THIS CHAPTER IS BROUGHT TO YOU IN HONOUR OF DUNGBOMBS, DRINKING AND DRAGONS BEING ADDED TO THE FAVOURITE STORIES LIST OF 10 READERS!
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The day of the first Quidditch match of the season began with a light breeze that soon escalated into a brisk wind.
Charlie could only describe the atmosphere in the castle as buzzing. From the t-shirt Bill gave Charlie emblazoned with the Gryffindor crest, to the face paint charms that some of the more talented students were applying to each other. Gryffindor House was in great spirits.
As each member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team traipsed down the spiral staircase from the dormitories they were met with applause and a chorus of 'Go Go Gryffindor!' until Gwenog Jones, the captain, ordered her team downstairs for breakfast.
By the time Charlie, Buck, Fergus and Reg arrived for breakfast in the Great Hall they couldn't wait for the match to begin. Annie was talking to a fifth year that was showing her how to do a face painting charm. Charlie plonked himself down next to her.
'Looking forward to the game?' he asked, piling rashers of bacon onto his plate.
'Yes!' she grinned, 'I've never seen a proper game of Quidditch before, just the practices.'
'You wait, you'll love it!' Charlie was about to tell her how great the game would be when the Slytherin table at the other end of the Hall exploded with noise. Their team had just walked in.
Huge, surly and altogether intimidating, Charlie was torn between thinking that they'd be a tough team to beat and an eagerness to try and beat them himself.
At least two minutes after the Slytherin team had walked in Professor McGonagall was letting off a purple firecracker from the end of her wand, as the booing and hissing across the Hall threatened to involve wands. Many of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs looked relieved as they would have been caught in the crossfire of jinxes and hexes that would surely have followed.
'Aw, that looked like it would have been good fun,' mused a voice from behind Charlie. He almost choked on his fried egg when he saw that it was Tonks. She had morphed her hair for the Quidditch.
'What have you done to your hair?' he gasped, gulping a goblet of pumpkin juice to wash the egg down his throat.
'Why? Don't you like it?' she grabbed his spoon and checked her reflection in the back of it. 'What's wrong with it?' she demanded.
Her hair looked like it was on fire. Compliant with the true Gryffindor colours, it started scarlet red at the roots and slowly changed to gold at the tips. It was striking at the very least.
'Nothing,' he backtracked, noticing that others were starting to notice her hair too, 'just a bit unexpected.'
'Oh, okay,' with a smile she skipped off to the Hufflepuff table to sit by Don and Myron, each of whom were sporting red and gold Gryffindor flags, despite being Hufflepuff. No one wanted Slytherin to win, except the Slytherins. Myron howled with laughter when he saw Tonks' hair and even high fived her when he calmed down a bit.
Annie watched Charlie as he watched Tonks start on her breakfast.
'What?' he blinked when he caught her looking. She rolled her eyes.
'Tactless. Absolutely tactless.' She muttered. Charlie hadn't the foggiest what she was on about so he got back to the rest of his breakfast.
Up in the stands Charlie pressed his binoculars tight to his eyes; the players were about to come onto the pitch.
'Here come the Slytherins!' Myron was commenting on the match under the restraining eye of Professor McGonagall. A raucous cheer came from the silver and green decked side of the pitch, a chorus of boos and hisses from the scarlet and gold.
'Spokes! Parkes! Carter! Quigley! Connington! Kiely! And Di Pietrooooo!' Myron called as seven emerald blurs shot out of the gate. 'An interesting line up order there from captain Steven Spokes, clearly choosing his squad to go in age rather than skill,' Through his binoculars Charlie saw the huge Slytherin captain's face twist with rage as he took his position at the centre circle. Before landing he whispered something in Quigley the beater's ear.
'Myron had better watch out for that one,' Charlie muttered to Buck. But before he could reply–
'Here come the GRYFFINDORS!' The crowd roared with delight, literally; Charlie noticed that some of the seventh years had charmed megaphones to roar when spoken into.
'Hunter! Rawlins! Dent! Jenkins! Roberts! Ryan! And Jones!' The Gryffindor team darted onto the pitch and lapped the stands once in an arrowhead formation. 'Hunter and Rawlins of course are opening the first game of their final Quidditch season here at Hogwarts! A noble gesture from Captain Gwenog Jones!'
The two teams faced each other at the centre circle and the two captains met in the middle. Madam Hooch spoke to them both and they shook hands, both trying to stare each other down. Spokes and Jones remounted their brooms and took to the air.
Madam Hooch blew the whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air, the crowd yelled support and the game began.
'Parkes takes the Quaffle and dodges a tackle from Roberts; he's speeding towards the goal! Will this be the first test for new keeper Barry Ryan? No! Excellent batting from Jones as Parkes narrowly misses a headshot from a bludger!' Myron's narration was so fast that Charlie barely had time to understand what he was saying before something new had happened on the pitch. Having always been a Chudley Cannons supporter, this match was the most exciting Quidditch game Charlie had ever seen live.
'Hunter's got the ball! Off she shoots towards the Slytherin goal! Past Di Pietro, past Parkes, past Spokes! Is she gonna make it to the goal? Yes, she is! Now it's one on one with the keeper – Carter's proven he's a good keeper, but can he save this? NO HE CAN'T! AND IT'S GRYFFINDOR WHO TAKE THE FIRST TEN POINTS OF THE MATCH!' The crowd was going wild; Charlie couldn't hear anything but noise as everyone around him exploded with glee. Buck and Tonks were jumping up and down, waving their flags. Hunter did a celebratory backwards loop before the game restarted.
Ten minutes in it was 30-0 to Gryffindor and there had been no sign of the snitch.
'Nice bludger shot there from Connington and Dent is forced to drop the ball. Di Pietro takes possession, he's had a good game so far has new chaser Antonio Di Pietro – can he keep it up? He's past Hunter and Roberts and into the scoring zone – SAVED! Ryan pulls off a spectacular save there! And it's still 30-0 to Gryffindor with no – wait, was that the snitch?'
A whisper ran through the crowd like fiendfyre as the two Seekers, Kiely and Rawlins, sped off towards the Slytherin end of the pitch. Kiely had the speed but Rawlins, the more experienced of the two, had the skill. Both had their arms out, reaching for the tiny gold ball, Rawlins edged ahead slightly as they rounded a corner and it looked like the match was going to end there –
BAM!
Three quarters of the crowd screamed with rage, Myron was spitting feathers up in the commentary box.
'FILTHY ROTTEN– STINKING CHEATING SCUMBAG!'
'Wagtail!' Professor McGonagall shrieked at him.
'Sorry Professor,' but Myron was still angry and it wasn't hard to see why. Quigley had aimed a bludger at the racing Seekers, and unfortunately for the Gryffindor team and supporters, he had an excellent aim. The bludger had connected with Rawlins' outstretched arm and caused him to spin out of control into one of the Slytherin goal posts. Roberts and Dent caught him before he crashed into the ground. Jenkins was restraining Hunter who looked as if she was going to batter Quigley with her bare hands, while Jones was angrily gesturing at Quigley and her unconscious Seeker as she spoke to Madam Hooch. The Slytherin team formed a protective circle around Quigley. The snitch was lost in the confusion.
Charlie focused his binoculars on Madam Hooch and Gwenog Jones. Madam Hooch was shaking her head as Jones became increasingly more frustrated and red in the face, pointing repeatedly at Rawlins with her beater's bat. Madam Hooch finally got annoyed with her and pointed to the other end of the pitch while putting the whistle to her lips. The meaning was clear – stop arguing or concede a penalty. Jones reluctantly glided away from the referee and went to check on her Seeker. Rawlins had regained consciousness after his collision with the hoop, but his broom kept drifting off to the side when he was left unsupported.
Madam Hooch blew her whistle and waved her left hand.
'WHAT?' Myron screamed down the loudspeaker, 'No penalty for that obvious foul on the Gryffindor Seeker, but only a warning!' The crowd booed and the Slytherins cheered. 'Rawlins refuses to quit and decides to carry on. Gryffindor have possession!' and so the match continued. Gryffindor came back with renewed strength after that incident and doubled their lead within another 10 minutes.
Forty-five minutes into the game it was 80-20 to Gryffindor.
Jones and Jenkins directed every bludger that came their way at the Slytherins with more power and accuracy than Charlie thought possible. Connington received a broken nose and Spokes took a bludger to the chest before Slytherin scored again.
Hunter had just scored a penalty from Parkes colliding with Jones in an obvious case of blatching to make it 100-30 when the game became tense again.
'Come on Gryffindor!' Myron yelled down the microphone, forgetting that he was meant to be unbiased even when Professor McGonagall loudly reminded him. 'Rawlins is just inches away from the snitch! How he's holding on to his broom after that bludger I don't know, but he just needs to hold on a little longer– YES! HE'S DONE IT! RICHARD RAWLINS HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH FOR GRYFFINDOR TO MAKE IT 250-30!'
It was like thunder in the stands; everyone was on their feet jumping and stamping and cheering as Rawlins did an unsteady lap of the stands holding the snitch high in the air, supporting himself with his uninjured arm. The rest of the Gryffindor team descended on him and enveloped him in a bubble of scarlet and gold robes.
Charlie's ears were ringing when he left the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the crowd. The roars from the enchanted megaphones were louder than ever and Charlie could barely hear what anyone was saying.
'That was so cool!' Don was yelling, 'way better than any football match!'
'What's football?' Buck asked, Charlie had no idea.
'Never mind!' Don laughed, on a high from the excitement of the match.
Bill tapped Charlie on the shoulder, 'Party in the Gryffindor common room tonight after dinner.' And he headed off arm in arm with a Ravenclaw girl.
The post Quidditch match Gryffindor party was amazing. Charlie, Buck, Fergus and Reg headed up to the common room after dinner and found that the party was just getting started.
Kirley was fiddling with a radio in the corner, trying to find a station with anything other than Celestina Warbeck or The Hobgoblins. He was unsuccessful however, and settled for The Hobgoblins rather than listen to what he called a 'lonely old banshee'. Charlie smirked when he thought of the walloping Kirley would have received from his mother if she heard him say that. Molly Weasley was a great lover of Celestina's music.
When the team entered the room they received a loud cheer and a round of applause. Gwenog Jones was even coaxed into making a little speech.
'Thank you all for your support today – you really helped us find that extra push to squash those snakes good and proper!' More applause, 'and if this is only the opening match after-party then I can't wait for the one when we win the Quidditch cup!' The room went crazy.
'They've not even had any Butterbeer yet,' Bill chuckled in Charlie's ear.
'You can get some?' Charlie had never tasted Butterbeer before, but everyone said it was the best drink ever. Well, except for Uncle Billius – he said Firewhisky was the best, which probably explained last Christmas when he started waltzing with a gnome.
'Not for you little brother,' Bill winked, heading to join Gryffindors from his own year.
'You'll all be pleased to know,' Gwenog continued once the cheers had settled down, 'that Rawlins will be absolutely fine. In fact, he should be here for the drinks tonight!' More cheers. 'And we'll be sure to get Quigley back for that in due course!'
It was about eight thirty when Bill, Kirley and Joey Jenkins returned from the kitchen laden with bottles of Butterbeer and piles of Pumpkin pasties. Then the party really kicked off. At nine, Rawlins arrived accompanied by Hunter, and received a pat on the back from just about every Gryffindor in the room.
Bill slipped Charlie a Butterbeer later in the night. It was the tastiest thing he'd ever tried. Warmth and contentment spread through his body all the way to his fingers and toes. He drank half a bottle in five gulps it tasted so good, and then Bill promptly took the bottle away.
'Not so fast little brother,' he winked.
At about eleven o'clock Savage suggested that the party should start to wind down for bed, but he was totally ignored. He suggested the same an hour later and found himself glued to his bed with a sticking charm cast by a group of fourth years.
It was half past one in the morning. Charlie felt like half a zombie and Fergus had fallen asleep in one of the comfy chairs; someone had colour-charmed his hair neon green. Professor McGonagall ordered them all to bed; apparently they were keeping the portraits up. No one wanted to go to bed but McGonagall refused to leave until they had.
As soon as Charlie's head hit the pillow he was out like a light.
If you want more Charlie then get reviewing or spreading the word about this story! Extra uploads are only for milestone occasions.
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50 reviews (33 away - so get reviewing!), 5,000 hits (3,736 to go), 25 favourite stories (14 away) or 50 story alerts (31 to go)!
Thank you to all of you who have helped me get to this milestone of 10 favourite stories: abnormalities, CrucioImperio, huggie101, morganalefeyfairy, OliviaKatetheGreat, Phoenix Tears Of A Riddle, Phoenix-Core7, render17, themusicfiend and verliebtindich. As you can tell, it is much appreciated.
Thank you to all of you who are still reading! I hope you enjoy all the Charlie chapters still to come, and don't forget to check out my other stories - one of which is Tonks' version of these same events!
LittleGuitar94
