AN I wish I owned the Harry Potter books. That would be sweet.
"Settle down guys, settle down," Harry said. Ron and Kyla were having a heated discussion about the Cannons and the Wasps while Alicia, Katie, and Ginny were teasing Colin about a fourth year girl from Hufflepuff. All the while, Colin was turning redder and redder.
"Come on you guys," Harry pleaded when he failed to achieve silence. "We'll never get in the proper frame of mind to play this game if you don't listen." He sighed and threw his hands in the air. "Fine, let Slytherin beat us. See if I care."
"Oh please, Harry," Ron said. "We'll destroy Slytherin."
"Yeah," Kyla chimed in. "I've seen their players and they don't look that great. I mean, come on. They have Crabbe and Goyle, for crying out loud."
Harry shook his head. "They'll cheat to get the upper hand. If we could trust them to play fairly, they would be pushovers, but we can't. So, here's what I've got figured out," and he explained the game plan. When they walked out to the field, Ginny pulled Harry aside.
"Harry, I've got something important to tell you."
He looked towards the pitch. "Can't it wait?"
"Well, it's kind of important."
"Ginny, I'm in a hurry. We're starting in two minutes. We'll talk later." And he hurriedly brushed his lips against her forehead and rushed out.
"Right," Ginny said with a hurt look in her eyes. "Later." Finally I get the nerve to tell you and you brush me off. She shook her head, walking out of the locker rooms. I've got a bad feeling about this game. It will not end well.
"And now, announcing the Gryffindors, Weasley, Creevy, Thomas, Bell, Spinnet, Weasley, and Potter!" They flew over the pitch as Seamus Finnigan called out their names. Harry could make out Hermione sitting with Hagrid, looking through his enormous binoculars. He waved at them and they waved back excitedly. Ron wove in and out around the poles while Kyla and Colin swooped over the stands to the cheers of the crowd below. Alicia, Katie, and Ginny were stationary over the middle. Ginny didn't seem to be paying much attention to anything; she seemed lost in her thoughts.
Madame Hooch stepped out to the middle of the field.
"Keep this clean, you two," she said to Harry and Malfoy. "Let's try to avoid cheating and prevent injuries." She fixed her gaze on Malfoy. "I'm watching you closely," she said with her eyes narrowed. "Captains, shake hands." Harry and Malfoy looked at each other with distaste. "Quickly!" she barked.
Harry stuck his hand out and Malfoy met it. Each seemed to be trying to overpower the other before letting go.
Madame Hooch released the Bludgers and the Snitch from the case. As they flew up, she tossed the Quaffle into the air and the game started. Harry circled the pitch, looking with one eye for the Snitch and the other, watching for foul play. Crabbe and Goyle as the Beaters were clumsy and never did manage to hit the Bludger successfully. Whenever they achieved a hit, it would go sporadically and miss the mark. Harry knew though, if they ever got lucky, the Bludger could cause great damage due to the force behind the blow.
Slytherin's Chasers weren't as efficient as the Gryffindors either. Ron blocked all shots with ease. Harry was pleased to see the disgusted look that Malfoy gave Ron as the game continued.
"This is wild!" Seamus cried. "Gryffindor and Slytherin have gone positively mad in the attempt to win." He let out a sudden cheer of delight. "Would you look at that! Penalty to Crabbe for *cobbing! Malfoy doesn't look to happy with that! Indeed, Malfoy's look was one of pure evil. The game quickly escalated into a full out frenzy for dominance. Members of both teams were receiving penalties. Harry had never played a longer game and he was beginning to pray that the Snitch would make an appearance soon. Gryffindors Chasers were slowing down and getting tired as the game slowly wore on.
"They've been at it for two hours!" Seamus yelled. "Both teams are showing signs of exhaustion and the Snitch hasn't shown itself since first being released! Potter and Malfoy haven't had much to do but watch!"
Ginny flew past Harry. "You alright?" he called.
"Never better!" she grinned, flying down to intercept the Quaffle.
Then, at the other end of the pitch, Harry saw it. The Snitch was dancing behind the Slytherin goal posts. Harry sped towards it and Malfoy, seeing it soon followed. Harry had a good lead on him and was less than fifteen yards away when he heard Ron cry, "Ginny, look out!" Instinctively, Harry turned his head and saw a Bludger heading straight towards her. As if in slow motion, he saw it make contact with her face. She seemed to take forever to fall and he rushed to try and catch her. He was too late and she fell to the earth with a sickening thud.
"NO!" he screamed as he flew to her side, Ron right behind him. Dismounting, he knelt down beside her.
"Oh no, Ginny! No!"
The teachers got there right after he did and Dumbledore laid his fingers on her wrist.
"Get Madame Pomfrey," he said to Flitwick, who hurried away.
"Professor," Harry said. "Is she-will she-is Ginny..."
"She's alive," he replied,"But only just. Minerva, contact her parents immediately." He waved his wand and her body lifted gently into the air. "Severus," he said. "Owl St. Mungos for me. This may be beyond Madame Pomfrey's skill to heal." he turned to look at Harry and Ron who looked fearful and he smiled comfortingly, though it did not reach the worry in his eyes.
"You two may return to your common room. I will inform you, Mr. Weasley, when your parents have arrived."
As they exited the field, Harry turned and saw Malfoy, leaning on his broom, the Snitch in his hand and a satisfied smirk upon his face.
*cobbing is a Quidditch term for the excessive use of elbows.
AN: That was rough. So Slytherin finally won. Ginny is wounded, who knows how bad. I hope you'll read on, there's great stuff in the future.
Here's your spoiler:
"Don't do it, Harry," Ginny said. "Don't you lie to me."
That was slightly tamer than what I've been giving you. Keep up with the reviews!