Chapter Fourteen
Saturday dawned bright and also cold. Today was the day of the first Quidditch match of the season. Harry was exceptionally nervous. He woke early in the morning and decided to go for his run to try and take his mind off the upcoming day's events. After his run which he thought was quite refreshing he got changed and made his way down to breakfast. He was still tired as he had been talking with Hermione late into the night about the Gringotts break in and the hidden package. He had told her that he suspected Professor Snape as he had seen him going to the third floor corridor on the night of Halloween. She hadn't been as convinced as he was, seeing that Snape was a teacher, but she did listen to him.
After breakfast, where a lot of people asked him if he was okay (they didn't know why he would be nervous), he grabbed his broomstick and headed out to the Quidditch pitch. He felt like there were hundreds of butterflies scuttling around his stomach. The Quidditch pitch was surrounded by high stands that were covered with the crests of each of the four houses of Hogwarts. At each end of the pitch were three tall golden poles with hoops at the top of each one. Thin frost lay scattered across the pitch so that it crunched slightly as Harry made his way into the dressing rooms.
He got changed and then sat down on one of the benches taking deep breaths. The rest of the team arrived each wishing him good luck in his first match. Harry could soon hear the rest of the school outside taking their places in the stands. The drone from their voices was increasing Harry's anxiety. The remainder of the team was now talking excitedly with each other. The three chasers were going through some of their strategies and Fred and George were practicing swinging their bats ferociously, each with wide smiles of pleasure on their face.
"Harry," he heard someone say and he spun around to see Hermione standing in the doorway. "Good luck, you'll be fine."
"Thanks," he said smiling. He suddenly felt a bit better as he watched her give him the thumbs up and then leave. Oliver Wood came barreling out of the Captains office. "Who was that? It could've have been a spy!" he said quickly. The dressing room roared with laughter. Harry assured Wood that Hermione wasn't a spy. "Okay. Okay calm down everybody. Now listen to me," Wood said looking at each player individually. "This is the best team Gryffindor have had in a long time, probably since Charlie Weasley. We can do this. This is Gryffindors year!" he shouted. "Hear, hear," screamed the Weasley twins. Harry could see the pride in Oliver's eyes and the energy in the room increased. The whole team was on their feet and then Oliver said "Right. It's time. Good Luck. All of you."
Harry's legs felt like jelly as he left the dressing room. He could hear the twins' friend Lee Jordan commentating. The Slytherin team were already waiting on the pitch with Madam Hooch standing beside a dark wooden chest which held the different balls used in the game. "And the Gryffindor team," he could hear Lee say "Wood, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, the Weasleys and look, the new seeker is POTTER!" He screamed Harry's name and the cheering in the stands exacerbated so that Harry couldn't hear anything. His insides felt like jelly as he stood beside Fred and watched Wood shake hands with the Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint, who looked uncannily like a troll. The two captains seemed to want to crush the others hand but Hooch gave them a piercing look and they let go.
"Mount your brooms, please."
Harry got on his Nimbus Two Thousand and when she blew her whistle he rose into the air. The spectators were roaring and waving banners through the air. Harry left his worries below on the ground and caught a glimpse of the snitch when Madam Pomfrey opened the wooden chest. It then zoomed off and out of Harry's sight.
The match had begun at an alarming pace. Angelina Johnson picked up the Quaffle and passed it to Spinnet before she was hit by a Bludger. Spinnet then passed it to Bell, but Bell was nearly thrown off her broomstick by a Bludger hit by one of the Slytherin beaters. Harry couldn't see what was going on in the match from then on as he went in search of the snitch. So he listened to Lee's commentary. "Quaffle is intercepted by Adrian Pucey of Slytherin, who dives around Johnson and…oooh…hit by a Bludger sent his way by Fred or George Weasley. Katie Bell is there to take up the Quaffle and Gryffindor Chasers have themselves in an attacking position. Bell to Spinnet, back to Bell, wow great dive from Bell who passes to Johnson- come on now Angelina-GOAL. GRYFFINDOR SCORE!"
Gryffindor cheers filled the air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins. Hermione was jumping up and down in celebration. Ron was sat in front of her but she didn't care. She was more focused on Harry, worried that he would be hit by a Bludger and plummet to his death. "Well `ello `ermione," said a kind voice from behind her making her jump. "Hagrid!" she exclaimed, surprised to see him. She had visited Hagrid in his hut with Harry. "I was watchin' from me hut but it's not the same as bein' here, is it?" Hermione was still staring up at Harry who was slowly circling the pitch in search of the snitch. He hadn't done much since he had entered the game; she secretly hoped he wouldn't have to do anything dangerous.
Up in the air Harry dodged out of the way of a Bludger. He saw Fred speed past him bellowing "Alright there Harry?" The game was slightly closer now as Gryffindor had scored two more goals and Slytherin had scored twice making the score thirty- twenty.
"And its Johnson with the Quaffle, ducks a Bludger, intercepted by Pucey, Pucey with the Quaffle, wait a moment- was that the snitch?"
All eyes turned away from the chasers too see Harry hurtling neck and neck with the Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs. They were edging ever more towards the ground and Harry knew that Higgs would pull away first. He leaned in closer to his broom to increase his speed. WHAM! Marcus Flint had collided with Harry knocking him off course. Harry held on tightly to his broom as he tried to straighten it out. He grabbed his chest as his ribs were still a bit weak and Flint had smashed into them. The crowd was roaring abuse at Flint and Madam Hooch awarded Gryffindor a penalty. In all of the confusion the snitch had been lost. Harry saw Flint give him a look of disgust before flying off to give instructions to his team. Angelina scored again for Gryffindor and Harry went in search for the snitch. He was a bit shaken after being attacked but he wouldn't allow Higgs to get the snitch.
As Harry was on his second tour of the pitch his broom gave a sudden lurch. He gripped the broom tightly wondering what was happening. Harry thought the broom was acting like a bull trying to buck of its rider. The crowd had noticed this unusual behavior and was now staring at Harry in bewilderment. "What on earth is `arry doin',"said Hagrid. Then the broom began to roll over and over with Harry just managing to hold on. Suddenly the whole crowd gasped as the broom gave a wild frightening lurch and Harry was thrown from the broomstick. "Accio," Harry thought frantically and the broom inched closer so he grabbed it before he fell. He was now dangling off the broom with both hands.
Everyone had lost interest in the game as they gazed at Harry. His broom had started to shake and rise higher into the air, after another powerful jerk Harry was left hanging on by one hand.
"No way has he lost control of that broom, it must be something else," said Ron audibly. "Maybe something happened to it when Flint blocked him," whispered Seamus. "No-it takes powerful Dark Magic to interfere with something as magical as a broomstick," boomed Hagrid.
Suddenly Hermione got an idea. She grabbed Hagrid's binoculars which were hanging around his neck and looked at the teachers stand. She gasped loudly as she saw Snape muttering to himself. Dropping the binoculars she made her way across the stands. When she reached the one where Snape stood she raced along the row behind him knocking Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front. She removed her wand from her pocket and crouching low she whispered some well chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand to the end of Snape's robes. By the time he realized he was on fire Hermione had gone.
Harry after noticing his broomstick seemed to have settled down used all of his strength to swing his leg over it and return to a more comfortable safer position. The crowd cheered and Adrian Pucey, realizing he still had the Quaffle in his hand raced toward the Gryffindor goal post. At that moment the golden snitch flew past Harry who quickly zoomed after it. Higgs had also seen it and followed. At the angle in which they flew, Higgs would reach the snitch first. Harry bent down so low on his broom he was almost lying flat. He quickly edged closer to Higgs and they were again neck and neck. Then the snitch descended in the air so that in order to grab the snitch the seekers would have to dive. But it also stopped, preparing to go in another direction. Higgs didn't notice in time and flew straight by it. Harry seeing the snitch a few feet below him rolled over his broom and holding on with one hand, stretched out and grabbed the snitch. He then rolled back over and let out a long sigh of relief.
"He's got the snitch. GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Lee Jordan was screaming. The crowd was making a thunderous noise and Harry was overcome by his team-mates. When he dismounted his broom he turned to see the Slytherin team looking sullen going back to their changing rooms. He then saw a large crowd of people making their way towards him and the rest of the team. Ron, Seamus, Neville and Dean came running over screaming "Wow Harry. How come you never told us?"
Harry fought his way out of the smothering crowd with many a pat on the back. Even though he was overjoyed at winning, his head was still trying to get around the fact that he was nearly murdered by a Nimbus Two Thousand. If he had not summoned his broom then he would have fallen to his death. He once again congratulated himself for doing some extra study. His time spent researching in the library had definitely paid off, especially after the troll.
But he still wanted to know what had happened to his broom so he went in search of the one person who he believed could help him. `Hermione!" he shouted as he saw her wild hair under her purple woolen hat. "Harry," she said making her way over to him. "You were brilliant." "What happened to my broom? It just started acting on its own. Have you ever heard of something like that happening?" he whispered so no one would overhear. She gave him a serious look and then dragged him into the dressing room, which was devoid of all people. "You were right. Harry, Snape was jinxing your broom. I think he is involved in the Gringotts break-in," she stopped as if to think for a moment. "He must know that you are onto him. That's why he tried to kill you," she added shakily.
"WHAT!" shouted Ron who had just appeared in the doorway. Hermione nearly had a heart attack. Harry looked at her, secretly wondering what they should tell Ron. When Hermione didn't react, he decided on the truth. He told him of the package Hagrid had removed from vault 713. "But listen to me Ron," Harry said warningly "you can't tell anybody about this. Not even you're brothers." Ron wore a look of complete shock on his face as if he was terrified of the prospect of a murderous Potions master. "I always knew he was capable of murder. Scary git," he said to himself.
Ron and Hermione waited outside as Harry quickly got changed into his normal clothes. He pulled on his woolen hat as it made him harder to recognize and he wanted to go to Hagrid's without everybody knowing. "So, what do we do now?" asked Ron. "I want to go to Hagrid's. I think we can trust him," Harry replied making his way out of the dressing room. The broom shed was located behind the dressing rooms and Harry tucked his Nimbus in behind the other brooms so it would be harder to spot.
Hagrid was very pleased to see them and greeted them with his usual cup of tea. He hadn't really spoken with Ron yet and the first few minutes they spent with him, Hagrid told them about all the times he had caught the Weasley twins approaching the Forbidden Forest.
When Harry did tell Hagrid about Snape he refused to believe them. "Rubbish," said Hagrid. "Why would Professor Snape do somethin' like that?'
Hermione and Ron looked uncomfortable about telling Hagrid the truth, but Harry knew that someone had to. "Hagrid, that package you got from the vault on my birthday, whatever it is, Snape is trying to steal it." Hagrid dropped his teapot; it clanged loudly against the silence. "I saw him on Halloween night; he was heading for the third floor corridor, he must have been trying to get past the three headed dog and steal whatever it's guarding."
"How do you know about Fluffy?' asked Hagrid curiously. "We had a bit of a run in with him," said Hermione. "Fluffy, Fluffy, what sort of name is that for a terrifying monster," exclaimed Ron. "He's not that bad. He's mine. Got him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub. He was perfect for guardin' the….NO….no more questions," said Hagrid quickly. "Listen to me Harry," he said leaning into Harry so Harry would understand every word he spoke. `This has nothin' to do with you, any of you. This here is betwee' Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."
Harry stood up quickly. "Who's Nicholas Flamel, Hagrid?" Harry asked intriguingly. Hagrid cursed himself for letting an important piece of information slip.
"Hagrid, whoever he is and whatever he's doing, Snape is interfering whether you like it or not. I've read all about jinxes and I know when I see one. You have to maintain eye contact and Snape wasn't blinking," cried Hermione.
"No, Snape is a Hogwarts teacher. He wouldn't try to kill a student. And as fer interferin' in Dumbledore's business, the on'y ones doin' so is yous!" said Hagrid agitated.
" "You know I think I heard the name Flamel before," said Hermione thoughtfully as they made their way slowly up to the castle. They had left a furious Hagrid back at his hut. Harry was physically exhausted from the game but he wanted to know more about Flamel. "We'll have a look through the library. Hopefully we'll find something," Harry suggested. "Well, I better go," said Ron, obviously not too interested to spend time in the library. "Remember Ron, Don't tell anybody," cautioned Harry. They left him at the Entrance Hall where he made his way into the Great Hall for lunch. "You look exhausted," said Hermione worriedly. "Yeah, I might go for a quick lie down," said Harry yawning.
Well, why don't you go up and stretch out on the couch in the common room and I'll bring you up some food," proposed Hermione. Harry agreed and climbed the marble staircase out of sight. Hermione entered the Great Hall, furtively took some food, and made her way up through the castle. When she climbed through the portrait hole she laughed to herself as she found Harry sound asleep on the couch in front of the fire. She left the food beside the couch on the floor and went up to her dormitory to grab a book Hogwarts: A History. She sat down on a squashy armchair beside the fire and a slumbering Harry, and read until he awoke.
Another chapter, thanks for reading.
By the way, Harry knew how to do the spells such as Stupefy and so because he read about them in his extra studies. I thought you would have guessed that. And his super reflexes, well they're kind of like a spidey sense but think more of the Matrix when you read about them. God I love that film! Should I make Harry learn more about Judo? I have a good idea of how he'll do it.
I brought Ron a bit more into it, because he will be there at the end and he is an important character. Thanks for reading, every one of you. You make it easier to get up in the mornings, I swear.
Take care,
Radagast
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