Chapter Five: Quidditch Practise

Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Faye, Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful, well apart from Faye who looked tired and murderous. Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one. Faye however had other ideas concerning what had happened and when they'd mentioned this to her she had blown up and beat the both of them silly in the middle of the common room.
In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. This of course, was whilst Faye tended to the wounds she had inflicted upon them.
"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron. "Or both," said Harry.
But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues and Faye wasn't very helpful as she came up with stupid suggestions of what it could be.
"You sure it's not a stone?" she asked for the hundreth time.
"YES!" shouted Ron. Harry shook his head.

Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. She ignored Faye for a bit until Harry managed to catch her and remind her that Faye hadn't wanted to go until Hermoine had woken her up and forced her downstairs and then of course she'd follow her brother. Grudgingly Hermoine had apologized to Faye and the spoke little but often.
Of course all the boys and admittedly Faye really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.

As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, twin thin package carried by six large screech owls. The trio of friends were just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of Faye, knocking her bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.
Harry ripped open the letter first, before Faye could, which was lucky, because it said:

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.
It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousands,
but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you BOTH tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.
Professor McGonagall

Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read. Faye just looked sick after having read it over Harry's shoulder, the memory of her last ride when everything came to her after landing had presented itself in the forefront of her mind.
"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one."
They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it. Harry grabbed Faye before she could pounce.
"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face, Faye caught the parcel. "You'll be in for it this time, Potters, first years aren't allowed them."
Ron couldn't resist it.
"It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."
"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."
"Bitch say it again Malfoy, I'll give your face a rearrange!" shouted Faye. Malfoy opened his mouth to retort as did Ron, before Ron could answer however, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.

"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked. "And girl, sorry Faye."
"The Potters' been sent broomsticks, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.
"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potters. And what models are they?"
"Nimbus Two Thousands, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that we've got it," he added.
Harry, Faye and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion. "Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouln't be on the team and Faye wouldn't be learning..."
"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Faye's hands.
"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.
"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."
"Hermoine!" Faye shouted after her as Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.

Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night. Faye on the other hand seemed perfectly content to focus on her lessons and ignore what she had labelled 'My impending Doom' of the Quidditch practice late.
After Dinner, Harry rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last.
"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread.
Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top.
As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry grabbed Faye and they left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Neither had been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.
Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling - he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch.
Feeling left out and suddenly vulnerable, Faye mounted her broomstick and took off after Harry. Once in the air, a great sense of weightlessness overcame her and she began to allow her mind to drift and wander as she absently guided her broom. Unbeknownst to her, Faye was preforming a variety of beautiful maneuvers and tricks that most of the team took ages to learn. Harry began to copy her.
"Hey, Potters, come down!'
Oliver Wood had arrived. fie was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him, Faye landing a few seconds after and beginning to look a bit pale again.
"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant... you two really are naturals. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."
"Joy." was Faye's weak reply, Wood gave a sympathetic pat to her back.
He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.

"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."
"Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.
"This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"
"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Faye recited. "So - that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"
"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously.
"Never mind," said Harry quickly.
"Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper -I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."
"Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all.
"And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" Faye pointed at the three balls left inside the box.
"I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this."
He regarded Harry and Faye for a moment before deciding to hand Faye a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat.
"I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers."
He showed them two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box, Faye gulped uncertainly.
"Stand back," Wood warned Harry who was close to the box. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.

At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Faye's face. Faye swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking her nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air - it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.
"See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team - the Weasley twins are ours - it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So - think you've got all that?"
"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off.
"Very good," said Wood.
"Er - have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Faye asked, hoping she sounded offhand.
"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you Harry, and what you'll be training to be a backup for Faye. And neither of you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers unless they crack my head open."
Faye eeped.
"Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers - I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."
Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.
"This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages - I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep. "Well, that's it - any questions?"

Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.
"Uh .. that won't happen here right?"
Wood laughed softly. "No, not that long."
"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these."
He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry and for Faye to catch.
They didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.
"That Quidditch cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."
Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had. His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.

Faye yawned as they neared the castle and leaned into Wood, he laughed and bent down offering for her to climb onto his back, she did so without question and carrying the Quidditch box, and Faye on his back, he carried on into the castle. Harry smiled, that was another thing, Faye was getting a lot friendlier around everyone too now.

Hey Hey! That's it for this chapter! :) In the next one, I'll be doing Faye in the library and the Halloween feast too! :)
Peace y'all, I'm going Zzzzz. Wolfette2k12! xox