Entry for the "Spells, Charms and Curse Challenge"
Reducto- Spell. Blasts solid objects aside. Write about a game of Quidditch.
To explain: Those of you who have read "Quidditch through the Ages" could know it, but for those of you who don´t know, here is the short summary of the article on which this story is based:
The Holyhead Harpies had played a seven day long game against the Heidelberg Harriers and after its end, the captain of the Harriers, Rudolf Brand, proposed to his objector, Gwendolyn Morgan, for which she hit him with her Cleansweep Five, causing a concussion.
Well, I imagined how this might have happened, I mean, he must have had his reasons ;)
Neither the Holyhead Harpies nor the Heidelberg Harriers had ever been known to play nicely or ever give up on a game, but no one had thought that the struggle for the win would take so long, even between two teams that one could nearly call equal in their skills. On the outside the Harriers, being a team consisting only of males, seemed to have a physically advantage over the pure female team of the Harpies, but the women proved everybody wrong, showing unique physical and mental strength.
Captain Rudolf Brand steadied himself with the aid of his broom as he walked towards the rest of his team. He had demanded a break from the referee, the first on this day, so everyone could have a break. It sounded like a bad joke when somebody said it out loud, but they had been playing for 7 days now, going into the game pause with a score of 1010:1010. He had never heard about any game taking so much time and he was sure that it would remain unique in the history of Quidditch. Everyone was exhausted, even with the sleeping breaks for one player of each team at a time, and he had trouble walking and he just wanted this to come to an end, just like every other player from his team. Therefore he did not needed much words to explain his goal: End the game.
He shot a look to the other side of the pitch were the Harpies were sitting on the benches, looking as bad as his team was. Except for... he felt the urge to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn´t dreaming as his gaze fell on the teams captain, Gwendolyn Morgan. Her red curls had been freed from her braid and she paced in front of her players, biting her lip as if she was deeply involved into her own thoughts. Rudolf was sure that he had never seen a woman that was so beautiful. Hell, how had he been so blind to it earlier?!
"Hey, Gwen..."
Gwendolyn looked to her seeker, Glynnis Griffith, not happy about being interrupted. She had tried to figure out how they would be able to bring this damn game to an end, but had not been able to reach a acceptable answer to her question.
"What is it, Glynn?"
"This Brand is staring at you."
"Maybe he is trying a new death glare", Gwendolyn shrugged her shoulders, not caring enough about it to turn around. Glynnis started to smile, then whispered:"It looks as if he is admiring the sight. Maybe he has a crush on you!"
Gwendolyn opened her mouth to say something as the referee walked over the pitch, announcing the end of the break and therefore demanding the players to mount their brooms again. She looked over to Brand, but he was concentrating on the referee now and she shook her head – it had been a week since the game had started, surely Glynnis had imagined to see something that was non-existent due to the exhaustion. After fixing her red hear back into a braid she mounted her broom.
The players were leaving the ground with great speed, acting as if they had been playing only for hours, not for days. Gwen felt somewhat refreshed as the air hit her face and she smiled as she engaged in the chase for the quaffle, feeling the same amount of new strength inside herself. The methods of the Harriers were getting more violent, always on the edge to a foul as their two beaters tried to shoot Glynnis from her broom. But Gwen could not say that her job was in any way more comfortable.
Rudolf grabbed the quaffle, ripping it from the hands of the Harpies chaser, who nearly fell from her broom in the process, and sped towards the goal rings. Their tactics seemed to work, they earned some ground over their opponents and were on their way to build up a good lead. He just aimed for the rings, ready to throw the quaffle as he felt something hard hitting him in the side, distracting him and reflexively he let go of the scarlet ball, seeing a the third chaser of the Harpies catching it in. He turned his head, his ribs protesting painfully, and he looked directly into the face of Gwendolyn Morgan. Her eyes sparkled as she shot a challenging stare at him and grinned grimly before she flew away, her red hair billowing behind her. He simply followed her with his eyes, to stunned to move. This woman was... wicked, in a twisted way... These eyes...
"Rudolf! Reiß dich zusammen!" (Come back to your senses)
He blinked a few times as he heard his comrade scream at him as he flew past him, involved into a small brawl over the quaffle – everyone was so keen for the win that they ignored some Quidditch rules to succeed. Without a second thought he flew into the bunch of players and as they separated, he slung his arms around the waist of Gwen Morgan who has holding the quaffle tight to her chest, preventing her from flying away.
"Drop it", he hissed, digging his nails into her hips to hold her. Her foot hit his knee, but his grip remained. "Drop it!"
"Not even in your dreams, Brand!"
They glared at each other, not caring for their surroundings and Rudolf could swear that he saw her expression soften for a brief moment and he leaned forward, smiling at her...
A sharp pain flashed through his nose as her fist landed on his face, seconds later her foot unerringly hit him in the groin and he let her go, a surprised cry of pain escaping his lips and he heard how she scored, the audience cheering and roaring – not only because of the goal, but also because Glynnis seemed to have spotted the snitch. She was shooting upwards like a arrow, the seeker of the Harriers directly behind her, but Rudolf had to concentrate on the quaffle, which was, once again, in the hands of Gwen Morgan as she made her move for another shot. This woman was a challenge – and he never missed a chance to take up a challenge! He shot a death glare at his keeper who seemed unable to defend his rings, unfortunately distracting the poor guy with this so he missed to defend another shot, once again executed by Gwen.
He ignored the wet feeling of blood streaming down his face as he gave his beaters the order to target the two other chasers while he would deal with Morgan once again. It was nothing he could explain, but he felt somehow attracted by her and also...
"Catch it, Glynn, catch it!", he suddenly heard Gwen scream and he looked up – the two seekers had gone into a nosedive, shoulder touching shoulder as they raced towards the ground, arms stretched out. The move only took a few seconds but it felt as if everything happened in slow motion: The two seekers continued to gain speed, the snitch only millimeters away from their fingertips as Glynn suddenly shouted "Look out!", distracting the man so much that he lost sight on the snitch and she took the opportunity by closing her fingers tightly around the golden snitch. Everyone cheered, even the Harriers fans and players. They were happy that the game was finally over, after 7 days, 4 hours and 21 minutes and they knew that they had made history for the longest game ever.
"That was a really good game", Gwendolyn said as Rudolf approached her after landing on the ground and took his hand to shake it, giving him a warm smile, their gazes locking. Rudolf gulped as her soft skin touched his and he felt a wonderful warmth spread in his stomach as she smiled at him. He had never been so impressed by someone and somehow it influenced him and his feelings and a slightly ill-conceived thought drove his next actions.
He simply could not control himself as he leaned forward, cupping Gwen´s face in the process, and kissed her passionately. She stiffened in surprise, but made no attempt to shove him away, a surprised expression occupying her lineaments as Rudolf knelt down in the grass, holding her hand in his as he said:"Gwendolyn Morgan, will you marry me?"
Gwen stared at him, her mouth dropping open. This had to be a bad joke! He could not mean it, he couldn´t be serious about proposing marriage to her! She could feel the girlish part in her blush and feel more than honored about this, but the Harpie in her felt angry. She would not let him make a fool out of her! Glynnis, who was standing next to her with the same expression on her face, was holding Gwen´s Cleansweep Five and without thinking she grabbed it, took a swing and hit his temple with full force, knocking him to the ground.
"Gwen... you just... oh my gosh, girl, a no would have been enough!", Glynnis shrieked, ripping the broom from Gwen´s hands, obviously fearing that Gwen could hit Rudolf another time.
Two healers ran to them and levitated the man who was groaning while he held his head.
"You are making me crazy, Gwen... I think I love you... do you hear me? I love you, Gwendolyn Morgan!", he cried out as they carried him away. Gwen buried her face in her hands and made a noise of frustration.
"Wow, exhaustion can cause awkward reactions...", Glynnis giggled and slung one arm around her friends shoulder. Gwen was not so sure if exhaustion was to blame for everything he had said and with a small smile on her lips she decided that she would later pay him a visit in the hospital.