MATCH 002: HUFFLEPUFF VS. RAVENCLAW
Unlike the first match of the season, between the wild card team and the defending champions, talk leading to this match was less involved with theorising about the potential performance from the underdogs—then Slytherin, now most commonly agreed to be Hufflepuff, if only by virtue of being up against the Jones-Bagman-Karoonda trifecta—than the actual specifics of how the match could play out. Following Gryffindor’s win on a Slytherin snitch, the options have never been more varied.
Following the surprise turn of the Gryffindor vs Slytherin match, some speculated whether there could be any major surprises in store. By and large, Ravenclaw were the heavy favourites to win. Captained by Gwenog Jones, Ravenclaw sports the best Beater duo Hogwarts has seen for years—not simply due to their skill, but also their mutual dedication to the sport and ability to work together paralleled only by the Gryffindor chasers—as well as arguably the best Seeker in the castle. Arguments have been made for Regulus Black, but when accounting for broom quality and its effect on performance, popular opinion says Karoonda has him beat.
Hufflepuff, on the other hand, has its greatest strength in its chasers. They don’t have the same level of synchronicity and instinctive understanding as the Gryffindors—though they do come closest of the other three houses—but they’re still enough to give Ravenclaw Keeper Ailyn Wilkes a run for her money. Hufflepuff’s chasers have a good head for strategy and commitment to their plays, and it is their teamwork and ability to defer to each other—or at least, the other two’s ability to defer to Alice Fortescue—that elevates them above Ravenclaw’s in the rankings. The question on everyone’s minds: is that enough?
Unlike the last match, there were no sharp, blistering winds to contend with. Yet as those conditions had driven a fast-paced game, these conditions did the opposite. In place of the frigid cold and the sharp wind, there was instead a heavy fog over the match, and it rained at several points, greatly affecting visibility. The match lasted quite a bit longer than the last as a result, and students could be found casting water-repelling charms throughout the stands.
As was to be expected, Ravenclaw Beaters Gwenog Jones and Ludo Bagman played a remarkable match, both separately and together. Whilst Jones was often near her Keeper, Ailyn Wilkes, to survey the match and spot the space to fly into in order to maximise damage potential with incoming bludgers, Bagman was more concerned with the seeker Lucy Karoonda, though both abandoned their presumed posts in order to defend their team, particularly against the strongest Hufflepuff front: their Chasers.
The Hufflepuff Chasers held out well, even against Wilkes’ precise and efficient goal-keeping. After Hufflepuff’s seventh goal, scored by none other than Seventh Year Alice Fortescue, Bagman and Jones pulled off some complicated tandem Beating, with Bagman hitting a Bludger Backbeat to take Fortescue by surprise, forcing her to drop the Quaffle and dive to avoid the Bludger, and Jones hitting the Bludger back at the nearest Hufflepuff Chaser to ensure they did not catch it in its freefall, ensuring Ravenclaw possession.
When Hufflepuff regained possession, thanks to a particularly well-executed Double Eight Loop from their Keeper, the Ravenclaw Beaters came together once more to launch a Dopplebeater Defence against one of Hufflepuff’s Chasers. As intended, she dropped the Quaffle, but did not move quickly enough to avoid the Bludger, and ended up falling from her broom. Fortunately for all involved, both Bagman and the nearest Hufflepuff Beater flew for her at the same time, and retrieved her and her broom respectively. After a brief yet loud and colourful discussion with Madam Wood—featuring a lot of gestures towards Madam Pomfrey, who was looking very displeased by the fact that all involved were still in the air—play resumed, said Chaser having evidently convinced everyone that she was still fit to play.
Ravenclaw lost possession after what appeared to be unintentional—and displeasing to their captain, judging from her reaction—haversacking, though regained it after a particularly well-aimed Bludger from Jones to Fortescue. Surprisingly, it was Hufflepuff that brought the game veering towards dirty, with the Beater that had caught the falling Chaser evidently still holding a grudge. Bagman and Jones had their hands full protecting their Chasers, leaving both Karoonda and Wilkes to brave their tasks alone for the last twenty minutes of the match.
Thankfully for all who had not been successful with their casting of the water-repelling charms during the downpour, Karoonda somehow managed to find the Snitch amongst the rain and fog. Rocketing towards the Hufflepuff Beaters—and raising fears of an incident of blatching about to occur—Karoonda executed an extreme successful Wronski Defensive Feint, drawing the other Seeker down with them, before sharply pulling back up and snagging the Snitch cleanly from beside Wilkes’ ear.
Whilst the end of the match was of no surprise to the more well-versed Quidditch fans amongst the crowd, a great many expressed surprise at how well Hufflepuff had managed to hold their own initially. The distinctions between leadership styles of the two captains was evident to all, and left few with any doubts as to which was more effective. If the weather had more visibility, perhaps Hufflepuff’s Seeker would have fared better, but as it was, it was their Chasers carrying the team. Wilkes did well combating them, but even though Hufflepuff’s Keeper was slightly weaker today, Ravenclaw’s Chasers did not have the same ability to defer and fall in line with each other that Hufflepuff managed to do in order to play a strong game in the low visibility.
The FINAL SCORE was 260—140 to RAVENCLAW, making them the winners of the second match of the season.
• • COMMENTATOR’S REPORT • •
"Good morning, Hogwarts, this is Lily Evans coming at you from under the frizzy hair in the commentator's box - we've got a really exciting game ahead of us, with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw coming out to show us what they've got and I know I can't wait to start squinting at our line-ups through the fog, but first - as always, I've got to recommend a good water repulsion Charm with the sky doing its best to soak us to our souls, remember the wand motion is up, down, left because I'm already seeing some trouble out there, be sure to ask for help if you need it -"
"Lead Hufflepuff - lead Ravenclaw - bloody h - unsuccessful turn from our Hufflepuff seeker, there, right into Karoonda and that's got to hurt. Don't think we have to worry about blatching, though, because they're both looking a little dizzy now - or maybe it's just the fog, got to admire them flying at all when I keep losing track of my own elbow -"
"- and in a shocking twist it is in fact raining, again, you heard it here first folks - Jones and Bagman seem to be doubling down, bludgers are flying back and forth like angry, confused ping-pong balls but our Beaters sure know what they're doing, I wouldn't want to fly through that - and my God, a stunning Backbeat from Bagman! Fortescue dives and Ravenclaw recovers possession thanks to a tricky move from Jones, some really exciting Beating over here -"
" - honestly, I think she should just let her back in the game, I've seen Chasers recover from Parkin's Pincer in less time than this argument's taking but I just do the talking around here, not the - okay, that gesture was a little rude, listen, I'm just going to offer some chatter for the younger among us to listen to until the debate gets a little less, uh, colourful. Have you ever heard the one about the Grindylow and the clown? The clown walks into a lake..."
"- and that's ten to Ravenclaw, nicely done, and Hufflepuff's got the quaffle, cutting through the bulk in Hawkshead Formation - yes there's a longer name but excuse me, it's a bloody triangle - wonderful dive from Fortescue -"
" - oh! Of course - it looked like they were feinting, folks, and Karoonda's got the snitch from right under Wilke's nose! That's 260-140 in favor of RAVENCLAW, a brilliant match all around if I do say so myself. Hufflepuff's teamwork is really shining through in their Chasers, with I suspect some insightful direction from Chaser Fortescue - and I think we'll be talking about that steal halfway through the game for a while - but in the end, there was no beating those Beaters and they had the team to back them up. Hufflepuff will have to step it up for next time, but there's still a long season ahead and I don't think I speak too soon in saying they've got a lot more to show us. Now, I think we'd all like to get inside and warm up - find yourself a hearth to sit by for me, and break out the drying Charms, we're all looking pretty well soaked."
• • ANALYSIS AND INJURIES • •
Madam Pomfrey spent a significant amount of time following the match tending to the players, particularly to check for concussion for the Hufflepuff Chaser who fell, as well as a sprained wrist for Alice Fortescue and a bruised side for Lucy Karoonda, following an early-on bump from the Hufflepuff Seeker. There were some other sprains and aches, but nothing immediately notable as a serious injury beyond the potential concussion.
Heading into the third match of the season upcoming in February, SLYTHERIN vs RAVENCLAW, the cumulative points for the tournament are as stands:
Slytherin against Ravenclaw ought to be interesting—both teams have much stronger Beaters and Keepers than Chaser units, and given their currently tied position, it’s likely to all come down to which Seeker will catch the Snitch first. With an entire break ahead, Talkalot and Jones are bound to be coming up with new plays and possible strategies for their teams. It must be noted that it is Jones’ final year, and there are bound to be scouts looking out for her and Bagman—perhaps this will be the necessary drive to ensure they beat Slytherin, captained by Sixth Year Lucinda Talkalot.
