Harry Potter - The Accidental Animagus

Chapter 22 - The Karate Kids

The Daily Prophet

Monday, 15 September 1991

POTTER VERSUS MALFOY!

New Quidditch Rivalry Brewing At Hogwarts

By Rita Skeeter

It is a little-known fact that if a House Quidditch team at Hogwarts cannot field a full team, tryouts are opened up to first years students in hopes of filling the vacancy. That has happened this year as, after the graduation of their excellent Seeker, Charlie Weasley, the Gryffindor Team had no tryouts for Seeker.

Reports at Hogwarts say that not one, but two first-years performed well enough in Seeker tryouts to join their House Quidditch Teams: Harry Potter of Gryffindor, the Boy-Who-Lived, and Draco Malfoy of Slytherin, son of leading conservative Wizengamot member and Hogwarts Board member Lucius Malfoy.

"My wife and I are very proud of our son for making the team in his first year, and we thank the Hogwarts staff for allowing him the opportunity. We naturally were not surprised, of course, since Draco has been playing Quidditch with his friends from an early age and has shown a particular aptitude for the Seeker position," Lord Malfoy's Office said in a press statement. Representatives for Lord Potter;s Office could not be reached for comment.

But the real surprise of the tryouts was, of course, that Harry Potter competed at all. According to reports, the Boy-Who-Lived initially showed his Seeker skills in a dispute with Mr. Malfoy over a friend's Remembrall, leading Gryffindor Head and Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall to encourage him to join the tryouts. Being raised by muggles, Potter claimed to have never flown on a broom before, yet he apparently showed an instant talent for flying and narrowly edged out Malfoy in the tryouts.

This show of skill, however, raises some questions. Was Harry Potter telling the truth about never having flown before? Was he perhaps given a better broom than the other students to make the tryouts? And why did no older students try out for the Gryffindor Seeker in the first place? Was it simply because of the gap left by Charlie Weasley, or was it secretly orchestrated by the school staff in order to give Potter a chance to compete? And could Lucius Malfoy, with influence on the Board of Governors, possibly have been involved with the plan?

However it happened, the rivalry between the two Seekers has already become fierce, with several tense confrontations reported between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, and between Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses in general. The first true test of both Seekers' skills will come on 9 November when Gryffindor faces Slytherin in the first Quidditch match of the Hogwarts season, and, if the rumours are to be believed, both Potter and Malfoy will be flying on new Nimbus Two Thousand brooms. The results of the match are sure to be much anticipated, and the Prophet will provide full coverage.

"Oh, come on!" Harry complained. "Can't she get anything right?"

"Well, it is Rita Skeeter," Hermione observed. "I don't think she's really trying to."

"My Gran can't stand her," said Neville. "When I was little, she ran a piece on my parents, and...well...it didn't end well." He shuddered as he remembered his grandmother's temper on that day.

"I can't believe she'd accuse me of cheating to get on the team, though," Harry said. "I'd better write Cousin Andi so she can clear it up."