On Thursday, November 15^th, the football field was set alight with the heat of competition and hot chocolate. Students from all grades, all classes, and yes, all genders, flocked the stadium for what was sure to be a truly magical evening: the return of quidditch to Harriton!

Throughout the day, house spirit was worn with pride as our muggle school transformed into Hogwarts. By the time nightfall arrived, students had traded their boring, non-magical clothes for cloaks, and comparably useless pencils for wands. The only thing missing was owl mail.

The first teams to storm the field were Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, lead by captains Cem Atillasoy and Greg Costa. The volleyball-like quaffle passed from hand to hand, team to team, and soared past talented keepers into the hoops on both ends of the field. Right from the get-go, Gryffindor roared into the lead. Never did it unlatch its sharp claws from its opponent. In an impressive victory, Harry Potter’s house made it to the finals.

Next to try their luck were Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Once the mass of green-clad competitors finished its intimidating warm-up lap, Slytherin headed out to the field to win what proved to be a decisively one-sided battle. Beaters mercilessly threw bludgers shaped like dodge-balls, and chasers all but flew (unfortunately the players were forced to compete on the ground due to lack of access to proper broomsticks and forcible compliance to Harriton’s anti-flying rules) across the turf on brightly colored broomsticks.

All teams put up a good fight, but in the end it came down to the two who started it all: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin!

Slytherin slithered its hardest, Gryffindor roared its loudest, and referee Aaron Lazar ran his fastest to chase after the two powerhouses. However, as the 20 minutes drew to a close, it was clear that this one was going to be a nail-biter. Minutes ticked away to seconds, seconds to milliseconds, and finally – buzzzz – time was over…

It was a tie!

The game plunged into sudden-death overtime. The frozen-solid crowd stood out the cold and lurched to its feet, screaming through the frosty night. Back and forth it went, both teams contributing their share of close calls. Gryffindor lurched down the field, Slytherin hissed through the air. Then finally, after a dangerously close battle, the quaffle made its way through the goal for the last time.

Slytherin had won the tournament!

Green fans and players cheered, disappointed Gryffindor players congratulated their classmates, but everyone had a great time. Sam Wheeler of Gryffindor said, “It was great to see the whole school come together and show some spirit, and even though Gryffindor lost a close one it was the most fun I’d had in a while.” Well put, Sam.

Hopefully this will not be the last we see of quidditch! Until then, our broomstick/pool noodles will remind us of the night when Harriton transformed into a school of magic and succeeded in giving its students a chance to fly.