The Story of The First Forest

Adulting

I sighed as I stood in the Weasley's living room wiping the tears from my eyes. Percy stood awkwardly. I hadn't spoken to him my entire time here. He was up in his room the whole time. Fred and George were hugging me probably planting a prank product but I couldn't care. I just hugged them back as Ginny looked teary-eyed with her mother. Ron just hugged me after his brothers and said he'd make sure Mom was getting all the news so I'd know about his first year. I smiled and breathed out deeply. I flooed to the airport. I landed in the back room. Wiping myself off I stepped out of the room and frowned at the loud and crowded airport. All I could do was sigh and get on the plane.

——————

Mr. Smith and I walked out to the field. I looked around and nodded.

"Well?" He asked. I looked at the open area.

"This is definitely enough room," I said. We always had our meetings outside. School would start in two weeks and Mr. Smith was determined to have a Quidditch Pitch. "It should be the full size of a field. As far as age, I don't think six, seventh, or eighth graders should be able to play. They can try out and train with teams at eighth though," Mr. Smith wrote it down in his notebook. He started taking notes when I spoke so he didn't have to ask for clarification.

"What about teams?" He asked. I looked up.

"Well, teams by house obviously. Flying classes start at sixth, right?" I asked. He nodded. I put a finger to my chin. "That's good but no open access to brooms?" He nodded.

"You need permission to use a broom and that requires a checkout process," I looked around.

"Why not let students bring their own brooms? They can use them for competitions and training. Then the school isn't held responsible as well," he wrote that down.

"Good idea," he muttered. I waved my wand and a nearby tree shed its bark, branches, and leaves. I swished it again and it cut off. I lifted it and brought it to the side of the field. I planted it in firmly, casting a few safety charms. Mr. Smith copied me and soon we had the wooden polls set.

"We may have to order the rings," I said. He waved his hand and then his wand. The six tree roots transfigured into large rings. He levitated all of them at once to the polls. I recast the protection charms to hold them. I nodded and held out my hand. My new Nimbus 2000 rushed to me. I flew up happily to investigate the hoops. Mr. Smith headed to the other side.

After the two weeks, Mr. Smith and I built an impressive Quidditch field one that might have rivaled Hogwarts. Soon I would have my first Quidditch lesson, I already had many signed up from each age group and a notice about broom was released to all enrolled. Josh and Trish agreed to visit to help me demonstrate the game. I couldn't wait, I was so excited I almost didn't miss home.

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"Welcome to Quidditch class," I said to a group of seventh years. They sat watching me as I stood on the edge of the stands. They all looked at me with either eagerness or disrespect. "Today we'll be going over the game and then scrimmaging. Those who want to be Captains or on your official house teams will be chosen by the end of the week," I said. A boy raised his hand, I recognized him from the previous year. Max. "What's up Max,"

"How the heck are you qualified for this?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"I have many qualifications but if you have any issues you can talk to Mr. Smith or the headmistress," he rolled his eyes.

"Alright then, who of you know the game?" Only a few raised their hands. I nodded. "That's alright, I have two familiar faces for y'all," Josh and Trish walked up the stairs with their brooms. Pax and Tyler cheered the loudest as they took off. 

"Okay okay, so you all learned how to ride a broom but that's only the first step. Let's talk about the game, there's a max of seven players on the team. Three chasers, two beaters, a keeper, and a seeker. In my years at Hogwarts, a renowned wizarding school in England known for its Quidditch, I was a Chaser for the Slytherin house," someone raised their hand. "Shoot,"

"What's a Slytherin?" I sighed.

"It's a person who values ambition and determination. They're also very clever people, known for getting the job done no matter what," they nodded silently. 

"Now, each player is important so let's talk about their purpose. Three chasers," I opened my box and picked up the quaffle. I threw it in the air and Josh caught it, taking off with Trish. They flew behind me as I explained. "Their job is to throw this ball the quaffle threw the other team's hoops. By doing so each time will earn their team 10 points," those who knew all rolled their eyes. "That leads us to the keeper, the keeper protects the hoops from the other team's chasers," they nodded again.

"So there's only one quaffle?" I nodded.

"Yes. Next two beaters," I sighed and turned. Josh threw the quaffle and I caught it with ease. I sighed again and handed Josh and Trish each a bat. "These are bluggers. I'll only release one but usually, there'll be two," I unclipped it and it took off flying to Trish who smacked at Josh, who just fired back. "A blugger is trying to hit you off your broom. The beater's job is to protect their teammates," I explained. They seemed to be getting it, watching Josh and Trish hit it back and forth.

"What's the seeker?" Paisley asked. I pointed to her.

"One second," I turned around and waved. Trish smiled and smacked the blugger at me. It rushed my way. I readied myself and carried my momentum as I caught it. It knocked the wind out of me and I shoved it back. I took a minute to breath. 

"Okay, the seeker is the game changer. They have to catch this," I opened the Hogwarts crest and picked up the snitch. "Almost impossible to see but that the seeker's job. Their job is the catch this. It can take ages. Once the snitch is caught the game ends and the team who caught it gets 130 points," I put it back.

"Hey, aren't we gonna play?" I nodded.

"We will but the snitch can take hours to find and I only have an hour to teach," I check my watch. "We have 45 minutes to scrimmage," I said. They nodded as I mounted my broom. "I want Horned Serpents and Thunderbirds on the left and Wampus and Pukwudgy on the right," they followed my introductions and I took off last. I had Trish and Josh give everyone a roll. We had a few extra seekers and beaters than I would have liked. 

I released everything but the snitch and let it play out. Teaching them strategies and tactics to win was the best. I also matched each house to a color for uniforms and merch. A few students from each house stood out. Ty from Horned Serpent would make a great captain. Yasmine and Ryan from Pukwudgy were good too. I wrote their names in my book smiling.

——————

"Welcome to the first Official Quidditch game in Ilvamory history!" I said happily from the ground. Attached to my face was an amplifier so I could be heard. "Pukwudgy vs. Wampus! I want a clean game players, now..." I waited ready to throw the quaffle. 

"Quidditch!" I yelled and threw the quaffle. I magically released the other balls and took to the sky. There were colors for each team, which meant a color for each house. The headmistress said school uniforms would remain the same to which I agreed but everyone was given to option for a scarf or shirt that related to their house and Quidditch team. Mr. Smith, Mrs. Isabelle, and Mr. John watched me proudly. I sped around watching for fowls. Lillian who was keeping points smiled as Pukwudgy scored. It was brilliant. I was proud of what I'd built.