My feet slowly depart from the grass, dangling above the ground. The slippery hands from beneath my gloves eventually retain proper grip.

I mirror Terrence's actions and gently lean forward on the front of my broomstick. Some sort of magnetic force instantaneously surrounds me as I ascend. At this point I'm about 10 feet in the air and have little to no control over the balance of my broom.

Ginny giggles in wicked amusement beneath me but I don't look down at her. Because if I do, I'll lose complete balance and fall straight on my arse.

I lean on my right side and gradually move in a cyclonic motion. I apply more pressure against the head of the broom until I'm about 30 feet above the ground. Feeling a lick of confidence, I expediently speed toward Terrence and carefully maneuverer my way directly in front of him.

"May the best boy win!" Ginny shouts from below.

My grip tightens as I peer down at her. A gust rushes past me sending my shaggy hair in the wind. I watch as Ginny informally removes the golden snitch from her robes. With the simple flattening of her palm, a pair of wings spread out attached to the shiny metallic ball.

The snitch darts off faster than the speed of light and I instantly lose sight of the bloody thing. Terrence's broom launches in the other direction leaving a sonic boom in its trail.

My strategy was simple. I was to tailgate the Slytherin seeker as long as possible until I hopefully gained track of the spastic snitch.

I successfully keep a close distance behind Terrence until he suddenly nose dives. My stomach drops as I lean against the broom with great force spiraling toward the ground. I hold the stick against my chest as my hands fight to retain proper grip. I'm having immense trouble commanding the wavering broom between my fingers and I'm getting frustrated.

Terrence was clearly trying to lose me, and was succeeding, but now was not the time to give up.

I gain traction weaving between a field of trees. A lone hidden branch suddenly snags the bottom of my robes and pulls me back like a loaded slingshot. I let out a grunt using all of my energy to yank myself in the opposite direction.

The students below resoundingly gasp as I fight to gain control.

Terrence hovers above me snickering. "Well would you look at that, Potter? Looks like the apple fell very far from the tree.. pun intended."

"Brilliant diss, you git," I grumble.

He cackles as another thunderous boom emits from his broom taking off in the other direction. I'm livid, sweating bullets and violently cussing out my surroundings.

Right on schedule my right eye begins to cloud and burn.

I'm desperately fighting to keep my cool. Not only am I one billion feet in the air stuck in a bloody tree with the potential to fall to my death.. but if I had any shot at winning this, I knew I had to stay calm and focused.

Unfortunately, my rogue eye had the tendency to restrict me from either option.

I use one leg to kick off from the branch. My arms are shaking and my tryouts uniform is soaked in sweat. I shimmy my shoulders back and forth using every ounce of strength before I'm finally let free.

The vision from my right eye is transitioning out of control but I'm able to make out Terrence's silhouette from afar. I follow him through another batch of trees, up another 20 feet, then down another 30. We skim over the grass headed straight for a tunnel through one of the towers.

The natural sunlight diminishes entering the passageway. The further we travel inside, the darker it gets. At this point I'm strictly relying on the sound of Terrence's broom as it's nearly pitch black.

I suddenly have a light bulb moment in remembrance of my first night in the Slytherin Common Room. It was the first time I noticed an additional abnormality in regards to my bum eye.

Holding the broom with one hand, I cover my left eye with the other. I'm relieved to find that not only can I see better, but I can see everything in the dark.

I silently lurk beside Terrence. He halts in place, hesitating whether to venture any further into the darkness. As I observe my surroundings I notice that there was no other side opening to the tunnel.. it was just a barricaded dead end.

We both pause in complete silence waiting for any indication from the snitch. A trickle of murky water drips on our heads as we linger.

The fluttering sound of a loud bumble bee suddenly buzzes past my ear. I turn my head to find the hovering, ultraviolet snitch taunting me. It moves in slow circular motions, darts to one side, and then to the other. It continues to provoke me in a come-hither motion and I'm really starting to lose my patience.

I lunge my body towards it with an arm sloppily swinging in its general area. In an expected defiant response, the snitch darts off in the opposite direction. Terrence bolts past me as I make a sharp turn initiating another rat race.

We approach the entrance to the tunnel as more light is let in. The closer we near the passageway, the greater leverage he gained over me. I no longer held a hidden advantage over my component.

The blaring whistle of the snitch leads us toward the natural light and I know my time is limited. Whether it was my level of exhaustion, trepidation, or general lack of skill; I'm losing momentum and falling behind substantially.

I somberly watch on as Terrence and the snitch exit the passageway, shooting upward into the sky.

I abruptly recline my positioning and bring myself to a standstill. I knew at this point that he was going to win, and it wasn't worth the shame of being beat in front of the whole crowd in the daylight.

Or that feisty redhead.

I'd rather sit here and hide out, hovering in the middle of the pitch-black tunnel, occasionally swallowing the growing lump in my throat.

I had let everyone down who believed in me. Ron, Fred, George..

My father.

I'm consumed in self-loathing thoughts as the familiar ear-piercing buzzing returns. The snitch re-enters the tunnel hurtling past me. I watch Terrence approach the passageway for round two.

I had been given a second chance.

I give one last yank redirecting myself toward the bountiful darkness and sprint toward the glowing snitch. Terrence falls noticeably further behind repressing his speed as we reach the dead end to the tunnel.

I close my left eye approaching the barricade before me. I lean all of my body weight toward the front of the stick reaching top speed. The snitch does a quick U-turn from the wall on its mission to bypass me once again.

I lunge for it, losing total balance, before I'm launched from my broom. My body crashes against the wall followed by the broom.

I lethargically roll to the ground.

I'm in severe pain from head to toe and I'm having trouble breathing. I groan, rolling on my back in a filthy puddle beside the mangled broom. I have no idea how many bones I just broke or how long it was going to take me to recover.

All I know is I'm seriously injured and my entire body is in shock.

The only sensation I have left is the golf ball sized, vibrating metallic snitch gripped tightly between my fingers.