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Chapter 21: Visiting Quidditch Practice
Chapter 21: Visiting Quidditch Practice
After comforting Hermione, the two of them read for a while before saying goodnight and heading to their respective bedrooms to sleep.
The next morning, during breakfast, Hermione sat next to Liam and gossiped about what that thing could be.
"Either it's extremely valuable, or it's extremely dangerous", Hermione said, recapping her analysis from the night before while lying in bed.
"Or both", Liam chimed in, swallowing a mouthful of cereal (he still wasn't used to the bacon; why did British people eat such greasy food for breakfast?).
However, without any additional information, not even the size of the object, these speculations were clearly futile.
...
In the following days, Liam resumed his daily routine of attending classes during the day. In his free time, he either read books with Hermione in the Library or completed homework with his classmates in the Common Room. However, the thrill of the previous night's adventure was too intense, so he decided to skip the next few night excursions.
During one of his wanderings, Liam secretly poured the acid from tombstone moss onto a corner of Hogwarts Castle's outer wall.
He found that the acid, which could quickly corrode a marble door-sized slab, had no effect on Hogwarts' stone walls. The rumor from his past life that every inch of Hogwarts was protected by powerful protective charms might be true. It seemed that Hogwarts Castle was far more complex than described in the books. So, for now, he decided to play it safe.
By the following Wednesday, Liam decided to venture out of the castle.
The Scottish Highlands, where Hogwarts was located, saw almost no sun as winter approached, and it often rained. Even though the House-Elves kept the fireplaces blazing, he felt like he was starting to grow mold from being cooped up inside all day.
So, even though the sun had already set after dinner, Liam decided to go outside and breathe some fresh air, now that he had finished his homework.
He invited Hermione to join him, but she declined (I still have a pile of Transfiguration materials to look up, and I have Astronomy tonight.), giving him a look of genuine disapproval. Liam shrugged and decided to go out alone.
Since it was a Wednesday afternoon, he decided to visit the Quidditch pitch to watch the house team practice.
After all, he had been in the magical world for quite some time, yet he had never seen the most popular sport in the Wizarding world in action.
Upon arriving at the pitch, he noticed that it was a massive structure made of wood and colorful fabric. At each end of the pitch, there were three Golden Hoops, each topped with a ring, resembling the small plastic sticks used to blow soap bubbles, only each one was fifty feet tall.
The stands, which circled the pitch, were filled with hundreds of high chairs, with a few scattered students sitting there. Glancing around, Liam spotted Ron's red hair.
It was good to see a familiar face. Liam climbed up to the stands and sat next to Ron.
"Hey, what brings you out here today?" Ron asked, a bit surprised. Liam had organized study sessions in the Common Room, so he was well-liked, and his relationship with Ron was decent.
"I just needed to get out and stretch my legs", Liam replied, then turned his attention to the players flying around the pitch. "I don't know anything about Quidditch. Can you tell me about it?"
Ron looked a bit excited. He was often overlooked, being the youngest son with a younger sister and overshadowed by Harry Potter's Chosen One status. He craved recognition from others.
"Quidditch is the most popular sport in the Wizarding world", Ron cleared his throat and began. "The rules are easy to understand, though playing is another matter. Each team has seven players, including three Chasers."
Ron pointed to the players on the field, who were vying for a ball the size of a football, which was a vivid shade of red. "Look, those are the Chasers. The ball they’re holding is called the Quaffle."
Then he pointed to the golden hoops on the field and said to Liam, "The Chasers pass the Quaffle to each other, trying to get it through any one of the three hoops below. Each time the Quaffle goes through a hoop, they score ten points."
"Of course, each team also has a Keeper, who tries to stop the opposing team’s Chasers from scoring by throwing the Quaffle into their own hoops. Our team’s Keeper is also our captain, Wood."
"Three Chasers, one Keeper—what about the others?"
"Look, there are two balls flying around on their own."
Liam saw two black balls, slightly smaller than basketballs, zipping through the air, trying to knock everyone off their broomsticks. However, the Weasley Twins each held a bat similar to a baseball bat, constantly hitting the balls away (Liam could tell they were the Weasley Twins by their striking red hair).
"These two are Bludgers. They zoom around, trying to knock players off their broomsticks." Ron puffed out his chest with pride. "But my twin brothers are the best Beaters. They protect our players from the Bludgers and hit them towards the opposing team’s players."
Liam listened to the loud thuds of the bats hitting the Bludgers and asked a bit worriedly, "This game really doesn’t kill anyone, does it?"
Ron scratched his head. "At least not at Hogwarts. The worst that’s happened is someone’s jaw getting broken."
That still sounded pretty dangerous, Liam thought to himself.
"Finally, there’s the Seeker. In an official match, there’s a small, winged golden ball smaller than Neville’s Remembrall, called the Golden Snitch. It flies incredibly fast. The Seeker’s job is to weave through the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle, trying to catch the Snitch before the other team’s Seeker does. If a team’s Seeker catches the Golden Snitch, they earn an additional one hundred and fifty points, pretty much securing their victory."
Watching the players zoom around, Liam felt that this sport was far more thrilling than basketball or football. Given that the Wizarding World had few entertainment options, it was no wonder Quidditch was the most popular sport in the entire Wizarding community.
Seeing Liam’s interest in Quidditch, Ron, brimming with the joy of successfully introducing the sport, began to enthusiastically explain the players’ moves, interspersing famous Quidditch teams and historical anecdotes about the sport.
It seemed Ron was quite knowledgeable, though his talents were often overshadowed by those around him.
Suddenly, Liam spotted a small, slender figure flying at high speed on a broomstick across the field.
"Is that Harry Potter?"
Ron looked in the direction Liam was pointing. "Yeah, he’s the new Seeker. Don’t tell anyone else. He’s our secret weapon this year."
"What about the other teams? I heard two Hufflepuffs talking about Harry in the bathroom yesterday after class."
"What do we do?" Ron looked a bit nervous.
"Don’t worry. From what I overheard, they don’t believe Harry can fly at all", Liam said with a smile.
Time passed as they chatted, and eventually, it grew completely dark. After waiting for Harry to change, Liam and Ron headed back to the dorm to grab their textbooks before going to the Astronomy Tower for their class.
(End of Chapter)
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