Heart of Stone: HPHM Year 6

Underwater

"Broadmoor scores! Another goal for Hufflepuff!" McNully announced to the cheering stands. "That puts them in the lead, twenty-nil."

The crowd was deafening. Slytherin it seemed always cheered against Gryffindor, Hufflepuff was of course supporting their own team, and the Ravenclaws also seemed to have taken the badgers' side, wounded by being knocked out of their chance for the cup by Gryffindor three years in a row now. 

Sarah cursed herself. She'd let let them score twice in only twenty minutes. She had to focus. Her plans for after the match could wait. 

Orion had the quaffle now. He'd decided he was ready to rejoin the team shortly after their last match, but he'd insisted that Sarah remain as acting captain for the rest of the season. Sarah had done her  best to give a good vivification speech, and her team was playing well, but Hufflepuff's team this year was extremely skilled. If Gryffindor had a disadvantage, it was defense, and Hufflepuff made good use of this flaw, keeping the quaffle on Sarah's side of the pitch three-quarters of the time. She had to be on her best game if Gryffindor wanted to keep their hands on the cup. 

"Orion passes to Parkin. Parkin ducks to avoid Cole's bludger," McNully announced. Sarah kept her eyes trained on the ball. "Ooh, Dawson falls for the fake pass to Weasley, leaving Parkin an open lane to take a shot...she scores! Parkin puts Gryffindor on the board. 20-10!"

Sarah sighed in relief, before tensing again as she prepared for Hufflepuff to bring the quaffle back her way. Thankfully, Charlie managed to steal it back for Gryffindor. He scored, making it a tie game. 

Sarah let in another goal, but managed to save the next two. She'd never had a losing percentage before. Skye managed to score twice more, and Charlie barely snuck by the Hufflepuff keeper to score as well. It was now 50-30 Gryffindor. Sarah took another deep breath. She couldn't let Hufflepuff score again. In order to win the cup, they had to be at least thirty points ahead when the game was over, otherwise the match was theirs, but the cup was not. 

"Broadmoor with the quaffle again, really zooming up the pitch! Met by Amari, but evades him. There's nothing between him but keeper Sarah Spellman!" 

Sarah tuned McNully out, focusing on Broadmoor. Broadmoor was right-handed, and Sarah knew he favored the right hoop. Still, she stayed put in the middle, her broom vibrating as it sensed her readying to make a move at an instant's notice. Broadmoor raised the quaffle, staring straight at the hoop to his right and Sarah's left. 

Wait, she told herself. Wait. 

There! She saw it. The brief flash of his eyes as he glanced to his left. Sarah shot off toward her right, just as Broadmoor let go of the quaffle. 

"Spellman saves it! Excellent work reading the player. Broadmoor had us all convinced he was shooting right, but Spellman saw through his act!" 

Sarah had only time to bat the quaffle away rather than catch it, but Orion caught it and was now barreling up the pitch. He passed to Charlie, who passed to Skye, who passed back to Orion as they flew together in a triangle formation. 

"Thimblerig shuffle! Thimblerig shuffle!" McNully shouted, excitement mounting as it always did when the players utilized a strategy he'd invented. "Dawson will have a hard time deciphering where the quaffle will go next!" 

Like Sarah, Dawson was forced to anticipate the player's moves and take off to defend one of the hoops. Unlike Sarah, he guessed incorrectly.

"Oooh!" shouted the audience, as Dawson shot off toward the left hoop, allowing Orion to throw the quaffle into the rightmost hoop easily.

"Ah, tough luck!" called McNully. "But the odds of overcoming the thimblerig shuffle are at best 62.3%. That puts Gryffindor ahead by thirty, the score 60-30!"