"Listen mate, you need to get out of your own head." Harry told his best friend exasperatedly. "You've put in the work, you're improving every day, hell you've barely let in a dozen goals over the last week of practice against what's easily the best chaser line in Hogwarts recent memory." Ron made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat and Harry only just fought off the urge to roll his eyes.
He had already had this conversation with Ron on at least three separate occasions, but try as he might, he couldn't get his brooding friend to believe him. Their upcoming match was scheduled for tomorrow and Ron had been sitting by himself quietly for most of the day. He had even skipped dinner, which was the first time Harry had ever seen him miss a meal. "Ron. You've been doing great. Against Angelina, Katie, and Alicia. Do you really think Pucey, Montague, and Warrington will fare any better?" He asked him harshly. "Because by the way you're acting you'd think we were suiting up against the Irish national team."
"I think he believes in himself Harry, it's everyone else he doesn't believe in." Hermione broke in. Harry knew that wasn't true but as he saw the look Hermione shot him, he realized what she was trying to do.
"Oh, that makes sense. I didn't think about that, but I suppose he's right." Harry sighed. "I better go let the girls and Fred and George know that we should just forfeit, seeing as Ron doesn't believe we're skilled or talented enough to keep up with the Slytherin team." Harry made to rise out of the armchair he was seated in shooting a grateful look at Hermione who nodded once in recognition.
As he stood up, he could see Ron's eyes open wide and a look of panic flash over his freckled face as he stood to stop him. "No! Harry, its nothing like that." He said quickly. "I know you're all great. I mean we've only lost two bloody games since you joined and that was because you were injured in first year and because of the dementors in third year. I just… I'm worried I guess." He said, his voice quieting to a near whisper at the end.
"You guys have had the same team since first year. This is the first team change in five years Harry, not counting the bloody tournament last year, but you know what I mean! Five whole years with only two fluke losses! What if I come in and muck everything up? If we lose everyone's going to say it was my fault." He was wringing his hands and looking at his lap as he spoke. "My stomach is tying itself in knots just thinking about it." He finished not looking up.
'Finally,' Harry thought. 'We get to the truth of the matter'. Ron was the sixth brother in a family of boys that had achieved just about all you could at Hogwarts. This was Ron's first chance to do something to make his mark and he was terrified he would embarrass himself.
"Listen Ron," Harry began not harshly, but not gently either. "We're a team. The first thing Oliver ever told me was that we win together, and we lose together. We never blame anyone. At first, I thought he was being kind because I was an 11-year-old kid and what if I didn't catch the snitch and lost us the match, but over the years I realized just how true it is."
Harry's mind wandered back to his first couple years being drilled by Oliver and he paraphrased his old captains words as he spoke. "We play for each other. We help each other. You call out the opposing beaters and who they're targeting when the chasers have their back turned, the chasers run interference for me when the opposing seeker sees the snitch before I do, and I'll block a hoop forcing a chaser to choose between two goals instead of three for you.
"We play together, and we play for each other." He repeated. "Don't worry about winning or losing, worry about doing your job and helping the team. You keep the quaffle out of our hoops, the girls put it into theirs, and the twins keep us safe while dealing as much damage as possible." Harry said before allowing himself a cocky smile, a mischievous glint in his eye "And then I'll take care of the rest." He finished winking at Ron who had been looking him in the eyes and focusing on his every word.
Ron rolled his eyes, but a smile finally broke out on his face. He heard Hermione mutter "Prat." and turned towards her beaming. "Trust me Ron we've got this. I've never lost to Slytherin before and I'm not about to start now."
Daphne Greengrass never felt strongly one way or the other when it came to quidditch. She didn't hate it and would spend an afternoon watching the game, even if Slytherin weren't participating, but she didn't go cray like Astoria did, either. While her sister would take notes and record footage on enchanted omnioculars to review later, Daphne would sit in the cold stands, enjoy the match, and then go to dinner, mostly forgetting about it by the next day.
But today was different.
Last week after she and Tracey had run into the Gryffindor boy wonder in Honeydukes, they had met for drinks in the Three Broomsticks which turned into a late lunch as Harry, true to his word, had bought them both a butterbeer, and then a meal as well. Daphne tried to refuse, but he had insisted stating that he still owed her for not informing her about missing his patrols the previous two weeks. She was still planning to refuse even after he said that, but Tracey butted in and told him that they accepted his offer for a free meal and that all was forgiven, causing Daphne to roll her eyes and Harry to smile.
As they ate, they fell into easy conversation discussing first schoolwork, where they spoke about the added stress of OWL's and how incompetent Umbridge was as an instructor, and then switching onto other matters. Harry kept his promise and asked Tracey questions about some of the embarrassing stories Daphne had mentioned in passing on patrols, causing her best friend to flame red and mention embarrassing stories about Daphne in return.
At the end of their meal, however, is when things got interesting. Tracey brought up casually how Slytherin were going to destroy Gryffindor in their next match, and Harry casually responded asking about her friend Owen. Tracey looked confused at the sudden change in topic and asked who Owen was when Harry held up 3 fingers on one hand a closed fist telling her that they were Owen (0 and) 3 against Gryffindor since he become seeker.
Daphne had to suppress a snort, but Tracey was indignant at his joke and the disrespect towards their esteemed house. She quickly challenged his trash talk stating if he was so confident he should be willing to put his galleons where his mouth was, and Harry agreed quickly. Tracey decided that money was far too easy, and that she wanted him properly embarrassed instead.
After much haggling over terms, they finally came to an agreement. If Gryffindor won, then Tracey and Daphne would have to sport Gryffindor colors at the next Gryffindor match against Hufflepuff in February, whereas if Slytherin won, Harry would wear Slytherin green to the last two matches the snakes played in. Tracey said it was only fair since they were two against one and Harry didn't care because he was sure he would win.
So as Daphne woke up and dressed in a green jumper wearing a matching green and silver striped scarf, she let herself admit that she did care about today's game. Not because she feared wearing Gryffindor colors for a match, but because she wanted to see that smug smile wiped off of Harry Potter's face and watch him pout while wearing green and silver, not once but twice.
Once she had dressed, she touched her face up lightly with makeup and waited for Tracey to finish getting ready as well before heading up towards the great hall together. As she entered the common room Pansy was waiting by the door handing out strips of fabric. "Greengrass, Davis." She called as they entered the common room. "Here, put these on." She said holding out two badges.
The badge was in the shape of a crown and silver in color. Inscribed on the crown were the words 'WEASLEY IS OUR KING' Daphne and Tracey exchanged confused glances before Tracey spoke up. "Uh, I'm pretty sure we're supposed to root for Slytherin today?" She asked her voice matching the confused expression on her face. "And There are like five Weasleys at our school, which one are we talking about here?"
Pansy rolled her eyes and gave them a condescending look. When she replied she spoke to them as if they were toddlers. "We made a song that makes fun of the golden Weasley." She said using the moniker Slytherins used to refer to Ron because of his proximity with Harry. "And we're saying he's our king because he's going to do so badly and win us the game. Draco and I discovered that he crumbles under any little bit of pressure so we're going to get him all out of sorts before the match. Hey Zaibini! Take this badge and put it on." Pansy had already diverted her attention and was trying to hand Blaise Zaibini a badge as he desperately tried to skirt his way around her.
Daphne and Tracey headed out of the common room into one of the dungeons drafty hallways and immediately tossed the badges into a nearby bin. They didn't wear the Potter Stinks badge last year and they certainly weren't going to be a part of another scheme thought up by Draco and Pansy.
As they were getting closer to the great hall, they ran into the entirety of the Gryffindor quidditch team preparing to enter the hall together. Daphne could see that the younger Weasley did look a little out of sorts with his face pale and blue-black bags under his eyes. Harry was whispering to him quietly for a minute before he looked up and caught sight of Daphne and Tracey. He smirked at them and held up his right hand in a fist and 3 fingers on his left hand "Oh and three" he mouthed silently. Daphne rolled her eyes and Tracey seethed. "Such a cocky little wart licking toad." She heard her mutter.
Daphne laughed to herself at Tracey's chosen insult as they entered the great hall and began to make their way towards the Slytherin table when something caught her eye. At first just one or two, but the more she looked the more she noticed them until she realized about a third of the hall were clad in red and gold jerseys. There was the occasional 'Bell' 'Johnson', 'Spinnet' and 'Weasley' scattered around the hall, but the vast majority were wearing Gryffindor jerseys with a large number 7 on the back and the word POTTER in a uniform semicircle across the shoulder blades.
It took Daphne a moment to put a name to the emotion she was feeling and when it became clear what it was, it only made her more upset. Why on earth was she feeling jealous? It was true that ever since she had seen Harry in his quidditch jersey in the great hall she might have had the occasional daydream or two about him in it, or out of it… and sometimes she had thought about what it would feel like wearing it. She had always imagined it would be soft and stretchy and reach just past her thighs but stay above her knees…
She snapped herself out of her thoughts and realized that Tracey had been talking. "… would think he's some superstar or something with the way they're all wearing it." She finished. Daphne nodded her agreement, not bothering to hide her annoyance because she figured Tracey would misinterpret it for having to do with their bet.
"Honestly, it's no wonder Draco always calls him big headed and self-obsessed." Daphne replied, knowing it wasn't true. She doubted Harry gave everyone the jerseys, and despite the red and gold color and lettering, it was clear to see they weren't official game or practice jerseys. More than likely someone else had ordered them and passed them around.
As she seated herself at the Slytherin table she made sure to face the wall. None of her housemates would be foolish enough to wear an opposing team's jersey, so she knew she'd be saved from having to see them if she faced this way.
Once seated, she saw that the majority of her housemates were sporting silver crown shaped badges. A few minutes later, after she had served herself breakfast and was eating Draco and Pansy entered and went around teaching everyone the lyrics to their song. After everyone had the words memorized, they began to lead the table.
Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That's why Slytherins all sing:
Weasley is our King.
Weasley was born in a bin
He always lets the Quaffle in
Weasley will make sure we win
Weasley is our King.
Weasley is our King,
Weasley is our King,
He always lets the Quaffle in
Weasley is our King.
Daphne, Tracey, and a few others didn't join in, but most of their house was screaming at the top of their lungs. She chanced a look over at the Gryffindor table and noticed that all four of the Weasley's seated there were sporting a distinct shade of red that only they could manage.
Ron looked nauseous, and Harry was once again talking to him. The words of encouragement seemed to have the desired effect as his face set into a determined outline and he stood from the bench bowing mockingly towards the Slytherin table. As she looked on, she finally noticed the other Weasleys, and more specifically the twins. They were glaring at Malfoy and looked absolutely murderous. Suddenly Daphne really questioned Malfoy's intelligence as he just upset two of the best beaters in the school who, by the way, already disliked the Slytherins. Not to mention that he did so right before he played against them.
Tracey seemed to have the same train of thought, "He's going to get hit with so many bludgers." She muttered with a wince and Daphne couldn't help but agree.
After a few more minutes both teams made their way out of the hall to go get prepared for their matches. The great hall emptied quickly after they left, because with breakfast over it was time to make their way to the stands and students were already vying for the best seats. Daphne and Tracey made their way to their customary seats and saw Astoria there with some friends already seated and saving their spots.
Daphne looked around the stadium and saw that besides the Slytherin section, the school as a whole appeared to be bathed in crimson and gold. After years of dealing with the Slytherins playing rough at their best and dirty at their worst, the other houses didn't have much love for Salazars house. She stopped her browsing when she noticed a petite blonde girl with a lion's head on her own head. She blinked twice to make sure it was actually there and then shook her head. That was new.
She was brought out of her musings as the familiar voice of Lee Jordan began booming out of the magically amplified speakers placed around the pitch." Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the first Hogwarts quidditch match of the year. Today is Saturday November the Second of the year 1995 and we will be kicking off our season with a classic Gryffindor versus Slytherin outing for our opening match." His voice boomed to applause.
"For those of you who are new here or have forgotten due to last year's hiatus," Lee continued "The Gryffindors are currently the defending quidditch cup champions!" He paused as the Gryffindors let out a long roar. "They defeated Slytherin in the final game of the season to win the cup, proving that just because daddy can buy your way into the team and get everyone new brooms, that doesn't mean you're actually any good."
There was a murmur of anger from the Slytherins and a laugh from the rest of the crowd as they heard Professor McGonagall's voice yell out "Mr. Jordan!"
"Sorry professor." Came the unapologetic voice of Lee. "Now let's get ready to meet our players! Team Slytherin is currently entering from the south side of the pitch, and we have the chasers Montague, Warrington, and the Slytherin captain Pucey, nasty bit of work that one." He said and his co-commentator Seamus Finnegan voiced his agreement as McGonagall again yelled out his name.
"Keeping for the Snakes today is Vaisey, and we have the two first time beaters Crabbe and Goyle, they definitely look big enough to play the position, but I'm not sure they could spell bludger between the two of them." At that line even Daphne had to crack a smile because it was true. "And lastly," Lee shouted over McGonagall's protest "Is the daddy's boy himself Mr. Malfoy at the seeker position!"
There was some more laughter and another shout from their deputy headmistress. Some scattered applause was heard as the 7 green blurs shot onto the pitch riding in a circle around the stadium and waving.
Lee's voice picked up again as he began the introductions for the Gryffindor side. "Now entering from the North side of the pitch are your defending Quidditch Cup Champions!" The roar this time was deafening. "We have what I believe to be the most formidable, and beautiful if I may be so bold, Chaser line in Hogwarts currently leading the way out of the tunnel! That would be the lovely Bell, Spinnet, and the captain for Gryffindor, Johnson! Between the hoops we have in his first match as the Gryffindor keeper Weasley, followed by the beaters Weasley and Weasley! Boy is this going to be confusing!" He continued jovially. "And lastly, we have the seeker extraordinaire, the youngest quidditch player in Hogwarts for 100 years, your favorite players favorite player! HARRY POTTER!"
The Gryffindor team shot out in a V formation with Angelina Johnson at the point flanked by the other Chasers, the twins, and then Harry and Ron in the back. The crowd got even louder if possible and were all waving and cheering wildly, jumping up and down and laughing with their friends, but Daphne sat quietly and had her eyes fixed on Harry.
She watched the easy way he rode his broom with only one hand on the handle. Saw him shoot Granger a small wave as he rode by her. Then, as they made their way in front of the Slytherin section to jeers and boos she could see him scanning the crowd. When he finally caught sight of her and Tracey he smiled and took his other hand off the broom. She knew what he was going to do before he did it, but it annoyed her nonetheless as he held up a fist and 3 fingers.
He quickly put his hands back on the broom and continued past her. With both teams announced, Madam Hooch had the captains shake hands and the game was soon underway as she released the 4 balls.
Tracey had been right in the great hall because the second the game started, the twins found a bludger each and shot them at Malfoy from opposite directions not even attempting to hit Warrington who was in possession of the quaffle and making his way towards the Gryffindor hoops. Malfoy saw one of the bludgers and turned his broom to the left quickly to avoid being hit, but the Weasleys must have anticipated this as he veered directly into the path of the other steel ball. It caught him in the back of his right shoulder, and he nearly fell off his broom, just managing to hold on to the thin branch of wood between his legs.
"Ooh, a nasty but beautifully coordinated bit of beater play out of the Weasley twins early. It seems like they're setting the tone that they're going to be aggressive denying the snitch and allow the chasers to play on." She heard Lee Jordans voice over the speakers.
"Speaking of the chasers playing on Montague throws cross pitch to Warrington. Warrington to return it to Montague… No! Stolen away by Bell, who throws it quickly ahead to Spinnet. Spinnet spins, away from the bludger sent her way by Crabbe, no pun intended, and continues to progress forward on the pitch. She lobs a pass to Johnson who shoots left, no! It's a feint, she shoots right and scores!" He shouted and the dull roar of the crowd again picked up.
"Vaisey bit on that first feint hard and she could've flown it through the hoop if she wanted to and its 10 nil to Gryffindor!" Daphne heard what sounded like actual roaring and noticed that the petite blonde with the lion hat had activated her headwear and that it seemed to be the cause. She shook her head again and went back to the game.
"Now Slytherin are coming the other way Pucey with the quaffle. Johnson on her way to interfere, but she's pushed back avoiding a bludger, still Pucey with the quaffle now, he has Montague and Warrington flanking on either side of him looks to keep it himself, he shoots left and it's just past the outstretched hands of Weasley and he scores! 10 all after that goal, and it looked like maybe that one should've been saved. Possibly some rookie jitters from the newest Gryffindor player."
The quaffle barely had time to pass through the hoop before the Slytherins began to chant their song once more. She noticed Weasley shaking his head and looking around nervously as he retrieved the quaffle and threw it back into play.
Daphne heard the commentary in the background and the song being chanted, but her eyes immediately went searching for Harry. He was flying in a slow circle at the top of the pitch, but he quickly made his way over to Ron. He shouted something indiscernible over the din of the crowd and then immediately started coaching Ron who was listening raptly. Harry pointed to a spot and mimed a save to Ron who nodded his understanding. Harry flew down to him, clapped him on the shoulder, and said one more thing before he made his way back up once again searching for the snitch.
After Harry's coaching Ron improved. He still made mistakes here and there but almost every time after he messed up Harry was coaching him and shouting what could only be words of encouragement. The jitters seemed to work their way out of his system, and he began to save nearly everything. It was clear to see that the Slytherins were outmatched in more ways than one. The Gryffindor chasers were carving them up with precise passing and interference. The Weasley twins meanwhile were sending nearly every bludger at Malfoy and then conveniently catching the Slytherin beaters or chasers off guard when they grew complacent.
After the most recent goal Gryffindor was up 160 points to 40. The score was ballooning, and the game would soon be out of reach for the Slytherins.
Most of the game Harry had just been making lazy circles high above the rest of the play. He would swoop down from time to time to interfere with the Slytherin chasers or to help his own, but he mostly sat above the action searching for the glint of gold. Malfoy who had taken a beating to this point was tailing him closely, deciding the Weasley twins wouldn't risk hitting their own seeker accidentally. The bargain seemed to pay off as he was mercifully left alone. However, that meant that if either of them did spot the snitch it would be a mostly fair race which went heavily into Harry's favor.
Suddenly it happened. Harry and Malfoy both spotted it at the same time. They immediately began racing down towards the side of the pitch. Harry was closer to the stands as they neared the other side of the pitch, and it was clear Draco was trying to crowd him into the wooden wall. Daphne could see the snitch now as she looked ahead in the direction they were heading. It was maybe a hundred yards in front of them zig zagging carelessly. The two seekers were taking it in turns to bump the others shoulder as they jostled for position.
She watched as Harry gave Draco a large shove, and could see Draco preparing to shove back, but as he turned to push Harry even closer to the wall Harry flipped upside down. He was now hanging from the broom like a sloth and where Draco expected solid contact with a body, he felt nothing but air as he hurtled himself into the wall before crashing into the ground.
Harry flipped himself back over and made his way to the snitch which was trying its best to avoid him. Harry followed it closely zigging and zagging with it as it brought him closer to the center of the pitch before shooting straight up. His eyes were locked on the snitch when Goyle sent a bludger towards him and she thought it would knock him off his broom, but he spun at the last second as if he had eyes on the back of his head allowing the steel ball to fly past him harmlessly. Two seconds later his fingers closed around the elusive golden ball, and he floated on his broom high above everyone else in the center of the pitch, his hand clasped tightly around the snitch and arm outstretched in triumph.
"And that's it!" She heard Lee Jordan scream. "With an incredible piece of technical flying Potter has caught the snitch and Gryffindor wins it in a blowout with a final score of 330 to 80! What a display by the lions today!"
The crowd was at a fever pitch, and everyone was cheering. She watched Harry as he was taking his time floating down towards his team who were already huddled up celebrating when she noticed Pucey grab the beaters bat from Goyle and fly towards a bludger. She saw him wind up and smack the steel ball hard. A loud crack echoed through the stadium from the sound of wood on steel and the ball started hurtling directly towards Harry's head. Harry who had heard the noise started to turn around to see what had caused it, but sadly, he didn't have eyes on the back of his head like she might have thought earlier.
Before he could turn fully around the steel ball caught him in the temple and he toppled over in midair, his body was as limp as a ragdoll as it fell to the ground, his broom flying off in the opposite direction. The stadium went dead silent in a heartbeat, and everyone watched stunned as he fell quickly from the sky.
It was as if she was watching in slow motion, he must have been 200 feet in the air when the metal ball had struck him, and he was falling fast. When he was 150 feet from the ground, she saw in her periphery that Madame Hooch was hurriedly casting a cushioning charm on the pitch beneath him as she realized what had happened. At 100 feet she heard the headmaster shout out ARRESTO MOMENTUM his wand pointed at Harry's falling body. The spell seemed to have worked somewhat because his body slowed quickly, almost jerking in midair, but it was nowhere near enough.
He was now 50 feet above the ground, and she saw his limp body regain momentum as he continued downwards. 20 feet, 10, and in the next second he hit the ground brutally, his limbs flailing as he bounced once, hard. When his body had finally settled, she could see that a leg was twisted beneath him at an impossible angle and spotted blood flowing freely from the side of his head pooling quickly.
She saw Madame Hooch, the Headmaster, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape all rushing out onto the field, followed closely by his teammates flying down towards him as fast as their brooms allowed them.
Daphne felt her throat close and her stomach clench. 'Please don't let him be dead' she thought to herself. 'Please, please, please don't let him be dead.' She felt Tracey grab her hand and squeezed it gratefully. She could feel tears fighting to be released and paid them no mind, as they ran wet tracks on her cheeks. 'Please for the love of god do not let him die' she thought again. The professors and his teammates were in a circle around him, but no one was touching him, no one was doing anything. Why weren't they doing anything?
Finally, Dumbledore muttered a spell that flashed over Harry's limp body, she recognized the diagnostic spell, but couldn't understand what the resulting flashes or colors indicated. That seemed to spring everyone into action as Dumbledore quickly cast several spells in quick succession, but Harry just laid there, still, and unmoving. She watched as Dumbledore finished the last of his spells and then cast a patronus. Her mind couldn't help but think it looked beautiful as she watched the translucent Phoenix fly off towards the castle. She quickly snapped back to the present. 'Please' she thought once more as the silence that had taken hold in the stadium erupted into chaos 'don't let him die'.
