Author's Notes –
This is an AU fic for both Ranma and Harry Potter. Hell, it's a cross over, expect lots of surprises. No, I do not own either series.
I have to say, I don't understand why they don't have bench or reserves for the Quidditch teams? Professional teams and other competitive teams (school teams) have benches and reserves that they substitute in for injured or tired starters. I know that Slytherin has fielded different players to suit the weather, so they obviously have players on their bench, but why the hell didn't Gryffindor? Sure, Ginny played Seeker when Harry was suspended, but what about when Harry was out during first year? Or when Wood and some of the Chasers go down against Slytherin? Couldn't they substitute players?
Maybe I just don't understand all the rules of Quidditch, so I apologize if I'm going to butcher it by having back-ups for a majority of the players, but seriously, how do you expect them to sub people in if they don't actually have people practicing? It's also useful to have a 'mojo' squad that mimics the playing style of your opponents so that you can practice your game plan against that 'mojo' team – how are they going to practice Quidditch without opponents? Just fly around and pretend that your opponents are there or just have the Beaters try to take your head off?
* * * * *
Tensions were high in Gryffindor as the house prepared to support their Quidditch team in the first match of the season. Expectations weren't very high for the team as they were facing Slytherin who was returning all seven starting players whereas Gryffindor was fielding a first year as seeker, had two beaters that had been on the reserve team starting, and had two chasers who were also on the reserve team (though both had started a match the previous season due to injuries to the starters), and was only returning two of their starting players – a second year team captain and the lead Chaser.
Perhaps because few expected Gryffindor to prevail the majority of the talk throughout the school was of Ranma and Syaoran's defeat of the troll in the dungeons.
"Little Ranma put down a troll?" Sirius balked at the notion.
With the much anticipated start to the Quidditch season about to begin, it was not unusual for parents and recent graduates as well as the residents of Hogwarts to make their way onto the grounds, though most milled around the Quidditch Pitch unless they had passes to come visit the students.
As Gryffindor and Hogwarts alum, and as the god-father of Gryffindor's newest Seeker, Sirius Black was of course allowed to visit Harry. It also helped that he was there with the Seeker's parents.
"I can't believe that you went after the troll," Lily said as she shook her head at Neville.
The sandy haired boy shrugged, "I've beaten several ogres before, and Ranma's defeated trolls before…"
"You've fought creatures like that before?" James asked skeptically.
"We've fought worse," the noticeably bulkier boy stated. "We fought a Totetsu to get a hair for Ranma's wand. Also fought a dragon but the Master didn't feel like killing it just for a heartstring."
Lily opened her mouth to protest.
"Looks like you've put on some weight there Neville," Sirius teased. "Grown a few centimeters as well."
Neville sulked.
"He says that his balance and coordination have been thrown off," Ron stated as the adults noted Neville's sudden change in mood. "Ranma and Syaoran have been getting the better of him during their spars."
"That-" the redheaded woman pointed at the bruise on Neville's face.
"Sparring," Ron stated, "though to be honest it looked like they were trying to murder you. I mean, he kick you hard enough to send you ten meters up and ten meters over – if the wall hadn't been there you probably would have gone further."
Lily Potter's eyes bulged at the prospect.
"Ranma did kick the troll in the head, though he didn't knock it out," Harry added.
"It's alright," James tried to reassure his wife, "I'm sure that Ranma really wasn't trying to hurt Neville."
"They spar every weekend for an hour," Ron added, "and before each meeting of the dueling club."
"Dueling club – you started a dueling club?" Sirius asked.
"Ranma and Neville convinced Professor Quirrell to advise them, though Professor Snape also helps out," Harry explained. "Most of the firsts don't do too well because they're afraid of Professor Snape."
"But mostly it's because the older students tend to be better and quicker with their spells," Neville added.
"Well, only you, Ranma, and Syaoran seem to be able to beat the older students consistently," Ron groused. "But seriously, how does Syaoran do that thing with the lightning and fire?"
James and Sirius blinked.
"He shoots fireballs and lightning bolts?" Lily exclaimed.
Neville nodded, "He used lightning against the troll. He usually tones it down in the club."
Looking around he eyed the adults, "Why isn't Mr. Lupin here?"
Startled by the keen observation skills that Neville displayed, the three adults glanced at each other.
"He was feeling sick," Harry answered, "so he couldn't make it."
"Who's Mr. Lupin?" Ron asked.
"Why don't we leave Harry to be with his parents?" Neville suggested.
"Yeah," Ron nodded in agreement, "I suppose he won't have much time with his parents before he has to get ready for the match."
* * * * *
Since becoming the head of Slytherin seven years ago his greatest pleasure was watching the Slytherins defeat the Gryffindors. For seven straight years the Slytherins had never lost to Gryffindor. Of all the matches that they had this was the most important to him. It wasn't that he hated Gryffindor – no, he actually liked a handful of his Gryffindor students he'd taught over the past decade, he just strongly disliked most of them – and there was one that he loved.
It irked him that that one was sitting beside the two Gryffindors that he truly loathed. It didn't help that that Gryffindor's son was virtually identical to his father or that he was the god-child of the other Gryffindor that he hated.
Staring down at his team, Professor Snape looked at the young Slytherins. "For those of you new to the team, I want you to know that I've told this to every Slytherin that came before you during my tenure as Head of House.
"This is the most important match of the year. For seven years Slytherin has reigned. We have ruled the Pitch, controlled the fate of the Quidditch Cup, and dominated the House Cup as a result. But losing to Gryffindor is unacceptable. If you lose here I will personally make sure that you all" he glared at each and every member of the starting and reserve player "will be training every possible day until the end of the season. Your training will not be pleasant, and it will not be quick. And should any of you want off of the team I will have you in detention for the rest of your time at Hogwarts as well as not permit you to visit Hogsmeade.
"Do I make myself clear?"
Each of the Slytherins nodded.
"Now go out there and destroy the Gryffindors as if your life depends on it – because it does."
* * * * *
Ranma had to admit, Quidditch wasn't bad. Sure, it wasn't the art, but it was good if you had to watch something, something he couldn't say about football, though rugby – that was a fun game to watch. Heck, even American football was okay, once the ball was snapped. Like rugby and football, there were many parts to the game – various rolls to be filled by the different positions, though unlike American football where there were assigned offensive and defensive units/squads, rugby and regular football employed all their players at the same time. Like rugby Quidditch employed all players at the same time, though only the Keeper was truly defensive, much like the goal keeper in football. The chasers fought for control of the quaffle either to put themselves in scoring position or to prevent the other team from getting into scoring position. The beaters helped or hindered their chasers by knocking the bludgers away from their teammates or by knocking them at their opponents. And then there were the seekers who pretty much just sat around looking for the snitch. While they had the greatest chance at earning points for their teams they were also the ones that did the least up until one of them spotted the snitch.
Watching them basically stay stationary as they scanned the area for the snitch, Ranma was glad that he wasn't a seeker. True, he had a keen eye, but really, if he played seeker the match would be over much too quickly, though perhaps that was a good thing. If he were to grab the snitch quickly that would mean a quick end to the match, giving his opponents fewer points. Considering that teams earned points towards the Quidditch Cup equal to their margin of victory, catching the snitch quickly would give them a greater chance of ending up with a greater margin of victory. Unfortunately the points earned in a match were also added to the house's total points for the House Cup. While most winners of the Quidditch Cup had won the House Cup, there were a few years where a team had forgone capturing the snitch so that the chasers could rack up more points for the house and thus win the House Cup. Thus a match that ended with a score of 520-490 would earn the winning team 30 points in for the Quidditch Cup and 520 points for the House Cup.
Unfortunately it wasn't always the house that earned the most points that won the House Cup though. There were some years where the house that won had earned the fewest points but had not lost any points while the houses that earned the most points had also lost the most points.
Ranma hoped that he wouldn't be one of the people losing his house any points. True, he and Syaoran had earned Hufflepuff a combined 47 points over the first month or so the term, but the pair of them had also lost a combined 15. It wouldn't help that the Gryffindor and Slytherin would be adding to their total points with today's match, though Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw would play in two weeks.
Watching as the Slytherin chaser knocked the Gryffindor chaser off her broom as the bigger flier collided viciously into her so that he could steal the quaffle from her, Ranma shook his head.
To encourage fair play teams were docked points for fouls (points from the House Cup, not the Quidditch Cup) while the resulting penalty also gave the other team a chance to shoot a foul shot. The loss of ten points from the House Cup and possibly giving up ten points in a match though was obviously not to be taken lightly, still, that didn't stop the very physical Slytherin team from employing that tactic as they abused the smaller and faster Gryffindors.
As a fighter Ranma knew that those punishing blows would slowly build up, even for the more resistant and durable magi/witch/wizards. Forced to use their second-string players the Gyrffindors were slowly losing to the Slytherins, something reflected in the score.
"And Katie Bell scores on the penalty shot!" the voice of the announcer, one Lee Jordan of Gryffindor, exclaimed. "The score is 80-50 Slytherin as Adrian Pucey takes the quaffle. He passes it to Alderton, but Fred Weasley breaks up the pass with a well placed Bludger. It's recovered by Bell, who passes to Johnson – oh, but the Worme's well placed bludger knocks Johnson around and she loses the quaffle. Flint recovers, evades Spinnet, and passes to Pucey who shoots – and Wood can't save it as Toothill stops him with a bludger! Slytherin scores! It's now 90-50 Slytherin."
"So they're allowed to knock bludgers at me?" Ranma asked as Cedric.
"Yeah," the second year seeker replied. "Once the other team is in scoring range the Beaters are allowed to knock the bludgers at you. A good pair of Beaters will always have one of the bludgers on hand to either break up a play or assist a play. The Weasley boys are good at keeping the Gyrffindors safe from the bludgers, but they don't assist as much as Worme and Toothill. They're good at keeping one ball around, but they tend to lose sight of the other, so the Weasley twins are keeping the other around just for general mayhem."
Ranma nodded. Watching the two sets of beaters it was pretty clear that the two teams used different tactics.
"Another spectacular save by Wood!" Lee proclaimed.
"See, Wood's a better keeper than Brookstanton," Cedric commented, "he's managed to keep this game close."
Ranma nodded. After an hour of play Wood had already saved over twenty shots, though he'd allowed nine to score. In contrast the Gryffindor chasers had only taken ten shots against Brookstanton who had only saved five. The physically aggressive Slytherins had bullied and abused the smaller Gryffindors, proving that their brute force and endurance was more than a match for the smaller and more skillful squad.
"Time out called by Wood. Looks like they're substituting Harrison for Johnson as Angelica took a real beating when Alderton crashed into her. We'll see if Harrison's size helps against the physical play of the Slytherin chasers.
"The score remains 90-50 Slytherin, though Wood has stopped the last four shots by Slytherin.
"What's this?! It looks like Higgs has spotted the snitch as he's on the move! He goes behind the stands, but it looks like he's lost sight of it as he flies back over the pitch."
The Gryffindor's cheered as the Slytherin seeker hovered over the pitch.
But before the Slytherin could begin scanning the area for the snitch his counterpart was on the move, zooming past him and dodging a bludger.
"It looks like Potter's on the move!" Lee shouted excitedly.
Ranma's keen eyes caught the glint of golden light reflected off of the tiny winged sphere as it flew around the base of the stands where the Ravenclaws were seated.
"You saw it too, didn't you?" Cedric smirked. "You'd be a great seeker."
Ranma nodded, accepting the praise from the Hufflepuff seeker.
Though much of the audience was focused on the dueling seekers as they jockeyed for position while chasing after the elusive snitch, the players themselves were focused on their match as the Gryffindor chasers continued to chase after the Slytherins as they sought to score once again. Only Wood's valiant efforts kept the snakes from increasing their lead.
"Harrison recovers – oh, that's nasty collision. Amazing – he maintains possession even though Flint and Pucey crashed into him. He passes to Spinnet. She eludes Alderson and a bludger from Worme. Passes to Bell. It's a feint! Brookstanton was faked out – he went to protect the left hoop but Bell scores through the center hoop! It's now 90-60 in favor of Slytherin as Potter and Higgs continue to chase after the snitch.
"Higgs breaks off as Weasley hits the other bludger at him. Now Potter's got a good five meters between himself and Higgs and he's closing in on the snitch. Yes! He catches the snitch! Gryffindor wins!"
"And that's why Wood wanted a good seeker," Cedric stated.
Ranma and Li nodded.
Cedric smirked. "It looks like Slytherin's reign is coming to an end."
* * * * *
A good majority of the student body (and staff) celebrated Gryffindor's victory over Slytherin. Though it was just one match, it had been seven years since Gryffindor had beaten their chief rivals. Even the great Charlie Weasley, the last true seeker that Gryffindor had fielded, had not beaten the Slytherins in his three years as seeker.
For nearly a week the talk was now about ending Slytherin's reign over the Quidditch Cup and House Cup as the snakes had only managed to score 90 points in the match but had three fouls against them, thus gaining only 60 points towards the House Cup. Last year Slytherin had won the House Cup and Quidditch Cup because of their victory over Gryffindor – an embarrassingly one side affair where Higgs had essentially kept Charlie from capturing the snitch until Slytherin had a comfortable lead. Even with Charlie capturing the snitch, Gryffindor had lost 430-210.
But with Gryffindor's upset things were very different. Slytherin could no longer just coast through the season with a huge lead. Even Gryffindor wasn't safe as they had only won by 120 points, something that could easily be erased by a quick seeker or very even match or even a very lopsided match.
A week (and a Hogsmeade trip for the students in their third year and up, sans the Slytherin Quidditch players) later and the talk was now about the Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw match as the two teams and their houses sought to take advantage of Gyrffindor's upset of Slytherin.
"If we can keep it close than whichever team catches the snitch will have the edge in both Cups," Cora stated. Each member of the team had already heard that from their housemates, but hearing it from the muscular yet flexible team captain only helped to engrain that message into their minds. "But we can't think about the Cups yet – our goal is to win. To do that we take each match as it comes to us. It doesn't matter that we're playing Slytherin next. What matters is how we do against Ravenclaw this weekend.
"Cedric, you know what you have to do – catch the bloody snitch!"
The powerful brunette looked into her young seeker's eyes.
"Saotome! You're going to have to keep those tricky Ravenclaws from scoring. They're about as good as the Gryffindors, but they like to use a lot more feints. Look for Jewkes and Fawcett play a lot like Worme and Toothill so expect them to send some bludgers your way. Evans usually leads the pack, but he'll throw a feint and pass to either Davies or Burke instead as those two are more accurate."
Ranma nodded.
"Maddox, you'll be Evans. Lock, Leach, you're going to be Davies and Burke. Give Saotome a good look at what those three tend to do. Kemp, Peaks and Vance pretty much do everything that Burke, Davies and Jewkes do, so there's not much difference between their starters and their bench."
Ranma and the three reserve chasers nodded. Matt Moddox was a second year like Cedric, thus his spot on the reserve team but he was far larger and stronger than either Alan Locke or Samantha Leach, both of whom were third years. Only the experience and seniority given to Deborah Gorgovitch, Mason Dearborn, and Cora Lynch, all sixth years, had kept the two third years and one second year from starting.
"Nettles, Prye, just do what you can to disrupt Cedric and Ranma," Cora added.
But seniority didn't factor in for the fifth years Calvin Prye and Alvin Nettles as they were reserves behind the fourth year duo of Brad Cattermole and Percy Jones, the nearly identical boys (save for their eye color and the fact that Percy had a scar on his chin) had similar builds to the team captain but were much more muscular than the flexible girl.
Actually, everyone on the Hufflepuff team, be they reserves or starters, had the same muscular build – only Ranma and Cedric stood out and broke that mold as they were more lean and appeared fairly skinny when standing with their teammates. Yet despite their builds the Hufflepuff team was surprisingly quick.
It was that unsuspecting speed that had nearly resulted in Ranma nearly allowing the reserves to score against him as he was nearly lulled into complacency by the first dozen shots. Unlike the starters the three reserve players didn't go all-out every minute and the sudden bursts of speed would have allowed them to score against a lesser keeper, but Ranma was clearly not a lesser keeper.
Though it felt weird for him to actually be moving towards things that were coming towards him, Ranma simply took it as training because, well, it was training.
Having watched Wood and Brookstaton's play Ranma understood why Wood was significantly better than his Slytherin counterpart. Not only was Wood better at reading the formations used by the chasers as well as reading their subtle movements that told him how they were going to fly and move, but he could read their eyes, thus giving him an idea of where they were going to go with the quaffle.
Though Locke, Leach, and Maddox were good, they gave off obvious signs of where they were going and who they were going to be passing too or which hoop they were shooting for. And after a full three hours of practice Ranma was getting very good at reading the trio.
"Alright, that's enough for today!" Cora shouted, signaling the end of the day's practice as the lights in the castle began to be noticeable.
"Oy, Al, Matt, Sam!" the young keeper called out to his three teammates.
"What's up Saotome?" the youngest of the trio asked as he glided down to the ground.
Not keen to having the youngster giving him a nickname, Alan eyed the young upstart even as he flew by him.
"That's such a funny accent," Sam smirked as she flew over to Ranma.
"I noticed something while you guys were flying," the martial artist said, barely noticing the very American accent to his English.
"What's that?" Maddox replied.
"Well," Ranma said as he landed. Keeping the broom between his legs he mimicked the grip that Mason had used when he passed to the others. "Does Evans glance ahead at who he's going to pass to or does he just kind of know where they are?"
"Why?" Matt asked.
"Well, I noticed that right before you pass you pretty much lock your eyes on them," Ranma stated. "If someone starts to pick up on what you do than they'll be able to pick off your pass or in my case keep you from scoring."
"Huh," the older boy exclaimed, "never thought of that."
"And when you're gripping your broom," Ranma turned to Samantha 'Sam' Leach, "you always shift your grip so that you grasp the shaft further ahead when you're about to throw to your left but you always shift your grip back when you throw to your right. And you only throw with your right and pull up and stop or slow down when you're coming straight on.
"Deb," he turned to the lone female chaser of the reserves, "you always cock your head to whichever side you're going to throw to, kinda giving away where you're going to throw like Matt does."
Sam shook her head, "Now you're sounding like Cora."
"Yeah," Alan 'Al' Locke grumbled, "but you're pretty quick if you picked all of that up. No wonder you kept us from scoring a single time."
"Keep that up Saotome," Cora grinned as she joined the younger players, "and maybe you'll get to be captain eventually, after all of us graduate."
"Hey, if he keeps Ravenclaw from scoring next week than I'll buy him a pack of butter beer next Hogsmeade trip," Mason 'Mace' Dearborne added. "Evans, Davies, and Burke may not have the same tells as Al, Sam, and Matt, but they've got some. Don't depend on them though because you're not always going to see those tells or they might show you a fake tell."
"Yeah," Cedric added as he joined the discussion as the Hufflepuffs marched towards the locker room, "Katie Bell is great at faking out keepers, and the Ravenclaws are going to notice if you're picking up on their usual tells as well."
"'Tells'?" Ranma asked.
"It's slang from poker," Cedric explained. "A 'tell' is an obvious sign that a player is bluffing."
Ranma nodded.
"You've got a good eye Saotome," Cora stated, "but don't get too focused on just the 'tells'. As good as Oliver Wood is, he sometimes gets too focused on those 'tells' and forgets to watch out for bludgers. The first time he played he got knocked out ten minutes in because he wasn't paying attention to the bludger."
* * * * *
The fair, sunny skies that had favored the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match were nowhere to be seen as Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw prepared for their match. True, the first match of the season had been two weeks ago, but the drastic change in weather would make it hard for players and spectators alike to watch the match.
The weather also limited the number of places that students and their parents could congregate as they were all forced to stay inside lest they wanted to be soaked through. Over a dozen empty classrooms throughout the castle had been converted for the students and their visitors.
Not that Ranma, Syaoran, or Neville were going to have any visitors though. With the first Hufflepuff match just hours away the trio of boys had decided to take it easy and not spar.
"You're sure you can use that charm?" Neville asked as he eyed Ranma.
The raven haired martial artist was slowly wrapping his wrist and hands, favoring the wraps to the usual dragon-hide gloves that the other players used. "Yeah," he replied as he tucked the end of the wrap under another fold. "Madam Hooch is going to check us all for illegal charms before the match. I checked with her and she cleared this charm. I think most of the others will be using something like it too."
Neville nodded.
"Don't worry," Syaoran added, "I'll put it on him."
"So the charm doesn't keep you from getting wet…" Neville started.
"It turns all of the water that is about to touch me warm," Ranma finished.
"So you're never splashed with cold water," the sandy haired boy smirked.
The raven haired boy nodded.
* * * * *
"Oy, Neville," Harry shouted as he waved at his fellow Gryffindor. "Hey Syaoran."
Neville and Syaoran looked up, spotting the energetic Gryffindor as they approached the stands. Though it was only half an hour before the Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw match few people were in the stands as the pouring rain and howling winds had yet to die down. Few people obviously wanted to get wet this early in the afternoon and clearly, though a few were just now arriving from Hogsmeade.
With the two matches sandwiching a Hogsmeade visit by the older students (third year and up) the Three Broomsticks and the other shops in the only all magical village were doing very well, especially since so many parents had booked rooms at the Hog's Head and Three Broomsticks for each weekend so that they could visit their children and watch some exciting Quidditch. Even the poor weather for the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw match didn't deter the alumni and parents. In fact, the Slytherin loss had perhaps created more business for the tiny village as more parents were interested in this key second match of the early season.
The long line of visitors from the village and alumni combined with the number of parents that were visiting students helped fill the stands despite the weather, though it filled out much closer to the start of the match than two weeks ago.
"We're going to sit by the guys," Harry stated rather than suggested to his parents as he led Neville and Syaoran towards a mixed contingent of Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors.
Neville was glad to be away from the adults. Not only did he feel slightly remiss about essentially being an orphan, but he always got a sad vibe from Harry's mother that always seemed to leave an odd feeling inside of him. But seated with the firsts from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff he could relax.
Due to the fact that Quidditch was an aerial sport few spectators brought umbrellas as the instruments often obstructed either the user's view or the view of those behind them.
"Move aside!" a rough, gruff voice shouted. The owner of the voice forced his way down the aisle, shoving aside Gryffindor and Hufflepuff alike.
"Make room for your betters," a shrill voice proclaimed.
"We were here first," Ernie protested.
"So?" Malfoy sneered as his goons shoved aside the Hufflepuff.
"So," Neville said clearly, "these are our seats."
Crabbe and Goyle paused. Though they towered over Neville and Syaoran, the two lumbering boys had a rough idea of what the two smaller boys were capable of.
"Um," Goyle mumbled, "we'll sit over here."
"Yeah," Crabbe seconded.
Malfoy simply gaped at his companion's lack of spine. Turning around he dared to protest but caught sight of Syaoran's steady eyes on him. Thinking better of it he and his goons moved back towards the edge of the skybox where they would have to endure the pounding rain that slipped past the awning several meters overhead.
* * * * *
Ranma was not looking forward to playing in the rain. Well, honestly, he wasn't looking to play. The young martial artist really didn't like Quidditch. It was okay to pass the time, but he really felt that he could use half the time he'd spent practicing to improve himself as a martial artist. Though he didn't have the large growth spurt that Neville had, he had started to notice that he was growing. His added mass was not as noticeable as Neville's was, but it was still starting to throw off his balance. Still, he'd put in hours on his katas, but with the time he put into practicing for Quidditch as well as the extra study sessions with Neville and Syaoran, the dueling club, and their secret lessons with the elf Lyxander he was finding himself hard pressed to keep up.
If not for the fact that Syaoran always woke him up by throwing him out of bed Ranma was sure that he'd have slept in further and further each morning. His normally relaxed nature had started to be replaced with an edgier and angrier nature as he failed to get the rest he so desired. He'd even gone so far as to kick Neville a bit harder than he'd expected several weeks back, nearly getting Professor Quirrell to stop the spar and call off the Dueling Club meeting/practice altogether. Had it been anyone other than Neville or Syaoran, Ranma might have seriously hurt them with that kick. As it was Neville had emerged with a wicked welt and bruise that had kept him from sparring the next morning.
Half listening to Cora's speech, Ranma simply waited for the match to begin. The sooner it began the sooner it would end. Looking up at the dark sky and the pouring rain though he doubted that it would end soon though as he knew that Cedric or the Ravenclaw seeker would be hard pressed to spot the snitch much less capture it quickly.
Slowly the two teams walked into the center of the pitch. Unlike the Gryffindors and Slytherins who didn't shake hands before or after their match the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws exchanged formal greetings as well as a customary and polite "Good luck," as they shook hands.
Taking their positions they endured the pelting rain as Madam Hooch released the snitch, then the bludgers. Grabbing the quaffle she banished the case. "Ready?" she asked as she mounted her broom. Grabbing her whistle she threw the quaffle into the air then quickly kicked off of the muddy ground even as she blew into the whistle.
The gathered players quickly followed suit as they moved into position or jockeyed for position and possession of the quaffle.
A stiff gust nearly knocked several chasers off their brooms even as it sent the quaffle flying towards Ranma. As the only person on his team who was allowed to kick the quaffle, Ranma's powerful leg lashed out, connecting with the leather ball as he sent it flying towards the Ravenclaw hoops.
"Saotome scores!" Lee Jordan's magically amplified voice proclaimed over the howling winds and pounding rain. "That's unprecedented, but totally legal as the keeper is allowed to kick the quaffle. Hufflepuff takes an early 10-nothing lead as the two keepers fly to their respective positions.
"I'm pretty sure that Saotome was trying to kick the quaffle to Lynch, but a second gust of wind apparently sent it just off its mark," Jordan added.
As a keeper he wasn't supposed to handle the quaffle away from the hoops, but he could if it ever came close to him as it just had. Some teams were even known to play without a keeper when they were down, or even take out a beater or the seeker to add an additional chaser, though they were only allowed to have up to four chasers and only one seeker or keeper and up to two beaters.
Mentally Ranma tuned out the announcer, the howling winds and the pounding rain as he hovered before the three hoops.
The howling winds actually helped the sturdier and more muscular Hufflepuffs as they navigated the pitch through the wind and rain. The winds also kept passing to a minimum as sudden gusts could force the throw off even the best thrown pass.
Adjusting quickly to the conditions Lynch sped through the pitch, dodging Ravenclaws and the bludgers hit by Jewkes and Fawcett. Zipping around Adam Kiely the Hufflepuff captain waited for a powerful gust to throw the Ravenclaw keeper off before throwing the quaffle through the left hoop for a score.
"Hufflepuff scores!" Jordan announced. "20-nothing Hufflepuff. It looks like this match will be a low scoring affair given the weather but Hufflepuff seems to be making the best of it. Their straightforward style seems to work better in this storm and they're going to make the most of it. Can Ravenclaw endure the weather and Hufflepuff's strength and determination?
"What's this? Ravenclaw has called for a sudden substitution. They're pulling out Carmichael and putting in Stephan Vance. They're going with an extra chaser but pulling their only seeker.
"Apparently Carmichael thinks that there's no way anyone can find the snitch in this weather. He might be waiting out the storm and saving himself for fairer weather. Regardless this is a very dangerous gambit."
Four Ravenclaw seekers stepped onto the pitch. It didn't take long for them to make their presence known as they took possession of the quaffle. Outnumbering the Hufflepuff chasers they always had one chaser always open, giving them one player whom they could make a long pass to.
"Burke passes to Davies; Jones tries to break it up with a bludger but Davies simply breaks away. Davies passes to Evans. Jewkes hits a bludger at Saotome but the daring first year swats it at Evans who loses the quaffle. Dearborne recovers and speeds towards Kiely unimpeded. Vance tackles Dearborne but Dearborne maintains control of the quaffle. He shakes off the tackle and passes back to Gorgovitch. Cattermole hits a bludger that forces Burke away from Gorgovitch. Gorgovitch shoots for the left hoop but Kiely deflects it with a kick.
"Vance recovers the quaffle. He passes to Evans who slips by Lynch. Sandy passes to Burke. Burke avoids a bludger from Jones. She passes to Davies. Again Jewkes aims for Saotome with a bludger but Saotome simply catches it. Is he allowed to do that?!
"Saotome uses the bludger to knock away Davies' shot. Can he do that?!
"Madam Hooch calls for a time out."
Ranma watched as the head referee flew over to Professor McGonagall. After a brief conversation the Gryffindor Head of House spoke with Lee.
"Rule 1107.021 states that a player may dodge, swat, kick, or catch a bludger that comes close to them. They may even use it to throw it at another player or at the quaffle."
Ranma was surprised when the Ravenclaws didn't object, though the Slytherins clearly did.
"Um, Madam Hooch returns to the pitch and signals the end of the official's timeout," Lee announced. "Wow, I never knew about rule 110.021.
"Dearborne takes possession of the Quaffle. Evans and Burke move to intercept him. Dearborne passes to Gorgovitch, but Davies intercepts. Davies throws to Vance. Vance shoots, but again Saotome knocks it away.
"Burke recovers and quickly shoots, but again Saotome swats it away.
"Evans recovers and passes to Davies. Davies slips past Lynch. He fakes a shot and passes to Burke who shoots – but it's turned back by Saotome.
"Lynch recovers and avoids Vance. Lynch bowls through Evans. The Ravenclaws can't catch her. Only Kiely stands in her way. Lynch goes left but shoots right – and Kiely saves it. He throws it to Vance.
"Jewkes knocks a bludger at Dearborne, keeping him from tackling Vance. Vance takes it to mid-pitch but a bludger from Jones forces her to pull up. She passes to Davies. Davies slips past Lynch and Gorgovitch. He avoids a bludger from Cattermole.
"Fawcett and Kiely both send bludgers at Saotome. But he dodges them both. He's out of position as Davies shoots.
"Saotome jumped off his broom! He jumped off his broom! And he caught the quaffle! Saotome throws to Lynch. Somehow Saotome gets a hold of the hoop and now he's grabbed hold of his broom.
"Burke and Davies tackle Lynch – Davies has the quaffle. He passes to Evans. Saotome's still out of position. Evans shoots and scores!"
A loud cheer erupted from the Ravenclaws as Ranma moved back into position.
"Dearborne takes possession of the quaffle for Hufflepuff. Can they overcome the numbers against them? Somehow the Ravenclaws are wearing down even the surprising Saotome who's stopped a flurry of shots by the Ravenclaws.
"Wait; is that Diggory on the move? Yes, he's spotted the snitch. It looks like Carmichael's gambit is now working against him. With Diggory after the snitch Ravenclaw can't call for a timeout or substitution as play does not stop unless there's an injury.
"But the Ravenclaws don't care. Evans and Vance take the quaffle away from Dearborne. Vance passes to Burke, who slips past Lynch.
"Kiely knocks a bludger at Diggory but he's too far away to care.
"Jones knocks the other bludger at Burke who pulls up. That gives Lynch just enough time to catch Burke and steal the quaffle from him. Lynch slips past Davies and Vance, passes to Dearborne. Now it's a race to Kiely with Evans following.
"A bludger from Fawcett allows Evans to catch up, but Dearborne passes to Gorgovitch. A stiff gust sends it just out of Deb's hands though but Lynch recovers. Cora zips between Burke and Davies, but another gust knocks her into Vance who steals the quaffle.
"Vance now advances on Saotome. He's had a bit of a breather but can he hold up against this barrage?
"Wait, Diggory is closing on the Snitch! He's got it! This match is over! Hufflepuff wins 170-10!"
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A/N
I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.
Please Read and Review.
Dreamingfox
