Note: Sorry that I took so long to write back, exams are starting in 12
days and I've been busy. I'll try to find time to write more but most
probably I'll stop until mid October. More reviews please!!!
Over the next few weeks as the other teams battled out to qualify for the tournament, the atmosphere became increasingly tense as the students wondered which teams were going to qualify for the tournament. Minor scuffles broke out between students who argued incessantly over who would win it. Madam Pomfrey was not happy at all. 'Hexing each other over a small bet, how much more ridiculous can they get?' she said in a frustrated tone as she cured a Ravenclaw third year and a Slytherin fifth year who had scales on their faces.
Harry was enjoying the highly charged atmosphere too. Gryffindor were in first place with nine points from three games. Slytherin were second with six points. Ravenclaw were tied with Hufflepuff with three points. The Hufflepuff students were pretty dejected as their house had never won any major honours. Their last game was against Ravenclaw whereas Gryffindor were against Slytherin. If Gryffindor won the game, they would automatically win the preliminary stage.
Another Saturday dawned with a dazzling brilliance as the sun shone bright and illuminated everything with its golden rays. Both Quidditch matches were to be played that day. Ravenclaw played Hufflepuff at Eleven O'clock while Gryffindor played Slytherin at Three O'clock. The first match was a real thriller as Hufflepuff pulled off a surprising win over Ravenclaw. The score was Hufflepuff - 280, Ravenclaw - 120. Now it was Gryffindor's turn.
The Gryffindor team geared up for the match as if it was the finals of the tournament. Alicia and the Slytherin captain, Darren Finch, shook hands although it didn't look like it and mounted their respective brooms. Madam Hooch then blew the whistle and all fourteen brooms rose into the air. Another whistle and the game began. David and Maria hit the bludgers with all their might at the Slytherin players, who had to dodge away fast so as to avoid a collision. Harry scanned the pitch for the Snitch but he wasn't alone. Malfoy came from behind and tried to knock him off his broom. Madam Hooch immediately awarded a penalty which Ginny took. She steadied herself and then rounded the keeper before scoring. The stands went wild as Ginny did a lap of honour. Then the game began in earnest. The Slytherins tried to score three times but Ron, who had improved tremendously over the summer, denied them from doing so. Very soon, the score was eighty to nothing. Harry was still trying to look for the snitch. As Gryffindor scored seven more times, Harry saw the Snitch at the left side of the Slytherin's goalpost. He dived for it, nearing the post, when suddenly, Malfoy swooped beneath him and grabbed it. The Slytherins cheered and went wild. However, their celebrations died down when they realised that the score was tied at 150 a piece. Madam Hooch consulted the Quidditch Guidelines and announced that the only way that the match could be settled was through a penalty shoot-out. It went underway and Ron made two spectacular saves. Slytherin had 3 points. Now was Gryffindor's turn. The three chasers took their turns and scored. Then it was Ginny's turn, she tried to round the keeper but in her excitement she missed. Now it was all on Alicia's shoulders. She deliberated for a few seconds and then, with a lightning move, rounded the dazed keeper and scored. The stands erupted with maddened cheering as the Gryffindor team were mobbed by their house mates. Alicia was mobbed by everyone as Darren Davidson happily announced that Gryffindor were the winners of the match and the preliminary stage. The three teams that went through were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. The Ravenclaw students were upset about their surprise defeat earlier that some had burst into tears. Although she had missed the penalty, Ginny did not dwell on it and celebrated with the rest of them. As Harry celebrated, he looked at the Slytherin team and to his utter shock, he saw Cho Chang kissing Malfoy. She then looked his way and laughed. Harry felt the anger rise inside of him but he held it back, knowing that it was not worth losing his temper over something so trivial. He then forced himself to accompany the rest of the team to the changing room and resisted the urge to punch Malfoy like he did the year before. Harry was still brooding after a shower but had made up his mind not to confront Cho over the incident. She liked him once, but not anymore. He knew that and so he decided to let it go.
Back in the common room, both Ron and Alicia got the most praise. Although Harry had missed the Snitch by inches, all of them told him that it didn't matter and that he didn't need to worry about it. It was the second time that he had missed the snitch. The first was when he fell off his broom in his third year. He shuddered at the memory and wondered where the Dementors were now. 'No doubt serving Voldemort', he angrily muttered under his breath. He took his mind off things and just enjoyed himself. Hermione came over to congratulate both Harry and Ron on a job well done. Ron's ears went red as he basked in the limelight. Harry was happy for him as Ron was the centre of attraction instead of him and Harry didn't mind it one bit.
The party lasted till the wee hours of the morning and everyone was dead tired and slumped straight into bed after changing. Harry drifted off into a deep sleep. He was walking down the same corridor, only now there was no room at the end of it, only a long passageway. He walked along the passageway, which was lit with the same eerie blue light. As he turned a corner, he heard voices. They seemed to be chanting in a foreign tongue that Harry could not comprehend. As he skulked closer toward the end of the passage, he became aware of a crunching noise behind him. Slowly, he turned and came face to face with a Basilisk. Before he could do anything, the snake swallowed him whole. It was then that Harry woke up. He was shivering and his scar was burning. Thankfully he had not aroused anybody and was glad that he had not yelped out in pain. Things were getting even more disturbing. He hoped that he could start his Occlumency classes soon enough even if it meant letting Snape into his thoughts. He decided to shelve his pride and go see Snape in the morning.
Over the next few weeks as the other teams battled out to qualify for the tournament, the atmosphere became increasingly tense as the students wondered which teams were going to qualify for the tournament. Minor scuffles broke out between students who argued incessantly over who would win it. Madam Pomfrey was not happy at all. 'Hexing each other over a small bet, how much more ridiculous can they get?' she said in a frustrated tone as she cured a Ravenclaw third year and a Slytherin fifth year who had scales on their faces.
Harry was enjoying the highly charged atmosphere too. Gryffindor were in first place with nine points from three games. Slytherin were second with six points. Ravenclaw were tied with Hufflepuff with three points. The Hufflepuff students were pretty dejected as their house had never won any major honours. Their last game was against Ravenclaw whereas Gryffindor were against Slytherin. If Gryffindor won the game, they would automatically win the preliminary stage.
Another Saturday dawned with a dazzling brilliance as the sun shone bright and illuminated everything with its golden rays. Both Quidditch matches were to be played that day. Ravenclaw played Hufflepuff at Eleven O'clock while Gryffindor played Slytherin at Three O'clock. The first match was a real thriller as Hufflepuff pulled off a surprising win over Ravenclaw. The score was Hufflepuff - 280, Ravenclaw - 120. Now it was Gryffindor's turn.
The Gryffindor team geared up for the match as if it was the finals of the tournament. Alicia and the Slytherin captain, Darren Finch, shook hands although it didn't look like it and mounted their respective brooms. Madam Hooch then blew the whistle and all fourteen brooms rose into the air. Another whistle and the game began. David and Maria hit the bludgers with all their might at the Slytherin players, who had to dodge away fast so as to avoid a collision. Harry scanned the pitch for the Snitch but he wasn't alone. Malfoy came from behind and tried to knock him off his broom. Madam Hooch immediately awarded a penalty which Ginny took. She steadied herself and then rounded the keeper before scoring. The stands went wild as Ginny did a lap of honour. Then the game began in earnest. The Slytherins tried to score three times but Ron, who had improved tremendously over the summer, denied them from doing so. Very soon, the score was eighty to nothing. Harry was still trying to look for the snitch. As Gryffindor scored seven more times, Harry saw the Snitch at the left side of the Slytherin's goalpost. He dived for it, nearing the post, when suddenly, Malfoy swooped beneath him and grabbed it. The Slytherins cheered and went wild. However, their celebrations died down when they realised that the score was tied at 150 a piece. Madam Hooch consulted the Quidditch Guidelines and announced that the only way that the match could be settled was through a penalty shoot-out. It went underway and Ron made two spectacular saves. Slytherin had 3 points. Now was Gryffindor's turn. The three chasers took their turns and scored. Then it was Ginny's turn, she tried to round the keeper but in her excitement she missed. Now it was all on Alicia's shoulders. She deliberated for a few seconds and then, with a lightning move, rounded the dazed keeper and scored. The stands erupted with maddened cheering as the Gryffindor team were mobbed by their house mates. Alicia was mobbed by everyone as Darren Davidson happily announced that Gryffindor were the winners of the match and the preliminary stage. The three teams that went through were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. The Ravenclaw students were upset about their surprise defeat earlier that some had burst into tears. Although she had missed the penalty, Ginny did not dwell on it and celebrated with the rest of them. As Harry celebrated, he looked at the Slytherin team and to his utter shock, he saw Cho Chang kissing Malfoy. She then looked his way and laughed. Harry felt the anger rise inside of him but he held it back, knowing that it was not worth losing his temper over something so trivial. He then forced himself to accompany the rest of the team to the changing room and resisted the urge to punch Malfoy like he did the year before. Harry was still brooding after a shower but had made up his mind not to confront Cho over the incident. She liked him once, but not anymore. He knew that and so he decided to let it go.
Back in the common room, both Ron and Alicia got the most praise. Although Harry had missed the Snitch by inches, all of them told him that it didn't matter and that he didn't need to worry about it. It was the second time that he had missed the snitch. The first was when he fell off his broom in his third year. He shuddered at the memory and wondered where the Dementors were now. 'No doubt serving Voldemort', he angrily muttered under his breath. He took his mind off things and just enjoyed himself. Hermione came over to congratulate both Harry and Ron on a job well done. Ron's ears went red as he basked in the limelight. Harry was happy for him as Ron was the centre of attraction instead of him and Harry didn't mind it one bit.
The party lasted till the wee hours of the morning and everyone was dead tired and slumped straight into bed after changing. Harry drifted off into a deep sleep. He was walking down the same corridor, only now there was no room at the end of it, only a long passageway. He walked along the passageway, which was lit with the same eerie blue light. As he turned a corner, he heard voices. They seemed to be chanting in a foreign tongue that Harry could not comprehend. As he skulked closer toward the end of the passage, he became aware of a crunching noise behind him. Slowly, he turned and came face to face with a Basilisk. Before he could do anything, the snake swallowed him whole. It was then that Harry woke up. He was shivering and his scar was burning. Thankfully he had not aroused anybody and was glad that he had not yelped out in pain. Things were getting even more disturbing. He hoped that he could start his Occlumency classes soon enough even if it meant letting Snape into his thoughts. He decided to shelve his pride and go see Snape in the morning.