Chapter 9 : The Quidditch Match
Albus had grown accustomed to Hogwarts. He was not surprised in the least when a staircase shifted or when a ghost popped out of a wall. With the help of the Marauder's Map, Albus could walk about the castle with no problem.
The Slug Club Christmas party was looming nearer. November came, and it brought with itself a large outburst of coughing, runny noses, and sore throats, keeping Madam Pomfrey busy feeding Pepperup Potion to anyone who had got a cold, which included Roxanne, Victorie, John Finnigan, and Katie Dexter. James had received his Cleansweep Seventeen, as promised, from his father, as well as a Broomstick Servicing Kit from his mother. Rose also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, and James had mastered many more moves besides the Sloth Grip Roll, which he said was his signature move.
The day of the opening match of the season, Gryffindor against Slytherin, came. Fortunately, it was a cloudy day with a little breeze and very little rain. Most of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were cheering with Gryffindor, though the Slytherins did their best to make their jeers heard. Albus and Daniel Jordan had prepared a large banner. Albus had donated one of his bedsheets and had written the words "Go James Potter!" on it using a tricky charm he had learned from Victorie to make the letters flash in different colors, while Daniel had drawn a large Gryffindor lion below the letters. Albus, Rose, and Daniel held up the banner together, sitting in the top row of the stands so that James would be sure to see it. Lysander Scamander was wearing a pointed hat with a stuffed lion on top, which he said he had inherited from his mother, Luna, while Lorcan was standing beside him, tapping it with his wand every now and then so that the stuffed lion would give out a loud, realistic roar.
Madam Hooch told the Captains to shake hands with each other, and Albus saw Fred Weasley's hand crushed by the Slytherin Captain and Keeper, Gilbert Spencer. Madam Hooch then signaled the players to mount their brooms, released the balls, and, after a few seconds, told the players to take off.
Fifteen brooms and their owners rose high up in the air, and the game began.
"And now," came Louis Weasley's commentatory, closely watched by Hagrid, "Fergus Stewart of Slytherin with the Quaffle, he goes past Chaser Alice Thompson, avoids a Bludger from Beater Alexander Jones, he's passed to Amanda Clarke, only girl player on the Slytherin team, Clarke's on the scoring area, she's about to—what a fantastic save from Arthur Hill! The game continues, Hill gives the ball to Fred Weasley, Captain of Gryffindor, Fred passes to Thompson, Thompson narrowly avoids a Bludger, passes to James Potter, and James has got past Keeper Gilbert Spencer, and—HE SCORES!"
Albus, Rose, and Daniel cheered loudly, and so did the rest of the Gryffindors, the Ravenclaws, and the Hufflepuffs, though the Slytherins made their boos heard. The game continued. James, flushed by scoring the first ten points for Gryffindor, scored two more goals, while Alice and Fred scored one goal apiece.
"Gryffindor leads fifty-nil!" came Louis' roar of delight. The Slytherins had had enough. The Slytherin Beaters, Fisher and Rogers, were growing in brutality, and they aimed Bludgers at every opponent, even if they didn't have the Quaffle. In a few minutes, the Slytherins had scored four goals, though Gryffindor was awarded a penalty for a particularly hard whack by Fisher at Alice Thompson, and Fred scored.
"Gryffindor still in the lead by twenty points!" said Louis. "And it's Stewart with the Quaffle again, he's pelting towards the other side of the pitch, he's passed to Clarke, Clarke's on the left side of the hoops, she throws the ball into the air, she punches it to the right side, and—another save by Hill! Oh, this looks bad—Rogers has shot a Bludger at Hill, Hill's hit straight in the chest, oh my—he's fallen to the ground and—he's fainted! And now Clarke scores! The nasty, cheating scum!"
Hagrid made no attempt to tell Louis off for swearing; he was already swearing at Rogers himself. But according to Madam Hooch, who knew all the Quidditch rules and fouls by heart, Rogers had done nothing wrong, to all the Gryffindors', particularly Albus', disagreement. The Slytherin Chasers scored five more goals, with Hill knocked out.
"And now Slytherin leads hundred to sixty. And it's Stewart with—oh, what is that? Hill is regaining consciousness!" he announced to cheers. "And now he immediately catches a shot from Stewart, what a hope for the Gryffindors! And now Thompson, she passes to Fred, back to Thompson, now to Fred, he goes past Spencer, and he scores!"
Relieved by the return of their Keeper, the Gryffindors began to regain hope. The Chasers scored two more goals apiece.
"Gryffindor leads again one hundred and thirty to one hundred! And now Thompson has the—HAS WILLIAMS SEEN THE SNITCH?!"
Angela Williams, the Gryffindor Seeker, was pelting toward the ground, and even Albus saw it—a small speck of gold fluttering two feet from the ground. The Slytherin Seeker, Steve Palmer, was following her, though Angela was miles below him, fifteen feet from the ground.
"Williams and Palmer are now fighting to get to the Snitch, Williams is miles ahead, though unfortunately for her Palmer has an advantage over her. Williams has got a Comet Three Fifty, which is significantly slower than Palmer's Nimbus Three Thousand, but Williams is doing her best to go faster, and she is only six feet from the Snitch, though still inches ahead of Palmer, and—oh, Palmer falls down! Leaves Williams free to the Snitch, and—she's caught it! Gryffindor wins two hundred and eighty to one hundred! They win by one hundred and eighty points!"
Albus, Rose, Daniel, the rest of the Gryffindors, and the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs cheered loudly. James was about to pelt down toward the ground.
WHAM!
The Slytherin Beater, Fisher had shot a Bludger at James' head and James fell off his broom, unconscious. Luckily, he was less than ten feet from the ground, and Madam Hooch had used her wand to slow him down. Then, Madam Hooch swooped down like a hawk on Fisher.
"FISHER!" she bellowed angrily the moment she hopped off her ancient Silver Arrow. "You never do that again! Twenty points from Slytherin and detention for you! Now, excellent victory, Gryffindors, you won by one hundred and eighty points. Weasley, if you will please help me take your cousin to the hospital wing. I believe Potter only needs a night in bed and a bit of potion."
Albus ran out of the stands to Madam Hooch. "Are you sure James'll be all right?" he asked her.
"Yes, yes, Mr. Potter," replied Madam Hooch reassuringly, "though if you want to you can follow us like the rest of the team."
Madam Hooch conjured a stretcher for James, and Fred hoisted James onto it.
"Now, Weasley, I believe that, as a fifth year, you have learned the Lomotor Charm? You have to do it with me to take Potter to the hospital wing. On three—one, two, three—"
"Locomotor Stretcher!" Madam Hooch and Fred shouted together.
The stretcher rose up into the air, and the two started taking it back inside the castle, followed by Albus and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, walked back to the castle, on a few sets of stairs, and into the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey looked furious.
"I heard!" she said. "Such a nasty thing to do! Now, I'm sure Potter will be all right, he's just got a fractured skull, a night in bed and some potion down his throat will make him good as new. And why don't you let Fisher have his detention with me, in my office, scrubbing up some of my cauldrons? Oh—he's recovering!"
James was stirring feebly in bed. In a few moments, he sat up, gazing dazedly at his fellow team members, beaming weakly.
"Ah—" he croaked, "we won."
"That's right, Jamesie," said Fred. "Fantastic, you were. Scored five goals, you did."
"He's right," agreed Albus. "And guess what? Madam Hooch took twenty points off Slytherin because Fisher shot the Bludger at you. Now, I'm going to take Ellie and send a letter to Mum and Dad. They'll be pleased."
"Yes, yes," said Madam Pomfrey, "now get out, please, everyone, no more than six visitors allowed."
"Come on, everyone," said Fred to Albus and his colleagues. "Party in the common room! I'll go steal some butterbeer and cake from the kitchens with Victorie. I also need to say hello to Timmy and Dipsy, my two best house-elf friends. Haven't met them in weeks."