L Y C O P H O B I A

4. Quidditch Match

A/N: (984 words); This chapter was written by FatherSon. Thank you so so much for helping me out, I really do appreciate it! 💜

Nervousness settling in the pit of his stomach, Harry felt the insides of his palm sweating, making it difficult to keep a firm grip on his broom.

"Now, team up," a voice came from behind, slightly startling Harry.

"We can do this!" Oliver Wood exclaimed in determination to the team circling around him, to which Harry managed a smile.

"You're flattering us," said George, a smirk playing on his lips, huffing in pride. That made the Gryffindor team roll their eyes, and a snort escaped Angelina Johnson, the chaser.

"No time fooling around, we need our full attention," Oliver said pointedly before glancing at Harry.

"Try to round the snitch as soon as you can. Don't let anything distract you."

Harry knew what Oliver was hinting on, but he made a mental promise to not leave the door open for the Slytherins -let alone Malfoy, his rival seeker- to put him off guard. Harry gave a curt nod, to which Oliver straightened himself and addressed his team once again.

"Ready?"

"Aye, Aye, Captain," the red-headed twins chorused in one cheerful tone.

Harry took a deep breath in and out, standing behind Oliver who was on the lead of the Gryffindor team.

Holding onto his broom, Harry moved his lips in determination: I can do this.
At the sound of the whistle, they took off to the open sky with fascinating speed. The breeze of Autumn air flushed his cheeks and ruffled his already messy hair, driving it backward.

Harry took his place in the air, his alert eyes waiting for any sign of the golden snitch. Minutes ran out, while he had nothing in his hands but to just wait.

All the while, Harry still directed his ears to focus on the scoring: 30-20, Slytherin on the lead.

Squeals of cheers rang out from both stands of audience, but Harry had his eyes on the golden red crowd... empowering him to move forward.
A broom flew past him with remarkable speed that almost knocked him backward. Regaining his balance, Harry glanced at its rider and saw Malfoy shooting him a smirk.

"Oops, alright there, scarhead?" Malfoy said, his tone booming in sarcasm.

Harry couldn't care less to respond, since at this moment, the snitch made a glorious appearance in mid-air between the two seekers.
Hoping that Malfoy was still ignorant, Harry readied his broom and took off.

He wasn't that lucky, though, since Malfoy had just stormed behind him.The golden wings of the snitch played along the clouds, and Harry flew around in tow in a wave of circles. He extended his hand to the air, desperate for his fingers to hug the winged circle.

The pure sky echoed with enthusiastic cheers before a shade of darkness clouded over them.

Harry felt his hold on the broom loosen from the ice that had settled on it, out of nowhere. He tried to tighten his grip, but to no avail.
The gloomy air encompassed him with severe coldness that he almost froze. For the first time ever, Harry couldn't direct his senses to focus on the golden snitch.

Even if he had the willpower to try, his vision was distorted from the lightening that filled up the grey sky, let alone the whistling echo of the thunder that abruptly shook him from the very core.

Ambition getting the better of him, Harry drove past the chaotic atmosphere, in search of the only hope to end this game.

But one thing caught his sight, making Harry gulp nervously with fear taking over him: a massive black dog standing out from the crowd... the presence of the Grim sent him a silent message that he was doomed to death.

It was as if the Grim was here for him, and him only.

Out of nowhere, darkness enwrapped his body and travelled all the way to his very soul, when a dark creature lurked behind his shoulder.
Harry didn't bother to whirl around to see for himself, since he was positive he wouldn't make it alive.
Instead, Harry gathered all his remaining strength and took off with lightening speed, leaving the dementor behind.

Before his mind could even register the waves of relief that sprung inside his heart, Harry felt his breath being forcefully taken away from his lungs.
His mind lost in despair, Harry couldn't even think or feel anything.His eyes shone with raw horror, as soon as he found himself face-to-face with another hooked vicious being.

The dementor opened its mouth, longing for the kiss that would give it the hungry satisfaction of sucking the soul of its victim.

Forgetting what it felt like to be cheerful, Harry was bombarded with all of the dreadful memories that he had tried so hard to keep in the deepest part inside him.
All at once, the saved moments he feared the most arose to the surface, hitting him like falling bricks one after the other.

Harry tried his best to hold on, as much as he could and for as long as possible... but to no avail.

His eyes rolled backward before snapping shut, and his grip loosened for the last time... leaving him with no alternative but to fall to his death from 150 feet high.

Swaying in rolling waves down the air, Harry felt his soul darken and he just couldn't do anything about it.

The last thing Harry was aware of, was the scream of a desperate woman who almost lost everything except of the one thing she was screaming for.
The scream filled with agony was powerful enough to make him already feel dead, without having a flicker of hope in the world.

And just like that, Harry was taken over by blinding darkness and icy coldness.

A/N: Hope you liked this chapter, give all the love to FatherSon! Chapter five is being written and almost ready! <3