Even When There's No Way, There's Always A Will
~* Hi everyone, thanks for your patience on this chapter, I hope it was worth the wait. *~
Chapter 28 ~ Quidditch, Day One
At breakfast, there were many loud conversations travelling around the Great Hall. People were beginning to get excited. All the four schools were in the same place, with all the eight teams ready and waiting eagerly for the Quidditch Competition to begin.
Professor Dumbledore finally stood up and tapped his spoon against his goblet. Silence flowed over the students as he spoke.
'I hope all the teams have been training hard, because today is the day you have all been waiting for,' There were some loud cheers. 'Day One of the Quidditch Tournament is today, would the eight captains please come forth and exit into the chambers on the left side of the teachers table,'
Eight people stood from different sections of the Great Hall. The two Hogwarts Captains, Justin and Harry, the two Durmstrang Captains, Hans and Esmerelda, the two Beauxbatons Captains, Miguel and Tania, and the two Starkals Captains, Tai and Melanie. They all walked nervously into the chambers to the left of the teachers table.
All eight of them waited for someone to come in and give them the first round. Justin Finch-Fletchley paced the room restlessly while the rest of them sat on the benches which lined the walls. The girls all were staring into space, only to be snapped back into reality when Professor McGonagall, followed by Professor Dumbledore entered the room. Professor McGonagall was carrying a scroll. She unravelled it and began.
'As you are aware, there are eight Quidditch teams participating. Here at Hogwarts, we are used to a healthy competition of four teams, therefore, the eight will be divided into two separate pools, Pool A and Pool B.'
The captains looked around curiously to see how this information would affect each captain.
'Pool A will consist of Hogwarts Gold, Beauxbatons Indigo, Durmstrang Blue and Starkals White, while Pool B will consist of Hogwarts Silver, Beauxbatons Violet, Durmstrang Green and Starkals Black,' McGonagall continued.
'That's one team from each school in the different pools,' Justin spotted.
'Right you are, Mr Finch-Fletchley,' Dumbledore said.
'Now, you must all understand that the teams in Pool A, will not play teams in Pool B,' McGonagall informed them. 'So for example, Hogwarts Gold could never end up playing Durmstrang Green,'
'Minerva, I'm sure they would all like to know who they shall play first,' Dumbledore cut in, earning some nods and smiles from various captains.
'Very well,' Minerva said. 'There are four Quidditch Stadiums as you all know, therefore four games are to be played at the same time,'
'That means teams can't scout other teams,'
'Quite right Mr Potter,' Professor McGonagall said. 'The first four games, Hogwarts Gold versus Starkals White on Stadium 1, Beauxbatons Indigo versus Durmstrang Blue on Stadium 2, Beauxbatons Violet versus Starkals Black on Stadium 3, and Durmstrang Green versus Hogwarts Silver on Stadium 4,'
'These games are to be held in the morning, at eleven o'clock sharp, so be ready everyone,' Dumbledore added. Apparently McGonagall hadn't finished.
'Round two will be held tonight, four games to be played at six o'clock,'
'Two games?' Hans called out without thinking.
'Yes, Mister Kippen, there will be eight games played today,' Professor McGonagall said.
'Can you tell us round two?' Tania asked.
'Starkals White versus Beauxbatons Indigo on Stadium 1, Hogwarts Gold versus Durmstrang Blue on Stadium 2, Starkals Black versus Hogwarts Silver on Stadium 3, and Beauxbatons Violet versus Durmstrang Green on Stadium 4,' Professor McGonagall said.
'Now go back to the Great Hall, the students have been told to leave, only your teams are left. You get this time to talk over with them, any other conferences you desire will be on your own time,' Dumbledore informed the eight captains. They each hurried back into the Great Hall and found their teams.
Justin found his Hogwarts Gold players hanging around the Ravenclaw table. It seemed that the Gryffindors wouldn't sit at the Slytherin table and vice versa. Katie immediately rushed over to Justin as soon as she saw him.
'Justin, what's happening?' She asked. Justin motioned for her to sit down with the rest of the team.
'Right, it starts now, all the petty feuds between you players stop immediately, our first game is in two hours on Stadium 1, and we have to work as a team to beat Starkals White. I mean it, we have to be a team on and off the Quidditch Pitch,' Justin had never sounded so serious.
'Wait a minute, our first game is in two hours?' Cho blurted out.
'Yes, that's right, against Starkals White, now we've all seem them training and lets face it, they're good, so we have to pull our act together and work as a team,' Justin said.
'So soon… why didn't we get more notice?' Terry asked shaking his head.
'They wanted to spring it on us, expecting us to be prepared, which, I might add, we are far from!' Justin exclaimed.
'No Justin, you're right, we're a bunch of idiots who can't play Quidditch to save our lives,' Marcus sneered.
'That's not what I meant,' Justin said, exasperated, 'I meant that we aren't performing as a team yet,'
'If you're so concerned, then why don't we have a special extra training session?' Katie suggested. Marcus and Crabbe groaned. 'Not a physical training session, but a team meditation, it will definitely help to bond the team, and get us into the right state of mind to play some hard ball Quidditch,'
Justin sat thinking about Katie's suggestion for a while, each player looking on, anxiously awaiting his decision.
'I think,' He slowly began, 'that Katie might just be onto something there, a meditation session might be just what this team needs,' Justin turned to Katie, 'I sure hope you know how to run one,' Katie broke into a smile.
'I sure do, come on lets get straight into it, we don't have much time,' Katie got up and led her team mates away.
~***~
Harry found his team staring daggers at eachother at the Slytherin Table. Cora and Goyle were on one side of the table while Roger, Hannah, Alicia and Micheal were opposite them. Each member of Hogwarts Silver was dead silent, bearing a nasty look on their face. Harry looked around at all the other teams, they were all chatting as a team, some looking nervous, some excited about their captain's news. Harry sighed and took a seat next to Cora, who looked at him as if to say What are you doing sitting next to me?
'Look, guys, we have two games today, the first one in two hours against Durmstrang Green on Stadium 4, and the second is at six pm against Starkals Black on Stadium 3, everyone be there,' Harry said before getting up and walking out of the Great Hall.
The remaining Hogwarts Silver players looked somewhat guilty.
'Poor Harry,' Alicia said shaking her head. 'Angelina told me how difficult it was to be captain of the Gryffindor team last year, he must be finding this even harder than Angelina had it,'
'You're right, I agree, we have to shape up, for Harry's sake, he's done a lot for us and this is how we've repaid him,' Roger said.
'Yes, we have to be a team!' Hannah cried suddenly. Micheal nodded in agreement. The four of them suddenly looked over at the two Slytherins accusingly.
'You expect us to behave like one big, happy family?' Cora asked, narrowing her eyes.
'You're a professional Quidditch player, Cora, a little house competition should be on the bottom of your list right now, you should be worrying about the game we have in under two hours against Durmstrang Green,' Roger said.
'All we're asking is that you keep your mouth shut, and don't give anyone any dirty looks,' Alicia said. Goyle remained silent and expressionless.
'Fine, whatever, but as soon as this competition is over… watch your back,' Cora said. Hannah held back what she was bursting to say.
'Good, now I think we owe it to Harry to get out there and give it our best, Goyle, you can play your own game as a Beater, as long as you hit the bludgers at other teams, not your own, and Cora, you're a skilled Chaser, but you need to work with Hannah and Alicia, they'll pass to you, and you need to pass to them when they're open, okay?' Roger said.
'In my opinion, if we all do our jobs, we'll be in with the best chance, after all, we have the best Seeker on our side,' Hannah said cheerfully.
~***~
The Starkals Black Captain, Tai Sullivan, headed out of the chambers and over to her team, which was sitting, huddled in a corner of the Great Hall.
'Guys, guys! Guess what!' Tai called out, rushing over to them.
'What?' Kerri asked happily.
'We have two games today!' Tai replied.
'Two? Are you sure?' Josh asked.
'I'm sure, Josh, our first one is in two hours against Beauxbatons Violet, and the second is at six pm against Hogwarts Silver,' Tai told them.
'Really? Cool, I can't wait, bring it on! Can we start warming up for the first game now?' Alex asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and Tai laughed.
'It's nice to see you're all eager, you should see the problems the two Hogwarts Captains are having,' At that moment, the Hogwarts Silver Captain, Harry, walked past and out of the Great Hall. The team turned to look at Hogwarts Silver, they didn't seem to be getting along.
'That poor guy, I'd hate to be in a team with people who didn't get along,' Kerri sympathised.
'It works to our advantage, if that team is having problems off the pitch, then they'll most certainly be un-able to pull it together on the pitch,' Tai said.
'That sounds typical,' Joel said.
'It may sound typical, but it's certainly the way things go when teams start acting as individuals,' Tai said to Joel more than the whole team.
'Yeah, so let's never get into fights,' Kerri said with a smile.
'Good idea,' Alex replied. 'Can we go and start more training now?'
~***~
Melanie Bennett, the short Starkals White Captain walked over to where her team was gathered. As soon as she sat down, her team mates bombarded her with questions.
'What did she want?' Phillip asked.
'Did she tell you when we start playing?' Ricky said eagerly.
'Who's our first game against?' Luke asked anxiously.
'Give the poor girl a break!' Vicky said. Melanie held her hands up.
'We're playing our first game in two hours, against Hogwarts Gold on Stadium 1, then our next game is at six o'clock tonight against Beauxbatons Indigo on Stadium 1 also,' Melanie explained.
'Wow, two hours… such short notice, good thing we're prepared, I hope the other teams are too, or else they will be such a pushover,' Ryan gloated.
'Don't get too big-headed,' Vicky said, smacking him gently on the arm. Brittany stifled a laugh behind her hand.
'You're so funny Vicky,' Brittany said, but Vicky wasn't listening, she was busy looking at Harry Potter, who was walking out of the Great Hall. Brittany followed where Vicky was looking.
'Isn't that the Hogwarts Silver Captain? Why's he leaving his team?' Brittany thought out loud.
'I don't know, I'll ask him later,' Vicky replied, but she seemed off in her own little world.
'Right, you guys can all go and do your own thing, just as long as you're all at Stadium 1 by ten thirty,' Melanie said. 'See you all then,' Each member disbanded and went their own separate way.
Vicky followed after the path Harry had taken. She ran, and caught up with him rather quickly. Vicky grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face her.
'Harry, what's the matter?' She asked, worried about him. Harry let out a small chuckle.
'Nothing's wrong, what makes you think something's wrong?' He replied.
'Firstly, the way you walked out of the Great Hall like that, and the expression on your face,' Vicky said.
'Don't worry, there's nothing wrong, everything's fine, I'm just getting my team psyched up for the games today!' Harry told her. However, Vicky didn't buy it.
'Come on Harry, I know you're not telling me the truth, most probably because I'm your opponent, but I don't feel that it should get in the way of our friendship,' Vicky said. Harry smiled.
'You're right, I'm not telling you what's wrong, but only because you're a team that I might have to put my players on against,' Harry said slyly.
'Oh no! I don't want you to think I'm prying just because I'm trying to find a weak spot or something like that, I would never do that!' Vicky reassured him.
'Yeah, I know, I was only kidding,' Harry said.
'So will you tell me what's wrong?' Vicky asked, looking up at him sympathetically. Harry thought about it for a while.
'Nope,' He said playfully, and started to walk off, but Vicky followed him.
'Get back here you little sneak,' She said between laughter, but Harry broke into a run, occasionally looking back to see Vicky running after him. He eventually stopped and dropped to the floor, letting Vicky roll over him and fall onto the floor beside him. Both of them broke into a fit of laughter, neither Harry nor Vicky knowing how long they stayed there in silence, just enjoying eachother's company, until Vicky checked her watch.
'Oh no! Harry, it's quarter to eleven!' She got up and sprinted away. Harry got up, and ran downstairs, thinking that he would summon his Firebolt and Robes when he got down there.
~***~
'Right, where's Vicky? She should have been here fifteen minutes ago!' Melanie was beginning to get very angry. 'I told everyone to be here at ten thirty! It's now quarter to eleven, where is that girl?'
'With all due respect, I think she went after that Harry Potter when you let us all have some time to ourselves,' Phillip told Melanie.
'Oh did she now -' Melanie began, but was interrupted by Vicky, who ran over to them in her robes with her broom at ready.
'I'm here, Mel, sorry for being late!' Vicky said, she sounded rather out of breath.
'So you should be, anyway, we have an important game ahead of us, hell, they're all going to be important, we just have to focus on one at a time, and this one is against Hogwarts Gold,' Melanie started. 'Now, these guys are not going to be easy, they've been meditating all morning, and have managed to come together as a team, unlike Hogwarts Silver, so don't consider them a push over,'
'They've been meditating?' Ryan asked.
'Yes, do not underestimate meditation, it does wonders, especially if they've benefited from it and joined as a team,' Melanie explained.
'What's all this talk about playing as a team, bonding as a team, all we're here to do is play Quidditch,' Luke asked.
'Look, if we don't play as a team, we fall apart as a team, so let's get out there and play!' Melanie said, mounting her broom. The rest of Starkals White followed suit, getting on their brooms. They waited nervously to be announced.
The voice of the commentator for Stadium 1 suddenly started booming.
'THE TWO TEAMS HERE, ARE HOGWARTS GOLD, AND STARKALS WHITE! THESE TEAMS WILL BE PLAYING FOR POINTS TO GET A BETTER POSITION IN THE ROUND ROBIN KNOCK OUTS. THE WINNING TEAM RECEIVES THREE POINTS WHILE THE LOSING TEAM RECEIVES ONE POINT,'
There rose loud cheers from the stadium grand stands, all four Quidditch stadiums were positioned back to back, so the spectators could simply change direction to watch a different match.
'ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE HOGWARTS GOLD! KEEPER AND CAPTAIN, JUSTIN FINCH-FLETCHLEY!'
Justin flew out from the changerooms that Hogwarts Gold was in, he elegantly did one lap of the Quidditch Pitch and came to rest in the middle of the Pitch.
'THE THREE CHASERS, KATIE BELL, TERRY BOOT AND MARCUS FLINT!'
Katie, Terry and Marcus all flew out at the same time, doing their lap of the Quidditch Pitch, weaving in and out of eachother. They finished by stopping next to Justin, arching around in a semi-circle.
'THE TWO BEATERS, SEAMUS FINNEGAN AND VINCENT CRABBE!'
Seamus and Crabbe did their introductory lap of the pitch, flying side by side, coming to rest next to the Chasers, completing their semi-circle.
'AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, SEEKER, CHO CHANG!'
Cho flew out, looking stunning in her golden robes. She flew around the Quidditch Pitch, and stopped a couple of meters above her team mates, facing the same direction as them, awaiting Starkals White to join them.
'THE STARKALS WHITE TEAM, KEEPER, PHILLIP DAVIDSON!'
Phillip flew out of the Starkals White changerooms and straight to his position on the circle, next to Justin.
'CHASERS, RICKY KUNDE, RYAN PANCARI, AND MELANIE BENNETT WHO IS ALSO THE CAPTAIN!'
Ricky, Ryan and Melanie followed Phillip's lead and flew straight to their positions.
'BEATERS, LUKE GAL AND BRITTANY MITCHELL!'
Luke and Brittany flew to their positions in the circle, closing the gap.
'AND FINALLY, SEEKER, VICTORIA HEATHER!'
Vicky flew straight up level with Cho. She smiled at her competition and then her expression went serious.
Madam Hooch was to referee this match, she flew out into the middle of the circle the players had created with her box of the balls used in Quidditch.
'Now, you have all made it this far, I want a nice clean game from all parties,' She said, before releasing the golden snitch. She then released the bludgers, and finally, she threw the Quaffle up past both Seekers. With a blow of her whistle, the players took off.
Both Keepers sped down to their hoops, while the Chasers squabbled over the Quaffle. The Seekers, Vicky and Cho, took to a lazy game of floating around a few metres above the rest of the players, while the beaters hung around some of their chasers.
'KUNDE IS QUICK AND IS THE FIRST TO SCOOP THE QUAFFLE! GEE CAN THAT BOY MOVE, HE'S GOT SOME TALENT OBVIOUSLY,' The announcer boomed. It wasn't long before Cho recognised the voice as Ludo Bagman.
Ricky sped down to Justin, dodging a bludger.
'THAT WAS A NEAR MISS! KUNDE PASSES TO BENNETT WHO SHOOTS! BENNETT'S SKILL IS NO MATCH FOR FINCH-FLETCHLEY AND STARKALS WHITE SCORE! 10 - 0!'
The Hogwarts players took some time to regroup as the Quaffle was given to Katie Bell.
'BELL IN POSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE! OH MY THAT WAS A BIT OF FOUL PLAY!'
The Quaffle had been knocked from Katie's hands by Ryan Pancari, straight into Ricky's outstretched grasp.
'KUNDE BACK IN CONTROL OF THE QUAFFLE, PASSES TO PANCARI, TO BENNETT WHO SWERVES BOOT, PASSES BACK TO KUNDE, BACK TO BENNETT IN A CLOSE CALL WITH FLINT, BENNETT GOES FOR THE GOAL, SHE SHOOTS, AND SCORES AGAIN FOR STARKALS WHITE!'
Cho looked at the score board after twenty minutes of searching for the Snitch, she saw that her team was falling behind, 50 - 10. The Starkals White Chasers were simply stunning, and Cho knew that she had to catch the snitch to win the game.
'OWCH, FLINT TAKES A BLUDGER ON HIS BROOM TAIL SENDING HIM SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL TO THE GROUND! BOOT AND BELL FORGET ABOUT THE QUAFFLE AND ARE DIVING AFTER HIM! THEY GOT HIM!'
Cheers rose from the Starkals spectators as Ricky put a skilful goal past Justin while the Chasers were busy helping Marcus.
'Guys! Get back on the Quaffle!' Justin yelled out.
Cho spotted the Snitch! Unfortunately for her, Vicky had seen it too, and she was already in dive. Cho sped after it, and was neck in neck with Vicky as they hurtled towards the Snitch.
'THE SEEKERS HAVE SIGHTED THE SNITCH AND ARE ON COLLISION COURSE UNLESS ONE OF THEM CATCHES IT SOON!'
Neither Cho or Vicky were willing to pull out of their dive, it all would come down to who was the better Seeker.
Vicky suddenly spotted a window of opportunity. She pulled back on her broom handle an let the momentum keep her going towards the ground, and the snitch. Cho was hurtling head first at the ground, and there was no chance for her to pull up even if she caught the snitch. Cho must have realised this, because at the last possible minute, she made a desperate grab for the Snitch and swerved away. Vicky saw that Cho had missed, and she glided carefully to the ground and caught the Snitch in her left hand.
'VICTORIA HEATHER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! STARKALS WHITE WIN 210 - 20!'
The defeated Hogwarts Gold team flew, broken spirited, back into their changerooms while Starkals White did their victory lap.
'Great effort guys, that was some good tactics from Vicky, and some bad luck at the last minute for Cho, you all played well which is the main thing, and to Alicia and Terry, well done for stopping to help Marcus, that shows real team spirit!' Justin said to his defeated team. 'Well hit the showers and we can go over to have a look at the other games,'
~***~
The Starkals White team met up with Starkals Black in the Grand Stands. The only game which was still going was Durmstrang Green versus Hogwarts Silver.
Starkals Black had won their match against Beauxbatons Violet, and Beauxbatons Indigo had beaten Durmstrang Blue. The current score for the Durmstrang Green and Hogwarts Silver was Durmstrang Green on 70 and Hogwarts Silver on 110. There had been no sightings of the Snitch.
'ANOTHER AMAZING SAVE BY KEEPER ROGER DAVIES! NOTHING'S GETTING PAST THAT GUY!'
'How are they doing?' Vicky asked Josh from Starkals Black.
'Hogwarts Silver is looking very good, especially Harry Potter as Seeker, he's done a few Wronski Feints, nearly taking out their Seeker, Jennifer Schultz,' Josh told her.
'Wow, he must be pretty good,' Vicky mused.
'He's apparently the best Seeker Hogwarts can throw at us,' Josh replied. They turned to the game in time to see Harry do a zig zag pattern across the sky and drop into a dive, pulling up before crashing into the ground. Jennifer looked at him puzzled, it appeared that she was willing to let him catch the Snitch rather than have her face flattened in a hoax dive.
'Look, there's the Snitch,' Vicky pointed to the goal posts nearest to Jennifer, who hadn't noticed the Snitch yet. Harry had seen it though, and he sped straight at Jennifer, who thought he was coming after her. She turned and saw the snitch, and started after it. Harry got there first, and snatched up the Snitch in one swift movement of his wrist.
'HOGWARTS GOLD SEEKER HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! HOGWARTS GOLD WIN WITH A SCORE OF 260 - 90!'
~***~
'Great catch Harry, but we can expect that from you!' Alicia said when they reached the changerooms.
'Yeah, that was an awesome game Harry, I swear you had Jennifer Schultz worried out of her make-up!' Roger beamed.
'Alright, we've won the first game, but we still have tonight's game, which is guaranteed to be a whole new ball game from this game,' Harry said. 'The Starkals mob are mighty tough, from what we've seen of them at trainings, and from the Starkals White game against Hogwarts Gold,'
'I agree, be prepared for anything they're going to throw at us,' Alicia added.
'Right, everyone hit the showers and get rested, I want you all at Stadium 3 at five thirty for a light warm up, and to get used to playing in the dark,' Harry ordered. When everyone else had gone, Hermione and Ron rushed into the changerooms.
'Harry! That was the best Quidditch I've ever seen you play!' Ron yelled.
'Oh you looked so good out there! Starkals Black were watching as well, they were totally intimidated by you!' Hermione wrapped Harry up into a hug.
'Yeah, you've got nothing to worry about from that mob,' Ron re-assured him.
'Ron, you know we can't take them lightly, have you seen their training schedules?' Harry said.
'Yeah, they'll be a piece of cake!' Ron said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
~* Sorry for ending it there, but I don't feel like writing about the next round of Quidditch Games, don't worry, I'll have the results posted on all notice boards and people will be discussing what happened in the games. I hope you all liked the introduction to the Quidditch tournament! The next few chapters won't just be Quidditch, there will be some social events between different people. Please review and tell me what you think! *~
~Gryffindor Gal~