A/N: Sorry to those of you I bored with the last chapter. I felt like I couldn't start the season without doing something about the rest of the team. A special thanks to those of you who were bold enough to review and say you didn't enjoy it. Not that you're likely to find this chapter much better, but the season itself starts in Chapter 26.

Speaking of the season, for those of you interested in following how things are progressing around the league (like all you Jenny Wesley fans) I've started keeping a league table and weekly fixtures to go with my Quidditch articles beginning with this chapter. Coding restrictions on this site prevent me from uploading them here, but you can see them attached to my chapters at Phoenix Song www(dot)phoenixsong(dot)net/symphony/story(dot)php?cid1826. Thanks to Jeconais for helping get this set up.

Also, kudos to my excellent betas, LadyChi, Nancy and Promethean Alchemist.

From the Daily Prophet of 2 September, 2000

Potter, Puddlemere arrive in Portree

United to meet Prides in today's opener

By Murray Pope

PORTREE, Isle of Skye -- It's official. Harry Potter is in town.

Britain's most celebrated Seeker arrived here Friday morning alongside 11 of his team-mates as Puddlemere United Apparated north to face the new season. His presence means the Boy Who Lived will be in uniform when United meets the Prides in today's season-opening match.

Whether or not he'll play is another question.

"I can't say," Potter answered evasively when asked if he would be in the first seven following Puddlemere's hour-long practice at Star Stadium on Friday afternoon.

United manager Glenn Watson was just as vague about his side, saying, "You'll find out tomorrow."

However, the select group of dignitaries and media that was permitted to attend the practice session got a taste of the potential impact Potter could make in the league this winter.

While the rest of the United players casually worked through passing and flying drills, the Boy Who Lived and his rival for the starting role, Samuel Diop, faced off in one last preseason search for the Snitch. Both flew aggressively but not physically, a style that fit the team's light workout, and they were side by side when they spotted the golden ball. In what seemed an almost symbolic chase up the north end of the pitch, Potter simply outraced United's long-time first-team choice and nabbed the Snitch at the edge of the home team's scoring area.

"It was exhilarating to watch," said head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports Adolphus Fawkes, who is here to watch today's match. "I can't wait to see all the good things Harry Potter is going to do for this league."

Potter downplayed the action, noting, "It was just practice." Yet, he also expressed enthusiasm heading into today's match.

"I'm really happy to be here," he said. "It's exciting to finally be getting the season started. I'm looking forward to the match."

Looking forward is not such a bright prospect for the Prides. They face both the clamour surrounding Potter's potential debut and a powerful Puddlemere side looking to strengthen its position for a run at the championship with a quick start to the season. That's a tall opening-day order for a team that has finished in the bottom half of the table three years running.

"It's going to be a challenge," said second-year Portree manager Michelle MacDonald. "Puddlemere has a strong side, one of the best in the league. I know we're going to have to be on top form to come away with a result."

The Prides will certainly need a top performance from Seeker Nairne Kerr. The 27-year-old Isle of Skye native must figure out a way to beat her highly regarded Puddlemere counterpart -- be it Potter or Diop -- if her side is to have any hope of stealing a victory.

"I'm going to have to give it my all," said the sixth-year professional, who had eight captures in 20 games last winter. "I flew against Diop twice last season and I saw firsthand how quickly he can decide a match. I'm sure Potter's the same way. Since they're both such good players, I'll have to do whatever I can to make them react to me."

"I have a great deal of confidence in Nairne," MacDonald said. "She knows the pressure's going to be on her and I think that's going to motivate her to be at her best."

Potter declined to discuss strategy but expressed respect for his potential opponent.

"(Kerr) has a lot of first-team experience and she knows all the tricks," he said. "She's going to be hard to catch off guard. I'm sure she'll make it hard for us."

Watson, however, seemed extremely confident in his stars' ability to catch the Golden Snitch.

"If it comes down to Seeker play, I like our chances," he said.

The United manager is more concerned about the ability of Portree's dangerous Beaters, captain Hamish Bruce and Austria's Markus Zingler, to alter the flow of the game.

"Bruce is about as good as they come," Watson said. "We have to keep a very close watch on his Bludgers because he can make hits that dominate a game."

"If Puddlemere has a weakness, it's the Beaters," Bruce, a Scottish international, said. "Markus and I, we have to take advantage by keeping the Bludgers after their best players."

Two of those players are United Chasers Siobhan Moran and Hernando Chavez, veterans sure to cause match-up troubles to the younger, less-experienced Prides. The ability of Icelandic international Thora Sigurdardottir to keep pace with the speedy Chavez will be crucial for Portree, while United will look to whomever Watson chooses as his third starter for a scoring lift.

Both sides expect strong performances from their Keepers -- Meaghan McCormack for Portree and Oliver Wood for Puddlemere.

One regular advantage Portree won't be able to call on is the often-brutal Hebridean weather. Daily Prophet diviners predict sunny skies and temperatures in the middle teens for today's match, a forecast that promises to be decidedly different from the two sides' last meeting here in January. Then, a blustery, -13-degree day gave the Prides a distinct advantage and United needed Diop's capture to escape with a 210-130 victory.

"It was so cold up here last year that our Chasers could barely hold on to the Quaffle," said Watson, whose team beat Portree 240-70 in last season's contest at Nimbus Arena. "It's much better to be making this trip now while it's still warm."

The nice weather should also please the fans. The match has been sold out for weeks and Puddlemere supporters, most of whom have made the long Apparation expecting to see Potter's debut, were already beginning to gather in places all over wizarding Portree on Friday night.

"It's going to be a historic game," said Michael Chesterton, 37, of Derby, who made the trip with his wife and 9-year-old son. "We all can't wait to see Harry."

They'll definitely get a chance to see the Boy Who Lived, who will be at Star Stadium for today's 1 p.m. start. It remains to be seen if the young hero will be in the air when the Golden Snitch is set loose for the first time in the new season.

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Murray Pope covers Portree for the Daily Prophet. Owl him at thedpreporting(at)yahoo(dot)com.