Chapter 9: Gryffindor and Ravenclaw…Again

Chapter 9: Gryffindor and Ravenclaw…Again

"Okay, Gryffindors," Harry said, giving his pre-game pep talk, "Just play your hearts out. Ravenclaw is a great team this year, but we're better! Keep your minds on the game, and we can't lose."

The seven Gryffindors walked onto the field with a bit of confidence. They had long ago stopped being nauseous before a game and were now ready to play. Harry glanced at the Ravenclaws and then felt his stomach jump with surprise. There was Azar, dressed in blue with broom in hand. She gave Harry a grin and exuberate wave.

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch called.

Harry shook himself out of it and climbed on his, still staring at Azar. At the whistle, the fourteen players of red and blue rushed up into the air. Harry took his place hovering over the game and was soon joined by Azar.

"Surprised to see me?" she grinned.

"Uh, yeah," Harry said, "You're the seeker?"

"Yep."

"But you weren't last game. What happened to Ackerley?"

"His grades were suffering and so he had to leave the team for a while. So, for now, I'm the Ravenclaw seeker!"

"Ah, well stop chattering. You're distracting me."

"No, you're distracting me, Harry legs."

"Argh!" Harry yelled, pretending to be aggravated but smiling as he zoomed away from her.

The game got well underway. Harry kept a lookout for the Snitch, passing Azar every now and then.

"I got you now, Harry legs!" she called out one time, diving for the ground.

In a bit of a panic, Harry dived after her. It wasn't until she pulled up sharply that Harry realized she was just playing around.

"Nice try!" he called as they got back up in the air.

"I know, wasn't it?"

"Ravenclaw in the lead, 100-30!" Anthony Moon, a Ravenclaw sixth year who had taken Lee's place, hollered as the Ravenclaw chasers scored again.

Harry looked a bit glumly at his chasers. Yes, the wonderful trio that had been Johnson, Bell, and Spinnet had been broken up, but there was something else. Alicia didn't seem in the game; her mind was clearly elsewhere. Harry had noticed it at the last few practices, but had been hoping it would disappear at game time. It hadn't.

Harry tried to keep his mind on the Snitch, but found himself watching his team more and more. Katie was taking command of the chasers, realizing that they had to start scoring or even catching the snitch wouldn't give them a win. In the next two minutes, Katie managed to score, steal the quaffle back, and score again. Bella managed to intercept the quaffle and quickly passed it to Katie.

"Go long, Alicia!" Katie called, hurling the quaffle toward the Ravenclaw goalposts.

Alicia bent over her broom, speeding ahead of the quaffle. She looked over her shoulder, ready for it to come. Having timed everything just right, it fell neatly into her arms. The Gryffindors gave a cheer and Harry was ready to join them, when his heart gave a jolt.

"Alicia!" he cried, but too late. She hadn't looked forward in time and, still going at breakneck speed, her shoulder had connected with the metal goalpost. Her broom spun out of control and then, to the crowd's horror, she fell off it, landing roughly on the ground below.

"Time-out! Time-out!" Harry screamed as he raced down to her.

Madam Hooch's whistle blew and all of the Gryffindor team rushed down to Alicia's limp figure. Harry reached her first and was surprised to find her conscious…and crying.

"Alicia, are you all-?"

"I can't move my arm, Harry," she said quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I've tried, and it won't move."

"Oh, Alicia…" he said, trying to sound comforting though he felt his throat tightening.

Everyone from both teams landed now, even Madam Hooch. Professor McGonagall came running over, her face a little blanched.

"Thank goodness you're awake," she said breathlessly, "What hurts, Alicia?"

"My arm, Professor. I-I can't move my arm."

A few worried murmurs came from her teammates.

"I'll take you to the Hospital Wing at once," McGonagall replied, magicking up a stretcher underneath the girl.

The crowd applauded as McGonagall led Alicia out, some standing in admiration.

"Mr. Potter," Madam Hooch said, a little reluctant as she came up to Harry, "you have five minutes to find a replacement, and then you forfeit."

"Don't worry, we have one," Harry answered, though a little grimly.

Harry walked up to where Ron was sitting. "Well, you're our reserve, Ron," Harry said, giving him a smile.

"M-me?" Ron stuttered, "Oh Harry, I can't. I mean, I-I'm not even ready and-"

"We need a replacement or we forfeit, Ron," Harry said sternly.

With a gulp, Ron nodded. "Well, hurry up and change, then. You have five minutes to get back out here."

Ron was back in a jiffy and everyone mounted his or her broom again. Madam Hooch blew the whistle and they soared off into the sky. It wasn't long before Harry concluded Ron had been right; he wasn't ready. The first time Ron got the quaffle, he passed it to a Ravenclaw who took it in to score. Ron cheered a moment before realizing it was the other team that had scored. When Ron dropped the quaffle for the third time, Harry realized he had better catch the Snitch soon or Ron would be laughed out of Gryffindor.

"I'm sorry about Alicia," Azar said as she passed Harry.

"Me, too," he sighed.

He flew around slowly, straining his eyes for the glint of gold. And then he saw it. The Snitch was doing figure eights near the ground, right below Azar. Harry knew he could get to it before her, but decided to have a little fun. He flew over to Azar, grinning.

"Now I've got you, Zarina!" Harry cried, imitating Azar's previous dive.

"Oh yeah! Like I'm gonna fall for- oh no…"

Azar had quickly dived after him, realizing he was not joking. But Harry had too much of a lead on her. He grabbed the Snitch, pulled up, and landed perfectly on the ground.

"Gryffindor wins!" Anthony cried, though with noticeably less enthusiasm, "170-130."

Harry held up the Snitch proudly for a moment, then was tackled from behind.

"I ought to wallop you good for that one, you sneaky little git!" Azar laughed, shoving Harry's face into the grass.

Harry reached up and managed to pull her off by her robes. He quickly stood up and they linked arms, pushing against each other.

"Well…I learned…from the best," Harry said, straining against her.

"You're a little…exposed…Harry legs," she grinned.

Harry quickly snapped his thighs together. In his momentary distraction, Azar flipped him back on the ground, sat on his back, and grabbed on of his legs.

"Ow, ow, OW! That really hurts!" Harry yelled, though still laughing.

"A-hem."

Harry and Azar both looked up and saw they were surrounded by the Gryffindor team.

"Oh, you probably want your Seeker back," Azar smiled.

"Yeah, might be nice," Ron grinned back.

Azar got up and then grabbed Harry's hand to help him up. She shook his hand firmly.

"Good game, Harry legs."

"You, too, Zarina. Not bad for your first go at Seeker."

Harry was then swept away with the Gryffindor crowd, but kept his eyes on Azar as long as he could. The other Ravenclaws had come up to her and, for the second time since he'd met her, the smile melted from Azar's face. She looked extremely disappointed with herself.

"Let's go give Alicia the good news," Hermione grinned, bringing Harry's thoughts forward.

"Off to the Hospital Wing, then!" he cried.

"So once again, Harry saved the day," Katie added as the team finished telling Alicia about the end of the game.

"I'm glad my stupidity didn't lose the game," Alicia said, giving a pained laugh.

"Hey, it could happen to anyone," Bella consoled her, "How's your arm?"

"Madam Pomfrey basically fixed it all the way, though my shoulder is still pretty sore. I dislocated it, along with breaking my arm in three places."

"Ouch," Ron winced.

"I think I'll be okay."

"Everybody out!" Madam Pomfrey shrilled as she came in, "It's late enough and she needs rest!"

"See you later, Alicia," Harry called as Pomfrey shooed them out.

The team walked back to the common room in a good mood, despite Alicia's circumstances. They had, after all, won. There wasn't much of a celebration there, though. There weren't any Fred and George anymore to sneak food from the kitchens or start the party. Harry and Ron plopped down on a couple of chairs. Hermione plopped down on Ron, dangling her legs over the arm of the chair.

"Oof!" Ron said, wincing.

"I'm not that heavy!" Hermione laughed.

"I stunk today, didn't I?" Ron asked after a moment.

"Uh…"

"Er…"

"I know you can do better, Ron," Hermione smiled, "You were just nervous. Remember my first game?"

He laughed. "Yeah. Poor Madam Hooch. She didn't know what to call when a Beater cuffs her own Keeper."

"But she got a lot better," Harry smiled, "First games can be a bit awkward."

"I remember a certain someone that managed to have an excellent first game, even though his broom kept trying to buck him off," Hermione said.

"Yeah, we won because the Snitch flew into my mouth!"

"Hey, Herm, I was-" Ron stopped when she gave him a look.

"Hermione," he corrected himself, "I was wondering about you being a hawk. Why'd you choose that?"

"Oh, the animagus doesn't choose the animal. The animal chooses the animagus. I'm not exactly sure why I'm a hawk. Oh, except I'm a red-tailed hawk. Gryffindor pride!" she grinned.

"Well, let's see," Ron mused, "Hawks are bright, bold, and beautiful."

Hermione smiled with pleasure.

Ron added slyly, "So I can't imagine why you're one."

Hermione took Ron's face in both her hands, squeezing his cheeks and looking at him nose to nose.

"You're lucky you're so cute," she cooed, "or I'd smack you."

Ron smiled and gave her a little peck.

"Er…I think I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," Harry said, getting up.

"Good idea, Harry!" Ron grinned.

****

Harry woke up early the next morning and went down in the common room. He was hoping for a bit of 'me time', but found Alicia already there.

"Oh, hello, Alicia," he said, sitting next to her.

"Hey, Harry," she answered, smiling weakly, "I was hoping I could talk to you alone."

Harry raised his eyebrows as a question.

"I'm dropping off the team," she said firmly.

Harry felt his jaw drop. "You're-you're what?!"

"I'm dropping off the team," she repeated, "I'm only a hindrance. It's for the best."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, aghast, "You can't leave now! We need you, Alicia!"

She just stared into the fire.

"This isn't about yesterday, is it? Alicia, it was a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes."

"I'm just not going to be on the team anymore, okay?!" she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks as she ran to her dormitory.

Harry could do nothing but stare. He couldn't believe it; Alicia Spinnet was quitting the team. He just couldn't figure out why. Looking at the fire, he tried to figure it out. 'Maybe her grades are dropping,' he thought, 'or her arm might be permanently damaged and she doesn't want to tell us.'

He went to an early breakfast, the questions still laying on his mind. As more Gryffindors filed in, he knew he'd have to tell them. Alicia Spinnet didn't want to play.

~*~*~

A/N: Yah! I finally put in a Quidditch game! ^-^

Hope you guys liked this chapter, and that it was a bit more exciting.

Thank you all for the reviews!!! And I'd love more! *small hint there*

Be excellent to each other!

-Ady