Harry Potter and the Mother Who Lived

by Gracques

When Lord Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to kill Harry Potter, he agreed to a request from one of his disciples to spare his mother. The Dark Lord remained true to his word. Lily Evans Potter survived the night of October 31, 1981. Follow the story of Harry Potter where Voldemort kept his word and Harry was raised by his mother.

102. Harry XXII (Quidditch 3 - G vs S)

The final of the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup. Finally. For those who were waiting for it, it finally arrived.

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HARRY XXII

"LET THE GAME BEGIN!"

With those four short words, Lee Jordan started the most important Quidditch game Harry would ever have to play. He somewhat regretted that his mother was not present to see it, since parents were still not allowed to attend matches, but at the same time, she might not have enjoyed what she would have seen. Indeed, Harry was ready to do anything to win this game.

Harry thrusted at full power right when Alicia seized the Quaffle and went immediately in search of the Golden Snitch. To win this game, due to the final scores in matches they played earlier this year, Gryffindor only had to win by 100 points. It meant that as long as Harry caught the Snitch while Slytherin was not leading by more than fifty points, they would get the Quidditch Cup. Still, they were early in the game, and all attention went to the Chasers for now as Harry was looking for the small golden ball.

"Alicia avoids a Bludger… Heading straight to the goalposts… She tries a pass… No, it is intercepted by Pucey… He avoids Angelina… He's heading for Gryffindor's goalposts… Wham! A nice Bludger by George Weasley… Angelina recovers the Quaffle… She ducks Montague… Nice play, Angelina… Oh no, a… Angelina avoided it! She avoided the Bludger! She is in front of the Slytherin rings… SHE SCORES!"

It was as if the whole stadium was shaking, and that Harry could feel it even from the air far above. He looked down to see the red and gold banner and flags bustling everywhere.

"10-0 FOR GRYFFINDOR!"

Lee was even more energetic than usual. Angelina was raising her fist to celebrate under the acclamations of the crowd.

An instant later, the crowd was instead booing loudly. Flint had almost smashed against Angelina, who barely avoided him by swerving at the last minute. Flint was raising his hands in the air, as if he did it by accident. Fred appeared behind him in an instant and swung his bat against the back of Flint's head. His face collided with the handle of his broomstick, and blood spurted from his nose.

The crowd cheered Fred who raised his bat high in the air, though Harry could feel that the Slytherin supporters wanted nothing less than to kill him judging by their shouts and cries. All of this didn't stop Madam Hooch from giving a penalty to both teams.

In the meantime, Harry noticed that Malfoy was following him. So they had been right. Oliver had discussed with Roger Davies and Cedric Diggory over the last two weeks, and according to spies from the three houses who managed to spy on the Slytherin team while they were practicing, and even according to students who got intel from Slytherin friends, Malfoy was going to adopt a similar approach to Cho's during the game between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. He would tail Harry and try to block and stop him whenever possible.

Harry wasn't that surprised. Flint and Malfoy had the intelligence and the creativity of trolls, so no wonder they copied the tactics of another team, probably thinking that if Cho managed to create such problems to Harry when they faced each other, Malfoy would have no problem blocking Harry in all circumstances, given he had a better broomstick. However, like Harry said to Cho before, Malfoy wasn't as good as she was. Cho had managed to block Harry despite a broomstick that was definitely inferior to Harry's Firebolt, though it was a very good model. Malfoy, despite having a better brand, was not as good a Seeker as Cho was, and he was also taller, which deprived him of the advantages Cho had due to her small frame.

And it wasn't long before Harry showed Malfoy that his Nimbus Two Thousand and One didn't make him that fantastic. He easily spotted Malfoy trying to cut his trajectory. Harry trained more than enough with both Cho and Cedric to be more aware of his surroundings and spot a player that would try to block him in his tracks. And Malfoy wasn't as good as Cho was to remain in a blind spot. Harry went the opposite way to the one Malfoy expected him to take, leaving the arrogant boy far behind. In the meantime, Alicia had scored on the penalty their team received.

"20-0 FOR GRYFFINDOR!"

The crowd was cheering loudly. Next, Flint took the penalty for his team. He was still bleeding. Despite this, he almost succeeded in scoring. Almost. Oliver pulled one of the most spectacular stops he ever performed, maintaining Gryffindor's advance to twenty points.

"Wood makes a pass to Bell… But she loses it to Montague… He shoots… Wood caught it… Gryffindor counterattacks… Johnson back with the Quaffle… A pass to Bell… She avoids Flint… And then Mont… HEY! THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

As the whistle was heard despite the shouts of anger by the crowd, Harry looked down in time to see that Montague had literally seized Katie by the head to get the Quaffle away from her. She lost the Quaffle, but all it got for Slytherin was another penalty for Gryffindor.

"Hi, Potter."

Malfoy flew right in front of him. Harry cursed. He got distracted and allowed Malfoy to cut him. But it wasn't very grave. Madam Hooch was giving a lesson to Montague while Katie recovered the Quaffle and prepared for her penalty shot. Once Madam Hooch was done lecturing Montague, she gave Katie the go to make her penalty. Katie flew straight towards the Slytherin rings first, but then she abruptly turned right and prepared to shoot. Bletchley made a move to protect both the central and left rings. But Katie swerved left at the last instant and scored through Slytherin's right ring instead.

"30-0 for Gryffindor!"

Harry returned to searching the Snitch. They had the advantage so far, but unless Angelina, Alicia and Katie managed to score twenty-five more goals than Slytherin, victory rested upon his shoulders. In the meantime, it was McGonagall's turn to lecture Lee Jordan as he treated the Slytherins of cheaters.

"Flint gets the Quaffle… He avoids a Bludger… No, George, you missed him as well… A pass to Pucey… Intercepted by Bell… A pass to Johnson… She shoots… No, Bletchley got it. Why can't he be as dumb as his Beaters?!"

"JORDAN!" McGonagall warned him.

But Harry gave no attention to this. He had spotted it. The Golden Snitch. It was at the feet of Gryffindor's goalposts. He rushed towards it right away. He noticed Malfoy's late reaction, but refocused entirely on the Snitch right away. He could get it. He could get it. He was approaching fast. And then…

WHOOSH!

A Bludger brushed his right shoulder. Harry lifted his focus from the Snitch. And it was a good thing, since another Bludger was coming.

Harry turned just in time. The second Bludger touched his right leg. It brushed it more than it hit it, but Harry felt a certain pain to his leg. He flew between the poles of the goalposts, and noticed that Bole and Derrick were coming at him, one from the left, the other from the right, their bats raised. Harry flew up, increasing his speed to a level that would have been impossible with any other broomstick. But because he had a Firebolt, he flew between Derrick and Bole, and when both tried to hit him, they instead stroke each other and crashed face to face.

"Ha Haaa!"

Lee Jordan was laughing hard, and part of the crowd seemed to do the same, when they weren't cheering. "Too bad, boys. You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt!"

Despite this, the two Beaters were still on their broomsticks. Harry wished they had fallen and were unable to play anymore, but maybe it was too much to ask from people with strong heads, as empty as they could be.

He spotted Malfoy, who was flying around Gryffindor's goalposts. But Harry concluded quickly that the Golden Snitch had evaded. To take his revenge on the Slytherins who deprived him from his catch, Harry flew at full speed towards Malfoy, into his blind spot. He turned, still at full speed, right in front of him, a few millimetres from his face. He heard with satisfaction Malfoy first yell in surprise and fear, then cursing after Harry and flying after him. Harry was very glad to show Malfoy that he was the one with the low quality broomstick now, increasing the distance between them.

"Wood stops another shot… He sends the Quaffle to Johnson… But Flint is on her… Poke… No, he got the Quaffle… Oliver, save it!"

Lee's wish wasn't granted. He roared in disappointment along with a large part of the crowd when the characteristic cling indicated that Slytherin was now on the scoring board, bringing the score to 30-10 for Gryffindor. The Slytherins at the other side of the stadium were celebrating, Snape at their head.

As Jordan tried to apologize to McGonagall, swearing he would never curse again like that in the megaphone, Oliver had sent the Quaffle to Katie. She exchanged a few passes with Alicia and Angelina before they lost it to Montague. The Slytherin then lost it to a Bludger well placed by Fred, and Angelina recovered the Quaffle. It was then that Bole tried to hit Katie to the head with his bat, raising his hands to say he didn't do it on purpose. It worked almost as well as for his captain. Fred, who just hit Montague with a Bludger, hit Bole, not with a Bludger, not with his bat, but with his elbow, adding another pain to the one Bole must still feel from his previous collision with his teammate.

Madam Hooch whistled as if she was mad. Both teams had penalties again. This time, Slytherin took the first shot.

"Flint… He rushes to the goalposts… He is as scarlet as if he was in love…"

A large part of the crowd laughed. This may have distracted Flint, for Oliver stopped the Quaffle he tried to shot through the left ring, despite a very good feint, Harry had to concede it.

It was then Alicia who took Gryffindor's penalty. They didn't have Lee's commentary anymore. Harry noticed that McGonagall removed the megaphone from his hands. Despite this, Alicia proved that she didn't need Lee's encouragements to score. She made two feints, and Bletchley only brushed the Quaffle with the tip of his fingers before it entered the central ring.

"40-10 for Gryffindor," Professor McGonagall declared, in a very calm voice. Despite this, Harry could perceive the excitement in her tone. And anyway, the crowd showed more than enough enthusiasm for itself and the commentator united.

Malfoy attempted to block Harry once more, but Harry easily outplayed him again. As a result, Malfoy almost collided with one of the towers, being too focused on blocking Harry and not enough on the rest of the pitch.

Still without commentary, the Slytherins counterattacked. Harry couldn't rely on his words to know what was going on. He had to search the Snitch, not to watch the rest of the game. From the cries of the crowd and the glances he shot from time to time though, he saw that the Quaffle changing sides a few times. Bletchley and Wood both made a stop, but finally, the cling was heard again, and Harry was glad to see Katie with both arms raised.

"50-10 for Gryffindor," McGonagall announced, in the very same voice with a hint of excitement behind it.

"OH!"

Harry wasn't sure why the crowd reacted this way, but when he looked around, he saw just in time Derrick send a Bludger towards Wood, who avoided it by an inch. He was clutching his broomstick. Madam Hooch whistled once more.

"Penalty to Gryffindor! You do not attack the Keeper unless the Quaffle is within the scoring area!"

Angelina took the penalty, while Fred and George made quite an obscene gesture towards Derrick and Bole, who returned it in kind. Still, Angelina flew up first, until she reached a very high altitude, then rushed down, increasing her speed. Harry recognized this tactic. Ravenclaw used it very often. Angelina then made a very powerful shot from what looked like an impossible angle. Bletchley didn't even try to stop it. He must have thought this was an impossible shot, but he was proved wrong when the sound of the goal resonated through the pitch.

"Angelina Johnson scores! 60-10 for Gryffindor!"

Lee Jordan was back to comment. Harry thought that the crowd rejoiced not only because of the goal, but also because of that.

"Pucey gets the Quaffle… A pass to Montague… Oh, Katie received a Bludger. She was trying to take the Quaffle back," Lee complained. "Montague back to Pucey… He avoids a Bludger. He shoots… No, Wood sends it back to Bell right away… But Flint takes it… He shoots… Ah, he scored!"

Only the Slytherin showed joy, while the rest of the crowd booed. This changed nothing, and Lee announced it was now 60-20 for Gryffindor.

Oliver sent the Quaffle back to Angelina all the same, and Fred and George positioned themselves in front of her. And then they did it again. They captured a Bludger and began to exchange it. Flint still flew towards them. People would think that he wasn't seeing anything, which may be the case due to the blood still on his face. At the last moment, Fred hit the Bludger towards him and got Flint right in the face. Marcus Flint, captain of the Slytherin team, fell off his broomstick to the ground, crashing with a huge sound even Harry couldn't mishear.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle once more, but for the first time since the match began, it wasn't for a penalty. Harry stayed in the air as the rest of the Slytherins gathered on the ground around their captain. The stadium had grown a little quieter, though the encouragements for the Gryffindors could still be heard. At the same time, as Harry flew around the pitch, searching for the Snitch even during the interruption, he received many insults when he flew next to the Slytherin section. Someone even threw something at him that looked like a ball, and he flew away quickly.

The Slytherins were still on the ground. Madam Pomfrey had arrived, and she was kneeling next to Flint. In the meantime, Montague seemed to be arguing with Madam Hooch, and Oliver soon flew down to join the argument. In the meantime, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Fred and George were talking between themselves near the Gryffindor goalposts. Harry decided to join them, pausing his search of the Golden Snitch for a moment.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked, especially for the girls who had been the targets of low blows by the Slytherins.

"Yes, Harry," Katie replied. "Thank you."

"Apparently, Montague wants a substitute to replace Flint," Angelina told him. "But they can't, not once the game started. He may be trying to get a penalty for what Fred did too."

"That was legit," Fred burst. "My bat didn't touch him. I hit the Bludger in his direction. That's completely legal. If they didn't want us to do that, they shouldn't have started it first."

Harry knew what Fred was talking about. This was similar to what Lucian Bole did to another Hufflepuff Beater in the Spring.

"No one suggests that, Fred. And Madam Hooch is clever enough to know that as well," Alicia said.

They didn't have time to discuss further for the game resumed. Flint was brought outside the pitch on a stretcher. Slytherin now only had two Chasers.

Certainly frustrated by how Gryffindor led and angered by Flint's injuries, Slytherin's play turned even more brutal and unfair. All it got them were penalties, and Bletchley was having a hard time blocking all the shots towards him. Within five minutes, Gryffindor scored four additional goals, while Slytherin only managed to get one. Gryffindor now led 100-30.

Malfoy and Harry, in the meantime, were engaged in a cat and mouse game, and most of the time Harry evaded his opponent. However, twice, Malfoy managed to hinder his movements, if not to entirely block him in his trajectory. Once, they flew over the Slytherin section, and Harry received something else that looked like a bottle. The Beaters also targeted him with increased insistence, and even tried to ram him, though they abandoned after they almost rammed Malfoy by mistake.

Almost by miracle, Montague then managed to cross the entire pitch, from one end to another, without making any pass, and reached the Gryffindor goalposts to score.

"100-40 for Gryffindor," Lee commented.

Harry noticed how close Malfoy was from behind him. And from the way he was crouched on his Nimbus, it was clear that Malfoy was flying at full speed. Harry braked abruptly at this moment, while turning slightly to the right. Malfoy flew past him. And then Harry saw it. Over his head, probably ten meters higher.

"AAAAHHHHH!"

Harry swerved just in time as Malfoy rushed back towards him at full speed. When he looked back to where the Snitch had been, it was gone. He had lost the Snitch once more.

"And Katie Bell scores! 110-40 for Gryffindor!"

The crowd roared. Malfoy charged Harry once, and he avoided him again. What was Malfoy playing to? Was he that mad about Flint's injury? But then Harry understood when he looked towards where Malfoy was heading. The Snitch was there.

It only took a second, one too long second, but Harry rushed forward, full thrust, crouched in the handle, catching up on Malfoy. But Malfoy was gaining ground on the Snitch, and he was raising his hand. Harry was now at his level and raised his hand too.

He saw it coming their way just in time, and glided slightly to his right just in time.

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

The Bludger hit Malfoy straight into his right arm. Malfoy grabbed it with his left arm, moving away from the Snitch, while Harry adjusted his trajectory again. He extended his hand, getting closer. And then, the whistle resonated.

"Penalty to Gryffindor!"

Harry looked down, and saw Katie was holding her left arm. Montague was close to her, holding a bat. Harry cursed loudly. And in fact, the whole crowd was angry. Harry just missed an opportunity to catch the Snitch because of Montague. However, he noticed that Madam Hooch was close to Katie, and the two seemed to be arguing. Harry flew towards them, and it seemed that all Gryffindor players did the same.

"You are injured, Miss Bell," Madam Hooch was saying. "I strongly advise you to go to the infirmary. You'll be able to come back once you have Madam Pomfrey's authorization."

"No way! This is the final game! You'll need to stupefy me to drag me to the hospital wing," she was yelling.

"Madam Hooch, if you want to take away our Chaser, then force Malfoy to leave the pitch as well. His arm does not seem to be in any better state," Wood interjected.

Indeed, on the Slytherin side, the players were gathering around their Seeker. Harry could hear Malfoy's whining. It seemed that this time, he got injured to the arm for real.

"Alright, this is your choice!" Madam Hooch yelled. "Don't complain after the game if it's worse."

She flew away, this time towards the Slytherin team.

"Malfoy had it coming," Fred said, almost chanting as he lightly swung his bat over his head. Harry concluded that it was him who sent the Bludger towards Malfoy. They exchanged a smile, even though Harry's was forced. He missed a chance to catch the Snitch, and Katie was injured. He could tell she was trying to show strength, but it was obvious that she was injured. Aside from the twins, Katie was probably the player in the team with who Harry got along best. That made him further angry, and all he wanted was get back on the pitch and catch the Snitch to take the Cup away from Slytherin for good. After all, with his injured arm, Malfoy wouldn't be much of a challenge. As Alicia and Angelina worried about Katie's arm, they heard screams coming from not far away.

"OUT OF THE QUESTION THAT HE LEAVES THE PITCH!" It was Montague. It seemed that since Flint was in the infirmary, he somehow was the acting captain of Slytherin.

"Mr Montague, your Seeker is injured. He must go to the infirmary," Hooch was arguing, sounding just as exasperated as she had been with Katie. The number of penalties in the game made her very impatient. Harry noticed that Malfoy seemed to be having a much harder time than Katie, who could at least hold her broomstick with her hand. Perhaps Katie only had a displaced bone while Malfoy's was literally broken.

"Then make Madam Pomfrey come here and repair my arm. She can do it in a few seconds," Malfoy said on a commanding tone. Harry found it quite hypocritical for someone who claimed a hippogriff bite took months to heal.

"Madam Pomfrey is currently in the hospital wing, taking care of Mr Flint. And she's not going to leave him alone in his current state," Madam Hooch explained. "Anyway, she must examine your arm closely before she allows you to play again, and she cannot do that on a Quidditch pitch."

"It's their fault, all that," Montague declared while pointing in Harry's and the whole Gryffindor team's direction. "They sent Marcus to the infirmary, and now they do the same with Draco."

"Mr Flint and Mr Malfoy were injured by Bludgers. I'm sorry, but this is totally legal in Quidditch, and you know that. Now, Mr. Malfoy, I strongly suggest that you head for the infirmary and come back once Madam Pomfrey clears you."

"No way!" Montague roared. "We need our Seeker!"

"This is not your call, Mr Montague. Mr Malfoy, what do you decide? And decide now. You're slowing this game."

Malfoy seemed to be thinking rapidly. "Why can't Madam Pomfrey come here and just repair it?" he asked, almost complaining. Harry had the impression that Malfoy was crying, but that wasn't to elicit any sympathy from Harry towards Malfoy, not after what he did to Buckbeak.

"I already told you…" Hooch began to explain again.

"GET HER HERE NOW! DON'T YOU KNOW WHO MY FATHER IS?!"

Madam Hooch said nothing for a moment. Harry thought he saw her caressing her whistle. Perhaps she would call another penalty shot for Gryffindor due to Malfoy's disrespect towards a referee. However, she did not.

"Mr Malfoy. For one last time, I advise you to go to the infirmary. If you don't go right away, we will resume the match. And…" She seemed to be talking to the whole team of Slytherin this time. "I will be unflinching when it comes to playing following the rules. Every disrespect of any rule of Quidditch will be punished immediately. Do I make myself clear?" She then turned towards the Gryffindors. "IT HOLDS FOR YOU TOO!"

Reluctantly, the Slytherins agreed. Malfoy did not leave, but it was obvious he was doing great efforts to remain on his broomstick with a broken arm.

Alicia took the penalty. She easily scored. Bletchley barely seemed to do any effort to stop her.

"120-40 for Slytherin!" Lee Jordan proclaimed under the encouragements of the crowd.

From this moment, the match took a very straight direction. Without Flint who, despite his ugliness and brutality, was probably the best Chaser of Slytherin, Montague and Pucey had a very hard time taking the Quaffle to Gryffindor's scoring area. Katie, despite her injured arm, was still playing. When the Slytherins launched their first attack, Angelina managed to take away the Quaffle from them. She then threw it towards Katie, who stood in front of the goalposts, and kicked the Quaffle with her feet to score another goal, making it 130-40 for Gryffindor.

In the following fifteen minutes, Gryffindor scored six goals, while Slytherin only managed to get one, making it 190-50. Very soon, Harry wouldn't need to catch the Snitch for his team to win. However, they needed to win by at least one hundred points of advance. If Malfoy managed to get the Snitch and that Slytherin lost by less than that margin, Gryffindor would win the game, but lose the Cup.

Malfoy managed to remain on his broomstick, although Harry could tell that he was struggling. He had given up on tailing Harry, but instead of Malfoy, Harry now had Derrick and Bole after him. The two Beaters tried to get to him at every turn and opportunity, either by throwing any Bludger they could find in his direction or trying to hit him with their bats directly. This contributed to Gryffindor's advantage on scoring goals, but Harry had to be resourceful to avoid these two goons. Fred and George were not protecting him. They decided early on that as much freedom was to be granted to Harry so that he could catch the Snitch, and Harry had prepared for the dirty tactics of the Slytherins. One of the Beaters of Hufflepuff, the one who was a girl, seemed to take pleasure in trying to hit Harry with Bludgers and bats during the practices, even though she never did it. She always refrained at the last moment, to show Harry that he had to expect low blows from everywhere. This paid out now, as Harry avoided each and every obstacle on his way, although it made the research of the Golden Snitch much more difficult. The Slytherins were probably trying to cause him as many problems as they could in the hope that Malfoy might get the Snitch before him.

Each time Harry avoided a Bludger or a bat, he could hear the crowd holding its breath. The superiority of the Firebolt was solicited like never before. He decided then to do something that no one expected, almost on a whim, when he heard Jordan saying that the Slytherins had managed to break through Gryffindor's defenses.

"Montague is approaching the goalposts… He makes a pass to Pucey… He is almost in the scoring area…"

"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

Harry shot like a bullet towards the scoring area. He didn't target Pucey, nor Montague, but he flew in their general direction at full speed, and Pucey stopped straight into his path. This allowed Katie to hit the Quaffle under his arm with her own right arm, and for Oliver to recover it. He then threw it far away to Angelina.

"Oh, the Firebolt just showed us what it's capable to do again! And Gryffindor is on the offensive once more!"

Harry then noticed Malfoy flying quite fast. Well, he was flying as fast as he could, Harry guessed. Harry saw him heading straight towards a section of the crowd that was occupied by Ravenclaws. For a moment, Harry feared the worst. Had Malfoy spotted the Snitch? He flew straight in the same direction, but in his heart, he knew he was too far away. He couldn't even spot the Golden Snitch where Malfoy seemed to be heading. Still, he rushed.

He was almost at the front seat to see Malfoy crashing in the crowd.

Harry braked about ten feet from the rows as Madam Hooch whistled again. He saw Malfoy, laid in an awkward position on the rows as a few Ravenclaws were standing up, removing splinters of wood and dust from their blue, bronze, red and golden clothes.

"He's mad!"

"He could have hurt someone!"

"Does he know how to fly?"

"I doubt it. He got on the team because he paid new broomsticks to everybody."

"Didn't seem to have helped him much."

The Ravenclaws looked quite angry at Malfoy, some of them seeing his ramming into their rows as some sort of attack against them. Harry, though, highly doubted. Judging from his grimaces, Malfoy was now fighting to not lose consciousness. Madam Hooch came to him and unilaterally decided to send him to the hospital wing, having guessed what it was all about. Harry supposed that Malfoy may have noticed a reflection of something shiny in the crowd, and mistook it for the Snitch, which resulted in his accident. Harry had to say it was quite funny. No one seemed to have been hurt in the accident, except Malfoy himself, who strongly opposed Madam Hooch's desire. In the end, she gave up and allowed Malfoy to fly again. He shouted he would get the Snitch or die trying.

"Catch the Snitch, Harry!"

Harry's heart seemed to be dancing. He made a sign of the hand to Cho and went back to play. She also made a sign. But then he frowned and looked back at her. The whistle was just heard, and Harry saw that she was in fact pointing something. A Bludger flew next to his ear at this moment, and next Harry swerved to avoid Derrick who charged him. But Harry looked in the direction that Cho indicated nonetheless. He needed a few seconds to guess what she was pointing, and he finally found it. Near the peak of one of the towers at the center of the pitch, he spotted the glint.

Harry rushed at full speed towards it. He barely acknowledged the cling that indicated that another goal was scored, and kept increasing his speed while gaining altitude at the same time, slightly adjusting his trajectory to head straight to the Snitch. He avoided another Bludger in the process, and soon reached the small flag at the peak of the tower, where the Golden Snitch was hovering.

"HEY, POTTER! DEMENTORS!"

Malfoy's voice from below could not distract him. Harry extended his hand, and he closed his fist.

An instant later, the stadium literally erupted. Harry thought he would lose his hearing as the small golden globe weakly flapped its wings into his right fist.

"POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH! POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

As Jordan was out of himself, Harry realized what just happened. He made it. They won the game. They won the Cup. They did it.

"HARRYYYYYYYY!"

He turned just in time to see Wood rushing towards him, tears in his eyes, and hug him strongly like he never did. Harry never realized that Oliver's broomstick could fly so fast. Soon, however, he lost any thought on anything that wasn't about the reality. They won the Cup. Fred and George, and then Katie, Angelina, Alicia joined them, forming a mass that slowly hovered down to the pitch, hugging each other, as they kept screaming that they won.

As they slowly lowered to the pitch from the altitude, the roar became much louder. On the terrain, a large mass of people were waiting for them, crying, screaming out of joy. Hats, banners and flags were tossed all around on the ground, and the crowd didn't let them land on the field. Instead, they carried them in the air with their arms. Harry was separated from his teammates, who all got the same treatment. Even their broomsticks were carried over everyone's heads as if they had won the Cup too. Harry noticed Ron, Seamus, Dean, Neville, Parvati, Lavender, Sophie, Lily, and many other faces, some unfamiliar, who carried him all the way. Even Hermione and people from Hufflepuff like Ernie, Sally-Anne, Susan, Hannah, Justin, Wayne and others carried him, patting his shoulders at the same time as he kept raising his close fist with the Golden Snitch inside. The best part was when Hagrid took him on his shoulders, and told him about when he would talk about this to Buckbeak. Even Percy seemed out of himself and came to support Harry. This was the first time Harry ever saw Percy in such an ecstatic state.

And then another roar came from the crowd, and Harry saw several fingers all pointing in the same direction. Following them, he saw that Albus Dumbledore stood out of the barrier and on the pitch, holding a huge cup made out of silver, with four handles, one in the shape of a lion, another in the shape of a serpent, another in the shape of a raven, and the last one in the shape of a badger. The peak of the cup displayed the figure of a Seeker holding a Golden Snitch in triumph while still on his broomstick.

Harry was carried with the rest of his team towards Dumbledore. The four Heads of House, along with Madam Hooch, stood with the Headmaster. Harry was delighted by the obvious annoyance of Professor Snape, while Professor McGonagall was wiping her eyes with an enormous Gryffindor flag. To the price of superhuman efforts, Harry and his teammates managed to get to the ground when they arrived near the Headmaster. Wood, still crying profusely, stepped forward.

"It is with great pleasure," the Headmaster began with an amplified voice, so that everyone in the stadium could hear him, "that I award this year's Quidditch Cup to Gryffindor."

Wood seemed to hesitate as Dumbledore presented him with the Cup. Slowly, their captain extended his arms, and carefully took the Cup, as if he was unsure if it was real. Then he raised it over his head

"YEEEAAAAHHHH!"

He screamed like Harry never heard him before. And the whole stadium shook with the roars of the students who acclaimed it.

"Harry! Come!"

Over the deafening noise, Harry saw that Wood was calling him. He was uncertain, but Wood kept insisting, and Harry approached him. Wood offered him one of the handles of the Cup. Harry found himself seizing that of Hufflepuff with his left hand, while Wood took Ravenclaw's eagle, showing to the entire body of students and teachers the face of the lion. Oliver and Harry raised the Cup together, and Harry also raised his right hand, still holding the Golden Snitch as proof of their victory. Soon the whole team joined them. Each one of them held and kissed the Cup, and several photos were taken. Fred and George held the Cup together too, and Angelina, Alicia and Katie as well. The whole team also grabbed the Cup all together at some point. Harry didn't know how long it lasted. Maybe fifteen minutes, maybe an hour, maybe the entire afternoon. When he wasn't holding the Cup, alone or with his teammates, Harry was patted on the shoulders or shaking hands with every student in the school. The players of the other teams came to congratulate them as well. Cedric, particularly, shook his hand vigorously, and also largely congratulated Wood who hugged him as if he was his own brother. Roger Davies complimented them, though not as warmly. The best part was when Cho came to hug Harry and kissed him on the cheek. It was a good thing that students often took him off the ground by times, for a group of Hufflepuffs led by Ernie Macmillan did so in this very instant, avoiding for Harry the humiliation of explaining why he stumbled on the ground when Cho let go of him. She beamed as Harry was carried in the air, and Harry returned her smiles, thinking she never looked as pretty before.

The match was followed by a huge party inside the Gryffindor common room. It was even louder, bigger than the one they had after defeating Ravenclaw. Some people from other houses even managed to get inside their tower to celebrate with them. Harry was particularly happy to see Ernie, Justin and Hannah. Two girls from the Hufflepuff team, Heidie and Tamsin, also appeared and spent time with Angelina, Alicia and Katie. They even had the right to take the Quidditch Cup in their hands. Harry hoped the entire afternoon, the entire evening and even deep into the night that Cho would show up, but her absence ended up being the only thing that disappointed Harry on this day. However, he barely thought of it as even Hermione joined the festivities.

"Tell us again how you broke Malfoy's arm," Dean asked Harry as he was being asked to describe various moments of the game. Evening had come, light began to subside outside, and Harry was beginning to be tired of describing the game over and over again. But he was glad to do it for now. Fred and George appeared all of a sudden.

"Is someone speaking about my great deed?" Fred asked. He went on to explain, for the tenth time probably, how he spotted Malfoy getting close to the Snitch. "He was close to it, you see. The Snitch. Malfoy was getting close, and although I'm sure he would never have caught it without a third arm…"

Everyone burst into laughs. The joke was told for the tenth time as well, and Harry was beginning to find it old, but most people around heard it for only the second or third time, sometimes even the first, and they laughed hard. Malfoy had gone to the infirmary, his head down after the game ended, and it was rumoured that he was still stuck there, not because he was still in pain, but because he feared what his teammates would do to him once he would get out. Harry hoped that Flint would wake up, realize they had lost and take his fury out on Malfoy.

"I thought… Why bother Harry with something in its way to the Golden Snitch," Fred continued. "So I spotted a Bludger coming towards Montague. Imagine his surprise when he saw me deflecting a Bludger going towards him. And imagine his fury when he realized that I had broken the arm of his Seeker. Not that it made much difference anyway."

It went on like that for fifteen minutes, Fred describing how Malfoy's arm was absurdly reduced to a pile of useless bones. At one point, Harry got into a competition with Ron over who could drink the highest quantity of Butterbeer as quickly as possible, to Hermione's exasperation. However, she was the only one who seemed to think so, as many gathered to encourage them.

"Let's go, Ron," Seamus kept encouraging him as he emptied his second pitcher. "You're defending the honor of normal Gryffindors, those who don't play."

Harry was barely reaching the middle of his second tankard and got encouragements as well.

"Come on, Harry!" Justin was shouting. "You've got to catch up."

"Perhaps you should be careful," Hannah said.

"Oh, come on, Hannah," Lavender said. "We just won the Cup. We should have the right to let it loose."

Lavender's voice was soggy. She held a tankard of her own in her right hand, and almost stumbled on Harry, emptying a small quantity of the said tankard on his shoulder.

"Sorry, Harry," Parvati said, taking Lavender away from him. "She's drunk a little too much already."

She was sounding apologetic, but her face showed that she was trying hard to hold back her laughter.

Harry could only swallow four tankards. In the middle of the fifth, he had to run to the toilets, under everyone's laughs. When he came back, people were still laughing, but also patting him on the shoulder. Ron, in the meantime, was discussing the time when he tried Harry's Firebolt, and many people who hadn't heard of it yet were listening attentively. Harry let his friend to his audience while he let himself drop in a cushioned armchair. His head was turning a little due to all the Butterbeer he swallowed after the match was over.

"It seems someone overindulged in Butterbeer." Harry recognized this voice. "I think you're not going to drink Butterbeer before a long time," Parvati went on, obviously taking a lot of joy from Harry's predicament.

"Leave him alone, Parvati," Ernie came. He was holding a Butterbeer tankard in his hand, and Harry had a little reaction of revulsion at the mere thought of drinking another one. "He's got the right to celebrate."

"You, however, it's another thing, Ernie," Parvati said. "You're not even in Gryffindor."

"Yes, but I can say that my team was the only one to defeat the champions this year. TO HUFFLEPUFF!"

Many people in the common room raised their hands and tankards in response to Ernie's call, which showed to which point the party extended beyond the House of Gryffindor.

"Alright, alright," Parvati recognized. "But we won the Cup. Harry, come with me."

Harry found himself dragged by Parvati. She brought him in front of the Cup and ordered Colin Creevey to take a photo of her and Harry with the trophy, which Harry wasn't really left with a choice to make. She wasn't the first with who he took a photo of the Cup, and she wasn't the last either.

It was only at one in the morning that the party was ended, once again by Professor McGonagall. The Hufflepuff students had left by this time, luckily enough. Harry didn't want anyone, whether it was Hannah, Ernie, Justin or anyone else, to have problems. Still, the party somehow continued inside their dormitory, Harry, Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus continuing to tell stories about the game and eating Chocolate Frogs and other sweets. When the lights were finally taken out late in the night and Harry fell asleep, his head was filled with the good memories of the day, including Malfoy's injury, Cho's kiss, and of course their victory itself. Exhausted, filled with pride and joy, he fell asleep easily, his only regret for the day being that his mother couldn't attend the match and see him win the Quidditch Cup for the very first time.

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And for those who have begun to be fed up with Quidditch, it is finally over. The most Quidditch focused year is over.

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Next Chapter: Parvati