Chapter 11 Areani
"My name is Lance Russo, former Hit-Wizard and your head instructor. For those of you recently coming from Hogwarts, Professor Jonathon Russo is my brother. Now, I am not your friend. I am not going to go easy on you. I will make you sweat and bleed and cry. You will hate me. But your hatred will have to wait until tomorrow. It is now twenty-one-oh-three and the last group has finally arrived so everyone listen up. Every night you will eat dinner at twenty-forty-five. At twenty-one-fifteen you will be done with the day and allowed to do what you want for an hour and fifteen minutes. Twenty-two-thirty is lights out. Oh-six-hundred is your wake up call. You'll have ten minutes to get ready and then you'll have twenty minutes to eat breakfast. Once your breakfast is over with the training starts. Any questions so far?"
No one raised their hands or said anything. They were too busy staring at the man in front of them wondering what they signed up for. Harry looked around. Besides the five seventh years he had come with, he was able to recognize a few faces.
Jeff Summerby was a Hufflepuff he had trained with last year before the teen had graduated. Patricia Stimpson was a former Gryffindor he had recruited for the Order over the summer. Tonks was an Auror, former Order member and Sirius' cousin he had met once or twice. Phil Conway was the Gryffindor prefect who had graduated when Harry was a fourth year.
"From oh-six-thirty to thirteen-hundred you will be in training broken down into three two hour long sessions with fifteen minute intervals in between each session. Once the clock hits thirteen-hundred, you will grab your Ministry supplied time turner, turn the dial and start fresh at oh-six-thirty, repeating this process one more time. Once you reached your third go around, you will break for an hour long lunch.
"After your lunch break is over, you will find yourselves in your afternoon lessons. They will consist of three, two hour long sessions with fifteen minute breaks in between each session. At twenty-thirty, you will grab your Ministry supplied time turner and repeat this process two more times before being allowed to go to dinner. Any questions?"
Harry's head spun with all the twenty-four hour times being said. He was used to muggle transportation using the twenty-four hour times but most of the muggle world and most of the wizarding world stuck with the twelve hour clock. As far as he could tell it was wake up at six, training went from six-thirty to one on three separate occasions before they broke for lunch. After the hour lunch was over training started again from two in the afternoon to eight-thirty in the evening on three separate occasions before it was dinner, free time and then lights out at ten-thirty at night.
"No?" Russo looked around at the faces in front of him for a moment. "Good. You men are dismissed." The Hit-Wizards that had escorted the groups, into the room they found themselves in, all turned and left. "The rest of you, follow me. I'll lead you to your dorms."
Russo led them through several corridors before coming upon a plain wooden door. Pushing it open they stepped into a large common room. Bookcases lined one wall and were filled with scores of books. A handful of sofas, tables and chairs were scattered throughout the room. It vaguely reminded Harry of the Gryffindor Common room in it's basic design but was no where near as welcoming in décor. Russo pointed to two separate doors that stood across from the door they came through.
"Girls on the left, boys on the right. There are potions next to each bed that will make it so you can get by with less sleep. Take them every night. Remember wake up is at oh-six-hundred."
Harry observed silently as some Knights went through their team drills. Six teams of four, similar to Hit-Wizard teams, they practiced fighting as a unit. The teams had first been put together based on the perceived strengths and weaknesses of each of the recruits. After the first two weeks, teams had been shuffled around to what they were today. One of the Knight teams was trying to fight off ten Auxiliaries who had been brought in for such a purpose. From a distance, Harry gauged the tactics used, making note of things he would do differently.
"Potter!"
Harry turned back to see Russo standing at the entrance of the facility. Harry looked down at his watch. There were currently two other versions of himself around the facility. One would be in hand-to-hand combat and the other working on potions. The current him … or was he the past him ... was set to test his disguise ability.
He had bleached his hair before using a dye to make it a dark, dirty blond. His eyes were no longer green but brown thanks to prescription colored contacts. With a bit of finagling he was able to hide his lightning bolt scar with a combination of foundation and cover up. He had used a potion to speed up the growth of his facial hair and now had the beginnings of a beard on his face; longer than stubble but not quite long enough to fully be called a beard.
He wasn't lucky enough to be a metamorphmagus, like one of the other were, but he did the best with what he had. He was certain, that if any of his friends saw him, they might do a double take, but wouldn't be able to identify him as Harry Potter. And that's what today's lesson was all about.
He moved toward Russo, who held out a portkey, which Harry took. He grasped the item in his hand, making sure to keep a tight grip on it.
"Today it's all about your disguise. You won't be able to fool those who can read auras. You haven't learned to mask your magical signature yet. That also means, no spell casting unless absolutely necessary. Your task is to go to the Ministry and to have a conversation with at least one of the following targets; Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Arthur Weasley, Fred Weasley or George Weasley."
Harry nodded at the names. He expected it to be someone close to him, although his first guess had been his friends at Hogwarts, or maybe even his relatives. He would have to hide his smell if he was going anywhere near Remus. Actually, probably best to hide it all together, just to be on the safe side.
The portkey activated and Harry found himself whisked away and appearing at the arrival platform of the Ministry. He looked around and made a show of dusting himself off, casting a wandless spell to hide his smell in the process. He moved toward the line that formed at the security counter as he contemplated who he would visit.
He wondered if Russo knew something going on today that Harry himself was unfamiliar with. Sirius should be at Alpha Headquarters in Diagon Alley, where one of the two new Hit-Wizard bases were located. Remus would of course be in his office down in the Department of Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures, as the head of the being division. Mr. Weasley would be in his office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. Fred and George would be on the bottom floor, in new offices located outside the Department of Mysteries, where the Department of Games and Development had been set up.
"Wand please?" the wizard at the security counter asked.
Harry reached down to his hip and took out the wand belonging to his ancestor Ignotus Peverell and handed it over. As the security wizard, a grumpy looking man probably in his late forties, did his examination of the wand, Harry observed the entrance to the Ministry.
In order to enter the Ministry from any public means, one must first pass through security. Security was a series of counters that blocked off the arrival points from the rest of the Ministry. Harry could feel the hum of magic coming off of the counters, meaning they were heavily warded. If Death Eaters were to attack through the arrival stations, the counters would provide great cover for the Ministry forces.
Between each counter were sets of scanners that each person looking to enter the Ministry would have to pass through. From what Harry could tell the scanners were recently updated and could detect countless things; polyjuice, Imperius, hidden wands, glamours, etc. Harry had already inscribed the proper runes, developed by an Arabian witch in the late 18th century, on his wand holsters to hide his wands from detection. He had made sure to activate the rune schemes on his wrist and ankle holsters, so to make sure they wouldn't be detected.
There was the ten standard security guards, two at each counter, who were the ones that handled the examination of peoples and their items. Lining the walls of the small entry way behind security, before it opened up into the atrium, was a dozen Auxiliaries. They stood in their dark green, heavy dueling robes with their wands in hand, making idle chit chat with each other, as they kept an eye on all those who passed by.
Not exactly overwhelming numbers by any means but the cover of the security counters, and the thirty to forty active duty Auxiliary members who sat several floors away, would be fine against a moderate group of attackers. The movement of the Hit-Wizards and Aurors left the Ministry itself more vulnerable, however, the placement of the three new locations increased security at Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and the wizarding hub at Cardiff.
"Oak, twelve inches, Welsh Green heartstring," the security wizard stated, handing Harry back the wand.
"Correct," Harry murmured, pocketing the wand back in his wand holster.
"Please place any spare wands, potions, or any other magical items on your person in the tray."
The security wizard held out a small metallic tray covered in runes. Harry thought about it for a moment. Besides his spare wands, he didn't believe he had anything else on him.
"Don't have any," Harry replied.
The man nodded his head and waved Harry through. Harry took a deep breath. It was the moment of truth to see if his rune work was as good as he thought it was. The Arabian runes he had etched into the wand holsters should prevent the scanners from detecting his actual wand, as well as his father's. That is, if he etched them in correctly. If not, he was about to be wrestled to the ground and handcuffed.
He walked through the scanners without any incident, and let out the breath he was holding. The runes were obscure but nothing that couldn't be found with some digging. Despite the added security measures, there was still holes in the system. He would bring it to Russo's attention. While the whole point of the runes he used was to hide them from detection, maybe the Ministry scanners should be upgraded to detect active magics on a person. The runes being active to hide his wands would have given off a ping.
He decided to visit the twins, since he wanted to see what the Department of Games and Development was up to. He just needed an excuse to go in there and see the twins. He maneuvered around the large fountain that took up the middle of the atrium and made his way to the lifts.
He rode down with a frazzled looking witch from the Department of Magical Transportation, who got off at the appropriate floor, leaving Harry to the ride the lift the rest of the way down by himself. When the lift dinged, indicating the final floor, Harry stepped out into the corridor.
The bottom floor wasn't like all the others in it's design. It was a long hallway lined with doors Harry knew led to the various courtrooms set ups that the Ministry had. At the end of the corridor was a black door with no knob, that was undoubtedly the door to the Department of Mysteries. He moved forward, curiously looking over each and every doorway he came upon.
Other hallways branched off, leading to more courtrooms and the like. Finally, the last hallway to branch off before the mysterious door, had a plaque indicating that the Department of Games and Development was down it. From the layouts Harry had seen, the Department of Games and Development used to be where Courtroom Thirteen was located. No doubt Dumbledore had re-purposed the room.
He turned down the hallway and came upon the door he needed to enter. He pushed it open without hesitation and entered the main room of the department. There was various metal desk spread throughout the room, each one covered in gems, scrap metals and numerous other items. There were scorch marks on the floor, ceiling and walls, and Harry thought he saw the dark colored stain of blood in a few places as well.
There were four people in the room. An elderly man with graying hair worked off in the far corner, prodding at a piece of metal with his wand. A girl, who Harry recognized as a Slytherin who graduated when he was a second year, was muttering to herself as she tapped her wand against the table top. Then there were the twins. They stood at the table closest to Harry, murmuring lowly to each other and pointing at something on the table that was obscured by a pile of wires.
No one had looked up at Harry's arrival. He nodded his head to himself and moved toward one of the unoccupied tables. He examined the bits and pieces of items that littered it. Maybe it was because the one he was at hadn't been touched that day, but it was actually fairly neat compared to the other work stations; everything in its set place. There was numerous potions ingredients, each one in its own separate container. Next to those was a basic potions kit containing all the essentials; cauldron, mortar and pestle, scale, chopping knife, etc. Various scraps of different types of metals were all stacked together. Numerous gems of different sizes sat next to a pile of different kinds of wood. There was a small stack of books on runes, enchantments and arithmancy as well.
"Can we help you?"
Harry turned to see both the twins staring at him. He put a big smile on his face, walked forward and held out his hand.
"Chris Stepan at your service." He made his voice deeper than it usually was, giving him a nice ringing bass.
Reluctantly, George shook the offered hand. Fred did not.
"Mr. McDermott is trying to recruit me."
Fred and George both perked up at the mention of their boss. They looked him over, as if judging him worthy of joining their ranks.
Harry waved at the area around him. "Figured I'd stop by to see what I'd be working with if I accepted the position. They really supply you with everything you'd need to create something huh?"
"They provide us with enough," Fred stated.
"More than most," George supplied. "But not everything."
"Still have to put in request for some things."
Harry nodded his head, making sure to move his head back and forth with the twins as they spoke. It was something he had stopped doing several years ago, as most people who hung out with the twins had stopped doing. He figured as someone who was supposed to be meeting them for the first time today, he should get back into the habit, if only for a bit.
"So no results yet?" 'Chris' asked. "Mr. McDermott hasn't mentioned anything."
Fred and George both shared a look, as if gauging what they wanted to say. While he knew the twins liked their secrets, they were also braggarts. It was a trait they shared with Ron. George walked to their work station and picked up a clump of black granules roughly the size of a snitch.
"We're going through the final testing now but we have..."
"Peruvian instant darkness powder."
"Pid-pa for short."
George threw it at the ground and instantly Harry was enclosed in complete darkness. He waved his hands about, trying to clear out the darkness from in front of his face but it was futile.
"Can't be dispelled by magic," Fred stated. "Perfect for getaways."
"Covers a roughly two hundred square foot area. Can even fool old Mad-Eye's mad eye"
Harry nodded his head impressed before realizing they couldn't see him.
"Can you still cast spells through it? I can't see you guys right now, but I can hear you from the sound of your voice, giving away your position."
"You can still cast magic in it," George replied, the frown on his face evident in his tone.
"Might that defeat some of the purpose? I mean, yeah they can't see you but they can still cast magic and without perfect knowledge of the area you're trying to escape from, you're probably gonna be making noise while you escape."
"Could we make it a magic-negating field as well?" Fred asked. "Gives you the chance to escape and prevents the people you're escaping from from being able to capture you, at least magically."
"We'd have to tinker with it some more. Bring it out of final testing stage and back to the beginning."
"True, but think of the benefits for Aurors and Hit-Wizards if they were to portkey into an ambush."
Suddenly the thick blackness that overcame his vision started to ebb away slowly. It was almost another two minutes that Harry could properly see again. As soon as they could, everyone of the workers went back to work at their stations. Harry assumed the other two were used to that and guessed the entire room being covered in complete darkness was a common occurrence.
"It's brilliant though, I'll definitely give you two that."
Fred shook his head. "You showed us a potential flaw in our design."
"We'll fix it though."
Harry nodded his head, having no doubt of that. Creating a magic-negating field would be hard work without set runes or enchantments to lean on. Creating such a thing based on an airborne powder alone would be very tricky indeed.
Fred grabbed one of the books on the table and began flipping through it, while George started picking up the containers of ingredients; shaking his head at each one before putting it back down and picking up another.
After a few moments of just standing there, Harry spoke up again, voicing a thought that had come and gone from his mind for years. "Is it impossible to combine muggle weapons with magic?"
Both Fred and George looked up at that.
"What do you mean?" Fred asked.
"Surely you know the issues with magical beings and muggle weaponry."
"I know of the issues," Harry said. "But muggles have thought of hundreds of ways to kill each other in the last several decades. Why not take the basic designs of those things and put a magic twist on them? Similar in design but something all their own so such issues wouldn't arise."
The twins looked at each other; a silent conversation taking place. He looked at the other two in the room, both of whom were too busy to pay attention to him and the twins. It was almost five minutes of silent conversation before the twins nodded at the exact same time.
"If you excuse us, we have some work to do," George said.
Harry tilted his head. "Of course. Maybe I'll be seeing you guys soon."
Harry came to the end of his run, panting heavily. He resisted the urge to bend over to place his hands on his knees as he caught his breath, and instead got down into a push-up position, several feet away from a rack of free weights.
"One … two … three … four," he counted silently as he went.
His foray to the Department of Games and Development to see the Weasley twins had been a success. While Russo wished he would have chosen Lupin, as the more difficult one to fool what with his honed werewolf senses, he had expressed approval in both Harry's meeting with the twins, and ideas he had put into their minds. That had been a week ago, and he now found himself on the day of December 1st.
It was currently almost eight in the evening. The unveiling of the new Nimbus broom was at noon exactly, eight hours ago. He had already completed most of his lessons for the day. There was a past version of him currently sitting in a classroom learning French somewhere but that, combined with what he was finishing up now, would equal six of his nine afternoon lessons, the latter three of which he was allowed to skip.
He was almost done with his physical training for the day and would then be given time to eat and shower before using the time-turner to travel back to noon time so he could make the unveiling, just like he was contractually obligated to do. The unveiling would include a press conference, running through some drills with the broom and would conclude with a dinner paid for by the broom company for all the sponsors, as well as those responsible for the making of the broom.
In fact, despite the fact that he hadn't used the time-turner yet to go back in time, there was already a Harry, a future Harry, who had been there, visited the event and done all those things. Since there was no uproar about anything, he assumed the public relations event had gone well, and he had nothing to worry about.
Which was a good thing. He had been training with the Ministry for a month now, although for him it was much longer than that. He slept roughly seven and a half hours every night but was awake for roughly forty-two and a half hours every day, thanks to the time-turners. Combined that with his sleep and he was doing forty-nine hours in one day. The thirty-nine hours worth of training each day equaled three days worth of training in one and left him exhausted, so this training block of doing nothing but answering a few questions and smiling a lot was a welcome relief.
Lancelot Russo was a task master, even if most of their training was under various different instructors. He expected nothing but perfection from each of them. The first day during dueling, the man had provoked Harry into a fight with his biting insults and Harry's quick temper. Five minutes later Harry was awoken to see that the crippled bastard had beaten him. Harry didn't like getting beaten so easily and so pushed himself even harder.
Their diets were all specifically tailored to be the healthiest possible. They were forced to drink several nutrient potions with each meal. They were also made to drink several potions that were to make it easier to learn and remember things. They were pretty toxic so every day a sample of their blood was taken to make sure they didn't suffer any ill effects. One of the older Knights Harry didn't know had a problem with the memory potions a few weeks into training and had to be taken off the potion for a few days and his system was flushed before they put him right back on.
Harry did spend a lot of time training with the Knights, many of whom he knew, but most of his time was spent learning with the other two Areani only. When with the Knights they went over various forms of fighting; fighting with a wand, with a staff, with a non-magical weapon and without any weapon. They also learned Ancient Runes in the use of Curse Breaking and Ward Constructing, as well as healing. When it was just the Areani they were taught potions, tracking, stealth, disguise, information gathering and foreign languages.
A Native American wizard from a tribe in the Great Plains of the United States had been brought in to teach Harry how to control his elemental abilities, which he was slowly working on. The others too had mentors for whatever specific magical gifts they might have brought in to teach them. Just another useful weapon they would all have available to them when they entered the fighting.
Harry moved from the pushups to crunches, squats, lunges and numerous other exercises to keep his body in shape. He had spent a year and a half getting his body into shape from the skinny kid he had once been. He wasn't going to let all that hard work go to waste. His breathing came out hard, his chest heaving and sweat dripping from his body.
The Ministry led training was hard. Harder than anything he had done in his entire life. The exhaustion he always felt wasn't just physical, although there wasn't a day he didn't go to bed with his muscles crying out in protest. They were putting him through his mental paces as well with all the information he was being forced to learn and maintain. Most of his free time at night was spent rubbing salves into his aching muscles as he sat with the other recruits, the only sound in the room being the music playing from the wireless.
Sometimes he could motivate himself to hop on one of his brooms and go for a quick fly. He'd let everything just fade away as he lazed around on his broom. Then one of his muscles would cramp up on him, usually a forearm or adductor muscle, and he was forced to make his way inside; hobbling if the cramp was an adductor.
Still, it needed to be done. Everything he was putting himself through would be worth it in the end. The creation and destruction of wards was new to him and utterly fascinating. Fighting with a staff was fun to do because it didn't require the concentration like a wand did and instead relied solely on magical power. Healing was hard for him to properly grasp and he had a feeling it was because of his innate healing. Being sent on small missions to gather information from his fellow trainees and the instructors were a challenge.
He couldn't wait to put it all to the test. He was only on the first of December though. According to Russo's schedule, he would be training until the 30th of April and that was still five months away. Plenty of time to learn more. Plenty of time to be miserable as well...
"You will have thirty minutes of Mr. Potter's time. If you have a question for him, raise your hand and he will point you out. Once you're called on, state your name, the media outlet you work for and than ask your question."
As soon as the man finished speaking a bunch of hands shot up. Harry looked them all over, seeing Rita Skeeter sitting in the front. He ignored her and instead pointed at an overweight wizard. He knew the Nimbus company wanted the questions to pertain to the broom and the broom only. However, they were aware reporters were going to ask whatever questions they wanted. The company's public relation specialist had only asked that Harry mention the Nimbus: Lightning whenever he could.
"Orville Johnson, United Kingdom Quidditch Weekly. You went from playing seeker at school to switching over to Keeper in your fifth year, any specific reason?"
Harry scratched at the stubble on his chin. "I was bulking up too much. Your ideal seeker is slender and small, easier to turn sharply and accelerate. Me packing on the pounds slowed my acceleration down and made it so I can't turn as sharply as I used to. Look at most of the professional seekers out there. They weigh on average, what, one hundred and fifty pounds for males? When I entered my fifth year I was already ten pounds over that and gaining more every couple of weeks. I had the reaction time to be a keeper and it was the only other open spot on the team at that time."
"Wendy Penner, Brooms – N – Things. The Harry Potter Limited Edition Series of the Nimbus: Lightning is different in it's color scheme, and has your name etched on it, but is there anything else that sets it apart from the regular Lightning broomstick?"
"The no-hand control is better," Harry stated. "Being a keeper, you use your knees a lot more for steering while guarding the hoops, as you need your hands free to make the saves. It also has better side to side agility. Easier to make that quick acceleration to your right or left, again, to help with saves. The downgrade of that is a loss in it's acceleration. It still reaches the same top speed but it takes an extra second or two to get there."
Harry went to point to a wizard a row behind Rita but she stood up.
"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet. You left Hogwarts almost two years sooner than you should have and taken your NEWTs early. Rumors are running rampant Harry. Some say you've gotten a pureblood heiress pregnant and have run away with her. Others think you were recruited by You-Know-Who and are now his apprentice-"
"Ok," Harry said, interrupting Rita from continuing. "First off, I wasn't pointing at you Rita. Second, why are you even here for the Prophet? Shouldn't they have assigned one of their sports writers? Third, I'm here in regards to the Nimbus: Lightning, not for you to sell tabloids. Unless you have a question in regards to the broom, Quidditch or anything else involving brooms, please refrain yourself."
"Kyle Weaver, European Quidditch News. Scouts from Hogwarts school games indicated your skill at both seeker and keeper, and rumors from fellow Hogwarts students indicate your ability to play both chaser and beater at a high level during pick up games. If you were to go professional which position would you want to play? And if you had to, would you be a utility player?"
"Don't plan on going professional, at least not yet. There is a war brewing on the continent and I plan on joining the effort as soon as possible. If I did go professional, I guess I wouldn't mind any of the positions, though being a Chaser seems like it would be a blast. I could become a utility player if the team I joined needed me to be. And no, this response doesn't open up the floor for questions about anything other than the broom, Quidditch and other topics involving brooms."
"Betty Flores, Broom Digest. Have you ever thought about professional broom racing? Whether it be for the shorter races or long distance?"
"I've thought of it a few times when I first found out about it. One of the reasons I loved being a seeker was just racing through the air against another person, trying to beat them to the prize, and I imagine broom racing would give me a similar feeling. And the Nimbus: Lightning would definitely be a great broom to use in one of the races given it's acceleration and top speed being right up there with the Firebolt, but at this point, I can't see myself picking it up."
"Jasper Bagman, Quidditch Talk. What's your opinion on the United Kingdom National Team and how do you feel about members from Scotland and Wales requesting to have their own National team separate from England?"
"I think the United Kingdom is definitely going to be a dark horse this year. Not one of the favorites but we'll surprise everyone. Finwick is the best keeper we got, no offense to former Gryffindor captain, current Puddlemere keeper and good friend, Oliver Wood, and might be the best in the entire world. The Chasers aren't on the level of Ireland, but are solid overall. Jones doesn't need anything said about her, she's brilliant and Inglebee is no joke as well. Dougal McBride is good but I don't know how he'll match up against the other teams. I know they're in talks to make the Lightning their official broom, and that will definitely give them a bit of an edge of the other national teams who don't.
"As for Wales and Scotland having their own teams, well, as the head of the only Ancient and Noble House of Wales, I would definitely love if we had our own team, and I will say the same for Scotland. My only issue is, and I hope I don't offend too many of my fellow Welshman, we don't have many good players. Sure, we got Finwick in goal and Dai Llewellyn IV is a solid Chaser and a reserve for the United Kingdom team, but that might be the only two who could compete on an international level. Plus, without Finwick, the United Kingdom's chances for the World Cup plummet significantly. Again, no offense to former Gryffindor captain, current Puddlemere keeper and good friend, Oliver Wood."
Rita was all but jumping out of her seat and with a sigh, Harry pointed at her.
"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet. You don't seem to have much faith in Dougal McBride as our seeker. While head coach Dean Anderson admitted the team is pretty much set in stone at this moment, there is still room for change. Why don't you try out? Scouts have indicated from what they've seen your first three years that you have the talent to go pro."
"McBride is a better seeker than I am. I haven't played seeker in an official game in over two years. Plus there is a big gap between playing at Hogwarts and playing professionally that takes most players a season or two on the reserve team to overcome. I doubt I could jump straight from Hogwarts to the World Cup. Besides, as I mentioned earlier, I'm getting too big to play seeker; too much mass."
"Katie Bowen, The Babbling Bludger. Going off of the question earlier about a Wales National team. As the only Ancient and Noble house of Wales, is there a reason you haven't supported the push to let Wales form it's own team with the World Quidditch Association? And, as a follow up question, hypothetically speaking, if Wales was to be granted it's own team, would you try out for it? Especially after admitting only Finwik and Llewellyn IV are the only players worthy of playing on the international stage."
"To be honest, I've been extremely busy with a lot of other things to campaign for it. Other Welsh noble houses that I am on good terms with have made me aware of their backing of the cause and asked me to support it but with school work and all the additional training I've been undergoing, I hadn't much free time and find myself with even less now. As to if the Wales team was to be made and they were holding tryouts? Sure, why not. I would love to play professionally for the place of my birth. Obviously, Finwick would hold down the fort as keeper so I wouldn't be able to play there, but if I proved myself capable and worthy against my fellow Welshman at another position, I'd be down."
"Monty Shaft, Broomstick Review. How would you compare the Lightning to the Firebolt?"
"Great question! I've used both of the brooms, first the Firebolt and now the Lightning. I do have to say, the Firebolt has a little better acceleration but the Lightning has better handling and easier turning. No offense to the Firebolt, which is a hell of a broom itself, but I would definitely say the Lightning is the better option of the two, especially for Quidditch players. You might not have that initial burst you get with a Firebolt, but that really only helps if your in a dead race. All the swerving and dodging you have to do on the pitch will be easier to do with a Lightning between your legs."