The Chaser's Heart

Year 3: The Thimblerig Shuffle

A/N: Forgot to post this one in proper sequence! Sorry!

True to his word, McNully was waiting for me in the changerooms outside the Quidditch pitch the following evening. I had come already dressed in exercise clothing, but there was already fresh writing on the chalkboard, and he was beside it in his wheelchair, practically vibrating. It seemed this would be another lesson in theory instead of actual practise.

'You made it!' He greeted me when I walked in and hovered hesitantly by the hard, wooden bench.

'Er... yeah,' I said slowly.

'Well, sit down, I want to teach you a new maneuver,' he indicated to the bench and I fought back an groan. I was itching to get in the air. At least his chessboard was nowhere in sight.

'A new maneuver?' I repeated, intrigued. I sat down. Hopefully only the first part of this lesson would be theoretical.

'Yes, it's one I've invented,' he nodded eagerly and indicated to the chalkboard. 'Now, how familiar are you with the muggle world?'

'My mum's muggleborn,' I told him.

'You know Thimblerig, the shell game?' He asked.

'Er...' No, but I knew that was the wrong answer.

'You have three walnut shells, or something similar, put a pea under one of them, then there's a bit of sleight of hand as you shuffle them around. And then whoever's playing had to guess where the pea's at, and if they're wrong, you shuffle then again and then they guess again. What? Wrong again? Shuffle again and take another guess until they finally guess where the pea is!'

'Oh... yes,' I said vaguely. 'What's that got to do with Quidditch?'

'Strategy!' He said with a wide smile. 'Take the shell game theory, throw in a dash of Porskoff Ploy, add a splash of surprise... and you've got the Thimblerig Shuffle!'

'Right...' I said, mind whirling, trying to work out exactly what kind of maneuver this was.

'Let me explain,' he said when I didn't immediately look as enthusiastic as he did.

'Please do,' I said.

'Pay close attention,' he said warningly.

'I am paying close attention,' I frowned. We were the only two people there. I knew I had a habit of breaking the rules, but I wasn't rude.

'Good, because I speak about two point three times faster than the average wizard, I don't want to have to explain again,' he replied.

I seriously doubted that. One thing I knew about McNully was that he loved to talk, especially about Quidditch.

'You know what the Porskoff Ploy is, right?' He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I did. It was when a Chaser flew directly upwards with the Quaffle, making the opposing Chasers follow them and then dropping the Quaffle past them to one of their fellow Chasers. It required incredible accuracy to pull off successfully.

I nodded and indicated for him to go on.

'Right, so this maneuver requires all three Chasers,' he started, pointing his wand at the blackboard and indicating to three circles with dotted lines connecting them all. 'You pass the Quaffle between all of you and move in a circular, weaving motion, like the shells! Anyone following behind will have no idea which of you has the Quaffle!'

McNully was definitely enthusiastic about his maneuver. He might have been a bit mad, though.

'Okay...' I said slowly, immediately seeing flaws in this strategy. 'But if all three Chasers are together, won't they be an easy target for Bludgers?'