A New Snake

Chapter 27

         

The first Quidditch match of the year came far more quickly than expected. With days full of practices, classes, homework—they used what little time they had when they weren't sleeping—for Defense Club planning. So far they had finished up the rules and offered them to Professor Snape to look over and make sure everything was alright.

Hermione had found a way for them all to communicate in a way that they would always be able to send and receive. She found a charm—called the Protean Charm—that allowed the one who held the Master object—in this case, fake Galleons—could change the message shown on said object. The Galleons were small and people would be able to carry it around wherever they went so they would always be able to receive the messages. It was also charmed to warm up and vibrate when a new message was sent. It was rather ingenious and they were all impressed with her.

Now all that was left to do was to find a meeting space. Professor Snape didn't want to have meetings held in his classroom because there were far too many ways someone could get hurt trying to practice Defense spells. But with how much they accomplished, they felt that they could take a break from planning and enjoy the game. Harry and Ron, though, were nervous wrecks. They always were before a match. And this time, they would be playing against each other, instead of with. Ron wasn't happy with Gryffindor's chances, but he had to trust in their new Seeker. Ginny had tried for Seeker and Chaser but told Angelina that she preferred playing Chaser. She was made Chaser, and a 6th Year was made Seeker.

But now, Harry and Lily had to play against their friends. And, as much as they value their friendship, they wouldn't go easy on them. Their Captain was a good choice of Captain. Her name is and she's a Sixth Year. She's smart and level-headed and makes sure the team knows that anyone who plays unfairly will be off the team and she has replacements at the ready. So no one was willing to try anything that may be considered dirty or cheating. But now is the moment of truth. They're getting ready in the Slytherin locker room and Delphia is giving them a pep talk. More original and uplifting than Wood's was all those years. She warned them strongly that the fact that the season had officially started did not mean that her threat—no, promise—didn't still stand and that after the game, they would be off the team before they got off the pitch. It looked like they were all taking it seriously.

Delphia advised Harry to not stay in one spot. Keep moving and occasionally dive for no reason. Gryffindor knows his habits. They know his moves. They know what he usually does in a Quidditch game. He needs to surprise them.

Before long, the whistle for the teams to walk onto the field blew; they grabbed their brooms and were on their way. The sun shone bright and when they stepped out of the cold shadows it warmed them. As Slytherin walked out onto the pitch, so did Gryffindor. The two teams stood, mounted on their brooms, in front of Madam Hooch. Harry knuckle-bumped Ginny and Ron where they stood nearby and Lily high-fived the twins.

Madam Hooch made her usual speech and, as usual, gave a significant look to the Slytherin team when she mentioned a clean game. Delphia turned and gave the same look to her team. The Captains shook hands and the whistle blew to signal the start of the match. Harry was in the air as quickly as he could be and he was followed by the new Gryffindor Seeker. He wasn't being very sly about following what Harry did. Harry watched him and he never looked down at the field. He only watched Harry. So Harry decided to pull a little trick on him. He quickly pushed into a dive and, as he'd expected, the other Seeker followed soon after. He laughed a little to himself as the announcer asked, "Has Harry Potter seen the Snitch?" And he pulled up and out of the dive. The other Seeker was almost not so lucky. When he pulled up, his feet just brushed the grass of the pitch and he left behind some of his broom's twigs. By the time he got his bearings, Harry was above the rest of the game and was circling the pitch. The Announcer called out the feint and the other Seeker's face was a little red—not just from the cold rush of air—as he returned to watching above the pitch. This time, he didn't watch Harry. He watched the pitch for himself. The game went on and on, no sight of the Snitch. Slytherin was up by nearly 100 points when Harry suddenly dove.

"Has Harry Potter finally seen the Snitch? Or is this another trick to lure in the Gryffindor Seeker? Merlin's grey beard, I think he's actually seen it!"

The Gryffindor Seeker hadn't rushed after Harry immediately when he had started diving, but now he was too far behind. He would never catch up. Harry was just behind the snitch, reaching and reaching. The familiar feeling of the Snitch's fluttering wings urged him forward. His broom was moving as fast as possible and he was getting really close to the ground. If he didn't get it soon, he'd have to bail. Then. Two and a half meters from the ground, he wrapped his fingers around that little, gold ball. He pulled out of the dive and was immediately hit in the head with a stray bludger.

He fell off his broom, it's a good thing he was already so close to the ground, and his broom attempted to make its escape, but Delphia summoned it before it could fly into the Forbidden Forest. His team and the former team all landed and crowded around him. Severus hurried onto the field, carrying an assortment of medi-potions. He asked the students to part and he knelt beside where Harry lay. Lily knelt on the other side of him and watched as her father and Head of House checked where her honorary brother had been struck. He was bleeding and his skull was cracked, but it was nothing that some potions and rest couldn't fix. He could get Poppy to do a scan on his brain to make sure there were no lasting side-effects. Though by the looks of it, there wouldn't be.

Carefully, he levitated the boy above him and above the crowd after administering some basic pain potions. He dismissed the crowd and the teams and told Lily to shower then she may come to the hospital wing to see Harry.

As he was carried away, Harry Potter still clutched the Snitch.

Words: 1,161