Chapter 31: The dangers of quidditch

Disclaimer: 

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

$Parseltongue$

Chapter 31: The dangers of quidditch

The players immediately got busy. Angelina, Katie, and Alicia went to intercept the quaffle while the Weasley twins protected them from Slytherin beaters.

Oliver Wood watched with rapt attention, not losing sight of any detail.

Both seekers were flying higher than the other player, overseeing the entire stadium.

"Oi, Longbottom!" The Slytherin seeker approached Neville and looked at him with a nasty smirk.

Neville looked forward at the other boy and started to shake a little. The Slytherin seeker was a much older boy than himself, he figured that he was a least a fifth year.

"W-what do you want…"

"Not much, just wanted to ask if you were okay there. You were looking a bit… shaky." 

Neville stared dubiously at the older boy. He was fairly sure that the Slytherin seeker was just trying to mock him in some way.

The Slytherin boy realized this and raised his hands defensively.

"Hey, come on. I'm just trying to be a good sport here."

"I'm okay…" He said hesitantly.

"I just don't like heights very much…not since my uncle threw me off the third floor of the house in an effort to awaken my magic."

"I see…then, let me give you a few tips." He rose one finger up.

"Number one, test your broom before every game."

Neville nodded while listening.

"Number two, charming your uniform pants with a cushioning charm is a game changer."

"And number three…" A smirk appeared on his face.

"Always keep an eye on the enemy beaters."

"Neville, move!" The desperate shoute from Oliver reached Neville's ears but he didn't understand what was happening or where he was supposed to move.

It was then that Neville saw the Slytherin seeker quickly flying to one side just as a bludger flew past him and hit Neville on the chest, making him fall backward.

"Oh no!" Harry heard Hermione as she rose from her seat.

"He is going to fall!" Lavender was sitting on his left, covering her face.

Neville managed to barely hold on and was now hanging with only his fingers touching the flying broom while this one remained floating in the air.

"Oh boy!, Gryffindor's seeker has been hit by a bludger and is barely hanging from his broom, this does not look good!." Lee Jordan did his best to keep his commentary while everyone stared at Neville.

"Do something, Albus!" Shouted McGonagall.

Dumbledore nodded before standing up with his wand already in hand.

The other Gryffindor player had already abandoned their position and rushed to help their teammate, but before anyone could get close enough, Neville lost his grip and fell while giving a bloodcurdling scream.

The Headmaster pointed his wand at Neville and started to cast a feather fall charm when he noticed a large amount of magic concentrating right beneath the boy.

"What is that?" He looked at the events with great curiosity.

A strong gust of wind came out of nowhere and slowed Neville's fall until he was almost floating in the air.

The wind then got progressively weaker and disappeared completely when he was only a few feet off the grassy field.

Harry watched the scene from the box and breathed in relief while storing his wand back.

'This is the second time…that boy needs to stay away from brooms.'

"He is safe!" Hermione cried.

"Bloody hell!, that was close." Shouted Ron.

"Did you see that? is like what happened that day during flying practice." Told Lavander to her friend but loud enough for everyone in the box to hear.

"Are you talking about the rumors of him awakening some ancient magic?" Asked Parvati, even though she was one of the main culprits for spreading that rumor. They were just doing it for fun and never considered there could be some truth to it.

The game was stopped after that while they gave Neville a medical check-up.

Thirty minutes passed after that and the students were starting to get anxious.

"What is taking so long? Could Neville be seriously hurt?" Asked Hermione.

"I'm sure he is fine, he barely fell two feet after the wind stopped. But I would be seriously surprised if Neville is still willing to ride a flying broom any time soon after this." Answered Harry.

In the end, he was right. Professor Hooch came back into the stadium ten minutes later to announce the end of the match.

Gryffindor Seeker had refused to play again after the incident and the team had not prepared a replacement for him. So with the lack of one player, they were forced to forfeit the game, giving Slytherin the win.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

The next day, Headmaster's office

Albus Dumbledore was sitting on his chair and looking very uncomfortable towards his visitor.

Augusta Longbottom looked like she was ready to jump over the table and smash the old wizard's head with one of the many objects decorating his desk.

"One month, Albus. He's only been here one month and is already injured!." Augusta spat with rage.

"Augusta…you know that magical schools have some risks…" 

"Don't give me that!, don't think for a moment that I don't know about the previous incident that occurred in his first week." The old witch could not have her eyes narrowed any further.

"It was just an accident, Augusta. Quidditch can be a bit dangerous sometimes." Minerva, who was the third and last occupant of the office at the moment, decided to help the Headmaster a little bit.

"Oh, I'm not blaming that other boy for his trickery, Minerva. I'm blaming whoever thought that putting my grandson on that broom and having him play a quidditch match was a good idea." Her eyes moved from Minerva to Dumbledore.

"Which one of you made that decision?"

"I made the suggestion…" Spoke the Headmaster. "I thought it would help young Neville with his…confidence issues."

"After he almost broke his neck on his first flying class, you thought that would give him more confidence? And since when is that your job? I am her grandmother. You are supposed to educate him, nothing more!." Augusta shouted.

"I can assure you that we just want the best for your grandson." Minerva tried to placate the angry woman.

"He has already left the team, he won't be playing again."

"Of course, he won't!. I would not have allowed such a thing to happen again."

The old witch looked at Dumbledore.

"I hope this is the last time I have to visit my grandson in the infirmary, Albus. I have you know that there are other options for education besides Hogwarts."

The Headmaster's expression changed a bit at this.

"That won't be necessary. There is no other place where he is safer than in Hogwarts, trust me." 

"Humph!, trust you…after what happened to… never mind." Agusta seemed like she wanted to say something more but kept it to herself.