WIZARDS DUEL
Fanfic by Patrick Drazen
a/k/a Monkeymouse
1.10: In Love and Quidditch
[If you found your way this far, you don't need me to tell you that JK Rowling created the Potterverse, and is still creating it…]
The first Saturday in November dawned brilliantly crisp and clear. It was ideal Quidditch weather, and all of Hogwarts wanted to see this game. It was the first played at the school in two years, it was the first time out for many of the players. Most important, though, it would be a head-to- head match between Harry Potter of Gryffindor and Cho Chang of Ravenclaw—the school's two best Seekers, as well as the school's most openly affectionate couple. Nobody knew what to expect.
Least of all Harry Potter.
Ever since he arrived at Hogwarts four years before, he found that riding a broom was second nature to him. He felt completely at home in the air, even in a breakneck plunge to the ground. But this--having to play against the first true love of his life--left him completely befuddled.
"Yeh got ter forget who she is," Hagrid counseled him the night before the game. He'd gone with Ron and Hermione to visit Hagrid in his shack on the grounds; a trip he hadn't made as often this year as in the past. He expected the big and burly groundskeeper to give him the cold shoulder; instead, Hagrid acted as if Harry was as much an old friend as ever. "Ye've a job ter do, an' yeh can't be lettin' her get in the way of doin' it. I've had some, er, well, experience in these matters; more than my share, I'm ashamed ter say." Hagrid stared at the fire for a minute, absently scratching between the ears of Fang, his gigantic boarhound.
"Hagrid?" Hermione prompted gently.
He seemed to remember where he was. "So yeh just think o' her as a Seeker from some other school or somethin'. Don't be lettin' yer rememberin' get in the way."
"NOW do you get it, Harry?" Hermione interrupted, with more than a little annoyance. "We've told you as much a hundred times this week, but it doesn't seem to matter."
"It's just easier said than done, is all," Harry replied impatiently. "I can't seem to control what I feel when I look at her."
"Well, you'd better learn," Ron put in, "or you'll be useless to Gryffindor."
"Oh, that's a bit harsh, innit?"
"No, Hagrid, it's not harsh. And you're not the only one with experience. I've seen all this before."
"I rather doubt that; you're not even on the team."
"Not me, Hermione. My brother Charlie ended up in a fix like Harry's. He was a Seeker too, y'know. Only he was dating the Hufflepuff Keeper. They were both majoring in Dragons, you see. So they spent a lot of time together off the pitch.
"Anyway, it was his last game of his last year. Anyone watching could see his mind wasn't on the Snitch. So finally, he's chasing the Snitch, but takes his eyes off it just for a second to watch his girl make a great save, and the Snitch gets away from him. And what does she do, but take the Quaffle and throw it slam into the back of his head. And she yells at him, "Give us a real game, you lump!" Well, he got serious after that; won the match for Gryffindor about fifteen minutes later."
"But how did the two of them act after the game?"
"I was a little kid; you think he'd tell me? All I know is, they were still lovey-dovey for about six months after that. Then they had some kind of dust-up and stopped speaking to each other. Wasn't about Quidditch, in any case."
Hermione spoke up again. "Harry, do you really think she'll resent you for it if Gryffindor wins? If so, your opinion of her isn't as high as you like to think. A real sportsman—or sportswoman—would just want you to play the best you can, no matter the outcome."
"Jes' keep yer eye on the Snitch," Hagrid told Harry as they left to return to Hogwarts. "Things'll sort themselves out right enough. I'll see yeh all tomorrow."
* *
All good advice, but there was no more avoiding it; this was the tomorrow. Harry raced down to breakfast, joining the rest of the Gryffindor team. The Ravenclaw table was empty.
"You just missed them," Angelina Johnson said as she piled sausages on her plate. "Don't think they had much of an appetite."
Harry looked around the Gryffindor table. The three Chasers were there, of course, and so were the three new faces. Egan Mosley, a third-year who was burly but surprisingly swift, would be their new Keeper. The new Beaters couldn't have been more different from the Weasley twins, or from each other. The sixth-year Zelko Myslevic had stayed at Hogwarts, after being part of the Durmstrang group the year before. He put an awesome amount of power into each Bludger he hit, playing not only accurately but fiercely enough to rattle most opponents. His partner, Leigh Caporeale, was a third- year whose parents were both Muggles. His father, who worked in a hospital pharmacy, was also a billiards fanatic. Leigh simply used what he'd learned about billiards at home and applied it to Quidditch. What his blows lacked in power, they made up for in accuracy.
We're a good lot, Harry thought to himself as he reached for the eggs. I think we could even beat Oliver's old team. We might… He noticed that, even as he reached for the plate of eggs, the plate moved away from him. When he drew his arm in, the plate slid toward him.
Katie Bell, without dropping a word of her conversation with Alicia Spinnet, pointed her wand under the table and let loose a small explosion. As it went off, Peeves the poltergeist flew through the eggs and up toward the ceiling.
Zelko looked a bit nervous, but Katie simply said, "Take it somewhere else, Peeves. We'll surprise them all today."
"Don't think so," Peeves replied in a childish singsong. "Peeves knows things, Peeves does. Peeves knows something you don't know."
"Who cares what you know?" Angelina said, pretending indifference.
"It's about the other Seeker. Got trickies up her sleevesies, she does. Better watch out." With a short, loud cackle, Peeves passed through the wall.
Katie turned to Myslevic. "Hey, Zelko, did you have any ghosts like that at Durmstrang?"
Myslevic nodded, then looked deep in thought. They knew he was trying to form an answer. He was very self-conscious about his use of the English language. After a minute, he spoke: "Less childish; more scarier."
Harry completely lost track of how much he'd eaten, if anything. It seemed to him that he'd only just sat down when Angelina rapped on the table—her signal that it was time to go. They left for the stadium just as other Hogwarts students were coming down to breakfast.
He noticed one thing as he walked across the lawn to the Quidditch stadium: he felt fine. For the first few practice sessions this year, he couldn't help but shudder as he neared the stadium. When he'd seen it last year, it was the Maze—the final test for the Tri-Wizard Champions. It cost Cedric Diggory his life.
Mercifully, it all seemed to be behind him now. Focus on the Snitch, he kept telling himself; focus on the game.
The Gryffindor team donned their red playing robes in silence. Angelina wasn't one for making stirring speeches, as Wood had been when he was captain. She did, however, talk strategy.
"Right, you two," she said to the Beaters. "Keep it the way we've practiced. Annoy them at first; get them upset, let them make their own mistakes. You don't have to inflict any damage right away. Egan, stay sharp out there." Then silence as all eyes turned to Harry. "Are you gonna be all right, Harry?"
"Don't worry about me; I'm fine. I want to get out there." Harry hoped that he sounded convincing; he had seldom felt more unsettled.
The team filed up to its launching tower. As they climbed to the top, they could hear the noise of the crowd getting louder and louder. Just as Harry reached the top, the magically amplified voice of Lee Jordan cut through the roar. He hadn't done any announcing last year; now, his voice had changed, and he sounded just like the sports announcers Uncle Vernon listened to on the television.
"Right-o, Hogwarts, and welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season. We've got a stunner of a contest to open things up this year. It's Gryffindor defending its championship against Ravenclaw—two of the strongest teams at Hogwarts." This was met with boos from the Syltherin benches. "It should also be a spirited duel between Cho Chang and Harry Potter, two very experienced and physical Seekers—both on and off the field."
Some of the crowd laughed at that; to Harry, it sounded like they were all laughing. His cheeks burned.
Professor McGonagall's voice rose over the crowd. "Jordan, I warned you about that."
"Sorry, Professor, won't happen again." Lee slipped back into his announcing voice. "There are also a lot of fresh faces on the field today, so the outcome is going to be anybody's guess."
Angelina signaled for the team to mount their brooms. Harry, for the first time in years, felt butterflies in his stomach; his glasses were fogging up. What was he doing here??
"AND HERE'S GRYFFINDOR!" The team flew a lap around the stadium, as Dean quickly described the three new players. Harry then took his place on the field.
"HERE COMES RAVENCLAW!" The blue-robed Ravenclaw team circled the field, to cheers from most of the houses, boos from the Slytherins and cawing from Ravenclaw supporters.
"Returning Captain and Keeper Roger Davies still has most of his team from two years before, including Seeker Cho Chang and Beater Pierpont McMurdo. You may not recognize the other Beater, Jameson Bridgewick; as a second- year, he's the baby of the group, but we've heard excellent reports about him. Veteran Chaser Erasmus Skiddle has two new colleagues this year: Ravandra Singh and Pablo Molina. The teams are taking their positions, and we're waiting for Madam Hooch."
Davies and Johnson stood together at the center of the field, with the teams arrayed behind them, brooms at the ready. Harry couldn't help but look at Cho. His mouth went suddenly dry when he saw that her forehead was crinkled in a certain way he recognized. At first he thought it made her look cute; then he came to realize that it meant she was working out some complicated problem or other.
So that's how it's going to be, Harry thought. In this last moment before the game, he finally stopped worrying about Cho as anything other than the opposing Seeker.
Madam Hooch stepped into the stadium and gave the usual final instructions to the captains. The players mounted their brooms, and she blew her silver whistle.
Suddenly everything was happening fifty feet up in the air, as the game got underway.
"Gryffindor gets first possession of the Quaffle. Angelina Johnson flying downfield, a nice reverse toss to Bell, and—well, never saw that one before; Johnson falls back to take another reverse toss from Bell. Looks like they worked some things up during the summer. Johnson isn't the type to let grass grow under her feet; that's why she's Captain. She takes it to the—no, it's a pass to Spinnet, who inches the Quaffle past Keeper Davies, and it's Gryffindor first on the scoreboard."
Between the rush of the wind, the cheers of the crowd and the adrenalin pumping through him, Harry was his old self again. This was where he felt he truly belonged. He looked around, then realized two things: Ravenclaw wasn't trying to foul him out with any Bludgers, and he didn't see Cho. He did a quick turn, caught a movement out of the corner of his eye, and quickly turned hard to the right. Cho was above and a few yards behind Harry, in his "blind spot".
Lee picked up on Ravenclaw's strategy, just as Singh scored Ravenclaw's first goal. "Looks like Ravenclaw's forgotten all about the opposing Seeker, and we have a Chaser duel going on. That strategy could cost them dearly in the long run."
Gryffindor continued to run up the score, but Ravenclaw stayed close behind. Harry and Cho, meanwhile, had a separate little dance going on as they searched for the Golden Snitch. If one saw it and moved toward it, the other would try to block, if not get there first. Consequently, the Snitch kept getting away, and the teams continued to roll up the score.
As the game moved into its second hour, Angelina called for a time-out. Gryffindor was ahead 350 to 300. The teams hovered at opposite ends of the field.
"Harry, what's she playing at?"
"I don't know. She's usually more aggressive. D'you think Davies told her to hold back?"
"I can't tell what they're trying to do. Maybe they think they can run up the score to a lead of more than 150 points; then it won't matter who gets the Snitch."
"That's not likely; we've been at it an hour, and they're still behind."
"We haven't many choices. Your broom is still faster than her old Comet Two Sixty. Use your speed, get the Snitch, and let's wrap this up as soon as possible."
The team flew back into position, as the Ravenclaws did the same. Hooch blew her whistle, and play resumed.
"Skiddle has the Quaffle, he's flying downfield—WOW! A brilliant Bludger hit by Caporeale, knocking the Quaffle right out of Skiddle's arms and over to Katie Bell. She flies to the goal, she shoots—and it's a neat save by Keeper Davies, who hands the Quaffle off to Chaser Molina. He's a quick one, dodges one Bludger, then the other, gets it past Keeper Mosley and scores! Gryffindor's lead is cut to thirty points, but they have to be getting tired out on both sides."
Harry hadn't done much of anything yet, but found the tension just as exhausting as the play downfield was on the others. He started making quick moves above the others, whether he thought he saw the Snitch or not, just to be doing something, and to keep Cho confused…
Suddenly, Cho sailed her broom down to hover in front of his, their brooms almost touching. She was looking at a spot a few feet above Harry's head.
It was the Snitch, hovering, close enough for either Seeker to touch.
As Harry tried to grab it, though, it fluttered just out of his reach, then settled back into the same spot. He and Cho each tried to grab it three times, with the same result each time. Both Seekers had the same thought at the same time: It's taunting us.
Down below them, Ravenclaw had just scored another goal to tie the score at 420 each. It was exciting and frustrating at the same time. Either Seeker could win the game now, but Harry couldn't grab the Snitch, and Cho had apparently stopped trying.
Then she made her move.
Her broom quickly feinted to the left, then swung back. Again a feint and a swing back to center. Harry didn't dare look away from the Snitch, hovering just above them, but also knew he had to keep an eye on Cho's broom.
The broom suddenly swung to the right, trying to get around Harry. He swung around, but as he did so, he realized—Cho wasn't on the broom.
He looked up. She had managed to jump straight up off of her broom, grabbed the Snitch, did a somerset in mid-air, then settled back onto her broom.
The crowd fell silent, except for Lee Jordan: "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"
The stands exploded into cheering. Cho gave Harry a smile and a wink, then took the Snitch to Madam Hooch.
Things remained unsettled for the next few minutes, as Angelina Johnson and Professor McGonagall tried to protest the play. Roger Daniels and Professor Flitwick argued just as strenuously for the other side. However, looking through the rulebook and "Quidditch Through the Ages" confirmed what Cho already knew; there was no rule that said you had to stay on your broom at all times. "Score 570 to 420," Madam Hooch declared; "Ravenclaw is the winner!"
The students mobbed the Ravenclaw team, especially Cho Chang, as they landed. It took Harry several minutes to work his own way through to Cho. Along the way, he was stopped by Professor McGonagall.
"I warned you about this, Potter."
"But I didn't work anything out with her! I still don't even know how she did that!"
She still looked dissatisfied, but sighed. "Yes, I suppose you did your best. You'll just have to be on your guard next time."
As soon as McGonagall left, Ron grabbed Harry's elbow, with Hagrid and Hermione right behind him.
"Wicked game, Harry! Best one I've seen here!"
"Aye," Hagrid nodded, "folks'll be talkin' about this match fer years."
"But how did she do that?" Hermione asked.
"HARRY!" Just then, Cho pushed through the crowd. "Fantastic match; well done!"
"But—how did…"
"I told you weeks ago; my family has acrobats in it as well as wizards. I hope you don't think I cheated?"
Harry did the only thing he could do: he started to laugh. He pulled Cho into his arms, hoisted her up off the ground and spun her around. By the time he set her down, she was laughing too. And, with the entire school looking on, they kissed. Surrounded by hundreds of people, they were as lost in that kiss as they were in their first. Nothing in the world existed for them except each other. They wanted time to stop dead, so it would always be like this.
…to be continued…
Fanfic by Patrick Drazen
a/k/a Monkeymouse
1.10: In Love and Quidditch
[If you found your way this far, you don't need me to tell you that JK Rowling created the Potterverse, and is still creating it…]
The first Saturday in November dawned brilliantly crisp and clear. It was ideal Quidditch weather, and all of Hogwarts wanted to see this game. It was the first played at the school in two years, it was the first time out for many of the players. Most important, though, it would be a head-to- head match between Harry Potter of Gryffindor and Cho Chang of Ravenclaw—the school's two best Seekers, as well as the school's most openly affectionate couple. Nobody knew what to expect.
Least of all Harry Potter.
Ever since he arrived at Hogwarts four years before, he found that riding a broom was second nature to him. He felt completely at home in the air, even in a breakneck plunge to the ground. But this--having to play against the first true love of his life--left him completely befuddled.
"Yeh got ter forget who she is," Hagrid counseled him the night before the game. He'd gone with Ron and Hermione to visit Hagrid in his shack on the grounds; a trip he hadn't made as often this year as in the past. He expected the big and burly groundskeeper to give him the cold shoulder; instead, Hagrid acted as if Harry was as much an old friend as ever. "Ye've a job ter do, an' yeh can't be lettin' her get in the way of doin' it. I've had some, er, well, experience in these matters; more than my share, I'm ashamed ter say." Hagrid stared at the fire for a minute, absently scratching between the ears of Fang, his gigantic boarhound.
"Hagrid?" Hermione prompted gently.
He seemed to remember where he was. "So yeh just think o' her as a Seeker from some other school or somethin'. Don't be lettin' yer rememberin' get in the way."
"NOW do you get it, Harry?" Hermione interrupted, with more than a little annoyance. "We've told you as much a hundred times this week, but it doesn't seem to matter."
"It's just easier said than done, is all," Harry replied impatiently. "I can't seem to control what I feel when I look at her."
"Well, you'd better learn," Ron put in, "or you'll be useless to Gryffindor."
"Oh, that's a bit harsh, innit?"
"No, Hagrid, it's not harsh. And you're not the only one with experience. I've seen all this before."
"I rather doubt that; you're not even on the team."
"Not me, Hermione. My brother Charlie ended up in a fix like Harry's. He was a Seeker too, y'know. Only he was dating the Hufflepuff Keeper. They were both majoring in Dragons, you see. So they spent a lot of time together off the pitch.
"Anyway, it was his last game of his last year. Anyone watching could see his mind wasn't on the Snitch. So finally, he's chasing the Snitch, but takes his eyes off it just for a second to watch his girl make a great save, and the Snitch gets away from him. And what does she do, but take the Quaffle and throw it slam into the back of his head. And she yells at him, "Give us a real game, you lump!" Well, he got serious after that; won the match for Gryffindor about fifteen minutes later."
"But how did the two of them act after the game?"
"I was a little kid; you think he'd tell me? All I know is, they were still lovey-dovey for about six months after that. Then they had some kind of dust-up and stopped speaking to each other. Wasn't about Quidditch, in any case."
Hermione spoke up again. "Harry, do you really think she'll resent you for it if Gryffindor wins? If so, your opinion of her isn't as high as you like to think. A real sportsman—or sportswoman—would just want you to play the best you can, no matter the outcome."
"Jes' keep yer eye on the Snitch," Hagrid told Harry as they left to return to Hogwarts. "Things'll sort themselves out right enough. I'll see yeh all tomorrow."
* *
All good advice, but there was no more avoiding it; this was the tomorrow. Harry raced down to breakfast, joining the rest of the Gryffindor team. The Ravenclaw table was empty.
"You just missed them," Angelina Johnson said as she piled sausages on her plate. "Don't think they had much of an appetite."
Harry looked around the Gryffindor table. The three Chasers were there, of course, and so were the three new faces. Egan Mosley, a third-year who was burly but surprisingly swift, would be their new Keeper. The new Beaters couldn't have been more different from the Weasley twins, or from each other. The sixth-year Zelko Myslevic had stayed at Hogwarts, after being part of the Durmstrang group the year before. He put an awesome amount of power into each Bludger he hit, playing not only accurately but fiercely enough to rattle most opponents. His partner, Leigh Caporeale, was a third- year whose parents were both Muggles. His father, who worked in a hospital pharmacy, was also a billiards fanatic. Leigh simply used what he'd learned about billiards at home and applied it to Quidditch. What his blows lacked in power, they made up for in accuracy.
We're a good lot, Harry thought to himself as he reached for the eggs. I think we could even beat Oliver's old team. We might… He noticed that, even as he reached for the plate of eggs, the plate moved away from him. When he drew his arm in, the plate slid toward him.
Katie Bell, without dropping a word of her conversation with Alicia Spinnet, pointed her wand under the table and let loose a small explosion. As it went off, Peeves the poltergeist flew through the eggs and up toward the ceiling.
Zelko looked a bit nervous, but Katie simply said, "Take it somewhere else, Peeves. We'll surprise them all today."
"Don't think so," Peeves replied in a childish singsong. "Peeves knows things, Peeves does. Peeves knows something you don't know."
"Who cares what you know?" Angelina said, pretending indifference.
"It's about the other Seeker. Got trickies up her sleevesies, she does. Better watch out." With a short, loud cackle, Peeves passed through the wall.
Katie turned to Myslevic. "Hey, Zelko, did you have any ghosts like that at Durmstrang?"
Myslevic nodded, then looked deep in thought. They knew he was trying to form an answer. He was very self-conscious about his use of the English language. After a minute, he spoke: "Less childish; more scarier."
Harry completely lost track of how much he'd eaten, if anything. It seemed to him that he'd only just sat down when Angelina rapped on the table—her signal that it was time to go. They left for the stadium just as other Hogwarts students were coming down to breakfast.
He noticed one thing as he walked across the lawn to the Quidditch stadium: he felt fine. For the first few practice sessions this year, he couldn't help but shudder as he neared the stadium. When he'd seen it last year, it was the Maze—the final test for the Tri-Wizard Champions. It cost Cedric Diggory his life.
Mercifully, it all seemed to be behind him now. Focus on the Snitch, he kept telling himself; focus on the game.
The Gryffindor team donned their red playing robes in silence. Angelina wasn't one for making stirring speeches, as Wood had been when he was captain. She did, however, talk strategy.
"Right, you two," she said to the Beaters. "Keep it the way we've practiced. Annoy them at first; get them upset, let them make their own mistakes. You don't have to inflict any damage right away. Egan, stay sharp out there." Then silence as all eyes turned to Harry. "Are you gonna be all right, Harry?"
"Don't worry about me; I'm fine. I want to get out there." Harry hoped that he sounded convincing; he had seldom felt more unsettled.
The team filed up to its launching tower. As they climbed to the top, they could hear the noise of the crowd getting louder and louder. Just as Harry reached the top, the magically amplified voice of Lee Jordan cut through the roar. He hadn't done any announcing last year; now, his voice had changed, and he sounded just like the sports announcers Uncle Vernon listened to on the television.
"Right-o, Hogwarts, and welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season. We've got a stunner of a contest to open things up this year. It's Gryffindor defending its championship against Ravenclaw—two of the strongest teams at Hogwarts." This was met with boos from the Syltherin benches. "It should also be a spirited duel between Cho Chang and Harry Potter, two very experienced and physical Seekers—both on and off the field."
Some of the crowd laughed at that; to Harry, it sounded like they were all laughing. His cheeks burned.
Professor McGonagall's voice rose over the crowd. "Jordan, I warned you about that."
"Sorry, Professor, won't happen again." Lee slipped back into his announcing voice. "There are also a lot of fresh faces on the field today, so the outcome is going to be anybody's guess."
Angelina signaled for the team to mount their brooms. Harry, for the first time in years, felt butterflies in his stomach; his glasses were fogging up. What was he doing here??
"AND HERE'S GRYFFINDOR!" The team flew a lap around the stadium, as Dean quickly described the three new players. Harry then took his place on the field.
"HERE COMES RAVENCLAW!" The blue-robed Ravenclaw team circled the field, to cheers from most of the houses, boos from the Slytherins and cawing from Ravenclaw supporters.
"Returning Captain and Keeper Roger Davies still has most of his team from two years before, including Seeker Cho Chang and Beater Pierpont McMurdo. You may not recognize the other Beater, Jameson Bridgewick; as a second- year, he's the baby of the group, but we've heard excellent reports about him. Veteran Chaser Erasmus Skiddle has two new colleagues this year: Ravandra Singh and Pablo Molina. The teams are taking their positions, and we're waiting for Madam Hooch."
Davies and Johnson stood together at the center of the field, with the teams arrayed behind them, brooms at the ready. Harry couldn't help but look at Cho. His mouth went suddenly dry when he saw that her forehead was crinkled in a certain way he recognized. At first he thought it made her look cute; then he came to realize that it meant she was working out some complicated problem or other.
So that's how it's going to be, Harry thought. In this last moment before the game, he finally stopped worrying about Cho as anything other than the opposing Seeker.
Madam Hooch stepped into the stadium and gave the usual final instructions to the captains. The players mounted their brooms, and she blew her silver whistle.
Suddenly everything was happening fifty feet up in the air, as the game got underway.
"Gryffindor gets first possession of the Quaffle. Angelina Johnson flying downfield, a nice reverse toss to Bell, and—well, never saw that one before; Johnson falls back to take another reverse toss from Bell. Looks like they worked some things up during the summer. Johnson isn't the type to let grass grow under her feet; that's why she's Captain. She takes it to the—no, it's a pass to Spinnet, who inches the Quaffle past Keeper Davies, and it's Gryffindor first on the scoreboard."
Between the rush of the wind, the cheers of the crowd and the adrenalin pumping through him, Harry was his old self again. This was where he felt he truly belonged. He looked around, then realized two things: Ravenclaw wasn't trying to foul him out with any Bludgers, and he didn't see Cho. He did a quick turn, caught a movement out of the corner of his eye, and quickly turned hard to the right. Cho was above and a few yards behind Harry, in his "blind spot".
Lee picked up on Ravenclaw's strategy, just as Singh scored Ravenclaw's first goal. "Looks like Ravenclaw's forgotten all about the opposing Seeker, and we have a Chaser duel going on. That strategy could cost them dearly in the long run."
Gryffindor continued to run up the score, but Ravenclaw stayed close behind. Harry and Cho, meanwhile, had a separate little dance going on as they searched for the Golden Snitch. If one saw it and moved toward it, the other would try to block, if not get there first. Consequently, the Snitch kept getting away, and the teams continued to roll up the score.
As the game moved into its second hour, Angelina called for a time-out. Gryffindor was ahead 350 to 300. The teams hovered at opposite ends of the field.
"Harry, what's she playing at?"
"I don't know. She's usually more aggressive. D'you think Davies told her to hold back?"
"I can't tell what they're trying to do. Maybe they think they can run up the score to a lead of more than 150 points; then it won't matter who gets the Snitch."
"That's not likely; we've been at it an hour, and they're still behind."
"We haven't many choices. Your broom is still faster than her old Comet Two Sixty. Use your speed, get the Snitch, and let's wrap this up as soon as possible."
The team flew back into position, as the Ravenclaws did the same. Hooch blew her whistle, and play resumed.
"Skiddle has the Quaffle, he's flying downfield—WOW! A brilliant Bludger hit by Caporeale, knocking the Quaffle right out of Skiddle's arms and over to Katie Bell. She flies to the goal, she shoots—and it's a neat save by Keeper Davies, who hands the Quaffle off to Chaser Molina. He's a quick one, dodges one Bludger, then the other, gets it past Keeper Mosley and scores! Gryffindor's lead is cut to thirty points, but they have to be getting tired out on both sides."
Harry hadn't done much of anything yet, but found the tension just as exhausting as the play downfield was on the others. He started making quick moves above the others, whether he thought he saw the Snitch or not, just to be doing something, and to keep Cho confused…
Suddenly, Cho sailed her broom down to hover in front of his, their brooms almost touching. She was looking at a spot a few feet above Harry's head.
It was the Snitch, hovering, close enough for either Seeker to touch.
As Harry tried to grab it, though, it fluttered just out of his reach, then settled back into the same spot. He and Cho each tried to grab it three times, with the same result each time. Both Seekers had the same thought at the same time: It's taunting us.
Down below them, Ravenclaw had just scored another goal to tie the score at 420 each. It was exciting and frustrating at the same time. Either Seeker could win the game now, but Harry couldn't grab the Snitch, and Cho had apparently stopped trying.
Then she made her move.
Her broom quickly feinted to the left, then swung back. Again a feint and a swing back to center. Harry didn't dare look away from the Snitch, hovering just above them, but also knew he had to keep an eye on Cho's broom.
The broom suddenly swung to the right, trying to get around Harry. He swung around, but as he did so, he realized—Cho wasn't on the broom.
He looked up. She had managed to jump straight up off of her broom, grabbed the Snitch, did a somerset in mid-air, then settled back onto her broom.
The crowd fell silent, except for Lee Jordan: "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"
The stands exploded into cheering. Cho gave Harry a smile and a wink, then took the Snitch to Madam Hooch.
Things remained unsettled for the next few minutes, as Angelina Johnson and Professor McGonagall tried to protest the play. Roger Daniels and Professor Flitwick argued just as strenuously for the other side. However, looking through the rulebook and "Quidditch Through the Ages" confirmed what Cho already knew; there was no rule that said you had to stay on your broom at all times. "Score 570 to 420," Madam Hooch declared; "Ravenclaw is the winner!"
The students mobbed the Ravenclaw team, especially Cho Chang, as they landed. It took Harry several minutes to work his own way through to Cho. Along the way, he was stopped by Professor McGonagall.
"I warned you about this, Potter."
"But I didn't work anything out with her! I still don't even know how she did that!"
She still looked dissatisfied, but sighed. "Yes, I suppose you did your best. You'll just have to be on your guard next time."
As soon as McGonagall left, Ron grabbed Harry's elbow, with Hagrid and Hermione right behind him.
"Wicked game, Harry! Best one I've seen here!"
"Aye," Hagrid nodded, "folks'll be talkin' about this match fer years."
"But how did she do that?" Hermione asked.
"HARRY!" Just then, Cho pushed through the crowd. "Fantastic match; well done!"
"But—how did…"
"I told you weeks ago; my family has acrobats in it as well as wizards. I hope you don't think I cheated?"
Harry did the only thing he could do: he started to laugh. He pulled Cho into his arms, hoisted her up off the ground and spun her around. By the time he set her down, she was laughing too. And, with the entire school looking on, they kissed. Surrounded by hundreds of people, they were as lost in that kiss as they were in their first. Nothing in the world existed for them except each other. They wanted time to stop dead, so it would always be like this.
…to be continued…