Chapter 21
Game for the Cup
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Harry Potter. Oh, and I especially don't own the song, "Weasley is Our King".
Author's Note: Hey! So recap - Because Cho was finally out of the hospital wing, Harry started to spend A LOT of time with her and not with his friends. At one point, Ron, Hermione and Joy gave Harry a real heated argument that he was abandoning them. He thought 'they didn't understand' and wrote to Remus about it and asked for advice. The next day, he wanted to spend time with Cho but she wanted to be with her friends instead. Harry gets really mad, and then he gets a letter back from Remus telling him that friendship is more important than his teenage romance and he makes up with his friends. During the weekend, Joy, her sister and Dumbledore go to the Ministries of Magic meeting to talk about if they should have a monarchy, and their side is winning. OK, now on to the chapter! (By the way, put in your review if you like the recaps, because you're going to review, right?).
As the last month of the school year approached, students studied hard for their exams, prepared themselves to leave for the summer, and got ready for the big Quidditch game that would determine which team would win the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup. Both the Hufflepuff team and Gryffindor team were under a lot of pressure. Harry made his team practice countless times to prepare themselves, but it still wasn't enough for Harry. Every night he lied awake thinking about that final game. He kept on reviewing all their strategies in his head before he went to bed every night. Now he knew how Oliver Wood and Angelina Johnson had felt.
Their final practice was the evening before the game. Harry just had to have another practice before the match to reassure himself that they were ready.
Harry was worried sick over the Quidditch match the whole evening before the game, and he was anxious for the entire night too. His palms and face were pouring droplets and more droplets of sweat, as his heart beat raced, and all he could think about was that one game. He even fell asleep thinking about the next day. We have to win this, he thought to himself over and over again. We just have to win.
Harry woke up all sweaty and shaken in the morning. He got dressed quickly, still reviewing Quidditch strategies, and after, he walked down into the common room where many Gryffindors cheered when he entered the room. Despite that, he still didn't feel well, and he headed to the Great Hall. There, he saw his friends who waved at him to sit near them. As he sat down, they all greeted him warmly.
"Hello, Harry!" greeted Hermione warmly.
"Hi, Harry!" said Joy with her famous smile.
"Hey, Captain!" said Ron. "Ready for the big game?"
"I don't know," sighed Harry. He was so tense that he wasn't sure that he'd be ready.
"Don't worry," said Joy. "Quidditch is just a game. The main idea is to have fun, right?"
"Maybe," murmured Ron.
"Ron!" scolded Joy.
"Fine. Harry, it's just a game. There's nothing to be worried about."
"Yes, there is!" stated Harry angrily. "You have no idea what pressure I'm under because I'm captain! Everyone in Gryffindor is counting on me!"
"They're not just counting on you!" said Hermione. "They're counting on the whole team."
"But I'm the team's leader!" implied Harry. "If someone screws up, I feel like I screwed up!"
"Don't give yourself such a hard time," said Joy. "Eat something, it'll make you feel better."
"I don't feel like eating," he said.
"Harry, you have to eat!" said Hermione.
"I'm not hungry."
"If you don't eat, I'm going to stuff food down your throat!" scolded Ron.
"You sound like my Grandma," commented Joy.
"Fine," said Harry, giving up. "I'll eat some bacon and toast, all right?"
Harry put some bacon and toast on his plate and filled his cup with pumpkin juice. He ate his breakfast slowly; his breakfast had never been more hard to gulp down. Nonetheless, he ate it anyway, and Joy gave him a pat on the back as if saying, 'Good job'.
The afternoon they'd play the game approached very slowly. It was as if time had suddenly slowed down. When it was finally afternoon, Harry, in nerves, stumbled to the changing room where the Gryffindor team members changed into their Quidditch robes and got their brooms ready. Harry looked closely at his Stella Velocita 29 and examined every inch of it to make sure it would fly smoothly. He cleaned it once again with the broom kit Glory had given him.
"Bring me luck," he said to the broom (oddly).
Soon enough, it was time for them to go onto the pitch. They all mounted on their brooms and put themselves in order. When their team was called, they flew into the field with the roaring fans cheering them on. They took their places as the Hufflepuff team was called into the field. Dots of yellow flew into the field and came closer to them until they were recognized as the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Everyone went into place and got ready to start the game.
"Hello, students and staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" called out Lee Jordan. "This is the final game of the season, which determines who wins the victorious Hogwarts Quidditch Cup. Boy, would I not want to be in the captains' places right now! Their hearts must be racing like mad, and their palms all sweaty-"
"JORDAN!" shouted Professor McGonagoll.
"Sorry, Professor. I just wanted to let the crowd in on the perspective of the team players right now. To continue..."
Harry absolutely hated what Lee Jordan had said, but it was true. His heart was racing like mad and his palms were completely sweaty that they started to slip off the broom. He tried to put more grip onto his broom so he wouldn't slip.
"Right next to me is the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup," said Lee Jordan, pointing to the glowing trophy beside him. "This will be won by the team who wins the game. Good luck to you all!"
Madame Hooche brought the Quidditch chest into the field.
"Everyone better follow the rules with no cheating," said Madame Hooche, as she
opened the chest. "This will be your last chance at Quidditch this year, all right? On your marks... get set... go!"
The Quaffle, Bludgers and Golden Snitch were released into enthusiasm-filled air. The Golden Snitch vanished quickly into the open blue, while the Bludgers flew rapidly around the field as Ginny tried knocking them away from the Gryffindor players.
"Gryffindor Chaser Seamus Finnigan has the Quaffle! He passes it to Dean Thomas- who passes it to Danielle Ringum! She shoots - she scores! Gryffindor 10, Hufflepuff 0!"
Hails of Gryffindor supporters were ringing in the players' ears. The Hufflepuff Keeper, Justin Finch-Fletchley, grabbed the Quaffle that had went through the left hoop and threw it to a Chaser on his team.
"Hufflepuff Keeper Justin Finch-Fletchley has given the Quaffle to Hufflepuff Chaser Linda Winny. She's flying with it - she passes it to Chaser Laura Wong - she passes it to Chaser Jake McLake and shoots- Oh, and Gryffindor Keeper Ron Weasley catches it! You know, Ron's brothers, Fred and George Weasley, are the legendary pranksters of the school who became famous last year when-"
"JORDAN, YOU BETTER NOT GET OFF TOPIC!!!!" shouted Professor McGonagoll.
"Sorry, Professor McGonagoll! And now back to the game. Ron Weasley shoots it to Danielle Ringum who - a Bludger is coming her way and - is saved, Her Royal Highness Princess Joy has hit it away, saving Danielle. Danielle passes it to Seamus -who passes it to Dean Thomas - he's flying to the Hufflepuff hoops - he passes it back to Seamus - he shoots, and Finch-Fletchley catches it!"
Harry was trying to look for the Snitch with Susan Bones, the Hufflepuff Seeker, not far away. He tried to fly slowly above the field to find it. The Hufflepuff Keeper, Justin Finch-Fletchley, had passed the Quaffle to the Chaser Jake McLake who was flying away with it.
"McLake has the Quaffle now - he passes it quickly to Winny - throws it to Wong - she's really flying that thing to Ron Weasley's hoops - she shoots hard - Ron saves it by hitting it with the end of his broom - my goodness! The Quaffle was hit so hard that it's
going across the field - near the Hufflepuff hoops and - score! Ron Weasley has saved the Quaffle and has scored! 20 to 0 for Gryffindor!"
More applause came from the crowds, as the spectators sang out loud Ron's famous song:
'Weasley can save anything,
He never leaves a single ring,
That's why Gryffindors all sing:
Weasley is our King!'
Harry could see Ron smiling and waving at the crowd, his cheeks a darker shade of red than his hair. It was 30 points for Gryffindor and 50 points for Hufflepuff after that Harry spotted the Snitch to his left and sped towards it. He followed it as quickly as he could, but then Susan Bones was on his tail and started to follow Harry.
"The Seekers have found the Snitch and are speeding towards it - Harry Potter
is in the lead - Susan Bones is getting closer - now they're neck-at-neck!"
Susan Bones was very close to Harry and he tried to speed off as fast as he could
away from her. He looked down at the small digital screen on his broom; there was a button on it that read 'SPEED'. Still watching the Snitch and making sure Bones didn't fly off (which was very hard), he pushed the button and on the screen reading,
ACCELERATE SPEED'. In relief and joy, he clicked on the icon which gave the broom a burst of speed that passed Bones by and made Harry closer to the Snitch.
"Harry has accelerated his speed on his wonderful Stella Velocita 29 which made him pass Bones. The Stella Velocita 29 is a very modern broom from Italy, where our wonderful Princess is from. In fact, she has a Stella Velocita 32, which is the latest model-"
"JORDAN!!"
"Sorry once again, Professor McGonagoll. They're just such magnificent brooms it's hard not to talk about them. Anyway - a Bludger is coming closer to Harry - and - Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister has hit it away from the famous Seeker! Harry is now extremely close to the Snitch - he's closer - and closer - his arm is stretched out - it's getting closer - and he captures it! The game has ended! Gryffindor Seeker Harry Potter has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor 200, Hufflepuff 50! Gryffindor wins the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup!"
As Harry grasped the tiny, golden ball, he couldn't realize what had happened. They had succeeded! Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup! He was a great Seeker and Captain after all! He flew down with his team to the ground, where Madame Hooche had brought down the Cup to them. The Gryffindor team members jumped off their brooms and onto the pitch, running to where the trophy was. Ron, who got there first, grabbed it and held it up victoriously. The team huddled around him and Harry patted Ron on his shoulder. Ron turned to Harry with a smile.
"I don't deserve to hold it up," said Ron. "You deserve it!"
Ron handed it over to Harry, who clutched it dearly. He looked at all the labels on it, with Charlie Weasley's name on it the year his team won, Oliver Wood's name, Angelina Johnson's name, and on the last label at the bottom of the Cup suddenly appeared, GRYFFINDOR, CAPTAIN: HARRY POTTER, 1997. He smiled at the trophy which represented his victorious win. He kissed the label and held it up high in the air, cheering with the rest of the crowd.
"And you thought you'd let everyone down," whispered Joy to Harry with a smile and a wink.
The Gryffindor team went into the changing room to take off their Quidditch robes and hurried to the Gryffindor common room, proudly carrying the trophy as they were welcomed with warming cheers and hugs. Colin Creevey and his brother immediately asked Harry for some photos, and feeling absolutely wonderful and cheerful about the occasion, he agreed to it.
After he had gotten his sight back from the flashes, he walked (more like stumbled) over to Joy, Hermione and Ron who were so happy about the Cup.
"We won, Harry!" shouted Ron, as he smiled at the Gryffindors singing, 'Weasley is our King'. "We won! I won last time but... I won again! My goodness, look at this trophy!"
Ron clutched the trophy that was beside him and looked at all the labels.
"There's Angelina Johnson from last year. There's Oliver Wood. Hey, there's my brother Charlie! Harry, look here! There's your dad."
"What?" questioned Harry, as he grabbed the trophy from Ron.
He looked at where Ron was pointing to. He could see his father's name shining on the label. Knowing that his father had succeeded at doing what he had accomplished, he felt a sudden warmth inside, that he was complete. He was truly proud at his magnificent win, more than any of his successful games at Hogwarts.
Author's Note: Next chapter's the chapter when they find out about everything! It's the final chamber with Quirrel/confronting Tom Riddle/meeting Sirius Black/going to the Ministry of Magic moment!!!! STAY TUNED!!!!!! Oh, and PLEASE REVIEW!!! PLEEEAAASSSEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Game for the Cup
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Harry Potter. Oh, and I especially don't own the song, "Weasley is Our King".
Author's Note: Hey! So recap - Because Cho was finally out of the hospital wing, Harry started to spend A LOT of time with her and not with his friends. At one point, Ron, Hermione and Joy gave Harry a real heated argument that he was abandoning them. He thought 'they didn't understand' and wrote to Remus about it and asked for advice. The next day, he wanted to spend time with Cho but she wanted to be with her friends instead. Harry gets really mad, and then he gets a letter back from Remus telling him that friendship is more important than his teenage romance and he makes up with his friends. During the weekend, Joy, her sister and Dumbledore go to the Ministries of Magic meeting to talk about if they should have a monarchy, and their side is winning. OK, now on to the chapter! (By the way, put in your review if you like the recaps, because you're going to review, right?).
As the last month of the school year approached, students studied hard for their exams, prepared themselves to leave for the summer, and got ready for the big Quidditch game that would determine which team would win the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup. Both the Hufflepuff team and Gryffindor team were under a lot of pressure. Harry made his team practice countless times to prepare themselves, but it still wasn't enough for Harry. Every night he lied awake thinking about that final game. He kept on reviewing all their strategies in his head before he went to bed every night. Now he knew how Oliver Wood and Angelina Johnson had felt.
Their final practice was the evening before the game. Harry just had to have another practice before the match to reassure himself that they were ready.
Harry was worried sick over the Quidditch match the whole evening before the game, and he was anxious for the entire night too. His palms and face were pouring droplets and more droplets of sweat, as his heart beat raced, and all he could think about was that one game. He even fell asleep thinking about the next day. We have to win this, he thought to himself over and over again. We just have to win.
Harry woke up all sweaty and shaken in the morning. He got dressed quickly, still reviewing Quidditch strategies, and after, he walked down into the common room where many Gryffindors cheered when he entered the room. Despite that, he still didn't feel well, and he headed to the Great Hall. There, he saw his friends who waved at him to sit near them. As he sat down, they all greeted him warmly.
"Hello, Harry!" greeted Hermione warmly.
"Hi, Harry!" said Joy with her famous smile.
"Hey, Captain!" said Ron. "Ready for the big game?"
"I don't know," sighed Harry. He was so tense that he wasn't sure that he'd be ready.
"Don't worry," said Joy. "Quidditch is just a game. The main idea is to have fun, right?"
"Maybe," murmured Ron.
"Ron!" scolded Joy.
"Fine. Harry, it's just a game. There's nothing to be worried about."
"Yes, there is!" stated Harry angrily. "You have no idea what pressure I'm under because I'm captain! Everyone in Gryffindor is counting on me!"
"They're not just counting on you!" said Hermione. "They're counting on the whole team."
"But I'm the team's leader!" implied Harry. "If someone screws up, I feel like I screwed up!"
"Don't give yourself such a hard time," said Joy. "Eat something, it'll make you feel better."
"I don't feel like eating," he said.
"Harry, you have to eat!" said Hermione.
"I'm not hungry."
"If you don't eat, I'm going to stuff food down your throat!" scolded Ron.
"You sound like my Grandma," commented Joy.
"Fine," said Harry, giving up. "I'll eat some bacon and toast, all right?"
Harry put some bacon and toast on his plate and filled his cup with pumpkin juice. He ate his breakfast slowly; his breakfast had never been more hard to gulp down. Nonetheless, he ate it anyway, and Joy gave him a pat on the back as if saying, 'Good job'.
The afternoon they'd play the game approached very slowly. It was as if time had suddenly slowed down. When it was finally afternoon, Harry, in nerves, stumbled to the changing room where the Gryffindor team members changed into their Quidditch robes and got their brooms ready. Harry looked closely at his Stella Velocita 29 and examined every inch of it to make sure it would fly smoothly. He cleaned it once again with the broom kit Glory had given him.
"Bring me luck," he said to the broom (oddly).
Soon enough, it was time for them to go onto the pitch. They all mounted on their brooms and put themselves in order. When their team was called, they flew into the field with the roaring fans cheering them on. They took their places as the Hufflepuff team was called into the field. Dots of yellow flew into the field and came closer to them until they were recognized as the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Everyone went into place and got ready to start the game.
"Hello, students and staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" called out Lee Jordan. "This is the final game of the season, which determines who wins the victorious Hogwarts Quidditch Cup. Boy, would I not want to be in the captains' places right now! Their hearts must be racing like mad, and their palms all sweaty-"
"JORDAN!" shouted Professor McGonagoll.
"Sorry, Professor. I just wanted to let the crowd in on the perspective of the team players right now. To continue..."
Harry absolutely hated what Lee Jordan had said, but it was true. His heart was racing like mad and his palms were completely sweaty that they started to slip off the broom. He tried to put more grip onto his broom so he wouldn't slip.
"Right next to me is the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup," said Lee Jordan, pointing to the glowing trophy beside him. "This will be won by the team who wins the game. Good luck to you all!"
Madame Hooche brought the Quidditch chest into the field.
"Everyone better follow the rules with no cheating," said Madame Hooche, as she
opened the chest. "This will be your last chance at Quidditch this year, all right? On your marks... get set... go!"
The Quaffle, Bludgers and Golden Snitch were released into enthusiasm-filled air. The Golden Snitch vanished quickly into the open blue, while the Bludgers flew rapidly around the field as Ginny tried knocking them away from the Gryffindor players.
"Gryffindor Chaser Seamus Finnigan has the Quaffle! He passes it to Dean Thomas- who passes it to Danielle Ringum! She shoots - she scores! Gryffindor 10, Hufflepuff 0!"
Hails of Gryffindor supporters were ringing in the players' ears. The Hufflepuff Keeper, Justin Finch-Fletchley, grabbed the Quaffle that had went through the left hoop and threw it to a Chaser on his team.
"Hufflepuff Keeper Justin Finch-Fletchley has given the Quaffle to Hufflepuff Chaser Linda Winny. She's flying with it - she passes it to Chaser Laura Wong - she passes it to Chaser Jake McLake and shoots- Oh, and Gryffindor Keeper Ron Weasley catches it! You know, Ron's brothers, Fred and George Weasley, are the legendary pranksters of the school who became famous last year when-"
"JORDAN, YOU BETTER NOT GET OFF TOPIC!!!!" shouted Professor McGonagoll.
"Sorry, Professor McGonagoll! And now back to the game. Ron Weasley shoots it to Danielle Ringum who - a Bludger is coming her way and - is saved, Her Royal Highness Princess Joy has hit it away, saving Danielle. Danielle passes it to Seamus -who passes it to Dean Thomas - he's flying to the Hufflepuff hoops - he passes it back to Seamus - he shoots, and Finch-Fletchley catches it!"
Harry was trying to look for the Snitch with Susan Bones, the Hufflepuff Seeker, not far away. He tried to fly slowly above the field to find it. The Hufflepuff Keeper, Justin Finch-Fletchley, had passed the Quaffle to the Chaser Jake McLake who was flying away with it.
"McLake has the Quaffle now - he passes it quickly to Winny - throws it to Wong - she's really flying that thing to Ron Weasley's hoops - she shoots hard - Ron saves it by hitting it with the end of his broom - my goodness! The Quaffle was hit so hard that it's
going across the field - near the Hufflepuff hoops and - score! Ron Weasley has saved the Quaffle and has scored! 20 to 0 for Gryffindor!"
More applause came from the crowds, as the spectators sang out loud Ron's famous song:
'Weasley can save anything,
He never leaves a single ring,
That's why Gryffindors all sing:
Weasley is our King!'
Harry could see Ron smiling and waving at the crowd, his cheeks a darker shade of red than his hair. It was 30 points for Gryffindor and 50 points for Hufflepuff after that Harry spotted the Snitch to his left and sped towards it. He followed it as quickly as he could, but then Susan Bones was on his tail and started to follow Harry.
"The Seekers have found the Snitch and are speeding towards it - Harry Potter
is in the lead - Susan Bones is getting closer - now they're neck-at-neck!"
Susan Bones was very close to Harry and he tried to speed off as fast as he could
away from her. He looked down at the small digital screen on his broom; there was a button on it that read 'SPEED'. Still watching the Snitch and making sure Bones didn't fly off (which was very hard), he pushed the button and on the screen reading,
ACCELERATE SPEED'. In relief and joy, he clicked on the icon which gave the broom a burst of speed that passed Bones by and made Harry closer to the Snitch.
"Harry has accelerated his speed on his wonderful Stella Velocita 29 which made him pass Bones. The Stella Velocita 29 is a very modern broom from Italy, where our wonderful Princess is from. In fact, she has a Stella Velocita 32, which is the latest model-"
"JORDAN!!"
"Sorry once again, Professor McGonagoll. They're just such magnificent brooms it's hard not to talk about them. Anyway - a Bludger is coming closer to Harry - and - Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister has hit it away from the famous Seeker! Harry is now extremely close to the Snitch - he's closer - and closer - his arm is stretched out - it's getting closer - and he captures it! The game has ended! Gryffindor Seeker Harry Potter has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor 200, Hufflepuff 50! Gryffindor wins the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup!"
As Harry grasped the tiny, golden ball, he couldn't realize what had happened. They had succeeded! Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup! He was a great Seeker and Captain after all! He flew down with his team to the ground, where Madame Hooche had brought down the Cup to them. The Gryffindor team members jumped off their brooms and onto the pitch, running to where the trophy was. Ron, who got there first, grabbed it and held it up victoriously. The team huddled around him and Harry patted Ron on his shoulder. Ron turned to Harry with a smile.
"I don't deserve to hold it up," said Ron. "You deserve it!"
Ron handed it over to Harry, who clutched it dearly. He looked at all the labels on it, with Charlie Weasley's name on it the year his team won, Oliver Wood's name, Angelina Johnson's name, and on the last label at the bottom of the Cup suddenly appeared, GRYFFINDOR, CAPTAIN: HARRY POTTER, 1997. He smiled at the trophy which represented his victorious win. He kissed the label and held it up high in the air, cheering with the rest of the crowd.
"And you thought you'd let everyone down," whispered Joy to Harry with a smile and a wink.
The Gryffindor team went into the changing room to take off their Quidditch robes and hurried to the Gryffindor common room, proudly carrying the trophy as they were welcomed with warming cheers and hugs. Colin Creevey and his brother immediately asked Harry for some photos, and feeling absolutely wonderful and cheerful about the occasion, he agreed to it.
After he had gotten his sight back from the flashes, he walked (more like stumbled) over to Joy, Hermione and Ron who were so happy about the Cup.
"We won, Harry!" shouted Ron, as he smiled at the Gryffindors singing, 'Weasley is our King'. "We won! I won last time but... I won again! My goodness, look at this trophy!"
Ron clutched the trophy that was beside him and looked at all the labels.
"There's Angelina Johnson from last year. There's Oliver Wood. Hey, there's my brother Charlie! Harry, look here! There's your dad."
"What?" questioned Harry, as he grabbed the trophy from Ron.
He looked at where Ron was pointing to. He could see his father's name shining on the label. Knowing that his father had succeeded at doing what he had accomplished, he felt a sudden warmth inside, that he was complete. He was truly proud at his magnificent win, more than any of his successful games at Hogwarts.
Author's Note: Next chapter's the chapter when they find out about everything! It's the final chamber with Quirrel/confronting Tom Riddle/meeting Sirius Black/going to the Ministry of Magic moment!!!! STAY TUNED!!!!!! Oh, and PLEASE REVIEW!!! PLEEEAAASSSEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!