"WELCOME TO THE FINAL GAME OF THE SEASON!" Lee announced.
It was only two weeks after Harry first woke up from his injuries and it was already the final game of the season. He had considered starting Ginny over him instead due to his lack of training time with the team as a result of his hospitalisation but ultimately decided against it after the most recent practice where he beat Ginny to the snitch.
"THE LEADERS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP, GRYFFINDOR!" Lee announced, "THE CHASERS, JOHNSON, SPINNET AND BELL!"
Harry watched as his chasers took to the skies for the last game of the season, flying around the stadium together as three while the entire stadium cheered.
"THE BEATERS, FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!" Lee announced as the twins took to the sky, firing fireworks into the sky which formed a giant Gryffindor crest before vanishing.
"THE KEEPER! RONALD WEASLEY!" Lee announced as Ron took to the sky as well, being much less theatrical than his brothers but still looking confident and excited. Harry smiled in pride as he thought about how much his best friend had changed throughout the year, going from a nervous wreck to a confident and capable keeper almost at the level of Wood.
"LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE SEEKER AND THE CAPTAIN! THE ONE AND ONLY HARRY POTTER!"
Bursting onto the pitch with a blistering pace, Harry heard the roar of the crowd as the Gryffindor cheered loudly for their captain along with the public audience as Harry was the most famous player in Hogwarts. Making his way to the centre of the pitch, Harry watched as the Ravenclaw players entered the field. He watched as Cho made her entrance, her black hair flowing as she flew.
"I want a clean game," Madam Hooch said to both of them to which they both nodded before shaking their hands.
"No more falling down like last time," Harry said.
"Agreed," Cho replied, "take care Zhu."
"You too."
Making his way back to his side of the pitch, Harry gave one last encouraging nod to his teammates before the game started.
As was ritual now, Angelina immediately snatched up the quaffle the moment it was released, giving Chambers no chance. Flying straight down the middle, Fred gave her cover by disrupting the Ravenclaw's defensive line with a well-placed bludger while Katie and Alicia went in to occupy the chasers. Flying straight towards Goldhorn, Angelina threw a well-placed shot, placing Gryffindor 10-0 up. Ravenclaw however, immediately replied with Goldhorn throwing the quaffle up towards Coil who dropped Alicia with an impressive feint before passing the quaffle to Bradley. After some more team play, Chambers finally got into a shooting position, firing the quaffle to the left hoop which Ron barely saved, stretching his leg as wide as possible and barely making contact with the quaffle to redirect it. The quaffle however, fell straight into Coil's hands who scored the rebound.
Harry's attention however, was solely on his own game, competing against Cho for the snitch. He has only ever lost a snitch catch to two players in his career, Cedric and Cho. While the loss to Cedric can potentially blamed on the dementors (though he didn't really believe that), the loss to Cho was him getting outflown fair and square, something that he was determined to not let repeat. The championship was not on the line like their previous matchup as Ravenclaw would have to score too many points to take the title, this matchup instead, was one for his ego. Flying high into the sky to continue his scan for the snitch, he kept one eye on the game and on Cho's positioning who was similarly still searching.
"Johnson shoots from range, SCORES! 40 to 10 for Gryffindor!" Lee exclaims as Angelina hyped up the crowd before returning to her position to defend. Similar to the last game, Gryffindor clearly had the upper hand and Ravenclaw was doing their best to catch up and withstand the barrage. They however, were fairing much better than the last matchup something that Harry attributed largely to Coil's improvement and growth as a player. He had been keeping close tabs on her after the second Hufflepuff game where she dominated the game, setting a new personal record. Her playstyle was rather similar to Angelina's, a powerful and accurate shot with a very strong physical presence when flying, making her highly dangerous.
Watching the Ravenclaw mount their attack, Chambers threw an excellent pass to Coil on the left who tried to muscle past Angelina but was outmatched by the bigger and older player, getting the quaffle snatched from her hands. Alicia immediately responded by pushing her broom and exploding forward allowing Angelina to toss the quaffle to her before Coil could recover. Holding back Bradley, Alicia managed to hold onto possession long enough for Katie to fly below her and catch the downward pass from Alicia. Without hesitation, Katie threw a well-placed shot at Goldhorn who was caught unprepared, bringing Gryffindor to 50.
"BELL SCORES!" Lee exclaimed, "Ravenclaw's captain is calling a timeout, domination from Gryffindor so far!"
"Good job guys," Harry said after landing next to his team, "continue neutralising Lila, she's their most dangerous player, otherwise just continue the good work."
"Got it Captain," Angelina replied.
"Together, 3, 2, 1, GRYFFINDOR!" Harry shouted together with his team before flying back up into the sky.
Once the whistle blew, Harry knew that Cho had done wonderfully during her team talk, the entire team's strategy completely shifted with Bradley and Chambers now positioned higher up while Coil stayed slightly more back during the attacks to protect her from the high pressure from Gryffindor. While this adjustment did help Ravenclaw's attack, the attacking might of Gryffindor was still too much for Ravenclaw to handle, leading to Gryffindor's continued domination, the score sitting at 90 to 40. As Harry watched Angelina place another through the hoops to score their 100th point, he caught a glimpse of gold streak past the sky. Without hesitation, he bolted straight at the snitch, lowering his body as much as possible for maximum aerodynamics. Out of the corner of his eye, he could also see Cho making the same mad dash for it from a different angle. Willing every piece of his muscle to push his broom even faster, he could not tell who was closer to the snitch. The snitch however, had a different idea, sensing both of their presences, it bolted straight up. Intending to make the fastest turn possible, Harry made a smoother and wider turn towards the snitch, praying that it continued to fly upwards otherwise he would be in deep trouble. Keeping track of Cho's positioning, Harry noted that she took a sharper turn than him, losing more speed than him but only inches separated them still. Pushing his broom even harder, he maintained the gap as the snitch continued its vertical ascend, it eventually made a sharp turn to the right, something that Harry had anticipated due to the presence of a few players on the left, giving Harry a huge advantage as he positioned himself before the turn happened, allowing him to take the better line towards the snitch. Attempting to regain some advantage, Cho attempted to fly under him but Harry dipped his broom down a little to disrupt her balance and her speed. Resuming his dash towards the snitch, Harry stretched out as far as he could, wrapping his fingers around the gold ball.
"HE'S DONE IT! HARRY POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH, GRYFFINDOR WINS 260 TO 50, GRYFFINDOR ARE YOUR CHAMPIONS!" Lee exclaimed in delight as the Gryffindor stand erupted into loud cheers and applause, the Hufflepuffs and Slytherin clapped in polite cheering while the Ravenclaws looked dejected but joined in with the applause. Flying straight up into the sky with arms outstretched, Harry yelled with passion and happiness as the fireworks flew into the sky and the entire stadium turned red.
Landing on the ground, he was immediately swarmed by his teammates, all jumping onto him and celebrating like they never had before. Harry watched as Dumbledore approached him with a tearing McGonagall and presented him with the House Cup. Getting thrown onto the twins' shoulder, Harry lifted the cup into the sky for the first time as the captain of the team as the crowd roared with excitement.
"WE'VE DONE IT!" Katie exclaimed in joy, "TWO TIMES CHAMPIONS! WE'VE FUCKING DONE IT!"
"ALL HAIL OUR GLORIOUS CAPTAIN!" Fred and George yelled in unison as the entire group erupted with laughter.
After some more celebrating as every player lifted up the cup in front of a roaring Gryffindor crowd, Harry turned to see Cho standing at the edge of the pitch, smiling brightly at him.
"Amazing catch Zhu," Cho said as he walked up towards his girlfriend.
"Meh, I just got lucky that my prediction was correct."
"Still though, you did make the correct one," Cho said as they embraced, "congrats for the championship."
"Not unhappy that you didn't win?"
"I'm disappointed," Cho continued, "but there is always next year, and even if I can't win the House championship next year, there is always the Inter-school Tournament which we can win together."
"Agreed," Harry replied, "Want to join the celebrations in the Gryffindor common room later?"
"Ravenclaw's captain celebrating with the Gryffindors? A little dodgy don't you think?" Cho asked sceptically.
"Since when the fuck did we care about what others think," Harry replied with a mischievous smile, "you can invite your team over if they want to as well, we can celebrate a great title challenge this year."
"I would ask them," Cho replied with a smile.
"See you later then," Harry said, "now let me attend the press conference."
Making his way into the conference room with the trophy still shining brightly in his hand, Harry took his seat along with his teammates by his side, still stunned by how well his team turned out.
"Congratulations to the Gryffindor team for winning another Housecup," a reporter started off, "how are all of you feeling?"
"I'm feeling amazing," Harry immediately replied, "I was unsure about whether I was capable of achieving the same success that the team did last year under Wood but we have delivered and I'm relieved about that."
"I am feeling ecstatic as well," Angelina continued, "it's my final season playing alongside this team and I'm overjoyed that I could lift one more trophy before I leave Hogwarts, obviously there is still the Invitational Tournament but yeah, winning the Housecup a second time means the world to me."
"About the Invitational Tournament," a reporter continued, "do you think that your team stand a good chance of winning it?"
"Very much so," Harry answered, "I think that today proved that are not lacking in any department, Ravenclaw is a very strong team and there is no doubt about that, but our ability to still dominate shows how strong our team is, while facing the reserves of actual Quidditch teams is rather daunting, I think that we would stand a good chance of competing against them, after all, I do believe that every player on this team can go professional if we really wanted to.
"How do you think that your team will handle the gruelling schedule of 2 games per week," the reporter added.
"I think that we will do well as compared to the other teams," Harry continued, "we have a really strong reserve bench who can slot right in and do as good of a job, but we will have to see I guess."
"Mr Potter, Ms Bell and Ms Johnson," another reporter called out, "as ambassadors for Nimbus and all 3 of you obtaining the Nimbus Lightning 1, do you think that the brooms helped you to win this championship?"
"Definitely so," Harry replied, "the Nimbus Lightning 1 is truly an excellent broom and the only other broom that can compete with it is the Firebolt, having 3 of the Nimbus Lightnings on our team definitely gave us an additional boost to our performance."
"Agreed," Angelina added, "Harry won't exactly know the difference it makes because he was flying the Firebolt already but as someone who was flying a subpar broom at the start of the year, the difference is actually immense."
"Same for me," Katie added, "I can do so much more defensive work with this broom as compared to my last one where I kept getting caught out of position during counter-attacks, so yes it really helps."
The questions continued to pour in for the next 20 minutes until Dumbledore finally called an end to the press conference, citing that the team still had celebrations to attend. Silently thanking Dumbledore, Harry left the room with the team and they made their way up to the Gryffindor common room.
"It's a sight to see on the inside," the Fat Lady said as she spotted the team, "I'm amazed that Minerva hasn't done anything about this, off you enter then."
Without asking for the password, the Fat Lady opened the entrance and as she said, it was a sight to behold. The entire common room had been completely transformed with decorations placed all around the room and fireworks flying all around. The students were cheering and drinking their bottles of butterbeer. The roar of cheers however, grew even louder when the crowd finally spotted the team.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE CHAMPIONS!" Lee yelled as the crowd ran towards them and swarmed them. Being lifted onto Dean and Seamus's shoulders, Harry was paraded around the room. To his delight however, everyone on the team was getting their moment, all 7 of them being lifted up. Harry's smile grew even larger when a red Ron was carried up as well with the entire crowd singing 'Weasley is My King' to celebrate his outstanding debut season. Harry's attention, was soon diverted to a group of Ravenclaw players at the edge of the room, keeping away from the chaotic celebration but still smiling happily as they chatted between themselves, Luna and Hermione. Harry's eyes however were on Cho who had changed into his Gryffindor jersey. Getting off the shoulders of Dean and Seamus, Harry made his way up to Cho.
"How was the press conference?" Cho asked.
"Meh, Dumbledore saved us from more questions though."
"They definitely love you don't they."
"What can I do," Harry replied, sliding his hand around Cho, "Quidditch champion, brand ambassador and apparently the Chosen 1 now."
"Flex," Cho snorted, "watch next year, we are going to win the championship."
"You can try, but the focus will mostly be on the Inter-school Championship," Harry replied.
"True, who do you think will be in the team next year?"
"Well, both of us are definitely inside, who starts is the bigger question, for Chasers, Ginny, Katie, and Blaise are definitely in, then maybe Lila, Elisabeth and Demelza? Beaters, Jimmy, Ritche, the other 2 can really go to anyone, then keeper, Ron should definitely get in, as for the reserve, it can go to anyone really."
"That many Gryffindor players?"
"Yeah, I really think that we should have that many players," Harry replied truthfully which Cho nodded to.
"I guess you aren't wrong, it will be interesting though, going to so many other schools to play, I can't wait to see Beauxbatons," Cho continued.
"Yeah, we probably can get Fleur or Gabrielle to give us a tour, I'm pretty sure that Gabrielle just entered Beauxbatons as well."
"Mhm, I really can't wait, you should send her a letter next year before we go," Cho added, "she will definitely give a tour if she could."
"Everyone everyone!" Lee shouted, "There is only one way to celebrate a victory like this, drinking from the cup!"
"What is Lee cooking now," Hermione sighed, shaking her head.
"All players, lineup behind the cup!" Lee said as he started pouring the butterbeer into the cup, "Bring along a friend or a couple to drink with you!"
"Merlin's beard," Hermione sighed again.
"Hermione, you do know that you have to do this do you?" Harry said to Hermione who looked at him confusedly, "I'm bringing Cho so I can't drink with Ron, you are his next best friend aren't you?"
"Er… I do not think that I want to do this," Hermione said hesitantly.
"Come on Hermione, stop being such a spoilsport," Cho said, dragging a reluctant Hermione to Ron as both flustered red.
"First up!" Lee shouted, "The superstar Captains and couple, Harry and Cho!"
"Together?" Harry said as they both lifted up the cup.
"On the count of 3?" Cho asked to which Harry nodded, "3, 2, 1."
Tipping the cup, they both drank the cup together which conveniently allowed for 2 people to drink at once. Slowly downing the cup, Harry felt like he was drowned in the buttery drink as he struggled to swallow the large contents from the cup. When they finally finished, both let out a large burp before bursting with laughter.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" the crowd started chanting in unison which Harry complied with, giving a soft kiss on Cho's lips which now tasted like the buttery drink as well as the crowd cheered loudly.
"The next 2!" Lee announced, "The power and frightening couple of Fred and Angelina!"
Without needing any other instructions, both confidently stepped up to the cup and downed the drink in impressive fashion before Angelina jumped onto Fred and gave him a passionate kiss which reminded Harry of a memory he wished that he could erase.
"And next! The secretive couple, George and Alicia!" Lee announced as both of them similarly stepped up and downed their drinks without any difficulty, ending with a softer and sweeter kiss than Fred and Angelina's.
The next few groups all went up with their friends, with Katie and Ryan being the exception as they went up as siblings. Ginny and Demelza went up together with Jimmy and Ritchie followed them.
"Last but not least, the power duo, Ron and Hermione!" Lee announced.
Ron and Hermione hesitantly walked up together before they both tipped the butterbeer and drank to the cheering crowd. When they finally finished, Ron looked unfazed while Hermione looked slightly disgusted with how much she had just drank but was still smiling happily.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" the crowd chanted together courtesy to Fred and George starting the chant. Harry and Cho silently observed both of them as Ron and Hermione looked bright red under the pressure. Ron looked the most uncomfortable while Hermione just looked embarrassed under the attention. She turned and looked at Harry and Cho with indecisive eyes to which Harry nodded encouragingly. Taking a deep breath, Hermione turned and gave Ron a peck on his cheek which made Ron glow even more brightly in red as the crowd cheered happily. Ron's uncomfortability however, disappeared as he looked more embarrassed than anything.
"The start of something?" Harry whispered to Cho.
"I hope," Cho replied with a bright smile, "let's hope that Ron doesn't fuck this up."
"Agreed."