Ch 5 - Quidditch

or

On the commentary box with best boy Lee Jordan

...

Now me drinking water instead of pumpkin juice has become a staple for our table, not that I don't like the drink but I certainly prefer plain water over it.

I was finally able to cast expelliarmus efficiently and regularly, aiming it correctly while running was another pair of shoes entirely, however. Protego was coming along nicely, could tank a few shots from the training dummy but it was still hard to keep it active while running and avoiding obstacles. Nonetheless, progress was progress.

In the meantime, I was well ahead on the practical side of charms AND transfiguration. Theory was on par keeping up (much thanks to Hermione).

DaDa was mostly theoretical and the spells we learned were mostly the ones taught practically in the later years of charms.

...

"Where are you going!" asked Ron heatedly "Harry's first match is in right about an hour, we need to get the best seats before they get taken!"

"Don't worry I'm not going to miss it, actually I am going to see it from a special place I say winking at the two"

"What the hell does that mean!" almost screamed Hermione

To her chagrin, I just winked and bolted in another direction.

Now, what do I mean by a special place? Let me go back to a few days ago.

-McGonagall's office,-.

"Did you call for me professor?" asked a curious Lee Jordan

"Yes Mr. Jordan, but before that, I want to introduce Mr. Wielding to you"

"Christian, Christian Wielding but you can call me Chris" I gave him a smile and extended my hand

"Lee, Lee Jordan, you can call me Lee" he shook my hand and smiled back

"Now, the reason I called you is that Mr. Wirlding wanted to apply as a co-host for the Quidditch matches, I believe his ability to analyze the game might be a very good addition. However, he was adamant in wanting to see if you two could click as a team"

Lee was surprised at that "I also think that a good technical input would be great but he is a first year and a muggle-born at that, no offense, but I do not know if he will be able to give any help" however the professor was ready

"That is why to convince you of his abilities I asked your Headmaster to borrow his own Pensieve again to test the chemistry between the two of you. We will replay a match from the world cup, Mr. Wielding already knows the names and positions of these players, your goal will be to perform a commentary to the best of their abilities"

"Well, what are we waiting for then," said Lee shrugging his shoulder

It was a rounding success

...

"Let's recap" started Lee "So I start with the welcoming phrase then will introduce the Gryffindor team, you will take the mic and introduce the Slytherins." he paused and looked at me

"Copy" I simply answered

"Good, then you will give some random trivia about the teams, you prepared that?"

"yep"

"Great, then the match will start and I will start the basic commentary, the cues are: 1) I ask you specifically to analyze a particular play 2) You touch my arm signaling you saw something interesting 3) I speak over you in case there is some action that needs to be absolutely commented on. We good?"

"Crystal clear"

"Great. Remember your inputs need to be fast, correct, and straight to the point." he looked at me and I nodded confidently

"Let's give them the best commentary they got in years man" I grinned at him and he responded in king

"Let's fucking go, Chris"

...

-McGonagall's PoV-

When he asked me if he could join Lee to host the Quidditch matches I was surprised, even more, when he proposed to be the one to take care of the technical aspect of the game, while I did not doubt his analyzing abilities, after all, I knew from class he was able to extract the necessary information from a text full of content with precision, I was not sure if he could transfer that skill to my favorite game.

To test my theory I just let him try to host a world cup game directly from my memory and, while not knowing the names and positions, he was able to quickly give solid inputs and a nice flowing commentary, it was all I needed honestly to immediately sign him up. With more experience, I had no doubt he would be the one to succeed Lee.

...

"Ladies and Gentlemen" boomed Lee much to the hype of the students present

"Welcome to the first official match of the year, and it doesn't get better than that Slytherin versus Gryffindor, at the commentary box is your man Lee Jordan today accompanied by the only Gryffindor who always gets nods of approval by Snape with his potions: Christofer Wielding!" then he widens his eyes, he was so caught up in it he forgot I had to introduce myself to the public, but I was one step ahead of him

"Thank you for the glowy introduction Lee," I say chuckling a bit and mirroring the reaction of the public "Today indeed doesn't get better than that, the sky is clear and the temperature is on the warmer side, both teams are getting ready and the hype is to through the roof" getting a nod from Lee I continue

"Now, let's introduce our teams a little bit, Slytherin is going for a very aggressive lineup: defending the three rings is Miles Bletchley and he is the one to beat today, last year cemented this position as the best goalkeeper of the school with the least goal taken in the whole season and an exceptional performance versus Ravenclaw securing his team the trophy.

Next to him in a more offensive position than usual we have the two beaters: Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Bole. In attack they lined up Marcus Flint, Graham Montague, and Adrian Pucey while the chaser for this year still remains Terence Higgs." I conclude as cheers explode from the green side, Lee pitches in

"Gryffindor's layout didn't change much from last year: Oliver Wood, the captain, defends the rings, beside him the twins seem ready to wreak havoc.

The three chasers, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, and Angelina Johnson complete the attack. The new addition to the team as we all already know is the seeker, the one and only, Harry Potter."

...