The quidditch matches between England & Spain and Scotland & America were on the front page of the Daily Prophet the next day. There was a photo of the American back-up seeker holding the snitch triumphantly above her head on one side of the page. She turned her broomstick around to show off the snitch to the crowd in the picture. On the other side was a photo of Harry Potter in a similar pose, grinning from ear to ear. Oliver read the article as he ate breakfast. England had virtually crushed the Spanish team on Friday. England was expected to win the Quidditch World Cup, but then again, America had been the underdog the whole way through. Oliver wondered if America might pull through once again for a win.

He was sitting in his living room listening to the radio later that afternoon when suddenly, there were several owls flying around his kitchen with letters. One by one, they dropped their letters on the table and flew back out the window. He opened up the first letter. It was a sympathy note from George and said,

"Wood, I just read the Daily Prophet and saw the bad news. Sorry to hear about your loss. I hope that you are alright and that you're not taking this too hard."

The other letters were from his other friends, and there was even one from his parents. They all said basically the same thing.

"Geez, you'd think someone had just died the way they all talk!" he thought.

The next few days passed pretty uneventfully. Oliver spent most of his time packing his belongings into his trunk and getting ready to go to Hogwarts. On Thursday he decided to go to Diagon Alley to get some things that he would need for his job at Hogwarts. He apparated there and ended up in front of Madam Malkin's robe store. He needed to get some new robes for teaching, including referee's robes. He went inside and Madam Malkin greeted him. Then he stood on a stool while her measuring tape took his measurements and she began browsing through a rack of men's robes.

"What is it that you're looking for, Mr. Wood?" she inquired.

"Well, I need referee robes. I'm going to be the new quidditch coach at Hogwarts."

"Excellent! I have just the thing." She pulled out a white and black striped robe. The measuring tape had finished measuring him, and a quill was now writing down his measurements down on a piece of parchment. "Is there anything else?"

"Perhaps just a set of robes for everyday wear. Something red if you have it," he said. Red was his favorite color.

"Of course. You know, teachers tend to wear dark colors. Not that you have to, but here I have a nice navy blue set of robes..."

At this Oliver thought of Lockhart and almost laughed aloud. Lockhart had been his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher when he was a sixth year. He had always dressed a bit extravagantly. "Maybe you're right. I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. Blue it is."

"Very well, Mr. Wood. Will there be anything else?"

He thought for a moment. He hadn't bought dress robes since he was a seventh year. He'd needed them for Hogwarts' graduation ceremony. He couldn't imagine what he would need them for, but something in the back of his mind was telling him to get new ones. "I think I'll get some new dress robes while I'm here. And I definitely want red for those," he said.

"How about this?" she asked, holding up a set of robes. They were perfect. There was nothing girly about them, which was rare for dress robes. They were bright apple red, simple but sophisticated.

"Perfect."

"Your things will be ready a little later. Come back for them in a few hours," she said with a smile.

Since he had time to kill, Oliver decided to go visit Fred and George in their joke shop.

Oliver walked up to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, opened the door and went inside. There were lots of kids inside stocking up on prank materials before going back to school. He could see that Fred and George had their hands full, so he decided to just get a box of Filibusters fireworks and go. He got up to the register to pay for his fireworks, and Fred waited on him.

"Oliver Wood!" he said in a scolding voice. "Trying to sneak out without even saying hello! Honestly, what kind of a friend are you?!" he finished with a wink.

"Well you are really busy and I didn't want to keep you from your customers..."

"Nonsense!" said George, looking up after hearing Oliver's voice. "We always have time for a good chat!"

Meanwhile Fred opened a door that led to a room in the back of the shop. "Ron! Harry! Get out here and help some customers why don't you! George and I have some important business to attend to."

Harry and Ron emerged from the small back room and traded places with Fred and George. "Step into our office, Oliver," said Fred with a grin. Fred motioned for Oliver to have a seat, and George shut the door behind them.

"We're really sorry to hear that you lost the quidditch match," said Fred.

"Yea we know how disappointed you must be," added George. "Remember at Hogwarts how upset you were if we lost a match?"

"And those pep talks you always gave us?" Fred chimed in.

"And how you told Harry to get the snitch or die trying?" George said with chuckle. All three of them started laughing.

"Those were great times," said Oliver. "But I have grown up a little since then. Quidditch isn't life or death for me anymore. I am actually OK with not winning."

Fred and George just looked at him with "who-are-you-trying-to-fool" looks.

"I'm serious!" he exclaimed.

"Uh-huh," said Fred.

"Sure, then what else do you have planned if quidditch isn't everything?" countered George.

"I'm teaching at Hogwarts this year. Well, filling in for Madam Hooch actually. I'm waiting for Madam Malkin to finish my new robes. I have to pick them up later."

"See! Quidditch IS your life! You can't even get a teaching job that isn't related to quidditch!" said Fred with a grin, and they all laughed.

"Have you and Angelina set a date for your wedding yet?" Oliver asked Fred.

"No, but I'll let you know when we do," Fred replied.

Then the office door opened and Ron poked his head in. "Guys we really need some help out here. We can't keep up with all of the people!" he said.

"Alright, don't get your panties up in a bunch. We're coming," said George.

"See you later Oliver!" said Fred and George in unison.

Oliver left the store and went back to Madam Malkin's shop for his robes. He then apparated home and continued packing.

Oliver really didn't have much to do other than pack until Saturday. He woke up bright and early on Saturday morning and apparated to the quidditch stadium. He entered the stadium and looked around until he found his section, then asked an usher where exactly his box was. On the way there he ran into the Weasley family plus Angelina and Hermione.

"Hey, I didn't know all of you were coming!" he said in surprise. "It's great to see you all!"

"Hello Oliver! It's great to see you too," said Mr. Weasley. "Where are you sitting?"

"My quidditch team has box seats together."

"Box seats!" cried Angelina. "I'd do anything for those! How did you get them?"

"It's a long story," Oliver said. "Anyone have any predictions about the game today?"

"Me and Fred do," said George. "We say America wins, but Harry gets the snitch."

"Another of those long-shot predictions, eh?" said Oliver. "Well you guys were right four years ago when you bet that Ireland would win but Krum would catch the snitch for Bulgaria. But I don't think that you guys are gonna get lucky twice."

"Luck has nothing to do with it. It's all skill," said Fred.

Oliver laughed. "If you guys get this one right, I think I'm going to recommend to Dumbledore that you two replace Professor Trelawney in divination. You've probably got more ability to see the future than she does anyhow."

After he was done talking to the Weasley clan, Oliver found the entrance to his box and climbed the stairs. His teammates were already there, talking excitedly about what they thought would happen in the match.

"As I told you before we played against them, America has a really strong offense. We have an unusually strong defense though, so we were able to keep them from scoring for most of the game," Leslie was saying. She looked up and smiled at Oliver as she said the last part.

"England is really good though. Not only have they made it this far, they've pulverized every team that they've played so far. I don't think America stands a chance," said Kenneth.

"I think it will come down to whoever catches the snitch, just like it did in our game against America," said Doug.

"Have a seat Oliver, the game is about to begin!" said Janet excitedly.

Someone from the Ministry of Magic was announcing the game that day. Ludo Bagman had announced the last Quidditch World Cup tournament, but he had fled the country after losing a sizable bet to some goblins that same year.

"Welcome, witches and wizards, to the final match of the Quidditch World Cup Tournament! As is our usual custom, each country participating in the match has brought magical creatures from their respective countries which you will have a chance to see before the start of the match. And now, let the festivities begin!"

As the announcer finished speaking, the English team walked onto the field in red robes with St. George's cross on the back, broomsticks in hand. They walked off to the side of the pitch and stood on the sideline. Behind them came a very large group of centaurs. Centaurs were found in many parts of the world, but this type was special to England. They were very good at astrology, using the stars and the planets to see the future. Some of the centaurs were carrying spheres of various sizes, and others were carrying crystals that glowed brightly even though it was daylight. The centaurs with spheres arranged themselves so that they made a moving model of the solar system, and the ones with crystals formed constellations. One centaur stood alone at the front of the group.

"We centaurs are one with the universe. We interpret the movement of the planets. We have seen what the stars have to say. They say that England will triumph!"

Everyone who was rooting for England cheered very loudly at this. The people who were cheering for America were suddenly wondering why they would do something so foolish as to cheer for America in the first place when the centaurs were so clearly right. Then the centaurs left the field and the people began to come to their senses again.

"Wow, that was an odd feeling," remarked Doug.

"It was those crystals," said Oliver. "Whatever they were, they must have a certain amount of mind control, like the veela."

After the centaurs had cleared the field, the Americans walked onto the field in robes of blue with white stars, lined with red and white stripes. The team stood on the sideline opposite the English team. Behind them came three figures. One was a gigantic man in overalls leading an enormous blue ox. Another was a tall American cowboy with a ten-gallon hat and leather vest and chaps, riding a bucking bronco and using a live rattlesnake as a whip. The third was an average-sized, barefoot old man wearing old sacks for clothes and a tin pan for a hat. He carried a large bag filled with something that Oliver couldn't really see. He grabbed his binoculars to take a better look.

"Apple seeds? Why in the world does that old guy have apple seeds?" he wondered out loud.

"I know who they are! They're American legends!" cried Janet. "Even American muggles know about them, but of course they don't believe that they exist. That large man there is Paul Bunyan and that's Babe, his blue ox. He's a giant. That one there is Pecos Bill, and his horse is called Widowmaker. Wild man, that one. He was raised by coyotes. I think he's a parselmouth, how else would he be holding a snake like that without being bitten? And that last man is called Johnny Appleseed. He walks all over America scattering apple seeds wherever he goes. He tries to grow lots of apple trees so that nobody in America goes hungry if they have their fill of apples. He's got good intentions, but he's a bit off his rocker if you ask me."

Paul Bunyan walked to the middle of the pitch with Babe and addressed the stadium full of people. We are Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill and Johnny Appleseed, American legends. Our characteristics are present in each and every member of America's quidditch team. They are hard working, determined, enduring, and are not afraid to let their wild side show every once in a while. And they too will become living legends when they win the quidditch world cup today!"

Then Johnny Appleseed dropped a single seed from his bag to the ground. The seed immediately sprouted an apple tree covered in apples. The tree shook its branches and began to shower the audience with ripe, juicy apples. The American fans were cheering loudly as the legends left the field, and everyone was enjoying the apples that were still being launched into the stands.

After some wizards from the Ministry of Magic removed the apple tree from the quidditch pitch, the referee came onto the field and the two teams took their positions. "Good luck to you all. May the best team win," said the referee.

He released the bludgers and the snitch, and then threw the quaffle into the air and the game began. Oliver saw Harry zoom up high above the rest of the game to look for the snitch with the American seeker right behind him. Sonia had sped to the American goal posts as fast as her broom would take her in case England got first possession of the quaffle. However, the American team took first possession of the quaffle and flew toward England's goal posts. England's keeper tried to get to the goal posts to defend them, but the American team was a step ahead. Two of the chasers blocked his path while another, the girl who had scored against Oliver, dodged the bludgers and the English chasers to score the first goal of the game.

All of this happened in just a few seconds. The game was moving so quickly that the announcer barely had time to say the last name of the player in possession of the quaffle or what was going on. The English team took the quaffle and turned toward the American goal posts, but one of the American chasers stole the quaffle and scored again. Within the first hour of the game, America's amazingly strong offense had scored 15 goals while England had only managed to get the quaffle past Sonia twice. Harry and the American seeker were still sitting high above the rest of the game, searching for the snitch.

Suddenly, through his binoculars, Oliver saw something gold glinting near the ground in the middle of the pitch. Apparently he wasn't the only one, because a collective gasp was heard around the stadium as several people saw it at once. Harry and the American seeker saw it too. They both sped toward it on their broomsticks. The excitement of spotting the snitch was enough to distract the English keeper for a few seconds, but it was all that the Americans needed to score another goal.

Harry and America's seeker were both headed straight toward the ground in a vertical dive. They glanced at each other for a moment, neither one backing down. They both pulled out of the dive at the last possible second just as the snitch decided to move back up in the air. While all of this was happening, the Americans got the quaffle past England's keeper yet again.

The seekers were closing in on the snitch. They both had their hands outstretched, straining to try to get it before the other did. Suddenly, a bludger came seemingly out of nowhere toward the two seekers. It narrowly missed Harry, but it hit the American seeker's shoulder. She kept going, but the hit had cost her a few valuable seconds that enabled Harry to get ahead of her. Harry's hand closed around the snitch. But just before it did, the American chasers managed to score one last goal against England.

"Fred and George have nailed it again," Oliver thought incredulously. It had been a very close match, but America had done it. The underdogs emerged victorious yet again.

The American fans were yelling and cheering even louder than they had at the previous match, if that was possible. Filibuster's fireworks went up from the stands in abundance as the American team landed on the ground. Harry, meanwhile, still had the snitch in his hand with a look of shock on his face. He couldn't believe that the Americans had managed to score 3 goals in that short period of time for a win. He finally landed and handed the snitch to the ref so that he could put it away. The American team was high-fiving and slapping each other on the back, being careful not to further injure their seeker of course. They all walked together to the center of the field, where someone from the Ministry of Magic was waiting to hand them the cup.

"I don't believe it!" cried Kenneth. "This is an outrage! It's a scandal! England has kicked butt all season! They should have won!"

"Well if you think about it," said Leslie, "America has been kicking butt all season too. The only difference is that nobody was expecting America to kick butt."

"What I can't believe is that for the last two quidditch world cup matches, one team has caught the snitch but the other has won the match. I mean, really, what are the odds of that?" Oliver asked in amazement.

"I don't know," replied Ian. "But anyhow, I think I am gonna try to get out of here now, before I get caught up in all of the gallivanting crowds. I don't really wanna stick around for the American after-party."

The rest of the team agreed with him. They said their goodbyes and disapparated.