Really quickly, I want to thank 'Deaneggsandsam' for putting the 'Knock on Wood' idea out into the world, and RandomMuggle for sending it to me. I don't own HP or the expanding universe. Reviews would be lovely. Ta-ta~
Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor
November 6th, 1993
Fifth year
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It was early November and to say it was raining or windy or muddy was a massive understatement. It was so windy that the brooms wouldn't fly straight, the rain so heavy that no one could see more than a few inches in front of their own noses, thunder filled their ears and the clouds were so thick and dark that the only decent light came from flashes of lightning.
Hufflepuff was playing Gryffindor, and while Leili had been backstage with Jo the match had almost been called off due to the unforeseen strength of the rainstorm. But both teams had agreed to give it a go. Leili and Jo had both knocked on the nearest wooden thing and chimed, "knock on wood".
A second later the Gryffindor beaters had called, "Knock on Wood!" and promptly walloped their captain. The girls laughed and Leili clapped because it was the last thing she had expected. Fred grinned at her and she grinned back, wiping away the few tears that had escaped as she laughed. Thus began a new Gryffindor tradition.
Now in the air, the beaters tried to be careful about where they hit the Bludgers, a task made nearly impossible when no one could tell where anyone was flying. It was really no surprise then, that Harry narrowly escaped a Bludger, twice.
When Gryffindor was up by 50 points, Wood called a time out. When the players remounted their brooms, Leili drew her wand and with a whip-like flick and a carefully uttered "Lumos Maxima" she threw a ball of bright white light up against the clouds. She didn't know why no one had thought of it sooner and then the teams were up again both Harry and Cedric were desperate to catch the snitch and end the game. The wind was so high that mud was splattering onto fliers, pretty soon no one could tell who was on whose side any more.
As Leili began to recast Lumos after it had faded, a forked spike of lightning lit the sky and Harry saw something on the ground. As Harry stared, Cedric spotted the Snitch. He zoomed after it and Harry, snapped out of his daze by Wood shouting at him, turned and followed. They were nearly neck and tail when suddenly the world fell silent and something colder than the wind and rain swept over the field. Harry felt as though he were chest deep in freezing water, lances of pain shot through him and he looked down into the hundred face-less faces of the Dementors.
If it hadn't been for the swift actions of Professor Dumbledore, Harry would have broken probably every bone in his body when he fell from his broom. Instead, his descent was magically slowed and when he hit, he hit mud softened by a cushioning charm.
When Harry came to about a half hour later he was greeted by six worried faces and the news that not only had they lost, but also that his Nimbus had hit the Whomping Willow and had been reduced to little more than firewood and splinters.
It was a victory for Hufflepuff that no one felt good about. Cedric tried to arrange a rematch but Wood- in a hollow, dead voice that would persist for a week- insisted that Hufflepuff had won fair and square. Nobody celebrated that weekend, except maybe Slytherin who knew that unless Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff, they would be playing the team considered by most to be a pushover, an easy victory.
Of course, you would think that the Slytherins had learned by now not to provoke the Hufflepuffs, after all, badgers have teeth. Sadly-for the Slytherins-this was not the case.