Amulet of time 1: The Age of The Founders

Chapter 18: Quidditch? What's Quidditch?

" Ron will do anything I tell him. It would never occur to him to just summon it."

Ardwick looked at Harry for a moment before bursting out laughing. The noise and flying book had attracted Gallatea's attention. She left her homework and went over to the table the boys were sitting at.

" What's so funny?"

" Ron and I were just explaining how to play quidditch to Ardwick. It's a sport we play in our time, using four balls and broomsticks. At home we have House teams and a Quidditch Cup every year. I've played on my team since my first year, and I was the youngest seeker in a century."

" Seeker?"

Harry, sighing, got ready to explain the rules for a second time. By the time Ron came back Gallatea was rambling happily about quidditch. She had always been good on a broomstick, and enjoyed flying. The idea of playing a sport in the air really appealed to her. She had immediately wanted to borrow 'A Seeker's Guide to Legal Dirty Tactics', and had claimed 'Quidditch Through the Ages' as soon as Ardwick had finished it. Seeing her enthusiasm he couldn't help but think, what have I started now?

The next day was a Saturday, and as soon as breakfast was over Gallatea was dragging Harry out of the Great Hall and onto the Hogwarts grounds. She had been waiting since yesterday to try out the sport her friend had told her about, and now she had a whole day free to play. Harry was confused until they reached the flat area of ground where the quidditch pitch stood in his time. He spotted two brooms sitting on the floor. One he recognised as his beloved Firebolt. The other was a beautiful handcrafted broom made of cherry wood. He turned to the grinning Gallatea for an explanation.

" What's going on, 'Tea?"

" I want you to play quidditch with me. I brought our brooms, and figured we could transfigure some stones into hoops and balls. What do you say?"

" I think we should get Ron and Ardwick as well. I don't think the other girls would be interested in playing, but we could play two on two, each team with a chaser and keeper."

" Great, that's just as well. The boys are meeting us here after breakfast. I asked them earlier this morning."

Not long afterwards Ardwick and Ron came down the slope from the Hogwarts entrance, brooms in hand. Like Gallatea's, Ardwick's was hand made in a deep mahogany. Ron's was his old Comet 60. Not the best broom, but good enough for a fun game. As soon as they arrived, Harry and Gallatea raised their hands and transfigured two branches into goal hoops. Two rocks became a quaffle and a bludger. As they didn't have any beaters, they thought it was best to use only one bludger. Ron looked on in envy at his best friend. Harry had been the quickest to pick up wandless magic. After only six weeks he could easily do most spells without his wand, or even without an incantation.

" Right, we're ready," Gallatea announced as she leapt on her broom. The others soon followed and an intense game was played, Harry and Gallatea against Ardwick and Ron. Gallatea was proving to be a very skilled chaser, whereas Ron and Ardwick both flew in a style better suited to beaters. Harry wasn't bad as a keeper, but had to keep stopping himself from looking for a non existent snitch.

Two hours later the windswept and beaming group headed back inside. They went to the library where they found Hermione, Ginny and Christabel sitting around a table studying. Seeing their friend come in with brooms in their hands, the three sent them questioning looks.

" We played quidditch," was all Harry had to say.

Two days later found the group, minus Gallatea, sitting in the charms classroom. The topic of conversation – Gallatea's birthday. The question everyone had, was 'what do you get the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw?'. The Ravenclaws were rich, even richer than the d'Escargots. There wasn't anything she couldn't have. Luckily for Harry, he had thought of the perfect thing to get her. The others knew he had something in mind, and were rather annoyed that he wouldn't tell him. Ginny argued that if he didn't tell them, they ran the risk of one of the group buying her the same thing. Harry just gave her a secretive smile and told her no-one would think of the same thing. Hermione had cornered him that morning and demanded to know what it was, thinking it was something potentially dangerous. Harry, though, had again refused to tell her. He knew that if he told Hermione, she would stop him. He would get a big lecture about not messing with time.