Chapter 6-Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw
"First Quidditch game of the season in three hours!" Michael said joyfully, sliding in between Liz and Rachel. "You coming?"
Rachel agreed instantly. They both looked around at Liz expectantly. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Are you coming?"
Liz gave a loud, melodramatic sigh. "I guess."
"Good. See you then. Celeste has us practicing three hours before. D'you believe it?"
Liz did. Celeste Weaver, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, was a very hard worker. She should've been in Hufflepuff.
"A bit overkill, don't you think?" Rachel said.
"I agree with you, but I tried to tell Celeste," Michael grimaced. "You should've heard her." His voice went high-pitched as he mimicked her. "Overkill? Overkill? Weasley, in Quidditch there is no such thing as overkill!" He grinned wryly. "Thus, I must go to Quidditch practice at eight in the morning. I'm already late and promised a slacker's welcome when I finally do arrive. Bye."
"He wouldn't go if he wasn't obsessed," Rachel remarked. Liz nodded.
At eleven, the two girls made for the Quidditch pitch, surrounded on all sides by students from first-year to seventh-year. Liz and Rachel found seats near John Peterson, mainly because Liz wanted to avoid Bettie Hess. The girl with the black curly bob sent Liz many rude faces. So Liz was forced to endure sitting by John. He kept looking at her and grinning in his skin-prickling manner.
"Welcome!" yelled the commentator, a fifth-year Gryffindor named Josh Lepress. "It's the first match of the season, and what a match it promises to be! Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor. All right, Oliver Wood is out on the field with the Quidditch balls. Captains Celeste Weaver of Gryffindor and Jack Guevara of Ravenclaw are shaking hands. And—yes, the Quaffle is released!"
The stands filled with screams. Through the roaring crowd, Liz spotted Hagrid and Chris making heir way toward her.
"Hagrid! Chris! Over here!" Rachel called.
It was a tight fit, but Chris and Hagrid managed to squeeze in. Beyond the transparent barrier that separated the Gryffindor and Slytherin stands, Liz saw Winnie Chen's friend Patsy motion to Chris, and she saw Winnie distinctly mouth the word "Squib." Then they burst into peals of laughter. Liz writhed with silent fury.
"Mitchell Mikey of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, he passes to Shannon Dogginsen—ooh, intercepted by Joe Morrison of Ravenclaw, he's going up the field, he shoots, and he scores! Better luck next time, Gryffindor. Celeste Weaver, captain, has it, Gryffindor in possession, and the Quaffle isn't all Weaver's got, she's got looks and personality, too, wouldn't you know it, a girl like her might do well with a guy like me at the Valentine's Day Dance—"
Liz shuddered at the very mention of that event while Professor Weasley attempted to wrestle the microphone away from Josh. Up in the air, Celeste almost lost the Quaffle in shock; Josh was a year younger than her.
"Keep flying, Celeste!" Josh shouted once he had regained control of the mike. Professor Weasley relented grudgingly. Celeste made for the Ravenclaw goalposts.
"Weaver against Keeper Vincent Hartley, let's see who'll come up the better in this round, Celeste shoots, SHE SCORES! Ten to ten, all tied up."
All this time, Michael had been circling the field in the air above it. Now he made a steep dive straight at the field. Jack Guevara, the opposing Seeker, followed. But both pulled up empty-handed.
"False alarm, false alarm," Josh said. Many of the Quidditch players had been watching the spectacular play, and they looked up to see Shannon Dogginsen score on their Keeper.
"Ha, ha, the old diversion ploy! Nice job, Gryffindor, who takes the lead, twenty-ten."
The Seeker and Captain of Ravenclaw was not happy. He took aside his Beaters, Johnny Wille and Marvin Theobald, to discuss strategy. They took to the air with a ferocious glint in their eyes.
"All right, twenty to—whoa, watch out there," Josh said as Wille hit a Bludger toward Celeste. He had missed by a mile, ending up instead in the vicinity of the commentator's head. "Calm down, Ravenclaw, there's till time left in the game."
This statement, rather than cool the Ravenclaws down, ignited their fury even further. One of the Chasers, Joe Morrison, almost too the Gryffindor Keeper's head off. Needless to say, Sarah McGuire was not pleased. She raced up to him and smacked him with the tail of her broom.
A whistle rang out. "Foul!" the Ravenclaws cried together. "Foul!"
"Aw, get over it," Chris said.
"And Ravenclaw Chaser Joe Morrison gets one penalty shot for unnecessary use of brooms."
The Gryffindor fans held their breath. Morrison took careful aim and chucked it. Sarah McGuire made a grab for it and missed. The Quaffle hit the side of the goalpost and plummeted to the ground.
"The penalty is stopped. Not by the Keeper, maybe, but it's stopped, all right. Ravenclaw's getting a little hot under the collar, maybe? Gryffindor in possession, we could use a Snitch capture right about now. Weasley? Guevara? Ah, they're still up there. Mitchell Mikey has the Quaffle, and what is he doing?"
The Seeker, Guevara, came pelting at the unfortunate Chaser, who was struck by a hundred and fifty kilograms of Ravenclaw flesh and dropped the Quaffle. But unbeknownst to either of them, Michael was reaching out for the Snitch at that exact moment.
"Weasley has the Snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
A roar rose up from their part of the stands. Through the barrier, Liz could see Winnie pouting.
A wave of red and gold crashed out onto the field to congratulate their Quidditch team.
"That match was amazing!" Chris said.
"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Michael agreed. "Hagrid, exactly how much rope do you need to do a knot?"
The four children were helping Hagrid set a trap for predators of his garden ("They've been burnin' it up," he said). This involved a trap where a rope snapped and the intruder was strung up by the foot or whatever body part placed in the loop conveniently placed on the ground. Liz, Rachel, Michael, and Chris were tugging at the rope so Hagrid could tie a knot.
"Could you give it up?" Liz groaned. "It's been a week."
"There. All done," Hagrid announced. "I'll be headin' back up to the cabin." He turned and left. From their current spot, the cabin seemed far, far away.
"All right. He's gone. Let's get started," said Liz. "Shall we try levitation again?"
"Fine," Chris relented, "but I'm pretty sure I haven't improved since the last time we tried."
Liz handed him her wand and told him to practice wand movements and the incantation while Michael went to find another feather.
"I think we've scared all the birds away," Rachel commented, smirking.
"Wingardium Leviosa. Wingardium Leviosa," Chris repeated, swishing and flicking as Michael approached again. "Wingardium Leviosa. Wingardium Leviosa!"
It all happened very fast. A blue spark hit the rope just as Michael stepped in the loop. The rope snapped and Michael was soon hanging upside- down, the blood rushing to his head.
"Cut me down," he choked.
Liz said a few words and slashed another section of the offending rope with her wand. Unfortunately, none of them managed to foresee the obvious effects of gravity, and Michael came crashing to the ground. He ended up in a dazed heap. "Ow."
"Michael! Are you all right?" Liz cried.
"No. I've got a lump the size of a Bludger on the back of my head. Didn't anybody realize what would happen? I wasn't going to fly!" But he said it jokingly, so they all knew he was all right.
"I'm really sorry, Michael," Chris apologized.
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault," Michael assured him.
But the atmosphere was ruined, Liz noted. Chris had lost what little confidence he had for the day, so they left not long afterwards.
"We tried, Liz," Rachel said. "But it looks like it's not working. Chris is a Squib."
"It is working. I know it is."
Rachel shrugged uneasily. Liz bit her lip. It was working, wasn't it?
"First Quidditch game of the season in three hours!" Michael said joyfully, sliding in between Liz and Rachel. "You coming?"
Rachel agreed instantly. They both looked around at Liz expectantly. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Are you coming?"
Liz gave a loud, melodramatic sigh. "I guess."
"Good. See you then. Celeste has us practicing three hours before. D'you believe it?"
Liz did. Celeste Weaver, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, was a very hard worker. She should've been in Hufflepuff.
"A bit overkill, don't you think?" Rachel said.
"I agree with you, but I tried to tell Celeste," Michael grimaced. "You should've heard her." His voice went high-pitched as he mimicked her. "Overkill? Overkill? Weasley, in Quidditch there is no such thing as overkill!" He grinned wryly. "Thus, I must go to Quidditch practice at eight in the morning. I'm already late and promised a slacker's welcome when I finally do arrive. Bye."
"He wouldn't go if he wasn't obsessed," Rachel remarked. Liz nodded.
At eleven, the two girls made for the Quidditch pitch, surrounded on all sides by students from first-year to seventh-year. Liz and Rachel found seats near John Peterson, mainly because Liz wanted to avoid Bettie Hess. The girl with the black curly bob sent Liz many rude faces. So Liz was forced to endure sitting by John. He kept looking at her and grinning in his skin-prickling manner.
"Welcome!" yelled the commentator, a fifth-year Gryffindor named Josh Lepress. "It's the first match of the season, and what a match it promises to be! Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor. All right, Oliver Wood is out on the field with the Quidditch balls. Captains Celeste Weaver of Gryffindor and Jack Guevara of Ravenclaw are shaking hands. And—yes, the Quaffle is released!"
The stands filled with screams. Through the roaring crowd, Liz spotted Hagrid and Chris making heir way toward her.
"Hagrid! Chris! Over here!" Rachel called.
It was a tight fit, but Chris and Hagrid managed to squeeze in. Beyond the transparent barrier that separated the Gryffindor and Slytherin stands, Liz saw Winnie Chen's friend Patsy motion to Chris, and she saw Winnie distinctly mouth the word "Squib." Then they burst into peals of laughter. Liz writhed with silent fury.
"Mitchell Mikey of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, he passes to Shannon Dogginsen—ooh, intercepted by Joe Morrison of Ravenclaw, he's going up the field, he shoots, and he scores! Better luck next time, Gryffindor. Celeste Weaver, captain, has it, Gryffindor in possession, and the Quaffle isn't all Weaver's got, she's got looks and personality, too, wouldn't you know it, a girl like her might do well with a guy like me at the Valentine's Day Dance—"
Liz shuddered at the very mention of that event while Professor Weasley attempted to wrestle the microphone away from Josh. Up in the air, Celeste almost lost the Quaffle in shock; Josh was a year younger than her.
"Keep flying, Celeste!" Josh shouted once he had regained control of the mike. Professor Weasley relented grudgingly. Celeste made for the Ravenclaw goalposts.
"Weaver against Keeper Vincent Hartley, let's see who'll come up the better in this round, Celeste shoots, SHE SCORES! Ten to ten, all tied up."
All this time, Michael had been circling the field in the air above it. Now he made a steep dive straight at the field. Jack Guevara, the opposing Seeker, followed. But both pulled up empty-handed.
"False alarm, false alarm," Josh said. Many of the Quidditch players had been watching the spectacular play, and they looked up to see Shannon Dogginsen score on their Keeper.
"Ha, ha, the old diversion ploy! Nice job, Gryffindor, who takes the lead, twenty-ten."
The Seeker and Captain of Ravenclaw was not happy. He took aside his Beaters, Johnny Wille and Marvin Theobald, to discuss strategy. They took to the air with a ferocious glint in their eyes.
"All right, twenty to—whoa, watch out there," Josh said as Wille hit a Bludger toward Celeste. He had missed by a mile, ending up instead in the vicinity of the commentator's head. "Calm down, Ravenclaw, there's till time left in the game."
This statement, rather than cool the Ravenclaws down, ignited their fury even further. One of the Chasers, Joe Morrison, almost too the Gryffindor Keeper's head off. Needless to say, Sarah McGuire was not pleased. She raced up to him and smacked him with the tail of her broom.
A whistle rang out. "Foul!" the Ravenclaws cried together. "Foul!"
"Aw, get over it," Chris said.
"And Ravenclaw Chaser Joe Morrison gets one penalty shot for unnecessary use of brooms."
The Gryffindor fans held their breath. Morrison took careful aim and chucked it. Sarah McGuire made a grab for it and missed. The Quaffle hit the side of the goalpost and plummeted to the ground.
"The penalty is stopped. Not by the Keeper, maybe, but it's stopped, all right. Ravenclaw's getting a little hot under the collar, maybe? Gryffindor in possession, we could use a Snitch capture right about now. Weasley? Guevara? Ah, they're still up there. Mitchell Mikey has the Quaffle, and what is he doing?"
The Seeker, Guevara, came pelting at the unfortunate Chaser, who was struck by a hundred and fifty kilograms of Ravenclaw flesh and dropped the Quaffle. But unbeknownst to either of them, Michael was reaching out for the Snitch at that exact moment.
"Weasley has the Snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
A roar rose up from their part of the stands. Through the barrier, Liz could see Winnie pouting.
A wave of red and gold crashed out onto the field to congratulate their Quidditch team.
"That match was amazing!" Chris said.
"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Michael agreed. "Hagrid, exactly how much rope do you need to do a knot?"
The four children were helping Hagrid set a trap for predators of his garden ("They've been burnin' it up," he said). This involved a trap where a rope snapped and the intruder was strung up by the foot or whatever body part placed in the loop conveniently placed on the ground. Liz, Rachel, Michael, and Chris were tugging at the rope so Hagrid could tie a knot.
"Could you give it up?" Liz groaned. "It's been a week."
"There. All done," Hagrid announced. "I'll be headin' back up to the cabin." He turned and left. From their current spot, the cabin seemed far, far away.
"All right. He's gone. Let's get started," said Liz. "Shall we try levitation again?"
"Fine," Chris relented, "but I'm pretty sure I haven't improved since the last time we tried."
Liz handed him her wand and told him to practice wand movements and the incantation while Michael went to find another feather.
"I think we've scared all the birds away," Rachel commented, smirking.
"Wingardium Leviosa. Wingardium Leviosa," Chris repeated, swishing and flicking as Michael approached again. "Wingardium Leviosa. Wingardium Leviosa!"
It all happened very fast. A blue spark hit the rope just as Michael stepped in the loop. The rope snapped and Michael was soon hanging upside- down, the blood rushing to his head.
"Cut me down," he choked.
Liz said a few words and slashed another section of the offending rope with her wand. Unfortunately, none of them managed to foresee the obvious effects of gravity, and Michael came crashing to the ground. He ended up in a dazed heap. "Ow."
"Michael! Are you all right?" Liz cried.
"No. I've got a lump the size of a Bludger on the back of my head. Didn't anybody realize what would happen? I wasn't going to fly!" But he said it jokingly, so they all knew he was all right.
"I'm really sorry, Michael," Chris apologized.
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault," Michael assured him.
But the atmosphere was ruined, Liz noted. Chris had lost what little confidence he had for the day, so they left not long afterwards.
"We tried, Liz," Rachel said. "But it looks like it's not working. Chris is a Squib."
"It is working. I know it is."
Rachel shrugged uneasily. Liz bit her lip. It was working, wasn't it?