Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin
February 18, 2012
Hogwart’s Quidditch Pitch
 
The wintry day at the Hogwart’s Quidditch pitch seemed to be reflected in the eyes of Ravenclaw’s captain, Blake Knight. Their blue hue was cooler than usual as he surveyed the playing conditions and the crowd as his team exited the locker room. The roar from the stands was nearly deafening as they were all introduced.

This match felt different from their first one of the season against Hufflepuff back in the fall. Sure, there had been nerves then. But the stakes and pressure had felt  less at the time. And some of those jitters had fueled the team forward, with nervous energies finally making way for competitive fire.

Blake spent weeks preparing for each match with his team, but this Slytherin one had caused him many sleepless nights. His mind would play and replay scenarios, even haunting his dreams when he finally did manage to sleep. Plus, he spent more time than was probably healthy reviewing coverage to construct the means with which to take advantage of knowing his brothers and their team so well.

The most notable strategy he planned to employ in his quest to systematically dismantle Slytherin’s gameplay came when the team rosters were announced.

For the past few years on the team, Blake had settled into the role of a Beater. And generally that was the best place for him against any other team this year. After years of watching Callum play and also attending many Quidditch camps, his skill at the position had the potential to be the best of any Hogwarts player this season. His increased size, bulk, and athleticism allowed him to strike the bludger with such finesse that at times it came out of nowhere for opposing chasers. He could also be physical when the need arose and now that he had the added muscle to his frame, he didn’t mind taking hits at all.

But for the match against Slytherin, Blake made the calculated choice to switch to a Chaser. In this way, he could directly offset the work done by his brothers as Slytherins tandem of beaters. When his name was announced, he saw the cocky glances between Darren and Harold, likely already thinking they could gang up on him at every turn. It was something Blake was counting on. He knew they would be sloppy. They were going to be brutes. And they were going to show how they weren’t true students and enthusiasts of the game of quidditch, something that Blake planned to be relentless in exploiting.

*     *     *     *

It was clear very early on that the Slytherin strategy (or lack thereof) was no match for Blake’s tireless efforts to prepare his team in the weeks preceding the game, as well as what wound up transpiring on the pitch.

As he expected, the Slytherin beaters (his brothers) focused a lot of their attention on Blake, which allowed the other two Ravenclaw Chasers and their Seeker to take advantage of less pressure. Harold and Darren essentially left the rest of their team high and dry each time they went after Blake and flung out their cheap shots to keep the quaffle away from him and his scoring opportunities to a minimum. Blake was content to let them believe that they were once again getting the better of him. It almost seemed to come as a complete shock to them each time the other Ravenclaw Chasers scored. Even without Blake in his usual position, the Ravenclaw Beaters serviceably managed to shut down the opposing Chasers, keeping them to only 6 goals scored.

The whistle blew.

After 12 goals of their own throughout the match, the snitch had been finally been caught in a flurry of the blue and silver robes of the Ravenclaw seeker.

Elation poured out of his limbs as Blake grounded himself on the snowy, muddy pitch floor. Blake beamed at his teammates who still swirled up above him in the beginnings of their victory celebration. Blake released a hearty “Woooooooo!” To which the nearby crowd echoed those sentiments back.

A shared victory for them all.

A group of his housemates were holding a large Ravenclaw banner that billowed in the wind. Blake ran over to where they were and gestured for them to hand it over. Once in his hands he mounted his broom again and joined his teammates in a victory lap around the pitch. The cheering crowd made his chest swell with pride.

They had beaten Slytherin.

It had been a long time since Ravenclaw had managed a win this satisfying against the house of snakes. And Blake felt this win deeply on a personal level too. Even though he wanted to win the House Cup and would do whatever he could to make that end goal happen, this was a victory against his brothers. For years he had endured the Slytherin wins and all the gloating and smug looks. At home. In school. It had been everywhere he went.

None of them had ever taken him seriously as a threat—on or off the pitch. First it was Callum. Then Darren. And of course his very own twin, Harold.

Now, after this match, he was hardly going to be able to contain a gloating grin whenever he was around any of them.

Ravenclaw had needed this. And so had he.

Hufflepuff v. Gryffindor
March 3, 2012
Hogwarts Qudditch Pitch

Scouting Report.

Blake scratched the words in his notebook with his quill and waited patiently for the pre-game ceremonies and team introductions to conclude and the match to officially start.

There was still a lot of Quidditch to be played before the end of the season. Ravenclaw’s final match would be against Gryffindor. So most of his notes would be in preparation for that. But, he may have promised Ayla that he’d make note of anything the Badgers did that stood out as potential weaknesses verses Slytherin. He still wanted to beat Hufflepuff, but he wanted everyone else to beat Slytherin almost as much.

The toot of the whistle pulled him out of his thoughts and soon he was feverishly scrawling notes and reminders to himself. He tracked stats of each player and noted interesting facts or tidbits that stood out. To anyone else, his scratching might not make sense. But Blake would later pour over everything he’d written in an effort to devise new plays or strategies for the team. It was something he had seen previous captains do. And he had most of their notes that had been passed down to him, all with great ideals in theory. But they didn’t always apply in practice given that teams changed from year to year.

Even Ravenclaw’s team was quite different in years past. Besides veterans Alvis and Kelly and himself, most of the rest of the team were newer and not well known at all. Past teams always seemed to have an abundance of personalities jockeying for attention and position.

Yet here they sat 2-0. Perhaps having star players at every position wasn’t ideal. They weren’t working as individuals but as a true team.

This match was over almost as quickly as it had begun. The teams had been tied at two goals apiece before the snitch was caught.

Hmmm….this might not be enough for a decent scouting report….

Hufflepuff v. Slytherin
May 12, 2012
Hogwarts Qudditch Pitch

The evil empire had been dismantled.

Blake may have had a hand or two in helping the Hufflepuff team prepare for their match against Slytherin. Perhaps too well as they slaughtered them and it placed the badgers in front of the points standings by a decent amount. Even so, Blake had happily rooted Ayla and her team on and robustly celebrated the win, almost as if it had been his own team's. It assured that Slytherin would not have a four-pete and unless Gryffindor tanked, the chances were high for them to finish dead last. This filled him with glee. It was his dream and prophecy from the beginning of the year come true. And though he had joked of doing something underhanded like sabotage, the win had been through hard work on the pitch, painstaking crafting strategy after strategy and utilizing the Ravenclaw brains over the Slytherin significant braun.

And now it was time to turn his attention to beating Gryffindor. He wanted that cup more than he was comfortable saying aloud for fear that it would jinx them. But he envisioned himself hoisting the trophy so many times that it felt real. It couldn’t be just a dream. It couldn’t just be something he wanted so deeply he felt it in his bones.

No. Now he had to go out and make it happen.

Gryffindor v. Ravenclaw
May 26, 2012
Hogwarts Qudditch Pitch

Final Rankings
1. Ravenclaw: 560 points   
2. Hufflepuff: 560 points   
3. Gryffindor: 470 points   
4. Slytherin: 220 points

The victory was sweet. Even as he would have liked to win the cup outright with the highest point total, tying with Hufflepuff was acceptable in his book. They were worthy adversaries and showed excellent athletic conduct. And the tie breaker went to his team for beating Hufflepuff in their lone match earlier in the year. To Blake, they had all won. They had all beaten Slytherin (quite thoroughly) after 3 long grueling and unbearable years of dominance. They had broken an unspoken curse; let go of a weighty burden of defeat.

“We drink from the keg of glory, my friends!” He hollered, the cup firmly in his grasp and feeling as if it weighed nothing at all.

Blake threw back his head and released a sound that started as a low rumble from deep within his chest and then rolled into what could only be described as a howl. Perhaps he had been hanging out with his friends in SAWS too much of late but anything relating to a raven or a bird just didn’t seem enough to convey all the emotion he was feeling.

What a thrilling night.