Keep on keeping on

Draco had been right of course. After dropping that piece of information, the Slytherin had led Harry and Hermione to the trophy room where he showed the pair a gleaming quidditch trophy and sure enough, at the bottom was the name James Potter – Chaser. Harry had felt his face light up and a grin spread across his lips. A warm feeling had filled him up – a feeling of happiness and belonging. From then, Harry’s anxiety dissipated.

After dinner, belly full for the first time in a while, Harry trudged down to the quidditch pitch in excitement. Oliver Wood was waiting for him, a large trunk lay at his feet.

“Hi Harry! Are you ready?” Oliver beamed. Harry nodded eagerly.

“Y-Yes! D-Did you know m-my dad was a chaser?” Harry asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation. Wood smiled, his eyes lighting up.

“Yes, I did. And it explains a lot. If Professor McGonagall is to be believed you are going to make one hell of a seeker so let’s crack on.”

Harry nodded again but blushed slightly at the praise. Moving on, Wood kicked the trunk at his feet and the lid popped open to reveal 4 balls. One was larger than the rest and a deep scarlet red colour whilst beside it lay two smaller, black balls that were struggling against its restraints. Harry raised his eyebrows and look up at Wood in concern.

“What are t-they?” Harry asked.

“Ah. These are the balls used in quidditch. The middle ball is the quaffle. That gets thrown between the chasers and they try to shoot it through those three hoops there.” Wood replied, pointing to the three staggered hoops at either end of the pitch.

“A-And the ones t-that seem to be fighting t-to get out?” Harry asked again, eyeing the battling balls nervously.

“Those are bludgers. Nasty little buggers. But the beaters have bats that they use to beat the bludgers away from the players to stop them from getting hurt. Understand so far?” Oliver raised his eyebrows at the bludgers and cast a scornful look over them as if they had personally offended him.

“Umm y-yes. Quaffle scores p-points and bludgers t-try to kill us” Harry responded, nodding his head in understanding. Wood smiled thoughtfully.

“Yep. Pretty much. But… you are a seeker which means you don’t need to worry about any of those. Instead, all you need to focus on is this…” Wood leant down and pulled at a little door in the lid, revealing a small golden ball and sparkled in the light of the setting sun. Harry’s jaw dropped.

“This is the snitch. Once caught, it’s worth 150 points so it basically secures the game for us. Once you catch it, the game is over. Once you catch it, we win.” Wood smiled and Harry let out a breath, anxiety creeping in again.

The next few weeks flew by. Harry was busy with quidditch training on top of all the schoolwork that was coming in thick and fast as end of year exams approached. His debut quidditch match was set for the quidditch cup final and Harry’s excitement only grew with every quidditch session. The Weasley twins were on the team and they had been nothing but welcoming – the complete opposite of the brother. So, the morning of the final came and Harry was sat at his house table, piling sausages and eggs onto his plate.

“Harry, how are you feeling?” Hermione asked, eyeing Harry warily. Harry nodded eagerly.

“Yep. I’ve b-been training loads and Wood said I’m d-doing well. I am a l-little nervous b-but that’s normal.”

“You will be fine, Potter!” A voice came from behind. Harry turned around and saw Draco stood behind him.

“Thanks Malfoy.” Harry nodded. Harry and Hermione had become closer with the boy since the day of the flying lesson. He’d started studying with them and sitting around the fire in the Gryffindor common room – much to the chagrin of other Gryffindor’s. The Slytherin took a seat beside them and rested his head on his hand.

“Seriously though. We’ve spoken about this so many times Potter. It’s in your blood. You will be fine.” Harry nodded, gratefully.

All of a sudden, the sound of owls came from above and Harry looked up, surprised to see three school owls carrying a long, thin package wrapped neatly in brown paper. The owls dropped it unceremoniously in front of Harry, right on top of his breakfast.

“What is that!” Draco cried. Harry shook his head, frowning as he began to unwrap it. Before long, out from the paper rolled a gleaming broom. Its handle was a polished, deep wood, the words ‘Nimbus 2000’ inscribed in elegant golden letters on the handle. The twigs of the broom were groomed into a perfect, aerodynamic shape. Harry gasped.

“Merlin. That’s a nimbus 2000. That broom is amazing Harry! Who bought you that?” Draco whispered, his hand reaching out tentatively to touch the broom.

“No idea. But whoever it is just ensured Gryffindor’s win! Come on!” Harry cried and jumped up from his seat to join his teammates that were now making their way out of the hall.

Harry stood in the changing room full of nervous energy. Wood’s voice was just a buzzing noise in his ears, like a thousand bees had invaded his head. Harry was just focusing on not throwing up, not passing out, not catching the snitch and most importantly – not embarrassing himself in front of the whole school. Before he knew, Wood’s hand was on his shoulder and leading him out onto the pitch.

The first thing Harry registered was the roaring sound of shouting students. It was an assault on his senses. A wave of colour was in the stand, red, green, yellow and blue, all stood up and cheering, and waving signs and scarves. Harry felt his knees shake but then, the piercing sound of a whistle broke through the sound of cheering crowds and Harry mounted his broom. The second he felt the wind in his air and felt his feet leave the ground, Harry’s nerves disappeared, and he focused only on the snitch. At first, he couldn’t see it but then a shimmer of gold caught his eye and Harry immediately put on a burst of speed and raced after it. The sound of the crowd became an afterthought as Harry focused only on his job. He could vaguely register the occasional cheer as someone scored but Harry wasn’t sure who it was or what the score even was. Finally, after what felt like hours of chasing and countless near missed, Harry spotted the snitch again. It was following behind the Ravenclaw seeker who was completely oblivious. Harry sped after it, his hand outstretched. He was getting so close. Closer and closer. He could practically taste the victory on his tongue. Just as Harry’s fingers closed around the cold metal and relief flooded through him, his broom gave a gut-wrenching shudder beneath him. Harry gripped the handle with his free hand, his knuckles turning white at the grip he had, but nothing he did could stop the broom from bucking beneath him. Harry looked fearfully below him, watched in terror as the ground was getting closer and closer. He pulled up hard on the broom, but it had no effect. Harry’s stomach dropped and suddenly, Harry’s entire body was flooded with pain as he collided with the hard ground below. Stars swam before his eyes and his head pounded and then, everything went black…

When he woke, blue sky was still above him. Harry blinked a few times, letting the cloudy haze disappear from his eyes.

“Potter? Can you hear me?” A dark figure loomed over Harry, and he recognised it as Snape. Harry groaned, unable to form words. Instead, he just nodded, wincing at the pain that bloomed in his neck from just that small movement. The boy watched as the professor waved his wand over Harry’s prone body.

“Nothing’s broken luckily. How you managed that is anyone’s guess! But, by merlin Potter, way to kick off you quidditch career.” Snape waved his wand again and Harry felt his body leave the ground. He made a noise of protest, but Snape cut him off with a wave of his hand.

“You will not walk to the infirmary Potter, lest you cause more damage. Let Madame Pomfrey fix you and then you may fight with her.” Harry groaned in resignation. His head was still throbbing, and he allowed himself to drift off again, off to a place where he wasn’t in pain.

The next time Harry woke, it was to the smell of cleanliness, and he could feel crisp, starched sheets beneath him. Harry sat up sharply, forgetting where he was and why he was there. Although, at the sudden movement, he cried out in pain and his hand flew to his head, cradling it gently. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it all out.

“Ahh. You’re awake. How are you feeling?” A kind voice cut through the blinding pain and Harry opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the harsh light. In front of him was Madam Pomfrey. A warm smile was on her face and her eyes were looking at Harry with a sadness. Harry cringed at the look, his face blushing.

“F-Fine. H-Head hurts though. What h-happened?” Harry stammered, meekly.

“You took a tumble in quidditch. For an unknown reason, your broom malfunctioned and threw you off. Nothing is broken but you took a nasty knock on the head. I know you’re in pain, but I was reluctant to give you a pain potion before you woke. But now you’re awake…” Pomfrey explained, handing a vial to Harry. He took it with shaking hands but gulped it down and immediately his head cleared, and the pain dissipated.

“T-Thank you.” Harry smiled gratefully.

“I want you to remain here for a few more hours and then you’re free to leave. I believe there is a rabble of Gryffindors dying to see you if you feel up to it?” Harry nodded eagerly and Pomfrey walked away.

“Harry!” Hermione called, rushing into the hospital wing and running over to Harry’s bed. She threw her arms around Harry and squeezed him tightly.

“M-Mione. Breathe. I-I’m alright.” Harry reassured, breathing heavily under her grip. She released her hold on him and Harry saw that her face was glistening with tears.

“Granger. Let us have a look. He is our champion after all!” A voice mocked from behind his friend.

“C-Champion?” Harry questioned. Hermione stepped back and Harry saw the entire Gryffindor team standing behind her. The Weasley twins were beaming, their faces flushed.

“Why yes little Gryffindor. Before your spectacular fall you caught the snitch. We won!” Harry smiled out the declaration, glad that he had won.

For the next 15 minutes, the teammates chatted jovially, filling Harry in on everything. Harry was beginning to feel better and the ache in his head completely gone away. Soon, Madam Pomfrey bustled in and shooed everyone away, claiming Harry needed rest and that he would be back in the tower soon. Whilst Harry enjoyed the company, he was starting to feel very tired and the second he was alone again, Harry felt straight to sleep. The sleep was peaceful and quiet and before long, Harry was being discharged from the hospital wing and making his way back to the warmth of the Gryffindor tower.

On his way, Harry was stopped by his Slytherin friend.

“Harry. Are you okay?” Draco called, stopping Harry with a hand on his shoulder. Harry flinched away from the contact.

“Oh. H-Hey Draco. Yes, I-I’m fine. Thank you.” Harry sighed with relief when he realised it was only Draco.

“Are you sure? You took a hard hit, and I was scared for you.” Draco admitted quickly, the words tumbling from his mouth. Harry smiled.

“Aww y-you care about me?” Harry laughed.

“Don’t make it weird, Potter.” Draco said sternly, fixing Harry with a stern glare but Harry knew it was half-hearted.

“Potter now, is it? W-What happened to H-Harry?” Draco’s eyes dropped it the floor. “I’m j-joking Draco. T-Thank you. I appreciate y-your concern but s-seriously I’m fine.” Draco smiled.

“Brilliant. See you tomorrow?” He asked, walking away. Harry nodded at him and resumed his walk back to the common room.