All the students, 1st years to 7th years, gathered in the Hall for dinner, or the 'emergency feast' as it was being called. Everyone wondered what the hell was so important that Dumbledore was calling everyone for a feast.
By the time Harry reached his seat, most of the teachers were seated at the head table. No one failed to see how intimate Professors Snape and Moray were, and some students swore they heard Snape giggling.
A few extra seats had been added to the head table, and Wood and Felicia, who had their heads together talking animatedly, already filled two. Harry watched in amazement as about 6 former Hogwarts students filed in. Harry remembered them from previous years, because he'd faced them all in Quidditch games past. The air in the Hall was getting tenser by the minute. No one could figure out why previous Hogwarts Quidditch players from all houses were there, and where Albus Dumbledore was.
Harry noticed that the magical ceiling was looking strange. Usually, the ceiling mirrored the sky outside, just like nymphs' eyes. But that evening, the sky took on a mirage sort of look, changing colours and seasons every minute. It seemed to reflect the students' attitudes. The noise in the Hall grew to a fever pitch, but still no Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall was trying to quiet everyone down but to no avail.
Suddenly, a hush fell over everyone. Dumbledore appeared in the doorway, and made his way to his seat.
'Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention please. I know most of you, if not all of you, are wondering why I called this 'Feast', if you will. Well, upon Hogwarts has been placed an honour almost as great as hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament three years ago. Now, how many of you have heard of this little sport called Quidditch?' A huge roar sprang up from the students seated. Although Albus Dumbledore appeared old and gentle, anyone who looked in his eyes could see that he was a man with a fire inside that could play to the crowd.
'Good. Glad I cleared that up. For the first time in school Quidditch history, a tournament has been made. It is a version of the World Quidditch cup, but for schools. Each magic school across the globe is entitled to send one team to the Tournament. This tournament is to start at the beginning of the spring semester. But, since all of the schools have 4 separate houses like us, each school is to have a separate round-robin tournament first, to decide which of their teams to send. Each Quidditch team is to play the rest of the teams from their school. The top 2 teams (that is, the 2 teams with the most points after all their games) will advance to a Championship. The winner of that game will be the team sent to the World School Quidditch Tournament (I assure you, that is still a working title.) The points system is this: all the points your team earns in the games will be added up to make a grand total. As I said, the 2 teams with the most points will compete in the Championship. Don't worry, you could lose with a really high score and still make it into the Championship. But this tournament is not directly the main reason calling this Feast. I'll let you think about it a bit.' With that, Dumbledore sat back in his seat and appeared to go to sleep.
It seemed as if Dumbledore was the only one who knew about what this main surprise was. The teachers and the students were dumbstruck. Not even Wood and the other previous Quidditch players knew what their former Headmaster was hinting at, but Harry would bet his broomstick that it had something to do with them.
For some reason, all of the Gryffindors looked at Harry as if he had the answer.
'I don't know! Why are you all looking at me? I have no idea!' Harry cried. Ginny squeezed his hand to calm him down and Ron and Hermione flashed him a smile.
About 5 minutes later, Dumbledore appeared to wake up. (But actually, Albus had been awake all along. He had just closed his eyes to better enjoy the confusion of his colleagues and students.)
'I think I have tortured you long enough. Just as we did with the Tri-Wizard tournament 3 years ago, we have been chosen to host the very first World School Quidditch Tournament.' The Hall was silent. No one could believe it. But just like always, a Weasley spoke up.
'OH man, we rule!' yelled Ron, and was awarded with a roomful of applause and a few catcalls.
'Well, thank-you Mr. Weasley for that ever-so-sophisticated compliment of our school. Most of you may be wondering why you see former Hogwarts quidditch players from your houses up here. I can assure that they're not just here to visit. They have been chosen to come help you, coach you. I will introduce them all to you now.
'For Ravenclaw, Cho Chang (a very talented seeker; graduated but one year) and Bentley Hawkins, a sharp-eyed chaser. Please, step forward.' The Ravenclaw table roared in approval. Harry, (having had a long crush on Cho during previous school years), noticed that she was looking good. Ginny, having known about the crush, searched Harry's face for anything worrisome, but his expression showed nothing suspicious.
'Now, Slytherin. Gutes Geleitboot and Menina Lopez.' Noise split the air as the Slytherins supported their coaches. More than one shot evil looks over towards Harry and the Gryffindor table. Harry didn't want to know what Draco was thinking at that moment.
'Gryffindor!' Harry sprang back to attention. 'Most of you remember Oliver Wood, a former keeper, who is taking some time off from the English National Quidditch Team to help out the Gryffindors.'
'Ya, cuz you know they need all the help they can get,' shouted Draco, amid Slytherin laughter, finally finding a way to put Harry in his place.
'That will be enough Mr. Malfoy. I'll be seeing you in my office directly after we are done here. Please proceed, Albus. I assure you that there will be no more interruptions,' Snape said after shooting Draco an evil eye.
What? Snape disciplining a Slytherin after they made fun of a Gryffindor? Harry thought Snape would've enjoyed seeing a Gryffindor made fun of. Obviously, whatever Professor Moray was doing with/for Snape, it was working wonders.
'Thank-you Severus. As I was saying, we have a Quidditch celebrity here. Everyone, Oliver Wood!' The Gryffindor table erupted. People were going crazy. 'Ok, calm down. Next for Gryffindor, not a Hogwarts or Gryffindor student, but certainly a kindred spirit, Felicia Ledger. She is joining us from the English National Broom Acrobatics team.' Since no one else knew her, only the Gryffindor table was cheering, but Felicia felt welcomed.
'Coaches for Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff is a sad topic for me to bring up. In an event like this, we would have a talented Quidditch player named Cedric Diggory up here. But a few years ago, Cedric was taken from us. Now, I would like to have a moment of silence to remember Cedric and preserve his memory.'
The Hall fell completely silent. Here and there Harry could hear someone crying. He looked up and saw Cho Chang sobbing silently.
'Thank-you all. On a happier note, here are the coaches for the Hufflepuff team. John Major, keeper, and Harmony Livingston, beater. Let's hear it for all our coaches!'
The screaming got so loud, Harry couldn't even hear himself think.
'Quiet! Quiet!' Dumbledore could not get the students', or anyone's for that matter, attention. Dumbledore pulled out his wand, and yelled, 'Studenti Whisperus!' A blue spark shout out of the wand over the room. Suddenly, no student could speak louder than a whisper.
'Perfect. Now, don't all of you try to speak louder at once or I will have to do that spell again. But the second time, you will lose your voice completely.' No one spoke.
'Even better. I'm glad you all value your voices. I'm just going to overview the round-robin tournament. It starts in one month. There will be 6 games. Each team will play the others. One game will occur per week, on Saturdays, so you'll have plenty of time for practice. Don't worry if it starts to snow. All players and spectators will be warm. The game schedule will be posted in each Common Room tomorrow after class. Pleasant eating!'
By the time Harry reached his seat, most of the teachers were seated at the head table. No one failed to see how intimate Professors Snape and Moray were, and some students swore they heard Snape giggling.
A few extra seats had been added to the head table, and Wood and Felicia, who had their heads together talking animatedly, already filled two. Harry watched in amazement as about 6 former Hogwarts students filed in. Harry remembered them from previous years, because he'd faced them all in Quidditch games past. The air in the Hall was getting tenser by the minute. No one could figure out why previous Hogwarts Quidditch players from all houses were there, and where Albus Dumbledore was.
Harry noticed that the magical ceiling was looking strange. Usually, the ceiling mirrored the sky outside, just like nymphs' eyes. But that evening, the sky took on a mirage sort of look, changing colours and seasons every minute. It seemed to reflect the students' attitudes. The noise in the Hall grew to a fever pitch, but still no Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall was trying to quiet everyone down but to no avail.
Suddenly, a hush fell over everyone. Dumbledore appeared in the doorway, and made his way to his seat.
'Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention please. I know most of you, if not all of you, are wondering why I called this 'Feast', if you will. Well, upon Hogwarts has been placed an honour almost as great as hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament three years ago. Now, how many of you have heard of this little sport called Quidditch?' A huge roar sprang up from the students seated. Although Albus Dumbledore appeared old and gentle, anyone who looked in his eyes could see that he was a man with a fire inside that could play to the crowd.
'Good. Glad I cleared that up. For the first time in school Quidditch history, a tournament has been made. It is a version of the World Quidditch cup, but for schools. Each magic school across the globe is entitled to send one team to the Tournament. This tournament is to start at the beginning of the spring semester. But, since all of the schools have 4 separate houses like us, each school is to have a separate round-robin tournament first, to decide which of their teams to send. Each Quidditch team is to play the rest of the teams from their school. The top 2 teams (that is, the 2 teams with the most points after all their games) will advance to a Championship. The winner of that game will be the team sent to the World School Quidditch Tournament (I assure you, that is still a working title.) The points system is this: all the points your team earns in the games will be added up to make a grand total. As I said, the 2 teams with the most points will compete in the Championship. Don't worry, you could lose with a really high score and still make it into the Championship. But this tournament is not directly the main reason calling this Feast. I'll let you think about it a bit.' With that, Dumbledore sat back in his seat and appeared to go to sleep.
It seemed as if Dumbledore was the only one who knew about what this main surprise was. The teachers and the students were dumbstruck. Not even Wood and the other previous Quidditch players knew what their former Headmaster was hinting at, but Harry would bet his broomstick that it had something to do with them.
For some reason, all of the Gryffindors looked at Harry as if he had the answer.
'I don't know! Why are you all looking at me? I have no idea!' Harry cried. Ginny squeezed his hand to calm him down and Ron and Hermione flashed him a smile.
About 5 minutes later, Dumbledore appeared to wake up. (But actually, Albus had been awake all along. He had just closed his eyes to better enjoy the confusion of his colleagues and students.)
'I think I have tortured you long enough. Just as we did with the Tri-Wizard tournament 3 years ago, we have been chosen to host the very first World School Quidditch Tournament.' The Hall was silent. No one could believe it. But just like always, a Weasley spoke up.
'OH man, we rule!' yelled Ron, and was awarded with a roomful of applause and a few catcalls.
'Well, thank-you Mr. Weasley for that ever-so-sophisticated compliment of our school. Most of you may be wondering why you see former Hogwarts quidditch players from your houses up here. I can assure that they're not just here to visit. They have been chosen to come help you, coach you. I will introduce them all to you now.
'For Ravenclaw, Cho Chang (a very talented seeker; graduated but one year) and Bentley Hawkins, a sharp-eyed chaser. Please, step forward.' The Ravenclaw table roared in approval. Harry, (having had a long crush on Cho during previous school years), noticed that she was looking good. Ginny, having known about the crush, searched Harry's face for anything worrisome, but his expression showed nothing suspicious.
'Now, Slytherin. Gutes Geleitboot and Menina Lopez.' Noise split the air as the Slytherins supported their coaches. More than one shot evil looks over towards Harry and the Gryffindor table. Harry didn't want to know what Draco was thinking at that moment.
'Gryffindor!' Harry sprang back to attention. 'Most of you remember Oliver Wood, a former keeper, who is taking some time off from the English National Quidditch Team to help out the Gryffindors.'
'Ya, cuz you know they need all the help they can get,' shouted Draco, amid Slytherin laughter, finally finding a way to put Harry in his place.
'That will be enough Mr. Malfoy. I'll be seeing you in my office directly after we are done here. Please proceed, Albus. I assure you that there will be no more interruptions,' Snape said after shooting Draco an evil eye.
What? Snape disciplining a Slytherin after they made fun of a Gryffindor? Harry thought Snape would've enjoyed seeing a Gryffindor made fun of. Obviously, whatever Professor Moray was doing with/for Snape, it was working wonders.
'Thank-you Severus. As I was saying, we have a Quidditch celebrity here. Everyone, Oliver Wood!' The Gryffindor table erupted. People were going crazy. 'Ok, calm down. Next for Gryffindor, not a Hogwarts or Gryffindor student, but certainly a kindred spirit, Felicia Ledger. She is joining us from the English National Broom Acrobatics team.' Since no one else knew her, only the Gryffindor table was cheering, but Felicia felt welcomed.
'Coaches for Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff is a sad topic for me to bring up. In an event like this, we would have a talented Quidditch player named Cedric Diggory up here. But a few years ago, Cedric was taken from us. Now, I would like to have a moment of silence to remember Cedric and preserve his memory.'
The Hall fell completely silent. Here and there Harry could hear someone crying. He looked up and saw Cho Chang sobbing silently.
'Thank-you all. On a happier note, here are the coaches for the Hufflepuff team. John Major, keeper, and Harmony Livingston, beater. Let's hear it for all our coaches!'
The screaming got so loud, Harry couldn't even hear himself think.
'Quiet! Quiet!' Dumbledore could not get the students', or anyone's for that matter, attention. Dumbledore pulled out his wand, and yelled, 'Studenti Whisperus!' A blue spark shout out of the wand over the room. Suddenly, no student could speak louder than a whisper.
'Perfect. Now, don't all of you try to speak louder at once or I will have to do that spell again. But the second time, you will lose your voice completely.' No one spoke.
'Even better. I'm glad you all value your voices. I'm just going to overview the round-robin tournament. It starts in one month. There will be 6 games. Each team will play the others. One game will occur per week, on Saturdays, so you'll have plenty of time for practice. Don't worry if it starts to snow. All players and spectators will be warm. The game schedule will be posted in each Common Room tomorrow after class. Pleasant eating!'
