"And in Quidditch news Puddlemere United have won their seventh match in a row today in their game against the Holyhead Harpies. There's no doubt that this new rush of success the team's been reveling in lately is down to Keeper and newly appointed Captain Oliver Wood. Wood's of course known for his phenomenal keeping abilities and it seems some of his magic has rubbed off on his team mates. Har har! But of course it's not always been so easy for the young Scot. Until last year Wood had been warming up the reserve bench for the team. But obviously you can't keep a good player down, McNally's retirement from the professional game left an opening for young Wood and he's been proving his worth ever since. Wood marks his success down to his love of this great sport which we call Quidditch as well as his utter commitment to the game. As we all saw last week when Puddlemere thrashed the Wimbourne Wasps 260-10, it was only discovered after the game that Wood had in fact been playing with a broken arm!"
"That's right Cecil, and we here at the sports division of the Wizarding Wireless Network caught up with young Wood after the game today to see what he thought the highlights were:"
"Fantastic match Oliver, can I call you Oliver? Absolutely fantastic. Every time we see Puddlemere play they just seem to get better and better. Why do you think that is?"
"Well I mean the team we've got this year is amazing. I've never seen three Chasers' that are so well connected and work so damn well together. And of course we've got an excellent pair of Beater's, who just works on pure adrenaline. I mean they're unstoppable! But of course we couldn't win without such a superb seeker, that kid just goes from strength to strength. It's hardly worth the other team turning up; he's so quick at catching the snitch."
"Yes Oliver it has been said that this is the best team that Puddlemere has seen in centuries. But you really mustn't forget yourself in all this. That was an unbelievable save you made in the second half of the match."
"Yeah thank you, thank you. I'm assuming you're referring to when I blocked the centre ring and hit the Quaffle with my broom straight into the arms of one of our waiting Chasers'? Yeah it's sorta become a trademark move of mine, been doing it since school. I've worked really hard to perfect it. In fact the whole teams been working hard. We train earlier and longer than any other team. I know, I checked. It's important you know, you've got to know your competition in this ga-"
"Shut up Quaffle-hugger." muttered Ayla as she switched off the wireless at the back of the shop. It was the end of a very long day, at the end of a very long week. The last few straggling customers had finally left the shop, which meant the she was finally able to close up and head home.
As she doubled checked the locks and security charms, Ayla said a silent prayer to Merlin thanking him that she didn't have to work weekends and would not be back in work until the following Tuesday. The coming Monday had been declared Harry Potter day, it would be exactly one year to the day that the Dark Lord had been vanquished. It would also be eighteen years to the day since Harry had first defeated Voldemort. Though few people thought of that.
Ayla smiled to herself as she stepped out in to Diagon Alley, it was a cool night, the stars were shining brightly in the clear sky above and the Alley bustled with witches and wizards all making their way home.
The wizarding world was free. From fear, from Voldemort and from the suspicions of muggles. Muggles, Ayla chuckled to herself as she left the Leaky Cauldron and stepped into muggle London, they really were quite endearing. In an attempt to avoid the acknowledgement of the magical community the muggle Prime Minister had issued a statement following Voldemort's death. In order to explain all the strange events of the past few years the muggle Minister had blamed a rogue muggle. Explaining that this muggle had, with the co-operation of several others, been polluting the world's water supply with a wide selection of drugs. Therefore anything that had happened, had not in fact happened but was merely a hallucination. Honestly the things these muggles were prepared to believe.
Ayla stifled another chuckle as she passed a group of muggle teenagers. It had become the muggle fashion lately to wear cloaks. This particular group was loudly discussing their disgust at an elderly wizard who had just passed them. How dare someone so old try to wear something so cool? Muggles thought Ayla, to hear them talk you'd think they invented the broom. Without a second thought to the group Ayla continued on her way home.
When Ayla woke up the next day, she found she had received a rather unpleasant letter from her uncle.
"Ayla,
Big charity do for Potter's day to be held by the Quidditch Association. Important someone from the shop goes. Lot's of well-knowns to be there. Would go myself but it's Kate's birthday. Need you to go in my place. Do NOT show me up, do NOT mention that you don't care for Quidditch! Starts at seven, do NOT be late. Dress appropriately.
Uncle Mike"
"Great more Quidditch." Ayla stumbled to her fire place, threw in a handful of floo powder and crossed her fingers in hope that her best friend would be (a) at home (b) awake and (c) able to help.
"Sarah help! Emergency I need some serious help!"
Ayla was stood, in her pajamas, with messy hair, in the kitchen of the only person she could trust not to scream and demand that she take photographs of all the hot Quidditch players she could, when she heard Ayla's news.
Sarah was Ayla's oldest and dearest friend, she was also married, expecting her first child and had no interest in Quidditch what so ever. Which was what Ayla loved about her. The two had met on the Hogwarts Express on their first day of school, and became friends instantly. Both from pureblood families, both the youngest child, they had a lot in common. They were however complete opposites. Sarah was loud, confident and extremely opinionated, whereas Ayla had always been shy even around relatives, and easily lost in a crowd. When she was little and relatives were visiting Ayla would usually be found hiding under the table, too shy to talk to her huge family. The two were extremely good for each other, Ayla was someone to listen to Sarah and her constant chatting. Sarah had in turn managed to bring Ayla out of her shell, so much so that the formally painfully shy girl found it easy to chat with complete strangers without even blushing.
"What's the matter pumpkin? Did some nasty Beater try to chat you up again?" Sarah giggled at her own joke, before taking Ayla's letter which she was frantically waving at Sarah - too tired and panicky to speak, and reading it.
"Hey that's not fair! You don't even like going to these kinds of Balls. I really wanted to go to this, but even Melvin couldn't get tickets!"
Melvin, or Hubert as his parents had christened him, was Sarah's husband. A successful man who could get tickets for any big social event, get seats at any restaurant no matter how fully booked they claimed to be, and was, to use Sarah's own unique but completely accurate way of describing him "rolling in Galleons".
"What the Melvin, Melvin the great and spectacular couldn't get tickets? Hah! How did you even know about this thing anyway? I only got this letter this morning, twenty minutes ago." Ayla being still half asleep, was extremely puzzled.
"Darling, when you're as connected as oneself, you'll know about the party before even the host knows". Sarah grinned trying her best to sound as upper class as she could but failed miserably when she burst into hysterics. "My mum organized the whole thing stupid. It is her job remember? Besides I really don't see what the big deal is. Go, drink some free drink, eat some free food, mingle a little whilst handing out your uncle's business cards and be home by midnight Cinders."
"But it's not as easy as that is it Sarah? No, it's not. I'm going to have to wear dress robes, Sarah, dress robes." Ayla emphasized the last two words as if she were talking about some horrible messy disease. It was true that she hated these Balls, hated having to get dress up to sit and talking to people she didn't want to talk to.
"Well you can't very well turn up in your pajama's can you? And you know I'd lend you one of my dress robes, but I had a slight accident with an engorgement charm, and all yours are a bit well, you know" Sarah spoke up cutting through Ayla's train of thought. Ayla however continued to look confused.
"Why would you try and charm your robes? I don't get it?"
"If you must know I was trying to make them bigger so I could wear them while I was pregnant but something went wrong and now they won't shrink back. I think the pregnancy is affecting my magic. Oh, you know what this means don't you? I mean, if neither of us have decent dress robes..."
Ayla knew exactly what this meant, but she wasn't about to say this out loud. This was the one thing Ayla disliked most in the world, more than Quidditch and even more than Balls.
"Shopping!"
Yes shopping, fan-flipping-tastic thought Ayla.
