Tuesday, November 1, 2011
As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. Mount Greylock had become icy gray and the nearby lake was like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Both Professor Triton and the pukwudgies could be seen from the upstairs window defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch/Quodpot field, covered up in a fluffy overcoat, what appeared to be fur gloves, and large boots.
The Quidditch and Quodpot season had officially begun. On Saturday, Brian and Merula would be playing in their first matches after weeks of training: Thunderbird vs. Wampus. Whoever won would move up into second place in the House Championship.
Hardly anyone had seen Brian play because Wick decided to keep Brian a secret. But the news that he was playing Seeker leaked out somehow.
It was lucky that Brian and Merula were friends with Rowan. He didn't know how they'd have gotten through their homework without him, what with all the last-minute practice Wick and Johnson had them do. He'd also lent them Quidditch Throughout the Ages, which had turned out to be an interesting read.
Brian learned that there were about 700 ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a 1473 World Cup match; that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players, and that the most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them; that Quodpot was created during the 18th century when Abraham Peasegood's wand accidentally touched a Quaffle, which caused it to explode; that although people rarely died playing Quidditch or Quodpot, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.
Rowan had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Brian and Merula saved him from the mountain troll. A few days before Brian's first Quidditch match the trio were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and he'd conjured up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a glass bottle. They were standing with their backs to it, warming up, when Professor Drake crossed the yard. Brian couldn't help but notice he was limping.
"You okay, Professor?" Brian asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Professor Drake replied. "What's that you got?" He pointed at the book, Quidditch Through the Ages. Brian showed him. "Ah, I see. You checked it out, right?"
"I did, Professor," said Rowan.
"I see. Well, at any rate, I wish you good luck this Saturday!" He said, as he limped away.
"I really hope he's okay," said Brian worryingly.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Brian and Merula had never been in the Horned Serpent common room before; Rowan led them down to the bottom of the grand staircase and to the stone statue of a horned serpent.
"Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?" the statue hissed.
"A circle has no beginning," Rowan answered.
The statue began to slither out of the way on its own, revealing a spiral staircase underneath it, which the trio climbed down until they entered the Horned Serpent common room.
The Horned Serpent common room was a long, low underground room, from which round, blue lamps were hanging on chains. Enormous bookshelves covered the walls of the common room and a warm fire was crackling under a mantlepiece ahead of them. Rowan was checking Brian and Merula's homework for them. He'd never let them copy ("You're never gonna learn by copying my homework."), but he did help tutor them and helped them get the correct answers on their own.
Brian couldn't help but feel restless. Tomorrow was the big day, and not even his book would help him get his mind off it. He decided to ask Alastor for advice.
He made his way down to the staff room and knocked. No answer. He knocked again. Nothing.
Brian, out of worry, pushed the door open and peered inside — and a horrible scene met his eyes.
Professors Drake and Rodriguez were inside, alone. Professor Rodriguez was holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs was bloody and mangled.
"Por el amor de Dios, Drake," Professor Rodriguez said. "How're you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"
"Trust me, Isador," said Alastor, "you're not the only one." He gave him a phial containing a liquid before noticing Brian. "Mr. Bank? What're you doing here?"
"S-sorry, Professor!" Brian squeaked as he closed the door and left, much to Professor Drake's confusion.
"Huh… Well, that was odd."
"I don't blame him for booking it," said Professor Rodriguez, as he drank the potion. "Our legs are pretty darn messed up, eh?"
"Heh! You got that right."
"Can't wait to beat you in Quidditch and Quodpot, Señor Drake!"
"In your dreams, Rodrigez!"
Meanwhile, Brian returned to the Horned Serpent common room and told Rowan and Merula what happened.
"No way! You don't think Drake let the troll in as a diversion, do you?" Rowan asked.
"I know Professor Drake personally," Brian replied, "and he wouldn't do something like that. It's more likely that he and Professor Rodriguez are setting traps of sorts. But what are they trying to keep secure?"
Regardless, Brian and Merula returned to their common room. Brian couldn't sleep, but he had to. He had his first Quidditch match tomorrow morning, but the mangled legs weren't easy to forget.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match and a good Quodpot match next week.
"You've gotta eat some breakfast."
"I'm not hungry."
Brian felt awful. In one hour, he'd be onto the field.
"Brian, you need your strength," said Merula. "Seekers are always the ones who get wrecked by the other team."
"Thanks, Merula," said Brian, as he ate a light breakfast.
By 11:00 the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch/Quodpot pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still hard to see sometimes.
Rowan and Merula joined Thompson and Barnaby, the Red Sox fan, in the top row.
Meanwhile, in the locker room, Brian and the rest of the team were changing into purple Quidditch robes (Wampus would be playing in orange ).
Wick cleared his throat for silence.
"Okay, men," he said.
"And women," said Elizabeth.
"And women," Wick agreed. "This is it."
"The big one," said Jacob.
"The one we've all been waiting for," said one of the Chasers.
"This is the best team Thunderbird's had in years. We're gonna win. I know it! Good luck, all of you." He smiled at the group of players.
Brian followed his team out of the locker room and onto the field to loud cheers.
"Good morning, everyone!" Said Natalie Anderson, using a microphone. She was doing commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor Drake. "I'm Nat Anderson and today is the first exciting match of this Quidditch Season: Wampus vs. Thunderbird! And there's Professor Storms, who's refereeing today! Joining me for commentary is Professor Alastor Drake, Deputy Headmaster, Professor of Potions, and Head of Thunderbird House! And here comes Storms, ready to start the game."
Professor Storms was refereeing. He stood in the center of the field waiting for the two teams, his broom in his hand.
"Now, I want a good, clean game. All of you," he said, once they were all gathered around him. "Mount your brooms, please."
Brian climbed onto his Nimbus 3000.
Fourteen brooms rose up into the air before Professor Storms kicked the crate open, releasing the bludgers and the Golden Snitch!
"There go the bludgers, followed by the Golden Snitch!" Said Nat. "Remember, the Golden Snitch is worth 150 points. Whichever team's Seeker catches it ends the game."
"Ready?" Professor Storms asked as he prepared the Quaffle ball. "Play ball!" He threw it high into the air!
"The Quaffle is thrown, and the game begins! And the Quaffle is immediately taken by Tyler Hart of Thunderbird — what an awesome Chaser he is, and quite hot too—"
"Ahem." Professor Drake cleared his throat to get Natalie's attention.
"Sorry, Professor. Anyway, let's get back on topic.
"And he's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Wilson Grim, a good find of Wick's, last year only a reserve — back to Hart and — no, the Wampuses have taken the Quaffle, Wampus Captain Tyler Kamiya gains the Quaffle and off he goes — Kamiya flying like an eagle up there — he's gonna sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Thunderbird Keeper Nathan Wick and the Thunderbirds take the Quaffle back — that's Chaser Franklin Miller of Thunderbird there, nice dive around Kamiya, off up the field and — OUCH — that must've hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger — Quaffle taken by the Wampuses — that's Martha Pierce speeding off toward the goalposts, but she's blocked off by a second Bludger — sent her way by Elizabeth Snyde, and Grim back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off he goes — he's really flying — dodges a speeding Bludger — the goalposts are ahead — come on, now, Wilson — Keeper Martins dives — misses — THUNDERBIRD SCORE!"
Thunderbird cheers filled the cold air, with howls from the Wampuses.
"No sign of the Snitch yet, huh?" Professor Drake asked while using a pair of Omnioculars, which looked more like two short telescopes than binoculars.
"Nope," said Merula. "Brian hasn't got much to do yet."
"Kept outta trouble, though, that's something," Professor Drake said as he peered skyward at the speck that was Brian.
Meanwhile, way up above them, Brian was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wick's gameplan.
"Keep outta the way until you see the Snitch," Wick had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."
When Wilson scored, Brian did a few loop-the-loops to get his mind off of things. Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Snydes' wristwatches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Brian dodged it and Jacob came chasing after it.
"You ok?" he had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously towards Tyler Kamiya.
"Wampus in possession," Natalie was saying, "Chaser Michael Hart ducks two Bludgers, two Snydes, and Chaser Grim, and speeds toward the — wait a minute — was that the Snitch?"
A murmur ran through the crowd as Michael Hart dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.
Brian saw it. In a rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Wampus Seeker Kennith Sanchez had seen it as well. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch — all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.
Brian was faster than Sanchez — he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead — he put on an extra spurt of speed —
WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from both the Wampuses and Thunderbirds below. Wampus Beater Gregory Hall had blocked Brian on purpose, and Brian's broom spun off course, Brian holding on for dear life.
"FOUL!" screamed the Thunderbirds.
Mister Storms spoke angrily to Hall and ordered a free shot at the goalposts to Thunderbird. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.
Down in the stand, Barnaby Lee was yelling, "Red card him, ref!"
"What're you talking about, Barn?" said Merula.
"Red card!" said Barnaby furiously. "In soccer, you get a red card, and you're outta the game!"
"But this isn't soccer," Merula reminded Barnaby.
"I agree with him, though!" Professor Drake agreed with Barnaby. "Brian could've fallen off his broom, for crying out loud!"
Nat was finding it hard to stay neutral.
"So — after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating —"
"Natalie!" growled Professor Drake.
"I mean, after that open and revolting foul—"
"Natalie, I'm warning you—"
"Alright, alright. Hall nearly kills the Thunderbird Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Thunderbird, taken by Grim, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Thunderbird's still in possession."
Suddenly, Brian's broom started trying to throw him off! His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split-second, he thought he was gonna fall off!
"What is Brian doing?" Professor Drake asked as he saw Brian's broom via his Omnioculars. "Wait… oh no! This is bad, this is really bad!"
"What's going on?!" Merula asked.
"Brian's broom was jinxed! I don't know who, but I have a theory."
"I knew it," Merula gasped, "Rodriguez."
Merula saw Rodriguez sitting next to Carter; the former had his eyes fixed on Brian and was muttering nonstop under his breath.
"He's doing something — jinxing the broom," she said to Rowan.
"Leave it to me!" Rowan said, as he fought his way to the stand where Rodriguez stood.
Once he arrived, he crouched down, pulled out his wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from his wand and onto the hem of Rodriguez's robes.
Suddenly, Professor Triton yelled "FIRE!", alerting Professor Rodriguez. A sudden yelp and a sudden crash as Rodriguez scrambled to put out the flames, bumping into Carter in the process, told Rowan that he'd done his job. Rowan scooped the fire off Rodriguez and into a little jar into his pocket before scrambling back along the row — Rodriguez would never know what happened.
It was enough. Up in the air, Brian was able to clamber back onto his broom. He was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick — he hit the field on all fours — coughed — and something golden fell into his hand.
"The Snitch! I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.
"He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Kamiya shouted out, with a concerned look on his face. But it didn't make any difference; Brian hadn't broken any rules. Thunderbird had won by 170-80! Brian didn't hear any of this, but his team and the Wampus team did shake hands before they left.
"Hey Bank!" said Kamiya. "Good game out there! You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Brian replied as he shook Kamiya's hand.
"Sorry about the Beater incident. Gregory did it on his own accord. Rest assured, he'll be off the team."
"Thanks!"
Brian, Merula, and Rowan went to Professor Drake's office.
"It was Rodriguez," Rowan was explaining, "Merula and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you! I know a jinx when I see one."
"And I know a counter-curse when I see one," Professor Drake pointed out. "Professor Rodriguez may be a bit… rough, but he'd never kill a student!"
"If he didn't try to kill me," said Brian, "then who did?"
"I don't know, but I intend to find out before they strike again."
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Brian had entered the stands of the Pitch for Merula's Quodpot game. He hoped that what happened to him didn't happen to her. He watched as the 22 players entered the field and took off on their brooms.
"You can do it Merula!" Brian shouted before the Quod exploded, eliminating one of the Thunderbird players! "Oh no!"
"That's Williams out!" Natalie announced. "1 down, 9 to go. And there goes Johnson with the Quod!" Brian watched as Johnson managed to drop the Quod into the cauldron just SECONDS before it could explode! "SCORE!"
The Thunderbirds cheered on!
Brian watched as the Quod took players out one by one until only the teams' Infiltrators were left!
"It's come to this," Natalie announced. "Merula Snyde vs. Jason Mathews. And they're off! Synde's got the ball and flies to her opponent's goal. Oh no! Collins has the Quod and throws it to Mathews! Mathews is flying towards the Thunderbird's pot and—" BOOM! The Quod exploded, leaving Mathews covered in ash. "And Mathews is out! Thunderbird wins, 18-16!
Brian and the other Thunderbirds cheered on as they won another game against the Wampus team!
Thursday, November 24, 2011: Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day, a time when everyone celebrated what they were thankful for. Brian himself was thankful for a few things: his new friends, his new school: Ilvermorny, and the fact that Josephine was convicted of child kidnapping, according to the letter he received from his mom. While some American students had already gone home yesterday, Brian and his friends stayed for the Thanksgiving feast. Brian had never seen a Thanksgiving feast so impressive; the tables each had a hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of mashed potatoes; platters of sausages; and silver boats of rich gravy.
He, Merula, Rowan, and Tyler Yagami were enjoying the Thanksgiving feast. The Canadian students already celebrated Thanksgiving back in October. And Brian couldn't wait to go back home for the holidays and tell his mom everything!
"The Quodpot match really was explosive!" Merula jokingly said.
"Tell me about it!" Brian replied as he ate some of his turkey. He and the other Thunderbirds, plus Rowan, enjoyed their dinner. That night though, Brian had the exact same dream as he had before. Though, this time, he just ignored it, more annoyed than scared.