Professor Potter

Chapter 61

Professor Potter, Chapter 61

Harry sat astride his broom, hovering above the number four pitch at the public Quidditch park. The air was warm, there was a scattering of clouds in the sky and only a hint of wind, even at altitude. A week earlier Charlie had sent out a message that he had been approached by the coach of the Wimbourne Wasps to stage a match between the Weasley Potter Flyers and the Wasps' reserve squad. Since the start of the season, at the suggestion of the Ernestine Appleby, the reserves had been playing against various pickup teams as could be arranged and she thought it was time they tried their hand against Harry and company. 

When the two teams had met three things jumped out at Harry. One was that the Wasps were young. The second was that they exuded confidence and the third was that they were really young. Now, it should be noted that Harry had just celebrated his twenty eighth birthday two weeks prior but with all he had been through in his life, he felt at times considerably older. And with the exception of Ginny at a year younger, he was the youngest member of their team. After meeting the Wasp reserves Charlie had called his team together and said, 

"Alright, everyone, here's the story. Bee's plan to use these pick-up games to improve their reserves has worked well to a point. The problem is they are starting to get cocky and it's causing some issues with the first line fliers. Bee is hoping that we can trim their ears back a bit and show them they still have a way to go. Now most of these folks haven't been through our camp process and I think two didn't even go to Hogwarts. They know some of us by reputation but that's about it. So here's the game plan," Charlie said and he beckoned them in closer. 

Now the teams were in the air and awaiting the release of the balls. Once again, Bill's old classmate was refereeing the match and most of the Weasley clan was in attendance. Angus was particularly eager to be there, bringing with him a chaise lounge and a case full of papers. The children had been given small flags with a combined W and P on them to wave. 

Harry looked over at his opposite number. He thought he recognized him from Hogwarts but he was sure he was not a product of the camps. The younger seeker returned his look with a small smile and bit of a wink. So it's going to be like that, Harry thought to himself. He redirected his attention to the ground below and waited for the release. 

When the snitch and bludgers were set free the snitch took off directly behind Harry, putting him at a momentary disadvantage but he didn't lose focus. Next came the Quaffle and as so often happened, Ginny was on it in a blink of an eye. Two children certainly hadn't dulled her edge. At the same moment Harry pulled the broom over in a near back somersault and was after the snitch with a broom tip lead over his opponent. 

Now in no way was this intended to be a repeat of the match against the hooligans. This was not about dealing out physical chastisement. This was about teaching young professional level fliers that they still had some things to learn about the game and a string of victories over pick-up teams was not an excuse to start suggesting it was time for the older Wasps to start thinking about stepping aside. As far as Harry was concerned it was him against the pro grade snitch. It was fast, tricky and exceedingly quick. He knew the other seeker was staying with him but as long as he was behind he was a secondary consideration. 

Something of note had happened in the last week that led up to this match. When it was announced that the match was on, Angus sought out Harry and asked if he could spare the time to discuss his theories about the snitch. Harry couldn't help but agree considering the eager look on the younger man's face. What followed for Harry was difficult to grasp in theory but the practical aspects became all too clear. The snitch did execute movements in a random order but that randomness was contained within a larger pattern that evolved over the length of a match. Why this wasn't recognized up to now, Angus theorized, was due to substitutions, fatigue and the constant hammering into the skulls of young fliers, generation after generation, that the snitch was unpredictable. Some seekers, the truly successful ones, did seem to pick up on patterns, however, but they regarded that as instinct, a talent and not something that could be understood and taught.