Percy Jackson and the Mirror of Erised

25) Quidditch Practice

I sat at Gryffindor table the next morning. Harry told me about his theory. The package that Hagrid had taken from Gringotts was what the smaller Cerberus was guarding.

A week later, we didn't know anything more about the packages contents, or what was beyond the trap door. I had a guess. I have prophetic dreams, after all.

I was talking to Susan when our attention was caught by a long, thin package being carried by 6 owls. I stared at it curiously, wondering what it was and who it could be for.

I immediately knew once it landed in front of Harry.

A broomstick.

I told Susan what I thought it was and she smiled, "Harry was brilliant. You should've seen it. You were pretty amazing too, you know."

I smiled and thanked her, watching Harry and Ron leave the hall with the parcel in hand.

A letter landed in front of me.

I peeled it open and had Susan read it to me:

Dear Mr. Jackson,

Mr. Cedric Diggory would like for you to go to the quidditch pitch for practice this afternoon after classes.

Professor Sprout

Susan was beaming, "This is awesome! I'm sure you're going to be great for the Hufflepuff team. Maybe we'll win this year!"

It was much harder to pay attention in class now that I knew what was waiting for me after. I couldn't wait to fly on Arion, twisting and turning up in the air. It was the best feeling.

I was surprised to see Harry when I got to the field. We met up and explained what was happening.

We both mounted our brooms and climbed through the air, chatting together. We started flying around the pitch, and I was amazed to see that I was faster than Harry. I've never really been good up in the air, and Harry was amazing at me. I had a really good broom.

"Hey, boys, come down!" Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor team's captain, and Cedric had arrived.

We landed and Cedric smiled widely at me while Oliver complimented Harry.

Then we had the game explained to us.

7 players on each team. 3 are chasers, which is what I am. Oliver pulled a red ball, which was about the size of a soccer ball, and said it was called a quaffle. Us chasers needed to toss it through one of the three opposing golden hoops in order to get 10 points. Cedric is also a chaser.

Keepers are like goalies. They try to block the quaffle from going through the hoops. Oliver is Gryffindor's keeper. There's 1 keeper per team.

Oliver then pulled out 2 canon balls that were called a bludger, and handed us both a bat. He then tossed the struggling balls into the air.

One immediately started flying towards me, the other Harry. I slammed the bat against it, launching it into the sky. Harry's flew off too, but not as far as mine.

I used to play little league. Fight me.

Oliver then pulled out the last ball. It was tiny and golden. The golden snitch. It was the seeker's job to catch the tiny ball. Catching it earned the team 150 points. The game didn't end until the snitch was caught.

Oliver and Cedric quickly talked, setting us up for some practice. Oliver would guard the hoops for me, while Cedric would toss walnuts to Harry.

Harry caught all of the walnuts, and I didn't miss a single shot.

I was about to aim for the hoop, when I suddenly had an idea. "Hey, Oliver?"

"Yeah, Percy?"

"Am I aloud to throw the quaffle at other balls? Like, not at people, but the balls?"

"Umm... it's not against the rules, so I guess. Why?" Oliver questioned, looking a little curious.

"Watch this."

I saw Cedric throw a walnut to Harry. I quickly threw the quaffle. It collided with the walnut, sending it away from Harry.

Cedric's eyes immediately lit up while Oliver whispered, "Oh no. That's not good. Not good at all."

Hufflepuff is so going to win this year.

We practiced for a little while longer, Oliver telling me that he was going to steal that strategy.

I laughed at that.

I headed back up to Hufflepuff's common room with Cedric, both of us laughing and smiling. I loved how much Hufflepuff felt like a family. It was as if Cedric was my older brother. I loved it.

I quickly showered then grabbed my drawing book.

I drew Oliver, floating in front of the goal posts. I drew Cedric, tossing walnuts. I drew Harry, zipping along as fast as he could.

I left the coloring for tomorrow, lying down and having good dreams for the first time in a while.

School is cancelled for the rest of the week and next week is spring break. Not going back to school until the end of the month, which is awesome. I'll get bored, but then again, I get bored in school a lot. Also, I've finished the first five chapters of the third book, so that's good. It's going great.

In the last chapter, there was child rape. Normally, I avoid that, but it's going to lead to conflict in the future, and not just in this book. Percy handles it well, but it affects him, and always will. I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but it happened, and I'm not changing it.

Next post on Thursday.