NOT ALONE
Chapter Two: Tough Victory.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Below Harry a mad scuffle for the Quaffle was taking place. He watched, but kept an eye out for a flash of gold. Ginny, as usual, stayed out of the pushing and shoving, waiting instead for one of the other Chasers to throw her the ball and then she'd zip off with it and score.
"And Natalie of Gryffindor has the ball!" shouted Lee.
Natalie dived away from the general fray and took off toward the Slytherin goal. Ginny, Harry noted, was right where she should be and easily caught the Quaffle that Natalie tossed to her. Ginny leaned over her Firebolt and sped off.
"Look at Ginny go!" Lee Jordan was jumping up and down.
The fans in the Gryffindor stands were cheering "Go Ginny! Go Ginny!"
The Slytherin Chasers closed in on Ginny and she passed the Quaffle to Niles as she dodged a Bludger that Goyle thumped her way. Ron whacked the Bludger on the rebound and nearly knocked Crabbe from his broom. Niles, followed closely by the Slytherin Chasers, did a sudden halt and one-eighty degree spin. The Slytherin Chasers went screaming past him and before they could recover. Niles tossed the Quaffle into Ginny's capable hands and she sped to the Slytherin goals hoops, threw a feint at the left hoop, pulling back at the last moment and threw the Quaffle through the right hoop.
"Gryffindor scores!" shouted Lee Jordan. "Ten points for Gryffindor!"
It was a promising beginning to the game, but from there, everything that could go wrong, did. Seamus was so busy dodging Bludgers that Neville had to take up residence in front of the hoops just to help him fight off the Slytherins unrelenting attack. Two goals were thwarted but five others made it in.
Gryffindor 10, Slytherin 50. Harry still hadn't spotted the Snitch. At least neither had Malfoy. Restlessly he rode back and forth over the pitch looking for a little golden glimmer. Then a groan rose from the crowd. Goyle smacked a Bludger close to Neville's face and he took the Bludger full force in the temple and tumbled from his broom like a rag doll.
"FOUL!" yelled Lee. "Did you see that? Dirty Quidditch!"
Madam Hooch blew her whistle. "Foul Slytherin. Bludger Backbeating!"
Fortunately, Madam Hooch using a slowing spell to make certain Neville's landing, some thirty feet down, was a soft one. Harry saw Ahab fly to Crabbe and Goyle and say something to him. Harry would have given just about anything to hear that conversation.
The game went on with the Gryffindor team short one Beater. After that, Ron was doing his best to be in several places at once. His reaction time was getting slower, his flying sloppy—poor Ron was exhausted.
Twenty-five minutes into the game, Harry watched helplessly as the Slytherin Chasers flanked Hilary who had the Quaffle. That batted her back and forth between them like a ball, then one moved suddenly and the next hit sent her into the Ravenclaw stand tower. The Quaffle fell from her arms, one of the Slytherin Chasers grabbed it, Crabbe hit a Bludger toward Seamus, who dodged and couldn't prevent Slytherin from scoring. Hilary fell to the ground, tried to get up then crumpled back down.
The boos out numbered the cheers.
Slytherin had scored again, 10 to 60 and Gryffindor was down two players. It was war and now the attack centered on the Gryffindor Chasers, specifically Ginny. Her flying was flawless, awesome as she completely frustrated Goyle and Crabbe's attempts to knock her from her broom. Instead they hit one of their own Chasers. Ginny grabbed the dropped Quaffle and scored. Harry felt a swell of pride. He had convinced Ginny to try out for the team
"Gryffindor scores!" Lee said. "20 to 60, Slytherin leads."
Ron was sweating through his robes, his red hair plastered to his face keeping the Slytherins from obliterating the Gryffindor Chasers.
Madam Hooch called three more fouls against Slytherin, but they made three more goals. A Bludger almost took Seamus out. It smacked him in the right side of his chest and swept him from his broom. He managed to grab a hold of a goal hoop and call back his broom, but not before the Slytherin team took advantage of this and scored a yet another goal. Crabbe and Goyle's deadly aim kept the Ginny and Niles busy dodging the Bludger instead of trying to reacquire the Quaffle and score.
Gryffindor 20, Slytherin 100.
Ginny assisted a score from Neville, but the Slytherins rallied with two more. The second one hit Seamus in the head before bouncing through the goal hoop.
Gryffindor was without a Keeper and the score was now 30 to 120.
This was the dirtiest game of Quidditch Harry had seen at Hogwarts. Madam Hooch's whistle was going off constantly until she called for a time out and stalked toward the players like an angry Hippogriff.
"I better not see one more foul, do you hear Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle!" She glared at the Slytherin team. "And that goes for the rest of you. This is a game, not a death match."
She blew her whistle again and they all kicked off from the ground.
"Madam Hooch only said she better not see another foul, do you understand? Don't let her see!" Ahab said to Crabbe and Goyle. They smirked and nodded. "Good job so far, you two." Harry managed to fly close enough to hear them. "And stay on Potter," he spat at Malfoy. "If you can't catch the bloody Snitch yourself, make certain he doesn't."
After that, Malfoy became more annoying than usual, if that were possible. Harry was ready to take a foul just to get relief from that nasty git, but he couldn't do that to his team. Malfoy was a Seeker of average talent but above average viciousness, relying instead on using the opposing teams Seeker to assist him and help him find the Snitch. Once the other Seeker located the Snitch, he usually found a way to foul the other Seeker and grab the snitch for himself. Harry found him merely irritated; the other Seekers loathed him. Malfoy was popular only with himself, his girlfriend Cho Chang (a sore spot with Harry that Malfoy liked to constantly irritate) and the Slytherins.
Over the next twenty minutes, Slytherin team managed four more goals easy seeing that Seamus was gone.
It was then Harry spotted a golden flash from the corner of his eye. Just give me a few minutes, he said to himself. Just a few minutes. Don't let Malfoy see it.
The crowd shouted as a Bludger hit from Ron spun Crabbe out of control. The Bludger ricocheted off and smacked into a Slytherin Chaser, knocking the Quaffle from their grip. Ginny caught it, tucked in under her arm and was off before the Slytherin team could understand what had happened.
"Gryffindor scores!" cried Lee.
And that was what Harry was waiting for-- time to get the Snitch. Instead of flying toward it, he spun away from it and dove. Harry glanced behind him and found Malfoy right where he should be. Grinning to himself, Harry went into a steep dive, knowing Malfoy would be on his tail. Tears from the wind streamed out of the corner of his eyes, he laughed out of pure joy. Harry was in his element. Fifty feet from the ground. Forty. Instead of slowing up, he asked for more speed from his Firebolt and it responded.
The crowd went wild.
"Look at Harry Potter fly!" shouted Lee. "Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?"
Twenty feet from the ground and at full speed Malfoy was still with him. Harry pulled up, the Firebolt responding to the lightest touch, almost as if it understood his thought. Malfoy had no such luck, a victim of a perfectly executed Wronski Defensive Feint. Malfoy's broom struck the ground, half of the broomstick buried. The broom had stopped instantly but Malfoy didn't and he somersaulted end over end until he came to prone, spread eagle position.
Harry pulled up his broom, turned a one-eighty degree spin and neatly captured the Snitch that had been right behind Malfoy's head through the entire dive. Harry flew over to Malfoy who was groaning, and hovered above him while tossing the snitch up and down in the palm of his hand.
"How did you like meeting Wronski, Malfoy?" Harry asked in a mild tone, he then mock-saluted the dazed Slytherin Seeker and flew off to join his team.
The Gryffindor stands erupted in one tremendous chanting cheer. "Well done Gryffindor! Well done Gryffindor!"
"Harry Potter's caught the Snitch!" Lee shouted. "Gryffindor wins! One-eighty to one-sixty."
The joyous cheers melted instantly into horrified cries. A Bludger appeared from out of nowhere and slammed into Ginny Weasley's ribcage and completely swept her off her broom. As if in slow motion, Harry saw her tumble toward the ground some fifty feet below. He didn't have his wand. No one else could help, Madam Hooch noticed too late and began running toward Ginny. Harry dropped the Snitch and leaned down low on his Firebolt and asked it for all the speed it could muster.
Get under her, he told himself. Get under her.
Ten feet from the ground he let go of his broom, steered it through minute movements of his body, fine tuned his position and caught her in his arms. Although she was light, her momentum knocked him from his broom and together they fell the remaining distance. Harry positioned himself to hit the ground first, Ginny on top. The grass was soft and cushioned his fall somewhat, still it knocked the breath out of him and he lay gasping , the unconscious Ginny lying on top of him. He clutched her tightly.
The first thing his bleary vision saw was Ron's scared white face peering down at him.
"Bloody hell, Harry, that was brilliant." He peered closer at his unconscious sister. "Is she okay?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
How you liking my first Harry Potter fic so far? There's more to come! I have a lot of time over Christmas break.