February 20th Quidditch: Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor - Backdated like crazy.
The morning was uncharacteristically warm for a February day, hinting at the fact that soon Spring would be upon them. The students of Hogwarts, however, had no interest in the changing of the seasons as they piled into the Quidditch stands to watch Gryffindor house face off against Hufflepuff.
Madam Hooch began the game, and they were off. The Gryffindor Chasing team of Frobisher, Robins, and Thomas proved their skill against Hufflepuff’s Cadwallder, Smith, and Moon straight off – owning the Pitch for a fast round of goals, and dragging the score to 40-0 for Gryffindor. Keeper Jones blocked a good four more goals from the Gryffindor trio before Hufflepuff’s Cadwallader finally took control of the quaffle to score Hufflepuff’s first goal of the game.
For a few minutes, things seemed to be changing in Hufflepuff's favor, and a quick slot of goals quickly tied up the score. Moon's run for a fifth goal was halted, however, by a stunning blow from Gryffindor Beater Sloper, who seemed to be making up for his disappointing run in Gryffindor’s last game.
The bludger caught Moon in the thigh, sending her into a spin that would take her out of the game. The injury was answered, though certainly not intentionally, as Hufflepuff Beater Hopkins sent a hard bludger shot directly to Gryffindor’s new star. The resounding crack as the bludger hit Sloper's shoulder could be nothing other than the breaking of bones, but amazingly the Gryffindor was able to stay on his broom, and play through the pain.
For several minutes, no one scored at all, as the quaffle was run each direction down the field. Cattermole and Hopkins, working together for Hufflepuff, too defensive positions to keep Gryffindor away from their goals, and Smith and Cadwallder were able to intercept the quaffle to keep the score tied. Some quick thinking from Captain Weasley, though, changed Gryffindor's tactics mid-stream, and with new orders in place the Gryffindor team once again began to run the pitch, quickly raising the score in favor of Gryffindor. In contrast, Smith seemed more focused on keeping his struggling pairing with Cadwallder together, and though Hufflepuff took the quaffle over several more times to score, Hufflepuff began to visible suffer from a lack of communication
It seemed the game had barely begun, however, when from their positions above the action Seekers Weasley and Summerby began a frenzied dive. As their teammates scattered for their search, Summerby was held up by a near collision with Hufflepuff's Beater Hopkins, as the later flew recklessly in front of a bludger that had changed direction and had been headed straight for Hufflepuff's Jones at the goals. Hopkins was sent spiraling out of the game, and the commontion cost Summerby several seconds in the race. It was just enough time for Weasley to wrap her hand around that tiny flicker of gold they’d both been seeking.
Final score after one hour and fifty two minutes of game play – Gryffindor 210, Hufflepuff 100.