Chapter 37 — Snakes vs Lions
Harry focused himself as he heard Lee Jordan announce the start of the match. "Lights out and away we go, folks!! The long-awaited match between House Slytherin and House Gryffindor! A match of vile villainy backed up by modern wizarding broom power, and old school courage and grit! Ready to collide in spectacular style!" His voice proclaimed, projecting across the field with thunderous vigor.
"That was quite the mouthful, Mr. Jordan," McGonagall's voice chipped in, with clear annoyance.
"It's all about setting up the state, Professor! Especially since this match has been delayed because of a 'totally' real illness!" Lee's voice explained.
"Mr. Lee! Do not start spreading misinformation like that!!" The professor's voice pitched and snapped sharply, causing Harry to wince as he flew into position.
"With what we've seen out of this team? Anything is possible, Professor! What few shortfalls in skill the Slytherin team have, they more than make up for in dirty tricks, thievery, and downright low-balling skullduggery!!" Lee's voice proclaimed, getting a chorus of boos from the Gryffindor stands to erupt after his announcement.
With that, the two teams came flying out onto the field. As they did, Madam Hooch came out with the container for the Quaffle, Bludgers, and Snitch in hand. Looking up at the two teams, she glared sternly.
"All right, let's have a good, clean game!" She announced.
"Of course!" Malfoy said with an oily grin across his face.
"As clean as a whistle, Professor!" Oliver replied.
Giving a nod, Madam Hooch opened the latches and released the Bludgers. Picking up the Quaffle, she released the Snitch and held the Quaffle ready to throw it up.
"Ready…? BEGIN!" She called out as she threw the Quaffle up into the air.
"Lights out and away they go, folks! Look at the speed of those brooms Slytherin's got! Money can't buy you happiness, but they sure can buy you speed!!" Lee's voice exclaimed as Slytherin's rapidly accelerated, far faster than the Gryffindors.
"Mr. Jordan!" Professor McGonagall snapped harshly.
"I am speaking for the people!!" Lee snapped back.
"He doesn't speak for us!!" Someone called out from the Slytherin stands.
Meanwhile: Gryffindor Stands
"They're fast. Way faster than Gryffindor! This is exciting! Wait…" Damien said excitedly before looking around the stands. "Why are there so few people today?"
Hermione sighed at the Dursley's antics. "I know Garrett isn't attending. He was muttering to himself dreadfully." She explained. "I can't say I blame him, after what happened to him in Herbology. Mandrakes can really get to some people."
Damien felt a bit deflated at hearing that and seeing so many fewer people around him. It felt… wrong. Like a part of the stands' soul was missing. He looked around more and noticed that Luna wasn't there.
"Where's Luna?" He asked, his face saddening as he turned to Ron and Hermione.
"She said something about swirlies. I don't know. She's about somewhere. I saw her talking with Albert too, but that's about it," Ron replied, waving off his concerns.
Daimen turned on his heels and sternly looked at Ron. "Who dunked her head in a loo!? Tell me, Weasley!!" He snapped fiercely.
"What the bloody hell are you on about?!" Ron asked in disbelief.
"Let me handle this, Ron…" Hermione said with a deep, frustrated sigh. "Not that kind of swirly. Luna's talking about… some kind of magical effect. I'm not entirely certain what, but it's not the Muggle term for it."
"Oh. That's good," Damien said, letting out a slow breath. "By the way… has anyone else noticed the other red head hasn't blinked in like three minutes? It's starting to creep me out."
Hermione and Ron turned to their right and saw Ginny leaning on the wooden edge of the stands. Her eyes were transfixed on the match as it began its early positional dance. Like Damien had alluded to, her eyelids did not move. She was like a statue, nay a Gargoyle, in her still, near silent vigil.
"Don't mind her. That happens when she gets really into a Quidditch match," Ron explained, waving it off.
"That's not healthy," Hermione corrected curtly.
"It is the Weasley way…" Ron's voice trailed off.
Back on the Pitch
The three Slytherin Chasers took off at breakneck speed on the tails of the Gryffindor Chasers, trying desperately to catch up before they got to the goals. The Slytherin captain Marcus Flint hit the Quaffle from behind to knock it out of Angelina Johnson's hand, then kicked it to one of his fellow Slytherin Chasers. Flying in, Adrian Pucey grabbed it out of midair and made for the Gryffindor goals.
"In a stunning bit of Quaffle juggling, Slytherin has wretched possession from Gryffindor's wanting hands! Looks like the Snakes are hungry today! And at the rate they are going, they're gonna be dining on Lions for lunch!!" Lee exclaimed as the Slytherins rocketed into formation towards the precariously open Gryffindor goal.
"Mr. Jordan…!" McGonagall growled out.
"Is there anything you're okay with from me today?" Lee asked sarcastically, as if he already knew the answer.
"Just focus on being objective, Jordan!" McGonagall snapped back.
"That is objective! You know the Slytherin Double Beat Maneuver! If anything, we need to ask the Head Boy and Head Girl of Slytherin how that is objectively not cheating!?" Lee snapped in kind.
With a growl, McGonagall returned her attention to the game. They watched as the Slytherin Chasers passed the Quaffle back and forth between them, just barely keeping it out of Gryffindor's hands. When one of them got in close, he threw it up and swung on his broom to kick it into the goal. Flying in, Oliver Wood barely caught the Quaffle before it went in and threw it out to a Gryffindor Chaser.
Seeing this close save from Wood, Marcus Flint took off after Alicia Spinnet, the Gryffindor Chaser who had the Quaffle. With Adrian Pucey on his right flank, Flint motioned to Pucey to take one side while he took the other. The two then surrounded Alicia on both sides, trapped her between them, and sent her into one of the stands as they got the Quaffle from her. With a smirk, Flint took off for the Gryffindor goals with the Quaffle in hand.
"In another stunning upset for this high paced slugfest, Gryffindor has regained possession and stopped Slytherin from scoring by the skin of their teeth! Only for Slytherin to get it right back again! Neither team can keep their hands on it for a long time today! Both teams got the fire in them today! We'd all expect nothing less from the biggest rivalry at Hogwarts!!" Lee exclaimed excitedly, barely able to keep himself seat as the teams rocketed by his part of the stands. "How was that for objective, Professor?"
"Passable." Professor McGonagall answered bluntly.
"Sheesh. Tough crowd, but I'll take it," He replied.
Meanwhile: In the Stands
Hermione sighed as she leaned back as she watched. The match was turning into a slugfest that only Slytherin and Gryffindor could produce. However, she was caught off guard as she heard the voice of her little sister Alicia.
"Why does Slytherin always have to play so dirty?" She asked, practically appearing next to her older sister.
"Ah! What are you doing here Alicia?!" Hermione snapped in shock.
"Watching my sister's boyfriend's team play," Alicia said with a grin.
The others, save Ginny, turned to look at her in confusion before Hermione spoke up. "What are you babbling about? Ron's not on the team," Hermione retorted firmly, causing everyone to slowly turn and look at her. Well, everyone except Ginny, who was still laser-focused on the match. Moments later, Hermione realized what she said.
"Wait, no, I didn't…" Hermione frantically tried to say.
Meanwhile: On the Pitch with Harry
As Harry soared across the field, trying to look for the Snitch, he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. A Bludger came his way. Pulling up, he barely avoided being hit by it. As he did, the Bludger soared away as Oliver lowered himself down.
"Stay sharp, Harry! You can't let a little lack of sleep slow you down!" Oliver replied, trying to be encouraging as he failed to notice the Bludger from before coming right back.
"Watch yourself Harry!!" A voice tried out, catching Harry's attention.
"Harry, look out!!" Another voice cried out frantically, but before Harry could react, everything happened at once.
"Wood, look out!" Harry called out too late as the Bludger took off the front of Oliver's broom as it came right back at Harry himself.
Ducking under the Bludger, Harry took off trying to avoid it. However, no matter how much he tried to avoid it, it kept chasing him. He swerved around the stands only for the Bludger to smash through as it kept chasing him. Every time he tried, the process repeated. Nothing stopped it.
As he managed to get ahead of the Bludger, Malfoy grinned a bit as he stopped in front of him. "Practicing for the ballet, Potter?" He jeered mockingly.
It was then that Harry saw it. The Snitch, just past Malfoy's head. However, before he could try to go for it, Harry dove down a bit to avoid being hit by the Bludger. This forced Malfoy to dodge aside; the Bludger barely missed his head. Looking back in slight fear, as if realizing how close he came to death, Malfoy turned back and saw Harry take off past him with his hand out. Watching as Harry whizzed past him, Malfoy caught sight of the Snitch as well and took off in pursuit.
"We have a rogue Bludger on our hands, folks! And Wood's broom took a direct hit! Everyone, remain in the stands! The professors will make sure it doesn't do anyone any harm. As for those on the pitch, Merlin help them!" Lee called out, his voice holding back a bit of his own panic.
Harry and Malfoy took off after the Snitch with the Bludger in hot pursuit. Diving down, they went into the forest of wooden beams below the stands. Dodging and waving around the wooden beams, they tried to outrun each other and the Bludger as they kept their eyes on the Snitch.
As they tried to catch the Snitch, the Bludger smashed and plowed through every wooden beam that they evaded. Relentlessly pursuing the Gryffindor Seeker like a homing missile. Due to his faster broom, Malfoy managed to pull ahead as he gained on the Snitch. Looking back at the Bludger, Harry barely evaded a wooden beam that the Bludger smashed straight through behind him.
"You'll never catch me, Potter!" Malfoy called out before he refocused on the Snitch.
Pushing his trusty Nimbus Two Thousand as hard as he could, Harry managed to pull ahead of Malfoy just as the Slytherin Seeker began reaching for the Snitch. The two were neck and neck as they tried to catch the little flying golden ball, the Bludger relentlessly pursuing them from behind. Catching up to Harry, Malfoy tried to push him aside, forcing the Gryffindor Seeker to push back as they tried to pass each other.
Going back above the pitch for a moment, the two flew by Collin Creevey as he snapped a picture of the two of them. Looking back ahead, Collin barely ducked to avoid the Bludger as it followed behind the two older boys, smashing through a wooden beam as they went back below. As Harry and Malfoy ducked and weaved through wooden beams to try to reach the Snitch, the Bludger caught up and began bouncing off the walls as it tried to hit Harry. Dodging the Bludger, Harry and Malfoy saw it fly out through the stands and outside the pitch.
As they continued their pursuit of the Snitch, the Bludger came back in from the front, forcing Harry to dive a bit to evade as Malfoy evaded to the side while looking back. This proved to be a fatal mistake as, when the Slytherin Seeker looked back ahead, he saw a wooden beam that he could not evade. His broom collided into it, knocking him off his broom and sending him tumbling across the pitch above until he landed in an accidental split. Gasping in pain, Malfoy collapsed in agony with his eyes wide as his broom tumbled over next to him.
Seeing that he was free, Harry reached out his hand to try to catch the Snitch. However, the Rogue Bludger came in out of nowhere and slammed into his leather gauntlet-covered hand with a sickening impact, forcing him to retract it in pain as his gauntlet went flying. Temporarily of course but refusing to give up, Harry pushed ahead with all his might while cradling his now injured arm against his chest. Reaching out with his undamaged hand, Harry finally made it and caught the Snitch. But, as he did, he flipped upside down on his broom and slid against the pitch's sand-covered ground, stopping.
This earned sighs of relief from Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, and Damien, as they headed down. Dazed, Harry looked down at his hand as Lee Jordan made the big announcement.
"Harry Potter has the Snitch! Gryffindor wins!! And not only a loss for the Slytherin team, but potentially the Malfoy family!!" Lee's voice yelled out. "Was that impartial enough for you, Professor?"
"It will do, Mr. Jordan." Professor McGonagall said with a tone that made Harry hear the small smirk on her face.
Harry lay in the sand and slowly lifted his left hand up to get a better look at the Snitch. In the sunlight, the way it gleamed, its simple beauty never got old. He smiled widely before laying his head back into the sand contently. That was until he saw something coming towards him with a familiar humming sound. Looking up for a brief moment, he saw the Bludger coming straight for him.
"Ah!!" He yelped, moving over to the right in the sand, then the left as it tried to crush him again. Only for him to move back when it tried to slam into his pelvis.
His nerves and adrenaline spiked as he felt like his life was about to flash before his eyes. That was, until he heard a familiar feminine voice call out the name of a charm.
"Finite Incantatem!" The voice called out as a burst of magic fired from the tip of a wand hitting the Bludger. Soon the Bludger exploded in a shower of sparks and pieces as Harry shook himself off.
It was then that he felt his right arm begin to sting and burn. Not as if it were on fire, or if he was stung by a wasp, but in a fire of all-consuming pain. Grabbing it, he gritted his teeth behind his lips to not let anyone know how bad it hurt. Soon he saw Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, and Professor Lockhart surrounded him.
"Are you all right?" Hermionie asked as she knelt down to inspect him.
"Not really. I think my arm is broken." He replied, taking every ounce of willpower and restraint he had to not scream or make a sarcastic remark. Part of him wished he had as he saw Lockhart kneel next to him.
"Don't worry, Harry. I'll fix your arm right away!" Lockhart confidently, but calmly, said.
"Not you, please… I want to go to Madam Pomfrey…" Harry groaned out, gritting his teeth in agony.
"Oh, the boy doesn't know what he's saying." Lockhart said with a hint of annoyance as he slid up the sleeve of his robe. "Now this won't hurt a bit."
"Brackium Emendo." The Professor said as he touched his very broken arm with the tip of his wand, and his arm was covered in a bright white glow.
As soon as the glow died down, Harry knew something was wrong. He went from having the worst pain he had ever felt in his life to having no pain. In fact… he did not feel anything in his right arm at all. As soon as Professor Lockhart let go of his right forearm, it flopped down from the elbow joint down like a wet noodle. As it did, it made a sickening sound like a mix of jellied meat, wet pasta falling on the floor, and stepping in spilled jam all at once. He could hear everyone else's disgusted reactions, even someone hurling up their lunch. But all of this… was too much. As he fell backwards onto the sandy pitch again, and the world went dark.