It has been an absolutely fantastic summer! We have had so many events this summer. It is always satisfying to see so many of our Slytherins showing off their talents in hopes of winning house points. There was one event that stood out to me in particular. During Backyard Legends, we had the opportunity to show off our Quidditch skills, but while the referees and judges were too preoccupied with watching the matches they missed two bludgers escaping into the castle. Four Slytherins took it upon themselves to create their own game of Quidditch when they spotted the rogue bludgers on the seventh-floor corridor while the rest of us were spectating the matches.
Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, and Millicent Bulstrode were on the seventh floor when the bludgers whizzed past their heads. From what I gathered, Parkinson and Nott were the ringleaders who thought of trapping the bludgers and playing a game of two versus two. Eye-witness accounts say they heard loud bangs and shouts coming from behind a blank wall. As we know, the Room of Requirement only reveals itself to those who really need it. However, a few quick-minded students managed to get inside the room and enjoy the short game by requesting to see the source of the noise. Perhaps, the four Slytherins should have taken Draco Malfoy along for the ride - at least he made it so no one else could enter while he was in the room. If they had, they may not have been given detention every Saturday for a month.
The four Slytherins broke into two teams - girls and boys. In a later interview, Pansy Parkinson said that they used broken apparition hoops for goals posts, and they had found an old quaffle in the room. The boys were leading 70 - 10 when Professor Minerva McGonagall found them by following the cheers and whistles that could be heard all the way down on the fourth floor - or so I was told. With the sudden appearance of one professor, none of the students paid attention to where the bludgers were until several sickening grunts and screams caused the four Slytherins and McGonagall to turn their attention to the spectators who were attempting to flee. One of the bludgers dived into the crowd leaving several students with broken noses, however, it is unconfirmed if most of those were from the bludger or from the panic of students plowing into other students trying to escape. Injured students were escorted to the Hospital Wing by their uninjured friends. This excitement did not bode well for the four Slytherins who were waiting behind McGonagall who was attempting to freeze the bludgers before any other incidents occurred.
Indeed, it was an exciting day for all that witnessed it and it would certainly be the gossip of the school for a few weeks. I would take a lesson from this incident to not try indoor Quidditch, again. I would want plenty of space between myself and the bludgers to avoid any accidents. Our fellow Slytherins that were involved would agree with me, in a later interview, all four students declared that they would not attempt indoor Quidditch again while they were at Hogwarts. Parkinson gave me the smallest of winks when she told me this, so I am not entirely sure if they were being completely honest with me.
We at SOUP would like to extend our gratitude and congratulations to all the Slytherins that participated in the summer events. We hope your summer ends with a big bang, and you are all ready to jump into your studies for the 2018-2019 term. It would be exciting to have the House Cup in our hands once again, and I believe we can do it.
Until next time,
Eimear