THE FINAL QUIDDITCH MATCH WAS APPROACHING RATHER QUICKLY, in fact, it was deemed to take place on the first Saturday after the Easter Holidays. Slytherin, who they were going against in the match, was already leading the tournament for the cup by exactly two hundred points. This meant that they needed to win the match by more than that amount to win the Cup. It also meant that a huge burden of winning fell largely on Harry. So naturally, Aria did anything she could to help the raven haired boy succeeded -- whether it was helping with homework, extra practices or even just keeping Oliver off his tail. Oliver made an order that Harry had to be accompanied wherever he went after numerous times where Slytherin's attempted to trip the boy on the way to class or any chance they'd get, hoping to sabotage the game like they attempted to do the last time.
All usual routines of day to day situations were abandoned in the Gryffindor common room the night before the match, even Hermione had to put down her books.
"I can't work, I can't concentrate." She stated nervously.
Aria sat with her friends trying to steer from the main center of things. Harry looked like a train wreck but with all the pressure put on him who could blame him.
Aria hadn't eaten all day as the smell of any food with a mixture of her nerves made her feel like she was going to be sick.
Besides, she was too busy researching into the ages of quidditch for updated polished moves to bring to Oliver as a suggestion for tomorrows match.
So as her eyes trailed the pages and she marked one of the important facts, Ron watched her distraughtly noticing the girl chew on her lip and shake as subtly as she could as she blinked at the book in amazement.
"Did you know that there is 700 fouls in Quidditch?" Aria inquired as Ron cleared his throat hesitantly taking the book from the girls hands and closing it and putting it aside.
"Okay, you're done."
Aria frowned at her friend before glancing aimlessly at Hermione flabbergasted but the brown haired girl on blinked back at her friend nodding towards Harry's direction causing Aria to look over herself. the girl noticed her friend staring into the fireplace they sat nearby and she sighed placing a comforting hand on Harry's arm causing him to automatically look up at the slight contact.
"You're going to be fine," Aria reassured the boy kindly.
"You've got a fire bolt!" Ron chimed in practically giddy while Aria blinked at the boy tilting her head in thought as Harry hummed out in agreement still with a tone of hesitation. Aria went to speak when she was harshly cut off by Oliver's declaration.
"team! bed!"
Aria rolled her eyes and pushed herself out of her chair spitting out jokingly, "Yes father"
Ron snorted in a soft chuckle next to the girl as Oliver roll his eyes as Aria headed up to the bedroom, "I heard that!"
"You were supposed to!" Aria called back over her shoulder before being shoved slightly up the stairs by a dissapointed Hermione, as the bushy haired girl shook her head at her friend.
"What?" Aria asked almost innocently.
~~
The next day Aria, Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team entered the Great Hall to an enormous round of applause. Aria couldn't help but grin as he noticed Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were clapping for them too.
It wasn't until Aria noticed the Slytherin's hissing noises as they walked by that her frown fell and her face tightened in irritation. Oliver spent the whole breakfast urging his team to eat, while touching nothing himself and it wasn't until Aria made a deal with him that if he ate something as well she would too and so finally the boy inhaled his food quickly leaving the girl to eat hers, satisfied.
Then afterwards, he hurried them onto the field before anyone else finished so they could get an idea of the conditions, and as they left the Great Hall, everyone cheered again.
"Okay -- no wind to speak of -- sun's a bit bright, that could impair your vision, watch out for it -- ground' fairly hard, good, that'll give us a fast kickoff--" Oliver ranted as he paced the field, listing off all the possible conditions he could and it wasn't until the front doors of the castle opened in the distance and the rest of the school spilled onto the lawn that Oliver urged them into the locker rooms to get ready and so they changed into their scarlet robes.
"Okay, it's time, let's go--" Oliver told the team causing Aria to let out a nervous exhale before they walked out onto the field to a loud eruption of noise.
Three quarters of the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them, or holding banners with slogans that supported the team. Behind the Slytherin goal posts, two hundred people were wearing green, the silver serpent on their flags and Snape sat in the front row wearing green like everyone else with a grim smile plastered on his face.
"And here are the Gryffindors!" Lee Jordan announced loudly through the speakers "Potter, Anderson, Bell, Jordan, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years--" Lee's comments were drowned by a loud denial from the Slytherin end yet he carried on ignoring their protests, "And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill"
More boos were heard from the Slytherin crowd, yet Aria couldn't help but agree as Draco seemed to be the smallest on the team and the rest were huge and far more intimidating.
"Captains, shake hands!" Madam Hooch ordered causing Flint and Wood to approach each other and shake each other's hands tightly.
"Mount your brooms! Three... two... one...."
At the sound of Hooch's whistle, Aria with the rest of the team members on both sides kicked off and rose into the air. Spotting the Quaffle, Aria immediately dove for it - snatching it in her grasp and taking off towards the Slytherin goal posts, she could hear Lee narrating the play as she moved around.
"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Aria Anderson of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Aria!"
As if he jinxed it, the Quaffle was snatched straight from the girls grasp by a chaser on the Slytherin team causing Aria to spin around baffled.
"Argh, no — Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the field"
George, who had noticed the play took this advantage and smashed a bludger towards Warrington causing him to drop the Quaffle which in seconds was caught by Angelina - who was right below ready to catch while Aria chased the boys tail.
" — WHAM! —nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by — Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina — nice swerve around Montague — duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger! — SHE SCORES! TEN–ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"
Angelina punched the air as she soared around the end of the field.
"Ouch!" Lee exclaimed as Angelina was nearly thrown from her broom after Flint smashed into her.
"Sorry!" Flint apologized frantically as the crowd below booed "Sorry, didn't see her!"
"I call bull!" Aria exclaimed nearby causing Flint to glare at the girl as she went to check on Angelina who only nodded and said she was okay when she was asked. Fred chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head, causing his nose to smash into the handle of his broom and begin to bleed causing Aria to wince at the impact, her eyes widening at Fred's actions.
"That will do!" Madam Hooch shrieked zooming between them. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"
"Come off it, Miss!" Fred howled nearby but Madam Hooch only blew her whistle in response and waved her hand to Aria who huffed and roll her eyes slightly before flying forward to take the penalty shot.
"Come on, Aria!" Lee yelled in support into the silence that had been created by the crowd. Aria, who had the Quaffle in her hand managed with a few maneuvers- to beat the Keeper earning the shot. "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY–ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"
Aria flew back towards Angelina who high fived the girl in support while Flint went to take his shot and Oliver lined up to defend.
"'Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee Jordan told the crowd "Superb! Very difficult to pass — very difficult indeed — YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!"
Relieved and reassured, Aria flew back to her position as the game continued on, Lee not missing a beat in his commentary.
"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession — no! —Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field — THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"
A slytherin Chaser, had just swerved in front of Katie yet instead of seizing the Quaffle he grabbed her head causing the girl to cart wheel in the air, managing to stay on her broom yet she dropped the Quaffle in the process causing Hooch's whistle to ring out again as she soared over to the boy and stared yelling at him. A minute later, Katie had received a penalty past the Slytherin Seeker.
"THIRTY–ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING —" Lee exclaimed
"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way — !"
"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!" Lee defended himself.
"Ha haaa!" Lee yelled earning Aria's attention causing her to look towards Harry who was panting a little out of the ways while the Slytherin Beaters lurched away from each other, clutching their heads.
"Too bad, boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle — Flint alongside her — poke him in the eye, Angelina! — it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke — oh no — Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goal posts, come on now, Wood, save — !"
But instead Flint had managed to score and there was an eruption of cheers from the Slytherin end, and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him.
"Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession —"
Aria had snatched the Quaffle once again yet it seemed like in much determination to get the Quaffle from the girl, Bole - a Slytherin team member - hit the girl in the head causing a shrill of pain to source through her body and tried to say he thought she was a Bludger. George then elbowed Bole in the face in retaliation and Hooch awarded both teams penalties. Oliver pulled another save making the score forty ten to Gryffindor. Katie scored, fifty-ten and the twins swooped around her, ready to defend her in case any Slytherins were thinking of taking revenge. Bole and Derrick took advantage of the twin's absence to aim both Bludgers at Wood; they caught him in the stomach, one after the other, and he rolled over in the air, clutching his broom, completely winded.
"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA! Gryffindor penalty!" Hooch demanded shrieking at the duo and with that Angelina scored. Sixty-ten. Fred the pelted a Bludger at Warrington, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands which Aria caught and put it through the Slytherin goal - seventy - ten.
One time Harry spotter the snitch and went after it, yet, Draco had other plans as he grabbed onto Harry's firebolt and held on for dear life giving another penalty to Gryffindor.
"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee howled into the megaphone moving out of the Professor's reach "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B--"
Katie took the Gryffindor penalty yet she was so furious at Draco that she was so angry at Draco actions that she missed by a few feet.
"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal —Montague scores. Seventy-twenty to Gryffindor. ." Lee narrated as the game went on "Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina, COME ON!"
Every single Slytherin player apart from Draco was streaking up the pitch toward Angelina, including the keeper and as they were all going to block her Harry wheeled around with the Firebolt and laying low he kicked it forward and shot towards the Slytherins causing them to scatter giving Angelina a clear passage.
"SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty points to twenty!" Lee exclaimed happily. As if in seconds, Harry then dove towards a certain sparkling ball floating in the sky on Draco's tail yet some how he managed to knock Draco's arm out of the way and pulled into a dive, his hand in the air with the Snitch inside of it.
Just then, Oliver sped towards the boy and seized Harry around the neck and sobbed into his shoulder as Fred and George hit his shoulders as well.
"We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!" Aria and the rest of the chasers, Angelina and Katie, cheered as the Gryffindor team sank to the ground. Their Gryffindor supporters pouring over the barriers onto the field, Aria was grinned as she sprinted over to Harry once she reached the ground and threw herself at the boy laughing happily. Surprised, yet feeling tingly inside the boy's lips curled into a smile as he wrapped his arms around the girl hugging back.
"We won, Harry! We won the cup!"
Aria cheered, she never felt more happy in her life. All that hard work, paid off and so when she pulled away amazed she saw Harry blink at the girl blankly as she subconsciously pushed his bangs out of his face. Realizing what she was doing she pulled away with a clear of her throat causing Harry to come back into reality as he was lifted into the air by Gryffindor supporters. Aria hesitantly backed away as Hermione ran over and wrapped the girl in a hug laughing happily.
"You did it! You actually won!"
Aria pulled away at this and shot the girl a look, "did you ever think otherwise?"
"Shut up, i'm just glad you don't have a concussion." Hermione admitted with a scoff causing Aria to laugh and shake her head hugging her friend again.
The feeling of euphoria that ran through Aria's body felt so unreal to her at that moment that she couldn't help to let her eyes drift over to Harry who was already looking at her as he talked to Ron. In that moment her stomach turned in an unexplained way as she thought about the feeling she felt when she stared into his eyes just seconds before.
Though part of her denied the fact, the other part knew it to be true. That in that moment, that feeling she felt was what her mother used to gush about - it was intoxicating. And it was like it was there before and only just now showed it's true colors as it flapped closer to the light, the exposure. They were butterflies and they were finally alive and weren't going away anytime soon.
[edited?: yes! (02-26-21)]