Chapter 6: Excitement at Hogwarts

"I've got it!" Exclaimed Minerva as she came into the Great Hall on the morning of September 1st, 2002.

"Got what?" asked Jason, looking up from his breakfast.

Minerva's eyes were full of excitement. "It's exciting! It's brilliant! The students will love it!"

"What are you talking about, Minerva?" asked Filius Flitwick.

Minerva shrugged. "I'm not going to tell you. It's a surprise."

"Are… are you alright, Minerva." I asked. I had never seen her like this.

Minerva stared at me. "I'm fine."

"Excuse me, Minerva…but what exactly are ya plannin'?" Hagrid asked.

Minerva laughed. "You'll see."

That night, I brought the first years into the Great Hall as usual. We went through the sorting as quickly as possible, and then Minerva stood up to make the speech all of the professors had been waiting for. "Welcome back!" Said Minerva, and everyone cheered. "This year will be a very important one to Hogwarts history. Who here has heard of the Triwizard Tournament?" Most of the students raised their hands, and whispered to each other. Was there going to be another Triwizard Tournament? "Quiet down! This year, Hogwarts will hold an event similar to the Triwizard Tournament, except students will not be participating. The staff of Hogwarts, however, will be."

The students began to whisper amongst each other. I looked at Jason, searching for an answer, but he only merely shrugged. "I have no idea what's she up to." He whispered.

"May I have your attention, please?" Minerva called. The room fell silent again. "Thank you. This competition is meant for the students' entertainment, and to cause a friendly rivalry between professors. Like the Triwizard Tournament, three rounds will be held, one in November, one in March, and one in June. After the first round, half of the professors will be eliminated. After the second, only two will remain. Then, in the third round, the two finalists will compete. Whoever wins will receive a trophy to display in their classroom, and 500 points will be awarded to the house of their choice."

The students cheered. A competition between teachers? Sounds like fun to me. I thought. Minerva finished her speech, and the feast began.

In early October, Minerva called a staff meeting in her office to discuss the first task. Once everyone was gathered in her office, Minerva called the meeting to order.

"As you all know," she began. "This tournament consists of three tasks. One will test each of you physically, another will test you mentally, and the third will test you emotionally. The first task is the physically task. I will split you into two teams. Over the next three weeks, you will be practicing with your team for the Quidditch match which will be held on the first Saturday in November."

"A Quidditch match?" asked Flitwick in surprise. "You must be joking!"

"I'm being completely serious." Minerva answered. "Yes, Hagrid?"

Every turned to look at Hagrid. He put down his hand, which he had politely raised in the air like a student, waiting patiently for his turn to speak. "I don't think this is a very good idea for me, Headmistress, seeing as I don't think I'd fit on one of those tiny broomsticks very well."

Minerva frowned. "Very well, Hagrid. If you don't mind, I think I'll just have you be a judge, with me."

Hagrid nodded. "Thank you, Headmistress."

Minerva smiled at Hagrid. "Now, unfortunately, there is an odd number of players. Is there anyone who does not wish to participate in the tournament?"

Only Filch raised his hand. "Very well. Since there are only…" Minerva paused to count the professors – other than Binns, who of course, because he was a ghost, couldn't participate – in the room. "Twelve of you, we'll have to bend the rules slightly. Madame Hooch, how do you think we should go about doing this?"

Madame Hooch thought for a moment. "I think we could make do with only two chasers instead of three. It's not the traditional way, of course, but it will work."

Minerva nodded. "Alright, I now need two captains." Minerva chose Madame Hooch and Jason to be the captions. Madame Hooch was chosen, obviously, because of her quidditch and broom-flying knowledge. Jason had played Seeker the Gryffindor quidditch team from his third year on, and was captain in his sixth and seventh year.

After much debate, the teams were formed. I was placed on Jason's team with Trelawney, Madame Prince – the librarian - , Madame Pomfrey, and Professor Sinistra – the astronomy professor. One the opposing team was Madame Hooch, Sniderson, Sprout, Flitwick, the muggle studies professor, and Babbling, the Ancient Runes professor. We all knew the quidditch match was certainly going to be interesting.

Two days later, Jason held quidditch practice on the field. Several students gathered around to watch, but when Madame Prince suggested we asked them to leave, Jason only said we needed to get used to it. I, personally, couldn't have agreed more.

Our team decided on the name "Hippogriffs" because Hippogriffs were strong, prideful creatures. We all agreed the name was better the "Thestrals", which is what the other team was going with.

After naming the team, Jason decided to hold "tryouts" to figure out who should be placed in what position. Jason started with the Chaser position, and I surprised even myself by doing well. I had scored more times than anyone else on the team. When I landed, Jason had a huge grin on his face. "Did you play Chaser for the Slytherin team when you were in school?" he asked. I told him I hadn't. "Well, you should have! You were amazing, Luci!"

I blushed. "I don't think I was that good."

Jason laughed. "Stop being so modest!"

"I am not being modest!" I argued playfully.

Madame Prince cleared her throat loudly. "Could the two of you stop flirting so we can get on with the tryouts?"

Jason and I both looked to the ground in embarrassment. To make matters worse, some of the students standing at the sidelines had overheard Madame Prince, and they were laughing harder than if they were watching a comedy. Jason, however, quickly recovered. "Alright everyone, now we will do Keeper. Everyone on their brooms, except for you, Lucianna. You will be our first Chaser."

After another half hour, tryouts were finally over. Jason had place Madame Pomfrey and I as Chasers, Sinistra as Keeper, Madame Prince and Trelawney as beaters, and himself as the Seeker. After assigning the positions, our first practice was held. After only a few minutes, it was clear we would need as much practice as possible.

"Until we improve, practice will be held every Monday through Saturday night, at six-thirty sharp, even if we have to play in the dark. We don't want to embarrass ourselves in front of the students. That is all I have to say." Jason said after practice.

As it turned out, Jason was an excellent captain. By Halloween, – two days before the match – we were almost as good as the Hogwarts house teams. On November 2nd, the day of the match, I was surprised to find that I was nervous. I was, and still am, a competitive person, and I wanted to win. Fortunately for the Hippogriffs, winning, surprisingly, wasn't too difficult. Flitwick, the Keeper for the Thestrals, was easy to score on. I managed to score fifteen out of the sixteen goals I tried for. Madame Hooch and Jason were better matched as seekers, but it was Jason who caught the golden snitch in the end. The final score was three hundred to ninety.

After the Quidditch match, I was exhausted. Once in the privacy of my office, I collapsed on my bed and was out within a minute.

Author's note: Happy late Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all of the people who have reviewed so far. You are all amazing! I'm also thankful for… more reviews! So please, if you would, take the time to leave a review. I strongly appreciate every review I receive.