Hairy Potter-Addams and the Philosopher's Stone: An Altogether Ooky Tale

Quidditch, Baseball, and Other Surprises, Part II

After Gryffindor's Quidditch win, the castle was abuzz with anticipation for baseball. Gomez got permission for Grandmama to attend dinner Tuesday night; she sat with Hairy and his friends at the Gryffindor table and offered help with their homework. She tried again to talk the four Weasley brothers into joining the Addamses for Christmas in New Jersey. She used the opportunity to bring a large box to each House. Each box contained fifteen ball caps in the appropriate colour: red for Gryffindor, yellow for Hufflepuff, green for Slytherin, and blue for Ravenclaw. She presented the yellow, blue, and red caps to the appropriate team captains; the green she gave directly to Professor Snape. Hairy didn't suppose he'd ever see a green baseball hat around Hogwarts. Grandmama received hugs, handshakes, and enthusiastic thank-yous from the various team members.

The week leading up to the baseball game was one of those uncomfortable time warps in which time flashes by in a split-second, but at the same time an hour drags on for what feels like weeks. Harry coasted through his lessons in a daze; his mind was fixed on the baseball field several of the house elves were preparing on the Quidditch pitch. The baseball teams had time slots set aside for practice, but it was easier now that Gomez had donated a catcher's cage, two batting helmets, and padding for each team. Friday night, as the Gryffindor team headed down the lawn to their practice spot, they caught the last few minutes of the Ravenclaw practice. Hairy was glad to watch Padma Patil belt a smooth pitch straight down the middle. Sixth-year Mildred Prescott, her black batting helmet gleaming in the afternoon sun, whipped the aluminum bat around and knocked the ball to Cho Chang in left field. It tipped off Cho's glove, but their center fielder had run to meet Cho in the middle. "CALL!" she yelled, and dived for it.

"Here!" called their second base-woman, and her wish was granted. Mildred was caught between first and second, and she almost lost her footing changing direction. The race was between girl and ball.

Leather met leather with a satisfying smack. "OUT!" declared first base.

Mildred, the de facto team captain, pulled her batting helmet off. Like Hermione, she preferred to wear her hair natural. It puffed out at odd angles; Mildred shook it out and called, "All right, everyone, excellent work. Cho, that was close. Good communication. Pack up, get some rest, and we'll be right here tomorrow at ten. RAVENCLAW!"

"RAVENCLAW!" echoed the team, and they jogged toward their equipment, left in the grass.

Mildred approached Hairy. "Evening, Potter. Scoping the competition?"

"Not exactly, Mildred. Shoot, youse guys look like a real team. Move over, Yankees. Uh, the baseball team, not 'Yankees' like 'Americans.'"

Mildred was a bigger girl--not fat, but naturally brawny. She'd taken Hairy's advice about conditioning and strength training to heart, and she took baseball quite seriously. She lightly punched Hairy in the arm. "No need to correct yourself. Move over, Yankee; tomorrow is Ravenclaw's day."

"We'll see about that. Did you want to run the bases once before we move in?"

"No, but thanks. I'll let them recover tonight. Have a good practice." She fell in with her team as they passed the Gryffindors.

In minutes, the Gryffindor team had changed into athletic shoes and T-shirts and were running two laps around the bases. They stretched and reviewed some of the notes Neville had made.

The rotund boy's ears flushed pink. He wasn't used to having everyone's attention. "Um, so, I noticed a few things. We, um, don't talk like the Ravenclaw team. There's no, you know, communication, or not much, anyhow. And Hufflepuff has a lot of left-handed batters; maybe we can, uh, let Parvati practice pitching to...southerners?" He looked to Hairy.