Capítulo 50: Quidditch
As November began, the weather turned bitterly cold. The mountains near the school turned an icy gray, and the lake looked like frozen steel.
Officially, the quidditch season had begun. This Saturday, the Gryffindor team would play their first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.
The Gryffindor captain, William had increased the intensity of training this week, as it was the most crucial week, or so he said. Even though James, wasn't allowed to play, he had to keep up with the team members, something that was very tiring for him, as his physical condition was inferior to theirs.
"Hey mate, we have to go to Astronomy class," Sirius said, looking at James, who was slumped on his bed with his eyes closed.
Astronomy classes are every Wednesday at midnight as they have to study the night sky through their telescopes. To James' bad luck a few hours ago he had his quidditch practice and felt his whole body sore.
"I don't wanna..." said James wearily as he pulled the pillow over his face.
Sirius and Lupin looked at each other, they had to forcibly force James to get up to go to class so they wouldn't be late.
Astronomy classes are held on the top level of the Astronomy Tower. The tallest tower in Hogwarts Castle. James walked lazily feeling burning in his muscles, 'That damn William,' he complained in his mind, as the captain was making him follow the more advanced team members.
After star gazing for over an hour and the teacher explaining their names, finally the class was over. James was able to go back to his dorm and went to sleep without saying a word.
On Thursday he was able to rest his muscles, but not his mind in classes where the teachers did not tire of giving him homework. Fortunately on Friday, as it was the day before the game, William did not want to fatigue the team members with too much training, and it was a training with more tactical talk and about 30 minutes of practice.
The next morning dawned bright and cold. The large dining hall was awash with the delicious aroma of fried sausages and the cheerful conversations of everyone, who was looking forward to a good quidditch match.
James was in a good mood, unlike the other days when he was very tired and grumpy.
"Ravenclaw is the last champion. Are you confident of beating them?" asked Sirius as he looked at James and ate his toast.
"A lot of the guys who won the cup last year with Ravenclaw, were seventh years, and now the team had a very big turnover, so they don't have as much experience. However, if they are going to have the confidence of being the last champions. I think it will be feasible to beat them," answered James, who knew all this thanks to William and his tactical talks.
By eleven o'clock in the morning, the whole school seemed to be gathered around the quidditch pitch. James as a prop, had the luxury of being in the changing room with the team and was able to listen to William's pre-match motivational talk.
When the team came out, James made his way to one of the seats next to Sirius and the others. Instructor Hooch was the referee. The Ravenclaw captain was new, and in the fifth year, you could tell he was very nervous, as they had to defend the title, and most of the team were either new players or inexperienced substitutes.
Hooch gave a long whistle with her dish whistle, and fifteen brooms rose high in the air. The match had begun. The commentator who belonged to Hufflepuff House started with his account and was very impartial, taking his job seriously.
"The Ravenclaw captain took the quaffle, and there he goes... he's about to... no, William the Gryffindor keeper and captain, manages to save the shot, and Gryffindor gets the quaffle back,"
"GRYFFINDOR GOAL!" he exclaimed, and the screams from the stands where all the Gryffindor students stood erupted in applause and cheers. James watched with excitement and applauded as well. He was more nervous than he thought. He was looking forward to being on the pitch with his teammates that he had met and got closer to this last time.
'I want to play...' thought James with some jealousy as he watched them fly.
The match continued, and William's reading was correct. The Gryffindor team had a clear advantage against the new Ravenclaw players. The scoreboard made it clear: GRYFFINDOR 50 - RAVENCLAW 0.
"Who knew it would be such a one-sided game! Gryffindor is crushing the last champion!" the commentator exclaimed excitedly. The Ravenclaw stand was silent and with elongated faces. They didn't expect their team to be so bad. They were confident since they were the last champions, but they were getting beaten.
On the other hand, the Gryffindor stand was the opposite, cheers, applause, and lots of laughter, everyone thought this was their year. Professor McGonagall also had a faint smile rarely seen on her face.
When the score was 70-20 in favor of Gryffindor, the golden snitch finally appeared. Both Alex and the other Ravenclaw seeker saw it and sped towards it.
The bad thing for Ravenclaw was that the seeker did not see that a black ball was heading towards him at full speed aiming at his back. It was a Bludger, the Ravenclaw beaters didn't have enough time to go to protect him, as he had gone too far away to look for the snitch.
PAM!
A bang echoed throughout the stadium, and the Ravenclaw seeker was hit. Luckily the Bludger didn't knock him off his broom, but it did cause a lot of damage to his shoulder, allowing Alex to take the lead and grab the snitch.
"Well done, Gideon!" shouted William, looking at the beater with a smile.
With a big smile, Alex raised his fist, and the entire stadium went silent until Alex exclaimed, "I got the snitch!" The entire stadium exploded in applause except for the Ravenclaw and Slytherin, who looked on with disdain at everyone.
Hooch called the match to an end. Gryffindor won by 220 points to 20, a crushing defeat and one of the biggest defeats in Ravenclaw's history.
With this great result, Gryffindor was first in the standings and Ravenclaw second, although this is because Slytherin and Hufflepuff still did not play their match. They would do it on Saturday of the following week.
It was almost impossible for Ravenclaw to keep the second position. They would most likely finish at the bottom of the table. That day in the Gryffindor common room there was a big party in the evening.
None of the marauders felt like doing their homework, and they partied all day. Even Toby usually wants to do homework so he doesn't get left behind.
The following Saturday came and the Slytherin vs Hufflepuff match was played. To the bitterness of all Gryffindor, the snakes won with a score in favor of 180 to 80. However, they still had the lead and remained first.
After the first day was over, the scoreboard was like this:
[Gryffindor: 220
Slytherin: 180
Hufflepuff: 80
Ravenclaw: 20]
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