Chapter X: Quidditch Tryouts
(Astoria P.O.V)
"Avifors!" Astoria groaned looking at the tiny cup in front of her, "Avifors! Avifors! Avifors!" She shouted getting irritated at the cup's lack of transformation. It had been days since she had first attempted the spells, and while she and Harry had been up late in the Gryffindor Common Room trying to make the spell work, the goblet no matter how hard Astoria had tried was not changing into a bird. Astoria had felt embarrassed, her Head of House and Transfiguration teacher had been there for her and she didn't want to disappoint her, but despite her effort, her natural ability with transfiguration was low, to say the least.
She waved her wand angrily, tracing the sideways figure eight sporadically in an attempt for any sort of result before throwing her wand down with a frustrated groan, cupping her face in her hand and cursing loudly. Her stomach growled and Astoria closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to ignore it. Finding quiet time for her to work was hard, and she had decided to skip dinner and head towards the empty astronomy tower with the hopes of finally mastering her spell. But clearly, it was all for not as angrily she muttered looking down at the cup, "Damn it, why can't I do it?"
However, before she could continue with her monologue of a rant, she felt a hand placed atop her head and in a calm demeanor she heard the warm voice say, "You're not giving up already, are you, short-stack?"
She moved her face from her hands and found the emerald green pools she knew was connected to that voice. Harry Potter was standing over her, and easy smile on his face as she stared up at him with a mixture of shame and embarrassment, "How much of that did you see?"
"Enough," Harry said with the same easy grin, "Figured I should come join you before you poked your eye out with those crazy wand waves, short-stack."
"Don't call me that," Astoria said grumpily, "I'm not in a good mood."
"Sorry short-stack," Harry called still smiling, "I couldn't hear you from down there."
She chuckled, Harry's joke making her feel a bit better before she glanced back at her cup and allowed her defeated feeling to return to her, "Why are you even here? Did Daphne send you, because if she did, tell her I don't want to talk to her right now."
Harry moved his hand from the top of her head to her shoulder as he slowly sat down, his hands behind him before he sighed looking up at the full moon in the sky. Astoria had known Harry for about two weeks now, but he had never seen the look he currently had on his face as he stared at a small shack just on the outskirts of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, a look of concern. He seemingly forced down the concern, however, before turning to Astoria and smiling slightly, "She's just worried about you, you know? She's trying to be a good sister."
"I can't believe she somehow got you on her side," Astoria huffed feeling slightly hurt at Harry's betrayal.
"Her side?" Harry asked with a chuckle, "No way, I said she was trying to be a good sister, not a rational one. I still think you're in the right. You should never let anyone dictate what you can and can't do, even if it's done with good intentions."
"So, Daphne didn't send you?" Astoria asked.
"Is it so hard to believe I'd go looking for a friend out of the goodness of my heart?" Harry asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"No, sorry," Astoria spoke nervously, "But speaking of things I can't do…" her voice trailed off as she examined the cup.
"Hey," Harry said warmly, "Everyone has schools of magic they aren't great in. When I was being privately tutored, I was god awful at Potions and Herbology, honestly, I'm still pretty bad at both subjects. But even so, that doesn't mean that the only option left is to give up and call it a day. I was talking to Michael, who talked to Hermione, who then came to lecture me because I lied and said I was the one having trouble with transfiguration, and somewhere in her garbled mess of a lecture she gave me a good idea. Sometimes, we just have to approach things from a different angle."
It was at that moment that Astoria realized what Harry was holding in his other hand. It was another goblet. Astoria turned to face Harry in confusion as Harry placed down the cup and with a tap of his wand to the goblet he spoke, "Avifors," and on command, the goblet turned into a small and tiny blue-jay.
"How was this supposed to help me?" Astoria said in a mixture of confusion and irritation.
"I'm getting to that short-stack," Harry said with a grin, "You're trying to turn a water goblet into a bird, right? Well, like all schools of magic, you can't really brute force your way into success. This is especially true in transfiguration. Before you try and make the transformation work, you have to visualize it. That's why I decided to create my own lovely assistant."
The Blue-jay tweeted happily before it climbed on Harry's finger and with a look of warm encouragement, Harry spoke, "I want you to look at my bird here, memorize every detail. Memorize the black ring around the neck, the elongated blue and black tiled tail feather, the sharp black beak, the white underbelly, visualize the bird until you could draw it with your eyes closed."
Astoria felt somewhat dumb as she entered the staring contest with the bird, doing as Harry suggested and attempting to memorize every feature of the blue-jay. Astoria had wanted to close her eyes and try after just five minutes, but Harry encouraged her to take as much time as she needed to visualize the bird. Astoria had expected Harry's arm to tire, or for him to lose his patience, but Harry sat there, a pleasant look on his face simply sending a stream of confidence towards her with his eyes. Harry didn't complain, he didn't say a word about the fact he was missing dinner, he didn't say a word about how he could have been using this time to study, he didn't even do an impatient clearing of the throat, he just stood there a positive look in his eyes with incredible discipline.
Finally, Astoria closed her eyes, and to her great delight, it was as if she hadn't close them at all. The image of Harry's transfigured Blue-Jay had been etched into her memory to the point she could vividly picture every small detail from the sharpness of its toes to the exact shade of blue it's feathers were. In an excited whisper, she spoke, "I can see it, like my eyes are open, I completely see it."
"Good," Harry said as he lifted her wand and placed it back in her hand, "Now without opening your eyes, complete the movement and say the spell."
With the image of the Blue-Jay in her mind, she allowed her arm to move in the sideways figure eight and with a calm voice she spoke, "Avifors!" Suddenly to her complete an utter disbelief she heard a loud squawking emerge from the direction of her cup as she opened her eyes and smiled at the miniature version of a Blue-Jay stood in front of her where the cup used to be. It wasn't perfect as the color wasn't exactly right, and the beak was slightly crooked, but Astoria had done it, she had transfigured the cup into a bird. She leapt for Harry as she cried, "I did it! I actually did it!"
"I knew you had it in you," Harry said warmly before she released him from her hug.
The smile on her face, however, turned into an uneasy grin as a loud grumble emerged from her stomach. Harry laughed as Astoria joined in, allowing the unease she was feeling melt into laughter. "Don't suppose we would make it to the Great Hall in time for dinner."
"Don't worry about it," Harry said as he dug into his book bag pulling out two ham sandwiches, "I planned ahead."
"You're the best," Astoria said happily taking the sandwich from Harry.
"Could you say that a little louder," Harry said teasingly, "I didn't quite hear you from down there short-stack?"
"Whatever," Astoria said with a joyful laugh, and as she bit into the sandwich, she wasn't quite sure, but she could swear she had heard a set of footsteps walking away from the Astronomy Tower.
(Daphne P.O.V)
Daphne wasn't sure how to feel as she marched towards the Slytherin Common Room after witnessing what she had just seen. Her heart hurt, but her face would never show it, she was the Ice Queen, and the Ice Queen was not allowed to feel hurt. Still, her chest felt heavy as she returned to her dorm, two sandwiches in her own book-bag. Tracey and Blaise had both spent the last week berating her for her stubborn decision to tell Astoria to stay away from Harry and had really opened her eyes that bowing to Malfoy's whims would only be a temporary solution until he had gotten bored of her just like what had happened to Sophie Roper and Alice Tolipan.
She had finally relinquished the fact that she was in the wrong, and more importantly, Daphne couldn't handle fighting with the only real family she had left. Tonight, was the night she had been planning to apologize and put everything behind them. However, when she had arrived at the Astronomy Tower, she had been surprised to hear not just Astoria's voice, but Potter's as well. Cautiously, Daphne had crept towards the wall just beside the room, and as silently as she could, she listened.
She had been expecting to hear Astoria rant to Harry about how awful of a sister Daphne was being, but instead, to her great surprise, she heard Harry defend her, despite all the coldness she had shown him since the day they had first met. Yes, Harry had explicitly stated that Daphne was acting irrationally, but he still claimed that she was doing her best to handle the situation.
Upon hearing that, Daphne now felt involved in the conversation and couldn't bring herself to walk away, though now as she headed towards her dorm she desperately wished she had. She hated how she was feeling inside, she was feeling jealous at the pep-talk Harry had given to Astoria. While Daphne was more cautious than Harry, she couldn't deny that the message of not giving up was something Astoria needed to hear and it was also something Daphne could never truly mean.
Daphne lived in a world of cruel reality. Her sister was dying, she had lost her parents, and despite every-single attempt to find a cure for her sister's condition over the last two years, all of them had come up short. Giving up was what she wanted to do more than anything, but she couldn't allow herself to quit. Had it been Daphne giving Astoria the speech, she would have gone about it through a process of breaking down statistics or how each grade was inputted into the scorebook, and how even if Astoria couldn't master on spell she could still get an O in the class, and how and Exceeds Expectation wasn't a bad grade either. But the speech Harry had given her didn't console Astoria like her's would have, his speech had re-invigorated her, and with that renewed energy, she had tried the spell again.
Daphne watched and marveled at Harry's patience as Astoria stood there for twenty plus minutes memorizing every nook and cranny of his transfigured Blue-Jay without saying a word. A show of patience and discipline that Daphne herself couldn't help but envy. She smiled as she saw Astoria complete the spell and wanted to go out there and hug her sister to show her how proud she was, but Astoria didn't jump into her arms, she instead, had jumped into Harry's.
It was hard for her to accept, but Harry, the friend she had tried so hard to pull Astoria away from had made her sister laugh and had filled her with a renewed sense of confidence that had it been Daphne she would have simply tried to rationalize away. It was in that moment that she couldn't take it anymore, she swallowed down the lump in her throat, it was stupid, but Daphne couldn't help but feel like she was being replaced in her sister's life. She loved Astoria, but Daphne had never realized how little she had supported her younger sister's ambitions, instead, all she had ever thought of was protecting her, and now she was paying the price. She had heard it directly from her sister's mouth, to her Harry Potter was the best.
(Harry P.O.V)
Harry had gone to bed rather late after Astoria and himself had gorged themselves on snacks Harry had instructed Kreacher to go and purchase for them from Honey Dukes, and Harry couldn't stop himself from chuckling at the surprised look on Kreacher's face when he had offered his House Elf a Chocolate Cauldron as thanks for his help. It had shocked Astoria as well as she had later told him that she had never seen anyone treat a House-Elf with kindness, most never saying thank you for their elf's service. It was something that Harry honestly found disgusting, because as unpleasant as Kreacher used to be towards him, he could never imagine treating another living creature so harshly, unless of course said creature had the dark-mark on their arm, then they'd get no mercy from Harry.
Regardless, after taking a small stomach pain-suppressing elixir, he had fallen asleep with a smile on his face, tomorrow morning would be the day of Quidditch Try-Outs, and armed with his new broom which received awes when he had entered the common room from nearly everyone who had asked if they could hold it or try it sometimes, which Harry had agreed to under supervision, he felt ready. The only thing that rubbed him the wrong way was the jealous glare of Ronald Weasley, and in an attempt to make up for Loki nearly eating his rat, Harry had approached the red-head and spoke, "You can have first go if you want Ron, I haven't even ridden it myself yet."
"I don't need your charity Potter," He said angrily before storming upstairs leaving Harry feeling bewildered in the Common Room. Harry had stared blankly into the crowd who all simply shrugged before returning to their activities before being stopped by Fred and George.
"Don't let it bother you-," George said kindly.
"Ron has a bit of a jealousy problem-," Fred said.
"Never had much growing-up-," George said, though it didn't seem to bother him
"Made us value what we did have though," Fred finished.
"Except Ron," George began once more.
"He's always wanting more," Fred said.
"Doesn't take the time to realize what he has," George finished.
"A family," The twins said together, "Don't take it too hard."
"Ron was going to try out for the team this year too," Fred started.
"He's already nervous, and now you got a new broom so he's even more worried," George said.
"But still," The twins said, "Good luck Harry, may the best flyer win."
It was only when Harry had returned to the Third-Year boys' dormitory did he see the redhead polishing his now ancient Cleansweep-Three. Harry was unsure what position Ron was even trying out for but seeing as Wood was the Keeper and the Captain, he couldn't go for that, and Harry reckoned that he wouldn't try to take one of his brother's spot on the team. It wasn't until he remembered cleaning the Gallery and seeing the name Charlie Weasley under the seeker spot of the last Quidditch Cup won by Gryffindor did Harry piece together that he and Ron were trying out for the same spot. A semblance of guilt filled his heart, but Harry couldn't let pity overtake him, he had just as much of a family legacy to live up to as Ron if not more. It weighed heavy on his heart as he slept, but Harry intended to win.
His alarm blared to life and quickly Harry jumped from his bed to find Loki once again glaring out at Ron's bed. Slowly, Harry pet his familiar as he spoke, "I wish you could talk boy because I really don't understand what's wrong with you. Are you feeling okay?"
Loki purred softly as Harry scratched his white underbelly, but as soon as Harry's hand parted from his cat after receiving some loving finger licks, Loki curled up on his bed and once again faced Ron's four-poster bed, obeying Harry's orders to stay down, but clearly not too happily. However, Harry couldn't mull it over for long as breakfast was beginning to be served, and Harry wanted to eat something hardy. He quickly showered before changing into a Gryffindor Red Compression Shirt with Black Gym shorts before meeting Astoria in the Common Room who was currently reading up on her Transfiguration homework for next week before the two of them departed for the Great Hall together, Harry's Firebolt slung carefully over his shoulder.
When Harry had arrived for breakfast early Saturday morning, the Great Hall was relatively empty except for the Gryffindor table that was beaming with excitement for the try-outs. While Angelina and Wood look terrifyingly focused, Alicia and Katie seemed rather care-free and confident that they would be keeping their position on the team. Before Harry could even sit though, Fred and George walked up to him.
"Harry, have you seen Ron?" The twins asked together.
"Yeah," Harry said, "He was still asleep when I left."
The twins looked at each other for a moment before they groaned, "Idiot." Before what Harry could only guess was their march towards the tower to wake their brother up before try-outs so he wouldn't be late or starving without breakfast. Together, Astoria and Harry took their seats at the table before Astoria spoke, "How are you feeling? Nervous?"
"Should be fine," Harry said with a shrug, "I mean, it's not like I'm flying against Victor Krum or something, I just have to be better than everyone else who tries out."
"That's one way to look at it," Astoria grumbled, clearly a bit perturbed over Harry's seemingly non-existent nerves. However, Astoria wasn't the only one who seemed to start a conversation with him as from the entrance of the Great Hall he heard a familiar voice.
"Potter!" Michael said cheerfully dressed in Gryffindor Colors holding a banner with the name Potter charmed on the red banner in gold.
"Really?" Harry said with a chuckle at his friends attempt to embarrass him.
"Got to support my brother after all," Michael said taking a seat at the Gryffindor table. Astoria's face was clearly shocked that nobody seemed to mind a non-lion sitting at the table, but after Michael's stunt on Snape, most Gryffindors had silently agreed to make Corner and honorary member, "So," Michael started, "How you feeling, loose? Good? I got to know because as nice of a bloke as Cedric is, if I have to hear Chang fawn over how awesome he is I might just lose my mind."
Angelina choked on the milk she was drinking from laughing before Katie began to pat her on the back helping her swallow before she spoke, "That explains why Ravenclaw can never beat Hufflepuff, their seeker is sending Diggory googly-eyes."
"Tell me about it," Michael said with a groan, "Although, I can't talk too much trash about the Claw's team as I've decided that if you're trying out Potter, I might as well give it a try too."
"What position are you going for?" Katie asked kindly.
"I'm thinking Chaser," Michael said calmly.
"Well, Davies and Burrow are going to be tough," Alicia said in a focused tone joining the conversation, "But honestly, Stretton isn't that good, depending on your skill, you should be able to dethrone him."
"That gives me some hope," Michael said with a chuckle, "But honestly, I don't care who wins as long as it's not Slytherin. The way they walked around after winning the House Cup two years ago was unbearable."
"I'll drink to that," Lee Jordan spoke lifting his pumpkin juice.
"You'll drink to anything," Katie said with a side-eye and smirk.
"Harsh," Jordan said, "But true."
Katie laughed as Jordan put his arm around her comfortingly kissing her temple causing Angelina and Alicia to fake gag and Katie just shook her head, "Whatever, you two are just jealous that Fred and Davies haven't asked you out yet."
"Careful Bell," Alicia said harshly but Harry just laughed at the banter of the teammates he had hoped to join.
Before anyone else could respond, the doors of the Great Hall sprung open, and out rushed Ron in mismatched clothes a look of panic in his eyes as he raced towards the table and quickly began shoving his face full of food. Harry felt a smirk tug at this lip as he saw Fred give Angelina an embarrassed look which just caused the normally very serious girl to smile as the twins took a seat on either side of her.
For Harry, Astoria, and Michael, the mood was much less pleasant as they were within the splash-zone of Ron's feral eating habits, and Katie, Lee, and Alicia each looked at Ron with a genuine look of concern that he could choke at the speed he was eating. However, Wood seemingly tuned everything out, as the second the clock struck eight, he stood up and spoke, "Everyone trying out follow me to the quidditch pitch."
(Harry P.O.V)
It was pretty chilly out on the pitch as September was beginning to fade into October and it was this early morning hour and chill that had caused Harry to be surprised with how packed the bleachers of the pitch were. While Gryffindor's was clearly the most packed, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw each had a sizable amount of spectators, and as Harry assumed was customary, Slytherin had sent their team to watch as well for what could only be described as scouting.
Harry's eyes scanned the bleachers and of course, he soon found his fan club of Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Fay Dunbar cheering loudly for him or sending air-blown kisses. Something Harry desperately wished wasn't currently happening right now, as while he wasn't unfamiliar with flirting, it wasn't much fun if it was all based on status rather than actual attraction. However, his mood was lifted when he saw that Astoria and Corner had found a spot right in the front of the Gryffindor Box holding the Potter Banner highly and cheering for him loudly.
The Ravenclaw group was full of faces he mostly hadn't recognized, which considering that group of Claws he did recognize consisted of only Hermione and Michael mostly made sense, though he promised himself he would make a better effort to get to know more Claws. Brain power is always useful to have, and if two heads are better than one than surely three or more is better than two.
His eyes then moved towards Hufflepuff where he saw three faces he recognized. First was Cedric, he was nice enough, prefect, model student, honestly a real stand up guy and with his large stature, good looks, and grey eyes that exuded warmth unlike Malfoy's, Harry could understand why the boy was so popular. The second was a girl with Amber eyes and long auburn hair, the girl he had caught Michael staring at quite often named Susan Bones. Harry knew he had to make friends with that girl, not just because she seemed nice enough, but because it would be so much easier to make fun of Michael and more importantly, if she was related to Madam Bones, then a friendship with her would be a great move to laterally connect with the person that could gain Sirius his innocence once again.
Also, in the Hufflepuff stand was Neville Longbottom. He had gotten quite sick after his dip in the Black Lake, and the Grindylow venom had taken some time to clear his body causing him to miss the first week and so of school. Harry waved up to the boy and shyly, Neville gave Harry and thumbs up which he nodded in appreciation for. The Longbottom's were a good family, and Neville honestly seemed like a nice guy, he'd definitely have to spend more time with Neville, and maybe he could ingratiate the lonely Hufflepuff into his group. Harry couldn't really put it into words, but when Harry had first grabbed Neville's wrist, he felt a dormant power in the Longbottom heir that he felt maybe having some friends could bring out of him. Plus, Harry sucked at Herbology which he shared with Hufflepuff house, and from what he understood, Neville was a bit of a Herbology savant.
Finally, his eyes traced to the seven members of Slytherin that had come to watch the try-outs. The first was a tall and muscular boy who Wood had said on a multitude of occasions was the captain of the dirtiest Quidditch team to ever play the game. His ghastly teeth made the image of Marcus Flint unmistakable. Beside Flint on each side where the two beaters, two hairy, large boys that resembled gorillas more than men, and but the size of Crabbe and Goyle to shame. Angelina had pointed the two out to him before, the Strong-Arm Duo Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Bole. The only two beaters to ever serve detention for admitting having purposely struck a player with a bludger.
Behind Flint were the two other chasers of Slytherin, Graham Montague and Cassius Warrington, two muscle-bound boys with a propensity for causing pain and brains so small that Harry had once heard Alicia tell George that she was shocked that the two boys had managed to find the pitch without a map. Miles Bletchley arguably the most honest member of the Slytherin team stayed on as keeper but that didn't really mean much in terms of the Snake's team as Bletchley like the rest of his team had taken key players out of games using "excessive blocking." And in the center of the group, the Blonde Ponce of Slytherin, the only person to have bought their way onto a House Team in years, seeker Draco Malfoy.
However, none of that mattered at the moment, it became rapidly clear to Harry that there was only one spot being currently sought after, the seeker spot. To Harry's right, a boy name Rahul Tandel, a tall Indian looking boy with short black hair and dim brown eyes. To his left, Ronald Weasley, a look of focus Harry had never seen from the boy in any of the classes they shared. Harry had played non-wizarding sports while in school, and as was taught to him, he leaned over to Rahul and outreached his hand which Tandel took shaking it. However, when Harry had reached out to Ron saying, "May the best flyer win."
Ron simply shook off his handshake as with a growl he said, "Don't act like you're better than me Potter. I'm going to win, just watch."
"Alright," Harry said, all empathy for the boy completely lost as he shrugged, "We'll see."
Before the conversation could go on further, Oliver Wood stepped forward, "Right!" He called getting everyone's attention, "Seems we're only trying out for the Seeker spot, should make this nice a quick. Tryouts are going to be simple." He reached into a trunk pulling out the golden ball Harry recognized as a snitch, "This here's the Golden Snitch. It's fast and crafty, to be the seeker of this team, you'll have to be more so. I'm going to set this off ten times, the person who catches the snitch the most times wins. But you'll not only have to focus on catching the snitch, but I'll also be releasing the two bludgers as well to mimic as best as possible a realistic Quidditch scenario. This is supposed to be a nice clean game, so if I see any spells thrown, you're out. Now that the rules have been established, are there any questions?"
The pitch was silent and Wood nodded, "Alright, flyers, mount your brooms," As quickly as he could, Harry hopped on his Firebolt, a look of determination on his face as he watched Ron and Rahul do the same. Wood lifted the snitch in his hand before he threw it up in the air, "Begin!"
Like a bolt of lightning, Harry sprung into action, the speed of his broom compared to his comet 140 momentarily throwing him off as he had never ascended so quickly. However, while his Firebolt did give him an initial jump, Rahul was tailing him, and Ron wasn't far behind. The scouring of the field began as the three bolted apart in search of the snitch. Rahul went low checking beneath the stands for the golden ball, while Ron flew up high, hoping to catch a bird's eyes view of the pitch. But the cloudy skies had stopped Harry from copying Ron's tactic as without a doubt his vision would be muddled soon.
Instead, Harry flew circles around the center of the pitch, waiting to spot the golden ball. For a moment, nothing moved, but then, like the spark from a firecracker, a hint of gold swooshed passed him. As if he was a moth to a flame, Harry entered hot pursuit and seeing that Harry was on the trail, Ron and Rahul sped quickly behind them. The snitch dipped, and without hesitation, Harry barreled after it. Harry rushed the earth as if gravity had been doubled, his vision became tunneled from the acceleration and all he could see was the ground racing towards him and the snitch in his path.
Ron and Rahul had pulled off the dive, but Harry steeled himself. Harry felt alive on a broom, there wasn't a care in the world while he was flying, and more importantly, Harry felt invincible on his Firebolt. Harry heard the crowd gasp as he was now mere inches from the ground, but his focus was entirely on the snitch. On a dime, the snitch shot upward, but refusing to quit, with barely any room to complete the maneuver, Harry rolled, his back feeling the long blades of grass before like a rocket he shot up towards the snitch leaving the crowd momentarily speechless before with an extended reach, Harry had caught the first snitch.
The silence lasted a little longer until Harry lifted his fist in the air triumphantly, and every single house outside of Slytherin cheered and applauded Harry's first capture. "Not bad Potter!" Wood called, "Now bring it down, try-outs aren't over yet." A fire of confidence burned in Harry's stomach, the look of shock on both Ron and Rahul's face spoke volumes, Harry refused to lose.
(Harry P.O.V)
Sweat was beating down Harry's brow as they readied for the final set. Harry had won seven of the ten, and while the competition was technically over as there was nothing either Ron or Rahul could do to beat him, he wanted to play it out. It had been too long since he had felt this alive up in the air, and while some of the bleachers had cleared after finding out Harry would be the seeker this year, Harry couldn't help but smile at the fact that Astoria and Michael had stayed, as well as Neville and now there were two arrivals that had appeared amid attempt 5, Professor McGonagall and Lupin.
Harry gave his Uncle a wave which he returned with a proud smile before Wood through the snitch up in the air once more. Quickly both he and Rahul rushed the snitch, while Ron had thrown his broom to the ground in frustration before walking off. However, Harry couldn't pay the red-head any mind as Harry saw Rahul bolting after a golden flicker and Harry raced after him. Once Harry had caught up to him though, Rahul had seemingly lost the snitch in the growing fog, but to Harry's delight, he saw a small flicker of gold at the right side of the Keeper's post. Harry rushed the rings and with grace and agility, Harry flew effortlessly through the rings chasing the snitch. But the snitch clearly wasn't done yet as it rocketed into the foggy sky.
Harry quickly ascended after it but had to pull back hard as a rouge bludger had just passed his face, barely missing his nose causing the remaining audience to gasp. The only smile was from Malfoy who had stuck around no doubt in the hopes a bludger would have landed its mark. Harry quickly flipped his broom backward, recovering as he entered the fog-clad atmosphere in search of the golden ball. As Harry rose, the fog became darker and darker until it was no longer fog, but a terrifying black mist and though Harry tried to fight it, his body began to tremble and shake as his breath became visible amongst the clouds.
Then he felt it, it hit him like a freight train, his head started to hurt, and all the feelings of his happiness had vanished in an instant, as in the distance, a gliding, wraith-like creature covered in black veils emerged from the mist. Like torture, visions from Harry's nightmares had appeared to him, he saw what he imagined was the face of Voldemort walking over the bodies of Sirius, Andromeda, Remus, and Tonks laughing. He saw visions of his father being slaughtered. And then, finally, he heard the most god-awful noise he'd ever experienced. Screaming, shouting, and begging, all emerging from a woman's voice.
"Please," The panic woman begged, "Please not Harry! Kill me! Kill me instead!"
"Move!" A voice hissed in his head.
"I won't," The lady responded, it was quiet for a moment before he heard the woman shout in agony before she whispered, "It's going to be okay Harry, mama loves you, she won't let anything happen to you, mama will always love-,"
"Avada Kedavra!" The hissing voice shouted and a flare of green light encapsulated Harry's vision. Then, Harry's vision went black as he let go of his broom not having the strength to hold on.
As his body plummeted through the clouds, the foul creatures did not relent in their pursuit. The screaming didn't stop, it was all he could hear, his mother begging for his life, screaming in agony, and Harry could do nothing. His body felt limp and cold, and at that moment, as a shroud of depression surrounded him, all Harry could think about was how badly he wanted to die.
The screams of his mother soon faded under the sounds of the crowd screaming in panic, and Harry had closed his eyes, praying for the torture to stop before with the last of his fleeting consciousness he heard two voice belonging to Remus and Professor McGonagall cry out, "Expecto Patronum" and, "Immobulus," Then, everything stopped and Harry faded away