Chapter 3
The next few days were terrible for Harry. Everywhere he went he could see Malfoy's leering face swagger past him, and he also seemed to keep running into Cho. Ron and Hermione were trying desparately to cheer him up, but none of their ideas worked. Not even Quidditch seemed to be taking Harry's mind off Cho and Malfoy. The fact that the first game - Gryffindor versus Slytherin was coming up didn't help the matter. Harry was determind to win this game. He had to beat Malfoy at something. Also, he wanted to impress Cho.
The day of the opening match arrived quicker than Harry had hoped. He was dreading the game as he had put so much pressure on himself to win. The team got changed into their Quidditch robes and were standing by the door, waiting to walk out onto the pitch. They could hear the crowd outside talking excitedly, and Fred, the new captain of the team was making jokes about the Slytherins. But Harry heard none of this. He was too busy trying to come up with a plan to humiliate Malfoy in front of the whole school, and more importantly, Cho. A few minutes later, they heard a whistle from beyond the door signaling them to come out. The team wished each other good luck and walked out on to the pitch to meet the sound of applause, whistling and a lot of shouting. In the centre of the pitch the Gryffindors turned to face the Slytherins who were already standing in a line. The captains shook hands with each other, the whistle sounded, and the game began. The commentry, as usual, was provided by the Weasley's friend Lee Jordan.
Harry flew over the rest of the game searching for the Snitch when Malfoy suddenly appeared in front of him blocking his path. "What do you want?" snarled Harry glaring at the Slytherin Seeker. "Just come to tell you to leave my Cho alone and to go find some other girl," replied Malfoy. "How about the girl Weasley? I'm sure she, at least will have famous Harry Potter". He smirked and flew off to the other side of the pitch. Harry would have liked to punch him there and then but he contented himself by remembering his plan to humiliate Malfoy. He smirked just as Malfoy had done as he thought of the look of fury and embarassment on Malfoy's face when his plan was put into action. "Right. Here goes," Harry said to himself a few minutes after Malfoy's visit. He pretended that he had seen the Snitch somewhere just above the ground and dived - the Wronski Feint. Malfoy saw what Harry was doing and tore after him. Malfoy was at Harry's heels at exactly the right moment. Harry sharply pulled out of his dive, up and to the left, and Malfoy went hurtling down. There was a large "ooooh!" of amazement from the crowd, but it wasn't directed at Harry. Malfoy had quickly directed his broom upwards and to the right, just before he hit the ground. When Harry turned around he saw Malfoy with a triumphant look on his pointed face, his clenched fist held in the air. Slytherin had won. Malfoy had beaten Harry again.
Harry was silently cursing as he flew back to the ground. How could he have been so stupid? He was concentrating so hard on getting the Wronski Feint right that he had not noticed the Snitch at all. If he had pulled out of the dive to the right instead of the left he would have been the one with the triumphant smirk. Harry landed on the grassy pitch and was immediately surrounded by his team mates, Ron, and Hermione, all complementing him on his Wronski Feint, but ignoring the fact that it had gone badly wrong and that they had lost. When the mass of people around Harry diffused a little Harry caught sight of Cho through the crowd. She seemed to be looking for Harry, because when she saw him she started walking toward him. However, she was distracted by someone else before she reached him - Malfoy. Harry stood rooted to the spot and watched in terror as Malfoy bent down to kiss Cho. "Don't do it Cho. Don't let him," Harry thought desparately, but instead she just willingly kissed him back. The whole crowd was staring at them. Now they knew. They all knew about their relationship. Harry wondered how long it would take for Malfoy to tell the whole school that Harry, his worst enemy, fancied his girlfriend.
Harry felt very dipressed after the game. The team, who knew nothing of Harry's love for Cho assumed that Harry was upset just because of their defeat. "Oh, come on Harry, cheer up. It's not the end of the world," said Fred. "You're still the best Seeker we've ever had, Harry," said George. "And we'll win next time," Katie said cheerfully. "Yes, Revenclaw are nowhere near as good as they used to be since Roger Davies left," added Angelina. This last comment was far from cheering. It only reminded Harry of Malfoy and Cho kissing right in front of his very eyes, and that he had to play against Cho in the next match.
The weeks flew by and the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match drew ever closer. Harry felt sick every time he remembered or saw Cho kissing Malfoy, he had a new kind of loathing towards Malfoy, and he wanted Cho more than he had ever done. Harry didn't know what he wanted to do in the Ravenclaw match. Did he want to win to show Malfoy that he could play Quidditch? Or did he want Cho to win? Harry didn't know. He still hadn't made up his mind when he walked on to the Quidditch pitch to tremendouls applause for the second time this year.
Cho was also feeling unsure. Should she deliberately lose against Harry so it would give her an excuse to go and talk to him to say "well done"?, or should she listen to what her boyfriend had said and beat Harry as he had done in the previous match? The whistle sounded and the game began, and as Cho rose into the air and caught sight of Harry, she made up her mind that she would lose on purpose just so she could talk to him. Cho glimpsed the Snitch more than once but chose to ignore it on all occasions. She noticed that Harry seemed to be keeping a distance from her at all times. How would he react when she spoke to him after the match? After about 15 minutes, Cho saw Harry dive and chased after him to make it look as though she was determined to reach the Snitch before he did. Of course, because Harry's Firebolt was much faster than her Comet, and because she wasn't really trying very hard, Harry managed to catch the golden ball. He raised his hand into the air clutching the Snitch tightly, then turned to look at Cho. She smiled at him and his face turned pink.
Cho decided then, that she would go and speak to Harry while they were both still in the air so Malfoy would not interrupt their conversation. She flew over to him quickly before his team mates could reach him and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "Harry". Harry turned around to see who had spoken and blushed deeply when he saw that it was Cho. "Hi," muttered Harry. "I just wanted to congratulate you. You played really well. Well done". She smiled sweetly at him. "You - you played well too," stammered Harry. They floated there looking at each other for a while, then as though they had both suddenly realised what they were doing, tore their eyes away from each other quickly. Just then, the Gryffindor team arrived to congratulate Harry, and while he was being hugged by six people at once Cho flew back to the ground, glad that the awkward silence which had fallen between them had been interrupted.
When Cho got back to the ground Malfoy was waiting for her. "What did he want with you?" he asked before even congratulating her, complementing her, or even saying it was a shame she had lost. "Who?" asked Cho breathlessly, pretending she didn't know what he was talking about. "Potter," replied Malfoy. "Oh, Harry," said Cho. "I just went to say 'well done' to him". "Oh," said Malfoy sounding slightly irritated. Just then Harry touched down smoothly next to the couple. Malfoy saw Cho smile at Harry and he return it.
After dinner, which was a very loud affair on the Gryffindor table, Harry was stopped by someone in the Entrance Hall. He turned to see who it was and came face to face with Malfoy. "Potter," whispered Malfoy dangerously. "I'm warning you. You just keep away from my girlfriend". And before Harry could reply he had gone back into the Great Hall. Harry stood and stared at the spot Malfoy had been standing on for a second before heading back to Gryffindor Tower. Why was Malfoy so concerned about Harry talking to Cho? It was she who had started the conversation in the first place. Was Malfoy worried? Did he think Harry was going to take her away from him? Or was he just annoyed that Gryffindor had won that match?
Ever since the Gryffindor - Ravenclaw game Cho seemed to be making a point of talking to Harry whenever she saw him, much to Malfoy's annoyance. Most of the time it was just a smile, a wave, or a quick "hi," but it still made Harry feel extremely happy and warm in-side.
The next few days were terrible for Harry. Everywhere he went he could see Malfoy's leering face swagger past him, and he also seemed to keep running into Cho. Ron and Hermione were trying desparately to cheer him up, but none of their ideas worked. Not even Quidditch seemed to be taking Harry's mind off Cho and Malfoy. The fact that the first game - Gryffindor versus Slytherin was coming up didn't help the matter. Harry was determind to win this game. He had to beat Malfoy at something. Also, he wanted to impress Cho.
The day of the opening match arrived quicker than Harry had hoped. He was dreading the game as he had put so much pressure on himself to win. The team got changed into their Quidditch robes and were standing by the door, waiting to walk out onto the pitch. They could hear the crowd outside talking excitedly, and Fred, the new captain of the team was making jokes about the Slytherins. But Harry heard none of this. He was too busy trying to come up with a plan to humiliate Malfoy in front of the whole school, and more importantly, Cho. A few minutes later, they heard a whistle from beyond the door signaling them to come out. The team wished each other good luck and walked out on to the pitch to meet the sound of applause, whistling and a lot of shouting. In the centre of the pitch the Gryffindors turned to face the Slytherins who were already standing in a line. The captains shook hands with each other, the whistle sounded, and the game began. The commentry, as usual, was provided by the Weasley's friend Lee Jordan.
Harry flew over the rest of the game searching for the Snitch when Malfoy suddenly appeared in front of him blocking his path. "What do you want?" snarled Harry glaring at the Slytherin Seeker. "Just come to tell you to leave my Cho alone and to go find some other girl," replied Malfoy. "How about the girl Weasley? I'm sure she, at least will have famous Harry Potter". He smirked and flew off to the other side of the pitch. Harry would have liked to punch him there and then but he contented himself by remembering his plan to humiliate Malfoy. He smirked just as Malfoy had done as he thought of the look of fury and embarassment on Malfoy's face when his plan was put into action. "Right. Here goes," Harry said to himself a few minutes after Malfoy's visit. He pretended that he had seen the Snitch somewhere just above the ground and dived - the Wronski Feint. Malfoy saw what Harry was doing and tore after him. Malfoy was at Harry's heels at exactly the right moment. Harry sharply pulled out of his dive, up and to the left, and Malfoy went hurtling down. There was a large "ooooh!" of amazement from the crowd, but it wasn't directed at Harry. Malfoy had quickly directed his broom upwards and to the right, just before he hit the ground. When Harry turned around he saw Malfoy with a triumphant look on his pointed face, his clenched fist held in the air. Slytherin had won. Malfoy had beaten Harry again.
Harry was silently cursing as he flew back to the ground. How could he have been so stupid? He was concentrating so hard on getting the Wronski Feint right that he had not noticed the Snitch at all. If he had pulled out of the dive to the right instead of the left he would have been the one with the triumphant smirk. Harry landed on the grassy pitch and was immediately surrounded by his team mates, Ron, and Hermione, all complementing him on his Wronski Feint, but ignoring the fact that it had gone badly wrong and that they had lost. When the mass of people around Harry diffused a little Harry caught sight of Cho through the crowd. She seemed to be looking for Harry, because when she saw him she started walking toward him. However, she was distracted by someone else before she reached him - Malfoy. Harry stood rooted to the spot and watched in terror as Malfoy bent down to kiss Cho. "Don't do it Cho. Don't let him," Harry thought desparately, but instead she just willingly kissed him back. The whole crowd was staring at them. Now they knew. They all knew about their relationship. Harry wondered how long it would take for Malfoy to tell the whole school that Harry, his worst enemy, fancied his girlfriend.
Harry felt very dipressed after the game. The team, who knew nothing of Harry's love for Cho assumed that Harry was upset just because of their defeat. "Oh, come on Harry, cheer up. It's not the end of the world," said Fred. "You're still the best Seeker we've ever had, Harry," said George. "And we'll win next time," Katie said cheerfully. "Yes, Revenclaw are nowhere near as good as they used to be since Roger Davies left," added Angelina. This last comment was far from cheering. It only reminded Harry of Malfoy and Cho kissing right in front of his very eyes, and that he had to play against Cho in the next match.
The weeks flew by and the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match drew ever closer. Harry felt sick every time he remembered or saw Cho kissing Malfoy, he had a new kind of loathing towards Malfoy, and he wanted Cho more than he had ever done. Harry didn't know what he wanted to do in the Ravenclaw match. Did he want to win to show Malfoy that he could play Quidditch? Or did he want Cho to win? Harry didn't know. He still hadn't made up his mind when he walked on to the Quidditch pitch to tremendouls applause for the second time this year.
Cho was also feeling unsure. Should she deliberately lose against Harry so it would give her an excuse to go and talk to him to say "well done"?, or should she listen to what her boyfriend had said and beat Harry as he had done in the previous match? The whistle sounded and the game began, and as Cho rose into the air and caught sight of Harry, she made up her mind that she would lose on purpose just so she could talk to him. Cho glimpsed the Snitch more than once but chose to ignore it on all occasions. She noticed that Harry seemed to be keeping a distance from her at all times. How would he react when she spoke to him after the match? After about 15 minutes, Cho saw Harry dive and chased after him to make it look as though she was determined to reach the Snitch before he did. Of course, because Harry's Firebolt was much faster than her Comet, and because she wasn't really trying very hard, Harry managed to catch the golden ball. He raised his hand into the air clutching the Snitch tightly, then turned to look at Cho. She smiled at him and his face turned pink.
Cho decided then, that she would go and speak to Harry while they were both still in the air so Malfoy would not interrupt their conversation. She flew over to him quickly before his team mates could reach him and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "Harry". Harry turned around to see who had spoken and blushed deeply when he saw that it was Cho. "Hi," muttered Harry. "I just wanted to congratulate you. You played really well. Well done". She smiled sweetly at him. "You - you played well too," stammered Harry. They floated there looking at each other for a while, then as though they had both suddenly realised what they were doing, tore their eyes away from each other quickly. Just then, the Gryffindor team arrived to congratulate Harry, and while he was being hugged by six people at once Cho flew back to the ground, glad that the awkward silence which had fallen between them had been interrupted.
When Cho got back to the ground Malfoy was waiting for her. "What did he want with you?" he asked before even congratulating her, complementing her, or even saying it was a shame she had lost. "Who?" asked Cho breathlessly, pretending she didn't know what he was talking about. "Potter," replied Malfoy. "Oh, Harry," said Cho. "I just went to say 'well done' to him". "Oh," said Malfoy sounding slightly irritated. Just then Harry touched down smoothly next to the couple. Malfoy saw Cho smile at Harry and he return it.
After dinner, which was a very loud affair on the Gryffindor table, Harry was stopped by someone in the Entrance Hall. He turned to see who it was and came face to face with Malfoy. "Potter," whispered Malfoy dangerously. "I'm warning you. You just keep away from my girlfriend". And before Harry could reply he had gone back into the Great Hall. Harry stood and stared at the spot Malfoy had been standing on for a second before heading back to Gryffindor Tower. Why was Malfoy so concerned about Harry talking to Cho? It was she who had started the conversation in the first place. Was Malfoy worried? Did he think Harry was going to take her away from him? Or was he just annoyed that Gryffindor had won that match?
Ever since the Gryffindor - Ravenclaw game Cho seemed to be making a point of talking to Harry whenever she saw him, much to Malfoy's annoyance. Most of the time it was just a smile, a wave, or a quick "hi," but it still made Harry feel extremely happy and warm in-side.