Xenith
Chapter Forty-two
"Are you sure you're ready for this, Harry?" Katie asked Harry as the stood beneath the stands awaiting the start of the Gryffindor Ravenclaw match. Harry nodded resolutely. "I mean, I know that article must have struck a sore spot, but we need to stick to what's important, right?" Harry gave no sign that he had heard her. "You know, I wouldn't be making you do this, Harry, if we didn't need you. If we win this match we'll be in the play- offs against Slytherin. I don't know why we didn't pick up a reserve Seeker during try-outs, but---"
"And now, the best team in the school, sporting their traditional scarlet and gold . . . Gryffindor!" Lee's magnified voice broke in. "Here's Bell!"
"That's my cue," Katie said with a smile, taking off into the air.
"Johnson! Weasley! Weasley! Bettany! Donnalley! Aaand . . . Potter!" Each player took off as their name was called and took a lap round the stadium before they took their traditional place over the pitch.
"Okay!" Madam Hootch called up to the players. "You know the rules! You're good kids, I expect a nice clean match!"
"And there goes the Snitch!" Lee called. "The Quaffle is up and the players are off! Gryffindor's Ginny Weasley takes the Quaffle immediately and shoots towards the Ravenclaw goalposts! And she---what the hell! Did she drop the Quaffle?! No! Shite, that was the best Porskoff Ploy I've ever seen on this pitch! Tell me, where DID the girl learn it all?!"
Ginny didn't acknowledge Lee's prattle as she shot after Adrian Pucey.
"Wait! What's this?" Lee said, bowing his head to Professor McGonagall as she hissed in his ear.
Harry, meanwhile, sat calmly on his broomstick rolling the tiny Golden Snitch over his fingers, not ready to announce his catching of it just yet. The weather was too perfect to end the match just yet.
"It appears that that last goal did NOT count," Lee announced into the megaphone.
"What!?" Ginny shouted turning on Lee, a string of creative curse words escaping her mouth before she could stop them.
"Wow, now aren't you a fiery one, but let me explain WHY it does not count before you jump down my throat. It appears," Lee paused for dramatic effect. "That the Snitch has been caught."
"What?!" Cho exploded. "I didn't catch it!"
The entire stadium turned their heads up to Harry. He shrugged, palming the Snitch before anyone could see it.
"Harry?" Ginny said, flying up beside him as the rest of both teams flew down to where McGonagall, Hootch, and Lee were conversing. "Do you have it?"
Harry let the Snitch peek out from between his fingers.
"Why are you hiding it?"
He shrugged, rubbing his thumb over the engravings covering the golden ball.
"Come-on, Harry." Ginny tugged Harry's broom down and together they landed on the pitch beside their teammates. Ginny pushed her way to Madam Hootch and said: "He's got it."
"What? Well, well, well, Mister Potter, congratulations," Hootch said. "We've got a time on that ball and you managed to catch that ball in 2.7 seconds." The small crowd parted and allowed Harry to approach her. "I assume you know what that means?" The instructor was doing a poor job at controlling her pleasure.
"Yes, ma'am," Harry said softly. "I've beaten Roderick Plumpton's record by .8 seconds."
"And the catching of the Snitch as been confirmed!" Lee bellowed into the megaphone. "Harry Potter has broken the record by POINT EIGHT seconds, beating a record held by Roderick Plumpton for the past eighty years!" Three fourths of the crowd (Ravenclaws included) exploded in wild cheers as hand after hand clapped Harry on the back.
"I'm going back to the dorm," Harry muttered to Ginny, pushing himself back through the crowd and towards the castle, managing to make it off the pitch and out of the stadium before the crowd could catch up with him.
"That was some catch there, Potter," Terence Higgs drawled from the shadows at the edge of the stadium.
"What do you want?" Harry snarled, turning on Higgs.
"I saw you catch that, just reached out in front of you. Smashing."
"What?"
"Come on, take a walk with me," Higgs started off, towards the castle.
---
¸..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ ·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:- tbc -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*
Chapter Forty-two
"Are you sure you're ready for this, Harry?" Katie asked Harry as the stood beneath the stands awaiting the start of the Gryffindor Ravenclaw match. Harry nodded resolutely. "I mean, I know that article must have struck a sore spot, but we need to stick to what's important, right?" Harry gave no sign that he had heard her. "You know, I wouldn't be making you do this, Harry, if we didn't need you. If we win this match we'll be in the play- offs against Slytherin. I don't know why we didn't pick up a reserve Seeker during try-outs, but---"
"And now, the best team in the school, sporting their traditional scarlet and gold . . . Gryffindor!" Lee's magnified voice broke in. "Here's Bell!"
"That's my cue," Katie said with a smile, taking off into the air.
"Johnson! Weasley! Weasley! Bettany! Donnalley! Aaand . . . Potter!" Each player took off as their name was called and took a lap round the stadium before they took their traditional place over the pitch.
"Okay!" Madam Hootch called up to the players. "You know the rules! You're good kids, I expect a nice clean match!"
"And there goes the Snitch!" Lee called. "The Quaffle is up and the players are off! Gryffindor's Ginny Weasley takes the Quaffle immediately and shoots towards the Ravenclaw goalposts! And she---what the hell! Did she drop the Quaffle?! No! Shite, that was the best Porskoff Ploy I've ever seen on this pitch! Tell me, where DID the girl learn it all?!"
Ginny didn't acknowledge Lee's prattle as she shot after Adrian Pucey.
"Wait! What's this?" Lee said, bowing his head to Professor McGonagall as she hissed in his ear.
Harry, meanwhile, sat calmly on his broomstick rolling the tiny Golden Snitch over his fingers, not ready to announce his catching of it just yet. The weather was too perfect to end the match just yet.
"It appears that that last goal did NOT count," Lee announced into the megaphone.
"What!?" Ginny shouted turning on Lee, a string of creative curse words escaping her mouth before she could stop them.
"Wow, now aren't you a fiery one, but let me explain WHY it does not count before you jump down my throat. It appears," Lee paused for dramatic effect. "That the Snitch has been caught."
"What?!" Cho exploded. "I didn't catch it!"
The entire stadium turned their heads up to Harry. He shrugged, palming the Snitch before anyone could see it.
"Harry?" Ginny said, flying up beside him as the rest of both teams flew down to where McGonagall, Hootch, and Lee were conversing. "Do you have it?"
Harry let the Snitch peek out from between his fingers.
"Why are you hiding it?"
He shrugged, rubbing his thumb over the engravings covering the golden ball.
"Come-on, Harry." Ginny tugged Harry's broom down and together they landed on the pitch beside their teammates. Ginny pushed her way to Madam Hootch and said: "He's got it."
"What? Well, well, well, Mister Potter, congratulations," Hootch said. "We've got a time on that ball and you managed to catch that ball in 2.7 seconds." The small crowd parted and allowed Harry to approach her. "I assume you know what that means?" The instructor was doing a poor job at controlling her pleasure.
"Yes, ma'am," Harry said softly. "I've beaten Roderick Plumpton's record by .8 seconds."
"And the catching of the Snitch as been confirmed!" Lee bellowed into the megaphone. "Harry Potter has broken the record by POINT EIGHT seconds, beating a record held by Roderick Plumpton for the past eighty years!" Three fourths of the crowd (Ravenclaws included) exploded in wild cheers as hand after hand clapped Harry on the back.
"I'm going back to the dorm," Harry muttered to Ginny, pushing himself back through the crowd and towards the castle, managing to make it off the pitch and out of the stadium before the crowd could catch up with him.
"That was some catch there, Potter," Terence Higgs drawled from the shadows at the edge of the stadium.
"What do you want?" Harry snarled, turning on Higgs.
"I saw you catch that, just reached out in front of you. Smashing."
"What?"
"Come on, take a walk with me," Higgs started off, towards the castle.
---
¸..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ ·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:- tbc -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*