Chapter 9: Quidditch Through The Ages
"Look, Fred, I'm not so sure about this," Lee voiced, uncertainly, whilst looking over his shoulder at the rest of the quidditch stand.
"It'll be fine. It's not like we are doing anything wrong." Fred tried to reassure Lee, but the wide grin on his face only served to make Lee more anxious.
"We should have, at least, asked first."
"Nah, let it be a surprise," Fred replied confidently. Lee sighed in resignation.
"Alright, but if anything goes wrong, it's yours and your twin's fault. I've just been dragged along for the ride."
"Excellent. It's just like old times. Now you go and hijack that microphone, I'm off to get ready, along with George."
Hermione was sitting on a seat in the Gryffindor section of the quidditch stands. A gentle breeze blew through her hair, causing it to flutter serenely around her shoulders. The low sun caught the gold and brown in her flowing locks, making them shimmer lightly.
Next to her sat Molly Weasley, the mother of Ron, one of her best friends. She was sitting in her chair talking merrily about how she hadn't seen a game of quidditch in ages. Hermione, though, wasn't really listening. It wasn't that what Mrs Weasley was saying was particularly boring or that she was impolite. No, Hermione was most definitely well mannered. It was just that Hermione was excitedly anticipating seeing her other best friend, and secret love, finally get to fly again after having been banned the previous academic year. He had always loved to fly, ever since that fateful first lesson, where he chased Draco Malfoy to reclaim Neville's rememberall.
She had faithfully attended all his quidditch matches, unless incapacitated, despite her general dislike of the sport. There was something about his smile or the look of determination he wore, when on a broom, that made her heart beat faster in her chest. Of course, it hadn't always been like that, but over the years, the reason for turning up had changed. She ceased going because she was a supportive friend and instead went because she enjoyed watching him fly. The strange thing was that it also terrified her because of all the injuries he sustained. It was certainly a very dangerous sport and, over the years, he had proved this on numerous occasions.
She was brought back to the conversation sharply by Mrs Weasley asking, "Are you alright, dear? You seemed to have zoned out on me there."
"Oh yes, sorry. No, I'm fine thank you. I was just thinking about how Harry will do, considering he hasn't had any practice for ages. I hope he doesn't hurt himself again," she found herself babbling. Embarrassed, she looked away from Mrs Weasley, briefly, to hide the flush that had risen on her cheeks.
"Don't worry. Harry is one of the best fliers that I've seen, although I have to admit I haven't seen many. I'm sure he'll be fine."
"You're probably right."
The pair sank into silence whilst they looked out onto the dry pitch where the play would take place. Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, before asking, "How do you manage it?"
"Manage what, dear?" Mrs Weasley replied, slightly puzzled by the open ended question.
"To not be a nervous wreck. You've had Ron in danger numerous times on various adventures, Ginny being abducted by "you know who", the attack of your husband last Christmas and all the current danger from Death Eaters. How are you able to cope?"
Mrs Weasley exhaled deeply, "Well. I won't say that I wasn't terrified in all those situations, but I had to be strong because everyone else needed me. I suppose you get used to coping with it after having to for so long. You almost forget what it's like to live in normality. You see, not only have we had to worry about our two youngest, but Charlie and Bill have also been in various scrapes and the less said about the twins, the better."
Hermione looked intensely at Mrs Weasley for a while and the elder female could see a look of indecision on the young woman's countenance.
"Was there any particular reason you asked that question, dear?" Mrs Weasley probed, "Nothing that you want to talk about?"
Hermione's face hardened with resolve, before asking tentatively, "Can I talk to you about something of a personal nature? You wouldn't mind would you?"
"No, of course not. You know you can talk to me about anything, don't you. Harry and you are like two of our children, even if you in all actuality aren't. We'll always be here for you if you need anything."
"Thanks," Hermione responded, hugging Mrs Weasley tightly.
"Now, dear, what was it you………….." Mrs Weasley was interrupted by cheers, shouts and wolf-whistles, as the two quidditch teams walked out onto the pitch.
Harry paced towards where Madame Hooch was standing in the middle of the quidditch pitch. He was bedecked in a set of red quidditch robes, not dissimilar to those he used to wear for the Gryffindor house team. They billowed out behind him as he strode across the field. Surrounding him, as he walked, were his fellow team mates: Ginny, Luna, Ron and Mr Weasley. The twins, who were also on Harry's team, were gallivanting about boisterously just behind the main group, not being entirely sensible as usual.
Charlie's team had also emerged onto the pitch and were all attired in gold. They joined Harry's team next to the quidditch referee, whilst the onlookers expressed encouragement rather noisily.
"Has everyone got all the equipment that they need?" Madame Hooch asked, looking around at the two teams. They all nodded in response.
It was an odd picture. Past and present members of the house teams stood shoulder to shoulder, preparing to play a match in celebration of Harry's birthday. Nobody was looking forward to it more than Harry himself. He hadn't been able to play quidditch for, what seemed like, ages. There was of course the added incentive of playing against Charlie Weasley properly, a challenge that Harry relished after having heard about his skill all those years ago.
"The gold team will take the goal posts to my left and the red team, the posts to my right. Charlie and Harry please shake hands and then take your positions for the start of the match."
Harry extended one of his hands to Charlie, who shook it friendlily and gave him a wink. Smiling back, Harry then took up his position next to his team mates.
"Good luck everyone. Let's have some fun," Harry said and then turned his attention on Madame Hooch, who was preparing to start the game.
A shrill whistle cut through the air and the assembled players on the pitch kicked off into the air. The match had begun.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, I AM PROUD TO PRESENT ANOTHER INCREDIBLE ACTION PACKED GAME OF QUIDDITCH," Lee yelled through the magically amplifying microphone, which he had routinely used over the years.
"NOT ONLY AM I COMMENTATING, ONCE AGAIN," a cheer erupted from the guests, "BUT, HARRY POTTER HAS RETURNED, FROM HIS UNJUSTIFIED BAN, TO PLAY IN THIS MATCH IN CELEBRATION OF HIS BIRTHDAY. THAT IS NOT ALL, THOUGH. WE HAVE ANOTHER HOGWARTS LEGEND, CHARLIE WEASLEY, GOING HEAD TO HEAD WITH MR POTTER." Another loud cheer rose from the Gryffindor stand.
"IT SEEMS THE MATCH IS ABOUT TO START," Lee spoke into the microphone gently building up the suspense.
"AND THEY'RE OFF,"
Harry kicked downwards heavily, with a boot clad foot, pushing him, and his broom, upwards from the parched grass of the quidditch pitch. Soaring through the sky, he took delight in the way that the wind rushed through his hair, playing with the raven strands. It felt so good to be back in the air again.
He peered around at the other players and noticed that Charlie was flying around reservedly, looking for the golden snitch with a look of intense concentration on his face. Ron had the quaffle and was flying quickly towards the other end of the pitch. A bludger was quickly dispatched in his direction, forcing Ron to make a desperate pass to Luna nearby. He narrowly avoided the bludger that had been sent towards him by his elder brother, Bill.
Luna only just managed to catch the quaffle that had been desperately tossed in her direction, causing her to lose speed.
Taking advantage of this, Padma Patil raced towards her and plucked the oddly shaped red ball from her grasp, before speeding away again. With Neville and Parvati in support, the Patil twin headed towards the goals belonging to Harry's team. Mr Weasley was there, waiting, ready to receive their offensive manoeuvre. Padma threw a precise pass to Neville, who caught it despite his clumsy nature, before sending it flying to Parvati.
Ron, Luna and Ginny were all frantically trying to intercept the quaffle as it flew from between the opposition chasers, but they were unsuccessful. As Parvati got closer and closer to the goals, she drew her arm back and threw the quaffle hard at the right hand gold ring. It was a fine shot, but Mr Weasley caught it in his outstretched arms.
"AND THAT WAS AN AMAZING SAVE BY ARTHUR WEASLEY. IT WAS RUMOURED THAT HE WAS A BIT OF A WHIZZ WITH A BROOM, HE'S DEFINITELY PROVEN THAT NOW," Lee announced enthusiastically. He was definitely relishing the opportunity to be commentator, one last time.
"Well done Arthur," shouted Mrs Weasley, encouraging her husband loudly. She was now on her feet, clapping loudly as the players flew about over the pitch.
"I didn't know Mr Weasley was good at quidditch," Hermione exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh yes. He used to play whilst we were at Hogwarts. Made the house team in his sixth year, as keeper, but hasn't played much since."
Mrs Weasley was distracted as Ginny received the quaffle from Ron and sped up the pitch.
"Go on, Ginny," Mrs Weasley cried as her youngest offspring avoided a bludger, this time sent her way by her former professor. Hermione was also out of her seat, but she was watching Harry circle the game with glazed eyes. Both females felt extremely proud of the ones they loved, out there, on the pitch.
Harry was eagerly awaiting a glimpse of the snitch, but so far it had evaded his gaze. He noticed that Charlie seemed to be having the same trouble. Taking the opportunity to see how his team were doing, he was just in time to see Ginny score against Tonks. She put it straight through the middle hoop. That took the score to 10 - 0 to his team.
Harry continued flying around, intent on searching out the snitch. It was then that a flash of gold near the stands caught his eye.
"HAS POTTER SEEN THE SNITCH? THIS COULD BE A VERY FAST CAPTURE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," Lee's voice raised in tone as he became more and more excited.
Off Harry zoomed, towards the source of the glimmer. By this time, Charlie had seen Harry's reaction and was zooming after him. Charlie had the height advantage and was steadily gaining in Harry as they shot towards the prize.
But where had the snitch gone? It had vanished. Then Harry saw the origin of the distraction. It had come from a gold wrist watch that was reflecting a circle of light right at him. "Damn," Harry thought. After a moment or two, Charlie also realised that it hadn't been the snitch, so both seekers returned to scouring the skies.
"GOAL! THE SCORE IS NOW 10 - 10. THAT WAS AN EXCELLENT GOAL BY MISS PADMA PATIL."
"LUNA LOVEGOOD WITH POSESSION. PASSES TO RON WEASLEY. TACKLED BY PARVATI PATIL, WHO SWERVES TO AVOID BLUDGER SENT HER WAY BY A WEASLEY TWIN."
"QUAFFLE PICKED UP BY GINNY WEASLEY, WHO'S HEADING TOWARDS GOAL, AND SHE SCORES."
"THAT MAKES IT 20 - 10 TO HARRY'S TEAM, AFTER A SECOND GOAL BY GINNY WEASLEY."
The match continued in a similar pattern for about ten minutes. Both teams were playing well and neither side let in many goals. There was only a limited use of the bludgers, as none of the beaters seemed to want to hit them too hard at the opposition. They were probably afraid of injuring one of their friends or family members, in the case of the Weasleys.
Occasionally, one of the seekers would notice something that looked like the snitch and zoom off down the pitch, with his opponent hot on his tail. At other times, Harry or Charlie would fake a sighting of the winged orb and shoot off, in an attempt to distract the other. From a spectator's point of view, it was enthralling, watching the players skilfully weave about in the air in an attempt to gain an advantage over the other team. Harry, though, was becoming restless.
He hadn't seen the snitch yet, despite the game already having gone on for fifteen minutes. Where was it? Harry swung his broom around by a hundred and eighty degrees, before heading back towards the other end of the pitch. Deciding to put on a burst of speed, he relished a feeling that he had missed for so long. The wind rushed through his hair, messing it more than ever.
Hermione watched from the stands as Harry and the others flew about above the pitch. Her gaze was fixed on the emerald eyed boy, who was scouring the stadium, looking for the snitch.
Harry's team was now wining by seventy points to sixty. Ron, Luna and Ginny were working well as a team, executing precisely timed passes. They were almost matched by the opposition chasers. She was taken aback by well Neville was playing. She had always thought him to be overly clumsy.
Hermione wondered whether Ginny might like to try out for the Gryffindor team, now that Angelina, Katie and Alicia had all graduated. She was definitely good enough.
Mr Weasley had surprised Hermione earlier by his skill as a keeper. He had continued to play well. Perhaps on reflection, she should have anticipated it, considering that Fred, George and Charlie were all integral parts of the house team during their times at Hogwarts. Ron, Ginny and Bill were pretty good as well. Perhaps he was where they all inherited their skill from.
Suddenly, Harry swung his broom around and flew at break-neck speed towards the grass below. Hermione watched in horror as he got closer and closer. He was going to crash. There was no way that he would be able to pull up in time.
She leaned forward over the railings to get a better view. Her knuckles turned white from gripping the rail so tightly. She was breathing heavily and her heart was hammering desperately in her chest.
"Please don't crash, please don't crash," she thought, desperately willing him to pull up. At the last moment, she averted and covered her eyes. The last thought on her mind as she looked away was, "Oh God Harry, please no. Please not how I dreamt. Not like this."
Charlie had seen Harry dive and quickly copied the manoeuvre. He was a distance behind Harry, at a higher altitude, but he could see the tension in Harry's posture.
Now as he slowly gained on Harry, he could see what his opposite number was diving at. The snitch was fluttering around, not more than a couple of feet from the ground. It zipped about, but Harry changed the angle of his descent to accommodate the movement of the little golden ball.
Harry was less than ten metres from the snitch. He was going to impact with the ground. Charlie didn't see how he would be able to pull up in time. Slowing his broom, Charlie looked on helplessly at the seemingly imminent accident.
Harry was concentrating hard. The veins in his arms and hands bulged with the strain of gripping the broom in such a vice-like way. He had seen the snitch and dived after it, following it towards the solid earth below. As he got closer and closer, he could make out the tiny gold wings that beat frantically in the evening air, keeping it aloft. Then, he could discern the intricate pattern the adorned the delicate little wings.
At the last possible moment, he leant back and pulled with all his might on the broom he was riding, bringing it out of its dive. He only cleared the shrivelled grass by just over a foot. As he pulled up, his right hand grasped purposefully at the air.
Mrs Weasley tapped Hermione urgently on the shoulder, "Look, look. Harry's pulled up."
She paused for breath, before continuing, "That boy is far too reckless. One of these days, he's going to make a mistake and end up getting himself killed." Mrs Weasley was babbling, mainly due to relief that Harry had made it and hadn't crashed.
Slowly, Hermione removed the hand that had shielded her eyes. She peered down at Harry's form, which had regained altitude and was now hovering nearby. She watched as he lifted his right hand into the air above his head and slowly uncurled his fist. Between his thumb and forefinger, he held the snitch.
"HARRY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH AFTER AN ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHING DIVE. IF THAT BOY KEEPS IT UP, THEN VICTOR KRUM HAD BETTER WATCH OUT," Lee Jordan announced to the crowd.
The party guests started clapping and cheering, but Hermione didn't join in. Her legs felt like jelly and she was having trouble standing up. She sank into her seat and attempted to regain her composure. Mrs Weasley didn't seem to notice, as she was watching Harry do a lap of honour around the quidditch stadium, before he flew down and joined his fellow players on the pitch below.
The other players were waiting for Harry when he reached the ground. When he went into his dive, they had all ceased play and instead watched him streak suicidaly towards the ground. They were all glad and relieved to see him still in one piece.
"Nice catch, Harry," Ron said with an awed expression on his face, giving Harry a clap on the back. "I haven't seen play like that since the World Cup," Ron continued, "I'm telling you, you're easily good enough to play professionally when you finish school."
"Yeah, that was amazing," Luna added.
Charlie walked over to Harry and shook his hand enthusiastically.
"That was quite incredible. The family most definitely weren't wrong when they described your abilities. I agree with Ron. It would be a waste if you didn't at least try professional quidditch", Charlie complemented him.
The congratulations continued, but Harry's attention wavered as he saw Professor Dumbledore and a still distressed Hermione move onto the pitch.
Professor Dumbledore stood there watching the scene. He was smiling widely and the twinkle in his eyes was present again after disappearing due to the hardships of the last school year. It made him look a lot younger than he had for a while. The birthday celebration had gone well. He was glad that Harry, for once, had enjoyed a normal time, without having to have a lot of restrictions and measures in place for his security.
So far, the Fidelius charm appeared to be working. He made a mental note to talk to Remus about that later in the evening or the next day. As far as he could see, the two tests that he had set to check whether it was working or not, seemed to have shown its effectiveness. But he would address that later. For now, though, he was just content to enjoy himself along with the others.
Hermione ran over to Harry and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. Squeezing him, she whispered, "Don't ever do that again. I'm not sure I could take it if anything happened to you. What if you didn't pull up in time?"
Harry remembered Hermione's nightmares. His face softened and he pulled back form her. He noticed the tears in her eyes, which made them sparkle brightly in the light from the setting sun. In his opinion, she had never looked more beautiful than she did now. A strange feeling welled up in him and he had a sudden urge to kiss those soft pink lips of hers. Mentally he shook himself. Now was not the time to be thinking thoughts like that. He'd think about that some other time. Right now, she needed a good friend to comfort her.
The dreams that she had been having, were obviously affecting her more than she let on. Harry hoped that the promised occlumency lessons would begin soon, because otherwise she would become more and more distraught. Harry felt helpless. There was nothing much he could do except comfort her.
She pulled him back into a firm hug, seeking solace in his tight embrace. Harry tried to stop his mind dwelling on thoughts such as how nice it felt to be hugging her. He didn't want to feel like he was taking advantage of her upset state, even if he wasn't in reality. Instead, he just concentrated on trying to calm her and make her feel better.
Luna watched them with a knowing expression on her face. It was obvious to her, that the two were very much in love.
She sighed; remembering how, just a few weeks ago, Ron and she had found each other. They weren't the most obvious of pairings, but it worked and was getting stronger daily. She relieved Ron's insecurities and could spar with him verbally, without going apoplectic. In return, Ron made her feel good about herself and also accepted and loved
Harry and Hermione, on the other hand, had been friends for more than five years and knew each other intimately. The bond between them was very tight, no doubt tempered by all that they had been through together. They shared the bond with Ron, although it wasn't quite the same as the two had together.
There had been a time when Ron thought that he liked Hermione, but the start of the summer put pay to that. It hadn't been a surprise that he had asked her advice on the matter. After all, guys are pretty clueless and Ron wasn't about to ask any of his family. He would have never have heard the end of it.
When the response to his letter came, he was angry and upset. Luna thought that it was more that he felt snubbed and unwanted, rather than actually being upset that Hermione didn't feel that way about him. She had consoled him and calmed the anger and as a result, they had grown closer. Then one day, he had kissed her. But that was another story. She smiled as she went through the memory.
Luna had noticed that Ron and Hermione fought way too much to confide fully about emotional things with the other. In the past, Ron had always shied away from that sort of close relationship. That was until now.
She determined to speak to Hermione about her feelings for Harry later. The opportunity for making a successful match was too much to pass up. Not that much work would be needed. No, just a gentle nudge in the right direction should suffice.
Perhaps, she could get Ron to help. He could talk to Harry, but then again, she wasn't sure about the wisdom of such a plan. "But his assistance could prove invaluable," she thought.
She allowed herself a small chuckle, before leaning over to whisper in Ron's ear.
A.N. I'm sorry that this has been a month in coming. I have a couple of excuses though. Firstly, I had something called the M25 challenge going on at my gym. It involves running and cycling the distance around the M25 (for those who don't know, it's a huge motorway that circles London) - 195km or so. That took up a lot of my free time. Secondly, I've been skiing, so that obviously occupied me.
I hope that you enjoy the chapter. Again, the story doesn't move forward much, but I hope that you enjoy it just the same.
Please review as always. Again, thank you to those who review every time. There are still loads of you who read, but don't review. Please do - even if it is only to say what you thought briefly in a couple of words. It makes it seem worthwhile.
Now, for something more exciting (or not perhaps). On the plane and bus back from skiing - 4h30 bus transfer and an 1h30 flight with a 1h transfer the other end (there and back), I finished this chapter and wrote the next. It is being typed up at the moment. So, I'll cut you guys a deal. I'll post it some time next week, or when I get 30 reviews. Last chapter, I got 23. Yay - thanks to those who reviewed. I don't think that this is an unreasonable target, because that would be less than one in twenty of you reviewing. So, the balls in your court!
Hope to hear from you guys.
Toodles
Hand of God