The Fools Who Dream

Chapter 18

The stadium around the quidditch pitch was already packed by the time Cynthia and Alice got there, and it was difficult finding anywhere to stand, but they managed to push their way right down to the front for the best view. Although it was quite cold, it was still a beautiful day for the start of November, and Cynthia couldn't wait to watch. Mostly because she wanted one of the beaters to knock James off his broom.

"This is so awesome!" shouted Alice over the noise. "I've never seen a game of quidditch?"

"How have you never seen a game?" Cynthia yelled back.

"I don't know!"

Cynthia laughed and rolled her eyes, just as Madam Hooch walked out onto the pitch, followed quickly by the Slytherins to the boos of most of the school, but Cynthia and Alice cheered loudly along with the rest of the Slytherins, and the boos of the rest of the school was drowned out to their ears. Then the Gryffindors came out onto the pitch to tumultuous cheers from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws – Cynthia knew that whenever there was a match against Slytherin, the Slytherins would be the only ones cheering for themselves. No one ever wanted them to win.

Madam Hooch said something to the players down on the pitch, and then blew her whistle, and they were off. All fifteen brooms shot into the air along with the quaffle, the two bludgers and the golden snitch. One of the Slytherin chasers was the first to grab the quaffle, bumping into one of the Gryffindor chasers as he went, and he sped off towards the goal. The keeper for Gryffindor wasn't even there yet, and it became a race between the two of them to see who could get there first, surrounded by all the chasers from both teams.

But a bludger came out of nowhere, and while the Slytherin chaser managed to roll out of the way in time, the Gryffindor keeper was too late and was knocked out of the sky before the match had even properly started. While two of the Gryffindor chasers quickly flew down to catch her, the Slytherin chaser threw the quaffle through the left hoop and the commentator, a fifth year Ravenclaw, announced the early lead of ten points to Slytherin.

Cynthia jumped up and down and cheered and clapped with excitement, as did Alice, as the quaffle was repossessed by the Gryffindor team, and all the players sped off in the other direction. The keeper, it seemed, hadn't been fully knocked out and managed to fly back up to the goalposts, looking sturdy and defiant.

Meanwhile, James had managed to take possession of the quaffle and was speeding towards the goalposts at the Slytherin end, weaving through the Slytherin players, ducking out of the way of a beater and even doing a sudden dive and then rise to try and throw off the other chasers. As he arrived at the goal, Cynthia crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't get it in, but –

"And James Potter scores ten points for Gryffindor!" shouted the commentator. "What a player than boy is! I heard he hit puberty this summer and -"

"Donovan!" said McGonagall sharply, cutting him off.

"Sorry Professor, just trying to make the match more interesting and let the fans get to know their players." said Donovan cheekily.

"It is true." Cynthia said to Alice. "He got so many spots that Mum had to use magic to get rid of them. And he shot up about two feet over the summer holidays. And he leaves hair. Everywhere."

Alice laughed, and they turned back to watch the game.

After the Gryffindors had scored, the Slytherins had regained possession of the quaffle, but a bludger had knocked it out of the chaser's hand and it had gone back to the Gryffindors, who had managed to throw it through the hoops once more, pulling Gryffindor into the lead. Cynthia scowled and booed with the rest of the Slytherins as James did a barrel roll in happiness.

"And while James Potter is rolling around in excitement, the Slytherin chasers have regained possession of the quaffle and are flying towards the Gryffindor goalposts." said the commentator dryly. Cynthia got the distinct impression that he was not a fan of James. "Oh, ow, a nicely aimed bludger from Gryffindor beater Sirius Black has given possession back to the Gryffindors, and Bletchett has taken the quaffle."

"Come on!" Cynthia yelled in anger.

"But Slytherin captain Leomund Dirken has managed to catch the quaffle, stopping the goal, and he passes it to chaser Garner, who is going so fast I'm not even sure if that's him."

"Score!" Alice screamed at the top of her lungs, along with all of the rest of the Slytherin supporters who were shouting as loudly as they could.

The three Slytherin chasers were passing back and forth to each other, ducking and dodging around the other players. Another bludger hit by one of the Slytherins flew towards the Gryffindor keeper, who was so intent on the approaching Slytherins and defending her hoops that she didn't notice it coming, and it knocked her out of the sky, giving Garner the free hoops to score, which he did, levelling out the points for his team.

James and one of the other chasers flew down almost instantly to catch the keeper, but there was no playing on for her. A stretcher was brought onto the pitch and she was carried away, but whilst all that had been happening, Slytherin had scored again.

Cynthia could practically see the utter fury on James' face as he flew back into the air.

With the Gryffindor hoops left undefended, it left an open target for the Slytherins to score on. The chasers tried to rotate being keeper, but it just left them even more vulnerable, and after another half an hour, they were sixty points ahead. But the snitch was still nowhere to be found.

The two seekers were hovering up high above the pitch, their eyes roving around to try and find the tiny golden ball. It was only then that Cynthia realised that Regulus, the boy who had helped her on Halloween, was the Slytherin seeker, and she grinned widely.

Suddenly, the Gryffindor went into a steep nose dive: he had spotted the snitch. Regulus spotted it too and dove down, his broom catching up with the pathetic one the Gryffindor was riding in seconds until they were neck and neck. Cynthia managed to spot the snitch in the bottom corner of the quidditch pitch.

Regulus was pulling ahead, reaching his arm out towards the snitch, so close to the ground, so nearly there, he was about to catch the snitch but also crash into the ground, but they were both still going at breakneck speeds –

Both seekers crashed into the ground, drawing the attention of everyone in the stands. Madam Hooch and the two captains flew down as fast as they could, but both seekers appeared to be unconscious, and one of their brooms had snapped, although Cynthia couldn't tell whose it was. She waited with baited breath for Madam Hooch's announcement.

The flying instructor looked up at the commentator's box and pointed at one of the players.

"Earning one hundred and fifty points for Slytherin, seeker Regulus Black has caught the snitch, placing Slytherin in first with two hundred and sixty points to fifty!" shouted the commentator over the top of the roaring Slytherin crowds. "And now both seekers are off to the hospital wing, as I believe they're both unconscious. Well done Slytherin!"

"We won!" Cynthia cheered, jumping up and down with excitement. "We won! In his face!"

"In whose face?" asked Alice, laughing at her friend's excitement.

"Who do you think?" said Cynthia, rolling her eyes. "James! And Sirius, actually."

A/N

Hello! I'm back! Welcome back to you too!

Sorry, I wrote this chapter about an hour ago, then cooked dinner, then came here to publish! Enjoy the shitty, shitty chapter, and I shall probably see you next week. I have an idea for the next chapter, so hopefully it'll be ready by next week.