The Playoff Series
Chapter Three – The Venues Are Set
The team met regularly on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and Saturday mornings. Over the next month, they quickly learned not only how to skate, but how to skate backwards, how to properly stop, how to transition between forwards and backwards skating, and were just getting the hang of cross-over skating. It was time, Harry thought, to finally bring out the sticks and pucks.
Inside the Hogsmeade Arena, Harry blew his whistle sharply. "Alright, I reckon you guys know how to skate, and I think it's time that we finally do a couple of actual hockey drills. Let's take fifteen, and when we resume, I want all of your equipment on. Ron, Oliver and Cormac, I want you to put on the goalie equipment. Make sure it all fits, and we'll see how each one of you does."
They nodded and made a beeline for the change room.
"Harry!"
Harry turned around to see Hermione racing down the steps of the stands. She leaned over the boards, beckoning Harry to come over. Harry skated over to her, wondering why she was in such a frenzy.
"What is it, Hermione?" Harry pondered.
"Harry, you would not believe who came to help us!"
"Who?" Harry asked.
"It's Viktor." Hermione squealed.
"Krum?" inquired Harry.
"Yes! He's sitting in the Three Broomsticks, waiting for you right now."
"How did he hear about this?"
At this, Hermione blushed, and Harry understood.
"I just thought we could use his help, and considering you left me the managerial duties, I saw no harm in asking." She said.
"You'd better keep him away from Ron." He warned teasingly, and, taking off his skates and replacing them with his shoes, he and Hermione exited the arena to meet him.
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Harry quickly found out how much of a natural Krum really was. The first time on the ice, he seized a stick and a puck, and showed an exemplary talent for puck-handling, before wrist-shooting it into the empty net. Harry raised his eyebrows. He was impressed that Viktor was even able to get the puck up. "Impressive," he said. "Have you ever played before?"
"Not in a long time," Krum replied, "But ven Herm-own-ninny wrote and said you need help, I come no problem."
"Thanks, Viktor." Harry said, "We could use a natural like you.
"Alright, team!" he addressed the others, and promptly blew his whistle. "I would like all of you to meet Viktor Krum. He has come all the way from Bulgaria to help us. Those of you who know who he is know that he knows competition like no other. Welcome to the team, Mr Krum. I'm sure you'll prove to be a valuable asset."
Harry began to applaud, and the rest of the team followed. Having Krum on the team and seeing what he was capable of lifted a heavy weight off of Harry's heart, but he still hadn't told anyone about the second half of the deal. Not even Ginny.
After managing to shake himself out of his little reverie, Harry blew his whistle once more. "Alright, everyone!" he shouted. "I want everyone to pick up a stick, grab a puck, and we're going to work on stick-handling. If you feel you're ready for it, feel free to take a couple of shots on either Ron or Cormac."
Harry skated to the bench where Hermione was overlooking the team. "Thanks." He said quietly. Hermione smiled and shot him a wink.
"Pair up in twos or threes and just work on passing it to each other for now." He bellowed from the bench. "Krum," he added to Viktor, "you want to show them how it's done?" he smiled.
"For sure," Krum replied, looking over to Cormac McLaggen, now settled in his crease. He took a puck, and bolted down the ice, Harry not far behind.
Cormac was focused on the other players and their feeble passes when he quickly saw two men bearing down upon him. They were passing the puck between each other with lightning-like alacrity and accuracy. Everyone turned to look at the two as Harry crossed the blue line with the puck. He passed it over to Krum, who one-timed it back to Harry. Harry, having the open side, tapped the puck into the open net before Cormac could gather himself. He skated over to Krum and gave him props through the glove.
Everyone, now distracted, began to applaud their performance and execution as Harry skated back toward the group. "That's what you guys are going to learn how to do in the next four months," he said, "And the goalies," he looked to Ron, Oliver, and Cormac, "They're going to learn how to prevent those kinds of shots from entering the net.
"Everybody pick up your sticks, and let's start with a simple drill. Form two lines: one here, and another here" he said, pointing to the corners on either side of McLaggen. "The person at the front of each line is going to skate up the ice, passing the puck between each other. Once you get close enough, I want you to take a shot on the goal. After each pair has had an opportunity to shoot, we'll switch goaltenders, and we'll begin again. Everyone try to get at least one shot."
Harry observed this drill intently, and promptly noticed that many of the shooters had failed to raise the puck. The shots were mostly along Ron's feet, and those that did get lift only got as high as his lower pad. Harry blew his whistle.
"Alright, that was good." Harry said. "But I should probably teach you guys how to shoot properly. In hockey, there are three different kinds of shots. Allow me to demonstrate each one. Sorry, mate," he added to Ron, "but I'm gonna be picking on you for a bit, here.
"First, there is a slap shot. Fred and George have already demonstrated this with their run up the ice, but to show you," he wound up and fired the puck. It slipped through Ron's pads and into the net. "A slap shot has a lot of velocity. Some professionals can shoot it up to a hundred miles per hour. But one thing it does lack is accuracy. Often the shot will drift wide of the net, bounce off the back boards, or hit the goalie's equipment. Sometimes it will find the net; other times will leave a nice rebound. Try to gather those rebounds if you can. More importantly, bury them if you have the chance.
"To execute a slap shot, just wind, and fire. Put some muscle into it, too.
"Next is a wrist shot. This one has more accuracy, but it's not as fast. It is so named, because your wrists are what you use to execute it. If it is done correctly, it is possible to raise the puck off the ice. It takes practice, but I have faith in all of you that you will all be able to do this come game time." Harry took another puck, and demonstrated the wrist shot. The puck soared just above Ron's outstretched catching glove and landed top corner.
"Last is called a snap shot. It's about half-way between the wrist shot and the slap shot, and this is the kind of shot often used in close range. If you can, stick to the slap and wrist shots, and only use this when your opponent is quickly bearing down on you." Harry snapped the puck, and it hit Ron's blocking glove, soared six feet into the air and landed in front of him. Ron pounced on it before Harry could put it into the net.
"Now," Harry continued, "There is also the backhand shot, which is using the opposite side of the stick blade to shoot the puck." He attempted a backhand, but had it go over the net and the glass, into the seats. "Use these only as a last resort. If lucky, the goalie won't get a proper read off of it, and it just might go into the net.
"There's also the one-timer, where you don't even bother corralling the puck after someone passes it to you. They pass, and you shoot. Often it catches the opposition out of position, including the goalie. Fred and George are already quite good at this. Try to observe them next time if they're not goofing off, trying to kill someone with their sticks." The group chuckled at this.
"Finally we have the wrap-around. When you're behind the goal, and if you're not already covered by the opposition, you can catch the goalie off-guard by, as quickly as you can, coming out from behind and putting the puck in the net.
"Alright I want to repeat the last drill, but I want you all to do your best in getting the puck in the air, alright?" he blew his whistle, and they were off again, this time with Oliver in goal.
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1 November, 2004
Dear Mr Malfoy,
This is a letter concerning the deal made with Mr Harry Potter on 14 September concerning the deal that involves the hockey series.
Everything is set, but I require your confirmation on the following dates and venues. The series will be played in seven different pro-sports venues located in North America, on the following dates:
Game One will take place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on the afternoon of Sunday, 20 March, 2005 at one o'clock local time.
Game Two will take place at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on the evening of Tuesday, 22 March, 2005 at seven o'clock local time.
Game Three will take place at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina on the evening of Thursday, 24 March, 2005 at seven o'clock local time.
Game Four will take place at the General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia on the evening of Saturday, 26 March, 2005 at seven o'clock local time.
Game Five, should it be necessary, will take place at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida on the afternoon of Tuesday, 29 March, 2005 at three o'clock local time.
Game Six, should it be necessary, will take place at La Centre Bell in Montreal, Quebec on the evening of Thursday, 31 March, 2005 at seven o'clock local time.
Game Seven, should it be necessary, will take place at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on the evening of Saturday, 2 April, 2005 at seven o'clock local time.
Muggle repelling charms will be active among the venues during the course of the games to ensure the secrecy of the wizarding world.
Please let me know if there are any issues concerning the chosen venues and/or the given dates. Otherwise, I expect your consent to these venues by no later than this Thursday.
Expect more letters following this one as both of us continue to develop our final rosters for the opening afternoon.
Sincerely,
Harry Potter
Department of Magical Law Enforcement
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NOVEMBER 4, 2004
7:11 PM
The team continued to run through the drills set by Harry, and he was happy to see that there was a consistent effort being put in to the improvement of each person, as well as the team altogether.
Harry blew his whistle. "Alright, guys!" he shouted. "Listen up!"
The team gathered around him. Beside Harry was a cardboard box, and everybody could anticipate what was in it.
"If you guys remember," Harry said, "On Saturday, I asked you to sign up for your 'lucky' numbers, so to speak. In this box, I have your jerseys. They have both your name and your number on the back. Please, if you can from now on, come to practice with these. I have the black ones here, and I'll get the white ones to you soon."
Harry pulled out one of the jerseys. The Hogwarts coat of arms decorated the front, including the words Draco Dormiens Nunquam Tittillandus. Four stripes decorated the end of the sleeves, red (closest to the hem), blue, yellow, and green. Their numbers were emblazoned in gold on the sleeve, as well as on the back. Also on the back, also in gold, was the player's last name. In this case, the jersey read 'C. Weasley', and had the number nineteen.
"Charlie." Harry said, and Charlie Weasley came up to claim his jersey.
Harry ceremoniously handed out the rest of the jerseys before slipping his own above his sweatshirt.
"Once again, team. Thank you very much for doing this. With the way you guys are coming along, I see 'sweep' come the end of March. It means they're not even going to win a game." He added, noticing some puzzled looks.
"Before you guys go, I have a few more things to say. First, I've just received confirmation from Malfoy this morning. He's agreed to the North American venues. So it's set. We begin this series on the twentieth of March in Columbus. He's also considering, however, bringing some people along."
"What's that supposed to mean?" chimed Angelina Johnson.
"I quote from his letter:
'These venues are quite large, and therefore I intend to bring a few supporters. Of course, I do intend to keep the peace, but I'm wondering if you've even told anyone about this yet? I reckon the ministry could reel in quite a bit of revenue.'
"In other words, he's trying to pressure me into inviting the public into the arena to watch the game."
"What did you say?" said Jimmy Peakes.
Harry exhaled quietly. "I wanted to ask you guys first. I'm all for it, seeing what a crowd can do at a Quidditch game, let alone hockey. A crowd can be a motivational force in such a game, or could be a hindering factor, if you allow them to intimidate you, as Ron found out when he first played for Gryffindor."
Ron blushed at this, and looked at Harry bluntly. "Sorry," Harry mouthed, "but it's true."
"C'mon, Harry. I think it's time that we told someone." Shouted George Weasley. "According to Dad, even Minister Scrimgeour is getting a little suspicious. Who wants a crowd?" he added loudly to the team. "Think about it. Most of them will be on our side, anyway. Let's give them something to cheer for!" The team erupted in cheers.
George stepped down, smiling at Harry. "There's your answer." He said quietly in Harry's ear. The team was still cheering, and Harry couldn't help but smile.
They're gonna win, thought Harry. We're gonna win.