| Jarvey
Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Oceanic Flight 815
Posts: 558
| 
Hey! Hope you enjoy Quidditch!! :sam:
Chapter 17
That morning, I woke up, fantasized to believe that I’d be learning the sport of Quidditch. I had told Tonks of the event the night before, and she said she would come for moral support. But she said she would bring a friend, in case she got bored. I could personally understand that, and I made for the Quidditch field without her.
Thank Gandalf Bill had told me beforehand where the field was. I would’ve gone in the opposite direction if I hadn’t known.
When I had finally reached the field, Charlie was there, fiddling with a box. As I got closer to him, I realized his face was bright red, and I could see he was trying to keep his cool.
I then turned out to the stands, and I could see why. Tonks was sitting out there, with Jen. Of all of Tonks’ friends, she had to bring Jen! I loved Jen, but Charlie would be in no state to teach me anything.
Tonks and Jen waved to me and I waved back. When Charlie finally lifted his head, he said, “Okay, let’s get started.”
I stood there, ready for anything. “Here,” he said as he handed me a broom. “You’ll need this.”
I looked at it. It was old and several of the twigs at the end of it were at odd angles. And even this pathetic broom I was pretty positive that neither Charlie nor I could afford. “How’d you get this?” I just had to ask.
Charlie looked rather sheepish. He then showed me a key. “Bill’s keeper for the Gryffindor team. We needed brooms, so I just thought it would be best if I… borrowed it.”
Half of me wanted to give him a rant on right and wrong; but the other half was urged to just keep my mouth shut so I could fly. The latter half succeeded.
“Anyway,” Charlie continued. “Let’s start with flying. Command your broom to fly.”
I stared at him. How was I supposed to do that?
Realizing I had no idea what he was talking about, he said, “Here, let me show you.”
At that moment he dropped his broom and then immediately said, “Up!” It followed orders ASAP.
I copied the motions. However, it took me about ten times of my repeating myself to get my broom to actually fly.
“Good,” commented Charlie. “Now get on the broom, like so…”
Charlie demonstrated. I copied. “Now, fly!” With that last sentence, Charlie shot up like a bullet, laughing with glee.
“Come on Bandy!” I sat on my broom unsteadily. Was I ready for this?
Timidly, I pushed my foot off the ground, and before I knew it, I was off.
This was amazing! I felt like a giant eagle, soaring over the universe. Nothing could reach me up here. Nothing. I let my wings out and touched the clouds, and I laughed. I hadn’t laughed like that in a long time. It was, well, magical.
My moment was broken, however, when Charlie screamed, “Oi, Bandy! You should probably come down maybe just a little bit!” I fell down to their level, and Charlie was beaming. “How’d it feel?”
“Magical,” I answered grinning straight back.
“It always does,” he replied. “Now stay up here, and I’ll get the balls for the game.”
I then flew over to Tonks and Jen in the stands as Charlie dismounted.
As soon as I came within a few feet from them, Tonks yelled, “That was brilliant Bandy!”
“That was some flying work Bandy,” Jen put in. “I haven’t seen anything like it.”
“What about Charlie’s flying?” I asked her. “He’s probably better than I am.”
She went scarlet, and stayed silent. “Come on Bandy!” Charlie yelled from the other side of the field. “I want to introduce you to the Quaffle!”
So, as soon as I flew over to Charlie, I was lost in the world of Chasers, snitches, and Seekers. As I caught a golf ball that Charlie threw at me with all his might he exclaimed, “Blimey! Next year, after I make Seeker for Gryffindor, I might have to beat you!”
I smiled at this, and I could just hear both Tonks and Jen giggling. I turned to them. They were both chattering animatedly like girls usually do. I wondered what they talked about when boys weren’t around.
“Now,” Charlie said. “It is time to bring out the snitch, and let me tell you something. I’m not going to go easy on you. I’m going fight hard with you to catch it, understand?”
I nodded, and I gripped harder on the handle of my broom. I must say, I was probably too small for the broom, but I didn’t mind. That meant there was more room between me and the end it.
He flew down, and let the snitch out of the box. It flew around, its golden wings glittering in the sunlight. “Wait fifteen seconds!” cried Charlie from below as he mounted his broom. When he came to me he said, “Ready, set, GO!”
And we both shot off towards the Snitch. I kept my eyes open, waiting for it to reappear. Charlie was doing the same. We were both watching. Watching. Waiting.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, I saw it reappear.
I looked at Charlie. He hadn’t noticed it yet! Eureka! I took off with all the speed I could muster, slowly accelerating. I had my hand outstretched, and I had my eyes focused on the golden ball yards ahead of me.
Behind me, I heard Charlie scream, “You’re going too far Bandy! Get back on the field!”
But I didn’t care. I needed to get that Snitch, even if it killed me. I was so focused that I didn’t even notice the Forbidden Forest flying under me. I could now just make out the detailed markings on the miraculous golden ball. I could felt the wind from the metallic winds tickle my hand as I moved closer.
But just as my fingers closed around it, everything went cold.
I felt frozen in mid-air. I could see my breath in front of me. Even though all of my nerves fought against it, I looked down, and to my dismay, came up a black hooded figure. It was as if it popped straight out of that textbook. Or worse; my nightmares.
But it went passed me, and went right to the Quidditch field. Shocked, I hung in the air on my broom for what seemed like moonless days. The Ringwraith (or dementor as you might know it) was about halfway to the field when I came back to it.
As fast as I could on the second-hand school broom, I soared toward the field, hoping to surpass the dark being.
But the broom couldn’t succeed for me, so I soon trailed behind, and by the time I reached the Quidditch field, it was hovering over Tonks grabbing for her hand.
Immediately, I shot across the field, and I could see that Charlie had the same idea. We were going to ram straight into this creature, before it hurt our friend. Jen was trying to ward the being off, but it didn’t even seem to notice her.
Tonks was shrieking, and I’m sure she was on the verge of fainting.
Eventually, Charlie and I were feet apart, the dementor in the center of us. Of course, however, it didn’t seem to cross our first year minds to realize that a floating figure might just so happen to be transparent. As soon as we seemed to have hit it, we collided. The dementor I don’t think even realized what we intended.
As I fell to what seemed to be my doom, I could see the dementor coming closer to Tonks, Jen trying to slap it, it seemed, and Charlie fall simultaneously next to me. And then even before I hit the ground, I was out like a light. |