The next day was the day of the big quidditch match. Oliver woke up early
and pulled his Scottish quidditch robes out of his wardrobe. They were gold
on the outside and had the Rampant Lion in red on the back. The inside was
the same shade of red as the Rampant Lion. He got dressed and went over to
Adrianna's rooms to accompany her to the Great Hall for breakfast. She was
wearing her red, white and blue American quidditch robes and had her long
golden hair pulled back in a ponytail.
She asked if they should go downstairs and meet Fleur, but Fleur had been giving Oliver the cold shoulder. He really didn't feel like greeting her first thing in the morning, so they went straight to the Great Hall. Fleur was already there when they arrived, so Oliver didn't feel too bad about not going downstairs to greet her. The quidditch captains had already arrived too, each wearing their house quidditch robes.
After breakfast, the whole school walked toward the quidditch stadium as a group. Oliver, Adrianna and the quidditch captains all met at the center of the pitch, where they waited for Professor Snape. Snape arrived after most of the students had already made their way into the stands and were seated. He was carrying the bandanas and the bag of marbles, which Oliver had given him during breakfast. Oliver could hear Rob Jordan announcing what was about to take place. Snape reached the middle of the pitch and explained to the players what they would have to do.
"This bag contains six marbles, three white and three black. When I call your name, you will step forward and pull a marble out of the bag. If you pull out a black marble, you will receive a black bandana and will be on the black team. If you pull out a white marble, you will receive a white bandana and will be on the white team. Adrianna Brighton."
Adrianna stepped forward and reached into the bag. She pulled out a white marble, and Snape handed her a white bandana. She tied it like a headband around her head.
"Sofie Grant." The Ravenclaw captain pulled out a white marble and joined Adrianna.
"Natalie MacDonald." The Gryffindor captain also pulled out a white marble, and Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. At least now if Snape was going to be unfair, he would have to be unfair to both teams.
"Well, there's no need for the rest of you to draw marbles," said Snape as he handed black bandanas to Oliver, Lauren and Malcolm.
"Now, you have 15 minutes to decide how you are going to approach the game. At the end of the 15 minutes I will blow my whistle and you will all report back here."
As they broke into groups, Oliver took a few minutes to look around the stadium. The students had gone all out making banners for this match. Since they didn't know who would be on which team, they had made banners for their favorite individuals. The students of Slytherin house had taken one of their bed sheets and painted "Malcolm Baddock for President" in big green letters. The Gryffindors had a big yellow paper banner with red letters that said "Natalie kicks butt! Go Gryffindor!" In the front row of the Gryffindor stands were Tessa, Darlene and Katelyn. They were holding a huge red poster that said "Mr. Wood Rocks our Socks" in big, glittering gold letters. The Hufflepuffs also had a bed sheet, only they had put a charm on it so that it was now black instead of white. It said "Lauren, Lauren, she's our girl, if she don't win then we might hurl!" in bright yellow letters. The Ravenclaws, always the clever ones, had taken five separate pieces of blue poster board and written "Sofie" in silver letters with one letter on each piece of poster board. Then they levitated the poster boards and charmed them so that they would flip over every 15 seconds to say "rules". Oliver thought that it was a really cool effect. There were also a handful of Ravenclaw fifth and sixth year boys that had made a sign for Adrianna that said "Professor Adrianna 'Brightons' up our day".
In addition to all those signs, there were still students waving flags to show support for their house. Oliver heard Rob telling the crowds that today's game would be played with only the quaffle since there were only three people on each team. Then he turned his attention back to his team so that they could work out a game plan.
"What positions do you play?"
"Beater," said Malcolm.
"Seeker," said Lauren.
"And I'm a keeper," said Oliver. "Are you two OK with being chasers? One of you could be keeper if you really want to, but remember that Professor Brighton will most likely play chaser so you'll have to contend with her."
"Yeah we're cool with being chasers," said Lauren.
"What positions do Natalie and Sofie play?" asked Oliver.
"Natalie's a keeper and Sofie's a chaser," Malcolm replied.
"Shoot, they're all used to the positions that they're going to play today. They'll have an advantage. Are they any good?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah," said Lauren. "Almost nothing gets past Natalie."
"Alright guys, just try your hardest," said Oliver. "Not much gets past me either, so this will probably be a long game. The most important thing is for you to stay focused throughout the entire game. If you lose focus, it will give the other team an even greater advantage."
With that, Snape's whistle blew and all six competitors walked back to the middle of the pitch.
"Listen up, everyone," said Snape. "Since there is will be no snitch to signal the end of the game, you will play until one of the teams scores 100 points with the quaffle. The first team to do so will win the match. Now mount your brooms."
All six players mounted their brooms, and Snape threw the quaffle into the air. The game had begun. There was a blur of color as all four chasers tried to get the quaffle. Oliver sped toward his goalposts and was certain that Natalie was doing the same. He listened to Rob's commentary closely as he watched what was happening.
"Baddock gets first possession of the quaffle and speeds toward the white team's goal posts... he's blocked by Brighton and Grant... Nice pass to Sage! She shoots, but it's blocked by MacDonald! Now Brighton has the quaffle... she's really pulling away from the black team's chasers..."
Oliver prepared himself to block her. She was coming up the left side of the field. Suddenly she swerved to the right and threw the quaffle as hard as she could. Oliver wasn't fast enough.
"White team scores, 10 to nothing!"
Oliver threw the quaffle to Lauren and she sped down the pitch.
"Now Sage takes the quaffle, but Grant's right beside her... Grant's trying to steal the quaffle... wow she's really using her elbows, Snape ought to call a penalty... and there's the whistle, penalty against the white team."
Lauren took the penalty shot and made it in. Oliver cheered from his end of the field. Now the white team had the quaffle again. They were zigzagging toward Oliver, passing the quaffle and avoiding the other chasers as they went. Then seemingly out of nowhere, Malcolm intercepted one of their passes and scored again. The black team was ahead.
About three hours later, the game was still close but the white team had the lead again. The score was now white team: 90 and black team: 80. It had been quite a while since the white team had scored, though. Oliver thought that they were starting to get tired and lose focus. Baddock had the quaffle and was soaring toward the white team's goal posts, but just when he was about to try to score, Sofie flew right into him and nearly knocked him off his broom. Snape's whistle blasted, and Rob was saying,
"... and a penalty shot is awarded to the black team for Sofie Grant's nasty display of blatching..."
"Rob, you will comment in an unbiased manner or you will not comment at all!" warned Prof. McGonagall.
"Sorry professor, it won't happen again! Where was I? Oh yeah, Baddock takes the penalty shot and it's good... the next team to score will win the match!"
Oliver decided to call a time out, the first of the game. Malcolm and Lauren joined him on the ground and gathered close.
"Ok team, I just want to say that you are doing a great job so far, you haven't lost focus and we actually have a shot at winning this thing. Now, when we go back from the time out, the white team will have the quaffle. I'm guessing that Prof. Brighton will take it and try to score. If she does score, game over and they win. But if she misses, here's what I think we should do. I'll leave our posts unguarded and we'll all fly toward the white team's posts. We'll use the Hawkshead Attacking Formation to get Brighton and Grant out of the way. Lauren, I want you to take the shot because I think that you've got the best chance of making it. If we don't make it, they'll probably get back to our posts before I can and win. I know it's a risk, but I think it's our best chance. What do you guys think?"
"I think it's brilliant," said Lauren.
"Yea, let's do it," said Malcolm.
The time out ended with a blast from Snape's whistle, and both teams flew high into the air again. Sofie headed toward Oliver with the quaffle. Malcolm and Lauren met right in front of her and tried to stop her, but she threw the quaffle over her shoulder just before she ran into them and Adrianna caught it. Adrianna ducked below the tangle of chasers, came straight at Oliver, and took her shot. He caught it and sped past her toward the white team's goal posts. He heard the shouts of surprise from the crowd as Lauren and Malcolm joined him and they sped down the field in an arrowhead shape. He tossed the quaffle to Lauren, who was on his right. She pulled ahead of the arrow formation and took her shot against Natalie. Her aim was true. Lauren scored, and the game was over. Oliver's team had won.
The next Wednesday, Oliver was outside working with his class of Gryffindors and Slytherins. All of the students seemed more attentive in class, but Lavinia most of all. She had been very disruptive in class since she'd served the detention with Oliver over a week ago. This week, however, she was the model student. Oliver thought that maybe she was impressed that he had worked so well with the Slytherin team captain on Saturday for a victory.
This week he was teaching the students how to control their broomstick once they were in the air. Once they were all in the air, he got them all to fly in one large circle while trying not to run into the person in front of them. Patrick Clohessey kept bumping into Katelyn Branch, but he wasn't doing it purposely. Oliver had a suspicion that he would be seeing the boy again in the class for second years next year. All of the other students were flying in the circle without difficulty. After a while class ended, and Oliver walked back up to the castle with the students. Just as he reached the foot of the stairs, he saw Professor McGonagall walking briskly toward him.
"Oliver, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you."
She asked if they should go downstairs and meet Fleur, but Fleur had been giving Oliver the cold shoulder. He really didn't feel like greeting her first thing in the morning, so they went straight to the Great Hall. Fleur was already there when they arrived, so Oliver didn't feel too bad about not going downstairs to greet her. The quidditch captains had already arrived too, each wearing their house quidditch robes.
After breakfast, the whole school walked toward the quidditch stadium as a group. Oliver, Adrianna and the quidditch captains all met at the center of the pitch, where they waited for Professor Snape. Snape arrived after most of the students had already made their way into the stands and were seated. He was carrying the bandanas and the bag of marbles, which Oliver had given him during breakfast. Oliver could hear Rob Jordan announcing what was about to take place. Snape reached the middle of the pitch and explained to the players what they would have to do.
"This bag contains six marbles, three white and three black. When I call your name, you will step forward and pull a marble out of the bag. If you pull out a black marble, you will receive a black bandana and will be on the black team. If you pull out a white marble, you will receive a white bandana and will be on the white team. Adrianna Brighton."
Adrianna stepped forward and reached into the bag. She pulled out a white marble, and Snape handed her a white bandana. She tied it like a headband around her head.
"Sofie Grant." The Ravenclaw captain pulled out a white marble and joined Adrianna.
"Natalie MacDonald." The Gryffindor captain also pulled out a white marble, and Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. At least now if Snape was going to be unfair, he would have to be unfair to both teams.
"Well, there's no need for the rest of you to draw marbles," said Snape as he handed black bandanas to Oliver, Lauren and Malcolm.
"Now, you have 15 minutes to decide how you are going to approach the game. At the end of the 15 minutes I will blow my whistle and you will all report back here."
As they broke into groups, Oliver took a few minutes to look around the stadium. The students had gone all out making banners for this match. Since they didn't know who would be on which team, they had made banners for their favorite individuals. The students of Slytherin house had taken one of their bed sheets and painted "Malcolm Baddock for President" in big green letters. The Gryffindors had a big yellow paper banner with red letters that said "Natalie kicks butt! Go Gryffindor!" In the front row of the Gryffindor stands were Tessa, Darlene and Katelyn. They were holding a huge red poster that said "Mr. Wood Rocks our Socks" in big, glittering gold letters. The Hufflepuffs also had a bed sheet, only they had put a charm on it so that it was now black instead of white. It said "Lauren, Lauren, she's our girl, if she don't win then we might hurl!" in bright yellow letters. The Ravenclaws, always the clever ones, had taken five separate pieces of blue poster board and written "Sofie" in silver letters with one letter on each piece of poster board. Then they levitated the poster boards and charmed them so that they would flip over every 15 seconds to say "rules". Oliver thought that it was a really cool effect. There were also a handful of Ravenclaw fifth and sixth year boys that had made a sign for Adrianna that said "Professor Adrianna 'Brightons' up our day".
In addition to all those signs, there were still students waving flags to show support for their house. Oliver heard Rob telling the crowds that today's game would be played with only the quaffle since there were only three people on each team. Then he turned his attention back to his team so that they could work out a game plan.
"What positions do you play?"
"Beater," said Malcolm.
"Seeker," said Lauren.
"And I'm a keeper," said Oliver. "Are you two OK with being chasers? One of you could be keeper if you really want to, but remember that Professor Brighton will most likely play chaser so you'll have to contend with her."
"Yeah we're cool with being chasers," said Lauren.
"What positions do Natalie and Sofie play?" asked Oliver.
"Natalie's a keeper and Sofie's a chaser," Malcolm replied.
"Shoot, they're all used to the positions that they're going to play today. They'll have an advantage. Are they any good?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah," said Lauren. "Almost nothing gets past Natalie."
"Alright guys, just try your hardest," said Oliver. "Not much gets past me either, so this will probably be a long game. The most important thing is for you to stay focused throughout the entire game. If you lose focus, it will give the other team an even greater advantage."
With that, Snape's whistle blew and all six competitors walked back to the middle of the pitch.
"Listen up, everyone," said Snape. "Since there is will be no snitch to signal the end of the game, you will play until one of the teams scores 100 points with the quaffle. The first team to do so will win the match. Now mount your brooms."
All six players mounted their brooms, and Snape threw the quaffle into the air. The game had begun. There was a blur of color as all four chasers tried to get the quaffle. Oliver sped toward his goalposts and was certain that Natalie was doing the same. He listened to Rob's commentary closely as he watched what was happening.
"Baddock gets first possession of the quaffle and speeds toward the white team's goal posts... he's blocked by Brighton and Grant... Nice pass to Sage! She shoots, but it's blocked by MacDonald! Now Brighton has the quaffle... she's really pulling away from the black team's chasers..."
Oliver prepared himself to block her. She was coming up the left side of the field. Suddenly she swerved to the right and threw the quaffle as hard as she could. Oliver wasn't fast enough.
"White team scores, 10 to nothing!"
Oliver threw the quaffle to Lauren and she sped down the pitch.
"Now Sage takes the quaffle, but Grant's right beside her... Grant's trying to steal the quaffle... wow she's really using her elbows, Snape ought to call a penalty... and there's the whistle, penalty against the white team."
Lauren took the penalty shot and made it in. Oliver cheered from his end of the field. Now the white team had the quaffle again. They were zigzagging toward Oliver, passing the quaffle and avoiding the other chasers as they went. Then seemingly out of nowhere, Malcolm intercepted one of their passes and scored again. The black team was ahead.
About three hours later, the game was still close but the white team had the lead again. The score was now white team: 90 and black team: 80. It had been quite a while since the white team had scored, though. Oliver thought that they were starting to get tired and lose focus. Baddock had the quaffle and was soaring toward the white team's goal posts, but just when he was about to try to score, Sofie flew right into him and nearly knocked him off his broom. Snape's whistle blasted, and Rob was saying,
"... and a penalty shot is awarded to the black team for Sofie Grant's nasty display of blatching..."
"Rob, you will comment in an unbiased manner or you will not comment at all!" warned Prof. McGonagall.
"Sorry professor, it won't happen again! Where was I? Oh yeah, Baddock takes the penalty shot and it's good... the next team to score will win the match!"
Oliver decided to call a time out, the first of the game. Malcolm and Lauren joined him on the ground and gathered close.
"Ok team, I just want to say that you are doing a great job so far, you haven't lost focus and we actually have a shot at winning this thing. Now, when we go back from the time out, the white team will have the quaffle. I'm guessing that Prof. Brighton will take it and try to score. If she does score, game over and they win. But if she misses, here's what I think we should do. I'll leave our posts unguarded and we'll all fly toward the white team's posts. We'll use the Hawkshead Attacking Formation to get Brighton and Grant out of the way. Lauren, I want you to take the shot because I think that you've got the best chance of making it. If we don't make it, they'll probably get back to our posts before I can and win. I know it's a risk, but I think it's our best chance. What do you guys think?"
"I think it's brilliant," said Lauren.
"Yea, let's do it," said Malcolm.
The time out ended with a blast from Snape's whistle, and both teams flew high into the air again. Sofie headed toward Oliver with the quaffle. Malcolm and Lauren met right in front of her and tried to stop her, but she threw the quaffle over her shoulder just before she ran into them and Adrianna caught it. Adrianna ducked below the tangle of chasers, came straight at Oliver, and took her shot. He caught it and sped past her toward the white team's goal posts. He heard the shouts of surprise from the crowd as Lauren and Malcolm joined him and they sped down the field in an arrowhead shape. He tossed the quaffle to Lauren, who was on his right. She pulled ahead of the arrow formation and took her shot against Natalie. Her aim was true. Lauren scored, and the game was over. Oliver's team had won.
The next Wednesday, Oliver was outside working with his class of Gryffindors and Slytherins. All of the students seemed more attentive in class, but Lavinia most of all. She had been very disruptive in class since she'd served the detention with Oliver over a week ago. This week, however, she was the model student. Oliver thought that maybe she was impressed that he had worked so well with the Slytherin team captain on Saturday for a victory.
This week he was teaching the students how to control their broomstick once they were in the air. Once they were all in the air, he got them all to fly in one large circle while trying not to run into the person in front of them. Patrick Clohessey kept bumping into Katelyn Branch, but he wasn't doing it purposely. Oliver had a suspicion that he would be seeing the boy again in the class for second years next year. All of the other students were flying in the circle without difficulty. After a while class ended, and Oliver walked back up to the castle with the students. Just as he reached the foot of the stairs, he saw Professor McGonagall walking briskly toward him.
"Oliver, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you."