Reaper Of The Wizarding World - Volume 1 Chapter 23 Quidditch Fiasco

Next week was the start of quidditch so Harry and I went to the Library to read books about the game. The more I read the less interested I became, it was quite the barbaric game really. The bludgers used to be enchanted rocks that would chase players and it wasn’t too uncommon that it would kill them.

The golden snitch used to be a small adorable bird called a Golden Snidget. It’s a small fat bird with wings that let it move 360 degrees easily, they would kill the bird in almost every single game they played leading to them almost becoming extinct.

Even in the modern age, there were still some deaths caused by the game, mostly from people falling off brooms. But the bludgers were usually the cause of the fall, which makes sense because that’s their job.

Quidditch was played with seven people, three chasers, two beaters, one keeper, and one seeker. There are four balls in play, a Quaffle, which is a ball similar to a rugby ball made of leather; that you have to get from the other team and throw through a hoop on the other side, each goal would net you 10 points.

It is the job of the three chasers to fight over the Quaffle and wrestle it from the other team bringing it to the other team’s hoops. Two balls were Bludgers, they were iron balls magically enchanted to chase players and knock them off their brooms. It is the beaters jobs to protect their team from the balls with their bats.

Then there is the golden snitch, a small enchanted golden ball meant to run away from players. This is the end all be all of the game. Catching the Golden Snitch would net your team 150 points and end the game. The game would not end until the snitch was caught leading to games that would last days and in 1 case, weeks.

I notice Harry is getting more and more excited about the upcoming game the more we read. I guess to each their own. If someone wants to put their life on the line over a dumb game with literally no value whatsoever so be it. I’m honestly not sure If I can die while in my human form, and to be completely honest I don’t wanna try.

——–

On game day I see Harry off with Hermione and Ron and we head into the stands together. Neville is sitting with Dean and Seamus, I’m glad he has some friends other than me Seanus is kind of an annoying brat but Dean is a good guy. The stands are really high up around 20 meters and surrounded the quidditch field, which looks like an oval shaped football field soccer field? The players are standing around the middle with a box in the center, the referee standing next to it.

The referee, Madam Hooch, kicks the box releasing the snitch and bludgers. She grabs the Quaffle and tosses it in the air while blowing her whistle. As she does all the players jump and their brooms and take off.

The game is rather boring since I’m only here to make sure Harry doesn’t get killed by a rogue bludger. Harry just sat in the air near the center looking around trying to find the snitch, honestly, the job of the seeker seems over glorified.

I hear a voice coming from the stairs “Move along.”

“Hagrid!” Hermione and Ron greet him and make room for him to sit, I just give a smile and nod as a hello.

“Bin watchin from me hut.” He says patting his binoculars. “But it ain’t the same.”

Ron nods “But Harry hasn’t done much yet.”

“Not gettin hurt that’s somethin’,” Hagrid says.

I nod in agreement “Indeed”.

The snitch flew past the chaser in possession of the Quaffle causing him to drop it. Harry saw the snitch pass him and immediately took off after it. He was close to grabbing the Snitch when the Slytherin seeker caught up to him and rammed him nearly causing him to fall off his broom.

This earned a foul but saved them from losing the game. The entire Gryffindor crowd was in an uproar about the intentional foul and I had added Marus Flint to the list of people to punish.

“Should have given him a red card!” Dean says

I nod in agreement but Ron speaks up “What’s a red card?” Ron asks. I forgot he doesn’t know much about muggles.

“It’s a penalty from a muggle game called football,” Hermione explains.

Ron nods in understanding “But this isn’t football, Dean.”

Hagrid still seems upset “They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda killed Harry ther’.”

Even the announcer was being biased.

After Gryffindor scored on the penalty shot the game continued with Harry chasing the snitch. The Slytherin beaters trying to hit him off the broom with the bludgers. As Harry got high into the air about to catch the snitch his broom jerked back and started jerking back and forth as if trying to throw him off.

It was being jinxed, it is exactly what Sid liked to do in his spare time at Quidditch matches. But Sid would just hold them still and let bludgers burst their heads like watermelons. Sid never wrote down the counter to the jinx though, I mean why would he?

‘I have to find who’s doing it’ I think to myself.

“Harry seems to have lost control of his broom” Hagrid points out looking through his binoculars.

I grabbed Hargrids binoculars and started looking in the Slytherin stands I noticed Snape is chanting something while staring at Harry. I also notice Quirrell who is standing next to snape is also staring at Harry without blinking, I’m suspicious of Quirrell as well so I have to get both of them to look away from Harry.

“Did something happen to his broom?” Seamus asked.

“Couldnt’ve, it would take some powerful dark magic to jinx a broom that good, no child could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand,” Hagrid says, honestly being insightful.

I put my hand on Ron and Hermione’s shoulders “I will be right back, be ready to cast a levitation spell on Harry if he actually falls. It’s better to break the rules and keep him alive than to have him die for such a dumb game.”

Ron and Hermione nod, Hemione even pulling out her wand.

I head down the stairs into the rafters making sure no one is around. When I see the coast is clear I jump down catching myself with my cloak. I run over to the Slytherin stands and as soon as I’m hidden in the tarp that covers the stands I make sure no one is around. Then I shroud myself coving up in my black misty cloak, I leap off the ground flying straight into the stand rafters. As I am about to hit the bottom of the stands I stop and shift into my dementor form and the world around me changes.

I see the souls of all the people around me through the walls as well as their vague images but something shocks me. The souls of Quirrell is different than the last time I saw it, it is no longer all throughout grey. It has a dark black section like a serious trauma has happened to him recently did the vampires really hurt him that bad? But it also has a dark blob attached to it just like Harry’s does, but this one is a bit bigger almost half the size of Quirrell’s soul.

‘I don’t have time to dwell on it’ I fly directly under where Snape and Quirrell were sitting and slowly put my hand through the floor of the stands. I grip a leg of Quirrell and Snape and squeeze as hard as I can until I feel a snap. I hear Snape yell and Quirrell squeals like a pig so I quickly retract my hand and shift back to human form carrying myself in my misty black cloak. If I get caught It will be easier to explain I can fly than to say ‘I am an anti-animagus whose real form is a dementor’.

I fly down to the bottom of the stairs and calmly walk back to the Gryffindor stands. When I arrive back to the top I head to Rona, Hermione, and Hagrid.

“So how is Harry doing?” I ask Hermione and Ron who both look surprised I’m back so fast.

“He is better now, he’s gettin’ control again,” Hagrid replies.

Hermione quickly stands up grabbing my arm pulling me off the stairs.

“What did you do to Snape?” She looks concerned

“Nothing… just made sure he would remember that he shouldn’t be jinxing children,” I look away not meeting her eyes.

“Then what about Quirrell?” she looks a bit angry.

“He was acting suspiciously too so I had to make sure” I check her face for a second but she looks even angrier at my response. I quickly look away again and try to change the subject.

“So Harry is doing pretty well huh?” I say with an awkward smile.

She sighs with an exhausted look “Yeah, let’s go watch I guess.”

I let out a sigh of relief but as I do I hear her speak up “Still mad at you though.” she doesn’t even look back when she speaks.

As we stepped out to see the field again Harry was nearly a hundred feet in the air racing straight at the ground chasing the snitch. Slytherins Seeker was right next to Harry trying to bump him off course as they quickly approached the ground. Hermione, Ron and I run to the front of the stands to look down at the ground to see better. Slytherins seeker pulls up when he is merely 3 meters off the ground while Harry is still going down.

Only a mere a meter off the ground Harry pulls up nearly crashing his broom into the ground, he jumps on the back end while yanking on the front. He is standing on the broom reaching for the snitch balancing on the thin piece of wood. He jumps forward off of his broom and it looks like he lands on top of the snitch.

Harry gets up but doesn’t seem like he is carrying the snitch but is retching like he is about to vomit. But instead, he coughs up the snitch and holds it high.

“I’VE GOT THE SNITCH” he yells.

The crowd bursts into cheers, even I cheered influenced by the large crowd surrounding me.

After the game, we all went to Hagrid hut for tea.

“It was Snape! Hermione and I saw him cursing your broomstick. He was muttering a jinx without breaking eye contact.” Ron was nearly yelling.

Hagrid looked uncomfortable about the accusation “An why in the blazes would he do somethin’ like that?”

Harry spoke up finally “He tried to get past that three-headed dog during Hallowe’en. It bit him. I think he was trying to steal something.”

Hagrid dropped his tea “How did you know about fluffy.”

“Fluffy? Damn thing nearly bit my head off.” I speak up.

“Well, he is mine, bought him from a Greek gentleman I met in the pub las’ year. I let Dumbledore use him to defend the s-”

“Yes?” Harry was insistent

“Don’t ask anymore, and stay away from that room, it is top secret.” Hagrid said

“But Snape is trying to steal it.”

“Or Quirrell,” I say causing Hermione to roll her eyes and everyone to look at me funny.

“Rubbish, they are both Hogwarts teachers and would never do nuttin’ of the sort.”

“So why did he try and kill Harry then? I know what a jinx is when I see one Hagrid. His eyes never left Harry and he was chanting the entire time.I’ve read about them in the library to prepare for Defense Against The Dark Arts.” Hermione spoke up.

“An’ I’m tellin’ you yer wrong. I don’t know why Harry’s broom was acting up but Snape wouldn’t try to kill a student like that. Now listen to me, all of yeh, yer meddlin’ in things that don’t concern yeh. Forget about that dog, and’ forget what it’s Guarden. That is between Professor Dumbledore an Nicolas Flamel.dammit” Hagrid ranted

“The Nicolas Flamel?!” I speak up

“Oh no, I shouldn’ta told you that, I really shouldn’ta told yeh that.” Hagrid looks mad at himself.

“Who is Nicolas Flamel?” Ron and Harry look confused… So does Hermione?

“Hermione we read about him last week, how did you forget?” She looks embarrassed as I mention it.

“So who is he?” Harry asks

“He is the first man to ever obtain true immortality. But at a nasty cost, he is basically no different from a walking corpse. He created the Philosophers stone which can do many things but the most impressive is creating an immortality potion.” Hermione answers.

Hagrid looks pale, “You guys shouldn’t know about that”

“So that’s what the dog is guarding?” Ron spoke up.

“I did it again.,” Hagrid said hitting his head even angrier at himself.

“Even if one wanted to steal it they couldn’t not with Dumbledore here, he is the strongest wizard in the world. Even stronger than You-Know-Who.” Harid added

At this, we all nodded. With Dumbledore here, there is no way someone could take the stone.

“I can tell Dumbledore,” I tell them all.

They nod, they know I’ve spoken to him before and he seems to favor me so I’m sure he will listen to me.

“Let’s head back we don’t wanna be in past curfew,” I say

Hermione looks at the clock and see’s there are only 5 minutes till curfew and we all started running. But I could hear a sigh of relief come out of Hagrid before we left.