August 15, 1996, 8:00 am
Arthur Weasley was very fond of mornings. Every day Molly cooked him a delicious breakfast. This day he had eggs with bacon waiting for him. He could already recognize the distinctive smell of frying meat from a distance, which put him in a great mood. When he entered the kitchen, he saw something surprising. Namely, there were as many as four people sitting at the table: Ginny, Ron, Harry and Hermione. Surprised that the kids were awake, he asked everyone:
"Hello! Is there going to be a clean up?"
"Of course it is. As if we couldn't be woken up at a normal time," burbled an irritated Ron, rubbing his eyes with black rings.
Annoyed Molly Weasley, she countered:
"The prince has found himself. We have a whole house and garden to clean. Do you think we can do it in half an hour?"
While everyone was talking to each other Arthur started looking through the Daily Prophet. He still couldn't forgive their editors for slandering Harry and Dumbledore, but no other newspaper had so many interesting articles. The front page had a plea from the Minister of Magic not to walk alone because of the danger from Death Eaters.
They've finally woken up, it's a pity that it's over a year too late, thought irritated Arthur.
The following pages described, among other things, the affair with the unlicensed cauldrons that melted under the temperature of the potions. Because of this, several wizards were taken to St. Mungo's Hospital. At this point Arthur felt sadness, he imagined Percy's reaction to this article if he had not separated from his family.
Probably he would have said: I have long said that this is a matter of high importance, which must be settled by law at once, thought Arthur, imagining Percy's pompous tone.
At the very end of his reading he decided to open the sports section. An article with the following content caught his attention.
Wladyslaw Zamojski is the new coach of Chudley Cannons!
Today at 15:00 there will be a press conference during which the new coach of the team from Chudley will be introduced. According to our sources, who are close to the management of the fixtures, it is the famous Polish Chaser Wladyslaw Zamojski. It is worth mentioning that Zamojski ended his career after the end of last season. English fans still remember his fantastic meeting against our national team when he scored as many as fifteen goals. Moreover, he is the third most successful Chaser in European Cup history with 124 goals to his account. Will his fantastic skills as a player translate into coaching skills? The Pole faces an extremely difficult task of raising the team after the worst season in the history of the club. If he manages to do that, he will turn out to be an even better manager than a Chaser.
That's interesting! thought Mr. Weasley excitedly. He had been a supporter of the Cannons since he was a child, when he was younger he had dreamed of his favourite team winning the league title. However, after following the club for many years, he realized that it was impossible. Therefore, he decided to approach things in a completely different way, enjoying every game his favourite team won. However, last season the Cannons won only four times and lost as many as thirty-two defeats.
"This year will be better, for sure!" thought Arthur.
Then he turned to Ron, who had taken over his love for the Cannons.
"The Cannons have a new coach!"
Ron didn't even raise his head from his plate of sausages, after a moment of silence he announced:
"What does it matter? They're so hopeless that even Graham O'Sullivan couldn't do anything with them."
Graham O'Sullivan is considered the best coach in Quiddich history. Under his leadership, the Montrose Magpies have won thirteen League Cups and have won the European Cup twice.
"Wladyslaw Zamojski was their coach," replied Arthur, waiting for his son's reaction.
At that moment Ron twitched slightly and thought:
"How did such a poor club manage to persuade one of the most famous figures in the world of Quiddicth?!"
Surprised, Ron scrunched up his nose, then replied:
"Just because he was a great player doesn't mean he'll be an equally good coach."
"That's true, but getting someone like that gives you hope for a successful tournament," said Mr. Weasley.
"For them, success will be winning more than five games in a season. The guy doesn't realize what's waiting for him" declared Ron.
August 15, 1996, 3:00 p.m., conference room of the Chudley Cannons
Wladyslaw tapped nervously on the table top. In front of him sat dozens of journalists who were just waiting for the Cannon spokesman's cue to start the conference. To Wladyslaw's right sat MacGuire. Although the older wizard had the look of a skilled poker player, Wladislaw had the impression that he was extremely stressed.
"He's afraid I'll do something stupid and make their club's image even worse," thought Wladislaw.
At that moment the spokesman nodded and MacGuire said:
"Welcome to the press conference dedicated to our new coach. As you can see he is Wladyslaw Zamojski. We considered him to be the best candidate to start the new era of our club."
When he finished his speech, journalists shot their hands up. Each of the over fifty journalists gathered wanted to ask a question.
The first to ask a question was a stocky man with triangular glasses on his nose.
"Garry Robson, The Quidditch Charm. Please reveal why you thought Mr. Zamojsky was the best candidate for the manager's position."
MacGuire replied:
"During our interview, Mr. Zamojsky presented us with an extremely interesting vision for our team. I believe that if he can implement it our game will be very spectacular."
Another journalist asked:
"Does hiring Zamojsky mean more money for transfers than last season?"
During the previous transfer window, the Cannons spent less than one hundred thousand galleons, which was the lowest amount in the entire league. Each of the teams in the top five last season had spent over a million galleons on reinforcements.
MacGuire shook his head, saying:
"The club's budget for reinforcements remains unchanged."
Wladyslaw saw several mocking smiles in the room. He didn't like it terribly, so he said.
"Could I hear from the gentlemen sitting at the end what made you laugh so much?"
A surprised blond man dressed in a red starting robe replied:
"We were amused by a transfer budget unsuited to the realities of modern Quidditch."
At that moment, a mocking smile appeared on Wladyslaw's face. After which he asked:
"What do you do when you walk into a friend's house for dinner?"
"I don't understand what you're getting at," answered the surprised journalist.
" Do you use cutlery while eating or do you eat with your fingers?"
At that moment, half of the room uttered a stifled cry and the shocked MacGuire could hardly refrain from switching off Zamojski's microphone.
"I use cutlery," said the astonished journalist.
And your shoes are under the table or on it?
" Of course, under," said the surprised journalist.
"Then why the hell are you going into someone's house, putting your shoes on the table and saying that the food prepared by the lady of the house is shit cooked in the toilet?" shouted Wladyslaw.
"A completely wrong analogy, Mr. Zamojsky," answered the blond man indignantly.
"But your behaviour was one hundred percent correct," said an irritated Wladyslaw, then he sighed and said:
"Some of you forget that Quidditch is played by people, not money spent on them. It will only depend on my players what place we achieve this season. If the team learns what I want to tell them, our budget will be fully in line with the realities of modern Quidditch, "said Wladyslaw, thinking: Well, I made a fool of myself. I got carried away by my emotions.
The next person in line was a short middle-aged blonde who asked:
"Your team will play its first game in three weeks. Is it possible to prepare the team well in such a short period of time?"
Vladislav scratched his chin, the journalist raised a very important question. Usually, preparations for the season last at least six weeks. The teams need to get a physical shape and learn new variations of the action. Three weeks of preparation when you don't know any player and the team needs a thorough overhaul is a ridiculous amount of time. After a moment of hesitation, he said:
"You can't expect me to improve every aspect of the team's play in three weeks. That is completely unfeasible. However, I believe that during this time we will be able to improve enough to win matches."
"What do you have to share with the Cannon's fans?" asked the wizard wearing a Chudley Cannon hat.
Wladyslaw smiled at the sight of the orange hat with a speeding cannonball and replied:
"I want to convey that our team will fight in every game until we are breathless. Furthermore, I will do my best to make sure we play fast, impressive Quidditch. We want to become the pride of the town of Chudley again, and it will take hard work at training to achieve that."
The next question was asked by a tall man, sporting a picturesque grey beard.
"David Gordon, Daily Prophet, Why did you decide to coach the Cannons? I'm sure plenty of other clubs would like to benefit from your wide range of experience."
Wladyslaw had a prepared answer to this question, so he answered without stammering:
"The Cannons are an extremely titled club that is looking to regain its former greatness. I believe that with hard work and patience we will be able to climb back to the top."
After that answer Wladyslaw again saw the ironic smiles. But this time, instead of starting another argument, he thought:
"He who laughs is the one who will laugh last."
August 15, 1996, Cannon Stadium, 5 p.m.
Wladyslaw's first practice with the team was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. So an hour before practice, he decided to take a look around the stadium. First he visited both locker rooms. The rooms were not very big, but they were big enough for a group of adult men to change comfortably. Recalling his adventures at Polish venues - where the visitors' locker rooms were converted broom closets - this was already a positive. Wladyslaw then made his way to the pitch; he had always liked the close proximity of spectators to the pitch in English stadiums. Cannon Stadium also had this advantage, the stands were only two meters behind the end line. This gave the fans a better view and their cheers were better heard by the players. All four stands had the same height. However, they had one distinctive feature not seen in other British stadiums. Namely, they were shaped like an inverted trapezoid. In a normal trapezoid, the top line is shorter than the bottom line, and the sides point toward each other. In the Cannon Stadium, however, the upper tier of stands was longer than the lower, and the sides of the structure formed an obtuse angle.
"It looks like a stadium from Argentina or Peru!" thought a surprised Wladyslaw, wondering if the architect was of Hispanic origin.
Cannon Stadium held ten thousand spectators, much less than Goblin Stadium, which could seat as many as twenty thousand.
However, it is worth remembering that the Goblins from Grodzisk are the best team in the country. The Cannons, on the other hand, are very far from that title.
When he decided to go back to the locker room, just before the tunnel leading to it he saw an older man dressed in a club robe.
"Good morning! My name is Mathew James, from today I will be your assistant."
During the interview Wladyslaw was asked whether he wants to create his own training staff or prefer to trust the people who have been working for the club so far. Since there was very little time left before the start of the season, Wladyslaw decided not to fire the staff members who knew the team.
Wladyslaw nodded, shook his hand and said:
"Hello, I am Wladyslaw Zamojski. I look forward to successful cooperation."
"What is your plan for today's training? I propose to play a match between the first squad and the substitutes so that you get to know our players."
That sounds very sensible. I don't know these guys at all, let them show me what they can do. Wladyslaw thought, so he replied:
"It's a good idea, thanks to this I'll learn a few things about our team."
A few minutes before the training the first players appeared on the field. A moment later the next ones appeared. When everyone was on the pitch James shouted:
"I invite everyone to join me!"
The players got on their brooms and flew towards the coaches. Wladyslaw instantly noticed that they were all using Nimbus 2001 brooms. At this point, he thought:
No wonder they're losing since the entire top of the league is using Firebolts.
When everyone had gathered in a big circle, Wladislaw looked at everyone and declared:
"My name is Wladyslaw Zamojski and from now on I will be your coach. I look forward to a successful cooperation."
The players nodded, but looked a little surprised. Most probably they were expecting a much longer talk.
"Today we will play a match between the first team and the substitutes. Show what you are capable of."
At this point James, asked:
"Do you want to referee or shall I do it?"
Wladyslaw, replied:
"Please call me by my first name. You referee, I prefer to watch this match from a distance."
At that moment Wladyslaw looked at the basic line-up. A tall blond man flew up to hoops. Whereas the pair of Beaters consisted of a strongly muscled black man and a brunet with a very prominent jaw. The three Chasers were a bald player with a red beard, a short brunet with long hair tied up in a bun and a young blond man with a virgin moustache. The position of Seeker was played by a tall brunet with a hedgehog haircut.
All right, here we go, bud! thought Wladyslaw, watching James release all the balls.
After just a few minutes of playing Wladyslaw had a few conclusions. He didn't like the red-beard's play at all, who wanted to finish almost all actions individually.
The guy is playing his match, thought Wladyslaw, when the player lost a pile for the third time in a row after attempting to dribble.
To tell the truth, Wladyslaw liked dribbling Chasers. Most teams expect a team's attack, so a lone action can break many a defense.
However, this guy lacks quick thinking skills and a wide view of the playing field. That's why he often runs into opponents who take away his Quaffle, thought Wladyslaw.
The young blond man, on the other hand, was the opposite of the red-beard. He didn't take the slightest risk, his game consisted mainly of passing to the closest partner. Additionally, his defense was not aggressive enough. At least twice he was easily passed, although he could have fouled the opponent.
Is this boy always so lifeless or did he just get up with his left foot today? asked Wladyslaw in his thoughts/
The best among Chasers was brunet in haircut, who scored few goals. But his attitude was also far from perfect. First of all he was too slow in making decisions. A few times he delayed for a long time when passing to better positioned partners, which deprived his team of a chance to score more goals. In addition, all three looked like they played together for the first time. Practiced combinations in their performance could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Moreover, the cooperation during the defensive phase did not look good either. Therefore, the reserve Chasers had a lot of opportunities to throw on hoops.
The Beaters were much better. They did not present an extraordinary level, but you could see their excellent chemistry. When a Bludger flew closer to the left side of the field, a black player flew up and hit it on a straight line. On the other hand, the right side was occupied by a Beater with a prominent jaw, who also hit it straight ahead.
Good old English school. They don't play with any hard hits, but rather prevent the situation threatening their Chasers. It's just a pity that they so rarely aim at their opponents. They would be much more effective then, thought Wladyslaw.
Wladyslaw also liked the Keeper's play. He made several impressive interventions. The most impressive was the parade, when the Quaffle bounced off the hand of his team's Chaser and completely changed its flight direction. However, the Keeper instantly turned over his left shoulder and flew up to the left hoop catching the ball. In addition, he had several accurate Quaffle throws at a distance of 40 yards.
This Keeper is really good! He has excellent reflexes and he throws the Quaffle very well. His weakest point is the lack of communication with the Chasers, which lowers the quality of the whole defense, thought Wladyslaw.
But he was most interested by the Seeker. In less than an hour of play he almost caught the Golden Snitch twice. The first time his opponent nudged him with his shoulder, which caused the hedgehog-like boy to lose his balance. The second time, he failed because he tried to grab the Golden Snitch with the wrong hand. Although the ball was coming from his left side, the seeker decided to grab it with his right hand, which allowed the candle to change its trajectory.
You have an instinct for this, use it! - thought Wladislaw.
Finally, after another twenty minutes of play, the starter Seeker dived less than three meters above the turf, made a few zigzags, and caught the yellow ball.
In the end, the first team won against the substitutes 210-40.
Awarding the Seeker one hundred and fifty points for grabbing the torch is kind of absurd. It would be much more interesting if fifty were given, for example. Then the other roles in the team would be much more important. - thoughts Wladyslaw.
"All right, no more training for today! From tomorrow we train three times a day. Morning training will take place at nine, afternoon at fourteen, and evening training will be postponed to nineteen," said Wladyslaw to the players.
When everyone went to the locker room, James approached Wladyslaw and asked:
"Well, how do you rate these guys?"
"The Beaters are ok, they play a bit too schematically, but they will be people. The Keeper is very good, just needs to prompt the rest more. What do you know about the Seeker?"
"His name is Jimmy Barnes and he played for amateur teams for ten years after graduating from Hogwarts. Two years ago he caught the Golden Snitch in thirty straight games. We bought him before last season for the sum of fifteen thousand galleons. However, the professional league has verified him and he is not doing very well."
Wladyslaw thought:
So this is his situation. He has very good intuition, but lacks the proper experience of playing at the highest level.
"Okay, thanks for the information. The Chasers are to be fired. All three of them."
"What?!" shouted a shocked James
" Red Beard plays with himself, although he doesn't have the necessary skills, the blond guy was passing only to the nearest player during the whole match, and the guy in the ponytail has reflexes worthy of a chess player. In addition, in the attacking phase, the formation of combination actions is lacking, while during the defensive play they do not talk to each other. Therefore, they are easy targets for Chasers and Beaters of the opposing teams. In my opinion, the hopeless play of the Chasers was the main reason for the terrible previous season."
James didn't know what to think about it all. He had known these guys for years. The youngest of them - Steve Nicoll - he personally coached at the junior level. However, the weakest season in the club's history did not come from nowhere.
Zamojski knows Quidditch like few others. Plus, he's an outsider who sees things differently. He's probably right, thought James.
" Remember that our transfer budget is only 100,000 galleons and our salary budget is 5,000 galleons a week. You can't buy any stars with that money," stated James
"Don't worry, I have acquired many contacts during my twenty years of career. I know several people who will recommend me young, talented players," replied Wladyslaw.
August 17, 1996 at 21:00, Neknes, Morocco.
Wladyslaw decided to break some international laws regarding Apparition. Intercontinental Apparition was only allowed for the most skilled wizards and required special permission from the country's Ministry of Magic. However, Wladyslaw had teleported many times in the past, including to Brazil to get to Quidditch matches quickly. This time he went to see an old friend - Ahmed Osman - whom he had befriended after a friendly match between Poland and Morocco in 1986. Osman was the only Keeper to defend Wladyslaw's two penalty kicks in one match. From then on, they kept in touch with each other constantly. Hence, Wladyslaw knew that Osman was the president of the amateur Quidditch team. In addition, Osman had written at the beginning of the summer that he had an extremely promising Chaser on his team.
Osman lived in a large brick house that had two huge balconies and very wide blue doors.
Well, every country has its own building, thought Wladyslaw as he knocked on the door.
"Who's that?" he heard Osman's annoyed voice. When the Moroccan opened the door, he shouted:
"I must be dreaming! What are you doing here, old friend?"
Then he hugged Wladyslaw like a brother. Surprised, but at the same time touched, Wladyslaw said:
"Come on, that's enough."
"I have everything at home, rakija, whisky, wine ... Where do we start?"
"Calm down, my friend. Today I come to you on a specific matter. Do you still have that talented Chaser with you?"
Osman frowned slightly, then replied:
"I thought you'd just stopped by to ask how an old friend was doing. All right, I'll lay it on the table. Our team's game's in an hour, so we can go in and watch Raheem together."
"Is he good?"
"You'll see, you'll salivate when you see him play. By the way, why do you need a Chaser? Are you looking for talents for the Goblins?"
Didn't I mention to him that I'm the manager of the Cannons? I guess I actually forgot about that, thought Vladislav
"I've been coaching the Chudley Cannons since this week."
At that moment Osman slapped his forehead with his hand, saying:
" Have you gone mad?!"
"It could be worse, I only need three new Chasers," answered Wladyslaw
"They're not that bad, but you have to replace half of the team. You're not listening to yourself," said Osman, then added:
"The good news is that you already have one new Chaser."
"But what if I don't like him?" asked Wladyslaw.
"Then I'll stop being your friend. Seriously, the guy has talent like a hundred and fifty."
Curious, Wladyslaw went to the game Lions of Neknes. The Quidditch pitch was located in the northern part of the city, away from the crowded center. The club headquarters was located only five minutes away from Osman's house, but even late in the evening the heat was unbearable. After a few moments outside, Wladyslaw felt sweaty from head to toe.
"This weather is a nightmare!" said Wladislaw in Osman's direction.
Osman smiled and said:
"Now it's only thirty-five degrees Celsius, in the afternoon it was over forty-five."
"You are abnormal, living in such a frying pan."
"In twenty years' time, Europe will also be such a frying pan."
"Stop believing your wife's muggle nonsense."
Osman's wife worked for the National Meteorological Center.
"You'll see, man of little faith, you'll see".
When they arrived at the pitch, they sat in the small stands, seating about two hundred people.
"Amateur teams have to individually make sure that muggles don't detect us. Therefore, they cannot afford to play in front of too many people. It would raise a lot of suspicion," Osman stated.
Wladyslaw nodded, this problem affected most countries in the world.
"You came on a nice match. The guys are playing today against the Wydad Tigers, who are the league leaders. We are on the second place," said Osman.
The home team wore green robes while the away team wore yellow and black.
"Which one of them is Raheem?" asked Wladyslaw, watching the Chasers Lions.
" I think you'll know in a minute," said Osman, smiling.
During the first action of the match, the Quaffle went to the left-handed player of the Lions. At that moment, the Chaser moved forward in a flash. As the two opponents moved towards him, he instantly switched the Quaffle from his left hand to his right and slightly changed the course of the broom with his feet. In this way he lost the first opponent, who reached out towards the Chaser's left hand. The second opponent reached his hand for the ball, but the Lions' Chaser threw the tile slightly to the left and escaped the defensive. The last opponent flew on his broomstick toward the tile flying toward him, but the Chaser was a hair faster, intercepting the Quaffle with his left hand and putting it into his right palm. He then turned the broom to the right and flew into the goal area!
The home team's fan sector roared with delight.
What the hell was that! thought a bewildered Wladyslaw.
As the Chaser flew towards the scoring area, the whole stadium stood up, awaiting the finale of this action. At that moment the Chaser bent his body to the right.
Such a signalized throw, it's obvious that with such a bend of the body a left-handed player will throw into the right hoop, thought Wladyslaw. But at that moment the home team player withdrew his hand, lowered it to the height of his hips and made a strong throw to the left hoop!
Fans in the stadium began to shout.
- Raheem! Raheem! Raheem!
The smiling Chaser raised his left hand in a sign of triumph.
During the next ten minutes of play, Raheem scored five more goals. First, he took a powerful shot from outside the scoring area, then he took another shot past all three of his rivals and easily beat the goalie. He scored the next two goals by taking penalty kicks after rivals' fouls on him. The last goal came from a great team action that allowed Raheem to take a shot from the scoring area.
Shocked Wladyslaw, thought:
This guy is some kind of monster! How come he doesn't play for the Moroccan national team!
In the end, the match ended with the guests winning 240:230, after a great catch by the Seeker Tigers over the referee's head.
"Holy crap! Let them finally change this stupid rule of awarding as many as one hundred and fifty points to the seeker!" said Osman angrily.
"I also think it's a big stupidity," admitted Wladyslaw and then said:
'You were right about Raheem. He'll be the star of the British and Irish Quidditch League. How much do you want for him?"
I won't be surprised if he will cost more than our entire transfer budget, thought Wladyslaw.
"For you, by old acquaintance, ten thousand galleons," said Osman.
That's what his right hand is worth! What the hell is going on here?! - thought Wladyslaw, shocked.
Wladyslaw, who knew the world of Qudditch like the back of his hand, knew that Osman was hiding something from him.
"Brah, tell me the truth about this guy. He has the talent to play for the best clubs in the world, yet he plays at the amateur level. He's worth hundreds of thousands of galleons, and you're selling him to me for peanuts. Has he killed anyone or something?"
"No, I just urgently need money to pay off my bills." Osman replied, but he didn't sound very convincing.
"Ahmed! Stop bullshitting me and just tell me the truth. What is wrong with this guy?" Asked Wladyslaw, irritated.
Osman sighed deeply, then declared:
"Raheem is a werewolf."