Chapter 5 – Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw
They were sitting in the training room three minutes before the start of the game, and as Harry looked around at them he saw they were all very nervous. This was the sixth year on the team for Harry, and he had gotten used to the pressure, but for everyone else it was their first or second year.
'Right' Ron said, 'we've been practicing every chance we get for the last two months, and our execution has become flawless. We know our seeker is going to catch the snitch for us, so if we stick to the game plan we are guaranteed to win! Nobody panic, stay calm, and communicate with each other, and everything will fall into place! Are you ready? He shouted
They all stood up and formed a circle, joined their hands at the center and yelled Gryffindor! before storming out onto the pitch.
'And here comes the Gryffindor team onto the field now' Yelled the announcer. 'Led by their new Captain Ron Weasley, and sporting one of the best seekers Hogwarts has seen in a long time, the Gryffindors will try to win the Quidditch cup for the third time in a row.'
There was such a loud cheering from the Gryffindor area that it easily drowned out the booing from the Slytherins and Ravenclaws.
'And here comes the Ravenclaw team. Ravenclaw are easily the most experienced team of the four right now, being made up entirely of sixth and seventh years, but they have yet to win the cup. They are considered strong contenders this year, and most Ravenclaws feel it's now or never'
The announcement was followed by a loud cheering from the Ravenclaw area and booing from the Gryffindors.
'And here comes Madam Hooch on the field now with the quaffle, bludgers, and golden snitch. '
The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws stood facing each other, and the two captains shook hands. Harry looked at each of the Ravenclaw players in turn, including Cho Chang who looked very nervous and blushed slightly when she caught his eye.
'And Madam Hooch has released the snitch, and there it goes! It's a fast one folks; this might be a long game.'
'Remember, I want a good clean game! Mount your brooms, and when I blow the whistle the game will begin.'
They all got on their brooms and waited for the whistle. The entire stadium was silent now, and time seemed to slow to a halt.
'And there they go! Ginny Weasley has gained possession of the quaffle, and she's flying straight up in the air with the Ravenclaw chasers chasing her. It looks like she's going for a scoring attempt, no wait; she's passed the quaffle back to Fiona, who is wide open on the left flank! Fiona scores, ten points to Gryffindor! What a brilliant execution of the Porskoff Ploy!'
Harry flew high above the field and looked for the golden snitch. He saw Ron was circling the three goalposts and Dean and Seamus were hitting bludgers at every Ravenclaw player who entered their zone. Ron's tactics were working brilliantly; their beaters were disrupting any offensive play the Ravenclaw team was trying to execute.
'And here come the Ravenclaw chasers with the quaffle, their seekers flying in the classic arrowhead formation. It looks like they've broken through, no wait, OUCH! That bludger to the head is going to leave a mark! It looks like he's going to be fine but he's dropped the quaffle, and would you look at that! Ginny Weasley has deftly caught the quaffle and is speeding towards the Ravenclaw keeper. She takes a shot, and what a shot it is, but an even better save by the Ravenclaw keeper!'
Harry was getting agitated; it had been ten minutes already and still no sign of the snitch. He glanced over at Cho and saw that she was watching him instead of looking for the snitch. She's not going for the snitch yet, he realized, she's just going to block me from getting it so they can build up a lead.
'Ravenclaw is on the attack again! Using a zigzag attack to confuse the defense, and it's working. The Ravenclaw Chaser has broken through and the only thing between him and a goal is the Gryffindor keeper! He takes a shot, scores! Ravenclaw now leads 50 to 30!'
He saw that Ron was furious at himself. It was a good shot but not unstoppable, and Ron felt he should have stopped it. WHERE IS THE SNITCH? He looked over at Cho again and they exchanged glances. All of a sudden she accelerated into a dive and was speeding towards the ground. Cursing himself he pushed his firebolt to its limits and tried to catch up with her'
'Look at how fast Cho Chang is diving! The Ravenclaw seeker has apparently seen the snitch and is hurtling towards the ground at breakneck speeds!'
He was right behind her but he still couldn't see the snitch. He had to pass her or they would lose the game, and he counted his blessings that he had a firebolt and she only had a cleansweep seven. They were parallel now, still hurtling towards the ground, and he still couldn't see the snitch. Thanks to his firebolt he managed to fly slightly ahead of here and maintained a short lead while he desperately scanned the ground. Wait a minute he thought to himself, something was wrong here. She hadn't even been looking for the snitch, how could she have spotted before him? Hoping that he was right, he put all his might into pulling up and missed the ground by less than two meters. He looked at her and saw that she too had pulled up at the last second.
'Did you see that folks? Cho tried to pull the Wronski Feint and she had everyone fooled, but at the last moment the Gryffindor seeker realized what she was trying to do. And now Ravenclaw has possession again, and here come their chasers flying in formation! Score! Ravenclaw now leads 80 to 50!'
He was mad at himself for letting her fool him into wasting time, and his now frantic mind searched desperately for the snitch again.
'Here comes Ginny Weasley with the quaffle again! She passes backwards to Mandy, but the Gryffindor chaser had dropped the quaffle! A Ravenclaw interception, and off they go! What a pass, and what shot! But here comes the Gryffindor keeper with a starfish save! That was the best save of the game so far folks!'
All of a sudden Harry saw something golden on the opposite end of the field, right in the bottom corner. He glanced over at Cho who he saw was still watching him, and dropped into a dive. He had to lose her first so he plummeted to the ground and heard Cho tailing him. He thought that as he came closer to the ground, she would pull up, but he was wrong. She dived fearlessly right along side him and together they plummeted towards the ground. He was keeping track of the snitch out of the corner of his eye, but he never let on its true position. They were less than 25 meters from the ground now and with all his might he pulled up his firebolt and made an incredibly sharp ninety degree turn at the same time. Cho was clearly confused and tried to match his maneuver, but her inferior broomstick couldn't handle like the firebolt could. With the added momentum of his sharp dive he raced across the pitch to the snitch faster than he had ever gone. His whole broom was vibrating and he focused on the snitch so that he wouldn't fly right past it. Ten meters – 5 meters – 3 meters. He had caught the snitch and they won the game!
He slowed his broom down and looked over at the Gryffindor area. To his great surprise none of them were cheering. He quickly looked over at the other end of the field and what he saw made his heart stop beating. All the teachers were running onto the field towards where the pretty Ravenclaw seeker was lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood.
