Chapter 15- Hufflepuff's New Seeker
At first, the Hall seemed to be in a state of shock. Everyone was just staring at Dumbledore, as if waiting for him to change his announcement, and say that he was only joking, and the trip was still on. But… no such statement came.
"WHAT?" yelled Chris suddenly, breaking the silence. The Great Hall filled with very loud chatter, and everyone saying pretty much the same thing.
"What does he mean the trip's off?
"How can he do that?"
"Can he do that?"
"Now I won't see any pyramids…."
"Please… please…" continued Dumbledore, putting his arms out and barely beginning to cease the talk. "I apologize profusely for the lateness of this announcement, but I would not have cancelled the trip if it was not for extreme circumstances. I have to say, that if we left for this trip now, there is little chance that any of you would come back alive."
That shut up the chatter. Everyone trusted his word, and if he said they were in danger, then they were all definitely in danger. There was no room for argument.
"However," said Dumbledore, now putting a single finger up, "while the trip is cancelled now, it may only be postponed for later. As of now, the field trip is scheduled for late May. I ask you all to return here at that time in the same position you are now, and please, no revolts. So, now, would you please all check the schedule for the next week as you will be here now, and not away. I thank you all for your cooperation."
And with that, Dumbledore walked down from his giant chair without saying another word. As soon as he got down from the podium, the mass of students in the room burst into a giant group of talking once again. This time, though, Harry was a part of it.
"I think I'm going to go talk to Dumbledore about this," he said to Ron and Hermione quickly as he sat up, barely hearable above the rest of the conversations. "So I can see what's behind this cancellation."
"I'm coming too!" said Ron, jumping up.
"Me too!" called Hermione.
"Alright," said Harry quietly. "I have the Invisibility Ring, and Ron can transform into the chameleon. But Hermione…" Harry dug into his packed trunk and grabbed the Invisibility Cloak out, throwing it to her. "You have to wear this."
She nodded, and the three of them ran past the rest of the students, some of which were already leaving back to their common rooms, wearing dismal and disappointed expressions. Harry, Ron and Hermione forced their way through some of the kids and eventually caught up to Dumbledore who was quickly gliding along the floor down a hall.
"Dumbledore!" yelled Harry, jumping over another short student to get to him.
"Yes?" he asked, turning around and sounding rushed.
"Well… I was- that is…" stumbled Harry. "What's going on with the trip?"
"Ah yes," sighed Dumbledore. "Well, you heard my announcement, didn't you? Something bad came up, and we had to cancel it."
"The cancellation… it didn't have anything to do with a house elf named Dobby, did it?" asked Harry, hoping that it wasn't his fault the trip was off.
"Dobby?" inquired Dumbledore. "No… he had nothing to do with it. Should he?"
"No, not at all," said Harry, quickly throwing off that subject. "But, what was it exactly that made you call off the trip so suddenly?"
"Harry…" said Dumbledore, sounding almost a little weak. "As much as I trust and adore you, I am afraid that I cannot tell you, and I hope that you will respect that decision."
"Yes, of course," said Harry, covering himself up from the cold and feeling a little disappointed that he hadn't gotten more information.
"Now, I'm afraid I must be off, Harry," said Dumbledore quickly, turning around. "The two of us have business that we must attend to."
"We do?" stumbled Harry, turning around and seeing that Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be seen, just as they should be. "I mean- I do?"
"Oh yes," he continued, not turning around, and putting an arm in the air. "I have a very important meeting to go to, and you have a very important Quidditch match. The new schedule says so."
"Thanks you for telling me, professor," said Harry. But, Dumbledore must have not heard him. He didn't turn around and just kept walking. Then, he said to himself, "But… I think your meeting is more important than my match. Come on guys… let's follow him."
"Alright," said Ron and Hermione together.
Harry grinned and made sure his Animagus Invisibility Ring was on securely. He brought it up a little higher on his finger and then quickly transformed into the gryffin, though no one, not even Ron or Hermione, saw him do it. He slowly walked behind Dumbledore, trying not to breathe, hoping that Ron and Hermione were still with him. As unhurried as Harry thought he was going, he was unused to the Gryffin's walking speed, which was quite fast and quickly caught up with Dumbledore. He followed him into a classroom and quickly hid in a corner when he shut the door.
"Are you guys in the room?" Harry called out telepathically to Ron and Hermione.
"Yeah," they both said.
"Right next to you," added Hermione.
"Alright, follow me."
Once the three of them were safe and secure, Harry took a look around, to see who else was in the room. He was surprised to see that, along with Dumbledore, every teacher in the school was in there. They were all sitting around a large, circular table, and they all had the same, bored expression on their faces.
"What is it Dumbledore?" asked an annoyed looking Quirrell.
"Yes," said Flitwick, "some of us were especially looking forward to our chaperoning positions."
"On the contrary," interjected Snape, "some of us were not…."
"I will answer all of your questions," said Dumbledore, sitting down and putting his hands in the air. "First of all… I am sorry to you all as well. I would not have stopped the trip if it was not completely necessary."
"But what was this thing that happened that made it completely necessary?" demanded Quirrell.
"I think we all know the answer to that," said Dumbledore, looking around. "Voldemort was spotted around the pyramid, obviously expecting us. Who knows what he had in mind."
"So you think he would have dared to attack us?" asked Flitwick.
"Even with you there?" said McGonagall.
"I believe," said Dumbledore, "that Voldemort is desperate enough to attack even me. Though, I fear, that will no longer be an overstatement, as he is becoming more and more powerful by the day."
For a few moments, no one spoke. There was nothing anyone could really say in response to that.
"I can't take it anymore!" yelled Professor McGonagall suddenly, slamming her fist on the table.
"What is it Minerva?" asked Dumbledore.
"Oh, Albus," she sighed. "I should have given this to you long ago." Amidst the eyes of everyone, she reached into her pocket, and took out the Sorcerer's Stone. "At first, I wasn't sure… but now, with all that's going on, I know that you should be the one to protect it and not me."
"Minerva…" gasped Dumbledore, in shock of seeing the Stone right there before him on the table. All the other teachers were staring it as well, practically drooling over it. "How did you… get this?"
"Did you make it?" asked Flitwick, moving in for a closer look.
"Oh, no," sighed McGonagall. "This is Perenelle Flamel's Stone."
"Perenelle Flamel?" inquired Dumbledore, picking up the Stone an examining it. "How did you ever get it from her?"
"Well, I didn't get it directly from her. I got it from… Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter?" exclaimed almost everyone in the room. Harry had to try hard not to say anything, especially 'here' or 'present'.
"How on Earth did he get it?" asked Flitwick.
"In Perenelle's will," continued McGonagall, "it said to give the Stone to whoever bother to show up at the funeral. Harry and his cousin were the only ones who came, so they got it, and then he gave it to me for safekeeping."
"And now you're giving it to me…" said Dumbledore, setting it down on the table.
"Yes."
"Well… I thank you for doing so," said Dumbledore, putting the Stone into his pocket.. "I can assure you, it is safe with me." He patted his pocket he put it in and stood up. "Now that you all know what is going on, I will ask you to leave, so we can all get back to business that I'm sure we all have to do."
With that, the rest of the teachers stood up, gazing transfixedly at Dumbledore's pocket, wanting to get one last glimpse of the Stone. Once they realized their efforts were in vain, they left quickly and the room was empty, except for Dumbledore and Quirrell.
"I can't believe Harry Potter had the Sorcerer's Stone," whispered Quirrell, walking closer to Dumbledore.
"I know…" said Dumbledore, taking the Stone out of his pocket and examining it again. Quirrell came in even closer to look at it. "Not good at all…."
Why wasn't that good? Harry thought. He knew that he should have told Dumbledore or McGonagall immediately after he got it, but was it really so bad that he waited?
"Now," said Quirrell, "please tell me, Dumbledore. What is the real reason you cancelled the trip?" To this, Dumbledore grinned and returned the Sorcerer's Stone back to his pocket.
"I think that I have found it on my own."
"What's he talking about?" asked Ron telepathically.
"Shh!" yelled Hermione. "Don't talk! Who knows, he may still be able to hear you."
"Yeah yeah, alright."
"You mean you've found it, without the help?" asked Quirrell, sounding amazed.
"Yes," said Dumbledore, looking around in a suspicious manner. "But I'm afraid we may have to continue this conversation at a later time and place."
Quirrell eyed him dubiously, and then an expression of understanding appeared.
"Oh… okay," he sighed, sounding as if he wanted to hear more. "See you later."
"Yes, goodbye," said Dumbledore, walking out of the room quickly, almost immediately followed by Quirrell who took one last look around before exiting. Once the coast was clear, Ron and Harry transformed back, and Hermione took the cloak off.
"Nice going, Ron!" she yelled, jabbing him in the side with her elbow.
"Hey!" he shouted. "What did I do?"
"Dumbledore heard you talking," said Harry, getting off his arms and knees and standing up. "He must have sensed it somehow."
"How do you know that's the reason he left?"
"Oh yeah, it just so happens that everything was going fine until you said something," said Hermione sarcastically, crossing her arms.
"Oh… yeah."
"It's okay, Hermione," said Harry, opening the door. "We'll find out more later."
"I hope so," she pouted, exiting with him.
"But I still wonder-" said Harry, just before he was cut off by a screaming and running Ak.
"Harry! Ron!" he yelled at them, broom in hand and his Quidditch robes on. "Where the heck have you been? The game is going to start any second!"
"Oh yeah," said Harry, looking at his watch and remembering that their match had been moved ahead. "See you later Hermione!"
"I'll watch you in the stands!" she yelled to them as they sprinted away with Ak.
"Where have you two been?" he asked Ron and Harry again as they were running.
"What house are we playing?" asked Harry, changing the subject.
"Hufflepuff," said Ak when they arrived at the Gryffindor changing room.
"Oh come on!" said Ron, changing into his robes. "Why'd you have to call us down when we're playing THEM?"
"They're not easy enough that we don't need a Seeker and a Keeper," said Ak, his arms on his sides.
"That's debatable," mumbled Harry, pulling off his socks.
"Anyways," said Ak, sitting down on a bench. "I'll tell you guys first since you're two of the most avid members. The Wizard Duel Club won't be meeting anymore, at least until the end of the year."
"What?" yelled Ron and Harry together, almost falling over.
"It's a protest against the cancellation of the trip," said Ak. "It's the best thing we could think of."
"But canceling the club won't bring back the trip!" yelled Ron, almost in tears.
"I'm sorry Ron," sighed Ak, "but it's just something we've got to do."
"Heh, it's too bad you had to cancel it now," snickered Harry. "Especially since I was really going to cream you the next time we played."
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Well, me and Harry will still play it every day!" said Ron, continuing to change. "Aren't we Harry?"
"Definitely," he said, putting the last few finishing touched on his Quidditch robes. "There we go! All set!"
"Me too!" said Ron quickly after.
"Uh… Ron?" said Harry.
"Yeah?"
"Tell me if I'm wrong, but last time I checked, underwear is supposed to be worn underneath your pants."
"Not today!"
"Alright, whatever…" said Harry, grabbing his broom.
"Excellent time!" said Ak, walking out with the two of them. "We have three seconds to spare!" He threw open the doors that led to the Quidditch field and the rest of the team was there waiting, all lined up.
"Where have you been?" demanded Mike. "I could have learned another thousand or so Kanji while I was waiting if I'd known you were going to take so long."
"Yeah," snapped Akshay. "You guys took longer to get here than downloading a terabyte-size file off of a 3KB bandwidth server with a 28.8KBPS modem!"
"HEY!" yelled Joe suddenly. "You wear your underwear on the outside too! ROCK ON!" He jumped up and gave Ron a high five. Harry just groaned.
"Yeah, you know it's cool," said Chris, showing off his backwards pants as well.
"Maybe I should have chosen the losing team at the tryout instead," moaned Harry to himself as the beginning announcements for the game began.
"And now let's welcome the Gryffindor team!" yelled Blaise Zabini, though not nearly as loud as the Extreme Quidditch commentator had. In fact, compared to that announcer's voice, Blaise's was as soft and quiet as a pillow or a fluffy bunny.
"Well, that's our cue! Good luck team!" said Harry as he and his teammates flew out onto the field, getting into their positions. Harry soared down to the middle, to shake hands with the Hufflepuff team's captain.
"Hello again Justin," said Harry, offering his arm. "Lovely day for a game, isn't it?"
"Don't get cocky this time," grinned Justin, shaking Harry's hand. "Now our team is better than ever. We've even got a new Seeker."
"Oh? Is he better than you were?"
"Much," said Justin, releasing Harry's hand. "He'll crush you."
"Heh, who is it?" asked Harry, getting ready to fly away. "Ernie Macmillan?"
"Well… it isn't not Ernie," said Justin flying back.
"Ernie!" yelled Harry, nearly falling off of his broom. "Hah! What a joke!"
"Teams!" yelled Madam Hooch suddenly, cutting off Harry and Justin's 'conversation'. "Get ready!" With that, she opened the box of balls in front of her and let the Bludgers fly into the air followed by the Snitch that Harry got to glimpse for only a second before it flew out of sight.
"Get set…" she grabbed the Quaffle out of the box, and held it in a throwing position, getting ready to start the match. Joe, Mike, and Akshay looked ready for it, and the Hufflepuff Chasers looked almost intimidated by their ferocious appearance.
"Go!" yelled Blaise, Madam Hooch immediately heaving the Quaffle into the air, starting the match.
"And they're off!" yelled Blaise as Joe went right for the big red ball, grabbing it before Harry even saw him move. Once the ball was in his possession, the game was practically over. All Harry had to do was sit back and watch his three magnificent Chasers work the Quaffle, and then catch the Snitch when he got the chance.
"And Gryffindor scores!" yelled Blaise, not announcing biasedly. Since Slytherin wasn't playing, he'd might as well sound happy for Gryffindor. "And then they score again! Twenty to nothing for Gryffindor! Go team!"
Harry grinned to himself. Even if his team wore their underwear on the outside, they were still excellent players. He saw them weaving through the Hufflepuff team as if they were just stationary stones in their path. But, through all of their movement, he saw a Hufflepuff team member moving much the same way. But, none of them were that good…. Harry flew a little closer to try and investigate. He could just barely make out the person's face and the little gold thing in front of him….
"Wait a minute!" yelled Harry. "That's the Snitch!" Not wasting any time to think about the situation, Harry blasted forward on his broom, right in the direction of the person and the glint of gold in front of him. Faster and faster Harry went, getting closer to it every second.
"Hah! Thought you'd finally start playing now did you!" yelled the player chasing the Snitch. Harry recognized the voice as belonging to Ernie Macmillan, the team's new Seeker, but didn't recognize his features at all.
Ernie's hair was done in a very unusual way. It was dyed a jet black all over and was down in thick dreadlocks, with a few gold streaks here and there. His face was also completely different: now, his eyes were now longer a light blue but a deep red, and Harry may have imagined it, but it looked as though he had two of his teeth replaced with fangs. The last piece of him Harry could see were his hands, and they looked as they belonged more to some sort of horrible monster than to a boy. His fingernails were long and black, and the deep red veins were practically popping out of his skin. Plus, his skin all over, especially his face and arms, was a light white, but not the wonderful light white that the moon sometimes is, this white was more like the color of puss that would seep out of a popped blister.
"What have you done to yourself?" gasped Harry, keeping one eye on him and the other on the Snitch that was slowly but surely getting further ahead of them.
"None of your business!" yelled Ernie, grinning and lashing out his foot, trying to kick Harry off of his broom. Harry did a quick spin, avoiding it.
"What the heck are you trying to do?" screamed Harry at him. "Kill me?"
Ernie just smiled.
"I was only going to put you out of commission, but sure. If you want to die, I'd be more than happy to be the bringer of your demise."
"You're a Death Eater now," said Harry slowly to him, suddenly realizing it. "Aren't you?"
"Whatever made you think that?" smirked Ernie, going slightly faster. Harry abruptly realized that even though he was on the superior broom, he was having a tough time keeping up with Ernie.
"You look like Neville," spat Harry. "Only you look more like a vampire, whereas Neville looks like a Japanese cartoon."
"Ah yes, Neville," sighed Ernie, doing a quick little magnificent spin. "One of the few non-prefect Death Eaters."
"Non-prefect?" questioned Harry. "What do you mean?"
"Oh come on, Harry, surely you've noticed it. Almost all the prefects in the school are Death Eaters. I mean, sure some of them hide it better than me, but I can't help but flaunt my new powers. Recruiting prefects is exactly what my master wants, they are the best of the best at the school, and that is what he desires: the best of the best."
"If he only wanted the best, why did he send a letter to everyone in the school at the beginning of the year?" asked Harry, watching the Snitch quickly zoom out of sight.
"For two reasons," explained Ernie, making a sharp turn to try and find the Snitch again, "one: he didn't know who the prefects were at the beginning of the year; and two, my master does not want new recruits to think he discriminates like that. Believe it or not, some prefects wouldn't join unless their inferior friends were guaranteed the chance to as well. Imagine that? They actually WANT to be around lesser minds…."
"You're disgusting," hissed Harry.
"Yes, well, joining has given me that advantage over you on the Quidditch field at least." Ernie took one hand off of his broom and pointed to his eye. "You see this? These new eyes of mine don't just look cool, they also serve a purpose. They can home in on and track anything I set them to. All I need to do is describe the Snitch and voila! I can see it even if it was behind a brick wall."
"You got new eyes?" asked Harry, feeling as though their victory was slowly slipping away.
"Yes," murmured Ernie, looking around the field. "Sure, the operation was horrible, hurt more than anything in my life. But, my master doesn't believe in anesthetic, so I had to bear it. But now, it was worth it. I can beat anyone and my master is happy."
"You're pathetic," spat Harry, hearing Blaise announce that their team had scored another ten points. He had obviously missed some other announcements while talking with Ernie as he said the score was now one hundred and forty to nothing. "Doing things just to please Voldemort…."
"Well, it doesn't matter what you think, Harry. Right now, your life is worth nothing since in the end, you will be destroyed, and I along with my master and his army, shall be victorious. Also, in the short term area, I will win this game."
"Oh yeah, how so?"
"Because," he said softly, raising his arm up, "I am holding the Snitch."
"WHAT?" yelled Harry, looking at the small, winged, golden ball in Ernie's grotesque hand.
"Ha ha!" yelled Ernie, throwing the ball at Harry. "Tricked you!" With that, he flew away, at speeds faster than Harry had ever seen before. Just as he was about to try and catch up with him, the fake Snitch that Ernie had thrown exploded in Harry's face, releasing some sort of itchy powder.
"Oh great, Scratchy Snitches," groaned Harry, resisting the urge to rub his face. "I have got to tell Fred and George to stop making those." This was no longer just a Quidditch match, this was war.
"And that's a penalty to Hufflepuff for using a foreign object during the match!" yelled Blaise. Everyone on the field, except Ernie and Harry, flew over to their foul shot positions. Harry grabbed his wand from out of his pocket, and took aim.
"Stupefy!" he yelled, watching the red beam shoot out and miss Ernie by a millimeter, though surprising him.
"And there's a penalty to Gryffindor for using magic during the match!" announced Blaise, signaling the teams to get away from the Hufflepuff goals, and fly over to the Gryffindor ones, to make their foul shot there.
"You want to play dirty, eh Harry?" yelled Ernie from across the field, taking his wand out. "Well then, prepare to get dirty! Terre Monter!" Ernie aimed his wand at the ground below Harry and the greenish-yellow beam hit it there. At first, nothing happened, but then, when Blaise announced another penalty, making the teams once again switch sides, a monstrous beast composed completely of dirt, mud and sand rose from the ground, right in front of Harry."
It was horrible sight at over sixty feet tall. The monster's arms and legs were the size of tree trunks and it had no head; only two massive, black eyes on its bulging chest. All over, the dirt was constantly flowing everywhere, as if it were composed of muddy rivers. A horrid, teeth-filled mouth suddenly appeared beneath its eyes, and it gave an unearthly roar, making everyone in the stands cheer, scream, yell and run all at the same time.
The beast took a massive swing at Harry with one of its arms. Harry flew out of the way, just in time to avoid a very grimy grave, and causing a small earthquake when its arm finally did hit the ground.
"I see you've gone one step ahead on what we've been learning in Herbology!" yelled Harry to Ernie as the monster took another swing at him. Blaise was the only person left in the crowd, and he was announcing penalties left and right, finally making the teams give up, and go over to join either Ernie or Harry in the battle.
"What should we go?" gasped Chris, flying over next to Harry as Blaise announced another penalty to Hufflepuff for not taking a penalty shot. Harry just hoped that everyone that left went to get the professors' help.
"Don't worry, Harry," said Ak just as Harry was about to suggest that they all run away. "I'll take of earth-boy here, you just make sure that Ernie kid pays for this!"
"Got it!" yelled Harry, spinning his wand around. "Akshay! Joe! Mike! Chris! Ron! Come with me, I'll need your help to take down the other team." Just saying those words filled Harry with an exhilaration like no other. He was commanding people into battle… and he liked it.
"Yeah!" they all said together flying up to him.
"Now go!" yelled Ak, taking his wand out. "Mer Monter!" Ak aimed for the ground right in front of the earth monster, who Harry and his two fighters were flying around at the moment. As soon as the light-blue beam touched the ground, a massive body of water appeared, and out from it, a water monster appeared.
It erupted from the middle of the newly created lake, like a giant wave that just didn't crash down. It quickly took form and looked almost exactly like the earth one did, only this monster was made out of flowing water rather than fluid dirt. The two beasts immediately saw each other, and instantly began fighting it out, leaving the team open to attack.
"Chris! Ron! Joe!" yelled Harry just when they were about to fly around the two monsters. "You guys go around the left side! Mike and Akshay, you take the right! I'll come up the middle!"
"Yes sir!" the five of them called back. Chris, Ron and Joe swerved off to the left, went through the two fighting beasts, and then up the other side, taking the Hufflepuff team by surprise. Simultaneously, Mike and Akshay flew down to the right, then up quickly, right below two unsuspecting Hufflepuff Chasers.
"Ernie!" yelled Harry, seeing that his team was more than a match for the rest of the Hufflepuffs. "You and me… let's go!"
"Very well then," said Ernie, moving in closer, away from his losing team. "Saber!" He held his wand out in front of him, and a black beam rose out of the top, like a sword. Though it was very dark, it seemed lighter than the blackest black Harry could think of.
"What's that spell?" yelled Harry to him, getting ready to unleash an attack.
"It's the Sword Spell," yelled Ernie back. "One of the oldest spells ever created. Traditionally, two wizards would only use that spell during the match, and it would be like a swordfight. But, I'd rather just cut you up. Notice how black mine is… the color of the sword reflects the heart of its user. The darker, the more evil."
Harry just had to try the spell now. He held his wand out in front of him, and summoned the sword from within. To his surprise, a blazing white beam did not come out, but rather a light gray one.
"Ha ha!" laughed Ernie. "So Mr. Harry Potter isn't so perfect after all!"
"Well," yelled Harry to him through gritted teeth, wondering what could make his sword darker, "at least I'll have a perfect record against you, I'll beat you at this, and then I'll beat you at the Quidditch match."
"AAARRRGGG!" yelled Ernie, gripping his wand with both of his hands and holding it over his head as he charged right at Harry, getting ready to bring it down on him with all the strength he had. As he got closer, Harry got in a defensive position, trying to be ready for anything. "TAKE THIS!"
He brought the sword down onto Harry when he was only feet away from him. But, Harry was ready. He held his sword up in a shielding position, and the only thing Ernie hit when he brought it down was Harry's beam.
"You're stronger than I thought…" groaned Ernie, trying to push Harry's sword down with his by pushing harder. As much as Harry knew he had to keep his sword there, he didn't think he could hold it there much longer.
"I can't say the same about you," groaned Harry back, trying to sound more powerful than he actually was. Now, Ernie's strength was really starting to get to him. He
could feel his muscles hurting all over and sweat was dripping down his forehead like a faucet. His brain was screaming at him to let go… but he couldn't!
Harry looked over in the direction of the two monsters for help, but Ak was busy assisting his water beast. The pressure being put on him by Ernie was almost overwhelming. Akshay, Mike, Chris, and Joe were all too far away to be heard. No one could help Harry until it was too late. The pressure wasn't almost overwhelming anymore… now it was overwhelming! Harry had to let go! He gave into his brain's demands and let his arms weaken.
Then, just as Harry was expecting to see Ernie's black sword fall down upon him and cut him into two, the most wonderful thing in the world happened. Out of nowhere, a Bludger hit Ernie right in the face.
The effect of the impact was instantaneous. Ernie mumbled something to himself, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell all the way down to the sandy ground, along with his sword. Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness this is still a Quidditch match," he said to himself.
"And that's a penalty to Gryffindor for-"
"Oh will you shut it already Blaise!" yelled Harry to him, flying over to see his team. Blaise became quiet, and he saw that the entire Hufflepuff team had joined their Seeker on the ground. Unfortunately, so did Ron, Akshay, Joe and Mike. Only Chris and Ak were still up, and they looked as though they were in really bad shape. Chris had hex marks all over him, his right arm and leg were moving spastically, and he looked as though he was going to fall off of his broom… which is exactly what he did a second later.
"Ak!" yelled Harry, looking over at the two monsters that were still duking it out, and keeping his eyes peeled for the Snitch so he could end this highly unorthodox match. "How's it going?"
"Not good!" he yelled back, looking about the same as Chris did. "A few of the Hufflepuffs hit me along with this dirt beast here. Speaking of which, he-"
But, Harry never heard Ak's last line. Just then, his water monster delivered the final blow to its opponent, causing him to stumble around for a second, then beginning to fall over, right where Harry and Ak were.
Suddenly, the thing seemed a lot taller than Harry originally thought it was, seeing as it was about to collapse on top of him. Harry flew as fast as he could out of the way, but it was no use. A second later, he was on the ground, feeling his entire body being crushed all over by the intense weight of the monster. Only his head was sticking out from it.
"Ak!" gasped Harry, trying to reach his wand.
"Yeah…" he moaned back just as the dirt forming the monster stopped flowing and remained motionless… like it should, beginning to fall back to the ground.
"Are you under this thing too?"
"Yeah…" he gasped back again, sounding as if he were in immense pain, which was perfectly understandable. Harry, though, still had work to do. He had to find the Snitch so he could officially end this anarchic match. He scanned the ground around him for any sign of it… and suddenly found it! But, when he saw where it was, Harry groaned to himself and tried to smack his own head.
The Snitch was in Ernie's hand.