air and shot towards the goal posts with it again.

The teen took the bludger to the stomach with enough force behind it that it had him flying backwards on his broom until he was behind the goal posts, and Orion realized belatedly the chaser who was about to score on his now open posts. The young sixth year had only seconds to react after he was hit with the bludger and there was no hesitation as he he forced his broom to shoot upward to the the top of the posts, and just as the chaser released the quaffle in their throw to send it spiraling through the middle goal post Orion dropped in on it's path from above just in time to kick it off it's course and away from his posts.

He heard the call signaling his time at the posts was over, and he glided back down to the ground on his broom a bit frustrated with himself for his minor screw up but overall happy with his performance. There were few people who could recover so quickly in order to turn around the mistake he had made, and he had not let so much as one shot get through his hoops. So it was a still confident Orion that took a place amongst a group of others who had finished there try outs and remained behind to observe the remaining ones.

Draco watched as each Slytherin student showed their skills in the air, going so far as to fly along side them to study their form and determination along the way. He was relatively pleased with the performances he saw. There were definitely some good prospects in the bunch, and Sky had proven herself more than capable as a Seeker, even if she did flub up a bit when she worried about the well-being of her competitor. There was no time for that in a game, and Draco would have to get that through her overly caring head.

Once the final participant had landed, Draco strode forward and cleared his throat for silence. ”Thank you all for coming out today. You have all shown me a great deal of what you might bring to the table should I add you to the roster, and I will give it great thought. The results will be posted on the notice board in the common room as well as with Madame Hooch.” He gestured for them to head out as he was finished with them as he set about gathering the balls. Of course, the snitch had flown off somewhere again. He grasped his broom and prepared to go off after it, feeling a bit nostalgic as he realized this would probably be the only time he played Seeker this year- or ever, possibly.

Somehow Draco didn’t feel all that bothered by this fact though, as he noticed the glint of the snitch ahead and caught it with ease. He looked back toward the ground and his eyes followed the brunette who’d stolen his position and his heart. He figured he could get used to beating, if only to protect that little snake. The first girl to ever make the Slytherin team as far as he knew. Oh, how his housemates would be shocked when they saw the roster… He smirked to himself as he landed and locked up the balls, already forming tactics for the upcoming games. This was going to be one hell of a year.