The Tempest ↠ Fred Weasley

Chapter 7

Troll in the Dungeon

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Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, which in turn meant Aurora was forced to ignore them as well. Every time Rory would pass the two she would give them a pained, apologetic smile.

As the owls flooded into the Great Hall, as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by two long, thin packages carried by twelve large screech owls. Aurora was entranced by the parcels and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped them right in front of Harry and her. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another two owls dropped a letter on top of their individual parcels.

Aurora ripped open the letter, which said:

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.

It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.

Professor McGonagall

Aurora had to cough to conceal her urge to squeal then looked at Harry who was also struggling to keep a straight face.

The three left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap their broomsticks in private before their first class.

"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in their hands.

"Mione, seriously?" Groaned Aurora.

Hermione scoffed, marching away with her nose in the air.

After dinner that evening, the trio rushed upstairs to the boy's dorm to unwrap their Nimbus Two Thousand at last.

Rory was in awe, it looked wonderful.

As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry and Aurora left the castle towards the Quidditch field.

Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Aurora mounted her broomstick and kicked off from the ground. Harry quickly went to join her in the air.

"Hey, Potter, Granger come down!"

Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. They landed easily next to him.

"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant... you both really are naturals. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."

He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.

"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."

"That's me." Beamed Aurora as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.

"This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try to get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper -- I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."

Harry pointed at the three balls left inside the box, asking what their purpose was.

"I'll show you both now," said Wood. "Take this."