Page 4 | Issue 88

Annabeth

granger

Quidditch Corner

The

It is officially time for arguably the most exciting time of the year: Quidditch matches! This year, we see teams Ravenpuff and Slytherdor, led by their extremely talented and capable captains: Omer and Memrah!

Match 1

The first match started during Week 3, with clear skies. Madam Hooch was quite excited to see all the new faces who joined the Quidditch teams this year. After a very short speech from the woman herself, the match took off. Within minutes, Axolotl (Lottie) grabbed the Quaffle while the bludgers were aimed at Lottie and Linda. Linda then attempted to tackle Lottie for the quaffle but she managed to hold onto it and dodge Linda’s attack. She managed to quickly shoot her shot, while the rest of the Ravenpuff team anxiously waited to see if our dear Headmistress, Memrah, would manage to save the shot or if Lottie would give Ravenpuff the lead in points. They did not have to wait long as Lottie scored the first goal of the match!

The next time around, Raspyriel (Cynthia) attempted to snatch the quaffle as the bludgers headed towards Asphodel and Raspyriel herself. However, it slipped from her grasp and Lottie grabbed it instead. She flew and dodged the bludger heading her way, but soon collided with Raspyriel, sending the quaffle into freefall! Asphodel was there for the catch, however, saving Ravenpuff from disaster. Asphodel lined up for the shot as the bludgers went after Reiluna and Omer. This time, however, the quaffle was not in Ravenpuff’s favour as C managed to save the quaffle, throwing it back out towards her team.

Once again, Raspyriel was able to grab the quaffle for her team. Ravenpuff quickly swooped in, though, having Nooms come in to tackle Cynthia and then pass the quaffle over to Asphodel. Before Asphodel could get the shot off, Jenna Rae was there to block the quaffle and send it back into freefall. Ravenpuff did not have to wait long, however, since Nooms zoomed ahead with her broom to steal the quaffle. Now, some drama ensued as Jenna came back in and quickly tackled Nooms for the quaffle instead. But before she could get her shot off, Lottle came from behind to hit it right out of Jenna’s hands!

Slytherdor was back in the lead though, as Jenna managed to grab the quaffle again and soar towards the hoops, where Annabeth Granger was waiting for a chance to shine. However, it seemed she would have to wait a bit longer as Lottie stole the quaffle from Jenna's hands before turning to fly towards the Slytherdor hoops. Before she could get far, though, Cynthia came back to block the shot, sending the ball into freefall for Linda to catch and pass it on to Jenna. Lottie continued to be on fire and blocked the quaffle again before zooming off towards the Slytherdor hoops. This time, she managed to bypass Slytherdor's defences and got the shot off. To Ravenpuff’s dismay, Martha, who had replaced C as Keeper, managed to save the quaffle and throw it back towards her team. After some more passing around, nobody else managed to get another shot in before the final snitch was spotted and Omer came back with it first, leading Ravenpuff to their first victory of the year!

Match 2

After returning from Interim break, the second match started with more clear skies during Week 1 of Term 2. There was a slight change in the Slytherdor lineup, but regardless you could feel everyone's excitement at being back on the Quidditch Pitch. Reiluna did not waste any time in grabbing the quaffle soon after its release. As the bludgers headed towards Reiluna and Axolotl, the latter sneaked up to tackle the quaffle out of Rei’s hands. Would Lottie manage to be a menace to the Slytherdors again? The first collision happened shortly after, but Cynthia was there to steal the quaffle back from Ravenpuff's clutches! She tried to take her shot shortly after but the quaffle fell from her grasp instead.

Never fear, however, as she was quick to get it back after it slipped past her fingers. This time, she finally got a chance to take her shot, so it all came down to whether Annabeth could defend the Ravenpuff hoops or not. However, she was not quick enough and Slytherdor scored the first shot of the match! Cynthia continued to dominate and grabbed the quaffle again while Slytherdor was in the lead. But before she could get far, Lottie was there again to tackle the quaffle away from her. The quaffle ended up in freefall once again, though, as Rei was there to block Lottie’s attempt at a shot. In speedy succession, some more drama and collisions ensued between Ravenpuff and Slytherdor before the quaffle ended up in freefall once more, at which point Rei picked it up for Slytherdor before passing it off to a teammate.

Eventually, things settled down and Lottie had the Quaffle, ready to finally attempt a shot. But pelagia was there for the save and shot down Ravenpuff's hopes of taking the lead. Ravenpuff seemed to be on the defensive, however, as Nooms was there to tackle the quaffle away from Slytherdor! She got her shot in but before it could reach the Slytherdor hoops, Omer returned with the final snitch that ended the game with Ravenpuff coming out victorious!

Match 3

With more clear skies, the last match started a couple of weeks later and the two teams were kept the same for the most part. With the blow of Madam Hooch’s whistle, the players were off. Lottie continued to start the games off strong as she was the first to grab the quaffle for the match. It did not take long, though, for Slytherdor to come through and tackle it right out of Lottie’s hands! The back and forth started off early this match as Nooms blocked Jenna from getting her shot off, sending the quaffle in freefall early. Slytherdor quickly recovered, with Cynthia grabbing the Quaffle before passing it over to Rei. She got her shot off and for the first time in all three matches, Annabeth got the chance to show off her skills with a nice save, preventing the Slytherdors from growing too confident.

Lottie once again ended up with the quaffle, but not for long as Rei was there again to tackle and pass the quaffle off to Cynthia. Confusion was the defining trait of this match as Nooms attempted to block the ball but mixed herself up but since Cynthia never managed to get the shot off either, the quaffle was anyone’s game once more.

Lottie was there within seconds to grab it though, before passing it over to Asphodel for the first time. Unfortunately, it seemed to be for nought as Rei sneaked past the Ravenpuff defences to steal the quaffle from under their noses. Before she got a chance to shoot, however, Nooms swooped in to knock the ball out of Rei’s hands, sending it back into freefall. Rei was quick to get it back, however, and flew towards the Ravenpuff hoops. She got her shot in, hoping that Annabeth would not be able to save it this time. Her hopes were realised! It seemed that Annabeth was so enthralled by all the action that she did not even attempt to save the quaffle so Slytherdor scored!

Eventually, Lottie ended up with the quaffle again, looking to get one more shot in before the snitch was found. Her plan failed as pel was able to keep the quaffle from going through the hoops. However, it was deemed pointless as Omer came back with the snitch, leading Ravenpuff to their third straight win of the season!