Surely this had to be the worst game of quidditch ever, Fred was gripping his hand tightly around his club in frustration. The game had started quite good, with their chaser line using their speed and agility to bring the strong offensive game for which they were known. This had the drawback that they were vulnerable defensively, so the requirement for this tactic was a strong keeper that could make a lot of saves. Sure, Ron could concede some goals, but the idea was that he allowed the chasers to focus on racking up the score faster on the other side.
Ron had performed well in the beginning, allowing the Gryffindor team to build up a small lead in the early stage. But it had all started to go wrong with the infernal song, "Weasley is our king". Fred was sure that little ferret Malfoy was behind the complete Slytherin stance chanting this tune louder and louder with every goal Ron had to concede. And the longer this went on, the more Ron's confidence started to waver, leading to a disastrous spiral.
As a result Fred and George had been forced to focus their beater play on helping their little brother in defending the hoops, but this meant they had not been able to support the girls in their efforts. Their normal offensive plays were failing and the game had shifted to a struggle over possession that favoured the bulkier, stronger Slytherin chasers.
The central importance of the beater roll was something which Fred normally enjoyed the most. You were at the centre of any tactics, because you were the only player that could impact all areas of the game. You could target the opposition keeper in order to weaken the opponent's defence, you could focus on the chasers and break up their attacks or you could involve yourself in the seekers' struggle, protecting your own side and disrupting his counterpart. Like this the beaters could direct the game, forcing the way in which it was played.
But in a moment like this, when one part of your team had a breakdown, you were no longer directing your faith, rather you were forced to chase it. Shifting all their focus on the defence of the hoops put Alicia, Katie, Angelina and Harry in a rough spot. The girls were tackled relentlessly and the Slytherin beaters were focusing heavily on Harry, allowing that git Malfoy free airspace to look for the snitch unopposed. After a particular rough tackle on Katie, Angelina called for a much needed time out.
Only when they were gathered on the ground, Fred could fully appreciate how heavy the team had it. Alicia was trying to take care of Katie, who's cheek was swelling after an elbow to the face, Harry was wincing painfully after a bludger had hit his hip and both him and Fred were literally steaming from sweat. None were worse off than his little brother though. Ron stood hunched with his head between his shoulders, holding his broom close to him, almost cuddling it in order to make himself less visible behind it. If he would have had his wand, Fred was sure he would have dug a hole in the ground to crawl in and hide himself.
Meanwhile the 'Weasley is our king' chanting had spread all around the stadium, with a large portion of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff joining in. Defending champions Gryffindor were this year's favourite to win the house cup, and as such even the neutral houses were eager for a defeat from the red and golden side.
Angelina, who had been already pretty agitated at the beginning of the game, now looked thoroughly angry. "Gryfindors, this is not working, we are changing up the tactics. We are going for a stalling game, the score is now…", she glanced at the big scoreboard in the centre of the stadium, "150-70 for those slimy snakes, we can still takes this home."
"Yes, come on team, let's pull it together!" Alicia, ever the optimist, yelled.
"Girls, we will shift our play higher, where we will have more room, we can just pass the ball around and use our speed to stay out of their reach!" Angelina instructed.
Katie picked up herself and said "You've got it Captain!"
Angelina then turned to the twins, "Guys, you will disrupt the enemy beaters as much as possible, and if you can send a few nice bludgers to their chasers that would be great!"
"One disrupting play coming up!" the twins chorused.
"Harry, you stay below us and run every search pattern you know, do what that you do best, snatch the snitch in front of the nose of that blond ponce that pretends to be a seeker!"
Harry just saluted his team captain. She finally turned to Ron and said "… and Ron, just… just try to keep our hoops safe…"
At these words Ron shrunk even more, without a word he gave a small nod.
Finally Angelina put her hand forward and everyone put their hand on top, "Bring it on team! gryf- fin- DOR"
As everybody mounted their brooms and flew up in the sky, only Angelina and a grinning Fred stayed behind for a moment. "What are you laughing about?" Angelina asked.
Fred replied, "Nothing, I just love it when you take charge, Captain."
Angelina rolled her eyes and said, "Come on you fool, get on that broom and show them what a true beater is capable of." And with those words they both took off.
The Gryffindor side roared their approval as they could see the renewed vigour on the faces of their team. Madame Hooch, the referee for this game, tossed up the ball and Angelina immediately rushed forward, grabbing the quaffle and passing it to Katie who sped up higher in the air. George pummelled away the bludger that was aimed at their lightest chaser, as the rest of the team rushed to perform their assigned tasks.
What followed was some of the most intense passing play Hogwarts had seen in years, even though there was no scoring. The girls were constantly tossing the ball at each other and flying around at high speeds to escape the Slytherin players that tried to cover them. The twins were flying around like madmen protecting their chasers and running interference. And if the pressure was becoming too much, there was always Harry who made a few feints to draw the opposing beaters' attention.
Slowly the 'Weasley is our king' chants from the stands grew more silenced until it finally stopped completely. Both sides' keepers were simply not involved in the game, so the spotlight was not on Ron anymore. At first the Gryffindor supporters did not know how to react, their team was in constant possession, but did not attempt to score any goals. But after a while they caught on and soon every successful pass was followed by a cheer and a wave going through their stances.
This strategy came at a cost though, in order to be constantly in possession, the Gryffindor chasers had to push themselves to new extremes. They would not be able to hold this flying for a long time. Slowly it became more and more difficult to make a pass to the open player and the Slytherin chasers were able to attempt the tackles for which they were renowned.
So it was with relief that Fred saw the small raven haired seeker sped away for a third dive, only this time, it was no feint. A little golden ball was speeding away near the ground of the Quidditch pitch. Draco Malfoy noticed Harry's departure and desperately gave chase. He asked everything from his fast nimbus 2001 in order to catch up with his rival. Both seekers were following the sharp and fast turns the snitch was making, Draco hot on Harry's tail. In the end, when Harry came agonisingly close to catch the elusive ball, Draco attempted to prolong the game by abandoning his own chase and simply cutting off Harry in his final sharp turn. But with a spectacular roll the Gryffindor seeker managed to avoid him and moments later snatched the snitch from the air.
The rest of the team dove down towards their star seeker, that was now cheering on the ground, holding the small ball in hist fist over his head. When they reached him, they were grabbing, tackling and rolling on top of the small bespectacled boy. "We bloody did it, team! You were brilliant!" Angelina shouted barely audible over the cheering of the public.
"You don't mess with the lions!" George and Fred yelled at the same time, for once this did not annoy Fred at all.
As they were slowly breaking apart their spontaneous group hug, Fred couldn't stop laughing as he slowly helped a ruffled Harry to his feet. He was just about to turn to the Gryffindor stances to wave at their housemates when he saw the back of a lone figure in a red uniform dragging a broom behind him. His young brother and Gryffindor keeper had not joined in the team's celebrations and was leaving the pitch with hunched shoulders.