A/N: Thank you psychonerd 5 and Kchan88. I do not own POTO or HP.

Chapter 18

Quidditch

The next morning at breakfast, Raoul and Gilles were discussing the trapdoor and what Raoul supposed it was. He told him about what Shagrid got at Dingdong's and about its secrecy. It all seemed to fit. Now they just wanted to know what was in that package.

But they didn't just talk over their theory all breakfast. Raoul and Gilles also got a visit from Bedwig. She was holding something in her mouth, a long stick it seemed, and a letter was attached to her talons. After placing the package in front of Raoul and kicking the letter off her talons, she flew off. Raoul opened the letter first:

This is your Cumulus Two-million. Don't open it at the table. I don't want everyone to know, they'll all be wanting brooms. Meet Plywood on the field at seven tonight for a training session.

Professor McGonagall

"A Cumulus Two-million?" Gilles exclaimed. "Oh my gosh!"

"I know. I can't wait to get back to the common room to open it!" Raoul replied.

"A broomstick. We're not allowed to have them. You'll be in for it!" Buquet told the two from behind.

"I didn't buy it. It was given to me by a professor," Raoul told him.

"Yeah, and it's a Cumulus Two-million!" Gilles said in a proud tone. "Yours was only a Shooting Star Two-fifty, right?"

Just as Gilles finished, Professor Nitpick walked by. "Not arguing, now, right?"

"No, professor, just talking about this broom," Gilles assured him.

"Oh, Professor McGonagall told me all about it! What type?"

"A Cumulus Two-million," Raoul replied.

"Wow! With that, Gryffindor should win the cup!"

Raoul nodded. "And I guess I have Buquet to thank. Without him, I wouldn't be on the team!"

Buquet seemed to be getting angered as Professor Nitpick walked away, wishing Raoul good luck. After finishing their breakfast, Gilles and Raoul walked up to the common room, discussing Raoul's luck.

"It really is his fault. If he hadn't stolen the forgetball, I wouldn't . . ."

"So, you, like, think you're, like, being rewarded for, like, breaking rules?" Christine said from behind them. She had obviously been eavesdropping.

"I don't think that. I'm just stating the coincidence!" Raoul defended himself as Christine walked away with her nose in the air.

It was hard for Raoul to concentrate for the rest of the day. He couldn't wait for his first practice, which came quickly. Plywood was on the field with a large trunk when he arrived with his broomstick. Automatically, he commented on it. "Wow! A Cumulus Two-million! You're lucky to even have your own broom as a first year, never mind one of such good quality. Now, anyway, before we practice, I want to explain Quidditch. It's easy to understand. There are seven players." He opened the trunk and took out two large balls. "These are called Waffles. There are three Chasers that try to throw them through one of the six hoops on the opposing sides." After putting the balls down, he pointed to six tall hoops on one side of the field, and then another six on the other side.

"So, it's like basketball, or even soccer?" Raoul asked.

"Basketball? Soccer?" Plywood inquired.

"Never mind. Muggle sports."

"Oh. Well, anyway, there's also a Keeper. I'm Keeper for Gryffindor team. I try to stop the Waffles from going through our hoops. Then, there are Beaters who are up against the Nudgers," he continued on, pointing to even larger balls in the trunk. "Nudgers try and knock players off their brooms. The Beaters try to knock them toward the other team's players. You know Frank and Greg Andre, right?"

"Of course. Gilles is my good friend."

"They're our Beaters, and really good ones at that. But the ball you have to worry about the most is this." Plywood took an extraordinarily small ball from the case. It was gold and had two little wings on it. "The Golden Snitch. As seeker, you have to fly around the field, trying to find the snitch. It's a fast little fellow, so it's good you have such a great broom. The game doesn't end until the Snitch is caught, and when it is, one-hundred points are added to seeker's team." He placed it back in a safe compartment of the trunk. "Now, we'll practice, but not with the Snitch. Just some golf balls. We might lose the Snitch since it's gotten quite dark out." Plywood picked up his broom from beside him and flew up into the air. Raoul did the same, and before long, Plywood was throwing golf balls to him in all different directions and at fast speeds. For hours they did this and Raoul caught every single one.

"You really are a natural," Plywood told him at the end of the practice.