It’s Quidditch Time! – By Lumos and Nox
Gryffindor V Slytherin – 490 – 760
Ah, Quidditch! That magical sport that we all like.
Or pretend to like it to be in the cool kids circles.
Nevertheless, Hogwarts Quidditch season is live, and you might be wondering: how do I get into this? What do I know about this? When is Quidditch? How do I bet? Where am I? And most importantly… Who is that person across the mirror?
Worry not! Lumos and Nox are here to help you to understand the basics and introduce you to the teams of this season, so at least you can make an educated choice on your favourite player/s.
First things first:
What is Quidditch?
For those new to it, Quidditch is a magical sport. Two teams fly on brooms trying to score through three hoops on each side. Each team has seven players broken down as so:
- 3 Chasers scoring with the Quaffle.
- 1 Keeper guarding the hoops.
- 2 Beaters batting bludgers away (or towards the rival team).
- 1 Seeker chasing the Golden Snitch for big points.
Usually, catching the snitch wins the game… well, unless your chasers already crushed the scoreboard. Also, no, we do not know who that person is across the mirror.
GRYFFINDOR TEAM PROFILES:
Some might describe them as overly reliant on validation and external praise; however, for this article, we will say “very prideful,” such as you would expect from a lion. However, be warned; once you insult one of those bad boys, oh, you’d better get ready for generational distress. They truly bring the heart of their house to any game -even if that means leaving a few bite marks here and there, or so goes the rumor.
1 – Isabella “The Menace” Watson: First Chaser and Captain of the Gryffindor team. A pretty face that hides a fierce confidence that truly seems the backbone of the team. She’s good on her broom, as good as she is shooting her quaffles. On asking her about her expectations before the match, she told us: “We are feeling pretty confident, excited! Gryffindor has a strong team this year, and we’re ready to show everyone the same!”
2 – Chase “Lionheart” Ashford: Second Chaser, and new blood for the Gryffindor team. This lanky lion might have some tricks up his sleeve as he is currently dating the Captain -and chaser- of the Hufflepuff team. It will be interesting to see when Gryffindor faces Hufflepuff on the pitch.
3 – Elise Whitlock: Third Chaser for the Lions, also new to the team. Although quiet, do not let the silence trick you. She might chase, shoot, and seal the deal before you blink.
4 – Oliver ‘Kfir’ Prescott: First Beater and Co-Captain of the team. Do not let his innocent face confuse you. He will beat you up. Repeatedly. Ask the chasers of any other team.
5 – Timocleia “The Welsh Fury” Gwilym: What can we say about the tiny Welsh girl? Despite her size, she’s a force to reckon with. Rumour has it, she was even practicing beating people up during the Prefects Pumpkin Carving event, asking her victims if they’d like to play a ‘game’ with her and her bat. When asked if she was ready to ‘crack those bludgers around’, she had an answer ready to go: “Yes? It has been too long since I properly Bludgered anyone in a game. And I am really looking forward to it?” Chills.
6 – Ben “Flash” Coletti: The Keeper of the team. No, really, he actually keeps the hoops, preventing quaffles from going through. Rumour has it, he previously dated one of the Slytherin Chasers. Would this be a potential conflict of interest? Or would it add fuel to the fire? Only the results will tell!
7 – Nollin ‘Screaming Rocket’ Norman: And last but not least, we have the Gryffindor Seeker. New rookie talent that will also face a new talent on the Slytherin side. Let’s see how this Clash of Rookies pans out.
SLYTHERIN TEAM PROFILES:
Now for the infamous Slytherin team, the slimmest of the slime. They would sell their own mother’s kidney for a chance to step ahead. We even heard through some very well-placed blackma- cough detective work that they even threatened one of their own seekers. Stating that if he didn’t perform and bring home a win, his favorite teddy bear would be sleeping with the fishes. Not only that, rumour has it, the Captain of the team would not hesitate to drag anyone on her team through the stands while hogtied to the broom should anyone get a foul. If that’s not a champion mindset, we don’t know what is.
1 – Troy Mercer: The Silent -and Effective- Menace of the Slytherin team. The first chaser of this roster, and trust us when we say, his flying style is unpredictable. You’ll never know what will come to the hoops until he eventually scores. One of the chasers to watch for this season.
2 – Jasper Hawksworth: We did mention Mercer was Silent. Well, the Second Chaser of this team formation doesn’t fall behind on the silent ways. Golden -and yet brooding- Boy works with precision, whilst never leaving his books behind for too long. His style tends to be impeccable, a lateral zig-zag shoot? Probably will go through the hoops. He’s too someone to watch for.
3 – Noelle “Sweetest Penguin” O’Brien: Third Chaser of this roster and definitely the Darkhorse of the team. To fall for her demure demeanour and soft ways would be the biggest mistake anyone in an opposing team could do. When she chases, she does so to win; there is no doubt she will slither in through those hoops.
4 – Zenith ‘Firebird’ Kovalainen: Co-Captain and the seasoned -just for one year- beater of the team. When Kovalainen goes up in the sky, she has only one thing in mind: violence. Violence that she needs to control in order to prevent the pitch ends up in flames. This is perhaps the reason why the Half-veela tends to play on the defensive side, allowing her chasers to score easily. Will we be seeing a more ‘uncontrolled’ fire this year?
5 – Phoebe “Cry About it” Peyroux: Newest addition to the Beaters duo and to the team. She might speak bluntly, but her bat speaks even louder. If you’re in the way, she’ll beat you down. And she will enjoy seeing you cry about it, all whilst she checks her fit is still on point. Simply as that.
6 – Alara ‘Dainty Hands’ Ravenhurst: Captain of the Slytherin team, and the young woman responsible to keep those defenses up for her players. Her icy gaze shows her cold and precise demeanour. She’s all about hard work, statistics and results. When asked about her maiden match as Captain, she confided: “Feeling confident. My team has worked hard this season and I have all the faith in the world in them.” She beamed to the press. “Let’s just hope this game doesn’t go on for ages like our match against the lions last year.” She let out a nervous chuckle
7 – Beaumont “Shine Star” Yorke: Rookie Slytherin Seeker -and rookie Slytherin student, we might add- has been training ever since the year started. Rumour has it he has stepped into various issues along the year, and somehow he still has… Survived. Beginner’s luck or Cunning Slytherin Mentality Cultivated from a Young Age? Only time will tell. When asked if he was afraid of what his first match would bring, he answered: “I.. um fully intend to survive and look amazing while doing it. Just um.. make sure you spell me name right when I do become a legend..” Confidence runs wild among the snakes, it seems.
Well, that should be enough to know the players.
How did the actual game go?
Well if you weren’t there, you should know by now that Slytherin won. Did they cheat? No, although some might imply that a certain Golden Boy Snake Chaser did get time-out for that. We think it was just a tiny little mistake that cost a penalty shot and five minutes on the ground. Even his Captain threw him under the referees. Hard love, we’ll call it.
Other than that, chasers chased, keepers kept, seekers seeked and beaters… Well. They beat, alright?
A few ‘time outs’ were called, but the game resumed quickly, with Slytherin always keeping the lead. When the scores were up to 490 – 610 for Slytherin, Rookie Slytherin Seeker Beaumont “Shine Star” Yorke caught the Golden Snitch, leaving the final scores at 490 – 760 for his team.
To finish up, let’s hear what the players had to say after the match.
“My team worked hard and really had each other’s backs. I think that is the key in any match. Shout out to everyone! We had a great defense in this match. The lions are no joke.”
-Alara Ravenhurst, Slytherin Keeper and Captain who will always push her players to their highest, even if that means hog-tie and drag them around the pitch for causing a foul Jasper Hawksworth.
“Well.. at first I just wanted to make Alara and me team proud but then I just really didn’t want to sleep outside so if I played bad..” He shrugged some. “So I figured… easiest way to keep my bed is catch the snitch!”
-Beaumont Yorke, Slytherin Seeker, definitely someone not being threatened by his ‘anonymous’ mentor to catch the snitch.
“It was a hard game as the Gryffindor beaters had my name on lock. What’s a little penguin to do, just waddle and take it and plot revenge like a good slytherin?” She shook her head. “The game was hard fought. Ben was on point, I wanted to throw my shoe at his head several times. It’s just a me thing, doesn’t mean I’d do it.”
-Noelle O’Brien, Slytherin Chaser and Hex Girl on demand.
“Listen to your Quidditch Captain Girlfriend more about Midfield shots?” He cracked a smile then. “In all seriousness, to breathe. So much we can’t control in a match. Having lived it now, I get that more.”
-Chase Ashford, Gryffindor Chaser and full-time committed boyfriend, when asked what he would say to his pre-match self.
“Well… It… *is* Quidditch, after all? Fun… But dangerous?” The Tiny One stands there a moment, an ear moving slowly — as though one could just about see the gears working inside that tiny ginger head. “Um…” She fidgets a moment. “Well… I wish… Um… I had…” She fidgets a little more. “Hit a lot more people? I did not hit them enough. I think I have to work on my aim.”
– Timocleia Gwylim, Gryffindor Beater on post-match performance and regrets.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. We fought hard, and our Beaters and Chasers were equally difficult to get past as much as I was. It was a total team effort. I couldn’t have done what I did without them backing me up. Plus we had Norman as Seeker, who was playing in his first ever game. Slytherin is a difficult team, and all we can do in the future is practice more. Now that we’re more familiar with their tactics, that’ll help us moving forward.”
-Ben Coletti, Gryffindor Keeper and part-time Diplomat.
