Chapter 32 - GRYFFINDOR VS HUFFLEPUFF
Harry POV
It was the second week of March.
Fuck! Although it stopped snowing… It was now fucking raining! Thankfully Dumbledore gave me the tip about my glasses. Now I don't have to worry about it falling off, or it being bothered by rainwater or snow.
In the prep room, Oliver was busy going over tactics with the rest of the team. After he finished briefing the team on the tactics, Oliver then reminded everyone of the current standings.
"Remember guys, Hufflepuff is just like us, they are 1-0 in the standings and they beat Ravenclaw 220 - 10. They won very convincingly as they were already in the lead by 60 points before Diggory caught the snitch and Hufflepuff won. If we beat them today, we will jump up in the standings ahead of them and be positioned for the go to the final and win the cup!"
On that note, the team cheered. We then left and got onto our brooms waiting for the announcer to call us out onto the pitch. Lee, the announcer for the games, started shouting our names out. I watched as he called each of my teammates one by one. They then shot out of the room one by one until it was only me left.
"-And Ladies and Gentlemen, the youngest seeker that Gryffindor Team ever seen! It is Harry Potter!"
I then shot out on my Nimbus 2000 and circled around the pitch. The crowd roared as I came onto the field. When flying around, I saw Daphne, Tracey, and Hermione standing together at a spot in stands. I saw them waving at me and waved back. I then after a couple of loops around the pitch slowed down and stopped in front of Diggory. We gave each other a polite nod before Madam Hooch spoke up with a sonorous charm.
"Alright, you all know the rules! I want a nice and clean game… from all of you!"
She paused for a moment then kicked the chest and it opened up.
Lee then yelled, "The bludgers are up! Followed by the golden snitch! Wow! That little golden ball sure is fast today! It zoomed away immediately after being free!"
I glanced at the snitch before looking back at Madam Hooch. Madam Hooch then picked up the Quaffle from the chest. She then extended it out and held it in the palm of her hand. The crowd then roared as the match was about to begin. All the chasers tensed on their brooms, getting ready to fly forwards to snatch the Quaffle.
"Three!... Two!... One!..."
She then blew the whistle and tossed the Quaffle high into the air. Angelina and Alicia immediately surged forwards whilst Katie cycled around behind the Hufflepuff formation.
It was as if they anticipated getting the starting possession! And they did!
Angelina snatched the Quaffle up and quickly and passed it to Alicia as two Hufflepuff chases converged on her after she snatched the opening possession. The Two Hufflepuff chasers then immediately peeled off Angelina and went to chase Alicia. Alicia with her headstart was flying towards the Hufflepuff hoops fast, the two Hufflepuff's hot on her tail, trying to close the distance.
Then a bludger came at Alicia, it was accelerating towards her when George flew by and smacked the bludger at a slightly different angle. He changed the angle ever so slightly so that it went towards the two Hufflepuff chasers tailing Alicia instead of her. This slowed down one of the Hufflepuffs as he had to break away to dodge.
Alicia was now approaching the hoops fast. The Hufflepuff keeper waited in anticipation. Alicia then suddenly accelerated to the left and threw the quaffle! The keeper immediately served around to block the left hoop, except the quaffle didn't go anywhere near the hoops, it passed above and went behind the left hoop and was caught by… Katie! Katie caught the Quaffle, and in one clean and swift motion, tossed it straight at the right hoop. The Hufflepuff keeper, taken aback by the impressive coordination shown between the Gryffindor chasers, tried to recover towards the right hoop. He, however, didn't even make it to the center hoop before the Quaffle had already passed cleanly through the right hoop.
Lee then shouted "SCORE! Katie Bell has scored the first points of the match! That is 10 points to Gryffindor! What a beautifully coordinated play by her and Alicia Spinnet!"
I smiled, we were off to a good start. I then peeled my eyes away and began looking for the snitch. I flew around a bit looking around for the slightest hint of gold. Some of the camera flashes in the crowd had me accelerate a couple times because I thought it was the glint on the snitch. I took a quick glance at the score, 70 - 40. Damn, we were only a bit ahead. I then decided we need more time to accumulate a lead. I signalled to Fred and George to keep the bludgers away and then suddenly turned my broom around and started zooming off.
Take the bait! Take the bait!
Diggory seemed to have noticed my sudden change and chased after me.
"OH! IT SEEMS LIKE POTTER HAS SEEN THE SNITCH! Diggory has accelerated as well and chased after him! He is getting closer to Potter and- A WRONSKI FEINT! OH WOW! AND BEAUTIFULLY EXECUTED! Diggory is off his broom!" yelled out Lee.
Diggory took the bait, the second he got closer to me, I dived down and reached out my hand, it was as if I was trying grasp the snitch. Then at the last possible second, I pulled up right before the ground, the hedges of my broom almost touching the grass pitch before shooting off back into the sky. Diggory then crashed hard onto the grass pitch and fell off his broom. The crowd roared as I flew back into the sky. I quickly started to look for the snitch, my head darted back and forth trying to find it.
After a while, I looked over at the score again once Lee yelled out into the microphone.
"SCORE! Angelina Johnson has scored back to back goals! Another 10 points to Gryffindor! They now lead Hufflepuff 120 - 50!"
I smiled and focused all my attention back onto my hunt for the snitch. I then saw Diggory back up, flying up towards the sky.
He did seem to be injured! Damn, he is tough! He still managed to get up from a crash like that?
For the briefest second saw a hint of gold wisk by the Gryffindor goal posts. I leaned forward and accelerated towards it. Then I saw it! The little blighter! The snitch seemed to sense me approaching and took off towards the sky. I then did a barrel roll to quickly dodge a bludger sent at me before soaring up towards the sky.
"OH! A clean barrel roll executed by Potter! He now seems to be flying off to the sky… YES! POTTER HAS SEEN THE SNITCH!" yelled out Lee.
Diggory then quickly took off, he was hesitant to do so at first, fearing another Wronski Feint. I accelerated and went higher and higher into the clouds. The rain started to get heavier as I shot upwards. The wind picked up and it started to get colder. I was almost at the snitch! Diggory was closing in on me as I struggled to catch the snitch.
Then there was my chance!
At that moment I curved towards the exact same side the snitch curved towards. I reached out my hand and swiped the snitch. I grasped the tight little golden ball tightly. I smiled as I flew back down out of the clouds and raised my hand.
Lee then bellowed out, "HARRY POTTER HAS THE SNITCH! HE HAS CAUGHT IT ONCE AGAIN! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
A roar then erupted from the crowd around the Quidditch pitch. Although I could hear the occasional BOOO! The cheers drowned out the boos. I then looked towards the stands and saw Daphne, Tracey, and Hermione all jumping up and down whilst waving at me. I did a quick dive and flew near them and gave them a wave as well. Once I got back down onto the pitch, I was swarmed by the team.
"WELL DONE HARRY!" yelled out all three chasers.
Oliver then gave me a fist bump and patted me on the back.
"Yeah-"
"Good catch-"
"and what a sick-"
"Wronski Feint Harry!"
I laughed at the twins back and forth praise.
Katie then hollered out, "PARTY IN THE COMMON ROOM!"
We then all left to the changing rooms and headed back to the Gryffindor common room to celebrate. We were now 2-0 and if we beat Ravenclaw, which we most likely will, We will be favorites heading into the final!