(Quidditch Match Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff)
Letting his thoughts flow clearly and swiftly as he meditated on one of the benches in the changing room, he cleared away dust from his codex, centering himself for the upcoming game. Exhaling, he waited for the rest of the team to arrive.
He planned to make this game ruthlessly quick if Ravenclaw wanted any chance at the Quidditch Cup. After all, Ravenclaw's Chasers were by far the weakest of the four House Teams, and it didn't help that Roger was a by-the-book kind of guy, not in the sense of the rules, but the plays he chose.
"Speed, I need to be quick," was the single thought he had as he meditated in his Quidditch gear.
"Where's Potter? What do you mean he's not in the dorm rooms? If he's not down here in five minutes, he'll be off the team, and Chang will play. I don't care if he got us all new brooms," Roger's voice rang through the room.
His eyes still closed, he drawled from his position, "You know, Roger, they're not your brooms; they're the House's brooms. I suggest you remember that fact, and that I earned my place on the team fair and square." Making the team jump as they just realized he was there.
"There you are, Potter, where have you been?" the angry captain demanded, making him wonder if Roger had been exposed to the Draught of Rage recently.
"Here, in this very spot, since nine o'clock," Harry replied with a hint of condescension. "I've been meditating in the peace and quiet. Now, would you be so kind as to keep your voice down? It's awfully annoying and distracting." He shot back, not in the mood for playing nice.
"You're supposed to sit with the House to go over the game plan," Roger countered, or tried to at least.
"I'm the Seeker. I catch the Snitch. Any other actions I take would need to be on the spot. The best you could do was tell me something general, like 'Disrupt the enemy Chasers' or 'Don't get nailed by Bludgers.'"
Harry cracked open an eye and sent a dry look at the Ravenclaw Captain. "I would also like to point out that having a team meeting in the Great Hall over breakfast, where everyone can hear you, seems awfully stupid." Roger probably said something, but Harry blocked him out as he sank back into his mental state.
"It's time!" Edward called an unknown amount of time later, shaking his shoulder firmly. Harry went about doing a quick stretch before following the teammates out through the exit tunnel, broom in hand.
He stood behind Jones in the lineup. They mounted their brooms, ready to take to the skies. Roger kicked off first, zooming out of the tunnel as the rest of the team followed him out of the tunnel behind the captain as their names were announced to the stadium. Ravenclaw side started to cheer as their team entered the stadium, the team doing a lap around the pitch before facing off against their opposite numbers.
"Good luck," Cedric stated confidently.
"You'll need it," as Madam Hooch walked up to them and stated firmly, "I want a nice clean game." Already knowing that this game was going to be the cleanest match-up of the session.
...
(In the Stands)
"I wonder what Cedric said to Harry?" Tonks asked aloud, watching her cousin face off against her own House Seeker.
"I don't think it will matter much, Tonks," Penny answered from next to her. They were in the middle of the connecting benches for both House teams. "He's got his game face on."
"Who do you think will win, ladies? It's their first match for both of them," Percy said from behind, catching them both by surprise at his sudden appearance, as well as several other students who were sitting nearby.
"I would of course like Harry to win. I'm a Ravenclaw, after all," Penny answered cheerfully, feeling more confident in how to handle her year mate than she did the previous year, now that they weren't sharing classes and no longer shared prefect rounds every couple of nights.
"But Cedric's got the starting advantage, since the Snitch just took off behind Harry," Tonks noted. "My cousin was training several hours a day for most of the summer. As soon as he gets his eyes on the prize, he's a bit like a hound dog."
"Yeah, I noticed that too," Penny added as the game started.
"What about you, Percy?" Tonks asked as the players took off.
"Don't mind really, never really cared for the game outside of House pride," the stiff lion said, catching them all by surprise since every Weasley they knew were die-hard Quidditch fans.
"Go, Go Ravenclaw! Go, Go Ravenclaw!" The Ravenclaw students suddenly started to chant as the Chasers started their attack on the Badger's goals, successfully taking the goalkeeper by surprise at both the attack and sudden burst of noise from his left as the first goal of the game was scored.
"Lucky shot," Tonks grumbled, not unkindly, causing her fellow students to laugh at the comment. "Any idea where Daphne, Tracy, and Blaise are?" she suddenly asked, wondering where the trio were.
"Oh, they're in the Slytherin stands," Padma answered from behind as she took a seat behind her with her charm Omnoculars at the ready, pointing in the direction of the trio.
"Why?" Tonks responded, wondering why they weren't sitting together supporting her cousin.
"You know Slytherins. It's all about positioning and status. They won't openly sit with Ravenclaw unless they're sure that we'll win. To do otherwise, they risk losing status by backing the wrong horse. It's all internal House politics, with Draco openly supporting Cedric. If Cedric loses, Draco loses status because he backed the wrong player," Padma explained. Penny just nodded along, already knowing that Slytherin House was full of political maneuverings even at such a young age.
"While they may not be sitting with us, it's common knowledge that they're friends with Harry, so they stand to gain if he wins, though not too much, since they aren't openly supporting us. Though this method means they can dismiss it as Harry being only a second year."
Percy and Tonks looked baffled at the sheer ridiculousness of the political games, but Padma was paying attention to the game. "Look, he's seen the Snitch!" she shouted, causing the whole stand to focus back on the game.
Diving down in a feint, gathering speed as he shot towards the ground, Harry swooped into the surprised Badger Chaser line, interrupting their attacking run, while Cedric followed behind him, causing further disruption to his own teammates rather than risking it was a feint and possibly losing the game. Harry skillfully flew through the opposition's left goal post, distracting the Keeper as Roger led another counter-attack, followed by his wingman—or wingwoman, in this case—Jones supported her captain.
"30-0 in Ravenclaw's favor!" Jordan cried, spurring the Ravenclaw into a cheering frenzy.
Looking over to his rival Seeker, who seemed rattled from the near miss with his own Keeper after Harry's mad drive, he gave a two-finger salute and quoted the boy's earlier line, "Good luck, you'll need it," before shooting off down the pitch, noticing a flash of gold in the air—the telltale sign of the Snitch—before his rival could come back with a retort just as a Bludger went through the air he'd been in a moment earlier, snapping the Puff's attention back to the game just before it hit him.
Unfortunately, the Snitch disappeared by the time he'd flown around the pitch as he dodged another Bludger sent his way by the enemy Beaters, causing him to dive, once again gaining speed towards the ground, snatching everyone's attention at his sudden action. He mentally sighed, "This is going to be a long game..." he thought as he started flying around the pitch in a figure-eight search pattern, diving into plays at random and just trying to cause some panic and give his team the advantage.
Half an hour later he finally managed to lock onto the Snitch. As he zoomed after it with Cedric in chase, the Snitch turned randomly back into the center of the field, flying straight through an active play before pulling another tight turn back towards the stands. Finally, the Snitch dove towards the ground, causing both of them to follow after it.
"120–100 in Ravenclaw's favor," Lee Jordan reported in the background, before the Snitch banked again across the pitch, climbing steadily upwards.
Harry pulled up hard, following the Snitch into the clouds. The air became thinner as they climbed steadily higher, the sounds of the students fading as his breath turned to mist, condensing on his glasses. Harry was far too focused to be annoyed as the Snitch once more changed trajectory, diving straight toward the earth, giving Cedric the advantage as both players dived after it.
Harry followed right behind Cedric as the fifth year started pulling away due to his weight giving him an advantage in the freefall. As he inched forward in the downward spiral, the earth's gravity started to take effect, accelerating them to higher speeds. The wind pounded into his face and through his hair, but he continued in hot pursuit after his rival Seeker.
Harry had one small advantage: his glasses, which helped keep the wind out of his eyes, stopping them from watering up as he slowly gained; it was clear the Puff was suffering from the lack of vision as he struggled to fly straight, allowing Harry to close the distance to less than a broom's length. 'Next time I'll wear goggles,' Harry promised himself, wondering why more players didn't wear them.
Seeing an opening and a flash of gold, he jumped neck to neck with Cedric, his senses seemingly going into overdrive as he was deafened by the howling wind. He persevered, staying the course groundward, his hand stretching out, ready to snatch the Snitch.
It suddenly jerked to the side, causing both Seekers to follow, with Harry once again being in the lead due to Cedric's impaired vision.
A Bludger shot past him, grazing his shoulder, but Harry ignored it and continued reaching for the golden ball. The wind caused his hand to rock from side to side, but he held as steady as he could as he rapidly approached striking distance. The Snitch braked again, zooming past his head, causing him to airbrake, flipping over, with his rival pulling the same maneuver as the ground passed beneath him, causing them to be neck to neck for a second before Harry pulled away due to his lesser weight and smaller frame as he flattened himself against the broom.
"140-150, Hufflepuff takes the lead!" he heard in the background, causing his heart to pound faster as the Snitch banked again, heading towards the staff box. They flew less than a meter above their fellow students' heads, suddenly dodging to either side of Hagrid's head as the groundskeeper attempted to get out of their way.
He felt a short, sharp pain in his foot, but he quickly blocked it out, raising mental barriers around the pain as he reached out with his good hand. Sparing a second to look over his shoulder to see he had a good two brooms' length on his rival, he leaned forward, extending his reach before striking out, his fingers locking around the familiar metal object, which stiffened in his grasp, causing him to instantly pull up, holding his hand high to the world.
"Harry Potter caught the Snitch, Ravenclaw wins!" rang over the stadium, which burst out into cheers for the most part. "290 to 170!" the announcer continued as the stadium began to celebrate.
He drifted down to the ranks of his teammates, who were celebrating their win. Putting some weight on his foot, he felt a spike of pain and promptly remembered hitting something when he passed over one of the boxes.
The school matron came over to check on everyone, only to notice him flinch at the pain in his foot and rush over to him first. "Mr. Potter, hold still," she instructed, flicking her wand. "You've a fractured ankle and shoulder," she recited what her scanning spells were telling her, giving a summary of his injuries. "Such a brutal sport," she said none too quietly, which was ignored by all the players.
"Attention, attention!" the Headmaster's voice rang over the grounds, followed by a cannon blast, getting everyone's attention. "I'd like to reward 20 points to both Seekers for such an exciting chase. I think all of us were on the edge of our seats from the stunts you were pulling. I must say, I think you gave Hagrid a scare," he said joyfully, his cheerfulness flowing over the pitch as the student body laughed, while the school's resident half-giant blushed.
"In addition, Professor Hooch has asked me to reward 40 points to each team for a clean game," the aged educator said proudly, looking down at the referee who seemed to be beaming.
Even with the matron bothering him, Harry couldn't help but smile as the students cheered. No doubt he'd just moved up on the student pecking order.
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