Harry Potter and the Auror Palace
Chapter 7: Blitz Ball and Animagi
Lynkin
(Yeah, I know I'm inconsistent with fonts and such. It's just that I like the simple things and sometimes, I go all out with big headers and titles, just look at the content!)
Harry hoped that Dumbledore would be in his office. All sorts of things were running through his mind. Harry felt that he could at least prevent one death from occurring in his life. All too often had people near him died because of the fool Voldemort. This wasn't Voldemort; this was a regular freak accident!
Much to his surprise, Harry found that the Gargoyle statue was moved so that Harry could pass up the stairs to the Headmaster of Hogwarts. This was unusually odd. Harry kept on running and found Dumbledore sitting at his desk; almost expecting Harry.
"Hello!" greeted Dumbledore. "I'm surprised to have seen you so early in the year! Why it's only what, the fifth day at Hogwarts!"
"Well, I wish it were later, but Hagrid's been attacked by a tigretore! Hermione froze Hagrid so the rampaging beast would stop. Our class rushed up to the front doors and met up with Professor Snape and McGonagall," Harry said.
"Now, now, that's enough. We can get that business figured out. Why did you really come?" Dumbledore asked.
"WHAT? You don't think that a creature that can't be affected by magic whose rampaging through the grounds isn't a big deal?"
"Calm down, Harry. The problem is that you don't trust what we did on Saturday night. You know, with the rings."
Harry was open-jawed. This was a serious problem and he didn't want to play games with the funny little wizard.
"You see," said Dumbledore, "As much as that creature is dangerous, it won't kill anyone. Things like that just won't happen. I can't explain what the power of the founders really does, it's too complicated for me to understand.
"Now, what else is on your mind?"
"It's what Hagrid said, actually," explained Harry. "He said things about not wanting to end up like his Mum? I don't get it."
"Maybe, it's because you didn't know all about what happened this summer. Hagrid went through a lot. It's best to not talk to him. I believe that Mrs. Figg's sister and Sirius Black both told you that.
"Now, give me you best shot, Harry. Really, I didn't expect you come up here wondering about the future. I would've sent you off to do some work or something! Tell me one more thing troubling you."
Harry just stood in the office full of awe. Dumbledore was a genius! "I guess, I had this strange dream, that's the best way to describe it. But I was fully awake and watching how Socodyn was created. Voldemort said that he couldn't be destroyed, all evil was used to make him! The dream was more of me in a trance and watching a TV show at the same time!"
"Yes, this is what I wanted to here!" exclaimed Dumbledore.
"It is?" Harry asked.
"Sure! What you saw was a real past occurrence. But Voldemort has made one fatal error."
"What's that?"
"Socodyn, CAN be beaten. It will be up to you and the help of other students along with the 'old crew' too. But you can do it!"
Harry was completely baffled. Dumbledore had stumped him again.
"What do you mean?"
"Voldemort failed to realize that ALL of his followers were needed to create Socodyn. Think of Snape! He's been running errands for me and for the fate of the magic and Muggle world. He would never dare to turn to Voldemort's side. Without him and other Death Eaters, Socodyn is not complete. That's why he must feed on other people. Turning one into their worst nightmare is not the primary function of this creature."
* * *
Harry had to tell this to Ron and Hermione. He knew some amazing things. His two friends were amazed as well.
"Hogwarts can keep safe from that thing?" Ron asked.
"I just want to know what they're going to do with it!" Hermione shrieked.
It was Thursday morning and the school was bustling about the Blitz Ball workshop that day. All fourth years and above were invited to an introductory course in Blitz ball that day. Harry and Ron had some classes but then they were free to enjoy another great aspect of being a wizard.
"Harry, do you really think that this is necessary? I mean, you're going to be playing Quidditch! Besides, we've got to finish The Stone Phoenix by next Friday! This Magic Lit class is not going to be easy!" Hermione said.
"Oh, come off it, Hermione!" Ron shouted. "If I didn't have a broom especially made for the sport, I'd still be going. I'd want to know the rules so the game's more enjoyable!"
The three continued to discuss how difficult Magic Lit really was. Hermione couldn't get through to the boys with Quidditch and Blitz Ball, there was just no use.
* * *
"Ok, here's the deal," Professor Fletcher announced, "The players of Blitz Ball will have immense work to do. We're just going to go over an extensive amount of the rules. If there are students interested in playing, we'll have the sign ups. If there are a lot of people from a House, there will be auditions for positions."
Practically every single student that was eligible was there. Why waste their free time on reading when they could learn about a sport? To Hogwarts students and practically every magically gifted being, Quidditch was the ultimate thing in the world. Basically every day Quidditch would be mentioned. Blitz Ball would be one of those things that would easily compete. Hopefully people's views on it would be the same.
There was a large gray dome right next to the Quidditch stadium. It was big! Harry couldn't believe the Blitz Ball arena was that large. The kids walked in anxiously into a large room that was full of posters and lights. There was a hallway that was dark and seemed very long. There was also a large set of stairs that split into two paths. Harry figured those were where the spectators would be seated.
"Let's walk up the stairs and go to the left. There will be a hallway labeled A. Sit in the first few rows and fill them up. There will be an introductory screen where we will review the basic rules of how the game is played. We'll go to lunch and then come back and see a real game being played."
Everyone was dead quiet. There was nothing that Professor Fletcher could do at all; everyone would stay silent. Harry was appalled by his power. Neither Snape nor McGonagall could ever compare to him.
A large white screen appeared out of no where. Harry tried to peer into the playing field, but it was too dark. Suddenly, bright neon lights filled the arena and every student gasped. Harry saw walls, tunnels, trenches, platforms, and in the center there was a large white bowl with a large hole in the middle. Harry was completely amazed and everyone else was too.
Suddenly, a very great voice filled the arena, "Welcome! You are about to embark on a great mission; it is a mission of speed, quick thinking, stealth, and fun. This mission will tell everything there is about Blitz Ball, the latest wizard sport."
A great cacophony of cheers and screams sounded the arena. However, Professor Fletcher wasn't too fond of it, as the announcer was still introducing the following presentation.
As the screen depicted a young wizard flying on his broom, dodging a large gray pellet and shooting a ball from his broom's end, the students quieted rather quickly.
"Blitz Ball could be considered advanced Quidditch. However, the game is very different! For one thing, there isn't out of control balls trying to knock out all the players. Instead, two team members are Snipers. The shoot gray balls and try to hit opposing team members, causing them to loose all balls they have gained.
"Before I get ahead of myself, I'll review the basics of the game. The object is to simply capture all of the six different colored balls and shoot them into the Blitz. The Blitz is the large white bowl with the hole in the center. Once all six balls have been stored in there, a final rainbow ball will be sent in the arena, the team who gets all seven balls in the Blitz wins the game.
"Now, there are about three sets of the six regular balls hidden throughout the arena. They usually remain stationary for about five minutes, then they blitz off to another location. However, there is only one rainbow ball.
"Once a player picks up a ball, it will immediately be stored in the broom. Each player also has an unlimited supply of pellets, which can be shot at an opposing team. If the player is hit, one ball that they have caught will escape. If a player is hit and has no balls, they will be temporarily not able to fly their broomstick, and will have to wait where they are."
Ron was ecstatic.
"My broom can shoot things! Can't wait to meet Malfoy!"
Harry grinned. This game was turning out to be really intense. The announcer had a load more of explaining to do. During this, the students saw demonstrations.
"As I explained earlier, there are two members (aside from the other six players) who don't have brooms. They are called the Snipers. The Snipers can run throughout the course and try and knock out other players. If they are successful, every single ball that a player has will be lost.
"When a Sniper hits a player who is in the Blitz bowl, all balls stored in the bowl from that player's team will escape as well as knock out a player. But when a Sniper hits another Sniper, the Sniper hit will be disqualified for the rest of the round. Also, a non-Sniper player may also hit a Sniper, which will result in the Sniper's cannon shutting down for three minutes.
"These are the basics of the game, your instructor will now answer any questions you may have."
The screen went blank. The students began to talk.
"QUIET!" Professor Fletcher shouted. The air was stifled. "Now, does anyone have any questions?
Dean Thomas raised his hand, "What if someone picks up a ball that has already been placed in the Blitz?"
"Good question," Professor Fletcher replied. "As a player zooms in to pick up a certain colored ball, the ball will simply slip out of his broom and will relocate itself. Any others?"
Padma Patil shot her hand in the air, "The guy was talking about rounds? How many are there?"
"A standard game will have three rounds. Who knows how long they will last? Of course, if a team has won the first two rounds, it's useless to play another one. A win for a round will give the House 100 points, a win for the entire game will reward the team an additional 100 points. So, a House could gain up to 300 points!
"Ok, for now, we will have some orderly fashion for people who want to try out the brooms and see the arena. Let's see, we'll have Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw be the first Houses before lunch, and Slytherin and Gryffindor will come after lunch. Remember, that everyone should still remain during this workshop so that they know exactly what's going on."
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students flooded back to the downstairs entrance. Soon, Harry noticed that some students had entered the arena. Everyone had the same broomstick. Harry figured that the school was loaned so many for the game.
"You'll notice that these kids are riding Blitzens. So far they are the only brooms made for Blitz Ball. More will be produced later. We have a total of thirty. Remember, only six players ride brooms from each team," Professor Fletcher said. He took the words right out of Harry's mouth.
The day dragged on as the Slytherins and Gryffindor students impatiently waited for their own turn. Some Slytherin boys asked the Professor if they could test out the Sniper cannons. Strangely enough, he granted their request. Soon, screams sounded the arena as students fell down and angrily waited for their brooms to function again. The gray balls used to snipe the broom riders didn't seem to hurt, but they surprised many of the students.
Finally lunch came. Ron excitedly gobbled his enchilada (Thursdays were dine-from-a-different-country-for-meals day) and chomped on his nachos very quickly. He then ran up to his dorm and got his own broom. Harry was glad his friend was so excited. But Harry also decided that as exciting and fun as Blitz Ball looked, he would still remain faithful to Quidditch. The Weasley twins felt the same way.
"So how's the game look?" Hermione asked.
"It's great. You should come to the arena and see it!" Harry enticed.
"I don't know, I should finish up my notes on chapters 30-35 on The Stone Phoenix."
"Come on, Herm!" George said, stuffing a burrito up his mouth, "The game is so cool. You should come and watch a simulated game. You know, sort of like the Quidditch simulator you gave to Harry for his birthday?"
"Oh, ok," Hermione finally gave in.
The next hours resulted in some hilarious outcomes. Fred Weasley was almost hit by Cho Chang, who had a Sniper cannon. Instead, he ducked and his broom went down. Of course, a Hufflepuff fired a gray cannon and hit his waist. Fred fell on a platform and played dead, clutching his legs, and also had his tongue sticking out.
Harry thought the feel of the Blitzens was bulky, but they were very responsive. They had to be, a player needed to be very careful, and otherwise a player would easily hit a wall or the wire cage. The cage surrounded the playing field, and it was tremendous.
After the other two houses had their fun, the game simulation would be played. It was kept short, as the time for the workshop was expiring. A pale blue team faced off against a bright pink one. The blue team had easily won because of their sleek and smaller players. Plus, one of the Snipers was sent out of the game for the final tie-breaking round.
Every student couldn't stop talking about Blitz Ball after the game. It was the only thing that was on even Hermione's mind! However, things soon changed as Harry spotted something odd while walking back to the castle. A blue tail swished from behind the other side of the dome.
"Ron, Hermione!" Harry shouted, his voice hoarse from shouting and cheering. "I just saw the tail of the TIGRETORE!"
"You sure?" Ron wondered.
"Well, let's go see! If it's gonna come after us, we might as well summon a broomstick and leave!" Hermione suggested. Harry raised an eyebrow, surprised that she had made the statement.
The three crept toward the end where Harry saw the tail. As they slowly tiptoed around the curve of the dome, the saw a man instead of the blue ferocious wild cat. The man turned his head and Ron and Hermione gasped. Harry just stood still as he saw the face of a very scared Lucious Malfoy.
Not much to say here. Don't yell at me for making a cliffhanger! I needed this chapter to go somewhere. I personally love cliffhangers. DON'T BOTHER TO REVIEW SAYING THAT I MADE A CLIFFIE! I DON'T CARE! I'm the author and I can do what I want. I didn't mean to yell, but I want to be clear and frank on this issue. I've seen too many story reviews cluttered with people complaining about cliffhangers.
Thanks to the one person who reviewed with the lovely suggestion about the tigretore. I forgot the name. I did have some initial ideas, but this person had something that inspired me! Keep the reviews coming and I'll do likewise with the chapters!