Harry Potter and the Time of Shadows

- Chapter Twenty-

The Quidditch Cup

It had been over a month since the day Karkaroff had died. Life at Hogwarts had been mostly quiet, with almost nothing out of the ordinary happening. Whatever you could call normal at Hogwarts anyway, Harry thought.

With the O.W.Ls getting ever closer, the truly extraordinary level of tension in the common room was only enhanced. Professor Fudge had thrown another one of his trademark tantrums, and refused to let them do any practical work because they were talking too much.

"He's crazy!" Ron protested as they left Defence Against the Dark Arts. "They should stick him in St. Mungo's!"

"You can't deny that he is a good teacher," said Hermione calmly.

"Yeah, when he's not acting mental," Harry commented.

"Not mental, boring!" Ron corrected.

"And stressed," Harry added.

"Oh be quiet you two!" Hermione said as they reached Transfiguration.

Professor McGonagall was her usual self. She pushed the class further than ever before at accomplishing the human Transfiguration.

It had definitely become one of their most boring lessons, almost as boring as History of Magic. They had been practising it for roughly eight months now, and still not a single person could turn any person into an ape. Most of them had come very close, but not completely. Professor McGonagall told them that they would need to be able to do it soon; it would be a large part of their mark in the O.W.Ls.

Potions was no more bearable with Snape. If Harry had thought that Snape would treat him at all better after the meeting in Dumbledore's office, he was very much mistaken. He hated Harry no less, and picked on him more than any other Gryffindors, with the possible exception of Neville. Meanwhile, Malfoy would always give his usual smug looks from behind Snape's back.

Half way through one particularly horrendous lesson, Snape took five points from Gryffindor because Harry "sneezed loudly." Malfoy actually burst out laughing, and Snape said nothing.

"Biased git," Ron whispered. "Don't see him taking any points off Slytherin."

"Shh!" Hermione said. "He might hear you."

But no, Snape had not heard, he was too busy criticising Neville's frothy Depression Draught.

"Potter," Harry heard Malfoy whisper.

"What Malfoy?" Harry said coldly, turning in his chair to face him.

"No need to be so rude," Malfoy replied innocently. "I just wanted to wish you luck in the Quidditch final next week."

"How kind," Harry said sarcastically.

"Well, you'll need all the luck you can get," Malfoy said.

"Shut it Malfoy," Ron said quickly. "We're going to win."

"Is that so?" Malfoy said. "Do you think so Potter?"

"Of course I do," Harry replied.

"Well then how about a little bet on the outcome of the match?" Malfoy suggested.

"A bet?" Harry repeated. "What kind of a bet?"

"Simple enough," said Malfoy. "I will bet you twenty Galleons that Ravenclaw flatten you."

"Fine," Harry said, feeling an all-consuming rage. "But why not make it a bit more interesting? Fifty Galleons."

"You want interesting? All right then, how's this for interesting. If, by some miracle, you win, I pay you fifty Galleons. But, if I win, you have to fire Weasley here off your team."

He shot Ron a spiteful look.

"No way Malfoy," Harry said firmly.

"Scared Potter?"

"No, he's not," said Ron. "But it's not a fair bet. How's this, if you win, Harry fires me. But if we win, then you take a hundred points from Slytherin, as a Prefect."

"You must be crazy," Malfoy said.

"Scared?" said Ron.

"Of course not! Deal," he said, and reached out his hand for Harry to shake.

Harry did not want to take it. A thousand points from Slytherin was not worth losing his best friend on the team. But, Ron urged him until he shook Malfoy's pale, ice-cold hand.

"We'll be fine Harry, you know that right?" said Ron as they left Potions.

"Of course we'll be fine," said Harry. "We're leading by ninety points against Ravenclaw."

But Harry thought, if his guilt over Cedric could take over when he was playing against his brother, would the same happen against his girlfriend?

*

The Quidditch Final was all anyone could talk about in the next few days. The heat of the competition meant that the Ravenclaws, who usually got on very well with the Gryffindors, were being quite hostile. Defence Against the Dark Arts classes were a source of great tension, and the Patil twins were not even speaking to each other.

"This is ridiculous," said Hermione when they came out of the classroom. "I mean, Quidditch is only a game after all."

"Yeah, I think so too," said Harry.

"Me too," Ron agreed.

"You?" said Hermione, looking mildly surprised. "You practically live for Quidditch."

"Hey!" Ron protested. "I do think about other things besides Quidditch!"

The three of them went down to the Great Hall together of lunch. Harry sat down between Ron and Hermione, and started eating. He looked over at the Ravenclaw table, and caught Roger's eye. He smiled in a friendly way, and Harry was pleased to see that the rivalry had not affected him.

A few seats away from Roger was Cho. She too, caught Harry's eye and smiled, she then winked at him, and Harry felt his face redden slightly. He noticed Ron was looking at him, so he quickly looked down at his food.

He was really not sure how he felt about Cho, even after all this time. He was still very attracted to her, there was no doubt about that. But, she was Cedric's girlfriend. He thought again of how she was at the leaving feast, with tears streaming down her face. And, she had made it clear to him that she was not ready to start dating again. No matter how he felt, nothing could happen between them.

Harry found that Ravenclaws seemed to be stalking him. Wherever he went there was at least a dozen Ravenclaws following him quietly. Fred and George had taken it upon themselves to be his personal bodyguards, and would walk alongside him everywhere, their shoulders thrown out in a threatening way.

However, on Friday afternoon, Fred and George were in detention with Snape (they had thrown some elephant urine at a Slytherin), so Harry finally got a moment away from them.

"Ron, I love your family and everything," Harry said while they finished some homework in the library. "But if your brothers don't stop following me, I'll have to kill them. After the match of course, I can't do without them as Beaters."

Ron laughed, accidentally spilling some ink on his essay.

"They're only looking out for you," he said, removing the stain with his wand.

"Yeah, I know. But I never get a moment of peace with them always there."

"Well, you could try telling them to back off," Ron suggested.

"Mmm, I really don't want to have to though," Harry said.

"You're too nice Harry. Just say to them 'Fred, George, shove off!' It's really easy, I've done it a hundred times."

"I don't know, maybe I am too nice."

"Really, I quite like that," said another voice behind them.

They all jumped, and Harry turned around to see who it was. Cho was standing there, laughing at their reaction.

"Hi Cho," Harry said, feeling quite embarrassed.

"Hey Harry," she said. "Um, can we talk?"

"Sure," said Harry casually. "What is it?"

"Er, I meant, can we talk alone?" Cho said, quickly looking at Hermione and Ron, who was leaning towards Harry, determined not to miss a word.

He got up and followed her out of the library. They walked together to Hagrid's old hut. They did not speak until they got there.

"What did you want to talk about?" Harry asked.

"Oh Harry," she said quietly, and threw her arms around him.

Harry was not quite sure what to think, but he put his arms around her too. Her head rested on the top of his chest, and she brought her face up to look at him. She moved her hands further up his back, and ran them through his hair. She gently pulled his head down to her, and she kissed him.

This was not like the kiss they had after the Quidditch match against Slytherin, it was long, and passionate. Harry did not want it to end; he felt all of the troubles in his life just melt away...

After a while (but much too quickly for Harry's taste) they broke apart, and talked. Harry for one, did not know what to say.

"I -- wow -- er -- thank you," he said.

Cho laughed, and stared at him for a while.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," she said.

"Really?" said Harry, going red again.

"Oh yeah," Cho said, smiling in quite a sensual way. "I really, really like you Harry."

"And I really like you too Cho, but I thought you said you weren't ready?" She looked so beautiful, she was wearing her hair down, and it fell around her face, her red lipstick called his attention to her mouth.

"Can't a girl change her mind?" she said slyly.

Harry felt quite guilty again. Cedric weighed on his mind more than ever, especially now that he had just kissed his girlfriend. He knew he was being stupid, everyone had said that he should not feel guilty over him. Mr and Mrs Diggory, Gavin, Dumbledore, and Cho, they had all told him that they were glad he could bring his body back, and they did not blame him in the slightest for his death.

They stayed by the hut together, until Harry said that he needed to go to Quidditch practise.

"Working your team hard?" Cho said playfully.

"Well let's just say, you'll have your work cut out for you," said Harry, smiling.

She laughed, and Harry walked to the Quidditch pitch.

When he got there, he saw that the others were already in the air, practising their game.

"Harry!" Alicia called from the sky. "Where've you been?"

"Er, just talking to a friend," Harry shouted up at her.

Just then Ron laughed, and signalled for a time out. He flew his Nimbus Two Thousand and One down to the ground, and walked up to Harry.

"I bet I can guess who this friend was," he whispered. "You and Cho sure were gone for a long time. What were you doing?"

Harry did not want to give too much away, even to him. "Er, well let's just say we had quite a nice time," he said, which left Ron looking almost expectant.

"Hmm," he said, smiling. "Are you wearing lipstick?"

Harry felt his eyes go wide with shock. He wiped his finger across his mouth, and saw that it was red. Cho's lipstick had come off on him. Damn! he thought.

"Looks like you had a very nice time!" Ron said, clutching his side from surpressed laughter.

"Look, just shut up about it, OK?" Harry said testily.

Ron nodded, his mouth covered by his hand. Finally, he managed to calm down and could speak without erupting in laughter.

"Seriously though," he said. "You should be careful with her, you never know."

"What? What d'you mean 'you never know'?" Harry said quickly.

"Well -- er -- I just mean -- that -- she could be trying to play you," Ron said slowly, and very uneasily.

"Play me?" Harry repeated. "How is she playing me?"

"Well -- you know, the Ravenclaw Seeker comes onto the Gryffindor Seeker right before the big game. We all want to win the Cup really badly -- I just hope she isn't --"

"Oh!" said Harry realising what he was saying. "Cho would never do that! You think she's just being with me because she wants something in return?"

"Maybe," said Ron evenly. "There's a word for girls that do that, you know?"

"What? Scarlet women?" Harry said coolly.

"Harry, I'm not trying to mess this up for you, I just don't want you to get hurt."

Harry nodded, and took flight and started to look for the Snitch, but suddenly he was not in the mood for Quidditch.

*

The next day Harry got up early for the match. After he changed he put on his glasses and checked his watch; it was seven o'clock, four hours before the game would start. He looked over at the next bed and saw that Ron was awake as well.

"Morning Harry!" he said cheerfully.

"Morning," Harry replied solemnly. He was still angry with Ron for what he said about Cho.

"Er, breakfast?" Ron said tenuously.

"Whatever," Harry said.

He got off of his bed, and walked down to the Great Hall, Ron behind him. They did not speak all the way there, and it was only when they sat at the Gryffindor table with Hermione that any words were said at all.

"Hi guys," Hermione said casually, not noticing that neither of them had been speaking before.

Harry did not reply, and Ron mumbled a greeting. Hermione then also lapsed into silence.

Harry looked at Cho at the Ravenclaw table, who was looking at him. They smiled at each other, and Harry felt himself staring for quite a while. He turned his head around when he noticed Ron watching him. At the Hufflepuff table, Gavin smiled, and gave him the thumbs-up. Malfoy looked at him from the Slytherin table, his eyes sparkling maliciously. At least three of the four Hogwarts Seekers got on all right, he thought.

He cast another look at Cho. He remembered kissing her the previous day. Even now, Harry was not sure how he felt about her. He had definitely enjoyed kissing her, and liked her a lot. He was not sure if they were going to officially be a couple, or if she had simply planned to have secret meetings after dark. He wondered why she had decided to wait until now to tell him that she liked him. Harry tried not to think about Ron's accusation.

Harry got up from the table after he finished his toast and bacon, Hermione followed, and so did Ron.

"Nervous Harry?" Hermione asked. "Ravenclaw are quite good."

"We'll be fine," Harry said shortly.

"Fat chance!" another boy's voice called.

Harry looked and Draco Malfoy was standing by the door to the Great Hall, Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

"Don't forget our bet Potter," he said.

"Quiet Malfoy," Harry said, his voice echoing around the empty Entrance Hall.

"You think you're so good, don't you Potter?" Malfoy drawled. "Big, hotshot Quidditch star."

"You're just jealous," Harry retorted. "Because you're out of the Cup! Slytherin are in dead last, and on your first year as captain, how embarrassing for you!"

"Jealous? Of you? You must be joking! Why would I be jealous of a poor, parentless, Muggle-lover like you?" Malfoy yelled. "You're not even fit to be a wizard!"

"I'm twice the wizard you'll ever be!" Harry shouted back.

"Oh yeah?" sneered Malfoy. "We'll see about that!"

Malfoy took out his wand and with a loud echoing bang, a ball of white light shot towards Harry. Harry tried to move out of the way, but it was following him. Almost immediately, Ron threw himself forwards, and the curse hit him in the face.

He screamed with pain as Malfoy roared with laughter. Ron collapsed on the floor, and Harry and Hermione both took out their wands instantly.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" they both shrieked together. Malfoy was thrown back, and crashed hard into Crabbe and Goyle. His wand flew far across the room and landed by the castle doors. Harry walked up to Malfoy; he was unconscious. Crabbe and Goyle stood up, and advanced on the two of them.

"STUPEFY!" they then yelled, and the two giant boys fell to the floor.

"Ron!" Hermione screamed, running over to him. "Are you all right Ron?"

"Uh," Ron said faintly, his eyes half-open. "Yeah -- I'm OK."

Harry stood over him. His face was very red; it had been burnt by Malfoy's curse. The skin looked raw and shiny, but he did not seem to be in any real danger.

"Ron, I'm so sorry," he whispered. "For the curse, and for being so horrible to you."

"It's fine Harry," Ron murmured. "I deserved it. I shouldn't've said what I did about Cho."

"You were just looking out for me."

"We should get you to the hospital wing Ron," Hermione said. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," Ron said, trying to sit up but groaning with pain. "I'm still all right to play today."

"No Ron," said Harry sternly. "You need your rest. There's no way you'll be able to fly in," he checked his watch, "less than three hours."

"You need me to play," Ron grunted.

"No, you need to see Madam Pomfrey."

"No! I'll be able -- I can --" Ron tried to get to his feet but winced in pain, "Oh fine! Help me," he said.

Harry and Hermione each took hold of one of Ron's arms and dragged him all the way from the Entrance Hall to the hospital wing.

"Dear me," said Madam Pomfrey the second they came in. "What've you been up to?" They gave her a brief account of what happened.

"Dear, dear me," she repeated as she looked over him. "Looks quite bad. I do have a cream to help you though."

"Will I be able to play Quidditch today?" Ron asked tentatively.

"Heavens no!" said Madam Pomfrey, shocked at him even asking such a question. "You can't do anything too stimulating in the next twenty-four hours. Especially playing a dangerous sport like Quidditch!"

"No! I have to play! There's no reserve Keeper! Without me all the Ravenclaws'll be shooting at an open goal!"

"Don't worry Ron," Harry said reassuringly. "I'll find someone else."

Harry thought, who could replace Ron as Keeper? He remembered the Keeper trials; everyone else was useless. Everyone except--

"Ginny!" Harry said as he reached Gryffindor Tower five minutes later, clutching the stitch in his side.

"What is it Harry?" Ginny said, clearly realising it was something urgent for Harry to come running into the room the way he had.

"Ron -- Ron," Harry panted, exhausted from sprinting halfway across the castle. "He was attacked -- need you -- fill in -- as Keeper."

"Me?" said Ginny, alarmed. "I don't think I can."

"Why not?" Harry asked, getting his breath back. "You're a great Keeper."

"I know, but I couldn't do it with all those people watching me. I'd be too nervous."

"What are you talking about?" Harry said, starting to panic. If she said no, they would have no Keeper, and as Ron said, the Ravenclaws would be shooting at open goals.

"I get shy very easy," she said, and already she was going red.

"Listen to me," Harry said softly, laying his hand on her arm and squeezing it lightly. "You'll be great up there, you're an incredible Keeper. I know you can do it, I believe in you."

She stared into his eyes, and smiled. "OK, I'll do it."

"Great," said Harry, smiling too. "You'll be able to use Ron's Nimbus, and we need to get you some smaller Quidditch robes, and Ginny --"

"What?" she said.

"Thanks."

Harry went back up to the hospital wing to tell Ron and Hermione that Ginny had agreed.

"Really? She'll do it?" said Ron weakly, his face hidden by a strange orange lotion. "My little sister. Wow."

"D'you think you can come to the match to watch --" Harry stopped abruptly when he noticed something about the two of them. Hermione was holding Ron's hand tightly in quite an affectionate way. He smiled to himself, but did not comment.

"Yeah," said Ron, unaware that Harry had stopped speaking for a reason. "I'm sure I'll be fine to watch the game. All I've got to do is sit in the stands."

"Great," Harry said, and he walked off to the Quidditch pitch, leaving the two of them alone.

*

The usual pre-match excitement and tension ran through the school as everyone filed into the stands. Harry looked out of the changing rooms, trying to locate Hermione and Ron, but not seeing them. The black armbands were still on the red robes, remembering Wood, who had died over the summer.

"All right everyone, this is it," he said, realising he had no idea what else to say for his big talk for the final. He tried to make it up as he went along. "In a few moments, we'll all be out there playing for the Quidditch Cup. We've done it before, and we'll do it again!"

The others all cheered.

"That Cup's got our name on it, and we can't let anything get in our way." He thought briefly of Cho. "No distractions, no complications, just focus."

The team was now quiet, and seemed to be focussing there and then.

"Alicia, Katie, Angelina," he said to the Chasers. "Think tactics, work as a team." They nodded to him. "Fred, George. Power, but more importantly aim."

"No problem Harry," said Fred.

"You can count on us mate," George added.

"And Ginny," he said, looking at her, short and thin, and so red so looked like she was about to explode. "Just do your best, and I know you'll be great."

She nodded, set in concentration.

"And Harry," said Fred with mock seriousness, imitating him. "Just catch the damn Snitch."

He laughed. "OK everyone, let's go!"

They made their way out onto the pitch, and great applause came from the Gryffindors. Since Hufflepuff were out of the running since they had lost to Slytherin just after the Christmas holidays, they seemed to be remaining neutral. The Slytherins were also not supporting Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Harry remembered the bet he had with Malfoy, and felt an increasing amount of pressure. Nobody else knew about it, Harry was sure that not even Hermione had heard them in the Potions dungeon, or else she would have surely commented on it.

Harry stood in front of the others, facing Roger Davies. He smiled, and Harry smiled back. Cho smiled at him too, but Harry merely gave her a solemn nod, determined to not let anything break his concentration.

It was a very bright day, and quite warm. The sun was hidden behind a cloud. It was almost perfect Quidditch conditions.

"Hi everyone!" Lee yelled over the crowd. "Welcome to the Quidditch Final! Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw! My last game as commentator. Such a sad time," he pretended to sob.

"Jordan, please," said Professor McGonagall.

"OK. In red, we have the Gryffindor Lions! Potter, Spinnet, Johnson, Bell, Weasley, Weasley, and Weasley. Dear God!

"Oh, by the way," said Lee. "A substitution made by Gryffindor in this match. Keeper Weasley was injured, and couldn't play, so he's replaced by Keeper Weasley! Ginny Weasley! This is confusing!"

"And, in blue, the Ravenclaw Eagles! Davies, Capper, Brocklehurst, Quirke, Stebbins, Taylor, and Chang!"

The whole stadium shook with cheers for both teams.

"Captains, shake hands," said Madam Hooch.

Harry took Roger's hand, which was quite warm and sweaty. He could also feels his pulse beating through his fingers; it was very fast. Roger must be as nervous as him, Harry thought.

"Mount your brooms."

Harry got onto his Firebolt, silently praying for a victory. He noticed a figure in the Slytherin stands who was almost certainly Malfoy. It was very far away, but Harry saw the pale skin and hair.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and Harry shot into the air, searching for the Snitch.

"I've been doing this job for five years," Lee said. "I'd like to thank my mum and dad, for always believing in me --"

"Jordan, you're not being given the Order of Merlin here! The game!" Professor McGonagall interrupted.

"Sorry Professor," Lee said, "Bell heading for the goal -- stopped by a Bludger from Ravenclaw Captain Davies."

Harry flew around the pitch, desperate for an early catch, before anything else got in the way. Cho was marking him quite closely, it seemed that her new custom-made broomstick was a lot better than her old one. She was tailing him very well, and it was only when Harry flattened himself to the broom handle, that he finally managed to lose her.

"GOAL!" Lee's voice came flooding into his ears. "Alicia Spinnet scores the first goal! Ten-zero!"

The other Ravenclaw Beater decided to vent his feelings by whacking a Bludger at her from behind. She was hit hard, and fell from her broom. Fred Weasley had to dive down to catch her.

Roger flew towards the Beater, and started shouting at him about playing dirty.

"Capper! What the hell d'you think you're playin' at!" he yelled.

"Yeah, it's just plain wrong at attack someone when their back's turned!" Lee agreed.

There was no penalty though, as it was not against the rules to hit someone with a Bludger. Alicia was able to get back onto her broomstick, and continue flying.

Harry looked away from them, to try and find the Snitch again. He saw it hovering above the grass at the Ravenclaw end. He dived, and so did Cho. He was far in the lead, but at the last second, a Bludger stopped Harry in his tracks. There was a great sigh from the Gryffindors, as the Snitch had disappeared.

"Johnson with the Quaffle -- passes to Spinnet -- back to Johnson --" he heard Lee say. "No! -- taken by Stebbins of Ravenclaw -- he shoots -- yes! Saved by Gryffindor Keeper Weasley!"

Ginny caught it, and threw it to Angelina.

"Johnson takes the ball right up the pitch -- passes to Bell -- stopped by a Bludger -- yes! Spinnet picks it up -- she shoots -- yes! Gryffindor score! Twenty-zero!"

Harry saw the Snitch again. He shot towards it as fast as he could, but somehow found Cho blocking him. In those few seconds, the Snitch disappeared again. She grinned at him, and Harry turned his Firebolt around and sped away in the other direction without returning it.

"Ravenclaw's Brocklehurst has the Quaffle -- passes to Stebbins -- he shoots -- saved by Ginny Weasley!"

Ginny was positively beaming, and passed the Quaffle to the nearest Chaser.

"Weasley passes to Bell -- no! she's intercepted by Quirke -- Quirke quick with the Quaffle, that's a mouthful, passes to Stebbins. Bell steals it -- she shoots -- YES! Gryffindor lead thirty-zero!"

Harry listened carefully to the commentary, although it did not matter too much. As long as Gryffindor won, they would get the Cup. And, since they were beating Ravenclaw by ninety points, they could even afford to lose by eighty.

"Spinnet gets it from Brocklehurst -- she passes to Johnson -- Johnson takes it up the pitch, narrowly misses a Bludger -- no! Quirke intercepts --"

Harry's heart leapt. The Snitch was barely ten feet above him. He pulled his Firebolt upwards, and began to ascend. He looked over his shoulder to see if Cho was anywhere near, and saw her racing as fast as she could in his direction. She smiled at him again, and when he looked back, the Snitch had vanished. Cho was smiling even more broadly, and for the first time, Harry started to seriously consider what Ron had suggested about her.

"Bell takes it -- she shoots -- Keeper Taylor dives -- GOAL! Forty-zero to Gryffindor. I think our chances are pretty good!"

The sun moved from behind a cloud, illuminating the pitch with sunlight. The May summer warmth suddenly came to them, and within a few minutes Harry was starting to sweat. Ravenclaw were starting to pull back. The score was now seventy-thirty.

Harry was that Cho was tailing him again. He put all of his feelings aside, and tried a Wronski Feint. He dived down low. Cho, thinking he had seen the Snitch, followed him. Harry waited until he was only inches away from the grass when he pulled out of the dive. He turned his broomstick, to see if Cho had recovered, and saw that she had plummeted straight into the ground.

There were loud boos from the Ravenclaws, while the Gryffindors gave great applause. Roger called a time-out, while they checked to see if Cho was all right.

Fred and George quickly congratulated him for his feint, while he was not sure if he had done the right thing. He looked over at the Ravenclaws; Cho seemed fine, but a little dazed. She looked over at him, and this time she did not smile.

Before long, they were in the air again, and Alicia had scored another goal, making the score eighty-thirty.

The heat was really starting to affect Harry. He was feeling weak, and tired, so, apparently, did everybody else. The Chasers on both teams were becoming slightly slower, and Ginny and the Ravenclaw Keeper, Taylor, were slowing down too. Fred and George, who usually had the energy of a house-elf cleaning up after a tornado, were not getting as much power from their hits as usual.

Harry looked over at Cho, and saw that her face was quite sweaty, and her blue Quidditch robes were clinging tightly to her body. Harry suddenly felt his mouth go dry, and he had a feeling it was nothing to do with the heat.

"Quirke passes to Stebbins - who just drops it! Oh come on! What the hell is going on here?" Lee yelled. "It's not that hot!"

But Harry disagreed. He thought that if he spat, it would probably evaporate before it hit the ground.

The game went on for a long time. It was definitely the longest game Harry had ever played in. The Chasers were scoring, despite how hot they were.

"Ravenclaw score, damn!" Lee commented. "Gryffindor are still winning though, two hundred and twenty -- to a hundred and eighty."

The sun was shining as hard as ever. Harry's glasses were becoming misty, and he had to quickly take them off and wipe them on his robes. When he put them back on, he saw that, thankfully, Cho had not seen the Snitch in that time.

"Ravenclaw in possession, Spinnet heading for the scoring zone -- passes to Be-- no, intercepted by Brocklehurst. She zooms down the pitch -- gives it to Mr Stebbins, don't drop it again! He shoots -- no! Stebbins scores. Two hundred and twenty to a hundred and ninety."

They played even longer in the sweltering heat. At one point, the score was tied at two hundred and fifty points each, but the Gryffindors managed to pull ahead again, and the score was now two hundred and ninety to two hundred and fifty.

"Come on Harry," Lee urged through the megaphone. "Catch the Snitch! We need a win here!"

Harry was trying very hard to catch the Snitch, but had not had even a glimpse of gold in a long time.

And then, he saw it. It was hovering just above Roger's head. Harry flew towards, him, but Roger noticed Harry coming in his direction, and where his eyes were focussed. He looked up, and saw the Snitch. Roger called out to Cho, and she instantly came.

She was closer, but Harry's Firebolt was much faster. Harry drew level with her, and she changed direction ever so slightly, flying more to him than the Snitch. She smiled at him again, and Harry turned his head to look at her. But, in the moment he did, Cho put on an extra burst of speed, and overtook him.

"Damn!" Harry said out loud. He had let Cho manipulate him, and she was more likely to get the Snitch now.

Suddenly, Harry was struck by an inspiration. He started hard at the Snitch, the way Professor Fudge had taught him, and willed the Snitch away from Cho, and closer to him.

He was not sure if he was cheating, and frankly, he did not care. He felt that Cho deserved it, for what she did. Anyway, no one would be able to tell that the Snitch had not simply flown in his direction.

The small golden ball was getting ever closer, Lee's commentary now seemed just a muffled drone.

Finally, his fingers closed around the Golden Snitch. It was slippery against his sweaty hands, and beating its wings hopelessly. The stadium erupted in applause, and Harry waved it around over his head.

"YEAH!" Lee yelled. "GRYFFINDOR WIN THE MATCH, FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TO TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY! GRYFFINDOR WIN THE QUIDDITCH CUP!"

The rest of the team flew towards him, and locked together in a giant, many-armed hug. Harry noticed Ginny was the one closest to him, as they somehow got back to earth together.

Every single student with Gryffindor robes, badges, or flags vaulted over the barrier to meet them. Harry hugged his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, as they reached him.

Professor McGonagall was crying harder than anyone, and almost all of the teachers were cheered enthusiastically. But all of it was nothing -- nothing, compared to the two figures sitting in the front of one particular row of stands, both looking like the bottoms had fallen out of their hearts. Harry smiled with some satisfaction at Malfoy and Snape, and made his way to where Dumbledore was standing with the huge, silver Quidditch Cup.

Roger was clapping the winners politely, and Harry walked up to him, and shook his hand. He shot Cho a very sour look before she had time to respond, and turned back to where a sea of red fans were waiting to see him accept the Cup.

"We Won! We Won!" it seemed like hundreds of people were yelling as one.

Harry took the cup from Dumbledore, and lifted it over his head, and the cheering grew ever louder. He passed it to Ginny next to him, and she blushed harder than ever.

The sun was setting by then, casting a red glow over the stadium, and it seemed that the entire landscape was decorated in Gryffindor colours.

Suddenly, everything that was wrong with the world just melted away. Tears of joy were pouring freely down his face, and he made no effort to wipe them away.

Suddenly, life was good.

*