Competition and Quidditch
Late October to early November was filled with matches – one for the Harpies, two for the England team, and one for Chudley Cannons. Ron, Harry and Ginny were feverishly practising every moment they could, as they didn't want to let the teams down. Finally the first match came (England vs. Spain) and Harry and Ginny found themselves in the changing room, having pep talk from Elson. Rob was also there, as he was a reserve Beater.
'Right team, first match of the year, against Spain. They have a good team, but we're better! The last few World Cups have been frankly, rather embarrassing, but it's our year now! We can do it!' said Elson. He shouldered his broomstick, and the team filed out onto the pitch.
The Spanish team was lined up opposite, in their red and yellow robes, with the crest on the shoulder. The captain, a sallow faced man with long dark hair and a moustache and goatee. The referee, a small, portly man with balding blonde hair, gave them a quick lecture on the rules and fair play, then blew his whistle and released the balls.
Harry grinned at Ginny and flew up into the air. The captain of the Spanish team, Rodriguez, was a Beater, and an extremely good one at that. At one moment Harry only missed getting a broken arm because he moved his arm at the last moment to push his glasses further up his nose.
Ginny, Elson and Ella were an unstoppable force, but the Spanish Chasers were just as good. The game was fast and fierce, Bludgers flying from all directions. Harry suddenly noticed that two Bludgers were heading towards him from different directions, blocking his way out. He had a next to nothing chance of not getting pummelled unless – he noticed that Ramirez, the Spanish seeker, was trailing close behind. Harry swooped around, as if he had seen the snitch. Ramirez took the bait, and put himself between Harry and the Bludgers. Harry winced as one hit Ramirez's face, breaking his nose, and the other smashed his shoulder. The ref called for timeout, and Harry helped to get Ramirez to the ground.
'Sorry mate,' he said.
'No no,' replied Ramirez in a heavy accent, smiling through the blood. 'It's Quidditch.' Harry nodded, and flew back to his team mates, who were gathered in the air.
'Good work Harry; we can't have you getting taken off. We're two goals down, but we can pull that back and anyway, if we catch the snitch then we'll definitely win. William, Harry, look where you're sending the Bludgers – you almost hit Thomas at one point when you were aiming for the Spanish Chaser Mendoza,' said Elson. 'Okay, back on!'
Harry pushed his Firebolt to the limits as he search for the snitch. The match got faster and more furious – the score kept very close. Finally he spotted the snitch hovering by the Main Box and raced towards it, the reserve seeker on his heels. It was an inch from the Box, the occupants were stepping away, it was impossible for him not to crash. He swerved at the last moment, and managed to hook it up his sleeve. A great cheer came from the England supporters, and the team converged on him as he pulled out the snitch and held it aloft.
'210 – 355,' shouted the commentator. '210 – 355 to England! My, that's good to hear!'
Harry and the team did a lap of the pitch, Harry at the front, and then flew inside.
'Good first match team!' shouted Elson. Ginny and Harry hugged, before meeting Ron, Hermione, Neville and Teddy outside.
'You were amazing! Ginny, that goal you did, I think the fourteenth, it was spectacular! And Harry, your catch, I thought we would be seeing you in St Mungo's!' cried Ron.
'It was very exciting,' congratulated Hermione. Harry nodded, and hugged Ginny.
'Come on – George is doing a celebration drink at the local pub, the Fox and the Hound,' he said.
'Woo! Hey Harry, Ginny. Nice match eh? I'll give you ten galleons if you get to the final!' shouted George when they walked in. 'Twenty if you win!'
'Deal!' called Harry. They laughed and shook hands. 'But let me buy you a Firewhisky, as your about to lose twenty galleons!'
'Fine, fine,' said George lazily. 'Who're you doing next?'
'Switzerland! Snow and skiing!' said Ginny.
'But rubbish Quidditch,' said Ron sadly. 'One time the only goal they did was on their own goalposts!' Everyone laughed and cheered.
'To victory!' shouted Harry. Everyone cheered and clapped.
Everyone drank and chatted for a while, before Ginny quietly murmured: 'Teddy.' Harry nodded, and downed his last Firewhisky.
'Got to go, bye!' he said. 'No George, really, Teddy's at home, with Molly.'
They apparated home and relieved Molly, who was babysitting.
'Come on, bed,' said Ginny. 'I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted.' Harry followed her upstairs to bed.
Next week was the Cannons game against Appleby Arrows and at the weekend was the Harpies against Wimbourne Wasps. Ron and Ginny were out every day in training. Ron came round on Thursday, on the morning of the game, already in his black and orange robes. He picked through a bowl of cereal, before Kreacher took it away and gave him some Pep Up Potion. Finally Ron got to his feet and apparated to the changing rooms. A few minutes later Harry and Ginny headed off to bag their seats.
Ron looked faintly green when he headed off to the posts. But Harry saw the familiar determination in his friend's eyes, and knew that Ron would be alright.
The Appleby Chaser sped towards the posts, clutching the Quaffle. Ron hovered, carefully watching him. The Chaser threw, and Ron flew left, and caught the Quaffle, throwing it to Slein, one of the Chasers.
The game was fast and furious. It was obvious that the Arrows had started off thinking that the Cannons were a pushover. This idea quickly changed, as Ron didn't let in a single goal, the Chasers were relatively good, and the Beaters had adequate aim. Harry was slightly disappointed by the Seeker though.
'Look, there's another chance, gone!' exclaimed Harry about half an hour in. The score was 40 – nil, but if the Arrows caught the snitch, they would obviously win.
'I know Harry, I saw it too. But be patient – this is an amazing improvement,' said Ginny. Harry nodded, and went back to scanning the pitch.
The game went on in a similar way, until the score was 120 – 30 (an annoying bee and a couple of Bludgers had let those goals in). Finally Eric Burne, the Seeker for the Cannons, swooped on the snitch.
'Finally,' cried Harry, who had been watching the snitch for about a minute. Stickleton, the Arrows Seeker, followed him. They were neck and neck, their hands reaching out for the snitch – a Bludger came out of nowhere. No one knew who hit it, but Hermione saw Flakey, the lanky Cannons Beater, looking sheepish. Anyway, Stickleton saw the Bludger and tried to turn around, but Burne, who hadn't seen the Bludger, was in the way. They crashed into each other, and fell to the ground in a tangle of clashing robes. The snitch disappeared, to Harry's despair.
The match continued, getting rather boring, until the score was 190 – 40. Suddenly Stickleton dived, followed after a second or two by Burne. Harry saw the Arrow's captain shaking his head in despair, as Stickleton grabbed the snitch clumsily.
'What?' cried George. 'It's a draw? Stickleton is such a retard!' It seemed that the Arrows captain thought the same, he was shouting furiously at Stickleton.
'He knew that they couldn't pull ahead, Ron's too good,' said Ginny. Harry nodded, and watched the ref split up the shouting match.
'What points do they get?' asked Hermione.
'Two each,' replied George. 'Come on; let's go deflate Ron's head.'
Teddy decided what team he supported.
'Chudley Cannons!' he cried.
'Are you sure?' asked George. 'It's not the best of teams, especially now it has Ron.'
'No! Cannons!'
'Yay! Go little guy!' cried Ron, tossing him in the air. Everyone laughed as Teddy turned his hair orange and black.
The Harpies thought they would have an easy match, and they did, for the first part. Gwenog, the two Beaters, both spectacular players. You could see them competing against each other, hitting harder and faster. The other players had a hard time avoiding the Bludgers, which flew around at about 100 mph. The Harpies did well, until a Bludger hit Melissa Bookton, a Harpies Chaser. Another Bludger hit Annabel, the third Chaser, soon after, leaving only Ginny. A reserve was pulled on, but she was terrible, and it was pretty much up to Ginny to score the goals.
She managed okay, but with three against one, it isn't hard to see who had an easier time. Matilda Grimshaw, the Harpy seeker, desperately searched for the snitch before the Wasps got too far ahead. She suddenly saw it and chased it without thinking. Harry saw the faces of horror on the faces of the rest of the team as they realised the score was 60 – 220 – if Hilda caught the snitch now, they would lose. Ginny grabbed the Quaffle immediately, and score another goal. Finally the reserve Chaser grabbed the Quaffle without dropping it, and scored, making it 80 – 220. Matilda grabbed the snitch, grinning and holding it up in the air. Ginny and the reserve high-fived, and Gwenog flew over to hug Ginny for her quick thinking.
Ginny flew over to the stands where Harry was leaning over the edge, kissed him on the lips, patted Teddy on the head, and flew after her team mates.
'Well done Ginny!' called Gwenog in the changing rooms.
'Yeah, good thinking!' another girl called.
'Amazing play!' congratulated a third girl.
Ginny smiled and accepted the praise, changing as quickly as possible. She knew Harry and Teddy would be waiting outside.
'Well done Auntie Ginny!' cried Teddy, clapping as she came out. Harry kissed her, and handed her a bunch of flowers.
'You saved the game!' he cried.
'Thanks, but I could have done better. I could have not let the other team get sixteen goals ahead!' said Ginny, scowling.
'Hey, hey, it wasn't your fault, and your quick thinking saved the match! You were brilliant in that match. It's bad luck that both the other Chasers went. Come on, let's go home,' said Harry, hugging Ginny.
The Switzerland match was away, in well, Switzerland. Ginny and Harry decided to take a break, and extend it into a holiday, taking Teddy with them for some skiing.
The match was interesting, partly because there was a freak snowstorm halfway through. The England team became very well camouflaged, as they had a mostly white uniform, but the Swiss stuck out like a sore thumb. They kept playing, and Harry had to go through a snowdrift to get the snitch. He came out completely dusted in snow, his glasses covered, but his fist raised to the air in triumph.
Immediately after the match, they headed off to catch a bus to the Alps. They were staying in a chalet, a warm cosy wooden building nestled in the village. It was all reds and browns, and there was always a fire crackling in the grates in most rooms.
They all immediately loved skiing. It was hard to keep control of Teddy, who, after the first morning where he couldn't stay upright, zoomed around, getting in people's way but never falling over himself. Ginny was a massive daredevil, as was Harry. They kept competing against each other on who could get the biggest air, who could go fastest, who would go down the more dangerous run.
The holiday was blissful, but it had to end. The only way they could get Teddy out of the chalet was to promise they would come back next year. They all watched out the window of the plane as the mountains slowly disappeared from sight.
Hope you liked the chapter! I won't be posting another one for a while, as I'm away over Christmas, but I will try to post something as soon as I can. Special thank you to writer of the gods for your amazing review!