You want to blame something for this? Blame sleep-deprived braincells and a brain which has a tendancy to focus on the most obscure oddities. These are randoms things either from canon, or fanfic, that...well let's just call it an accident and leave it at that. Some are 'serious' and others are diabolical abominations which endanger sanity. Totally not my fault since you've chosen to read.

Do enjoy :)

Irrelevance

"Do you want it?" The sudden question from Harry startled Ron out of his focus on the chess-board. Harry had been totally silent for the past three days and hadn't seemed interested in speaking any time soon.

"Huh?" Ron blinked his total confusion over the question.

"What was in the mirror." Harry made an abrupt move and then sat back.

"This some new way of trying to win?" Ron was confused and not ashamed to admit it.

"No." Harry cast a speaking glance at the board which spoke of humiliating defeat.

"Err." Ron studied the board for a long moment and then glanced at Harry. "What did you mean by asking if I want it followed by something about the mirror?"

"Mirror of Erised...it shows you what you want." Harry hugged his knees as his King forfeited the game without permission, apparently even his pieces considered the defeat too humiliating to wait for. "Do you want that? Too be Head Boy and Quidditch Captain."

"Well..." Ron had gone red.

"Should be doable...but it'll take work." Harry reset his pieces and ignored their wails and despairing moans. "Need a plan?"

"Plan?" Ron looked almost alarmed.

"Like chess...heard you can be Headboy without being prefect, but your chances are better if you've been a prefect. You've a one in five chance of getting prefect and I don't think Neville, Dean or Seamus are even vaguely interested."

"You're the Boy-who-Lived." Ron rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well my current detention record will be against my forgot-to-die rep." Harry gave a shrug. "Not saying you've got to pull a Percy...but it can't hurt to try a little harder than we do and it would make Hermione happy."

"Quidditch?"

"Wood's going to be captain until he finishes...rest of the team is younger than him so you probably can't get on the team until fifth year unless someone gets hurt...captaincy will probably go to one of the chasers at that point...she'll be captain for the year with a new keeper...next year she'll be gone, along with the other two and your brothers..." Harry winced. "Quidditch is going to be hell in sixth year."

"Not if we get reserves going now." Ron was suddenly looking around the commonroom. "Harry, you've got to introduce me to Wood, he's the only one who can talk about this."

"Fine." Harry headed across the commonroom to where Wood seemed to be trying to pull his hair out. "Wood."

"Potter...what's up?" Wood seemed more than happy to shove his work aside.

"This is Ron, he's my friend."

"Weasley." Wood's nod was polite, but his expression was rather wary now.

"We were discussing quidditch and he had an idea he says has to go through you."

"Weasley?" Wariness was now tinged with curiousity.

"Harry was bemoaning the fact that you'd graduate at the end of our third year and the rest of the team but Harry would probably graduate at the end of our fifth." Ron shifted uneasily, he was beginning to be worried.

"You'll be in for some bad years." Wood nodded, but his expression was rather pained.

"Not if we run a reserve team or two."

"You interest me, Weasley." Wood had straightened abruptly. "Sit down, get comfortable and start talking."

"We have a single flying class in first year and then there's absolutely nothing unless you get lucky with the Quidditch team...current team is not going to change for the next four years unless someone gets badly hurt or pulls a Percy."

"I'll skin'em if they do." Wood's tone made the words a promise, not a threat.

"Yeah, but with nothing happening for four years, no one's going to try or anything so the team is going to be more than horrible in five years. I figure the House can field some sort of reserve team, which gives the real team someone to train against...something for the rest of the house to train for and means we won't be stranded come sixth year."

"What's to stop the reserve team going like the current team and getting settled?"

"Make it only open to fourth year and below...fourth year or below, can't be on, or have been on the house team. Reserves train at the same time as the house team and once a month the rest of the house have to throw together a team to play against the reserves...which will occur after an open training session with the house and reserve teams. Get the reserves used to playing the unexpected.

"Current fourth years are completely useless and the thirds are pretty much all on the team already. Seconds are completely useless as well...shocking batch of swots. You think there's anything in the firsts?"

"Give Neville confidence and I think he'll make a beater..." Harry glanced at Ron. "You saw him last game when he pounded Malfoy? I think it's just confidence."

"A beater doesn't make a team and Potter is mine."

"Dean said he's no good at defence in that football game of his...Seamus as beater two?" Ron seemed hesitant.

"You'll have a job persuading any of the girls to help." Harry pulled a face. "Hermione hates flying and Parvati and Lavender?"

"I reckon they'll be not bad if they get going." Ron glanced at Wood. "Willing to play without Seekers?"

"You've got to find them somewhere." Wood's tone was flat, but not actively discouraging.

"They can be there...need a reserve Seeker anyway..."

"Dean's the only person who even looks like he might find a snitch." Harry grimaced slightly. "You go Keeper, Ron, got a better chance of persuading the girls to play chaser than keeper...or see if Dean will consider Keeper, put Hermione on the snitch and you can bully the two princesses into reasonable form with a quaffle."

"Weasley, if you can field a team we'll help bash 'em into shape and be grateful for people to practice against...if you can't get the girls to help, see what our chasers say for possibles below fourth year."

"Let's get Neville...Dean and Seamus we can collar after the holiday." Ron was on his feet and dragging Harry away. "We can borrow school brooms and just throw a ball between us. This is Quidditch!" Neville's fear and nerves did not last long faced by Ron with a mission in mind and though he wasn't likely to make the team ever, he was competent enough to enjoy a game of quidditch.

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