Chapter 329 - England VS. Norway

The present Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports is a rather jolly-looking man, who looked as though he might have once played Quidditch himself. The wizard known as Dano Amundsen whips out his wand andd says, "Sonorous!" His voice instantly could be heard over the roar of the crowd as his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands.

"Ladies and Gentlemen...welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and second Quidditch World Cup!"

The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags waved in the air adding the racket of the national anthem to the noise. The blackboard that was opposite from them was wiped clean as it now showed, ENGLAND: 0, NORWAY: 0.

"And now without further ado, allow me to introduce…. the Norway National Team Mascot!" The right-hand side of the stands, which was a solid block of scarlet, roared its approval.

"Water Nymphs," Rowan drily said as she saw the scantily clad dark-haired woman emerge from the stadium and begin to dance. They weren't quite as fair as the Veela's, but at least they didn't turn into bird-like creatures and throw fire. But then again, Veela's didn't try to drown someone in a pool of water either.

Severus turned bright red as he glanced away but slowly his eyes would be drawn to the water nymphs before them. Rowan merely smirked the whole time with a knowing grin. Severus finally snapped and said, "What!"

Rowan merely mouthed the word, "Lily," causing Severus to turn an ashy gray. Keeping his eyes firmly on Lucius Malfoy before him, Severus didn't glance up until the dance was up. The crowd was vastly disappointed, but what could they do?

"And now kindly put our wands in the air.... for the England National Team Mascots!"

The next moment a bunch of glittering fairies fills the night sky. The entire night sky lights up as the fairies begin to dance and form gorgeous shapes. For once Rowan was even impressed with the sharp-toothed little buggers. She still didn't like them and would never. But she could appreciate a good show just like everyone else.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen kindly welcome – the Norwegian National Quidditch Team! I give you – Bjord!

A scarlet-clad figure on a broomstick moving so fast he was nothing but a blur. The Norwegian crowd went wild as they applauded the player.

"Distad!" A second scarlet-robed player zoomed out.

"Falla! Wollen! Spilde! Jelle! Aaaaaand – Helberg!"

Helberg was a handsome man despite his broken nose. A roguish smile caused the women in the crowd to scream as he zoomed around the field.

"And now please greet – the England National Quidditch Team! Presenting – Davis! Bagman! Wilson! Taylor! Walker! Aaaaaand – McLaggen!" Seven blue blurs swept onto the field as Rowan glanced over at one blur in particular as she stared through her omnioculars. The beater with Bagman on the back was indeed Lugo Bagman. This would probably be one of his last years as a beater before becoming a member of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"

A small, skinny wizard beginning to bald with a large mustache, wears robes of pure gold to match the stadium. A silver whistle was protruding from under the mustache as he carried the large wooden crate across the field with his broom under the other. Much like regular, Mustafa mounted his broom and kicked the crate open as four balls burst into the air. With a sharp blast of his whistle, Mostafa shot into the air after the balls.

"Theeeeey're OFF!" Screamed Amundsen, the Head of the Department. "And its-."

Rowan didn't pay much attention to the match but rather searched through the crowd. She finally found Terry thanks to his very large fair-haired family. To her surprise and delight, she also spotted Silvia, Bethanie, and Tiffany with their families sitting nearby. It was easy to tell whose parents were who, but she had to admit she was rather shocked at the astonishing youthful beauty that Bethanie's mother in fact was. That and the fact that she spotted a cousin of Silvia's sitting nearby a dead ringer for being the future father of Marcus Flint.

When Rowan glanced up, she found that the scoreboard read as ENGLAND: 50, NORWAY: 90. With a shrug, she returned to her search and almost dropped her omnioculars in shock. Gaping for a moment she blinks just to make sure she's seeing correctly before carefully peering into omnioculars. But sure, enough despite blinking repeatedly the image of Pettigrew sitting with Quyen Crowley and Lupin's family did not go away.

Feeling as though she had missed something dramatically important, Rowan murmurs to herself to ask Remus about it. He'd tell her what was going on. Though she doubted she'd believe it, truth be told.

A disappointed scream can still be heard despite her earplugs as the English seeker, McLaggen missed catching the snitch due to a bludger from the Norwegian beater. Returning to her glancing about she finds Regulus sitting next to his parents and the Potter's along with James and Sirius.

Ever since-, since then the Black married couple had been a lot more protective of their only two sons. As such, Sirius to his utter horror now found himself being cared for by a pair of overly protective parents. Though Sirius would never admit it even until the point of death, it was nice to be looked after again.

The match turned, even more, faster and more brutal. The beaters from both teams were taking dangerous whacks at the chasers and seekers as much as they could. It'd become a slugging fest between the team beaters about who'd knock each other out of the air first.

At one point the game had to be stopped as one of the chasers went down with a blow to the face. A medic quickly treated the wound, before allowing the chaser to go back up again. The game quickly started up and became even more intense than before as the scoreboard now read as ENGLAND: 130, NORWAY: 220.

Suddenly, Davis and Helberg dive as the crowd begins to scream. Helberg suddenly pulls up causing Davis to smash into the ground from a successful Wronski Defensive Feint, (a dangerous seeker diversion). Norway cheered while the England side booed. While Davis was being revived by the mediwziards with cups of a healing potion, Helberg was searching for the snitch.

Davis finally got back to his feet as the crowd cheered and mounted his broom. Rather peeved he kicked off into the air as the clear anger could be seen in his eyes. Zooming away, Mostafa blew his whistle again, the Chasers moved into action with a skill that caused the crowd to gasp. The game quickly got dirtier as the English beaters tried to avenge Davis.

Frequent whistle blows could be heard as Mostafa gave out fouls for cobbling and more infractions. Neither were the team mascots helping as the Norwegian Nymphs would suggestively dance at times showing their perfectly formed chests and booties at the male players. More than one actually gawked and ended up being slammed out of the air by a bludger. But neither did the fairies help as they'd make rude gestures in the air or formed words such as LOSER!

The scoreboard now read as ENGLAND: 180, NORWAY: 310 as Norway had pulled even further ahead. The masses were chanting until Davis is suddenly seeing diving thinking it was another feint the crowd doesn't pay attention until Helberg does the same. The stadium is utterly silent for a moment until the shrill screaming stars as both sides egg on their favorite teams.

Racing neck and neck both seekers leaned flat against their brooms until both seekers hit the ground in unison. The mediwizards rush forward as the crowd eagerly waits to know, who got the snitch. Suddenly Davis's hand goes up and the crowd goes wild as clenched tightly in his fist a glint of gold can be seen.

The final scoreboard now reads as ENGLAND: 330, NORWAY: 310. Severus is shaking Rowan in excitement as Rowan frowns and tries to shove him away. Yes, yes, the final minute was exciting. Now he better let her go!