Harry's insides tightened. The match was approaching. He would be playing Slytherin in less than five minutes.
Instead of lecturing the Gryffindor team like Wood used to do, Harry sat alone in the corner of the locker room. Even though the weather was clear and
nothing had gone wrong all day something just didn't feel right. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach.
Probably just nerves, Harry told himself. It was his first game as captain.
No wonder he felt so strange. Harry looked up at the clock.
It was time.
"Okay team line up," Harry said, trying his best to sound confident.
The Gryffindor Quidditch team obeyed. Harry stood in front, next to Dean. The doors opened and they all mounted their brooms. One by one, they
all kicked off into the air. Harry flew around the field, trying to let off some of his feelings. He spotted Ron and Hermione in the stands and
waved to them.
"He's nervous," said Hermione watching Harry closely.
"What are you talking about?" said Ron waving back, "He looks fine."
Both teams got into position on the field as Madam Hooch carried out the box that contained the Quaffle, Bludgers, and the Snitch.
"Ready to lose Potter?" Malfoy called from across the field.
"Only if you being declared captain makes you able to catch the Snitch," Harry called back. Malfoy grimaced.
Suddenly there was the sound of a whistle being blown. The game had begun. And so had Lee Jordan's commentary.
"The Quaffle is taken immediately by Katie Bell-Gryffindor Chaser, and she is heading towards the Slytherin goal posts! Come on! Oh no!"
Katie had just near missed being hit in the face by a Bludger that one of the Slytherin Beaters had hit at her. The Slytherins took the chance
to grab the Quaffle at once.
"Warrington of Slytherin in possession of the Quaffle. Oh good here comes a Bludger---oh man, just missed him! And now Warrington is heading
down the field, somebody block him! Here comes Harry with his firebolt."
As Harry attempted to block Warrington, another one of the Slytherin Chasers rammed into Harry, almost knocking Harry off his broom and
making a clear shot for Slytherin to score. But Dean arrived at the goal posts just in time to stop the Quaffle from going through.
"What a dive from Dean Thomas! An excellent addition to the Gryffindor team!" Lee continued, "Gryffindor in possession again. Alicia Spinnet
heading down the field, dodges a Bludger, which is taken care of by George Weasley. Okay! Gryffindor heading towards the Slytherin goal
posts! Come on Alicia! Oh watch out for Bole and Derrick!"
The Slytherin Beaters were zooming towards Alicia, clubs raised.
Harry sped towards them and they scattered away, leaving the goal posts unblocked.
"GOAL! ALICIA SCORES! TEN-ZERO GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindors cheered. Harry was finally starting to relax. He even did a couple loop-the-loops.
"See Hermione, Harry isn't nervous. Look at him. He's got this captain thing down. Honestly, I don't know why you worry so much," said Ron down
in the stands.
Hermione smiled weakly but still looked up at Harry in concern.
"Slytherin with the Quaffle now. Montague heads down the field, dodging Bludgers and Beaters left and right---too bad none of 'em hit him.
Ooops! Sorry Professor!"
McGonagall finally seemed that it was time to step in on Lee's commentary.
"Jordan, how many times do I have to remind you not to take sides?" she said angrily.
"Sorry Professor, it's just----NO!"
Lee continued to shout. Bole had whacked a Bludger at Dean, which hit him in the head. Dean was now trying his best to not keel over and slide off his
broom. Montague had scored without Dean noticing and there was loud cheering coming from the Slytherin stands.
"Penalty! Penalty!" Lee was shouting. Fred Weasley, however, chose this time to whack a Bludger at Bole, which hit him in the stomach and made
him roll over on his broom. He only managed to stay on.
"HA! THAT'LL SHOW THAT SLYTHERIN SLIME---"
"Jordan!"
"Sorry again! Won't happen again, I promise! Alright back to the match!"
Harry had flown down to check on Dean, who now seemed to remember where he was, but was now searching for the Snitch again. Malfoy was
just sitting on his broom, hovering in the air with a smug look on his face.
He apparently was waiting for Harry to spot the Snitch first.
Harry dived all of a sudden, pretending like he had seen the Snitch.
Malfoy's face had turned from smug to scared and startled looking. He dove after Harry, but was no way near as fast. Harry pulled out of the
dive and turned around to face Malfoy.
"Scared you didn't I Malfoy?" said Harry in an amused voice.
"Just you wait Potter. This game isn't going to end the way you expect it to," said Malfoy. Harry didn't have time to reply.
"KATIE IS TEARING DOWN THE FIELD! WEASLEY TWINS AT HER SIDE! OUT OF THE WAY SLYTHERINS!" Lee was shouting into the
megaphone.
Harry and Malfoy both tore towards Katie. Malfoy joined the rest of the Slytherin team in an attempt to block Katie while Harry joined up with Fred
and George to help defend Katie from the Slytherins.
"Where'd you go Harry?" George asked as he belted a Bludger towards Malfoy. "We need our captain to lead us you know."
"Yeah, sorry about that," said Harry, "I got a little distracted."
"Harry, we're going to need you to get rid of the Slytherins, they're all blocking Katie," said Fred.
"I'm on it," said Harry. Harry leaned on his broom and shot at the Slytherins. All of them scattered away except for the Slytherin Keeper, who seemed
intent on keeping Katie from scoring.
"OUT OF THE WAY! OUT OF THE WAY!" Lee was bellowing at the Slytherin Keeper. "SOMEBODY KNOCK HIM OUT OF THERE!"
Fred and George flew straight at the Slytherin Keeper, waving their clubs like maniacs. Catching sight of them, the Keeper took off.
"THE KEEPER RUNS OFF! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"
Cheers erupted from the Gryffindors, boos from the Slytherins.
"Twenty-Ten to Gryffindor. Slytherin in possession. Here comes Mottley with the Quaffle, quick pass to Warrington, then to Montague,
back to Mottley. Mottley dodges a Bludger, a Firebolt, a Weasley, oh no, he's gonna score----AH HA! INTERCEPTED BY ANGELINA JOHNSON!
WAY TO GO!"
Harry cheered with the rest of the Gryffindors, but was searching the field anxiously.
There hadn't been any sign of the Snitch ever since the match had begun. Where was it? As Angelina scored another ten points for Gryffindor, Harry hovered over the field, his eyes darting here and there for the silver wings. At last he spotted it.
From one hundred feet in the air, he saw it, buzzing about fifty feet below him.
With a great burst of speed, Harry dove towards the Snitch. He didn't know if Malfoy was following him or not, nor did he care. He was already about
thirty feet ahead. But as Harry got closer to the ground, he saw something run across the field.
Something that looked like a rat.
"Scabbers?" Harry whispered.
Harry all of a sudden let go of his broom and clutched his forehead in pain. His scar was burning. Right in the middle of a Quidditch match. The
Firebolt was still accelerating towards the ground at an unbelievable speed and Harry couldn't stop it. He felt like his head was about to burst.
His legs were the only thing keeping him on the broom. He couldn't open his eyes, the pain was too great.
"HARRY!" Hermione screamed from the stands.
Harry felt himself crash headlong into the ground.
"THE GRYFFINDOR CAPTAIN IS DOWN! SOMEBODY GET DOWN THERE!" Lee was shouting.
Hermione ran out onto the field, Ron barely following behind her.
Harry couldn't move. His whole body ached. His scar was still burning. He could hear people shouting, but they sounded so distant.
He could hear Hermione crying his name, yet she seemed so far away.
Harry's eyes were still closed so he couldn't see anything. With every bit of strength he had, Harry opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Hermione. Her tear-filled brown eyes were looking down at him in agony.
"Harry," she whispered.
Harry looked around. Ron was standing next to him. So were both Quidditch teams.
"Harry," Hermione repeated, more desperately this time.
Harry turned his head to face her. And though it hurt him to move his arm, he found her hand and held it in his own.
"Help is on the way Harry, just hang in there," Harry heard Fred say.
But Harry's eyes were closing. His world was ending and he knew it.
He gave Hermione's hand one tight squeeze. Then everything went black.
................................................................
In the middle of the night, Harry woke up, startled, sweat drenching his face.
He sat up and looked around.
He was in his four poster bed.
He was in his dormitory.
Harry let out a breath of relief.
It was just a dream.
It was just a nightmare.
Instead of lecturing the Gryffindor team like Wood used to do, Harry sat alone in the corner of the locker room. Even though the weather was clear and
nothing had gone wrong all day something just didn't feel right. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach.
Probably just nerves, Harry told himself. It was his first game as captain.
No wonder he felt so strange. Harry looked up at the clock.
It was time.
"Okay team line up," Harry said, trying his best to sound confident.
The Gryffindor Quidditch team obeyed. Harry stood in front, next to Dean. The doors opened and they all mounted their brooms. One by one, they
all kicked off into the air. Harry flew around the field, trying to let off some of his feelings. He spotted Ron and Hermione in the stands and
waved to them.
"He's nervous," said Hermione watching Harry closely.
"What are you talking about?" said Ron waving back, "He looks fine."
Both teams got into position on the field as Madam Hooch carried out the box that contained the Quaffle, Bludgers, and the Snitch.
"Ready to lose Potter?" Malfoy called from across the field.
"Only if you being declared captain makes you able to catch the Snitch," Harry called back. Malfoy grimaced.
Suddenly there was the sound of a whistle being blown. The game had begun. And so had Lee Jordan's commentary.
"The Quaffle is taken immediately by Katie Bell-Gryffindor Chaser, and she is heading towards the Slytherin goal posts! Come on! Oh no!"
Katie had just near missed being hit in the face by a Bludger that one of the Slytherin Beaters had hit at her. The Slytherins took the chance
to grab the Quaffle at once.
"Warrington of Slytherin in possession of the Quaffle. Oh good here comes a Bludger---oh man, just missed him! And now Warrington is heading
down the field, somebody block him! Here comes Harry with his firebolt."
As Harry attempted to block Warrington, another one of the Slytherin Chasers rammed into Harry, almost knocking Harry off his broom and
making a clear shot for Slytherin to score. But Dean arrived at the goal posts just in time to stop the Quaffle from going through.
"What a dive from Dean Thomas! An excellent addition to the Gryffindor team!" Lee continued, "Gryffindor in possession again. Alicia Spinnet
heading down the field, dodges a Bludger, which is taken care of by George Weasley. Okay! Gryffindor heading towards the Slytherin goal
posts! Come on Alicia! Oh watch out for Bole and Derrick!"
The Slytherin Beaters were zooming towards Alicia, clubs raised.
Harry sped towards them and they scattered away, leaving the goal posts unblocked.
"GOAL! ALICIA SCORES! TEN-ZERO GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindors cheered. Harry was finally starting to relax. He even did a couple loop-the-loops.
"See Hermione, Harry isn't nervous. Look at him. He's got this captain thing down. Honestly, I don't know why you worry so much," said Ron down
in the stands.
Hermione smiled weakly but still looked up at Harry in concern.
"Slytherin with the Quaffle now. Montague heads down the field, dodging Bludgers and Beaters left and right---too bad none of 'em hit him.
Ooops! Sorry Professor!"
McGonagall finally seemed that it was time to step in on Lee's commentary.
"Jordan, how many times do I have to remind you not to take sides?" she said angrily.
"Sorry Professor, it's just----NO!"
Lee continued to shout. Bole had whacked a Bludger at Dean, which hit him in the head. Dean was now trying his best to not keel over and slide off his
broom. Montague had scored without Dean noticing and there was loud cheering coming from the Slytherin stands.
"Penalty! Penalty!" Lee was shouting. Fred Weasley, however, chose this time to whack a Bludger at Bole, which hit him in the stomach and made
him roll over on his broom. He only managed to stay on.
"HA! THAT'LL SHOW THAT SLYTHERIN SLIME---"
"Jordan!"
"Sorry again! Won't happen again, I promise! Alright back to the match!"
Harry had flown down to check on Dean, who now seemed to remember where he was, but was now searching for the Snitch again. Malfoy was
just sitting on his broom, hovering in the air with a smug look on his face.
He apparently was waiting for Harry to spot the Snitch first.
Harry dived all of a sudden, pretending like he had seen the Snitch.
Malfoy's face had turned from smug to scared and startled looking. He dove after Harry, but was no way near as fast. Harry pulled out of the
dive and turned around to face Malfoy.
"Scared you didn't I Malfoy?" said Harry in an amused voice.
"Just you wait Potter. This game isn't going to end the way you expect it to," said Malfoy. Harry didn't have time to reply.
"KATIE IS TEARING DOWN THE FIELD! WEASLEY TWINS AT HER SIDE! OUT OF THE WAY SLYTHERINS!" Lee was shouting into the
megaphone.
Harry and Malfoy both tore towards Katie. Malfoy joined the rest of the Slytherin team in an attempt to block Katie while Harry joined up with Fred
and George to help defend Katie from the Slytherins.
"Where'd you go Harry?" George asked as he belted a Bludger towards Malfoy. "We need our captain to lead us you know."
"Yeah, sorry about that," said Harry, "I got a little distracted."
"Harry, we're going to need you to get rid of the Slytherins, they're all blocking Katie," said Fred.
"I'm on it," said Harry. Harry leaned on his broom and shot at the Slytherins. All of them scattered away except for the Slytherin Keeper, who seemed
intent on keeping Katie from scoring.
"OUT OF THE WAY! OUT OF THE WAY!" Lee was bellowing at the Slytherin Keeper. "SOMEBODY KNOCK HIM OUT OF THERE!"
Fred and George flew straight at the Slytherin Keeper, waving their clubs like maniacs. Catching sight of them, the Keeper took off.
"THE KEEPER RUNS OFF! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"
Cheers erupted from the Gryffindors, boos from the Slytherins.
"Twenty-Ten to Gryffindor. Slytherin in possession. Here comes Mottley with the Quaffle, quick pass to Warrington, then to Montague,
back to Mottley. Mottley dodges a Bludger, a Firebolt, a Weasley, oh no, he's gonna score----AH HA! INTERCEPTED BY ANGELINA JOHNSON!
WAY TO GO!"
Harry cheered with the rest of the Gryffindors, but was searching the field anxiously.
There hadn't been any sign of the Snitch ever since the match had begun. Where was it? As Angelina scored another ten points for Gryffindor, Harry hovered over the field, his eyes darting here and there for the silver wings. At last he spotted it.
From one hundred feet in the air, he saw it, buzzing about fifty feet below him.
With a great burst of speed, Harry dove towards the Snitch. He didn't know if Malfoy was following him or not, nor did he care. He was already about
thirty feet ahead. But as Harry got closer to the ground, he saw something run across the field.
Something that looked like a rat.
"Scabbers?" Harry whispered.
Harry all of a sudden let go of his broom and clutched his forehead in pain. His scar was burning. Right in the middle of a Quidditch match. The
Firebolt was still accelerating towards the ground at an unbelievable speed and Harry couldn't stop it. He felt like his head was about to burst.
His legs were the only thing keeping him on the broom. He couldn't open his eyes, the pain was too great.
"HARRY!" Hermione screamed from the stands.
Harry felt himself crash headlong into the ground.
"THE GRYFFINDOR CAPTAIN IS DOWN! SOMEBODY GET DOWN THERE!" Lee was shouting.
Hermione ran out onto the field, Ron barely following behind her.
Harry couldn't move. His whole body ached. His scar was still burning. He could hear people shouting, but they sounded so distant.
He could hear Hermione crying his name, yet she seemed so far away.
Harry's eyes were still closed so he couldn't see anything. With every bit of strength he had, Harry opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Hermione. Her tear-filled brown eyes were looking down at him in agony.
"Harry," she whispered.
Harry looked around. Ron was standing next to him. So were both Quidditch teams.
"Harry," Hermione repeated, more desperately this time.
Harry turned his head to face her. And though it hurt him to move his arm, he found her hand and held it in his own.
"Help is on the way Harry, just hang in there," Harry heard Fred say.
But Harry's eyes were closing. His world was ending and he knew it.
He gave Hermione's hand one tight squeeze. Then everything went black.
................................................................
In the middle of the night, Harry woke up, startled, sweat drenching his face.
He sat up and looked around.
He was in his four poster bed.
He was in his dormitory.
Harry let out a breath of relief.
It was just a dream.
It was just a nightmare.