Chapter 29 – Grand Final
"Good morning Quidditch fans!" James called over the noise being made in the stands of the Quidditch by the Hogwarts students. James had begged McGonagall to let him commentate the Quidditch matches for the year. He ended up having to persuade her with the argument that as he had been a Quidditch captain he was best suited to the job.
"Today's conditions are perfect for the match. Blue sky, sunny and little wind. It's shaping up to be an interesting match, wouldn't you agree Sirius?"
"I agree there James-"
"What is going on here Potter?" asked McGonagall.
James put on his innocent smile and turned to the stern Transfiguration teacher. "Well, you see, Professor," he began, "I thought that seeing as how this is the grand final and it's between two incredible teams, there should be two commentators."
McGonagall glanced at the two of them through narrowed eyes, immediately suspicious. "I'll allow it," she said. "But if anything happens today I'll know exactly who to blame."
James and Sirius nodded. "Now as I was saying," Sirius began again, "today's match is going to be tough either way. Gryffindor's captain Lily Evans has found some gems. After playing together for less than a year Evans has the team working like a well oiled machine. They've only lost one game all year and that was to the undefeated Slytherin captained by Lucius Malfoy."
James took over again. "Malfoy, as much as I loathe to admit it, has put together a state of the art team. New Seeker Jim Henley was an amazing find and was the only reason Slytherin previously managed to beat Gryffindor this year."
Sirius saw the change room doors open and nudged James in the ribs. "And here we go everyone, the teams are now emerging. Captains are shaking hands- "
"Would you just look at those two," James cut in. "You could cut the tension between Evans and Malfoy with a knife. Madam Hooch lets out the Bludgers and the Snitch and the game's started."
"Hooch throws up the Quaffle which is taken immediately by Evans who is now streaking up the pitch towards Malfoy. Passes to Smythe, back to Evans. Evans drops the Quaffle down to Maskell who passes back to Smythe. Intercepted by Sullivan."
"Henley has gone into a dive. Ross, a splendid Seeker if I ever saw one and gorgeous too-"
"POTTER!"
"Sorry Professor. Henley and Ross are still in a steep descent." James's eyes widened as he stood up to watch and realised there was no Snitch. "Henley's feinting! CARLY STOP!"
Henley pulled up at the last minute and Carly crashed into the ground. Sirius pulled James back into his seat.
"Unfortunately the warning was a bit late there James," he said. "Henley has pulled off a nice use of the Wronski Feint. Evans and Hooch are down on the ground and appear to be arguing with Ross. And what's this? Ross is back on her broomstick. It would seem that she has refused to let Evans put the reserve Seeker in."
"Right then, Brady has the Quaffle and manages to get it past Goluff," James continued to commentate. "Slytherin is up 10-0 with the first goal of the game. Evans back in possession of the Quaffle. She's a superb flyer especially as she is on a Comet 50 which is also what Ross is on. They're older model brooms but with such excellent flyers they can easily rival the Slytherin team's Nimbus 1500s."
"POTTER STICK TO THE GAME!"
"Evans dodges a Bludger sent by Taylor and deftly throws the Quaffle over Peters' head to be easily caught by Maskell. Maskell swerves to avoid the second Bludger, shoots and scores! Gryffindor scores its first goal although Slytherin is still leading by 40 points."
Sirius winced as a Slytherin player was knocked off his broom after being hit with both Bludgers at once. "Ouch," commented Sirius. "I almost feel sorry for Brady. After being knocked off his broom due to the double attack from Gryffindor Beaters O'Shea and Morgan, Brady is being replaced by Higgins. Morgan and O'Shea are equal to Edwards and Taylor in viciousness. I'm speaking from experience here. Those girls really pack a punch."
"Maskell once more in possession of the Quaffle," James continued. "But wait. Ross and Henley are diving again. The Seekers are racing for the Snitch."
"No they're not!" Sirius yelled. "Henley's pulling another Wronski Feint. Carly's about to crash!"
"Damn it!" James watched as Carly smashed into the pitch for a second time. He took off the Sonorus Charm as he jumped up. "Sirius keep going. I have to get down there."
"Well folks we have another timeout as Hooch, Evans and Ross's boyfriend James Potter all argue with her. Indeed it would be a good idea for Ross to come off. She's slammed into the ground now twice at high speeds and is looking incredibly dazed and unsteady."
Carly pushed past the three and picked up her broom again. She slowly began to ascend. Lily sighed as she and Hooch also flew into the sky again.
"BLOODY HELL!"
McGonagall was so shocked by Carly's actions that she didn't say anything to Sirius about his word choice.
"This is unbelievable. Ross has once more taken to the air and is slowly searching for the Snitch. I hate to say this but unless Ross can get her speed back up then Gryffindor doesn't stand a chance. And after crashing twice it seems unlikely that Ross will be able to do it."
By this point James had returned to his seat. "Higgins in possession of the Quaffle. He shoots but Goluff spins and bats the Quaffle to Smythe using the end of her broom. Smythe passes to Evans who passes to Maskell who passes to Smythe who passes back to Maskell who passes to Evans. Evans feints left, shoots right and scores. Evans is sticking her tongue out at Malfoy. Bit childish there Lily but effective none the less."
"This game is getting dirtier by the minute," said Sirius. "O'Shea and Morgan both sent Bludgers towards Henley, both of which hit, while Edwards and Taylor swung their bats at Evans and Smythe's heads. Two penalties have been awarded to each team. First up are Evans and Smythe. Evans gets hers past Malfoy but unfortunately Malfoy blocks Smythe's shot. Sullivan and Peters both get theirs past Goluff. This brings the score to 70-30 Slytherin's way."
"What the hell is going on in this game? The match itself is disintegrating. The Slytherins don't look like they're even trying to score anymore. All they're doing is harassing the Gryffindors in what looks to be attempts to push the Gryffindors off their brooms."
"Is Peters pulling Maskell's pigtails? Come on Hooch do something about this garbage. Penalize the cheating scumbags!"
"Black I'm warning you!"
"Ross has spotted the Snitch!" James was on his feet cheering Carly on. "But wait. Henley is slowly gaining on her. The two are neck and neck. They both stretch out their arms. Push him off his bloody broom Carly! Ross suddenly lunges forward. She's got the Snitch!"
"In an amazing display of courage and stupidity Carly Ross has caught the Snitch even after falling victim to the Wronski Feint twice. The final score is 180-70. Gryffindor has won the Quidditch cup! Let's party!"
"Good morning Quidditch fans!" James called over the noise being made in the stands of the Quidditch by the Hogwarts students. James had begged McGonagall to let him commentate the Quidditch matches for the year. He ended up having to persuade her with the argument that as he had been a Quidditch captain he was best suited to the job.
"Today's conditions are perfect for the match. Blue sky, sunny and little wind. It's shaping up to be an interesting match, wouldn't you agree Sirius?"
"I agree there James-"
"What is going on here Potter?" asked McGonagall.
James put on his innocent smile and turned to the stern Transfiguration teacher. "Well, you see, Professor," he began, "I thought that seeing as how this is the grand final and it's between two incredible teams, there should be two commentators."
McGonagall glanced at the two of them through narrowed eyes, immediately suspicious. "I'll allow it," she said. "But if anything happens today I'll know exactly who to blame."
James and Sirius nodded. "Now as I was saying," Sirius began again, "today's match is going to be tough either way. Gryffindor's captain Lily Evans has found some gems. After playing together for less than a year Evans has the team working like a well oiled machine. They've only lost one game all year and that was to the undefeated Slytherin captained by Lucius Malfoy."
James took over again. "Malfoy, as much as I loathe to admit it, has put together a state of the art team. New Seeker Jim Henley was an amazing find and was the only reason Slytherin previously managed to beat Gryffindor this year."
Sirius saw the change room doors open and nudged James in the ribs. "And here we go everyone, the teams are now emerging. Captains are shaking hands- "
"Would you just look at those two," James cut in. "You could cut the tension between Evans and Malfoy with a knife. Madam Hooch lets out the Bludgers and the Snitch and the game's started."
"Hooch throws up the Quaffle which is taken immediately by Evans who is now streaking up the pitch towards Malfoy. Passes to Smythe, back to Evans. Evans drops the Quaffle down to Maskell who passes back to Smythe. Intercepted by Sullivan."
"Henley has gone into a dive. Ross, a splendid Seeker if I ever saw one and gorgeous too-"
"POTTER!"
"Sorry Professor. Henley and Ross are still in a steep descent." James's eyes widened as he stood up to watch and realised there was no Snitch. "Henley's feinting! CARLY STOP!"
Henley pulled up at the last minute and Carly crashed into the ground. Sirius pulled James back into his seat.
"Unfortunately the warning was a bit late there James," he said. "Henley has pulled off a nice use of the Wronski Feint. Evans and Hooch are down on the ground and appear to be arguing with Ross. And what's this? Ross is back on her broomstick. It would seem that she has refused to let Evans put the reserve Seeker in."
"Right then, Brady has the Quaffle and manages to get it past Goluff," James continued to commentate. "Slytherin is up 10-0 with the first goal of the game. Evans back in possession of the Quaffle. She's a superb flyer especially as she is on a Comet 50 which is also what Ross is on. They're older model brooms but with such excellent flyers they can easily rival the Slytherin team's Nimbus 1500s."
"POTTER STICK TO THE GAME!"
"Evans dodges a Bludger sent by Taylor and deftly throws the Quaffle over Peters' head to be easily caught by Maskell. Maskell swerves to avoid the second Bludger, shoots and scores! Gryffindor scores its first goal although Slytherin is still leading by 40 points."
Sirius winced as a Slytherin player was knocked off his broom after being hit with both Bludgers at once. "Ouch," commented Sirius. "I almost feel sorry for Brady. After being knocked off his broom due to the double attack from Gryffindor Beaters O'Shea and Morgan, Brady is being replaced by Higgins. Morgan and O'Shea are equal to Edwards and Taylor in viciousness. I'm speaking from experience here. Those girls really pack a punch."
"Maskell once more in possession of the Quaffle," James continued. "But wait. Ross and Henley are diving again. The Seekers are racing for the Snitch."
"No they're not!" Sirius yelled. "Henley's pulling another Wronski Feint. Carly's about to crash!"
"Damn it!" James watched as Carly smashed into the pitch for a second time. He took off the Sonorus Charm as he jumped up. "Sirius keep going. I have to get down there."
"Well folks we have another timeout as Hooch, Evans and Ross's boyfriend James Potter all argue with her. Indeed it would be a good idea for Ross to come off. She's slammed into the ground now twice at high speeds and is looking incredibly dazed and unsteady."
Carly pushed past the three and picked up her broom again. She slowly began to ascend. Lily sighed as she and Hooch also flew into the sky again.
"BLOODY HELL!"
McGonagall was so shocked by Carly's actions that she didn't say anything to Sirius about his word choice.
"This is unbelievable. Ross has once more taken to the air and is slowly searching for the Snitch. I hate to say this but unless Ross can get her speed back up then Gryffindor doesn't stand a chance. And after crashing twice it seems unlikely that Ross will be able to do it."
By this point James had returned to his seat. "Higgins in possession of the Quaffle. He shoots but Goluff spins and bats the Quaffle to Smythe using the end of her broom. Smythe passes to Evans who passes to Maskell who passes to Smythe who passes back to Maskell who passes to Evans. Evans feints left, shoots right and scores. Evans is sticking her tongue out at Malfoy. Bit childish there Lily but effective none the less."
"This game is getting dirtier by the minute," said Sirius. "O'Shea and Morgan both sent Bludgers towards Henley, both of which hit, while Edwards and Taylor swung their bats at Evans and Smythe's heads. Two penalties have been awarded to each team. First up are Evans and Smythe. Evans gets hers past Malfoy but unfortunately Malfoy blocks Smythe's shot. Sullivan and Peters both get theirs past Goluff. This brings the score to 70-30 Slytherin's way."
"What the hell is going on in this game? The match itself is disintegrating. The Slytherins don't look like they're even trying to score anymore. All they're doing is harassing the Gryffindors in what looks to be attempts to push the Gryffindors off their brooms."
"Is Peters pulling Maskell's pigtails? Come on Hooch do something about this garbage. Penalize the cheating scumbags!"
"Black I'm warning you!"
"Ross has spotted the Snitch!" James was on his feet cheering Carly on. "But wait. Henley is slowly gaining on her. The two are neck and neck. They both stretch out their arms. Push him off his bloody broom Carly! Ross suddenly lunges forward. She's got the Snitch!"
"In an amazing display of courage and stupidity Carly Ross has caught the Snitch even after falling victim to the Wronski Feint twice. The final score is 180-70. Gryffindor has won the Quidditch cup! Let's party!"