A/N: Next to last chapter! This is the game! The students plan is obvious. Sorry if it's a little short.
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Saturday Morning: Teachers Quidditch Lockers.
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Professor McGonagall had just finished briefing the other professors about how the game was going to begin. They all went through the strategy one last time before sitting down and waiting for the game to actually start.
The robes for the teams had been a bit of a problem. All different houses banded together, so no respective house colors were allowed. Eventually, the faculty had gone with a compromising turquoise. The students would be playing in maroon.
No outsider would have ever believed that this was the respectable Hogwarts faculty. McGonagall had sparked their determination. They seemed to actually have some idea of what they were doing.
The teachers sat unusually still. Even Snape appeared nervous!
"Do you really think that we can win, Minerva?" he asked softly.
"Yes," she replied, a detectable note of stubbornness in her voice, "I think we can."
They sat in silence again until they heard themselves announced and walked onto the field.
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"Do you really think we're gonna win, Harry?" Ravenclaw chaser Breckenridge Pappas asked.
"Of course, Breck! How could we not?" Harry replied determinedly.
"You're sure we aren't underestimating the teachers?" Anna Richards asked anxiously.
Hermione looked as though she was wondering the same thing. Both Hermione and Ron had come to cheer the team on and give them a short pep-talk. It didn't help much, obviously, though Harry had done a pretty good job of rallying them to their fullest.
"Of course not, Anna!" Harry said wheeling around to face the team, his maroon robes swishing behind him, "They're still our teachers, after all, and, I mean, really, can you picture Snape on a broomstick?" Everyone, even the slytherins laughed at this. The team had been practicing all week, and they were in too high of spirits to be mad at a joke about their house leaders.
Suddenly, they heard Lee Jordan's voice ring out and begin to announce the start of the game.
"We'd better go," Hermione hissed at Ron.
"Yeah, good luck!" Ron said, being dragged out by Hermione, "I still can't believe I'm rooting for the team in maroon!"
"I give you the Hogwarts Student Quidditch Team!" Lee's voice rang out as Harry led his teammates onto the field, their brooms in hand, "Gryffindor Captain and seeker, Harry Potter, chasers, Anna Richards, Christine Rizk, and Breck Pappas, beaters, Harrison Derrick and Ulysses Warrington, and keeper Ernie MacMillan!" They were greeted by huge cheers from the students and polite claps from the teachers. "And now, the Hogwarts Faculty Quidditch Team! Chasers, Captain Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomfrey, and Roseanne Sprout, beaters, Remus Lupin and Aurora Hooch, keeper Severus Snape, and seeker Filius Flitwick!" They were greeted with light cheers, none of which seemed to come from the students. Only Breck seemed to realized the strange, identical gleams in each of his professors eyes.
"Harry," he said, tapping his captain on the shoulder, "What's gotten into the teachers?" All Harry could do was shrug.
Dumbledore stepped out onto the field in his referee robes. They didn't suit him at all.
"A nice, fair game, please," he said calmly, while releasing the bludgers and snitch. Then, Dumbledore threw the quaffle into the air as Lee Jordan shouted, "Let the game begin!"
No sooner were the words out of Lee's mouth, McGonagall was beside the quaffle, but instead of catching it like a normal chaser, she spun her broom around with as much force as she could muster, hitting the quaffle with the tail of her broom, sending it into the goal before Ernie could even reach his position. The teachers were unimpressed by this maneuver. McGonagall had always started the game like that as a student to give Gryffindor a small head start. The students, however, were dumb-struck. Most of them had no idea that was even possible.
"Ten points to the teachers," said Lee, obviously stunned.
"New strategy!" Harry yelled to the rest of his team, "get this game over with as quickly as possible!"
Just then, a bludger whizzed violently past Harry's shoulder, nearly colliding with Anna's head. The students whisked off to their positions to find that the teachers had already crammed in two more goals. Harrison sent a bludger at McGonagall who had taken to hovering over Breck, who had the quaffle.
It was at this point that the students realized that McGonagall was trying to pull stunts on her broom. Instead of simply dodging the bludger, she flipped forward off her broom, hanging on only by her hands, her feet dangling over Breck's head. Then she immediately flipped back onto her broom, but, she started flying in the other direction. Then, everyone realized what had happened. When McGonagall had flipped back on her broom, she had grabbed the quaffle with her feet. And, she scored.
"And another ten points for the teachers!" Lee shouted, "The score is now forty to nothing! Come on, students!"
If Harry had been playing any other team under these circumstances, he would have been angry, but instead, Harry found himself marveling at the way the teachers worked as a seamless team. The way Snape sent every attempt at a goal to McGonagall, who would immediately put it through the opposite goal. Flitwick was feinting in every imaginable way. Harry decided simply not to watch him. He tried to look for the snitch, but found himself staring instead at the teachers play. He watched them score another goal...and another...and another. What was Lee's voice saying? One-twenty to nothing? That couldn't be right. He must have heard wrong.
Suddenly, a bludger hit Harry's Firebolt, nearly knocking him off. It shocked Harry into reality just in time to hear Lee say, "One-thirty to nothing! This is disgusting! Come on students! Score a goal, catch the snitch, do something!"
Harry was temporarily stunned. One-thirty to nothing! He had to catch the snitch!
"Madame Pomfrey carrying the quaffle own the field, closely pursued by Pappas and Richards. Wait, she dropped the quaffle! Hold up, McGonagall appears out of no where, catches the purposely dropped quaffle and, I don't believe it, she scored again! Somebody help MacMillan! He's being overwhelmed! The score is now One-forty to nothing!"
Then, Harry saw it, the snitch. Evidently, Snape had seen it too because he shouted something to Flitwick, who sped off in the same direction. Harry dived, he was gaining, he came up beside Flitwick, and then,
"McGonagall scores! One-fifty, nothing! Wait,"
Harry had caught the snitch right after his head of house made the last goal of the game. One-fifty to One-fifty, a tied game. Dumbledore blew his whistle and fifteen brooms dived back down to the ground. Harry looked around his teammates, they all were overjoyed that he had caught the snitch.
"Nice catch, Potter," said a voice behind Harry. He wheeled around to see Professor McGonagall smiling down at him. She looked bit the worse. Most of her hair had fallen from it's usual bun, and she had rid herself of her glasses for the day, using a sight charm instead. It made the iris of her eyes enlarge, making her look slightly younger.
"You have got to teach us some of those moves, Professor!" Harry said, also smiling, "Where did you learn to do that anyway?" McGonagall snorted.
"Do you think your father was really the reason Gryffindor had so many Quidditch trophies?" She laughed.
"Besides that," Lupin interrupted, "Teaching quidditch stunts to anyone at all would be completely unlike Minerva McGonagall!" All the teachers laughed. More people were now coming onto the field to congratulate the players Harry even spotted Professor Trelawney come down from the stands and run over to Snape.
"Anyone can do that!" she snapped at the potions master, whisking the broom out of his hands. She mounted and rose a few feet before falling face first off the broom into a puddle of mud with a rather un-mystical scream. She received a large amount of laughter from everyone on the field.
Even though his team hadn't exactly won, Harry still felt that this had been the best quidditch game of his life. That thought in mind, he ran over to the rest of his teammates to celebrate the tie.
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Saturday Morning: Teachers Quidditch Lockers.
*************************************************
Professor McGonagall had just finished briefing the other professors about how the game was going to begin. They all went through the strategy one last time before sitting down and waiting for the game to actually start.
The robes for the teams had been a bit of a problem. All different houses banded together, so no respective house colors were allowed. Eventually, the faculty had gone with a compromising turquoise. The students would be playing in maroon.
No outsider would have ever believed that this was the respectable Hogwarts faculty. McGonagall had sparked their determination. They seemed to actually have some idea of what they were doing.
The teachers sat unusually still. Even Snape appeared nervous!
"Do you really think that we can win, Minerva?" he asked softly.
"Yes," she replied, a detectable note of stubbornness in her voice, "I think we can."
They sat in silence again until they heard themselves announced and walked onto the field.
*************************************************
"Do you really think we're gonna win, Harry?" Ravenclaw chaser Breckenridge Pappas asked.
"Of course, Breck! How could we not?" Harry replied determinedly.
"You're sure we aren't underestimating the teachers?" Anna Richards asked anxiously.
Hermione looked as though she was wondering the same thing. Both Hermione and Ron had come to cheer the team on and give them a short pep-talk. It didn't help much, obviously, though Harry had done a pretty good job of rallying them to their fullest.
"Of course not, Anna!" Harry said wheeling around to face the team, his maroon robes swishing behind him, "They're still our teachers, after all, and, I mean, really, can you picture Snape on a broomstick?" Everyone, even the slytherins laughed at this. The team had been practicing all week, and they were in too high of spirits to be mad at a joke about their house leaders.
Suddenly, they heard Lee Jordan's voice ring out and begin to announce the start of the game.
"We'd better go," Hermione hissed at Ron.
"Yeah, good luck!" Ron said, being dragged out by Hermione, "I still can't believe I'm rooting for the team in maroon!"
"I give you the Hogwarts Student Quidditch Team!" Lee's voice rang out as Harry led his teammates onto the field, their brooms in hand, "Gryffindor Captain and seeker, Harry Potter, chasers, Anna Richards, Christine Rizk, and Breck Pappas, beaters, Harrison Derrick and Ulysses Warrington, and keeper Ernie MacMillan!" They were greeted by huge cheers from the students and polite claps from the teachers. "And now, the Hogwarts Faculty Quidditch Team! Chasers, Captain Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomfrey, and Roseanne Sprout, beaters, Remus Lupin and Aurora Hooch, keeper Severus Snape, and seeker Filius Flitwick!" They were greeted with light cheers, none of which seemed to come from the students. Only Breck seemed to realized the strange, identical gleams in each of his professors eyes.
"Harry," he said, tapping his captain on the shoulder, "What's gotten into the teachers?" All Harry could do was shrug.
Dumbledore stepped out onto the field in his referee robes. They didn't suit him at all.
"A nice, fair game, please," he said calmly, while releasing the bludgers and snitch. Then, Dumbledore threw the quaffle into the air as Lee Jordan shouted, "Let the game begin!"
No sooner were the words out of Lee's mouth, McGonagall was beside the quaffle, but instead of catching it like a normal chaser, she spun her broom around with as much force as she could muster, hitting the quaffle with the tail of her broom, sending it into the goal before Ernie could even reach his position. The teachers were unimpressed by this maneuver. McGonagall had always started the game like that as a student to give Gryffindor a small head start. The students, however, were dumb-struck. Most of them had no idea that was even possible.
"Ten points to the teachers," said Lee, obviously stunned.
"New strategy!" Harry yelled to the rest of his team, "get this game over with as quickly as possible!"
Just then, a bludger whizzed violently past Harry's shoulder, nearly colliding with Anna's head. The students whisked off to their positions to find that the teachers had already crammed in two more goals. Harrison sent a bludger at McGonagall who had taken to hovering over Breck, who had the quaffle.
It was at this point that the students realized that McGonagall was trying to pull stunts on her broom. Instead of simply dodging the bludger, she flipped forward off her broom, hanging on only by her hands, her feet dangling over Breck's head. Then she immediately flipped back onto her broom, but, she started flying in the other direction. Then, everyone realized what had happened. When McGonagall had flipped back on her broom, she had grabbed the quaffle with her feet. And, she scored.
"And another ten points for the teachers!" Lee shouted, "The score is now forty to nothing! Come on, students!"
If Harry had been playing any other team under these circumstances, he would have been angry, but instead, Harry found himself marveling at the way the teachers worked as a seamless team. The way Snape sent every attempt at a goal to McGonagall, who would immediately put it through the opposite goal. Flitwick was feinting in every imaginable way. Harry decided simply not to watch him. He tried to look for the snitch, but found himself staring instead at the teachers play. He watched them score another goal...and another...and another. What was Lee's voice saying? One-twenty to nothing? That couldn't be right. He must have heard wrong.
Suddenly, a bludger hit Harry's Firebolt, nearly knocking him off. It shocked Harry into reality just in time to hear Lee say, "One-thirty to nothing! This is disgusting! Come on students! Score a goal, catch the snitch, do something!"
Harry was temporarily stunned. One-thirty to nothing! He had to catch the snitch!
"Madame Pomfrey carrying the quaffle own the field, closely pursued by Pappas and Richards. Wait, she dropped the quaffle! Hold up, McGonagall appears out of no where, catches the purposely dropped quaffle and, I don't believe it, she scored again! Somebody help MacMillan! He's being overwhelmed! The score is now One-forty to nothing!"
Then, Harry saw it, the snitch. Evidently, Snape had seen it too because he shouted something to Flitwick, who sped off in the same direction. Harry dived, he was gaining, he came up beside Flitwick, and then,
"McGonagall scores! One-fifty, nothing! Wait,"
Harry had caught the snitch right after his head of house made the last goal of the game. One-fifty to One-fifty, a tied game. Dumbledore blew his whistle and fifteen brooms dived back down to the ground. Harry looked around his teammates, they all were overjoyed that he had caught the snitch.
"Nice catch, Potter," said a voice behind Harry. He wheeled around to see Professor McGonagall smiling down at him. She looked bit the worse. Most of her hair had fallen from it's usual bun, and she had rid herself of her glasses for the day, using a sight charm instead. It made the iris of her eyes enlarge, making her look slightly younger.
"You have got to teach us some of those moves, Professor!" Harry said, also smiling, "Where did you learn to do that anyway?" McGonagall snorted.
"Do you think your father was really the reason Gryffindor had so many Quidditch trophies?" She laughed.
"Besides that," Lupin interrupted, "Teaching quidditch stunts to anyone at all would be completely unlike Minerva McGonagall!" All the teachers laughed. More people were now coming onto the field to congratulate the players Harry even spotted Professor Trelawney come down from the stands and run over to Snape.
"Anyone can do that!" she snapped at the potions master, whisking the broom out of his hands. She mounted and rose a few feet before falling face first off the broom into a puddle of mud with a rather un-mystical scream. She received a large amount of laughter from everyone on the field.
Even though his team hadn't exactly won, Harry still felt that this had been the best quidditch game of his life. That thought in mind, he ran over to the rest of his teammates to celebrate the tie.