Chapter Eight - The rules of the game

"You really should try it, Felicity," Miss Peters, the Elfin teacher and dorm mother, was trying to convince Felicity to try out for the girls' LaQuidd team.

"Yes," chimed in Sarah, "you should. "Your flying is really good."

"Best in the Entered Class, if you ask me," Miss Peters said.

Felicity wrinkled her nose. "I don't know... I've never played many sports," she said. "I don't even know how LaQuidd is played; who's going to teach me?"

"I bet Roger would teach you!" Sarah suggested. Sarah and Miss Peters giggled at this suggestion.

"Sarah!" Felicity didn't like to think that her feelings for Roger were so transparent to everyone. Everyone, that is, except for Roger.

"He would be happy to teach you, if he is any kind of a gentleman." The voice was that of Benjamin Franklin or, to be more precise, the painting of Franklin that hung over the fireplace in the reception room of Franklin Hall.

Franklin, or Ben, as the girls had taken to calling him, was in the habit of inserting himself into their affairs upon the slightest provocation.

"A young man should always stand ready to assist a young lady in whatever it is she might be in need of," Franklin went on. "I shall take it upon myself to inform him of your desire for his assistance the next time I speak with Master Williams."

"Don't you dare!" Felicity shot back at the painting. "I'll do it myself."

"Very well, then," Franklin replied.

Felicity didn't notice Franklin wink at Sarah and Miss Peters as they left the room.

As it turned out, Roger was more than happy to teach Felicity the rules of LaQuidd. For this afforded Roger an excellent reason to spend some time with her, something he didn't mind in the least.

Roger took Felicity out onto the LaQuidd pitch to explain the game to her.

LaQuidd he told her, is a combination of two separate sports; a magical one for Europe called Quidditch and the native American sport called lacrosse. Quidditch had never taken hold in America for reasons that are not clear.

"Dr. Mather thinks Quidditch is the greatest sport ever invented, to hear him talk," Roger told Felicity as he was trying to explain the game.

LaQuidd did share two things from the old game of Quidditch, however. It was played on broomsticks and it used a ball known as a Snitch. The Snitch in LaQuidd, though, is somewhat bigger than the one used in Quidditch, according to Roger.

"Was that what you gave me for my birthday?" Felicity asked as he was explaining the rules to her.

"Yes," he said. "That Snitch was the one with which I scored the winning goal against Ravencroft. I had to remove the wings or it would have flown all around the room and they can be kinda dangerous in enclosed places."

Roger went on to explain that, in LaQuidd, the teams attempt to catch the Snitch in baskets attached to the ends of sticks. These sticks were developed from the American Indian sport of lacrosse.

The force with which you could throw a Snitch from one of these sticks was very great and, for a moment, it prevented the Snitch from being able to use its wings to avoid landing in the goal. The goals themselves were five-foot square and were elevated 10 feet above the ground. The players, flying on brooms, pass the Snitch from player to player and attempt to throw it into to the goal before it starts flying on its own.

"You have to be quick," Roger told Felicity. "The Snitch can fly very fast and once it gets it wings working, it can be very difficult to catch again." With that, Roger removed a ball from a small leather bag he had brought with him. "It's a practice Snitch," he informed Felicity. "It does not fly near as fast as a real one."

He released the ball, which instantly took wing and began to dart about. "See if you can catch it with your stick."

Felicity swung the stick at the small ball several times before snaring it in the basket at the end of the stick.

"Now throw it to me," Roger said. "Remember to use only one hand; you have to hold onto the broom, you know."

Felicity flicked the ball in the general direction of Roger. The Snitch flew along for a bit before stopping in mid-air and taking flight in a different direction than that in which she had thrown it. Felicity could see how this could be a difficult game.

"Roger?" Felicity asked as they walked up the hill from the LaQuidd pitch. "Couldn't you throw a Snitch faster and better if you used both hands on the stick?"

"You sure could," said Roger, "but how would you stay on your broom while you did it?"

"I don't know, but if you could, it would be a lot better. Is it against the rules to use both hands?" Felicity asked.

"I don't think so. I don't think the rules say anything about it, but I've never seen anyone do it, either."

Felicity determined then and there that she would perfect a means of staying on the broom while using both hands to thrown the Snitch.

That night at supper, Felicity told Miss Peters of her decision to play LaQuidd.

"That's great!" said Miss Peters, who was always optimistic about everything, it seemed.

"You'll do great," Sarah said. "I wish I could fly well enough to play."

Sarah Goldstine was perhaps the worst flyer at Salem. People were genuinely frightened to watch her on a broom. She would dive and bob for no reason and, on several occasions, had narrowly missed the buildings, pushing away from them with her feet just in time.

Toby Miller, a boy in the Fellowcraft class, had become so alarmed by Sarah's flying that he had insisted she fly with him from the LaQuidd pitch, a few days back, lest she hurt herself.

"I really much prefer flying with Toby than doing it myself," Sarah had confided to Felicity that evening as they lay in bed.

"What girl wouldn't?" thought Felicity.

After supper, Felicity asked Sarah to join her out on the back lawn behind Franklin Hall.

"What's up?" Sarah asked as the two walked. Felicity carried her broom.

"I want to figure out a way to fly without having to hold onto the broom with my hands," Felicity announced.

"You want to do what?" Flying for Sarah was a difficult enough proposition using her hands to hold onto the broom. In her mind, trying to do it without holding on was suicide.

"You heard me. If I can figure out a way to do that, I could use both hands to throw the Snitch farther and faster."

Felicity climbed onto her broom and had it float slightly into the air. Then she wrapped her legs tightly around the back of the broomstick and let go with her hands. She fell off almost at once.

"Are you all right?" Sarah cried. Sarah was, in many ways, like her mother. She tended to worry a great deal about the welfare of others.

"I'm fine," Felicity said, getting up. "Let's try again."

After several attempts, Felicity found that she could float in the air on the broom with both hands free. Using one leg she was able to control speed and direction.

Sarah looked on, envious of Felicity's natural flying ability.

Over the next weeks, Felicity perfected the technique. She also swore Sarah to absolute secrecy in the matter. She never revealed her newfound skill to anyone else, even to her coach, Mrs. Dow.

Mrs. Dow was the wife of the English Master. A pleasant woman, the mother of two young boys, she was one of the few muggles in town. She had, however, played lacrosse in college and, by means of that experience, had been pressed into service as the girls' LaQuidd coach.

The day was fast approaching for the first match of the year. Two games were to be played, one boys' and one girls', against St. Jeanne d'Ark School of Quebec.

"They're good," warned Mrs. Dow. "LaQuidd was invented in Quebec and they think of it as their national sport up there," she continued.

Salem's prospects were not helped in the matter by the lack of girls interested in playing LaQuidd. The sport had the reputation of being rough and Mrs. Dow had had to work to round up enough girls interested in playing. She had been thankful when Felicity appeared at practice, given her reputation as a good flyer.

Game day finally came and Felicity found herself on the pitch with eleven other Salem girls, facing the team from St. Jeanne d'Ark. "They look so big," Felicity thought, as they flew into position. Indeed they were. St. Jeanne d'Ark School never had any difficulty fielding a LaQuidd team and most of the girls were either Fellowcraft or Master age.

The referee came out onto the field and, after making sure all was ready, tossed the Snitch into the air. Twenty two girls on brooms, carrying sticks, instantly became airborne and began a mad scamble to capture the Snitch.

Within a few minutes, a girl from Jeanne d'Ark had it in her reach and snapped a pass to a teammate. Girls dove and rose in a confusing scene and then, in an instant, Jeanne d'Ark scored a goal.

LaQuidd is a low-scoring game. Even the best of players find it difficult to chase the wildly moving Snitch and control the broom at the same time.

The game continued, each side frantically trying to capture the small ball and gain some control over its flight.

Late in the second half of play, Marta Good managed to capture it and fling the ball into the goal as she flew by. As she did so, however, she lost control of her broom and tumbled to the ground, hurting her arm.

The score stood tied at 1-1.

Felicity didn't feel like she had been much help to her team. She had not even captured the Snitch once, but she kept trying, hoping her luck would change.

With only a few minutes to play, the referee again tossed the Snith into the air. It traveled up a ways and then darted toward Felicity. As if by instinct, Felicity raised her stick just as the Snitch flew into it. For an instant, Felicity was surprised, then the tucked her legs under herself and sped toward the goal.

In LaQuidd, most goals are made from fairly close to the goal. If you were to shoot from too far out, the Snitch would have time to regain its flight and dart away.

Felicity was quite a ways from the goal when she wrapped her legs tightly around the broomstick and, grabbing the stick with both hands, hurled the Snitch in the direction of the goal.

The Snitch left Felicity's stick like a bullet fired from a gun and flew through the air in a straight line. As it slammed into the netting at the back of the goal, a cheer went up from the Salem side of the field.

Felicity grabbed hold of the broom and swung it around, just as the horn sounded, ending the game.

The scene that greeted her, however, was one of confusion. Several of the girls from Jeanne d'Ark were standing in front of the referee arguing loudly in French and broken English. The Jeanne d'Ark coach was making her way toward the referee, as was Mrs. Dow.

Mary Jacobs came along side Felicity. "Where did you learn to do that!" she said, breathless from the closing minutes of the game.

The Salem side of the field, which moments ago had been rejoicing in the victory, now turned quiet. The two coaches, accompanied by the Jeanne d'Ark captain and Ruth Hagen, the Salem captain, stood in the center of the field engaged in an animated conversation. The referee had removed a small book from his pocket and was consulting its pages.

After a bit, the Jeanne d'Ark girls left the field. One glared over at Felicity as she walked away. The referee turned to the scorer's table and said in a loud voice, "The goal stands!"

The Salem students and faculty erupted once again in cheers. Several girls rushed Felicity and hugged her. The boys' team whooped and hollered and threw their sticks into the air.

Mrs. Dow met Felicity at the side of the field. "Good job!" she said. "I didn't know if using two hands on the stick was legal but there is no rule against it."

It was the first time in many years that Salem girls had won a game against Jeanne d'Ark. "It's sure to make the sports pages!" Roger gushed. "I don't think anyone's ever used both hands on the stick like that before."

That night at supper, Felicity was the center of attention. The victory against Jeanne d'Ark had been the highlight of the week. The boys had lost their match, partly because several of them had attempted the same move and had fallen off their brooms in the process. This made the girls in school feel particularly proud of the accomplishment.

Dr. Mather made it a point to congratulate Miss Good and Miss Stockwell on their performances on the LaQuidd pitch that day.

That evening, several of the boys came up and asked Felicity to show them how to handle a LaQuidd stick with both hands. Felicity smiled and promised to teach them. In fact, the boys' coach had already arranged with Mrs. Dow for Felicity to show the entire team the technique.

That night, Felicity wrote her parents telling them of the day's excitement. She asked her father to please save any copies of the American Prophet that might mention the game. She folded up the letter and send Solomon on his way with it.

By the time Solomon arrived at 23 Waybosset St., however, several other owls had arrived at the Stockwell home bringing word of Felicity's achievement.