A.N.:
So, this is just a one-off, just because I thought it would be cool. Please R&R and if you read my other stories I apologize for the wait, hopefully I'll be uploading to both of them soon!
Snitch
Harry Potter and Victor Krum stood staring at each other, neither wanted to give in, but neither of them knew how to settle it once and for all. You see, there was Harry Potter on one side - the boy who lived, the youngest seeker in a century, the pride of Gryffindor house - and Victor Krum on the other - the Bulgarian Bon-Bon, so-called best seeker in the world. The two were at a stale-mate, neither wanted to play a true game of Quidditch, for that would involve gathering their entire teams together, and neither knew where most of the teams were during the hot Summer days.
"What do you think?" Hermione Granger whispered to Ron Weasley. The two of them - Harry Potter's best friends - had been watching the argument for some time, and now they were worried that it might come to a fight, as both boys were known to have troubles with their tempers.
"Why don't you guys just play 'Snitch'?" Ron suggested. Both Harry and Victor turned to look at him.
"What's 'Sneetch'?" Victor asked in his heavy Bulgarian accent.
"It's what we call one-on-one Quidditch," Ron answered, and went on to explain, "See, it doesn't matter what your proper position is, because all you have to do is catch the snitch first." He shrugged and took a bite of the sandwich he'd been holding while sitting on the fence.
"So it's basically seeker versus seeker?" Hermione asked for clarification.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Except, it doesn't matter if you're proper position is a beater or a chaser or whatever, because you just have to try to catch the snitch." Ron answered.
"I don't know," Victor looked at his tentative-girlfriend - Hermione.
"It's perfect!" Said Harry, "Who's got a snitch?"
"We have one at home," Ron said, "I'll just run and grab it." Ron ran across the field and up the hill towards the burrow - his home.
"Ron! What is it? You aren't supposed to be home for an hour!" Mrs. Weasley - a plump woman with a kind face - asked in her worry-voice when her son walked through the front door a minute later.
"Just grabbing one of the extra snitches," Ron said, digging through the Quidditch box in the living room, "Harry and Victor are going to play a game of Snitch to see who's the better seeker." He found the snitch and pulled it out of the box, and was promptly toppled over by his older brother George jumping on him.
"We want to see this!" George's twin - Fred - said, giving Ron a noogie.
"Well then come on. And if you're coming grab Harry's firebolt, he doesn't have it with him." Ron said. George sprinted up the stairs to grab it and came back down with the firebolt, and Ron's two oldest brothers - Bill and Charlie.
"We playing Quidditch?" Bill asked, shaking his shoulder-length red hair.
"Harry and Victor are going to play Snitch." Fred said excitedly.
"Here that, Charlie?" Bill elbowed the eldest Weasley child.
"Where's Ginny, she'll want to see this." Charlie smiled.
"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley called to the youngest and only daughter.
"Coming, Mum!" Ginny called back, and a moment later had come to the bottom of the stairs. "Who's playing Quidditch with Harry's broom?" She asked, eyes wide.
"Harry and Victor are going to play Snitch." Charlie told her.
"Then why are we waiting here? Let's go!" Ginny urged, and they all left the burrow, kissing their mother on their way by.
"We asked you to get a snitch, not an audience." Victor stated disapprovingly upon seeing the returning six Weasleys.
"You seem to have your own audience too." George observed, nodding toward the six or seven people from Victor's school now standing on the other side of the field.
"Fine." Victor answered. George handed Harry his broom and one of the Bulgarian's handed Victor his.
"The snitch gets a minute's head-start on the two of you, and stay in the fenced-in area." Ron explained the rules, keeping a tight hold on the snitch. The two seekers mounted their brooms and got ready.
"Wait!" George called suddenly as Ron was just about ready to release the snitch.
"What?!" Harry called down to him.
"Does anyone want to make a bet?" Fred asked, obviously on the same page as his twin. Three of the Bulgarians nodded and Bill and Charlie agreed as well.
As they exchanged predictions the betters were put into teams of two and five. Charlie, Bill and the three Bulgarians were betting three galleons each on Victor, and Fred and George put four galleons each on Harry catching the snitch but either crashing into a fence post or jumping off his broom to do it. Twenty-three galleons was the total amount, and all the winnings would go to the winning team to be split as close to evenly as possible.
"Are we ready now?" Harry asked, more than a little annoyed.
"Yes." George smiled, pleased with the outcome of the bet-request.
"On your marks!" Ron called, stepping into the very middle of the fenced area, between the two seekers.
"Get set!" Ron held out his closed hand.
"Go!" He opened his hand and the snitch took off.
Both Harry and Victor watched the snitch for the entire minutes wait, before taking off after it, neck-and-neck at first, but things changed quickly.
"Why are they diving?!" Hermione yelled.
"The snitch must have taken a dive." Ron said. Victor pulled out of the dive then, but Harry waited half a second too long and smacked his broom on the ground, he hadn't caught the snitch though, and now neither of them could see it.
"Dammit!" Harry smacked his broom and flew back up, level with his opponent.
"Who do you want to win?" Ginny asked Hermione, knowing full well that one was her best friend, and the other was her boyfriend.
"I just don't want either of them to hurt themselves trying to prove they're the best." Hermione answered.
"Personally I want Harry to win, but Krum is an amazing seeker." Ginny told her, even though she hadn't been asked.
Everything was still for a minute or two while the two seekers looked around for the snitch, then Harry shot straight up, rising higher and higher at an insane speed.
"He's seen the snitch again!" George yelled.
"No way!" Ron countered, "He's going to fast and it was too sudden. It has to be an opposite Wronsky Feint."
"Then it's working, look how fast Krum caught up to him." Ginny said, pointing.
Next second the two came hurtling back towards the ground, and this time they all saw the golden snitch in front of them. They were neck-and-neck and both had their hands outstretched.
"This is it!" George said, rubbing his hands together with glee as he watched Harry rise slightly off his broom.
"Move!" Victor yelled as Harry pulled out in front of him. They leveled-out about three inches from the ground and continued the high-speed chase. They were coming close to the fence now, and Victor was obviously afraid of hitting it. At the last second Victor pulled up and Harry jumped off his broom, smashing into the fence, and catching the golden snitch.
"He won!" Bill and Charlie screamed together, both excited and shocked at the same time.
"He won?" The Bulgarians demanded in disbelief.
Victor landed next to Harry and helped him stand up. Harry was holding tightly onto the snitch with one hand, and a bleeding left side of his face with the other.
Meanwhile Fred and George were accepting their winnings and talking animatedly about what they were planning to do with them.
"Harry! Are you alright?" Hermione asked, giving each of them a hug.
"Does my nose look broken to you?" Harry answered, taking his hand off his face and attempting to wiggle his nose.
"Just a little," Hermione answered timidly.
"God your glasses are shattered again." Ginny commented.
"Orculus, Repairo." Hermione said, pointing her wand at Harry's glasses.
"Thanks." Harry said. He opened his hand stiffly and they all noticed that he had hit the fence with it as well, and had probably torn a tendon or two.
"Congratulations." Victor said, shaking Harry's non-injured hand.
"You would have won if I hadn't smashed into a fence to do so." Harry answered humbly.
"Should we go have a cup of tea?" Ron asked in the tense silence that followed.
"That would be appreciated." Victor answered for all the Dermstrang students, and so the party of fifteen made their way to the burrow.
"What happened?!" Mrs. Weasley cried when Harry walked through the door first.
"I hit a fence to catch a snitch." He answered.
"Oh Harry!" She said, touching his face.
"Ow!" Harry pulled away as she touched his nose.
"Sorry, dear." Mrs. Weasley said apologetically. "Here, let me make you a healing draft." So she set about cooking up tea and a healing potion.
"Mum! You missed it! It was so wicked!" Ginny exclaimed upon entering the burrow. Harry went to sit in the living room while Ginny told her mother all about the game of Snitch, from the audience's perspective. He was soon joined by the other thirteen members of the party.
"That was wicked Harry, congratulations." Bill said, flopping down next to him on the couch.
"Really was great. Best catch I've seen in ages!" Charlie offered, sitting on his other side.
"You did prove to be a very good seeker." One of the Bulgarians nodded respectfully at Harry.
"Thank you, all of you." Harry said, hesitant to accept such praise. When Mrs. Weasley returned with fourteen steaming cups of tea and a healing draft everyone started thanking her. The two seekers quickly finished their drinks and talked with the others for only a few minutes before announcing they wanted to take a nap.