The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Brass in the West Tower

Brass in the West Tower

The stands were filled with nervous energy and shouting as the flags flew from the ramparts in the warm wind. The quaffle flew up out of Madam Hooch's hands, into the air, flying above the outstretched hands of the players on their brooms. James and Meg, the two seekers, zipped high above the level of play, into the sky overlooking the others as Quentin Vane and Jack Scout both lunged for the red quaffle ball, and Quentin got hold of it by just the tips of his fingers, flipping it quickly back to the waiting Chasers before quickly flying to guard his rings - as did Jack Scout.

And so it began.

Jessica Abbott caught the quaffle from Quentin and shot down the pitch, weaving in and out between the bludgers shot her way by Andy Kimball and Nick Shaffer. Isaac Horan zoomed over and caught a bludger with his beater's bat, sending it down the length of the pitch with a force that had been unrivaled by any other Hogwarts student in ages. He flew alongside Jessica until she'd reached the rings and dove to block a bludger coming up from below as Andy Kimball tried to unseat Jessica before she could shoot on the goal. Jack Scout was ready for it, though, and quickly spun his broom to cover Jessica's advance, but at the last moment - instead of shooting for the goal ring, she passed to Geoffrey Kinder, who had come up from the left. Kinder caught the ball, and, because he was busy attempting to cover Jessica, the quaffle sailed easily through the left ring and the stands exploded with cheers.

"Ten to zero, Hogwarts," called Xenophilius happily, "What a tricky bit of play that was by Jessica Abbott, passing off to Geoffrey Kinder, the last minute addition."

"Good one, Kinder," called Quentin Vane, circling around the rings, "Good job, Abbott."

"Thank you much," Jessica sang as she twirled back in a curlicue to the center of play.

Ilvermorny had the quaffle now and they were passing it over the heads of the Hogwarts players as they advanced at the rings, keeping Quentin guessing which of them would be actually taking aim at the goal. He kept his cool, carefully hovering in the center of the three rings until he saw the glint in Richie Hart's eye and he knew - he darted to cover Dawn Gleason on the right, rebounding the quaffle into play with the top of his helmet. The quaffle ricocheted back across the pitch, only to be caught by Eric Danes, who quickly zipped a loop around Marty Brown, and sank the quaffle into the center ring over Quentin Vane's shoulder.

Play remained intense - both teams were there to win and both teams had been excellently assembled. It was clear from the skill displayed on the pitch that these truly were the best that both of the schools had to offer. James hovered, searching the pitch for the snitch, keeping an eye on Meg as she did the same, thinking to himself that the team was certainly doing Derek Bell proud. He clutched his broomstick and listened to the cheers of the students below.

In the high box, Dumbledore was waving a little flag with the Hogwarts crest upon it and clapping his hands, a great smile on his face, while Randy Temple sat forward, a look of desperate excitement on his face as he watched the pitch. Several wizards were taking notes, James noticed, and he remembered Derek mentioning that there were going to be scouts from the pro Quidditch leagues to see the tourney and the Quidditch commissioner.

"You've got to give it 100% of yourself!" Derek's voice echoed through James's mind and he realized that - given how well both of the teams were playing, the factor that would absolutely make either one of the teams standout would be a display of unparalleled broom-handling.

And luckily - unparalleled broom-handling was precisely what James Potter was best at.

A grin crossed over his face. He looked over at Meg Johnson and he dove. Straight down. The broomstick handle aimed to the ground and he flew past Isaac Horan, past Abby Jones, past Richie Hart and Eric Danes, below the plane of play. He could hear Xenophilius shouting over the intercom. He hadn't seen the snitch, he simply knew he needed to move, to call attention to himself. He looked up as he levelled off just before hitting the ground below the game. People were leaning over the edges of the stands, pointing and shouting, hooting and hollering and waving their hands. Meg Johnson was mid-way through the plane of play, though nowhere near as quickly as James had done, and no where near as straight a drop. He quickly circled the ground level of the pitch a couple times before shooting very nearly straight back up, passing Meg, still on her way down.