Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter or Eyeshield 21 or any of the affiliated characters. What I do own is a kick ass Ash Ketchum hat, a freezer full of fudge pops, and a collection of gold medal winning maple syrup. None of which will appear in this story.
Warnings: OC's, some OOC, Het, Slash, AU, fluff, language
The Eleventh Tackle
He was dreaming, something obscure but something nonetheless. The images were fading quickly, like mist escaping through his fingers but he could remember; a football, a boy in an American football uniform holding it possibly running with it- towards him. The closer the boy got, the faster the dream to be drifting away, so as the boy finally reached him he could only see the final wisp of football disappear.
Then, he was woken abruptly from the dream when a sharp pain stabbed through his face. His eyes were burning, like his eyes were being boiled and being roughly jabbed into a new shape with millions of tiny needles. He whimpered, unable to open his eye as the potion sealed them shut, or stop the pain. He wished he knew how much pain he would be in before taking the potion. A warning would have been appreciated, either on the bottle or from the seller. At least then he could have prepared himself. He managed to keep his mouth shut though, not wanting to wake his friends.
His bed dipped and unexpectedly he could feel two arms wrapping around him from behind, pulling him up into a sitting position against a bony chest. A face rested on top of his head as a hand started stroking his arm. "It will be okay little one. Soon. It will be over soon," a deep growly voice whispered.
His first response was to start flailing and scream his head off. This was a time to wake his bloody friends, whether they liked it or not. There was a man -a stranger- in his bed and even if he didn't have some important talk he knew that a stranger crawling into your bed in the dead of night was a very bad thing! He was starting to wind himself up for a truly magnificent vocal display that could put any banshee to shamewhen the voice spoke again.
"Trust me little one. The pain always passes. Bad dreams only last a minute." The voice was low and had an animalistic sound to it but at the same time something about it was familiar. It was like a faint wisp of a memory from a time before he could properly remember; a time when his parents were alive. It was like at night sometimes when he thought he heard a sweet woman's voice floating around his dreams telling him she loved him, or when he could hear a deep rumbling laugh that constantly echoed around his head when he had a funny dream.
He wanted to answer, to tell the person that it wasn't a bad dream. He wanted to tell the person that the pain was from a potion that was ripping his eyes apart and rebuilding them so they were better than before, but he could only whimper as a fresh wave of pain crashed behind his lids.
"Oh little one… what do you have to be scared of?" The voice asked.
'A bloody whole lot,' he wanted to answer. But instead he whimpered, wishing the pain would stop. As if his prayer was answered he felt the pain begin to lessen. It was like an ocean tide receding back, opening up the beach, leaving it clear and open. His breathing slowed, his whimpers stopped, and his body began to relax.
"There you go little one. The bad times have passed. Rest peacefully," the voce said. He could feel the hand still stroking his arm, the action relaxing him further as he never remembered anyone doing such a soothing action towards him before. It was comforting; something a parent would do for their distressed child. Harry wanted to think more on it –the action and the mysterious voice- but his body and mind were tired and he could feel the world of sleep calling him back. His head lulled to the side and the heavy presence of sleep pushed him down into bed, locking the real world out of his mind so dreams could play behind his eyes once more.
He barely succumbed to sleep when he was awoken harshly by a loud scream. He sat up, turning his ear to figure out who screamed.
"Bloody 'ell Ron!" Seamus sleepy voice harshly filled the room. "What the buggering 'ell is wrong with ya?" the Irish boy asked.
"B-black.." Ron whispered. He sounded so scared.
"Of course it's black you twat. It's bloody 3 in the morning!" Harry heard Seamus rip his curtains open, probably to properly glare at Ron.
"N-n-no. S-s-s-s serious black…" Ron was stuttering badly in his fear.
"It's 3 am, it's supposed to be funny black out, my bad," Seamus sarcastically replied.
"Seamus," Dean's voice joined. "I don't think he's talking about how dark it is, but the person, Sirius Black."
"Oh… will shit," Seamus said as a high pitched 'eep' came from Neville's bed. Harry listened as Neville got out of bed and ran out the room.
"So… you're not afraid of the dark?" Seamus asked.
"No you wanker! He just saw a mass murder," Dean answered again. "Funny black, really?"
"What? I'm tired! How was I supposed to connect the dots when me minds still thinking about me dreams."
Harry shook his head his head in shame. His friends should be comforting Ron but instead they were bickering over language. It was stupid and he really wished he could open his eyes so he could see what was going on and try to help. "Guys-" he started talking, but he was interrupted when the door opened again.
"What is going on here?" Percy's voice filled the room. "Ronald, you are supposed to be sleeping not waking the whole dorm!"
"But Percy! Sirius Black was standing over me with a knife!" Ron loudly argued.
"Nonsense. Why would Sirius Black be trying to kill you? You just had a bad dream," Percy responded.
"No I didn't! I thought I heard someone talking, so I woke up but I couldn't see anyone. Then I turned over and felt a draft. So I opened my eyes and there was Sirius Black, looking at my feet, holding a knife!"
"And why was he looking at your feet? That's ridiculous."
"I don't know. Maybe he wanted to chop 'em off. So I couldn't run away, yeah?" Ron argued.
"This is nonsense Ronald," Percy scolded.
"What is going on here?" McGonagall's voice added the mix of noises happening around him.
"Sorry, professor, but Ronald had a bad dream," Percy tried to explain away.
"I did not!" Ron yelled. "It wasn't a dream. Sirius Black was standing over me with a knife. When I screamed, he ran away!"
He heard McGonagall gasp. "This is a very serious accusation, Mr. Weasley. Are you sure you saw Sirius Black?"
"I did! I wouldn't lie about this. Why don't you ask the Fat Lady? He had to have let him in," Ron sounded honestly offended.
Harry heard someone shuffling away and then he could hear McGonagall voice drifting up from the common room. "Excuse me Madam, did you allow Sirius Black entry tonight?"
He heard a girlish giggle cut through the air. "Oh that charming boy…" Another giggle sounded and he could hear Seamus snort. "I haven't seen him in a while but tonight he just walked up to my portrait like he used too. He had that charming smile of his on his face, still so charming. He asked if I had my frame cleaned as it as shining beautifully tonight…"
"Yes, so you saw him but did you let him in?" McGonagall impatient voice interrupted the Fat Lady.
"Well he knew the password so of course I did. I have no reason to refuse entry to a Gryffindor that knows the password, you know that."
"See! He was here!" Ron cried. "Stuff it Percy!"
"In that case, Prefect Weasley, I will need you to gather the whole house in the common room while I go inform the Headmaster of what has happened. Awake all the other prefects first so you have some extra help and be extra careful. I will check the common room before I go to be safe." He assumed McGonagall left after returning and issuing her orders.
"Right. You heard the Professor. Out of bed boys and to the common room. I want you all out in 30 seconds. I can't wait around for you when I have a whole house to wake," Percy ordered, sounding disgruntled.
Harry huffed as he struggled to open his curtains. This whole not seeing business was terrible. So much was happening around him and he wanted to know what was happening but it was hard when you just had sound to rely on.
"Harry, hold on a sec," Dean's voice sounded much closer than before. "You still can't see, right mate? Let me help." Harry stopped struggling and waited as Dean opened his curtains and took his hand. "Just hold my hand, alright? I'll lead us down the stairs."
Harry shivered as his feet hit the cold floor. "Shit mate, put socks and a sweater on the bloke. It's bloody freezing," Seamus spoke.
"Sorry Harry," Dean apologized. He let go of his hand but then he was back and pulling a sweater over Harry's head. "Sit on the bed, you do the arms and I'll get your socks on. Then down we go, alright?"
"Thanks Dean," Harry whispered, a little embarrassed that his friend had to take care of him like a child at the moment. He pushed his arms through the arms and noted that the jumper was bigger than he remembered. He felt Dean putting socks on his feet and they were softer than what he was used to. "Are these yours?" he asked, gently waving his arms in the too big sweater.
"It's fine mate. My trunk was open and I rather not try to fumble through yours in the dark. Just remember after this potion finishes doing its job you no excuse for not catching the snitch. I'm even lending you my clothes, so when you become a famous seeker, you can tell the whole world you only got where you are because one of your best mates, Dean Thomas –better say my full name- literally gave you the clothes off his back."
Harry giggled. It was a serious situation but he couldn't help it. Dean was silly and clearly trying to break the tension in the room from the night's revelations.
With socks and sweaters, the third year boys quickly made their way down to the common room. Dean kept a firm grip on his hand, saying 'step, step, step,' all the way down until they reached the bottom. He led Harry over to a couch and sat down beside him.
"Do you think the professors will catch him?" Neville asked, having rejoined them when McGonagall showed up.
"Maybe. I mean he managed to sneak into the castle and up to the tower. He must know a few tricks to not be seen. I hope they do but I'm not betting any money," Seamus responded.
"Harry, are you alright? What happened?" Hermione asked as he suddenly appeared near them.
"Bloody hell woman! I was the one attacked and you ask Harry how he's doing?" Ron yelled. The slow build of noise in the common room stopped at his scream and Harry would bet anything that all the assembled students were now staring in their direction.
"You were attacked?"
"Yes I was!"
"Oh… are you alright Ron?" she asked.
"No I'm bloody not!"
"Ronald, language!" Percy scolded. It seemed he had finished waking students.
"What happened?" Lavender asked, probably asking for every Gryffindor present.
"Oh well…" Ron was quiet a moment but then he was speaking again and it sounded like he relocated to the middle of the common room. "So I was sleeping but I woke suddenly. I thought I heard someone talking… which was probably Black now that I think about it."
"Why was he talking?" Hermione asked
Something niggled at Harry. Was the stranger who comforted him the person Ron heard talking? If that was the case then was that stranger was this Sirius Black guy. It was likely considering he didn't think two men would break into their dorm room in the same night. Unless there was two and they just passed each other without saying anything. But that sounded silly, so it was more likely that Black had comforted Harry… then went to kill Ron? That didn't make sense either though…
"I don't know. He's a nutter, completely mental right? He was probably talking to himself. Anyways, so I tried going back to sleep when I couldn't hear anyone talking anymore, but I felt a breeze. Which is weird cause I always close my curtain, have since the first night."
"Oh hurry up Ron," Hermione pushed.
"Shh," a few students around her shushed.
"Right… so I felt the breeze and opened my eyes and there he was. He was standing at the end of my bed with his giant knife. He looked up at me and stared me straight in the eye, so I yelled. But not like a girly scream or anything… like a 'Hey you!' kind of scream, yeah… "
Seamus snickered. "Oh he screamed like a little girl, bloody git."
"Then he just turned and disappeared. Next thing I know Seamus is yelling at me," Ron finished his story.
"Why did he run away?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know Hermione!" Ron sounded frustrated. "I can't read minds. Maybe he knew he was caught and wanted to escape before we could stop him."
"But he's a fully trained wizard. What would a room full of barely trained 13 year olds do to him?" Hermione asked.
"Shut up Hermione! I already said I don't know. Why do you keep pushing?" Ron yelled.
"I just want to know what happened!" She screamed back.
"I told you what happened. You just don't listen!"
"You told us nothing except he was there. How did he get in? Why was he at your bed? Why did he run away when you screamed? He could have cast a silencing charm or something. It doesn't make sense!"
"I don't care if it makes sense, I'm telling you Sirius Black was in my room and tried killing me!"
"That's enough!" McGonagall yelled from where Harry assumed was the portrait hole. "Prefects, please lead everyone to the Great Hall. You will be spending the night there while the teachers search the castle."
"Yes professor," Percy answered.
Soon they were all herded to the great Hall. Dean held his hand there too, making sure he didn't trip or anything. When they arrived, Dumbledore informed the other three houses as to what was happening then conjured a sleeping bag for everyone. According to Dean they were all purple. Dean grabbed a bag for him and Harry, then helped Harry climb into his.
"I can't wait to see again," Harry mumbled.
"Just a few more hours, it's not so bad," Dean reassured him.
Something still troubled him though. "Dean… do you think Black really tried to kill Ron?"
He heard Dean sigh and then shuffle closer so they were pressed up against each other. "I don't know," Dean whispered. "I don't see why he would want to kill Ron… that doesn't make sense, but he is a convicted murderer so maybe he did show up with the intent to kill and Ron was just unlucky."
"I don't know if he really turned up to kill though," he whispered back. "I… I think he spoke to me before he went to Ron's bed."
He felt Dean stiffen beside him and then suddenly Dean's arms were wrapped tightly around him. "What do you mean he spoke to you?" He whispered quickly.
"Well… I woke up because my eyes hurt and someone sat on my bed and held me. They told me it would be okay. They soothed the pain away and got me to go back to sleep. What if that was who Ron heard talking. Then that would be Black right… if he wanted to kill someone… why did he help me?"
"A-are you sure there was a real man on your bed?" Dean asked urgently.
"Well yeah. Like I said I woke up. I think he thought I was having a nightmare but I was really awake. See, it doesn't make sense. Even if he is a little mental or whatever you don't show up thinking 'kill kill kill' then stop and help someone first before going back to kill. And… he sounded like really concerned. He called me little one and was really gentle and stuff. " Harry pointed out.
"You're right, that doesn't make any sense…" Dean answered. "Harry…I think the boys and I need to apologize."
"For what?" Harry asked. He moved his head to the side, his face brushing against Dean's chest.
"You see… at the start of the year Hermione and Ron tried telling us to stay away from you… they said that Black was a big you-know-who supporter and that he was supposed to be coming to Hogwarts to kill you. We told them we wouldn't abandon you cause we're mates, right. They got upset and said that if we wouldn't stay away the least we could do is not tell you about Black. They thought that if you knew you would run away and try to stop him or something."
"What…" Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to think about this. His former best mates were trying to keep his new best mates away, and then told them not to tell him stuff that sounded really important. Why didn't he deserve to know that some murderer was after him?
"I'm sorry. The guys and I thought that if you didn't know you could enjoy the year. It seems that you are always pushed into these dangerous situations and we wanted you to have one good year. We didn't think Black would actually break into our dorm room."
"I… " he didn't know what to say. It was a nice thought that they wanted him to enjoy his time and not worry about Black, but a warning would have been nice- like this eye correction potion. But at the same time… he did enjoy his year so far. He had quidditch and sports to occupy him. He was getting more involved and discovering new things he liked. Unlike his first and second year he was studying things for fun, not because there was a murder plot about. "I forgive you," he whispered. "At least you told me now… but it still doesn't make sense. He had the perfect chance to kill me right… so why didn't he?"
"I don't know… I'm sorry Harry. I wish I knew what was going on so I could help. But please promise me you won't go seeking him out."
"You have been such a great help already Dean. I don't think I can every properly thank you or your mom or Seamus and his mom for what you have done for me. And I promise I won't look for Black… I have something else more important than him. I want to find my brother. The adults can take care of him, and I will keep working towards finding Thornley."
"I'm glad to hear that Harry, now get some sleep. We'll tell Seamus and Neville everything we talked about in the morning," Dean whispered.
"Okay, night Dean. And thanks again… for everything."
"Night Harry. And that's what friends are for- to help…"
Harry didn't move, he was already comfortable and now that he got some things off his mind, it was easy for him to just relax against Dean and nod off. Black was the adults responsibility and maybe this year he would trust the grown-ups to do their job and protect the school and students. It wasn't his responsibility.
o.O.o
"Holy bloody buggering hell!"
Harry, Dean and Seamus all looked at Neville in shock over the boy's words. "Shit Nev… it's shocking I know but did you have to steal all the curses?" Seamus asked.
The chubby boy blushed fiercely. "Sorry… it's just… Sirius Black helped Harry. He is his godfather yeah, but he still sold his parents out to you-know-who."
Harry felt like an icy cold wave of shock was dumped on his head. "W-what…?"
Neville gave him a scared look. "Harry… d-didn't you know?"
"No." Harry needed a moment. He woke up that morning by opening his eyes and seeing Dean's face very clearly next to his face. He sat up, trying not to disturb the sleeping boy and was happy that he could see everything clearly, not just his friends face when it was pressed up against his. There was so much detail he had missed before with his glasses, but now… he could see! He was quick to wake his friends and happily babble about how awesome it was to see. They were happy for him but soon a prefect was by them, telling them to be quiet as other students were still sleeping. They quickly quieted down, but they took the first opportunity to sneak away to the loo and talk.
"I thought Malfoy told you… he's been dropping hints for a while now…" Neville tried to explain.
"Black is my… godfather. I don't really care about that right now. But… he told Voldemort where my parents were hiding? He's the reason they're dead?" Harry asked.
His friends were quiet as they let the information sink in. It was a nice thought but he really just wanted answers. Nothing was adding up and it was making his head hurt. Black was his godfather, which would may be why his voice sounded familiar last night when he was comforting Harry. As a godfather he must have spent some time with him as a baby. It was like his mom's words and his dad's laugh- something must have stayed with him about Black.
Black told Voldemort where his parents lived because he was a Death Eater. Had he pretended to be his dad's friend to get close to him for Voldemort? But that would take a lot of time and effort. I mean he knew his friends for three years and it was only now that he felt truly comfortable calling them his best friends. Plus, his dad must have had other friends and Black would have needed to be extra awesome in order for his dad to name him his godfather. Right now Harry wouldn't be able to choose between his three friends if he had to choose a godfather for his child. So Black must have worked hard, but in that time when he was swooning his parents couldn't he have killed them? Wouldn't that have been easier than doing all that work?
Then there as last night… His godfather saw he was in distress and helped him. That's what godfathers did right? So if he was acting all godfatherly one minute what about killing him? Was his brain really messed up from Azkaban that he couldn't remember that Harry was only his pretend godson? Erg, everything was confusing and Harry just wanted to understand!
"Why is this so hard?" He asked.
"Mate, it's not how we would have chosen you to find out, but Ron and Hermione thought that-"
"Stop!" Harry yelled. "I don't care what they thought or wanted, you should have told me. You knew shit happens to me every year… you should have warned me whether I would have ran out like an idiot or cried like a baby. I deserved to know. Now I have all this stuff going on in my head and I don't know what to do," Harry ranted.
Dean stepped forward, being the ever calm and rational one in their group. "Harry… no one knows what to do. We haven't exactly been in a situation like this before. We don't know what to do or how to help, so we're taking cues from other people, hoping we're doing the right thing. If you don't want to think about this right now, then don't. We'll just spend time studying, playing quidditch, learning muggle sports, and letting the adults be the responsible ones. You don't have to solve or fix anything. You just need to be you," Dean said. He was rubbing Harry's arms, grounding him and comforting him like Black did last night.
Harry felt his eyes sting. "I just want a family… I want to be happy," he whimpered.
"You have us, and we're your family now. We will help you find your brother and then you will have a bigger family. We will make sure you're happy if you make sure we're happy too, deal?" Dean offered.
Harry gave the taller boy a watery smile. "Deal."
"Great! We seriously dodged a bludger here lads. I'm surprised we haven't been caught yet and had a prefect find us. Let's head back before they do notice that the person they are trying to protect snuck out, yeah?"
Harry and Dean laughed while Neville let out a yelp.
"Oh no! We're going to be in so much trouble if they think Harry was kidnapped!" He squealed.
"It's fine Neville, we'll just get back without them noticing," Seamus said cheerfully.
And that's exactly what they did. The four managed to sneak back into the Great Hall and settle down into their sleeping bags without being caught. They had to stop for a second when Harry first saw the sea of purple sleeping bags and giggled at the sight. He knew in his mind they were purple but to see people like Malfoy and Flint all tucked away and sleeping peacefully in big squishy purple bags was ridiculous and he couldn't quite keep the giggles in.
It was also extraordinary to see the details and know that it was Malfoy and Flint, and he could see them… without glasses.
"I can't wait to get to the pitch," Harry whispered reverently as they settled down.
The others agreed and soon they were closing their eyes trying to get a few more minutes of rest.
o.O.o
The morning of the first quidditch pitch didn't dawn as one would hope. Instead the pitch black of night seeped into a dark gray with angry thundering clouds. The loud clapping of thunder woke Harry and the rest of team, causing them to meet in the common room after changing into their quidditch uniforms.
"Maybe it'll lighten up before the game?" Fred offered.
"I doubt it… but we trained in weather like this multiple times. We have been training in this for the last week and a half. Unlike the Slytherins who haven't been to the pitch in the last few days, we have experience on our side. We know our plays inside and out. We don't need verbal signals, only physical. We can read each other, and when we face Slytherin, they will overpowered by our skill and strength!" Oliver said with his voice was full of passion and confidence.
"Yeah!" Angelina yelled. "Those gits got nothing on us and no crappy weather is going to stop us!"
"Gryffindor all the way!" Alicia joined in.
"We're proud lions!" Katie threw in with a smile.
"Lions! Lions! Lions!" Fred and George started chanting together. Soon the girls and Harry joined in, loudly chanting Lions, pulling their housemates from their beds. Oliver was laughing and watching his team pump themselves up but as Percy appeared at the bottom of the stairs looking furious, he joined in and ushered his proud team out the portrait hole.
"Alright you lot," He called out. "That's enough. We need to fuel up and then get to the pitch."
The team was in good spirits all the way to the Great Hall. They sat down and joked around, enjoying and relaxing before a game. Usually Oliver would be nervous and constantly going over plays and strategies, hounding his team to eat but not too much because he didn't want them throwing up. Today he was laughing with them and looking excited for the game. It would be Gryffindor's big debut after switching up their training and approaching their season from a new direction.
Oliver was standing up to announce they were done when the doors opened and in walked a group of quidditch players clad in yellow. That wasn't right…
"Diggory!" Oliver called. "Why are you dressed today" he asked.
Cedric Diggory looked embarrassed and avoided eye contact. "Malfoy says his arm is still too injured to play… so it was decided that Hufflepuff would play today," he informed them.
"When was this decided?" Oliver asked, his good mood all but gone.
"Last week… Professor McGonagall was going to tell you but then I asked if I could… and then I didn't…" the Hufflepuff said sheepishly.
"You…"Oliver's face shut down. It was a complete blank at the news and the rest of the team weren't doing any better. Months, they had been prepping for weeks, every day… every hour… since getting to school to play Slytherin first but now…
"Oliver?" Harry turned to his captain looking for guidance.
Oliver took a deep breath and turned away from Diggory. "Right team, since we're all done eating, let's get to the locker room yeah?"
"Look, I'm sorry Wood, it's just that well…" Diggory started.
"Save it Diggory," Oliver cut in. "I expected a lot from you, one thing being that you were an honourable player and person. Right now, I want to take my team away so we can prepare for our match. We can talk later."
Slowly the whole team stood and started shuffling out; silently walking passed the yellow clad students. On the way out, Harry looked towards the Slytherin table to see Malfoy sending him a very smug smile. The blonde git looked so satisfied with himself over the unfolding events that Harry just wanted to deck him one in his face.
The team didn't speak until they were in the locker room, strapping protective equipment on their bodies and grooming their brooms.
"This isn't ideal. We have been working hard thinking that we are playing Slytherin, but this is also a hidden blessing," Oliver said, breaking the silence.
"What you on about Ollie?" George asked.
"Look, Hufflepuff is weaker than Slytherin. Yeah they are decent players, and we can't take them lightly, but at the same time they won't cheat and foul like Slytherins," Oliver explained.
"What about not telling us?" Fred asked. "That seems foul to me."
"I will be having a very serious talk with Diggory in the presence of McGonagall and Flitwick when the match is over. What he did wasn't right and it may be grounds to re-schedule the match but I won't. I think Diggory may have wanted that from the start, to save both our teams from having to play in such terrible weather but I refuse to be led around by him. We will play today and we will win. We just need to adjust some things."
"Like what?" Harry asked.
"Hufflepuff have a simpler playing style than the Slytherins. They go for complicated and hard to follow plays to cover their cheating. Hufflepuff won't bother purposely trying to cheat, so most of our cheating counter plays aren't going to be needed. We will stick to the basic plays we practiced, today. With the weather and lack of preparation on our side I want us to keep things simple and clean. If we need to mix things up I will signal the chasers. We will pull through this," Oliver said.
"Alright, so basic… like Red, Gold, and Snidget plays?" Angelina asked.
"Yes, Red 1-5 and Gold 2,3, and 6, but snidget means we need Harry and we can't afford to distract him in this weather," Oliver countered. Turning to Harry, he continued to talk, "Harry, we need you to constantly be on the lookout for the snitch. Don't pay any attention to us or the score, I don't care about pulling an early lead right now. We just need you to get the snitch as fast as possible."
"Got it," Harry acknowledged.
"Red and Gold, but you know what? Let's throw in a Silver play. I know we designed it for Flint but I think the slight curve ball will throw the Hufflepuff chasers off. Only use it after 10 minutes okay?"
"Yes captain!" the chasers yelled at the same time.
"Good… great… now, let's finish getting ready and go beat some badger butt!"
"Lions beat badgers!" Fred called.
"Lions beat badgers!" George joined. And just like this morning the whole team got in on the chant, pumping themselves up for the match despite its already rocky start.
As the team exited the tunnel, they were nearly crushed by the heavy rain crashing down on them. Harry smiled as his new goggles worked beautifully and kept his vision completely clear. They walked towards the middle of the pitch and waited for the Hufflepuff team to finish their approach.
Hooch started talking but Harry couldn't hear her over the wind, rain and thunder. It was crazy how loud the weather was. He didn't need to hear her though, as she always said the same thing before each match. When the piercing sound of her whistle cut through the air and weather, Harry kicked off and drove straight towards the aggressive storm clouds above.
Diggory leveled with him as he flew above the game but Harry didn't give him an attention. The dark clouds and rain were making it hard to see, even with his goggles. He could barely make out the flashes of red that signaled his chasers flying around, he couldn't' even hear the whistle of the bludger that flew past him. It was a crazy intense game, and Harry wanted it done, now.
He scanned the field, trying to take in everything at the same time. He saw a brief flash of gold, but it turned out to be coming from a student in the stands. He did a few laps of the pitch, occasionally trying to shake Diggory but he still couldn't see the snitch anywhere. Did it take off and seek cover for itself somewhere?
10 minutes passed and Harry saw Angelina take the quaffle. Instead of banking her broom to give Katie and Alicia time to get in position for Red or Gold, instead she dropped fast and flew under the Puff chasers, subtly dropping the quaffle when she was vertical in her turn, letting it fall seamlessly into Katie's arms. The Puff chasers were still focused on Angelina and didn't notice as Katie passed to Alicia, allowing the girl to slip to the side of group and around them, quickly flying towards the Hufflepuff keeper.
Harry wanted to watch, but from the corner of his eye he could see a flash of gold sky rocket up and a blur of yellow shooting forwards to follow. Harry tore his eyes away from Alicia and kicked his broom into gear. He caught up and leveled with Diggory, intent on ignoring the boy and getting the snitch first. Harry was lucky he was small most of the time as he created less wind resistance and managed to gain speed faster than the larger seekers. In this instance it was working against him as Diggory had more weight to him that proved he was stronger when battling the harsh winds trying to blow them both back to the ground.
Harry had the better broom and body for a seeker, but the weather was against him and while he wanted to pull ahead he couldn't. Diggory's weight was letting him maintain a steady speed, while Harry needed to constantly adjust to stay on course and on his broom.
The weather seemed to shift and change for the worse –if that were possible- and Harry looked down for a second to see Dementors entering the pitch. Suddenly screams were mixing in with the sound of the rain and thunder, but he pushed on. The noises caught Diggory's attention and for the split second the boy looked down and caught sight of the Dementors his broom slowed down, allowing Harry to pull ahead just enough that if he reached out and extended himself beyond what he was probably capable of, he could snatch the snitch.
His hand was out; he was inches from the catch when he could feel the effects of the Dementors creeping up on him. He heard a woman's voice, screaming for help and it connected that the comforting voice in his dreams was the same one now, only his mother was screaming for Voldemort to let him live. Black was creeping into his vision as ice started forming on his goggles. Harry was desperate, he couldn't let this happen again. He couldn't be a victim again and pass out like some baby.
Harry hooked his feet on his broom, just above the tail and pushed his whole body forward, half leaping off his broom to grab the snitch. He saw his hand hover over the snitch and then nothing. His vision went out completely and he unwillingly surrendered to the Dementors.
Fun Football Fact
Tom Brady is the greatest QB in NFL history. (Also the QB of my fav team. Go Pats Go!)
Or
Wilson, which has been the exclusive maker of NFL footballs since 1941, produces 4,000 balls per day.