The First Quidditch Game
-MoonBolt
"Oli!" cried Angelina up the stairs. "Oli! Hurry up! The whole team's waiting!" nothing but silence answered her calls. She sighed angrily. "Would somebody please go up and get him!" she cried, looking towards the rest of the Gryffindor team.
"He'll be here." answered the captain, Harvey Illist, retying his shoelace. Angelina rolled her eyes towards her thick auburn hair.
"Am I the only one who knows we're going to be late and have to argue about a forfeit?"
"We're not going to be late." said Harvey in a solid tone, finishing his shoelace.
They almost were late. Upstairs from the common room on the left side Oliver Wood was stumbling about, pulling on his playing robes and searching for his broom under all the clothes that were strewn throughout the place. He finally found it where he last had it, under his four-poster bed. He was on his way toward the door when he remembered he needed his guards, of which he had to search for.
After he was ready with everything he needed he hurried out the door where the Quidditch team waited. Before anybody could start chewing him out, Harvey spoke up.
"Well, best be on our way then!" Oliver was relieved to not be in trouble for his first Quidditch Match. It was his fifth year and after a very competitive try out, he won a position as a chaser. They had trained ever since Hallowe'en had ended. They came up with a fairly good strategy that even Harvey could not block. This made Oliver proud, since the idea of a split and false run.
Soon, the whole team was lined up outside the Quidditch Pitch. Harvey lead them under the stands into a small tent where two long benches sat. Oliver sat down next to Angelina, taking the chance to apologize before Harvey started speaking up front. She nodded shyly and Oliver smiled.
"Our first match, against Slytherin, will possibly be our hardest this year until we play them again. Slytherin has won the cup for over sixty-five years! Unless something will come up or their new captain turns out to be worthy, then we will definitely win it this year! I've watched the Slytherin team, and they are very good at handling the bludgers. Their seeker is also quite fast. He's on a Torpedo 800, but they don't turn well. Arty, you can beat him by giving him false turns." the seeker at the other end of the bench nodded. "As for the chasers, make sure you don't use Oli's play until later on in the game. Wait at least two minutes and try to weave as much as you can." Oli and Angelina nodded.
"Let's go!" he cried. Grins were all around as they left their shelter towards the shrouded tunnel that would reveal them to the roaring crowd in the stands. Oliver shrugged his shoulders and rolled his neck. Angelina giggled beside him.
"Don't tell me your not nervous!" asked Oliver, laughing himself.
"Not really! It's just a single game!"
"But it's our debut! Our entrance! If we do something clumsy or ridiculous, nobody will ever forget it! This could make or break our future in Quidditch! You're not looking at this like some easy pop quiz, you're looking at it like a major step in a journey to be a champion!"
"Y'know, you'll be a great captain someday." answer Angelina when the announcement that the game would soon commence came from outside.
"Really?" asked Oliver just as the door slid open, letting in the light from the sun.
"Well," she laughed. "You have the pep talks for it don't you?" Then, she mounted her broom and flew out the entrance. Oliver followed, a large grin reaching from a blushed cheek to a blushed cheek.
The sun hurt his eyes a small bit at first, but he soon grew used to it as he and the other chasers circled the pitch over the high spotting towers that were decorated with long red and orange banners on one side and light and dark green on the other. Oliver spotted the Slytherin team circling the pitch as well, their seeker performing a wide, fancy loop over a gaping crowd, taking in all the glory from the applause. Oliver glared at him.
They looked somewhat similar, with the same messy hair and the exact blue eyes. The only difference between the two was that the other had crooked sharp teeth that he bared every time he would smile. He was Oliver's arch rival, Marcus Flint.
"Don't mind him." said Harvey behind him, causing Oliver to jump in surprise. "He's just trying to make a major appearance. It will all depend on his game. If we win, then everyone will know that he's just full of himself. If they win..." he paused. "Then we'll win next time." With that, he flew off towards the goal post. Oliver could see Madam Hooch, the Quidditch and Broom Flying teacher, stepping out onto the field. Oliver hurried off to his position.
"A nice clean game!" cried Madam Hooch just before she hastily let out the two bludgers that flew high into the air, rising almost out of view.
"Go Gryffindor!" cried Harvey from the goalposts, thrusting a fist into the air.
"There goes the Quaffle!" cried the youthful announcer in the teacher's stand. "The game starts!" Oliver managed to block the way of the other chasers so that Angelina could catch the Quaffle. Soon, they were both cascading down the pitch, passing the Quaffle to one another. Then, Oliver flew under Angelina and tossed up the large hollow ball. She caught it and swerved towards the goalposts. She threw with all her might and the Quaffle was about to head through the hoop.
Suddenly, the Keeper appeared out of nowhere and swatted the Quaffle away with the end of his broom. Oliver immediately caught it and tossed it through one of the hoops nearest him. A large bell sounded, and the announcer told all that there was a ten points rewarded to Gryffindor.
Oliver and Angelina were soon fleeing down the pitch again, the Quaffle in the hands of the Slytherin team.
"Now!" cried one of them. Oliver looked around, expecting something to happen. Instead, the chasers pulled to a flipping halt and were tossing the Quaffle between the three of them. The moved up the pitch slowly then burst into speed. Oliver winced when a sudden cry came from one of them as a bludger struck a single Slytherin chaser. He watched as he fell to the sandy ground. Oliver looked up to see Harvey staring in shock at one of the beaters.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I was aiming for the one in the middle! He had the Quaffle when I hit it." At that moment, a whistle sounded and Madam Hooch was at the guy's side.
Anxious minutes passed until a foul was called for dirty play against Gryffindor. The beater who accidentally hit the chaser was sent for four minutes into the penalty box. The chaser remounted his broom and the Quaffle was given to the Slytherin team. Oliver caught the chaser that was hit grinning at the captain, who gave him a wave of success.
"That's cheap, forcing us to play dirty!" Oliver complained to Angelina, but she was soon zooming off towards the Slytherin team. Oliver followed and watched as she managed to snatch the Quaffle from the chaser's clutch. He grinned.
'She's amazing at this!' he thought to himself. Suddenly, and as quickly as he ever thought it would happen, a bludger nearly caught her in her head. Somehow, she saw it coming and ducked seconds before impact. Oliver stared in shock as the Slytherin beaters hit them again. They careened towards her, about to hit her with a harsh crack.
"No!" Oliver cried. He thrust himself forward, urging his broom to go faster. He shut his eyes tightly as a bludger hit his shoulder. Seconds later, another struck him in the head. Blackness shrouded his vision as a wave of dizziness caused him to let go of his broom. He fell, air rushing by his throbbing torso. A single image flashed before his mind of Angelina looking down at him in grave concern. He could hear the shocked cried from the crowd as he lost consciousness just as he hit the hard ground.
*~*~*
"Oli?" came a pleading voice. Oliver didn't stir. He focused on trying to keep breathing, which was a raspy labor. "Please, Oli! Don't die..." he felt a soft hand stroke his sore cheek. He grinned slowly and painfully.
"Leave him to rest, Angelina." said a different, more tight voice. "He needs rest." The soft touch was pulled away, and Oliver lost consciousness once more.
*~*~*
Oliver a week in the hospital wing in a coma. The suspense in the school was finally let go on October 14th when he woke.
He was alone in a dark, warm bed. He stirred. His arm burned and his head throbbed. A loud sigh came from his bedside.
"Thank God!" said Madam Pomfrey as she dabbed Oliver's head with a damp cold cloth. Oliver let her tend to what appeared to be a cut on his forehead. Then he asked.
"What happened?" he murmured. The Hogwarts nurse didn't answer, but called two names that were a blurry familiarity to him.
"Oli?" asked a girl from his bedside. Oliver looked up at her.
"Angelina, right?" he asked. The girl had tears in her wide, doe-eyes.
"Everyone thought..." said the boy beside her, Harvey. "Everyone thought you were going to die!"
"Oh, Oliver!" cried Angelina. She thrust her arms around Oliver's neck.
"Die? In Quidditch? Now that's the way to go!" he laughed. So did a teary Harvey. Angelina gave a gentle sob over his shoulder.
"I can't believe you took those bludgers for Angelina like that!" he confessed, wiping a tear from his cheek.
"You don't only have the speeches of a true Quidditch Captain, Oliver." she whispered in his ear. "You also have the heart of one."
-MoonBolt
"Oli!" cried Angelina up the stairs. "Oli! Hurry up! The whole team's waiting!" nothing but silence answered her calls. She sighed angrily. "Would somebody please go up and get him!" she cried, looking towards the rest of the Gryffindor team.
"He'll be here." answered the captain, Harvey Illist, retying his shoelace. Angelina rolled her eyes towards her thick auburn hair.
"Am I the only one who knows we're going to be late and have to argue about a forfeit?"
"We're not going to be late." said Harvey in a solid tone, finishing his shoelace.
They almost were late. Upstairs from the common room on the left side Oliver Wood was stumbling about, pulling on his playing robes and searching for his broom under all the clothes that were strewn throughout the place. He finally found it where he last had it, under his four-poster bed. He was on his way toward the door when he remembered he needed his guards, of which he had to search for.
After he was ready with everything he needed he hurried out the door where the Quidditch team waited. Before anybody could start chewing him out, Harvey spoke up.
"Well, best be on our way then!" Oliver was relieved to not be in trouble for his first Quidditch Match. It was his fifth year and after a very competitive try out, he won a position as a chaser. They had trained ever since Hallowe'en had ended. They came up with a fairly good strategy that even Harvey could not block. This made Oliver proud, since the idea of a split and false run.
Soon, the whole team was lined up outside the Quidditch Pitch. Harvey lead them under the stands into a small tent where two long benches sat. Oliver sat down next to Angelina, taking the chance to apologize before Harvey started speaking up front. She nodded shyly and Oliver smiled.
"Our first match, against Slytherin, will possibly be our hardest this year until we play them again. Slytherin has won the cup for over sixty-five years! Unless something will come up or their new captain turns out to be worthy, then we will definitely win it this year! I've watched the Slytherin team, and they are very good at handling the bludgers. Their seeker is also quite fast. He's on a Torpedo 800, but they don't turn well. Arty, you can beat him by giving him false turns." the seeker at the other end of the bench nodded. "As for the chasers, make sure you don't use Oli's play until later on in the game. Wait at least two minutes and try to weave as much as you can." Oli and Angelina nodded.
"Let's go!" he cried. Grins were all around as they left their shelter towards the shrouded tunnel that would reveal them to the roaring crowd in the stands. Oliver shrugged his shoulders and rolled his neck. Angelina giggled beside him.
"Don't tell me your not nervous!" asked Oliver, laughing himself.
"Not really! It's just a single game!"
"But it's our debut! Our entrance! If we do something clumsy or ridiculous, nobody will ever forget it! This could make or break our future in Quidditch! You're not looking at this like some easy pop quiz, you're looking at it like a major step in a journey to be a champion!"
"Y'know, you'll be a great captain someday." answer Angelina when the announcement that the game would soon commence came from outside.
"Really?" asked Oliver just as the door slid open, letting in the light from the sun.
"Well," she laughed. "You have the pep talks for it don't you?" Then, she mounted her broom and flew out the entrance. Oliver followed, a large grin reaching from a blushed cheek to a blushed cheek.
The sun hurt his eyes a small bit at first, but he soon grew used to it as he and the other chasers circled the pitch over the high spotting towers that were decorated with long red and orange banners on one side and light and dark green on the other. Oliver spotted the Slytherin team circling the pitch as well, their seeker performing a wide, fancy loop over a gaping crowd, taking in all the glory from the applause. Oliver glared at him.
They looked somewhat similar, with the same messy hair and the exact blue eyes. The only difference between the two was that the other had crooked sharp teeth that he bared every time he would smile. He was Oliver's arch rival, Marcus Flint.
"Don't mind him." said Harvey behind him, causing Oliver to jump in surprise. "He's just trying to make a major appearance. It will all depend on his game. If we win, then everyone will know that he's just full of himself. If they win..." he paused. "Then we'll win next time." With that, he flew off towards the goal post. Oliver could see Madam Hooch, the Quidditch and Broom Flying teacher, stepping out onto the field. Oliver hurried off to his position.
"A nice clean game!" cried Madam Hooch just before she hastily let out the two bludgers that flew high into the air, rising almost out of view.
"Go Gryffindor!" cried Harvey from the goalposts, thrusting a fist into the air.
"There goes the Quaffle!" cried the youthful announcer in the teacher's stand. "The game starts!" Oliver managed to block the way of the other chasers so that Angelina could catch the Quaffle. Soon, they were both cascading down the pitch, passing the Quaffle to one another. Then, Oliver flew under Angelina and tossed up the large hollow ball. She caught it and swerved towards the goalposts. She threw with all her might and the Quaffle was about to head through the hoop.
Suddenly, the Keeper appeared out of nowhere and swatted the Quaffle away with the end of his broom. Oliver immediately caught it and tossed it through one of the hoops nearest him. A large bell sounded, and the announcer told all that there was a ten points rewarded to Gryffindor.
Oliver and Angelina were soon fleeing down the pitch again, the Quaffle in the hands of the Slytherin team.
"Now!" cried one of them. Oliver looked around, expecting something to happen. Instead, the chasers pulled to a flipping halt and were tossing the Quaffle between the three of them. The moved up the pitch slowly then burst into speed. Oliver winced when a sudden cry came from one of them as a bludger struck a single Slytherin chaser. He watched as he fell to the sandy ground. Oliver looked up to see Harvey staring in shock at one of the beaters.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I was aiming for the one in the middle! He had the Quaffle when I hit it." At that moment, a whistle sounded and Madam Hooch was at the guy's side.
Anxious minutes passed until a foul was called for dirty play against Gryffindor. The beater who accidentally hit the chaser was sent for four minutes into the penalty box. The chaser remounted his broom and the Quaffle was given to the Slytherin team. Oliver caught the chaser that was hit grinning at the captain, who gave him a wave of success.
"That's cheap, forcing us to play dirty!" Oliver complained to Angelina, but she was soon zooming off towards the Slytherin team. Oliver followed and watched as she managed to snatch the Quaffle from the chaser's clutch. He grinned.
'She's amazing at this!' he thought to himself. Suddenly, and as quickly as he ever thought it would happen, a bludger nearly caught her in her head. Somehow, she saw it coming and ducked seconds before impact. Oliver stared in shock as the Slytherin beaters hit them again. They careened towards her, about to hit her with a harsh crack.
"No!" Oliver cried. He thrust himself forward, urging his broom to go faster. He shut his eyes tightly as a bludger hit his shoulder. Seconds later, another struck him in the head. Blackness shrouded his vision as a wave of dizziness caused him to let go of his broom. He fell, air rushing by his throbbing torso. A single image flashed before his mind of Angelina looking down at him in grave concern. He could hear the shocked cried from the crowd as he lost consciousness just as he hit the hard ground.
*~*~*
"Oli?" came a pleading voice. Oliver didn't stir. He focused on trying to keep breathing, which was a raspy labor. "Please, Oli! Don't die..." he felt a soft hand stroke his sore cheek. He grinned slowly and painfully.
"Leave him to rest, Angelina." said a different, more tight voice. "He needs rest." The soft touch was pulled away, and Oliver lost consciousness once more.
*~*~*
Oliver a week in the hospital wing in a coma. The suspense in the school was finally let go on October 14th when he woke.
He was alone in a dark, warm bed. He stirred. His arm burned and his head throbbed. A loud sigh came from his bedside.
"Thank God!" said Madam Pomfrey as she dabbed Oliver's head with a damp cold cloth. Oliver let her tend to what appeared to be a cut on his forehead. Then he asked.
"What happened?" he murmured. The Hogwarts nurse didn't answer, but called two names that were a blurry familiarity to him.
"Oli?" asked a girl from his bedside. Oliver looked up at her.
"Angelina, right?" he asked. The girl had tears in her wide, doe-eyes.
"Everyone thought..." said the boy beside her, Harvey. "Everyone thought you were going to die!"
"Oh, Oliver!" cried Angelina. She thrust her arms around Oliver's neck.
"Die? In Quidditch? Now that's the way to go!" he laughed. So did a teary Harvey. Angelina gave a gentle sob over his shoulder.
"I can't believe you took those bludgers for Angelina like that!" he confessed, wiping a tear from his cheek.
"You don't only have the speeches of a true Quidditch Captain, Oliver." she whispered in his ear. "You also have the heart of one."