Chapter 52: Professional debut
“Professor, rushing to our seats won’t make the game start earlier.”
Lily and the rest of the group were amused at the Hogwarts’ Deputy Headmistress, taking a long stride to make it as quickly as possible to their reserved booth. One of the privileges Rick got by being in the team was a few free tickets for each game. He got some; enough for his parents, Lily and Marlene with the addition of Nymphadora who got her place free since she was under six. Minerva McGonagall received hers from Angus Willson as a thank you for pushing Rick in choosing the Magpies and not another team.
Speaking of her, Minerva ignored Lily’s words. She was way too excited to finally watch the first professional game of her favorite Lion. Lion who played for her favorite team and against the team she hated the most. So excited, she had transfigured her usual robes in the color of the Magpies with Rick’s number. Gone was the stern, fair, intimidating but respectable transfiguration professor. She had been replaced by Minerva the quidditch fanatic. Her students had never seen her like this. So… Improper. It was quite shocking but at the same time amusing.
They quickly found the right booth nearly at the top of the Stadium. Taking their seats, Lily put Nymphadora on her lap. The experience was surreal for the little five years old and she seemed to be having the time of her life despite the game not having started yet.
“To think that he really went playing professionally, Mister I-just-Love-Flying.” Marlene couldn’t hide her amusement. “And to think you’re allowing it.”
“I never forbid him to do anything, Mar.”
“School quidditch is one thing. This… Is a league above.”
“He will do fine.” commented Minerva.
Finally a trumpet echoed through the whole stadium and the supporters cheered even more. The commentators introduced the players of Puddlemere first, since they were at their home turf then the Magpies.
“... Charles Bulwrick and Charles Donovan for beaters.”
“Let’s not forget, Brian, that Donovan did an excellent season last year, winning the best beater award.”
“Indeed, Fabian. From the few interviews he gave, he’s in great shape and aims to win the award again. And now finally, Corvus Potter as a seeker!”
The girls in the booth couldn’t help but cheer as loudly as they could when they saw Rick’s face displayed on the magical screen up in the air. Even Nymphadora had risen on her feet on Lily’s lap and had her tiny arms up in the air.
“The new seeker of the Montrose Magpies and freshly graduated from Hogwarts last June.”
“Many believe he’s too young for the post and that Reid should be the starting Seeker. Too much of a greenhorn in other words.”
“Time will tell, Fabian but from what I heard here and there, odds are we won’t be disappointed.”
“You seem to know something we don’t. Mind sharing with the spectators?”
“Potter started in the Gryffindor team in his second year and went on to win every single season he played for a total of five. The last one as a captain. He was directly recruited by Angus Willson and made it as the starting seeker during the tryouts.”
“That's quite the palmares but not unheard of in quidditch. I guess like you said ‘time will tell’ if Potter meets the expectations.”
The referee’s whistle sounded and all players began to fly at high speed. Rick went up as far as he could and began searching for the snitch. He was positioned at the center of the field and turned around on himself. For one whole hour. The score was close. 160 - 170 in favor of Puddlemere and there was still no signs of the snitch. When he saw the opposing team chasers circling around McGregor making a go for Puddlemer’s goals post, Rick leaned forward on his broom and charged as fast as he could to disrupt the formation and give space to his teammate carrying the quaffle. Unfortunately Aberstein, the opposing seeker, thought Rick went after the golden snitch. He took a nasty bludger to the side and it was for nothing.
The Magpies scored, their seeker got hurt and their formation broken.
“Thanks, Potter!” McGregor shouted and Rick gave him a thumbs up as he went back up.
He completely ignored the unhappy glare Aberstein was looking at him with while rubbing his ribs. The glaring didn’t last long because Rick took another dive. Abersteing hesitated for a second thinking it wasn’t for the snitch but ended up following.
Rick dodge a bludger then a second, not letting the snitch out of his sight. With how close the ground was he didn’t think it was prudent to go at the fastest he could with his broom. That decision proved costly when Aberstein caught up and they began to fight over the snitch, bumping lightly each other. When the snitch began to fly horizontally instead of vertically they both corrected their course, Rick being a bit faster and taking the lead by a few inches. He dodged another bludger but not the second. He could have if Aberstein didn’t violently elbow him in the ribs. A clear foul that was not missed by the referee and the spectators. Fortunately the pause in the game allowed the snitch to get away.
“Whit th' hell dae ye think ye'r daein' ye bleak, bitter backhanded british boot!?”
Both Marlene and Lily’s jaws dropped down in shock at their professor using foul language and with her Scottish accent. Thankfully, Nymphadora didn’t understand a single word that had been said but Lily promised herself to cover the little girl's ears should Minerva swear again.
“Professor, there is a child with us!”
“Hm? Oh! My apologies. The words came out on their own.” Minerva had the decency to be a bit embarrassed.
“There was no need too. You know how Rick is when the opposing seeker doesn’t play by the rules.” reminded Marlene.
“Eh, I do.” The Scottish woman was quite pleased by that knowledge.
Dorea gave her own comment with a predatory smile. “Someone is definitely going to eat the ground.”
The Lady of House Potter was right. Rick took more and more altitude and Aberstein followed him. When they reached the top of the stadium they flew around a bit for ten minutes. Then it happened. He took another dive to the ground completely vertically, matching the top speed he knew Aberstein’s Nimbus 1550 could go. In fact just a tiny bit faster to keep the lead and obstruct the view. At that speed bludgers needed to be aimed extremely well if the beaters wanted to hit which they didn’t. At fifteen feet from the ground, Rick did the sharpest vertical U-turn than anyone has ever seen, the tail of his broom sweeping the grass and went up in a spiral while Aberstein crashed.
The crow roared on the Magpies’ side. Rick, while keeping an eye on Aberstein, made a victory lap and when he passed near the booth of his family and friend made a two finger salute while standing on his broom.
“MERLIN’S BALLS! DID YOU SEE THAT?!”
“I think everyone saw that, Noah! Excellent Wronski Feint! Pott-”
“EXCELLENT?! THAT WAS THE MOST PERFECT WRONSKI FEINT I’VE EVER SEEN! AND THE U-TURN! NEVER SEEN SOMEONE DO THAT EITHER!”
“True, a complete 180° turn with such an angle was unheard off.”
“Potter sure showed his detractors!”
“That he did. Not only was that such a fine display of skill but it may very well have given the win for the Montrose Magpies. Aberstein is being evacuated as we speak. Potter certainly thinks the game is in a bag, since he’s dancing on his broom.”
“He’s wha- MERLIN HE IS!”High up in the sky, Rick was swinging his hips left and right and his arms while his feet were stuck on the handle of his broom. He didn’t stay long like that. Just because the other team’s seeker was out didn’t mean the Magpies would win. With no competition for the snitch, Rick decided to help the chasers. Taking in a few bludgers or simply hiding his teammates from view for the beaters. Making the other team think he was going to make a foul but not.
The results quickly showed.
The Magpies were scoring more and more, overtaking Puddlemere and creating a gap that kept widening as time passed. At the sixth hour mark, Aberstein entered the field once again to everyone’s surprise. At this point even if he could catch the golden snitch, the 1230 points difference would not shrink one bit. That wasn’t going to happen in Rick’s opinion as his opponent didn’t seem to be all there. He seemed dazed and confused and was slowly flying around aimlessly.
Five minutes later, Rick caught Coach Campbell signaling him to go ahead and catch the snitch. Something that happened without any real problem, a quarter afterwards putting the final score at 1870 - 490. After the victory lap, Rick landed near his team side and joined his teammates going back inside the locker room. They all gave him a tap on the shoulders or the ass for his play.
“I wonder why the coach made you catch the snitch when we could have kept scoring.” McGregor said as he put his bath towel on his shoulder, ready to take a shower.
“That’s because the coach of Puddlemere and I came to an agreement.”
“““Coach!”””
Campbell had entered the locker room with his assistant and Willson. The latter was completely giddy.
“Well played all of you. Puddlemere wasn’t the easiest team in the league and you pulled through. Take tomorrow to relax and rest. Monday morning we’ll study the match in detail to fix any mistakes or think of new tactics.”
“““Yes, sir!”””
“Potter…”
“Sir?” Rick replied when Campbell made the ‘come’ gesture with his finger and led him outside the locker room.
“Aberstein’s broom is a Nimbus 1550. The fastest broom on the market, yet yours seemed to easily match it. I thought at first you just customized your broom but it appears there is more to it. My question is: What model is it and where did you buy it?”
“It’s a Storm-Breaker and I didn’t buy it. I made it myself, sir.”
“Made?” That information surprised the coach.
“Yup. I was dissatisfied with the speed of the brooms on the market.”
“How fast?”
“147 Km/h.”
“Merlin’s- 147?!”
“Yup.”
“How long would it take and cost for you to equip the whole team?”
“Too long and thousands of galleons, sir. And it’s a racing broom. It’s made for seekers and not the other posts. Its maneuverability, while quite good, is not enough for the chasers and keepers.”
“Well, that was worth a try.” A sigh of disappointment escaped the coach’s lips.
“I can make brooms for the other posts though. Mine is the peak of speed so the work on it is tremendous but the requirements a broom needs for the other posts are not as demanding. You give me the afternoons free and in a month I can maybe make the brooms for the chasers or the beaters or the keeper.”
“A month for the keeper?”
“Maneuverability is not what I’m used to working on the most. I need to do some research with charms and runes. As for the price… We’ll see when I have a working prototype in order.”
“... You get your afternoons and I want the chasers equipped by early October.”
“You got it, coach.”
“Good, now let’s go.”
“Yes, I’m dead tired and I miss my fiancee.”
“Oh, no, not home.” the chuckle Campbell let out, confused Rick. Where would he go if not home? “We’re going to the press conference for an interview. You’re the star of tonight after your stunt and people want to see you.”
“… If I give you the brooms for free can I not-”
“No. Now move your ass and get changed. The faster we’re done with it the faster you’re going home.”
Rick sighed and went back to the locker room to quickly get out of his quidditch gear. Dressing back normally he joined the coach who led him to their destination. Flashes of light from lightbulbs put on the reporters’ camera blinded him a bit but he managed to find his seat. The hubbub in the small room quickly gave him headaches. Thankfully, his turn to answer questions came quickly.
“Mister Potter, how do you feel about being the star of the game tonight?”
“I wouldn't call myself the star of the game. I just gave the opportunity for the team to win. McGregor, O'Connell and Carter were the ones who scored an indecent amount of goals, proving that the Montrose Magpies have perhaps the best offence in the league this season. If anyone is deserving of being called a star it’s them. In my opinion, I just spent six hours goofing around on my broom. That’s not very star-like.”
“Where were you all these years before surfacing back in the Magical world?”
“That’s a private question, not a quidditch one, so I’ll ignore it.”
“What do you have to say for yourself after taking out Robert Aberstein? From what is known, he’s in convalescence for the next six months.”
“A Wronski Feint is not a crime so I don’t have anything to say for myself. I’m not aware yet of the extent of his injuries but I do hope he will make a full recovery. I also hope that all the seekers in the league are now aware that I do not suffer fools breaking the rules. They want to win? Then they better train hard instead of committing fouls.”
“That’s quite a bold statement. Is that a challenge you’re issuing?”
“... Not really? Whoever is my opponent is not something I’m thinking about. I have faith in my skills and my training so I only think of catching the snitch and nothing else.”
For fifteen more minutes he answered any questions he could until the coach said it was enough. They left the press room, and Rick was free to go on his merry way. He picked up his broom in the locker room. When he exited the stadium through the visiting team entrance, he came across Willson who told him his family was waiting for him home. He gave him a shoulder tap and congratulated him for the game and went inside the stadium.
When Rick made it home, Lily was on him in a blink of an eye. The whole family celebrated with the exception of Nymphadora. The five year old was tired after watching a seven hour long game and was put in her bed.
“You should have seen Marlene when that guy crashed on the ground! She was on her seat dancing!” laughed Lily who couldn’t get the picture out of her head.
“Me?! Did you miss McGonagall, pulling out her wand and shooting beams of light while singing in her scottish accent?! She was completely unhinged!”
“That’s true.”
His mother hugged him from behind and congratulated him too while Marlene and Lily were talking.
“I’m sooooo proud of you, Corvus. So is your father.”
“Thanks, mom.”
“That being said, you really need a shower.” she pulled back, sniffing the hair with a frown on her face.
After a small and quick dinner, Marlene went back home while Lily and Rick went back to their room. She forced him to take a shower but kept his sweaty shirt with her. He mentally laughed when he came back and saw her asleep, her nose buried in it. Feeling quite tired, he got under the sheets right behind her and spooned her. After a kiss on her temple, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.