AN: Hey everyone. I can't believe it! I'm updating again! This will be the third and very last time (I'm not kidding this time) that I update today! Your reviews have just been incredibly inspiring so I thought I would thank you with this chapter. This is the Quidditch match. I tried to infuse a bit of humor on this chapter. Let me know if I was successful. It's nothing too big, but I really wanted to try my hand at writing something like this so I thought I would put it in. I would like to take this moment to dedicate this chapter to tiger111991 for being there with this story from the very beginning. You not only were the first to review the story, but you also stuck with it up until now. I want to thank you for the positive support. I'd also like to thank all of my other reviewers that have been with me this far: potterfan, lala_lov3r, h and hr lover, KillerQueen, Lindee, Mike, sad2bsony, LoonyLuna, as well as a few Anonymous reviewers. Thank you guys so much for sticking with me this far! It's much appreciated!
Spoiler Alert: This is just the Quidditch match, and since there isn't Quidditch in the seventh book, I doubt that there are any spoilers here!
Disclaimer: Quidditch is a rather interesting sport. It was fun to write. I'm sure it's fun to play. I'm sure it's fun to own the idea. Darn, I'm deprived of that fun, hehe. The Harry Potter universe belongs completely to J.K. Rowling. I only own the new characters introduced here.
VI
"Good afternoon, Quidditch fans around the school!" a booming voice exploded throughout the vast Hogwarts Quidditch stadium. "This is your afternoon's commentator Sonny Raine of Gryffindor speaking. Tell me what you want, ladies and gentlemen. Do you want it to be sunny, or do you want rain?"
The entire stadium groaned loudly before shouting exasperatedly, "Sonny!" It was a very old pun for all who knew him.
"You guys have it right! We want it to stay sunny for what is the first Quidditch math worldwide since the fall of the You-Know-Who and could be one of the greatest matches Hogwarts has ever seen. I have the lovely, kind, lenient, and generous Professor McGonagall here beside to do what she says is 'monitoring my commentating'. Though why she needs to do that is beyond me. Everyone here knows that those Slytherins are dirty che-"
"Mister Raine! Do not make me take that microphone away from you." McGonagall said from beside him sternly.
"Just messing with you, your highness." Sonny replied cheekily and earned a large roll of the eyes. "Now, I have the ultimate pleasure of introducing to you your very own Hogwarts Quidditch Teams! First, let us give a fantastic and mind-blowing welcome to the great and glorious… GRYFFINDOR TEAM!" The crowd burst into applause as the seven members of the team streamed seamlessly out of one side of the stadium. They flew flawlessly in a tight formation before breaking off in complete unison. Without the flashiness, they could easily rival a professional Quidditch team in their masterful entrance. "Allow me the honorable pleasure of introducing your Gryffindor players this afternoon! First off, we have Beater and Team Captain Tim Eng on the field. This is his final year at Hogwarts, so let's all hope that it turns out to be a successful year for him! He is followed closely by the one, the only, Harry Potter, the savior of the entire Wizarding World and also the one that allowed for this game by defeating Voldemort. Harry will be playing as your very own Gryffindor Seeker!" Sonny was cut off here by the deafening and energetic cheers for Harry. "Now, let's continue to meet our wondrous Gryffindor Team! As the solid Keeper, let me give you Ron Weasley! Our Chasers for the afternoon are Ginny Weasley-Ron's younger sister-Elizabeth Cloud, and John Wrighten!" A young brunette witch from across the field shouted and waved her fist angrily in Sonny's direction and he quickly corrected himself, "Sorry, sorry, Elizabeth is better known as the lovely Lisa Cloud! Our final and immensely important member is the second Beater, let me give you Michael Felix! And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, wizards and witches, your Hogwarts Gryffindor Team!" The stadium erupted for what seemed like the hundredth time that afternoon as eager fans screamed and whooped for their favorite team.
Sonny took a deep breath and exhaled in a loud sigh, "Now, allow me to introduce your slimy and saucy, Slytherin Team!-No, Professor, those are compliments nowadays, I swear! Merlin, you really are behind the times, Professor." The sleek Slytherin teams flew at in a perfectly straight line. They went one round past the commentating box before throwing nasty comments and gestures towards an impassive Sonny. ("See, Professor! Did you see that? They deserved it anyways… slimy gits…") The team garbed in royal green robes broke ranks and scattered the hovering red-swathed Gryffindor Team. The Slytherins flew the complex maneuvers elegantly and made them appear simple and difficult all at the same time. "Now, the Slytherin team is lead by Chaser Caligum Foton. This will be his last year here at Hogwarts as well so let's wish him a very fond fairwell."
The Slytherin side of the arena cheered loudly while also shouting, "Down with the rain! Down with Raine!"
"Ah, I always loved you ruddy-sorry, Professor… Anyways, next is the team Seeker Draco Malfoy. He used to be on the Dark Side, but he converted over to the better cause. I still think he's a nasty little bu-Professor! Come on, I was going to say 'bugger'! It means good flyer in Quidditch talk, don't you understand anything! Don't you hear everyone calling the Snitch a little 'bugger'?"
"I understand far more than you might imagine, mister Raine."
"Okay, okay, let's get this over with then. I now bring you the Slytherin Team: Keeper Stephen Cheesley, Chasers Daniel Kookie and Gant Peale. Finally, the Beater Brothers Nicholas Clark and Benjamin Clark-they're not as good as the Weasley Twins though if I have anything to say about it… Professor! I'm not being subjective; I'm pointing out a well known fact!"
With that the match was ready to start. With a final warm up run through the frosty November air the teams formed two halves of a circle near the center of the pitch and the team captains landed lightly to firmly shake hands. It was obvious to everyone watching the captains were attempting to injure each other before the match but nothing was said as this was almost a Hogwarts tradition and no one was ever truly hurt-just a little sore, that's all! Tim and Caligum nodded curtly at each other while looking directly into each other's eyes, as if daring the other to look away and admit weakness.
"Good luck."
"You as well."
Neither of the two meant their words. With a final shake and nod, they mounted their brooms and soared into the far-reaching sky to join their teammates once again.
Madam Hooch came out onto the pitch, her standard Hogwarts black robes billowing out behind her. She looked each of the fourteen players in the eye critically before launching into her short speech. "All of you know the rules already. There will be no foul play in this game and only handle the ball that you're supposed to touch. I know each and every one of you so no one is going to pull anything on me. Now, let's have a nice clean game of Quidditch!" The carefully opened a medium sized chest and tapped a small compartment with her wand. The door sprung open and the tiny Golden Snitch flew out carefully into the sky. It flew up and instinctively circled the two Seekers, boldly telling them to catch it. Then in the blink of an eye, it vanished.
"The Golden Snitch has been released! Remember, the Seeker that catches it earns one hundred and fifty points for his respective team and the match ends!"
Next, Hooch tapped lightly with her wand again, but this time on the two magically enhanced restraining chains in the chest. As the manacles burst open, the two Bludgers shot out of the box and into the sky, growling and darting about with an inhumane ferocity. The jet black orbs hurtled around the pitch waiting for Madam Hooch to blow the whistle, begin the game, and start their onslaught.
Finally, reaching for a final time into the battered old trunk, the older witch removed from its recesses an ancient red Quaffle. Its color was fading in a way that made it obvious that magic got old just like everything else-but at the same time, it seemed to glow with its own tint and energy. Despite its age and appearance though, this special Quaffle held a special place in the hearts of all Hogwarts Quidditch players. This was indeed the official Hogwarts Quaffle that has been used since the institution first began. An enigmatic sort of magic held the weathered ball together. It only seemed fitting to start a brand new future, one without evil lurking in the midst, with an aged object that has seen the passing of many centuries.
Harry watched as time seemed to slow down for him. Madam Hooch walked to the very center of the field, looked up at all of the players one more time and said loudly, "Good luck, everyone!" Without further introduction, she tossed the blazing ball into the air and blew her whistle.
The match was on!
Harry watched with a satisfied smirk as Ginny swooped in gracefully and tapped the ball lightly to Lisa on the right. "Ginny of Gryffindor expertly taps the ball over to Cloud. Gryffindor is in possession!" Lisa caught the ball with practiced precision and charged forward. The veteran Gryffindor Chasers sped forward towards the opposite side of the stadium. They easily avoided Bludgers aimed in their direction while Tim and Michael came in at the appropriate times to defend the team from the incessant attacks. Traveling in a tight triangular formation, Ginny and Lisa traveled in front with John trailing close behind in case one of the two dropped the ball. Ginny and Lisa moved on forward, tossing the ball between each other to keep it out of the hands of the Slytherins. Harry scowled angrily as Ginny was almost rammed by a supposedly distracted Slytherin. She avoided just in time by diving downwards. Ginny, Lisa, and John reacted to this break in formation flawlessly. Approaching the goals, Lisa, who had the ball, dropped it down to Ginny who kept on going forward. Stopping abruptly, she threw the ball straight up in the air. Elizabeth came spinning vertically in and nailed the ball squarely at the upper right loop. Stephen, the Slytherin Keeper moved into position to block to ball. Hurtling at an increasing tempo, suddenly, the direction changed as John dived in from the right side. He grabbed the ball firmly and after taking a quick glance to aim, he fired the ball towards a new target, the lower hoop. This all happened so quickly that no one had any time to figure out what had happened! "Wrighten comes in to redirect a shot made by Cloud. The goal is good! He came out of nowhere, I tell you! Apparently, he had flown around to the side to rocket down. Weasley and Cloud did a good job diverting attention from him in order to execute this masterful scoring technique. What's this?! Gryffindor scores again! The score is now twenty-nil, Gryffindor!" As Stephen retrieved the ball and made the throw it back out to his fellow Slytherin team, John had come in again to quickly steal the ball and score another goal while no one was prepared. It was clear that John Wrighten, Gryffindor Chaser extraordinaire was on fire today!
"Wright is right!" the crows chanted excitedly.
John waved genially at the crowd as they made their way back to the center of the field. There was not a chance that the Slytherin team would be careless again. The Chasers were smiling widely as they congratulated each other and slapped John heartily on the back in acknowledgement of his spectacular performance. Harry clapped while Tim and Michael crossed bats with each other in salute. Ron whooped loudly. "Keep the ball on that side, mate, and everything will be great! Keep it up, guys!"
Harry's bright mood darkened as another voice called out, "Hey, Potter! I hope your enjoying your temporary lead. There's no way we, Slytherins, are going to lose to filth such as your team."
"Worried about losing already, Malfoy?" Harry asked coolly even though his eyes were narrowed dangerously. He returned his eyes to the rest of the pitch and redoubled his efforts to find the elusive Snitch.
~<>~
"Witches and wizards, you have just witnessed some of the most amazing teamwork and playing in all of Quidditch history. The grand Gryffindor team seems to really have outdone itself in this game, and the scoreboard shows this. The score as it stands now is seventy-twenty, in Gryffindor's favor. You hear that, Slytherin! You're losing!!! Crawl back into that hole that you-sorry, Professor… A quick rundown of what has just happened is thus: The Gryffindor team is unstoppable right now. The Weasley siblings are having a very decent game. Ginny has already scored a single goal, while Ron has blocked three, sadly, he's let two of them go, that's not too shabby though, and we'll see what happens throughout the rest of the match. Lisa has scored two amazing goals, especially that one where she came so close that she nearly took Cheesley's head off when she threw the ball through the hoop! Also, in the past thirty minutes of game play, John Wrighten has already scored four goals for the Gryffindor team! On the Slytherin side, Daniel has made two goals while Stephen has successfully blocked two goals, I think it was all luck though, there's no way that Gryffindor could lose to a bunch of dirty… Well, let's keep watching the game, professor! Again, ladies and gentlemen, the current score is seventy to twenty with Gryffindor in the lead!"
"Now, Slytherin has possession again. Peale has the ball. He passes quickly to Kookie in order to dodge a well-placed Bludger by Eng. The ball is now passed to team leader Foton. The three Slytherin Chasers are moving boldly forward and are now on the Gryffindor side of the field. Another Bludger by Michael Felix this time… still no luck, the Clark brothers are doing a half-decent job of protecting the Chasers. It seems that despite all attempts to make the Slytherins drop the ball, there is nothing that Gryffindors can do. Slytherin has adopted a strong, loose triangular formation so that they can quickly pass the ball around. A pass-and here comes Wrighten again! Aw, he misses the ball, but in a quick recovery, Wrighten knocks the ball out of Slytherin reach towards the goal-into the hands of Ronald Weasley-nice catch!"
"Ron passes the ball back out to the Chasers. Lisa is in positions and snatches it before taking off. Michael is close behind her to defend her from any impending Bludgers. Ginny and John are close behind in case Lisa drops the ball-which would never happen, but precautions couldn't hurt now. Kookie comes hurtling in from behind and the group is forced to break formation. Felix quickly deflects a Bludger sent by Clark…uh… that's Nicholas, I believe. This redirected Bludger is headed straight for Cheesley who dives out of the way. The Quaffle is now passed again to John. The expert Chaser charges forward towards the trio of rings on the Slytherin end of the field. He is increasing speed and now looks like a blazing fireball with his brilliant red and gold robes. Cheesley moves into position to block a throw, but it's clear that Wrighten isn't going to be throwing the ball! He swerves to the right to dodge the Bludger that is rebounding, the little bugger is now going straight for John. A quick spin throws it off John's tail as the Gryffindor Chaser continues to pick up speed. Stephen is now getting out of the way-for good reason, no one in their right mind is fond of being hit by a fireball! Wait, what's this, Nicholas Clark is coming in and just nailed the Bludger straight for Wrighten's backside! Watch out! Eng comes in to deflect the Bludger, but the speeding missile smashed right through his bat. What's going on here!?" Every member in the crowd rose up to see and attempt to figure out what was going on. "There's no way a Bludger is suppose to go like that! Wrighten dodges again, but-oh blimey, it looks like we've got another rogue Bludger! Someone do something!"
Hermione closed her eyes tightly as a loud, sickening crunch reverberated throughout the entire pitch. Her eyes opened again and saw that John Wrighten was still flying through the air. The only problem with this was that he was no longer on his broom. Apparently, the impact of the Bludger had knocked him clean off of his broom, his momentum was still carrying him forward though. As his final act, he hurled the red Quaffle with his remaining energy at the upper left hoop. It sailed cleanly through. All of the onlookers weren't watching the ball though, instead, they watched as John's flight was impeded by the lower ring. He was stopped abruptly by the sturdy pole and fell through the loop towards the hard ground. The Bludger was still chasing him and making wild cackling noises. Hermione watched as Harry quickly pulled his wand out of his cloak and cast two quick spells.
"Finite Incantatum!"
"Protego!"
The dark curse was lifted off of the Bludger. Normally, spells do not effect Quidditch balls at all, but the power of Harry Potter is nothing to underestimate. The Bludger returned to its natural state and, John being the closest target attempted to smash him. This assault was effectively deflected by Harry's shielding charm and John was spared. A sigh of relief swept through the crowd. Madam Hooch recovered from her initial shock and blew the whistle loudly, effectively pausing the entire game. Hermione watched in avid interest as the Gryffindor team sped down to the aid of its injured teammate. Madam Pomfrey bustled in and quickly checked on the hurt player. After a swift assessment, she announced, "This player is in no condition to continue playing, I'm taking him immediately to the Hospital Wing." John protested feebly but was silenced by a hard stare from the school nurse.
In the meantime, Hooch was examining the Bludger. A quick magic-tracing charm revealed to her all that she needed to know. "I hereby declare Nicholas Clark disqualified from this match for cursing an official object of game play. Gryffindor will receive a free penalty shot for this offense."
All eyes, including Hermione's, were directed immediately at Nicholas Clark who protested adamantly, "You have no proof on this! You can't dismiss me like this!"
"Mr. Clark, whether or not you will be disqualified from the rest of the season is still up in the air, do not argue. I am also known for being a master at tracing charms. Do not question me." Madam Hooch replied darkly.
"With me, Clark. I will take care of him," Severus Snape interceded here. He rose from out of the stands and walked briskly to the field. Nicholas reluctantly descended from the air and threw his bat on the ground. Snape took him by the arm roughly and dragged him off the field.
"This match will continue, unless there are any objections." Madam Hooch paused, and seeing none, continued, "Each team will now receive exactly five minutes to reorganize themselves."
Hermione watched sadly as the teams all regrouped. How could Nicholas have done something like that? She thought he was different than the other Slytherins. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Hermione quickly convinced herself that he had simply gotten caught up in the moment of the game. This was very unsettling… who knew how extensive John's injuries would be. Maybe Harry was right…
The teams took off again, Gryffindor with solemn determination and Slytherin with relaxed arrogance. Playing a Chaser down would be much more difficult than playing a Beater down. Ginny and Lisa would have to make up the difference between themselves, and with the way John had been playing, that seemed almost impossible.
Right from the start, things didn't seem to look good. Lisa heaved the old Quaffle with so much ferocity and intensity that Stephen purposely dodged the ball to save himself from an injury. "I wish that actually hit him." Sonny muttered. Oddly, McGonagall made no attempt to reprimand him this time. Ginny and Lisa worked diligently to keep the lead, but it was just too difficult with only two Chasers. Every time Ginny or Lisa scored, Slytherin seemed to score another two goals. Ron was also valiantly trying to stop all of the shots, but there were too many. He was tiring, and the Bludgers that Benjamin seemed to be lobbing his way constantly weren't help. In her mental tally, the Gryffindor team now had only one hundred twenty and Slytherin had closed the gap to merely ten points, them having a hundred and ten points. Ron had stopped about 6 goals total now, with Cheesley at only 4. The entire Gryffindor team was suffering.
Things had taken a turn for the worse for the Gryffindor team. Harry observed this with obvious disappointment. Not at his team, but at himself for not ending the game. The match now seemed to drag on. Slytherin was scoring more and more. Ron was getting discouraged, Ginny and Lisa were suffering. Even Timothy and Michael seemed to be repelling fewer Bludgers. Harry felt completely useless…
~<>~
The first Quidditch math since the defeat of Voldemort was not going at all as planned. It dragged on forever, with no sign or sight of the Golden Snitch. Gryffindor was now falling behind Slytherin terribly. Slytherin now had an eighty point lead over Gryffindor, three hundred ten to two hundred thirty. Ginny lobbed another shot at the top right goal but Stephen came in just in time to save it and toss it off to Daniel. Harry watched interestedly as Kookie sped across the field. Tim fired his dark ball at Daniel but to no avail. Harry's hopes died within him as Kookie scored another goal on Ron. The energetic redhead seemed extremely disappointed in himself… but now wasn't the time for encouraging speeches… especially when the Golden Snitch was in sight.
After keeping tabs on Malfoy throughout the entire match, Harry knew that the arrogant Slytherin was probably waving at his fans or just lazing about. Glancing quickly-just in case-confirmed Harry's suspicions. Draco had a brand new broom, one that could probably out fly Harry's trusty Firebolt, and after everything that had happened, Harry wasn't going to take any chances for a loss. Making sure one last time that Malfoy was distracted, Harry suddenly zipped off down towards the ground where the Snitch was hovering.
"It looks like Harry Potter has spotted the Snitch! Go get it, mate! I swear I'll never bug you for your autograph again if you make this catch!"
All attention was now turned on the young Seeker that was speeding to the ground. Malfoy spun around abruptly and chased Harry doggedly. The Snitch sensed its exposure and suddenly started to spasm and flit around randomly. There was no telling where it would move next. Harry pulled up on his broom and leveled it off as he reached the ground, and without losing much momentum, the raven-haired player urged the broom forward towards the Snitch. Just as his fingers brushed a wing of the golden ball, it sped off towards the sky. Harry followed it insistently-but he had missed his opportune chance, Malfoy was now close and gaining on his tail. Harry kept going and now the two players shot straight up into the heavens, chasing a tiny ball that might be mistaken for an illusion with the way that it rapidly leapt out of sight. Training his eyes on the ball, he watched without surprise as it suddenly descended again. Malfoy obviously hadn't noticed though. Harry needed a quick way to throw the Seeker off of his trail and a plan immediately sprang to his mind. Quickly, he pulled even farther back on his broom, and suddenly, he found himself spinning backwards erratically and losing altitude. Harry noticed Malfoy smirking at him as the blond passed on, looking again for a Snitch that was no longer in the sky. Harry continued to spin backwards and struggled to regain control of his broom. The one good thing of all of this was that he was losing altitude-though at a rather quick rate. After a quick battle for control, Harry leaned into his broom again as he plummeted back down the Earth. The Golden Snitch was suddenly in sight again. It was harassing Ron who knew that he couldn't touch it or risk a penalty. Harry smirked as he increased his speed-Malfoy had obviously caught on by now, and slowing down could make Harry lose sight of the prize. Harry stretched out his arm. A snarling Bludger passed by his head. It was so close that Harry felt it brush his hair. The screams of the crowd suddenly seemed to disappear and the only existing thing in Harry's world was the Snitch that was flying circles around the Gryffindor goals. The Snitch shifted slightly to the left and passed through the hoop. Harry knew that there was no turning back now; this could either end up very good, or very messy. His speed picked up as gravity took a firm hold on him. Harry honed his eyes on the tiny ball and it didn't occur to him that he had just barely passed through a goal ring on the Gryffindor side and that the ground was approaching very quickly.
AN2: Well, that's it! I'll see about getting the next update up as soon as possible! I hope my descriptions weren't too confusing. Sometimes, it's incredibly difficult to describe actions like the ones I had in mind. They just look so much better in my head than in writing! I'd like to take a moment to thank Mugglenet which was my reference for all of the Quidditch rules as well as several of the spells mentioned throughout the story. As always, feel free to leave comments and suggestions! Cheers!