In that split second with wind howling around them, it was all over.
Harry raised his arm high, pulling up on his broomstick handle to soar upward, his fist clenched tight—the golden Snitch clutched firmly in his hand.
All the Gryffindors were already cheering loudly, but just then, a dark shape whooshed down and slammed hard into Harry's lower back. He flew straight off his broomstick, fortunately only five or six feet from the ground.
Orli felt her eardrums buzzing. She saw Hermione screaming frantically beside her, but she couldn't hear anything. The stands erupted in chaos, until Angelina dove down and pulled Harry up from the ground—only then did Orli finally hear sound again. Boos, angry shouts, curses and jeers filled the air. Harry stood gritting his teeth, apparently unharmed. Ginny rushed over from the reserve bench and supported one of Harry's arms.
Madam Hooch charged toward a Slytherin player—by his build, it had to be Crabbe.
"Those scumbags, filth, bastards!" Hermione spat.
Orli had never imagined Hermione would use such words.
"Crabbe saw Harry catch the Snitch and smashed the Bludger right at him! But we won, we won!" Hermione grabbed her, shouting.
The Gryffindor players landed one by one, shouting and cheering triumphantly, pumping their fists, gathering as a team to acknowledge the crowd before heading toward the changing rooms. Only Ron was missing—he'd dismounted alone by the goal posts and disappeared at the edge of the pitch.
Hermione and Orli exchanged glances and ran toward the changing rooms together. Even from far outside the door, they could hear Malfoy's voice.
"...saved Weasley's life, didn't it? I've never seen such a pathetic Keeper, didn't stop a single goal the whole match!... Can't really blame him though, born in a bin and all... Did you like my lyrics, Potter?"
Harry seemed not to answer, but Malfoy pressed on relentlessly.
"We wanted to write a few more verses, but 'fat and ugly' doesn't rhyme well. We were thinking of singing about his mother—"
"Sour-faced git, you can't beat Harry, so you just run your mouth," came Ginny's contemptuous voice.
"—'useless waste' doesn't rhyme well either. We could sing about his father—"
A series of thumping sounds erupted. Orli shoved open the changing room door to see Harry and Ginny restraining George, while Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were holding back Fred.
"Ignore him, Fred, let him shout..." Angelina tried desperately to reason with him, but Malfoy continued laughing wildly.
"Maybe you remember the stench from their house, the Weasley pigsty reminds you of—"
"Langlock!"Orli fired the spell first, sealing his mouth. But just then, Fred broke free violently, and almost simultaneously George lunged forward too. Harry hesitated only an instant before swinging his fist and joining the fray.
"Harry! Stop it!" Hermione screamed, her voice mixing with Malfoy's muffled cries.
Orli never expected things to turn out like this. She seemed to be the only one with a wand, and she struggled frantically—using the Impediment Jinx to knock Harry back, then hitting George with a Body-Bind Curse, but Fred was still tangled up with Malfoy.
"What is going on here!" Madam Hooch burst in, whistle in one hand and wand in the other, finally blasting Fred away as well. Snape and Professor McGonagall followed close behind her, staring in stunned disbelief at the chaos in the changing room.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (150+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/DarkGolds
Happy reading, everyone!