Chapter 146 “Invitation To The National Quidditch Team”
“Jerry Carmen. Just now, I watched your match. It was incredibly thrilling. I am Mayer Booth, the head coach of the English National Quidditch team.” The tall, middle-aged wizard stood up as soon as Jerry walked into the room and took the initiative to hold Jerry’s hand.
The middle-aged wizard twisted his lips at the coach of the local national team’s lack of restraint, but he didn’t care much and swiftly stood up and rushed to Jerry’s side, “Hello, Mr. Carmen. My name is Hunter Lamson, coach for the Scottish National Quidditch team.”
“Um… Hello!” After understanding something in his heart while hearing the two introduce themselves, Jerry shook hands and smiled to the two.
It turned out that the story of Jerry grabbing the Golden Snitch in under a minute during the Slytherin team’s game versus the Gryffindor team last semester was widely reported outside of Hogwarts.
The Hogsmeade wizards who came to witness at that time also relayed it to the coaches of the two British National Quidditch teams. This is the reason for the meeting today.
“I believe everyone should take a seat first, sip some honey and lemon juice, and speak gently. Before deciding, Mr. Carmen must be aware of the situation.” Sitting there, Dumbledore grinned and waved to everyone, and six glasses of honey lemon juice instantly appeared on the table.
Although the Scottish and English Quidditch teams are members of the same British Quidditch team, this does not mean that they do not compete against one another.
This time, the two came here to find out if Jerry was as strong as the reports claimed while also hoping to circumvent the rules and add Jerry to his squad as a Seeker.
Of course, Jerry’s decision and the abilities of the two coaches will determine whether to join the English or Scottish Quidditch teams.
In actuality, Jerry’s age prevents him from joining the national Quidditch squad, as per the rules. But he cannot stand the World Quidditch Championships result, because neither the Scottish nor the English teams had triumphed.
The best outcome was the Scottish team’s performance the year before, when they finished second, missed winning the title, and ultimately fell to the Canadian. As for the English team, they didn’t do so well.
Although the Golden Snitch used in the school competition wasn’t as fast as the Snitch used in the World Championship, Jerry’s talent is still incredible.
But Jerry managed to snag the Golden Snitch in under a minute, shocking the two coaches. At least no national team Seeker has ever succeeded in doing this.
The two decided to make an exception and travel to Hogwarts to add Jerry to the team once he had applied. Ordinary folks are intended for the rules. Naturally, others will bend the law to help a true genius.
Following a few glasses of lemon juice, Jerry gazed at the two anticipating coaches and spoke to them after hearing Dumbledore quickly explain why they came to Hogwarts.
“I apologize, sir. I have not yet decided to join the national quidditch squad. I mean, I’m just a freshman, after all. I should spend more time in class learning magic than going to Quidditch every day after school.”
He has plenty of time right now to study magic. In what world would he have time to be part of a national Quidditch team? Isn’t it a waste of time?
No matter how strong or legendary the Seeker is, a Killing Curse will still kill him if he encounters Voldemort.
While he would undoubtedly gain tremendous recognition as a Seeker for the National Quidditch Team, which would be advantageous for his future goals, but strength is more important than fame, and he put more priority on that.
“You don’t need to worry about the time. We’ve previously talked to Principal Dumbledore about this. You can get in touch with our team immediately through our Floo network, and we’ll open a fireplace in Hogwarts.” The tall coach explained right away.
The short coach added, “You will not put off your study time, Mr. Carmen. We will schedule our training when you don’t have any weekend lessons or when you are taking a long vacation. In addition, we don’t play a lot of international Quidditch matches each year.”
“I’m sorry, but I have to read books to learn magic on the weekends and during holidays. My lifelong goal is to become a prominent Auror. Quidditch is just a hobby for me. I don’t have any immediate ambitions to take up professional Quidditch.” Jerry voiced refusal once more.
The two coaches grew tense all of a sudden. They initially came here this time because of concern that Jerry might not be as strong as the reports claimed, but they never anticipated that Jerry would decline to play for the national team.
Who can resist the urge to play in the World Quidditch Cup and gain international recognition as a Quidditch player as a young wizard?
“If you believe the training to be ineffective. As long as you have a lengthy vacation, like summer break, I don’t need you to attend the training on weekends.” Hunter relaxed the situation after giving it some thought.
Studying may be delayed by errand running on weekends, but not by the two-month break.
Booth gave Hunter a startled glance before he eventually bit his teeth and set more lenient terms, “As you now do, you are not required to attend the training over the weekends and throughout the summer. When it’s time for a match, I’ll come here and pick you up so you may compete. Each competition will take place on your holiday so your studies won’t be hampered.”
The Scottish Quidditch team finished second in the most recent World Quidditch Cup, although its English team failed to get in the top five. Booth is determined to prevail this time, by getting a great Seeker like Jerry.
However, Jerry’s answer was still no.
Because he believed that the majority of national team matches had to be played abroad and that the competition was more difficult than Hogwarts, traveling to other nations on multiple occasions a year to compete is a waste of time. Getting back and forth for a larger competition will take four or five days.
The two coaches were now perplexed. They had nothing to do if Jerry actually didn’t want to play for the national team.
“Jerry, the Quidditch players for the national squad are not the same as those for the school. They receive a minimum monthly salary of 300 Galleons as well as extra bonuses for winning matches.” Jerry then heard a deep, cold voice coming from Snape.
“Actually, I believe I can think about it.” Jerry’s attitude quickly changed 180 degrees after hearing Snape’s words.
