Rise of Legends

Chapter 2

During the WFA's inaugural game, the Hogwarts Hurricanes faced off against the Raleigh Arcane Ravens. The Hurricanes had traveled a long way to reach Raleigh, North Carolina, where the sprawling campus of Raleigh Arcane, also known as Arcane, was nestled in the woods just outside downtown. Arcane's home ground, Arcane Heights, stood as an imposing structure with towering spires and sharp edges, a true brutalist architectural marvel providing a tranquil setting that perfectly complemented the crisp fall air and a picturesque view of the city.

As the Hogwarts team bus arrived at the stadium, they were greeted by a swarm of cameras. They made their way to the locker room, feeling the weight of expectation hanging in the air. It was time to demonstrate their skill on the field and kick off a new era of youth football.

Meanwhile, across the hall in the Raven's locker room, the players displayed a more cheerful spirit, eager to kick off the season and unwilling to let the pressure of playing against the preseason favorites to win the league weigh them down. However, as game time neared, a growing sense of apprehension filled the air. The game would be broadcast worldwide, marking the first time any of them would appear on television. Many worried about how they would look or if they would make an embarrassing mistake. The Ravens donned their home kit for the very first time, consisting of a black shirt with red trim, red shorts, and red socks. As the teams lined up in the tunnel, there was a lingering sense of tension. They made their way onto the field where they lined up near the midfield circle for "The Star-Spangled Banner" to play proceeded by "Flower of Scotland". The teams lined up in their respective formations, the Ravens in a 3-4-3 and the Hurricanes in a 4-3-3.

The game remained a tense 0-0 deadlock through the first 30 minutes. The "Duke of Hazard" failed to live up to his nickname, as he was effectively marked by the Ravens' captain, Ava Caldwell. Hermione Granger struggled to pass to him, and when she did, Caldwell's tight defense prevented him from making any meaningful impact. The game's first real opportunity arose in the 40th minute when the Ravens launched a counter-attack. Wingback Amelia Drake surged down the right flank and delivered a pinpoint cross to striker Eli Thompson in the box. However, just as Thompson seemed poised for a header, Aurora Vane intervened, clearing the ball to the top of the box and thwarting the scoring chance. As the first half drew to a close, both teams were left unsatisfied with their performance.

The Hurricanes' coach took a very stern approach in his halftime talk his voice nearing on yelling many times throughout while putting particular stress on "playing to our standard!" It seemed to be effective as the players were motivated to put on a better showing in the second half.

Across the hall, the Ravens were taking a beating from their own coach. "Utterly displeased" with his team's performance he barely kept his voice below a shout. He told the team he needed them to play like the deserved to be on the same pitch with Hurricanes. The Ravens players seemed dejected by the assault of words being hurled at them but it appeared to give them something to use as motivation when they got back out on the pitch.

The Hurricanes kicked off the second half with a bang going up 1-nil in the 47th minute via a header from striker Katie Bell who was completely unmarked on the end of a cross from Howe. The Ravens' coach threw his water bottle down on the ground and shouted "Play like you want to be here! Show pride for the badge!" This appeared to give the Ravens an extra gear as they equalized with a screamer from outside the box in the 50th minute. From that point on the game remained a tight back-and-forth affair. As the game drew closer to the 90th minute it seemed like all the momentum was with the Hurricanes, chance after chance but the Ravens' keeper Sophie Abrams -appropriately nicknamed "The Wall"- kept them out of goal with top-drawer saves one of them requiring her to come from the other side of her goal to save the shot.

In the 86th minute, the Hurricanes launched a devastating counter-attack with almost no one back for the Ravens. Owen was streaking toward goal with only Abrams in his way. Hermione sent a long through ball in his direction that landed just in front of him. He slotted the ball into the goal just evading the outstretched fingers of Abrams. Owen didn't even get a chance to celebrate before the ref blew the whistle. He turned around and on the other side of the pitch, he saw the linesman with her flag out in front of her signaling offsides. The ref signaled for a VAR check and made his way over to the monitor. The stadium was rife with tension as the ref walked back onto the pitch. The goal was offsides it was still 1-1 and the game was still on in the search for a late winner. The game went to 90 minutes but there were five minutes of added time for a winner to be scored. The Ravens took this as an opportunity to push forward and attack. In the third minute of added time, Ava Caldwell was running with the ball seemingly resistant to the Hurricanes' aggressive pressing. She sent a through ball to Eli Thompson who promptly returned the ball to her as she made a run into the box. The Hurricanes' keeper Victor Greaves stepped up off his line to close down the angles available to Caldwell. This however did not deter Caldwell who simply hit a beautiful curving shot around Greaves for the match-winner.