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𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘 was the first qudditch game of the year. And hopefully, it was going to be a good one. Marina had never lost a game and was one of the fastest chasers at Hogwarts. But she had three wonderful fans to thank for her winning streak. Pavarti, Lavender, and Ginny. The three happened to be always in the front row of the stands with her initials painted red on their faces and large banners that had been charmed to move.
As Marina munched on her porridge, the quidditch team and her friends sat with her.
"It's going to be a tough one," said Oliver, who wasn't eating anything.
"Well we're gonna win. We always do." Marina told them with confidence.
"Stop worrying, Oliver," said Katie Bell soothingly, "we don't mind a bit of rain."
But it was definitely more than a bit of rain. Something that Marina was cursing for. Such was the popularity of Quidditch that the whole school turned out to watch the match as usual, but they ran down the lawns toward the Quidditch field, heads bowed against the ferocious wind, umbrellas being whipped out of their hands as they went. As Marina and Harry walked to the locker rooms, they spotted Malfoy and his goonies snickering at them under a large umbrella.
"Go fuck yourselves!" Marina screamed as Harry held her back.
The Gryffindor team changed into their red quidditch robes and waited for Wood's usual pre-match pep talk, but it didn't come
. He tried to speak several times, made an odd gulping noise, then shook his head hopelessly and beckoned them to follow him.
The wind was so strong that Marina saw Ginny fall sideways in the stands, next Lavender and Pavarti (who were holding a large MARINA sign) as she walked onto the field. But Marina wasn't never nervous, she never was. Quidditch was in her blood, literally. If the crowd was cheering, they couldn't hear it over the fresh rolls of thunder.
"Do you know what a handkerchief is Harold?" laughed Marina, making Harry smile slightly as rain was splattering over Harry's glasses.
The Hufflepuffs were approaching from the opposite side of the field, wearing canary-yellow robes. The Captains walked up to each other and shook hands; Diggory smiled at Wood (and Marina; who winked back) but Wood now looked as though he had lockjaw and merely nodded.
Marina saw Madam Hooch's mouth form the words, "Mount Your brooms."
Marina pulled her right foot out of the mud with a splash and swung it over her Comet Two Sixty. Madam Hooch put her whistle to her lips and gave it a blast that sounded shrill and distant — the game begun.
Marina rose fast, but her broom didn't. As she was in mid air, she looked around to see the quaffle. Which was in the hands of Preece, who Marina knew wasn't as swift as she was. As Marina and Bell chased Preece down, she noted that the snitch was nowhere to been seen in the heavy storm.
How the hell are they letting us play right now....oh what the hell just fuck it.
Within five minutes when Marina looked over to Harold, he was soaked to his skin and frozen, hardly able to see the tiny Snitch.
"Oi! You trying to make us lose dumbass?" Marina shouted.
"I can't see anything!" He shouted back.
"Well maybe clean your glasses, four eyes! C'mon its time to fly down!" She said.
Marina and Harry flew backward and forward across the field past blurred red and yellow shapes, with no idea of what was happening in the rest of the game. She couldn't even hear Lee's commentary over the wind. The crowd was hidden beneath a sea of cloaks and battered umbrellas. Twice Harry came very close to being unseated by a Bludger; his vision was so clouded by the rain on his glasses he hadn't seen them coming.
He lost track of time. It was getting harder and harder to hold his broom straight. The sky was getting darker, as though night had decided to come early.
With the first flash of lightning came the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle; Marina could just see the outline of Wood through the thick rain, gesturing him to the ground. The whole team splashed down into the mud.
"I called for time-out!" Wood roared at his team. "Come on, under here —"
They huddled at the edge of the field under a large umbrella.
"What's the score?"
"We're fifty points up," said Wood, "but unless we get the Snitch soon, we'll be playing into the night."
"I've got no chance with these on," Harry said exasperatedly, waving his glasses.
"You don't even have a chance without the thunder. Anyways, give it over here moron." Marina said gesturing for him to give the glasses.
Harry continued to stare at Marina and smile. Marina sighed as she pushed back her wet hair.
"What?" Marina asked with a strong tone.
Harry blinked, "Uh...nothing. Here" he said handing his lenses.
As the team watched in confusion, Marina took out her wand, remember the trick Lavender showed her from Teen Witch, and tapped them with her wand and said, "Impervius!"
"There." she said, handing them back to Harry.
"Now we have a chance of actually winning." Marina said sarcastically.
Harry smiled, "Brilliant. Your amazing!"
Marina rolled her eyes. "Don't push it Potboy or I won't hesitate to give you a black eye."
Wood looked as though he could have kissed her.
"Wonderful!" Oliver called hoarsely after her as she disappeared into the crowd. "Okay, team, let's go for it!"
As she swooped back into the air, Marina scored another four goals making the crowd roar, "MARINI THE GRYFFINDOR GENIE!"
There was another clap of thunder, followed immediately by forked lightning. This was getting more and more dangerous.
"Catch the damn snitch Potter!" Marina mumbled as she looked to Lavender, Pavarti, and Ginny.
As she turned, intending to head back toward the middle of the field, but at that moment, another flash of lightning illuminated the stands, and watched Harry attempt to win this game for Gryffindor for a minute.
As Harry looked wildly around. Diggory was pelting up the field, and a tiny speck of gold was shimmering in the rain-filled air between them...
With a jolt of panic, Marina threw himself flat to the broom handle and zoomed toward the Snitch.
Suddenly, something odd was happening. As Marina zoomed towards Rickett, ready to bash him off his broom, the bludger smashed at her arm. Making the crowd gasp. And Marina loose her grip and fall off her broom. With everything pitch black.
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𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐃 a feminine sob and whispers, but they absolutely made no sense whatsoever. Marina didn't have a clue where he was, or how he'd got there, or what he'd been doing before he got there. Marina only knew two things currently. One; she knew was mentally screaming in pain in every single part of her body, especially her arm. Two; she knew that she definitely was not on the quidditch pitch.
"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life." said a voice. Marina shut open her eyes. Currently lying in a hospital wing bed, She saw Pavarti and a sobbing Lavender sitting by her beside. Marina looked to the right side to see Harold the Dense in a hospital wing bed, surrounded by the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
"Marina!" Ron laughed, then gave Marina a quick hug.
"Marina!" Lavender cried, "Your okay! I thought you were going to die!"
Pavarti hugged her. "We were so worried. Madam Pomfrey said your arm is broken badly."
"Eh, just a little injury. No big deal." Marina mumbled.
"Harry!" said Fred, who looked extremely white underneath, the mud. "How're you feeling?"
"Oi! Its not like I'm your fucking sister!" shouted Marina, who winced in pain.
"You alright She-Devil?" asked George.
"Always am." winked Marina.
"Are you feeling well RiRi? The bludger hit your arm badly." Harry questioned.
"Oh shut up prick. I'm fine. So, what happened to the boy who lived this time?" Marina replied.
"What happened?" he said, sitting up so suddenly they all gasped. Making Marina roll her eyes.
"You fell off," said Fred. "Must've been — what — fifty feet? And Marina fell about ten foot from the bludger and broke her arm, poor git."
"We thought you'd died," said Alicia, who was shaking.
Hermione made a small, squeaky noise. Her eyes were extremely bloodshot.
"But the match," said Harry. "What happened? Are we doing a replay?"
"Shit! Potters right! What the hell happened with the match?" shrieked Marina.
No one said anything.
"We didn't — lose?" Harry mumbled.
"Diggory got the Snitch," said George. "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square... even Wood admits it."
"Where is Wood?" said Marina.
"Still in the showers," said Fred. "We think he's trying to drown himself."
Marina put her face to her knees, her hands gripping her hair. Fred grabbed her shoulder and shook it roughly.
"C'mon, Marina, you've never missed a shot. And Harry has never missed the Snitch before."
"There had to be one time you didn't get it," said George.
"It's not over yet," said Fred. "We lost by a hundred points."
"Right? So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin..."
"Hufflepuff'll have to lose by at least two hundred points," said George.
"But if they beat Ravenclaw..."
"No way, Ravenclaw is too good. But if Slytherin loses against Hufflepuff..."
"It all depends on the points — a margin of a hundred either way —"
Harry lay there, not saying a word. Marina felt bad, though she hated him, she wasn't evil, kind of. They had lost... for the first time ever, they had lost a Quidditch match.
After ten minutes or so, Madam Pomfrey came over to tell the team and to leave them in peace.
"We'll come and see you later, Ginny said she's coming in an hour" Fred told them. "Don't beat yourself up Harry, you're still the best Seeker we've ever had. And your the best chaser and she devil."
The team trooped out, trailing mud behind them. Madam Pomfrey shut the door behind them, looking disapproving. Ron and Hermione moved nearer to Harry's bed.
"Dumbledore was really angry," Hermione said in a quaking voice. "I've never seen him like that before. He ran onto the field as you fell, waved his wand, and you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground. Then he whirled his wand at the Dementors. Shot silver stuff at them. They left the stadium right away... He was furious they'd come onto the grounds. We heard him —"
"Then he magicked you onto a stretcher," said Ron. "And walked up to school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were..."
"Did someone get my Nimbus?"
Ron and Hermione looked quickly at each other.
"Oh come on, he's fucking rich, he can buy another one." Marina shouted.
"Your such a bubbly ray of happiness aren't you?" Harry teased.
"The shiniest." Marina winked. Making Ron and her elder brothers raise an eyebrow.
"Er —"
"What?" said Harry, looking from one to the other.
"Well... when you fell off, it got blown away," said Hermione hesitantly.
"And?"
"And it hit — it hit — oh, Harry — it hit the Whomping Willow."
"And?" Harry he said, dreading the answer.
"The Whomping Willow gave it a makeover," Marina scoffed. Making Harry laugh a bit.
"Well, you know the Whomping Willow," said Ron. "It — it doesn't like being hit."
"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around," said Hermione in a very small voice.
Slowly, she reached down for a bag at her feet, turned it upside down, and tipped a dozen bits of splintered wood and twig onto the bed, the only remains of Harry's faithful, finally beaten broomstick.
"Thank god my broom isn't mashed." Marina dramatically gasped.