Chapter 24: Quidditch Cup

Dawn joined Harry, Ron and Hermione at the foot of the ladder to Professor Trelawney's classroom.

"I can't believe I missed Cheering Charms!" Hermione said. "And I bet they come up in our exams; Professor Flitwick hinted they might!"

"Why did you want me to bring it?" Harry asked as he handed his invisible cloak to Dawn.

"I wanted to check her out again without her knowing I was there," Dawn said. "Especially after what you said about the palmistry lessons."

Together they climbed the ladder into the dim, stifling tower room. Glowing on every little table was a crystal ball full of pearly white mist. Dawn immediately covered herself with the cloak and moved into a corner not far from where Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat.

"I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term," Ron muttered, casting a wary eye around for Professor Trelawney, in case she was lurking nearby.

"Don't complain, this means we've finished palmistry," Harry muttered back. "I was getting sick of her flinching every time she looked at my hands."

"Good day to you!" said the familiar, misty voice, and Professor Trelawney made her usual dramatic entrance out of the shadows. Parvati and Lavender quivered with excitement; their faces lit by the milky glow of their crystal ball.

"I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I had planned," said Professor Trelawney, sitting with her back to the fire and gazing around. "The fates have informed me that your examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you sufficient practice."

Hermione snorted. "Well, honestly…'the fates have informed her'…who sets the exam? She does! What an amazing prediction!" she said, not troubling to keep her voice low. Harry and Ron choked back laughs.

"Crystal gazing is a particularly refined art," she said dreamily. "I do not expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's infinite depths. We shall start by practicing relaxing the conscious mind and external eyes"—Ron began to snigger uncontrollably and had to stuff his fist in his mouth to stifle the noise—"so as to clear the Inner Eye and the superconscious. Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of you will See before the end of the class."

Dawn watched from her position as the students stared into the crystal ball before them. She shook her head with a frown as she knew crystal ball gazing was a tricky thing to learn. When she had learned she was a seer, she had wanted to try other forms of fortune telling to expand on her premonition power and found that while it worked for her it was more unreliable than her premonitions.

"Seen anything yet?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione after a quarter of an hour's quiet crystal gazing.

"Yeah, there's a burn on this table," said Ron, pointing. "Someone's spilled their candle."

"This is such a waste of time," Hermione hissed. "I could be practicing something useful. I could be catching up on Cheering Charms—"

Dawn was about to say something when Professor Trelawney rustled past.

"Would anyone like me to help them interpret the shadowy portents within their Orb?" Trelawney murmured over the clinking of her bangles.

"I don't need help," Ron whispered. "It's obvious what this means. There's going to be loads of fog tonight."

Both Harry and Hermione burst out laughing.

"Now, really!" said Professor Trelawney as everyone's heads turned in their direction. "You are disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!" She approached their table and peered into their crystal ball. "There is something here! Something moving… but what is it? My dear…," she breathed, gazing up at Harry. "It is here, plainer than ever before… my dear, stalking toward you, growing ever closer… the Gr—"

"Oh, for goodness' sake!" said Hermione loudly. "Not that ridiculous Grim again!"

Professor Trelawney raised her enormous eyes to Hermione's face. She surveyed Hermione with unmistakable anger. "I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly mundane."

Dawn at that point removed the cloak and moved between Trelawney and Hermione. "And if you had half your grandmother's gift. You would know that without the ability to see future events that crystal ball gazing does not come easy. Even I who get regular premonitions have had trouble with crystal ball gazing." She turned and looked toward Harry. "It's up to you, Harry, of course, but I would recommend droping this class. You would learn more from me than her."

Dawn strode over to the trapdoor as Hermione got up, crammed her Unfogging the Future back into her bag and followed Dawn down the ladder.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The Easter holidays had come and gone and now it was the night before the final Quidditch match of the school year, Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin. Dawn was standing at the window looking outside as she got ready for bed. She happened to look down and spotted what she was sure was the Grim along with Hermione's cat Crookshanks. She watched as the Grim moved into the trees.

"Willow," Dawn said.

"What?" Willow said as she looked up at her wife. "What is it, baby?"

"Come here," Dawn said. "I need you to confirm that you see it."

"See what?" Willow ask as she got out of bed and moved beside Dawn. She looked out the window, but by now the Grim was gone.

"The Grim," Dawn said, "the black dog."

"Maybe after tomorrow's Quidditch match we should take another tour of the grounds to see if we can see where it might have gone," Willow suggested.

"Good idea," Dawn agreed.

The next morning Dawn and Willow sat in the Great Hall having breakfast when Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team entered the Great Hall to enormous applause. Harry spotted his aunts and made his way to them at the staff table. "Aunt Dawn, Aunt Willow," he said, "I think I saw …"

"The Grim," Dawn said. "I saw it too. Willow and I plan after your match today to make another sweep of the grounds and see if we can find a trail it might have left. We'll let you know what we find."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Aunt Dawn, Aunt Willow." He felt better knowing he had not been the only one to see the Grim the night before and that Dawn and Willow would do everything they could to make sure he was safe.

"Good luck today, Harry," Willow said.

"Thanks, Aunt Willow," Harry said as he joined the rest of the Gryffindor team so he could eat breakfast.

Eventually Oliver Woof hurried the Gryffindor team out of the Great Hall as everyone applauded again.

"Good luck, Harry!" called Cho.

When Willow, Dawn along with the rest of the school made their way out to the Quidditch pitch. Dawn and Willow decided they would split up again so there would be no repeats of the previous Quidditch matches that Gryffindor had played. The Gryffindor team walked out onto the field to a tidal wave of noise. Three-quarters of the crowd was wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them, or brandishing banners with slogans like "GO GRYFFINDOR!" and "LIONS FOR THE CUP!" Behind the Slytherin goal posts, however, two hundred people were wearing green; the silver serpent of Slytherin glittered on their flags, and Professor Snape sat in the very front row, wearing green like everyone else, and a very grim smile.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" yelled Lee Jordan, who was acting as commentator as usual. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years—"

Lee's comments were drowned by a tide of "boos" from the Slytherin end.

"And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill—"

"Captains, shake hands!" said Madam Hooch.

Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other's hand very tightly; it looked as though each was trying to break the other's fingers.

"Mount your brooms!" said Madam Hooch. "Three… two… one…"

The sound of her whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as fourteen brooms rose into the air. Harry saw Malfoy on his tail, and sped off in search of the Snitch.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no—Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the field—WHAM!—nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by—Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina—nice swerve around Montague—duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger!—SHE SCORES! TEN—ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Willow smiled as she not only watched the ground but also listened to what was going on over her head.

Angelina soared around the end of the field and was was nearly thrown from her broom as Marcus Flint went smashing into her.

"Sorry!" said Flint as the crowd below booed. "Sorry, didn't see her!"

Fred Weasley chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed.

"That will do!" shrieked Madam Hooch, zooming between them. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"

"Come off it, Miss!" howled Fred as Alicia flew forward to take the penalty.

Harry turned the Firebolt sharply to watch Flint fly forward to take the Slytherin penalty. Wood was hovering in front of the Gryffindor goal posts.

"'Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee Jordan told the crowd as Flint waited for Madam Hooch's whistle. "Superb! Very difficult to pass—very difficult indeed—YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!"

Harry zoomed away, gazing around for the Snitch.

"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession—no!—Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field—THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of Katie, and instead of seizing the Quaffle had grabbed her head. Katie cartwheeled in the air, managed to stay on her broom, but dropped the Quaffle.

Madam Hooch's whistle rang out again as she soared over to Montague and began shouting at him. A minute later, Katie had put another penalty past the Slytherin Seeker.

"THIRTY—ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING—"

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way—!"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor! Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle—Flint alongside her—poke him in the eye, Angelina!—it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke—oh no—Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goal posts, come on now, Wood, save—!"

But Flint had scored; there was an eruption of cheers from the Slytherin end, and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him.

"Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession—"

Dawn had only seen a handful of matches since she and Willow had started teaching. Yet she knew this particular match was turning into the dirtiest game she had ever seen, and that was saying something considering she had seen some American sports played back in Sunnydale.

Katie scored. The score was now Fifty-ten. Fred and George Weasley were swooping around her, clubs raised, in case any of the Slytherins were thinking of revenge. Bole and Derrick took advantage of Fred's and George's absence to aim both Bludgers at Wood; they caught him in the stomach, one after the other, and he rolled over in the air, clutching his broom, completely winded.

Madam Hooch was beside herself.

"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!" she shrieked at Bole and Derrick. "Gryffindor penalty!"

And Angelina scored. Sixty-ten. Moments later, Fred Weasley pelted a Bludger at Warrington, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands; Alicia seized it and put it through the Slytherin goal—seventy-ten.

Harry saw the Snitch; it was sparkling twenty feet above him. He put on a huge burst of speed; the wind was roaring in his ears; he stretched out his hand, but suddenly, the Firebolt was slowing down—

Dawn stood and frowned at what she saw, Malfoy had thrown himself forward, grabbed hold of the Firebolt's tail, and was pulling it back. As usual Madam Hooch was within speaking distance of the teacher's box. "That's deliberate," she said to Hooch as she directed the flying instructor's attention toward Harry and Malfoy.

"You are right," Madam Hooch said. "Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics!" She shot up to where Malfoy was sliding back onto his Nimbus Two Thousand and One.

"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee Jordan was howling into the megaphone, dancing out of Professor McGonagall's reach. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B—"

Alicia took Gryffindor's penalty, but she was so angry she missed by several feet. The Gryffindor team was losing concentration and the Slytherins, delighted by Malfoy's foul on Harry, were being spurred on to greater heights.

"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal—Montague scores—" Lee groaned. "Seventy-twenty to Gryffindor… Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina, COME ON!"

Dawn noticed that every single Slytherin player apart from Malfoy was streaking up the pitch toward Angelina, including the Slytherin Keeper—they were all going to block her. She then spotted Harry, who had wheeled the Firebolt around and kicked it forward. Like a bullet, he shot toward the Slytherins.

"AAAAAAARRRGH!"

The Slytherins scattered as the Firebolt zoomed toward them; Angelina's way was clear.

"SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty points to twenty!"

Harry, who had almost pelted headlong into the the teacher's box, skidded to a halt in midair.

"Harry," Dawn said before her nephew flew off. She went over to the side of the teacher's box and waved him over. "I saw what Malfoy did. Are you alright?"

"Yes, Aunt Dawn," Harry said.

"If he tries that again, you tell him that he has detention," Dawn said.

Harry smiled; he would have hugged Dawn if he wasn't hovering in midair. "I will, Aunt Dawn." He turned and zoomed back into the middle of the field. And then he saw something to make his heart stand still. Malfoy was diving, a look of triumph on his face—there, a few feet above the grass below, was a tiny, golden glimmer—

Harry urged the Firebolt downward, but Malfoy was miles ahead—

"Go! Go! Go!" Harry urged his broom. He was gaining on Malfoy—Harry flattened himself to the broom handle as Bole sent a Bludger at him—he was at Malfoy's ankles—he was level—

Harry threw himself forward, took both hands off his broom. He knocked Malfoy's arm out of the way and—

"YES!"

He pulled out of his dive, his hand in the air, and the stadium exploded. Harry soared above the crowd the tiny golden ball was held tight in his fist, beating its wings hopelessly against his fingers.

Then Wood was speeding toward him; he seized Harry around the neck and sobbed unrestrainedly into his shoulder.

Harry felt two large thumps as Fred and George hit them; then Angelina's, Alicia's, and Katie's voices, "We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!"

Tangled together in a many-armed hug, the Gryffindor team sank, yelling hoarsely, back to earth.

Willow and Dawn hurried to the Gryffindor team. First Willow and then Dawn embraced Harry as they congratulated. Behind them wave upon wave of crimson supporters was pouring over the barriers onto the field to congratulate the Gryffindor team.

"I think you all should make way," Dawn said having spotted Dumbledore heading toward them with the enormous Quidditch Cup.