Chasing Love

Chapter Nineteen - Dawlish

Wind pushed her hair back as she scanned the pitch, it wasn't going to be easy. They were going to struggle to win, the Slytherin's brooms were superior to theres and that meant it would be easier for them to win, they would be quicker, they would be more agile, they could completely thrash Gryffindor if the team wasn't careful.

Quickly, clearing her throat Eliza made her way back inside. The corridors were quiet for now but soon students would fill them up on their way down to breakfast. When she arrived in the Great Hall, most of the team were already sat down together. She sat down beside Angelina and started to put food onto her plate. Harry joined them and no one said a word. They were all nervous about the upcoming match and worried about if they could actually win it.

Just before eleven o'clock the entire school made their way down to the Quidditch pitch. The air felt muggy and as though it would thunder at any given moment. Eliza changed into her Scarlet robes and sat down ready to listen to Oliver's usual pre-match prep talk. "Slytherin has better brooms than us. No point denying it. But we've got better people on our brooms. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers -"

"Too true." Muttered George. "I haven't been properly dry since August."

"-And we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, buy his way onto their team." Oliver continued and then he turned to Harry "It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying." Eliza looked over at Oliver and rolled her eyes. "Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."

"So no pressure, Harry." Fred said as he winked at the young boy.

Eliza went over to Oliver. "What shall us chasers do?"

"Not now Dawlish." Oliver said to her making her stare at him as though he had grown two heads.

"What?" She asked shocked.

The boy sighed as he grabbed his broom. "Just do your best."

As the team walked out onto the Quidditch Pitch they were met with a loud noise, mainly cheers as Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were both anxious to see Slytherin beaten but then there was boos and hisses from the Slytherins. Madam Hooch asked Flint and Wood to shake hands, they did but gave each other threatening stares and gripped each other more hard than was necessary. "On my whistle." Madam Hooch said. "Three...Two...One."

Fourteen players rose from the ground and the whole crowd screamed. Eliza narrowed her eyes at the opposite chasers. They were arrogant considering they had quicker brooms, maybe she could use that to her advantage. She heard George shout to Harry, "Close on, Harry." She looked up to see a bludger just miss the young boy. Shaking her head, Eliza flew forward and tried to get the Quaffle off the Slytherins but they were too fast meaning Alicia, Angelina and Eliza felt bad as they zoomed past them while they could do nothing but watch. Eliza managed to grab the Quaffle from an unsuspecting Slytherin and flew quickly towards the hoops but just as she was going to score a bludger went towards her.

To make matters worse it started to rain, the raindrops fell onto her face like tears. The Slytherins had already scored sixty points while they hadn't scored any. Their brooms were just not good enough.

Suddenly, Madam Hooch's whistle rang out and Eliza looked down to see Harry, Fred and GEorge dive for the ground. She followed them quickly and jumped off her broom. Oliver shouted to them "What's going on?" The Gryffindor team huddled on the ground as the Slytherins in the crowd made jokes about them. "We're being flattened. Fred, George, where were you when that Bludger stopped Dawlish scoring?" Again he refused to call her by her first name.