Bonus 7 - Gryffindor Vs Ravenclaw

Slytherin Ravenclaw.

Ginny was his friend. Harry hoped Ravenclaw won by 400.

But it wasn't to be. Before five minutes had passed, Ravenclaw had been called for five well-earned fouls. Slytherin was playing clean, and it had caught Ravenclaw flat-footed. The Eagles eventually recovered, and began to close the gap, eventually taking the lead. Then Ginny caught the snitch, right under Cho Chang's nose.

She flew around the pitch, holding out the snitch in front of the Ravenclaw rafters, smiling brightly. Harry got up and left.

220-140 Slytherin.

Sickening.

XOXOXOX

Something was bothering Cho. Not that they'd lost. They'd been destroyed by Hufflepuff, and Slytherin had beaten the team who'd beaten Hufflepuff. Quidditch was more of a hobby in Ravenclaw anyway, being at the bottom of the standings was nothing new.

Nor was she bothered that Ginny had caught the snitch. Ginny was a better quidditch player, Cho had known that going in. It did sting a little, that they'd had the lead when she'd been caught sleeping and allowed Ginny win the game.

"Weasley," called Cho. "Why didn't you use the tactics you used on Potter on me?

"Isn't it obvious, Cho?" Ginny asked, turning from the Ravenclaw rafters. "Anyone who understands quidditch knows why, and I'm sure you do too. C'mon don't make me say it."

Cho trembled. "Just tell me."

"You're a great student Cho, I'm sure you're a great person, but it's because, well…" Ginny held out the golden snitch with a bright smile. "Because we knew we didn't have to."

XOXOXOX

The Gryffindors huddled together on their side of the pitch.

"We may have lost to them last year, but we're the better squad and everyone knows it. We've got them outmatched at damn near every position. This is what we've been training for. On three, offense," said Oliver Wood. The team put their hands together in the middle of the huddle. "One, two, three,"

"OFFENSE!" Bellowed the squad. Then they flew to their positions, next to the Ravenclaws.

The game plan was simple enough. Execute. Make your reads, make your hits, make your tackles, make your shots, and prolong the game. Whether the storm. Do your job. Don't try to be a hero Harry. If Gryffindor was to win The Cup they mathematically had to win by at least 400 points, and hope that Hufflepuff beat Slytherin, but by no more than 10 points. So it'd be better to win by a great deal more than 400, because they trailed Hufflepuff by 380 in goal differential.

"Let's have a good match," Harry murmured to the opposing seeker, eyeing the handle of his broom.

Harry's job was to keep Hufflepuff's weakest link, Cho Chang, from catching the snitch. Wood had assured Harry it would be easy, because she wasn't a real quidditch player. She'd even asked Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw captain, if she could quit. Davies had asked her to think on it, but any true seeker refused to leave the pitch. And sure Chang had eventually agreed to finish out the season, but she was an embarrassment to quidditch and that sort of rubbish was only allowed because Ravenclaw was a nerdy house who treated quidditch like an arithmancy equation. Wood's team would not lose to Ravenclaw! Not now! Not ever!

...Not again...

Harry thought it was bollocks, he hated his part in the game plan, quidditch shouldn't be played like that! But he'd do it, because it's what his team needed from him.

"Let's get this over with. I've got my finals to study for," Cho said, scowling and flipping her silky black hair. "Quidditch is just a child's game."

Which must have been why she'd spent a small fortune for her very own Nimbus 2000. But Cho's sour attitude didn't make Harry feel any better about what he was supposed to do. He hated quidditch.

Madam Hooch flew to midfield, underneath Harry and Cho, between Katie Bell and Roger Davies. "Let's have a good clean game."

"We plan to," said Katie Bell.

"Katie?" Roger asked eagerly. "Can you let Percy Weasley know I'm available to study next Tuesday?"

Katie won the tip, and flew right down the field, scoring a goal on the right hoop. The Ravenclaws looked at each other accusingly.

"Why are you looking at me Roger?" asked Ravenclaw chaser Jeremy Stretton. "She was your assignment. The arithmalytics say you're the only one who can keep up with her. And Grant didn't even make any effort."

Cho Chang flew up high. She didn't call out plays like Cedric, nor was she targeting Harry as Ginny had. She was circling the pitch, eyes below, looking for the snitch. Like a proper seeker.

"I was just following the numbers, you ignorant dunderhead." The Ravenclaw keeper, Grant Page, adjusted his glasses haughtily. "70% of the time Katie Bell fakes a shot and then goes for the middle hoop. But I suppose you've not studied the reports Jeremy. Hardly surprising from a straight-A student."

Cho's silky black hair billowed in the wind. Harry urged his Nimbus forward. It was hard to keep up.

Gryffindor jumped out to a 70-30 lead.

Cho glanced back at Harry, scowled, and kept looking for the snitch. Harry didn't blame her. She was acting like a proper seeker, and he was acting like a proper wanker.

"Don't lose hope," said Ravenclaw captain Roger Davies. "We're playing good quidditch. We're forcing them to take bad shots, they're just hitting them. We can't let these stupid meatheads beat us with their antiquated play and set quidditch back a dozen years! For the arithmancy!"

"Bell with the shot, no it's a fake- and that's a great save by Page!" Bellowed Lee Jordan. "And all that early offense from Gryffindor has dried up. But Ravenclaw can't capitalize. They're playing good smart quidditch, but at a certain point you just have to win your matchup."

A flicker of gold, right near midfield. Harry… Harry did nothing. Don't tip off the opponent. Prolong the ga-

Cho dove for the snitch. Not a real quidditch player huh? Wood was full of troll bogeys! She had pace! Harry was closing ground, but that moment of hesitation had… Had… Cho was going to catch the snitch, so he… He…

He grabbed her hair, and yanked. Cho turned back and swiped his hand off her without breaking pursuit. So Harry… He grabbed her uniform, and yanked his broom to the side. It was a disgusting play, and he apologized to any children watching.

Cho swerved her broom to keep from falling off it. The golden snitch fluttered away. "Fuck! Morgana's breath! Hooch! You saw what he did!"

Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and stared sternly at Harry. "Three free shots for Ravenclaw."

"Sorry," murmured Harry. He couldn't help himself from apologizing, even though he knew he didn't deserve forgiveness.

"No you're not." Cho said, giving Harry a nasty smile which he entirely deserved. "But you will be."

Ravenclaw hit all three free shots, cutting the score to 70-60 Gryffindor.

Cho circled, and suddenly dove. Harry hadn't seen a thing, and rushed out in front of her wildly. He hadn't the faintest clue where the snitch was.

"Blocking foul! Potter!" Hooch whistled. "Two free shots for Ravenclaw."

And just like that, Ravenclaw had taken the lead. 80-70 Ravenclaw.

Cho smirked at Harry, flew back up to the top of the pitch, and started circling like a proper seeker. Harry followed up after her, hating himself, hating quidditch.

"And that's another save by Page. One has to wonder what Katie Bell is thinking," said Lee Jordan. "She keeps throwing it right to him."

"Numbers never lie," bellowed Roger Davies, thumping his chest as Page passed him the quaffle. He hovered in place and began to call plays. "Chicken bait! Chicken bait! Sine equals why! Sine equals why!"

Ravenclaw played keep away with the quaffle.

Oliver Wood was throwing a fit on the other side of the pitch, and Cho was diving again. Harry didn't have the faintest clue at what, he couldn't find the snitch, but he blocked her all the same. It was his job.

"Blocking foul!" Hooch whistled. "Three shots for Ravenclaw."

Cho giggled, and Ravenclaw made two of the three free throws extending their lead. 100-70 Ravenclaw. It was strange that she kept spotting the snitch. Normally, you'd be lucky to find it once every half-hour, let alone be in any position to snag it. And when the snitch's position was more advantageous to the opponent, roughy half the time, a seeker's job was to play dumb. And yet Cho had already made three separate plays for it. Harry hated the strategy of trying to play some dumb game of keep-away. It had already cost Gryffindor seventy points, much more and he couldn't even make up for it with a snitch catch. Maybe this was why most seekers didn't play such a terr-

What? Cho dove again. What bad luck, that was the fourth time in five minutes, and Harry hadn't seen even a glint of gold on any-

Wait… He let Cho finish her dive. She dropped her arm down to the ground, skimmed the grass on the field below the pitch, high-fived Grant Page, and flew back up beside Harry.

"Finally caught on have you?" Cho asked, wearing a sly smile. "You're not half as dumb as a person half as smart as me."

"Err… What?"

"You helped catch a death eater, Potter," said Cho… smirking pleasantly? "If you use that cute little head of your's, I'm sure you can figure it out."

The good news was that Luna would probably like Ravenclaw, the bad news was that the damage was already done. She'd baited him into gifting Ravenclaw 50 points. Harry found himself smiling. He was glad that his team's strategy wasn't working. It wasn't the way quidditch ought to be played. The only thing to do was look for the snitch himself, and then err… Force her to foul him in order to keep him from catching the snitch! Hah! He knew there'd been a better way to do it!

Noticing that Harry was done handing them points, Ravenclaw started playing properly. They scored 10 on a goal by Randolph Burrow, but Alicia Spinnet answered with a goal of her own. Back and forth it went, the team's locked in an even match. Gryffindor was more careful with the ball, and flew slightly faster, but Ravenclaw's players moved better without the ball, and the quaffle never stopped moving. 180-170 Ravencl-

Cho dove. But Harry wasn- The snitch glinted on the opposite side of the pitch, below the Gryffindor hoops, just a few feet above the grassy field. Harry desperately grabbed for Cho's uniform, but only caught air. She flew out a few broomsticks in front of him, and no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't shorten the gap.

"Kill! Kill!" Harry screamed. That was code for the entire Gryffindor team to stop whatever they were doing, and put all their effort into one task: stopping Cho Chang.

Cho ducked a bludger from Fred Weasley, and made a hard cut to lose Katie Bell, but she'd lost momentum.

"Times Zero! Times Zero!" Cried Cho.

Harry slammed on the brakes to dodge a well-placed bludger courtesy of Duncan Inglebee. It still exploded through half his broom's wooden handle. Harry's right hand was holding nothing more than a shard of wood that had once been part of his broom. Jeremy Stretton latched himself on the thistles of Harry's Nimbus. Harry smacked Jeremy's hands away with his wooden shard, and zoomed down towards the snitch, only able to grip his broom's bludger-shortened handle with one hand. But the snitch had reversed course, and was flying straight at Cho Chang, hovering mere inches above the grassy pitch.

Fred aimed a bludger at Cho, but the Ravenclaw Keeper Grant Page flew in front of the bludger and took the hit. Oliver Wood hurled himself onto Cho's broom. Roger Davies smashed him off, dislodging Wood, and half the thistles in Cho's broom.

But the snitch had reversed course, and flew towards Harry.

"Get it Cho," cried Roger Davies, green grass stains covering his blue uniform. "For Ravenclaw!"

"Get it Harry," cried Oliver Wood, laying in a heap on the field beside Roger. "For Gryffindor!"

The snitch froze in place, hovering midway between Harry and Cho.

Cho urged what was left of her broom forward, thistles from the broomhead falling to the ground like snow. Harry urged what was left of his broom forward, barely able to keep it levitating, stalks of grass brushing his shoes.

The snitch didn't change position, midway between them. Even on half-broken brooms, the two of them were picking up speed. Any moment now the snitch was going to jitter away, otherwise they were going to collide… Any moment now…

Harry clenched his jaw, and raised his left hand.

The snitch maintained its position between them. Harry wanted it so bad. More than anything. But Cho didn't flinch either.

Harry fingers wrapped around cold gold, something warmer, and he met Cho Chang with all his momentum. The two of them crashed into the ground, and Harry felt his organs smash against his ribs a moment later.

"Simultaneous, who has it?" Bellowed Lee Jordan.

Harry yanked Cho's hair. But she wouldn't let go. Cho clawed at his eyes. But he wouldn't let go either.

"Out of the way," Madam Hooch bellowed, shoving onlooking members from both teams aside.

Harry rolled over, bending Cho's arm, and prying the snitch from her at last. He held it out to the crowd.

Hooch blew her whistle. "Gryffindor Lions 320, Ravenclaw Eagles 180!"

"Potter! Potter! Potter!" Bellowed the Gryffindor rafters.

"Bullshite! Bullshite! Bullshite!" Bellowed the Ravenclaw rafters.

Harry felt like he was finally experiencing proper British quidditch.

"Hah!" Said Oliver Wood. "We beat you! 'Oh and three! That's where your arithmalytics got you! Ditch it, and go back to playing proper quidditch!"

"You doddering imbecile!" Said Roger Davies. "You're lucky Potter caught the snitch! We had the lead in the proper game! We're two lucky snitch catches from being 2-1, and you can hardly include Hufflepuff in the experiment! I'd rather die than play your plodding, antiquated style of quidditch! Trust a Gryffindor to not be able to identify the noise in an experiment!"

"You nerdy cad," said Oliver Wood, swinging at Roger. "Your type is ruining quidditch!"

"You diddering clod," said Roger, ducking the blow, and taking a swing at Wood. "Your type is killing quidditch!"

"You heard the captain! For quidditch!" Bellowed The Twins, slugging Duncan Inglebee and Jason Samuels. And soon the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams were brawling. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaws rafters followed their lead, the entire match devolved into a riot that quickly spilled onto the field. It appeared that with Hermione's rise, and their mutual hatred of Slytherin lessening, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had remembered how little they cared for one another. Jocks and nerds, enemies once again, the natural order restored. Harry tried to distance himself from the fighting, instead choosing to admire the snitch, until a certain Ravenclaw found him.

"Why'd you pull that stunt?" Asked Cho testily. "What were you doing out there?"

Harry's smile faded. "I'm sorry. Pulling your uni-"

"No, no, not that," said Cho irritably. "We can do math in Ravenclaw. We knew you had a shot at The Cup if you beat us by 400, and Hufflepuff beat Slytherin but by no more than 10. We anticipated that you'd harass me in order to prolong the game. Counted on it, you could say. Did you know that a foul shot is the most efficient play in quidditch?" Cho shook her head. "So why'd you stop? Midway through the game you abandoned your team and started searching for the snitch, and then at the end you went all out on catching it. Why?"

Harry shrugged. "It wasn't gonna work. If I'd kept up with that stupid strategy we'd have lost the game. You're too good a seeker for me to fool around with that nonsense. In the end… I dunno… I guess I just caught it because I wanted to."

It had been a little selfish, but Harry couldn't bring himself to regret it.

"I see." Cho smiled, planted a kiss on Harry's cheek, blushed, and sprinted into the chaotic brawl with a sparking wand… Eh?

Quidditch was bloody wicked.

A few hours later, Harry wandered back up to The Gryffindor Common Room.

"You shouldn't be smiling," Ginny snapped angrily. "Your stupid catch caused Gryffindor's elimination. Not that it would have mattered. Slytherin's going to win anyway, because I'm the seeker, and I'm not a bloody loser like you! You ought to wipe that grin off your face! You almost lost the snitch to Cho Chang! Cho Chang! She's not even a real quidditch player!"

Harry smiled dopily. "I dunno. She flew pretty well today…"

Ginny turned bright red. "Ha! You're just saying that because she's pretty! But Cho Chang is a loser, and the worst seeker in the entire school! She's a horrid, scarlet woman, Harry Potter, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself! I'm gonna catch the snitch tomorrow, and nobody is even gonna remember your stupid game when I'm holding The Cup!"

Ginny stomped away moodily.

Harry scratched his head. He really ought to have trusted Ron more. Ginny really could be crazy sometimes. He had no idea what her problem was…

The next morning, while Harry was eating breakfast, Dumbledore rose and waited until the entire Great Hall was silent. "The end of the year approaches. Finals, The Summer Dueling Tournament, going back home. To many young people, it may seem like the end of the world…" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "And today, we have our last quidditch match. So now, let us give a big cheer for Madam Hooch. She will be presenting the awards for excellence on the quidditch pitch."

Roger Davies accepted the Barberus Bragge award for most innovative strategy. Anthony Rickett won the award for best beater.

"He's a monster," said Fred. "He deserves it."

"O'Flaherty had better stats," said George.

"You're just being oppositional," said Fred.

"You're just following the crowd," said George.

Ron looked at Harry for some reason.

"Rickett was the bigger issue when we played them," said Harry, rubbing his right elbow. "The Cannons made a good signing."

Ron sighed in relief. George scowled. "Waste of a first round pick. Beaters can't have that much impact on a game."

"We only beat the Badgers because of you," Fred reminded him.

"That was you," said George petulantly.

Tamsin Applebee won the award for best Chaser, and Kevin Bletchely won the award for best Keeper. Only the Slytherins cheered for him though.

"And now for the final award," said Madam Hooch. "Different from the others, this award isn't chosen by me, or the staff, but by the players on the pitch. It's the Rabnott Trophy, for the player who was most valuable to their team. I'd like to call to the front, the three players who received the most votes: Cedric Diggory…"

The Great Hall burst into cheers.

"CEDRIC! CEDRIC! CEDRIC!"

Harry clapped along politely. Cedric was the best player, and deserved the award. Anyone from Hufflepuff really, they'd been the best team he'd played by far. Just give it to anybody but-

"Ginevra Weasley…"

Slytherin, and Slytherin alone, cheered their champion. Ginny took a theatrical bow, drawing boos from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. She blew them kisses, and sauntered to the front of the hall.

"...And Harry Potter."

Ron pushed Harry up by his arse. "Told you mate. Now stop being humble, and go claim your award. You deserve it."

He didn't. Harry blushed, and went to the front of the stage. Yes, he supposed he'd managed to get two snitch catches on paper. But it wasn't like he'd been some kind of quidditch genius, he'd had a lot of help, he'd gotten a lot of luck, and he'd just kind of been running on instincts. Wood was the captain, he'd been the one in charge of training the team. He should've been angry with Harry, instead of cheering him on.

"You've been the best player ever since Charlie left," Ginny told Cedric. "It's an honor being up here with you."

Cedric shook Harry's hand. "Get used to it Potter. You're the real deal. You're gonna be up here a lot."

"Thanks," said Harry. "You're the best player I've ever gone up against Cedric."

"Thanks Potter."

"You're the most talented flier I've ever seen," Ginny told him.

"Thanks," said Harry.

Ginny glanced at the two of them, like she was waiting for something, but Harry didn't know what. It wasn't like he knew anything about how Ginny actually played quidditch.

"And the winner of the Rablott Trophy, the most valuable quidditch player, is…" Madam Hooch paused dramatically, and a large golden trophy of a crumpled snitch appeared in her grasp. "HARRY POTTER!"

"Well deserved," said Cedric, shaking his hand enthusiastically. "You were the best player this year for sure."

Harry tried to smile. It had just been luc-

Ginny closed her mouth. "Good job," she managed to get out. "I'm… happy for you…" Everything about her seemed pleasant, except it seemed like she was staring past him.

Harry smiled. She hadn't actually thought she was going to win the award had she?

"Good luck in today's match," she told Cedric.

"I don't need it," said Cedric. "Not against you."

"We'll see," said Ginny pleasantly. She still smiled, but her entire body was shaking, and her green eyes were absolutely livid.

After accepting his Most Valuable Player award, Harry settled into the rafters to watch the Hufflepuff Slytherin Championship Match.

It was a bloodbath.

Slytherin immediately targeted Cedric the way they'd targeted Harry. Slytherin chaser Graham Montague pulled his jersey, and Slytherin beaters Lucian Bole and Peregrine Derrick smashed him with bludgers. It was all Cedric could do to stay on his broom and avoid being decapitated.

The rest of the Hufflepuff team surrounded Marcus Flint like a swarm of killer bees. After taking him out, they moved onto the Slytherin keeper Kevin Bletchley, and smashed his broom to pieces.

Slytherin's remaining chaser, Adrian Pucey scored a few confused goals, before being run aground by the swarm of angry Badgers.

"Play on," said Madam Hooch, smiling sweetly at Ginny.

When the swarm of Hufflepuffs converged on Ginny, Graham Montague, Lucian Bole, and Peregrine Derrick flew off from Cedric to protect their seeker. The Hufflepuffs relented and a proper game of quidditch was afoot.

Of course, Slytherin was down two chasers and a keeper, against the most talented team that had graced Hogwarts in at least a decade.

Ginny flew around the pitch in circles, desperate to put an end to the game. Cedric tailed her, grabbing her jersey, keeping her from moving freely.

In three minutes, Hufflepuff had scored 200 points, and Ginny was forced to abandon her search for the snitch. In a final act of desperation she played keeper to try and slow the Hufflepuff onslaught. She may have been better off searching for the snitch. Quaffle after quaffle sailed past her. Apparently, keeper wasn't just some position where teams stuck players who couldn't fly; it was actually a specialized position which required an entirely different set of skills. Funny that.

Hufflepuff scored another 200 points in the next five minutes. The snitch flew past Cedric. He ignored it in favor of directing Hufflepuff's offense.

For ten long minutes, Hufflepuff scored goal after goal with impunity, while the Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw rafters chanted: "Serpents Suck! Serpents Suck! Serpents Suck!"

Had Harry joined them? He certainly wouldn't admit it to Ron or Ginny.

"And that's it," said Lee Jordan. "Cedric catches the snitch! 1030-70 Hufflepuff, in the most one-sided contest since 1607!"

Black and yellow confetti rained from the sky. The Badgers flew to the Hufflepuff rafters and celebrated with their house. What was left of the Slytherin team flew out of the pitch in shock and embarrassment, their heads bowed. Harry could see the tears running down Ginny's cheeks.

"Another season, another Hufflepuff championship! That's five in six years, and three in a row, with their only blemish coming courtesy of Charlie Weasley. The Golden Dynasty continues! Let's hear it for your invincible, undefeatable, greatest-of-all-time Hufflepuff Badgers!"

Unbeatable? "We beat them," Harry murmured quietly. But he was glad Hufflepuff had beaten the slimy Slytherins. He allowed himself a small smile. Then he headed down to the Slytherin Common Room to console a friend.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! To anyone curious, I did do the math and the point differentials mentioned in the chapter were accurate. Since Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin all beat Ravenclaw and each finished with one loss and one win against each other, point differential was used as a tie breaker. The final standings in order would be Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and finally Ravenclaw in last. The reason I made Hufflepuff so good at quidditch is because their house values of hardwork, friendship, and fair play are also the three main values of most team sports. So in this universe Hufflepuff almost always has the best quidditch team, although singular talents like Charlie Weasley can occasionally turn the tides. Ginny and Harry are the two best players in Hogwarts right now (I think in cannon Ginny was the better of the two, as she eventually played professionally), but in this universe because Ginny is a dirty player she will always be snubbed in awards. In terms of talent Gyffindor and Ravenclaw are about equal (which neither would admit), and Slytherin actually has a terrible team (due to rampant nepotism) which Ginny carried to a 2-1 record (and so she should have been MVP in this story). Ginny is Harry's main quidditch rival, and he actively dislikes and does not respect how she plays the game. But the friend he's planning to console is Ginny, as their friendship extends everywhere except the pitch. Anyway, Gryffindor Ravenclaw was easily my favorite match in this story.

ViviTheFolle - Ron actually took Molly's comment as a compliment. In this story he just wants to be another Weasley, he doesn't care about being the best Weasley. Ron is... Well just look at how he reacted to Harry's MVP award. And as for Neville, yeah he's definitely got it tough. Thanks for the review!

Ten chapters left, although the next one is very short and is a flashback. It's called The Nail, and kicks off the final act.