Resurrected and Reunited (Harry Potter)

Chapter 10

A/N: I will be using a few quotes and descriptions (which I will change slightly) from the book in this chapter (from the chapter – The Quidditch Final). All quotes and descriptions will be from pages 224-230 in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. All credit for the amazing descriptions and dialogue used goes to J.K. Rowling.

HARRY'S POV

As the team and I walked into the Great Hall, we heard cheering. I looked up and notice that not only were the Gryffindor table cheering for us, but also Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as well! A smile appeared on my face, which could not be removed even by the Slytherin table, which was sneering at us. I honestly didn't care what they thought of us, of me, right now. We walked over and sat at the Gryffindor, Wood insisting that we all ate a substantial breakfast whilst he hardly touched anything himself. He might have eaten a piece of toast, but nothing substantial. To humour him, we all ate as much as we needed. Once we all finished, he rushed us off to the pitch to get an idea for the weather conditions that day. Once we got there, he looked around and stood there for a bit, analysing the pitch. He then began muttering to himself about weather conditions, how it would affect our performance, along with other things, before abruptly ordering us to the change rooms.

JAMES' POV

Dumbledore had given us some robes to wear during the match. I didn't care what we wore though, as I was more excited about seeing Harry play Quidditch for the first time. When I was at school it was my favourite thing to do, bar hanging out with my friends.

*Later – at the Quidditch match*

I looked around the pitch to see that three quarters of the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them or holding up various banners. The last quarter was dressed in green and standing behind the Slytherin goalposts, all waving flags embellished with the silver serpent of Slytherin.
"Here are the Gryffindors!" The commentator, who was a Gryffindor student, and whose name I learned was Lee Jordan, yelled. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood! Widely acknowledged as the best side Hogwarts has seen in a good few years-" He commented, but was cut off by a series of 'boos' from Slytherin. This didn't seem to faze him though.
"And here comes the Slytherin team, led by captain Flint. He's made some changes in the line-up and seems to be going for size rather than skill-" Lee stated, but was cut off, again, by more 'boos' from the Slytherins. He had a point though, apart from a blond haired kid, Draco Malfoy, from Harry's description, the entire Slytherin team was enormous. Madam Hooch ordered the captains of each team, Wood and Flint, to shake hands. They looked very annoyed at this, but complied anyway. The captains then walked back to stand with their teams.
"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch stated. All players on both teams did so and then she grabbed her whistle and began to count down. "Three...two...one..." At the sound of her whistle, fourteen brooms flew into the air. I watched as Harry zoomed away to fly off to find the Snitch, Malfoy following him. I then focused back on the game to watch what was happening. As much as I wanted to see my son play, I was also excited to see how Gryffindor performed. Gryffindor had first possession of the Quaffle, and one of the Chasers, Alicia Spinnet from Harry, was heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts. Lee was quite a good commentator in that he was catching everything that was going on.
"ANGELINA JOHNSON SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"
Angelina punched the air as she soared round the end of the pitch; the sea of scarlet below was screaming its delight when suddenly she was nearly thrown from her broom as the captain of the Slytherin team, whose name I'd learned was Marcus Flint, went smashing into her.
"Sorry!" said Flint, as the crowd below booed. "Sorry, didn't see her!" Ok, well, that's rubbish. She was clearly in your line of sight, there was no way you could have missed her.
Next moment, one of the Weasley twins had chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed. I smirked at this.
"That will do!" Madam Hooch screamed, zooming between them. "Penalty to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"
"Come off it, Miss!" The same Weasley complained, but Madam Hooch paid him not attention. Instead, she blew her whistle and Alicia flew forward to take the penalty.
"Come on, Alicia!" Lee yelled into the silence that had descended on the crowd. "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY–ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"
Flint, still bleeding freely, flew forwards to take the Slytherin penalty. The Gryffindor keeper, who was also the captain, Oliver Wood, was hovering in front of the Gryffindor goalposts, looking very serious.
"Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee Jordan told the crowd, as Flint waited for Madam Hooch's whistle. As soon as she did, Flint attempted to throw the Quaffle into one of the hoops. Even though it would be a difficult catch for Wood, he caught it none the less. I smiled, impressed at his skills. "YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!" Lee screamed again. Once again, play resumed, as did Lee's commentary.
"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession – no! – Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the pitch – THAT WAS DELIBERATE!" He screamed. A Slytherin Chaser had swerved in front of Katie, and instead of seizing the Quaffle, had grabbed her head. Katie cartwheeled in the air, managed to stay on her broom but dropped the Quaffle.
Madam Hooch's whistle rang out again as she soared over to the Slytherin Chaser and began shouting at him. A minute later, Katie had put another penalty past the Slytherin Keeper.
"THIRTY–ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING-" Lee yelled, getting agitated at the Slytherin Chaser.
"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way-!" Professor McGonagall began.
"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!" He replied.
I went back to look at Harry. He was looking at the foot of the Gryffindor goalposts with a glint in his eyes. He had spotted the snitch. However, instead of flying towards it, he did the opposite. With what I could tell was a fake a look of sudden concentration, Harry pulled his Firebolt round and sped off towards the Slytherin end. The Slytherin Seeker flew after him, clearly thinking Harry had seen the Snitch there. Nice one Harry.
Suddenly, one of the Bludgers came streaking past Harry's right ear, hit by a gigantic Slytherin Beater. A moment later, the second Bludger had grazed Harry's elbow. The other Beater was closing in. It looked like Harry had a fleeting glimpse of the Beaters zooming towards him, clubs raised, because at the last second, he turned the Firebolt upwards, and the Beaters collided with a sickening crunch. Dumbledore was right. Harry is a natural on a broom. He looks so effortless when he flies, like he is at home.
"Ha haaa!" Lee Jordan yelled, as the Slytherin Beaters lurched away from each other, clutching their heads. "Too bad, boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt!" He added. Lee then began commentating on the game again, when suddenly Flint scored. Cheers erupted from the Slytherin end and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him.
"Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession." Lee said.
I was shocked. This was quickly turning into one of the dirtiest matches I had ever seen at Hogwarts, and it looked like Harry recognized this as well. Enraged that Gryffindor had taken such an early lead, the Slytherins were rapidly resorting to any means to take the Quaffle. A Slytherin Beater hit Alicia with his club and tried to say he'd thought she was a Bludger. One of the Weasley twins elbowed said Beater in the face in retaliation. Madam Hooch awarded both teams penalties, and Wood pulled off another spectacular save, making the score forty–ten to Gryffindor. I saw that the Slytherin Seeker was still keeping close to Harry as he soared over the match, looking around for the Snitch. Suddenly, Katie scored. Fifty-ten. The twins were swooping around her, clubs raised, in case any of the Slytherins were thinking of revenge. Both Slytherin Seekers took advantage of the twins' absence to aim both Bludgers at Wood; they caught him in the stomach, one after the other, and he rolled over in the air, clutching his broom, completely winded. I honestly felt so bad for him. I had been winded by a Bludger before, and it was not a comfortable feeling. Madam Hooch was beside herself.
"You do not attack the Keeper unless the Quaffle is within the scoring area!' she shrieked at them. "Gryffindor penalty!"
Again, Angelina scored. Sixty–ten. Moments later, one of the Weasley twins pelted a Bludger at a Slytherin Chaser, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands; Alicia seized it and put it through the Slytherin goal: seventy–ten.
The Gryffindor crowd below were screaming themselves hoarse – Gryffindor were sixty points in the lead. If Harry caught the Snitch now, the Cup was theirs. I could tell that Harry could almost feel hundreds of eyes following him as he soared around the pitch, high above the rest of the game, with Malfoy speeding along behind him.
And then he saw it. The Snitch was sparkling twenty feet above him.
Harry put on a huge burst of speed, and I could tell he had seen the Snitch; he stretched out his hand, but suddenly, Malfoy threw himself forward, grabbed hold of the Firebolt's tail and was pulling it back. If Harry could reach Malfoy, he would have hit him, I could tell. I honestly would have done the same. Even though Malfoy was panting with the effort of holding onto the Firebolt, he had achieved what he'd wanted – the Snitch had disappeared.
"Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics!" Madam Hooch screeched, shooting up to where Malfoy was sliding back onto his broom.
"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee Jordan was howling into the megaphone, dancing out of Professor McGonagall's reach. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B-"
Professor McGonagall didn't even bother to tell him off. She was actually shaking her fist in the Slytherin Seeker's direction; her hat had fallen off, and she, too, was shouting furiously.
Alicia took Gryffindor's penalty, but she was so angry she missed by several feet. It looked like the Gryffindor team was quickly losing concentration, and the Slytherins, delighted by Malfoy's foul on Harry, were being spurred on to greater heights.
"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal – Montague scores –' Lee groaned. 'Seventy–twenty to Gryffindor."
"Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina, COME ON!" Lee yelled.
Every single Slytherin player apart from the Seeker, even the Slytherin Keeper, was streaking up the pitch towards Angelina. They were all going to block her. Suddenly, Harry wheeled the Firebolt about; bent so low he was lying flat along the handle and kicked it forwards. Like a bullet, he shot towards the Slytherins. They all cried out in horror at Harry speeding towards them and they scattered as the Firebolt zoomed towards them; Angelina's way was clear. Lee was practically bouncing in his seat.
"SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor lead by eighty points to twenty!" He cried in delight.
Harry, who had almost pelted headlong into the stands, skidded to a halt in mid-air, reversed and zoomed back into the middle of the pitch.
It was obvious that Harry had seen something because as soon as he stopped, he urged the Firebolt downwards but the Slytherin Seeker was miles ahead. Oh no. Gaining on the Seeker, Harry flattened himself to the broom handle as one of the Slytherin Beaters sent a Bludger at him. Once he was basically at the Seeker's ankles, Harry threw himself forwards, taking both hands off his broom. He knocked the Seeker's arm out of the way and closed his hands around the small golden ball with wings that was the Golden Snitch.
"YES!" Harry screamed. Harry pulled out of his dive, his hand in the air, and the stadium exploded. He soared above the crowd, the tiny golden ball held tight in his fist, beating its wings hopelessly against his fingers. I finally looked across at Lily for the first time since we sat down, and noticed she had a huge grin on her face, almost mirroring mine. I looked back at Harry to see that he was engulfed in the entire Gryffindor Quidditch Team.
"We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!" They all kept shouting. I knew all too well this feeling, and seeing my son experience it, as well as the look of pure joy and excitement on his face was the best thing ever.
As soon as the Gryffindor team had sunk back to earth, wave upon wave of crimson supporters was pouring over the barriers onto the pitch. Then he, and the rest of the team, were hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd. The Gryffindor team slowly made their way through the crowd to where Dumbledore was standing, holding the huge Quidditch Cup, the smiles on their faces was the best thing I have ever seen. I never realized how much I missed this feeling, but seeing Harry experiencing the same thing made me so proud and I felt like I was reliving it all over again.