Meet the Team |
SQT: Journey to the Cup
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This series started in October of last year when the Slytherin Quidditch Team posed for a photograph donning their new two-striped uniforms. It is only fitting that it would end with another team picture. This time, there are no cold looks of determination – the kind of determination that earned SQT their third straight Quidditch Cup. Instead, each member of the team is grinning from ear to ear.
Instead of a Quaffle in hand, Captain Rosemarie Halliwell is instead hoisting the team's beloved trophy high into the air with both arms. The rest of the team is crowding around her, each player gripping onto the Cup as if they might never see it again. “I'm happy that, thanks to the work of the entire team, I got the chance to hoist the cup again and return it to its case in the Dungeons where I can look at it and shine it whenever I want,” says Halliwell. Holding the Quaffle now is the team's Keeper, Cody Lewis. Lewis did not spend quite as much time with the Quaffle as he did in previous years, but he still feels a certain attachment to it after blocking all but fourteen goal attempts against him this season. The look on his face does not share quite the same level of jubilation as his teammates; his smile is one of satisfaction. “This year went exactly as I expected,” says Lewis, who then gestures to the rest of his team. “All of my teammates are champions. They're warriors. I wanted to sit back and relax this year, maybe block some goals here and there, but mostly let the rest of them take care of business. And they all stepped up their game and rose to the occasion.” Nobody stepped up their game more than Will Lestrange, the team's leader in goals this year. His right hand is wrapped around one of the Quidditch Cup's handles, but in his left hand, he holds another trophy: The Chosen One Award, which is given to SQT's most outstanding player at the end of each season. Lestrange is the only back-to-back winner of the award in team history. “I had high hopes going into the season until one day, two months before the opening game, my broom snapped,” explains Lestrange. “While it was in the shop, I had to use a makeshift broom – and used the opportunity to change my practice routine dramatically. By the time my broom returned from the shop in time for that first game, I was ready.” Lestrange's preparation showed in Slytherin's final match against Ravenclaw as he paved the way to victory to the tune of fifteen goals. But it was never a one-man effort. Each SQT member earned their spot on their team. They earned their victories and in the process, they earned their stripes as well. As a result, the team was rewarded with brand new uniforms emblazoned with three silver stripes – a representation of the team's Quidditch Cup victories. The Slytherin Quidditch Team has reached its destination. They can once again call themselves champions. But it's already right back to the drawing board, back to the practice pitch, back to working hard towards their goals. The Journey to the Cup has ended, but the next one has already begun. |