This is for the 2017 House Competition held by MoonlightForgotten.
Round 7
House: Gryffindor
Category: Short Story
Prompt: Quidditch
Word count: 996
James Potter and an eight year old Harry Potter were at the Potter Manor's Quidditch pitch. This was to be Harry's first time on a big boy broom. So far, Harry had only been on brooms meant for babies or training brooms meant for kids. His first baby broom from his godfather, Sirius only went about 2 feet high and he had outgrown the broom a few months after his second Birthday. His last broom was a training broom that only went about 6 feet high. Harry was excited to finally be on an actual broom that he had often seen his dad and other Quidditch players on. Adding to his excitement, he would have his first try at playing the game of Quidditch. So far, he had only flown on a broom, but he had never played the game itself. However, he was accustomed with the basic rules of Quidditch.
James and Harry had a Comet 250 each. James released the snitch and Quaffles.
"Ready to take off the ground son?" asked James.
Harry nodded eagerly.
"Alright, but don't fly off any higher than I tell you to,"
Both father and son took off the ground on their brooms and were a few feet above the air. To both their delight, Harry was a natural on the broom. He was quite at ease on the broom despite being 8 feet up in the air.
"Look at me, dad. I'm a natural," said Harry as he flipped backwards on his broom.
James pulled Harry back upwards.
"You're great on a broom, Harry, but don't try such moves yet. Even the best of fliers have fallen off their brooms. Overconfidence results in …" James paused and gave Harry a pointed look for Harry to finish the sentence.
"A person's downfall," Harry finished.
James did not want Harry repeating his mistakes of being overconfident and showy when he was young. He thought Harry how to score a Quaffle. Father and son spent some time taking turns to score Quaffles which was easy without a Keeper and Bludgers getting in their way. Soon, James acted as a Keeper, so that Harry could learn how to get a Quaffle past a Keeper. Harry managed to get in half of his attempted Quaffles past James which James proudly said was impressive. Harry had always enjoyed flying, but Quidditch added to the enjoyment. More importantly, he got to bond with his father and spend quality time with him. Harry spotted the snitch.
"May I catch the snitch?" asked Harry.
"Go ahead son," James gestured.
Harry followed the snitch, but the snitch flew further above the sky. Harry soared above to keep up with the snitch.
"Harry, not too high. Get down," James called out as he flew after him.
Harry was so close, that he soared just two more inches, reached out and caught the snitch before obeying his father. James and Harry reached the ground at the same time, with Harry having the snitch in his palm and a look of triumph on his face. He had just made a difficult catch. James smiled in amusement. He was unsure of whether to be proud of his son's achievement, be exasperated at his momentary disobedience, or admire his determination in catching the snitch. He supposed his son's determination trait came from himself.
"Harry," James gave Harry a mock stern look. "What did I tell you about being cautious?"
"But I caught the snitch," said Harry, giving his father a cheeky grin and holding out the snitch.
"Yes you did," said James as he began tickling Harry who giggled.
"You did great son. You'd make a fine Chaser and Seeker," said James.
"Really?" asked Harry hopefully.
"Of course! And I'm proud of you," said James to a beaming Harry as he took the snitch from Harry's hand and put it back in its' casing.
"Alright, we'll call it a day, but we can play again tomorrow," said James.
Just then, Harry took James by surprise when he wrapped his arms around him.
"Thanks dad," said Harry.
"You're welcome," said a touched James, returning the hug.
Almost 10 years later
It was the Quidditch finals at Hogwarts between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. It was the final Hogwarts game for 7th year Harry Potter who was captain of the Gryffindor team. The scores were tied. Harry finally caught sight of the snitch. Unfortunately, the Hufflepuff's seeker, Summerby had caught sight of the snitch too. Harry and Summerby went after the snitch. The snitch flew below the ground. Both boys dived for the snitch, while avoiding Bludgers that were hit their way. Harry made an impressive triple dive and caught the snitch while landing on the ground with another dive. The Gryffindor side of the stands erupted with cheers as he held out the snitch. The rest of team came down from their brooms and took turns hugging Harry.
The Gryffindor team which included Ron Weasley and Ginny Weasley lifted him up in excitement. He was handed the Quidditch cup which he held out to a cheering crowd. This moment would have made a fine patronus. He searched the crowd. He caught sight of a beaming Hermione Granger, a proud and close to tears Minerva McGonagall, and the proud and happy faces of Sirius, Remus and his mother. Next to his mother, sat the person he was looking for the most, his father. James smiled at him and could not have looked prouder. Harry hoped that his look told James without words how grateful he was to have him as a father and a mentor. He would always cherish the memories of playing Quidditch with his father. Quidditch was something he loved dearly and an important part of his life. He even planned on going on to become a professional Quidditch player. Hence, the memory of his first Quidditch lesson with his father would always remain vivid in his mind as one of his most precious memories.
A/N: I always thought it was sad that James and Harry never got to bond over their mutual love of Quidditch. Hence, this story. I always thought that if James was alive, he would be the one to mentor Harry in Quidditch.