Chapter 12: The Accident that happened during the match.
The day of the Quidditch Match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin had arrived. The Gryffindor's Team try-outs were the day after and Hufflepuff's had been two days ago, but Patrick didn't go because he wanted to be commentator instead. Even though they were friends, Theo couldn't help but feel a little bit competitive. "Hey, Dasha!" he said as she sat down for breakfast. She smirked. "What?" "Don't worry about the rings; you're going to miss all the shots anyway," teased Theo, grinning slyly as he piled his plate. Dasha didn't break face and instead cooly replied. "You're right, I won't need to worry. Because you guys aren't going get the Quaffle anyway." Theo pretended to be offended. Patrick laughed as he tucked into his bacon. Dasha was about to follow when everything was drowned out by the flurry of owls flooding the Great Hall. Theo saw his eagle in the midst of the all and watched him fly. He jumped when suddenly a package dropped in front of Dasha. He unwrapped it while she read the note attached to it, with Greywing perched on her arm.
Dear Dasha,
Congratulations on making the Quidditch Team and being Sorted into Ravenclaw! As a congratulations present, we decided to buy your very own broomstick.
Hugs and kisses,
Mum and Dad.
PS: Professor Flitwick told us about your academic achievements! He said you were (in his opinion) as intelligent and witty as Rowena Ravenclaw!
Smiling, Dasha helped Theo unwrap the handle. Engraved on it, with gold letters was 'Nimbus 2021'. Dasha stared at in awe as she took it out from the packaging. "Wow," she said, handing it over to Jai to have a look. "Do you have your own one, Theo?" she asked, seeing that he looked slightly envious. He nodded. "But it's not a Nimbus 2021 like yours. It's a Nimbus 2020." Dasha chuckled, seeing his face.
As Dasha in the dressing room, listening to Davies speech, she secretly admired her broom. "We've been training, longer and better than Slytherin, plus we've got more brains than them. Okay, let's go team!" finished Davies, taking up his broom and leading them out to the Pitch Entrance. Dasha stood to the left of him as they waited for the doors to open. Davies glance at her. "Are you scared, Dasha?" he asked kindly. She nodded and mounted her broomstick, while the doors slowly opened. "Ready? Go!" yelled Davies as they all kicked off and flew onto the Quidditch Pitch. Dasha grinned as she soared into the air and took up her position in front of the Quidditch Hoops, while Theo stopped opposite of her. She smirked as she listened to the cheers filling the cold morning air, waving at Theo, who returned it with a grin. They all watched as Davies approached Smith to shake hands. Now that she was on the Pitch, Smith had a completely different manner of carrying herself. Her face was set in a grim expression and as she shook Davies' hand, Smith looked like she was trying to crush it. Fortunately, Davies had assumed the same manner. As the Captains moved into their positions, Madam Hooch released the Bludgers. Dasha ducked as they shot over her head and stopped mid-air, waiting for the Quaffle. As the Snitch was released, Dasha saw Theo cast Davies a threatening look. Finally, the Quaffle was removed from the trunk. Madam Hooch gazed round sternly at all the players. "I want a nice game, from all of you," she warned. Then, she flicked her arms and the Quaffle soared up into the air. Immediately, Clayton shot forward and Dasha heard the commentary start. "And there goes Clayton, Clayton passes to Binns, Binns shoots, he….scores! Ten points to Ravenclaw!" Dasha had to admit that Patrick was a pretty good commentator. She tuned in as she saw a Slytherin Chaser move forward and begin to shoot. "Ferren prepares to shoot, she shoots she ducks!" Just as Ferren had let go of the Quaffle, she ducked to avoid being hit by a Bludger knocked in her direction by Olympe. Dasha dove for the Quaffle and was astounded when she caught it. The Ravenclaw side of the Pitch filled with loud cheers as Dasha threw the Quaffle back to the Chasers. "Bran catches the Quaffle, so 0 points to Slytherin! Bran passes back to McKoy, McKoy passes to….."
Dasha felt proud of herself as she watched the Ravenclaw Chasers score another point.
Theo smiled as Dasha blocked yet another goal. He susdenly ducked as a Ravenclaw hit a Bludger at him, nearly unseating him. Theo glared at the girl and moved off to circled the Pitch.
Just as he was doing so, he saw a speck of gold near the Gryffindor seats. Leaning forward, he shot off in chase of it, with Davies right behind him. Theo was nearly touching it when suddenly he felt a strong pain shoot through his head. He felt as if someone had grabbed his hair and was pulling it back as hard as they could. Theo kept leaning back farther and farther until he was nearly falling off his broomstick, when suddenly, against his better judgement, he decided to lean forward. Even though the pain increased, slowly he began to regain his seat and when he was sitting straight up, Theo shook his head and touching it, prised invisible fingers off his hair. Immediately, the pain had gone and his mind was clear.
Theo gave his head one final shake and seeing the Snitch being chased by Davies, flew off. "And Lincoln's regained his seat once more. Does anyone know what happened there?" crackled the commentators voice.
Theo caught up with Davies and soon they were flying neck-in-neck, shoving each other to get the Snitch.
Theo leaned forward, willing his broom to be faster. He reached towards the Snitch when suddenly, it transformed into a enormous dragon, nostrils flaring and it's eyes red. He pulled up and gazed in terror up at the dragon. It opened its mouth and Theo saw its throat glowing like hot coals, when suddenly it appeared to have gone. Theo looked around and tried to fly forward when he felt something tug his right leg, as if it was grabbed by something. The invisible being tugged hard and Theo felt himself slipping off. He grabbed the broomstick handle and snatched at the air with his hands, attempting to grab whatever it was that was tugging him. Seconds later, he found himself hanging upside down from his broomstick. Something began to pull him down by his shirt. He saw his hands slipping and felt himself plummet downwards, towards the sandy floor. Theo saw the Snitch fly past and in one feeble attempt, grabbed it as he kept on falling.
Professor McGonagall whipped out her wand and pointed it towards the falling boy. He slowed considerably and fell on the sand with a small thud, whole and alive.
As he lay there, Theo felt the Snitch's wings flutter weakly against his fingers. He raised it to his face and grinned before passing out, unconscious.
Chapter 13: Something small? Like a bat?
Theo heard frantic whispers and voices speaking around him as he struggled to wake up. "What happened to him, Madam Pomfrey? Is he injured?" He heard someone ask. "No, he's fine. But, I don't know what happened to him," replied someone who sounded like Madam Pomfrey. Theo opened his heavy eyelids and struggled to sit up. "How do I look?" he asked Patrick with a grin. Patrick gave him a thumbs up. "Perhaps a bit tipsy and ruffled but still good," he replied, pretending to examine him. Dasha gave him a playful slap as she pulled Theo into a hug. She was still wearing her Quidditch gear. "Oh, we were so worried about you," she said as Jai joined them. Theo beamed as he sat looking at them. Suddenly, the Quidditch Match flew back into his head. "Who won the match?" he asked, eating the Chocolate Frog that Patrick had brought him. Dasha's smile lessened slightly but Patrick grinned even wider. "Slytherin! After you caught the Snitch, they won 50-150! I should know, I was the commentator." Theo beamed even brighter. "Good job, that was really good," he said, complimenting him. "Thanks," said Patrick, sitting down in a chair next to Theo's bed. Dasha sat down at the foot of the bed. "About the game, Theo, why did you get scared of the Snitch like that? It was just an ordinary Snitch. Also, why did you fall down?" she asked, frowning. Theo waited until Madam Pomfrey had left before he told them what had happened to him during the entire game. "Strange," murmured Dasha thoughtfully, staring into the corner of the room. Jai jumped up and began to pace. "I bet someone had cursed the Snitch. And...and when it came to pulling your hair, it was probably….I don't know," she said, building up excitement with every word when it all suddenly dropped. "When it came to pulling your hair, someone, who could make themselves small, be able to fly and turn invisible, probably did it. But why?" she continued from Jai. Theo shrugged. "I don't know why," he said simply. "Maybe, maybe they were trying to make you fall off your broom, but they had cursed the Snitch as a backup plan. Is that possible?" asked Patrick. Dasha nodded. "It sounds likely, but if someone wanted to kill or injure you like that, then who would it be?" she said, putting forward the questions on everyone's mind. Theo thought for a moment. "You say someone who could make themselves small, be able to fly and turn invisible, probably did that? Someone, like a bat?" Dasha rolled her eyes. "Yeah, a bat sounds about right. You have to admit Dasha, that's a good idea," agreed Jai. Dasha nodded. "Okay, so we're looking for someone who can transform into a bat. I think we all know who that is," she said, in what, to Theo, appeared to be a mournful voice. "Professor Transfigurantes! Of course! But why?" exclaimed Patrick. Theo shrugged. "Who knows. But I think we should watch him and-" he was about to say something else when Madam Pomfrey came back. "Off with you three! Off to dinner!" she said, walking briskly towards them. Once they had left, Madam Pomfrey gave Theo a Sleeping Draught, which he duly drank and soon fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.