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***
- Captains of both teams, shake hands and we will begin.
Cedric Diggory and Roger Davies walked to the centre of the pitch and shook hands as Madame Trick had requested.
There was a warm, friendly relationship between the teams. Before the match, Ravenclaw hunter Jeremy Stretton had a nice chat with Appleby, the Hufflepuff hunter; Cedric Diggory seemed to be friends with Zhou, who waved cheerfully to Potter before the game, and the latter waved back happily. Harry hadn't spoken to Chang in about a month and felt bad about it.
Such a friendly atmosphere was a little out of character for a Quidditch match - it just so happened that various squabbles between the faculties were always occurring at sporting events. At yesterday's match between the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams, the mood was completely different. The reason was that Malfoy's father had purchased the new Nimbus 2001s that had come out in the last few months, and the snake faculty had defeated their opponents to pieces. After the match, Draco decided to mock the weak play of the Gryffindor team and was instantly punched in the nose by Fred.... or George...with a bat....
A small scuffle ensued, resulting in both faculties losing about a hundred points. Hufflepuff, who was leading in the inter-faculty competition, was even further ahead of Gryffindor and Slytherin, but Ravenclaw was right on its heels, only thirty points behind the eagle faculty, so if the Badgers lost today's match, they would lose their first place.
- On the whistle! - Madame Trick commanded. - Three... Two... One...
After the whistle, fourteen players almost simultaneously soared into the blue sky, and immediately afterwards two bludgers and a quaffle were released onto the field, which was immediately taken possession of by Bones. The snitch, as the rules required, was released five minutes before the match began. Potter quickly rushed to the nearest bludger, but he was blocked by Duncan Ingleby, a tall Ravenclaw wizard, who had played for the faculty team for four years and had much more experience than Harry Potter, who was playing his first match. But this time luck was on Harry's side, as they say, "beginner's luck." Duncan was already picking his target when the bludger suddenly changed direction and hit him in the stomach.
Potter, who was flying behind him, took advantage of the moment, made a small leap and swung his bat at the bludger with all his might, intending to send it at Randolph Barrow, the other Ravenclaw hunter. Harry didn't have time to aim properly, so it was no surprise that the big black ball missed his opponent's hunter. What was surprising was that the bludger, instead of continuing its journey, changed its flight path dramatically and headed back towards Potter. This time Duncan was ahead of Harry and sent the returned ball to Cedric Diggory, who was looking round the pitch for the snitch. But the bludger continued to defy all the laws of physics and the magical world, not even reaching Cedric, it spun round again and flew back towards Potter.
"It shouldn't be like this," Harry realised.
He sped up sharply, intending to dodge the blow, and he succeeded. The black ball failed to replicate Potter's manoeuvre and flew a little further away. Just a second later, however, it came back at Harry, and he had to manoeuvre again. The game of catch-up lasted about five minutes. As Potter began to exhaust himself from the relentless pursuit, Cedric Diggory noticed that something was wrong with his corral and asked for a time-out.
- What the hell is going on? We were fine in training, and now we're losing by forty-nil. Bones, can you stop passing the quaffle to the nearest hunter as soon as you get it, and try to take the game into your own hands and make a shot once in a while! Potter, what the hell is wrong with your bludger? Why are you dodging it instead of hitting it? Finch-Fletchley can't handle two bludgers at once, and I'm getting shot at regularly!
- He's bewitched! There are no other targets for him but me! He's chasing me all over the field, trying to throw me off my broom!
Cedric stared grimly at Harry.
- Someone must have glamoured him... We should insist on cancelling the match....
- We'd be technically defeated," Flit exclaimed. - We can still win, we just have to catch the Snitch quickly, and then no one will care how badly we played. I'll try to keep knocking the quaffle out so they'll waste more time.
- That's easy to say, catch the snatch. They won't even let me lift my head, and that's with just one bludger.
- Wait, I have an idea," Justin said. - Harry, did I get it right that you're being followed by a bludger?
- Can we not ask leading questions?- Priss intervened.
Finch-Fletchley ignored the hunter's phrase and stared at Potter, waiting for an answer.
- 'Yes, you got it right.
- So it's perfect! You're a bludger, how can you not understand? The Bludger only chases you, it's like you always have it, which means you're the only one who hits it.
- But it doesn't get to the target, halfway through it comes back to me.
- So fly closer, what's the problem? You've been reading smart books, haven't you learnt anything?
- Well, I'll try..." Harry said uncertainly.
Justin's plan had a right to exist, but Potter wasn't sure he could do it.
- Am I right in assuming that we're continuing the game? We're not going to insist on cancellation?
- I'm against it," Preece sat down on the bench. - The terms are clearly not in our favour, and it's not fair.
- I'm in favour! - Justin exclaimed. - Let's vote!
Apart from Cedric, who abstained, everyone agreed with Finch-Fletchley. It was decided to finish the match.
* * *
On the whistle Harry was the last to take off, he had to spot the bludger that was clearly going to destroy him. Duncan Ingleby didn't even try to fly after Potter, he joined the other paddler and went after Justin.
Potter began to try and implement the Finch-Fletchley plan. Due to the black ball's disgusting manoeuvrability, it was quite easy to correct the direction of its flight.
As he approached Jeremy Stretton, Harry hit the bludger as hard as he could without aiming, and it would have hit the Ravenclaw hunter in the head if he hadn't shown miraculous reactions and flipped on his broomstick. Potter began to choose a new target, not even trying to catch up with the bludger, because it was enchanted - it would come back. The game wasn't lost yet...
The next thirty minutes of play was the dirtiest in the history of school Quidditch championships. Potter had adapted perfectly to the strange behaviour of the bludger, he was able to guide the bat as if it was part of his body. The first victim was Duncan Ingleby, Harry flew alongside him so that the dewy Ingleby was always between him and the inadequate ball. The big black ball flew straight towards Potter, seeing no obstacles. Five times the Ravenclaw catcher sent the bludger back into the sky with his bat, but on the sixth he failed and missed the hit. The next hit was critical for him, and he was out of the game. He was followed out of the game by the second catcher, Jason Samuels, who was less skilful than his co-captain and only managed four hits. After the Ravenclaw team had lost their paddlers, Justin took possession of the second bludger and began bombarding the eagle hunters. Within half an hour of the seven players on the field, only two players from the Ravenclaw national team remained. They were Zhou Chang - Harry just didn't want to knock her off her broom and only intermittently interfered with her in her search for a snitch by directing a bludger near her - and the goalkeeper, Grant Page. He only stayed behind because goalkeepers couldn't be hit with bludgers. When Finch-Fletchley decided to try, Madame Trick, who didn't seem bothered by the situation on the pitch, awarded a penalty to the Hufflepuff goal, which Grant had to take. The game had turned into something strange, with the Badger players doing their own strange things, the three hunters tossing the quaffle to each other, watching Grant try to defend three rings at once, and only occasionally throwing the ball into the goal. Cedric didn't give a damn about the snitch, he was watching the hunters play, giving out some remarks as if they were all in training. Harry and Justin took turns batting at the inadequate bludger, trying to hit their rings with it. The goalkeeper wasn't there, Herbert Fleet had landed and walked off in an unknown direction just after the last hunter of the Ravenclaw team had dropped out of the game.
But the Hufflepuff fans were clearly enjoying it all, shouting and cheering their team on as if there was an incredibly intense game going on on the pitch. And the Clawmen were letting out a loud "Woo-Woo-Woo!" They were extremely unhappy, half of the fans had already left the stadium, some of whom came up to argue with Madam Trick, but she didn't think the Hufflepuff team was breaking the rules in any way.
* * *
However, all good things come to an end, Zhou Chang, who had been left unattended for a couple of minutes, managed to grab the snatch, and Madame Trick signalled the Hufflepuff team's victory with a score of 1030:200. Of course, after the game there was a showdown, extraneous spells were found on the bludger and most of the clawed students demanded that the result of the game not be counted, but the situation was quickly resolved. Harry explained that Malfoy or his houseboy could be involved in the bludger incident.
Draco denied his guilt, saying that the elf had acted without his consent, and generally blamed all his sins on the houseboy. To Potter's deep disappointment, the lie, and he had no doubt that it was a lie, had been believed, and Malfoy had escaped punishment, but Dobby had gone to the committee on crimes committed by magical creatures whose intelligence was close to human. The situation was resolved.
The evening after the match, some upperclassmen had a party in the Hufflepuff lounge that lasted well into the night. And Harry Potter was the chief guest. For some reason, all the Puffenduys decided that it was only because of his actions that the Badger Faculty had achieved the most crushing victory in the history of Hogwarts Quidditch Championships. In essence, that was indeed the case, and Potter realised that, but his contribution to that victory wasn't much, he was just lucky to be in that time and place. Even Justin had more to do with this victory than he did, for he was the one who had come up with the idea. However, the students of Hufflepuff thought otherwise, Harry Potter was proclaimed the player of the match, and everyone thought he was some sort of super Quidditch player.
Of course, many people became curious about the details of the game and some of Potter's development into a great backstabber. Questions poured in on Harry:
- Do you realise that we've seriously pulled away from Ravenclaw today in the battle for the school cup? And Quidditch has an eight hundred point advantage; they couldn't win it back even if they wanted to, that's cool, right?
- Is it true Professor Lockhart taught you Quidditch?
- Let me kill him! This time, tear it apart!- Who was the first person to come up with the idea of using a bludger flying behind you? It was you, wasn't it?
Harry froze like a dumbfounded man. Amidst the hail of questions, he suddenly heard the very voice of a snake! Someone is being planned to be attacked again!
- Do you think we can beat Slytherin, they say they can fly faster than the wind. And their new brooms...
Potter didn't even pay attention to the question, he quickly ran towards the living room exit, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Definitely not from the living room, more like closer to the kitchen... Dumbledore had said to tell him as soon as possible!
Harry ran with all his might towards the Headmaster's office, jumping five steps at a time on the stairs. He had only run like that when he was a kid, when he was being chased by Dudley and Pierce's gang. When he was out of breath, he saw two gargoyles a few metres in front of him, guarding the passage to the Headmaster's office.
- Can... Can I go to Dumbledore's office? I have an urgent matter!
"What if it doesn't work?"- Harry thought fearfully.
But his fears were in vain: the left gargoyle turned one hundred and eighty degrees and the passage to the Headmaster's office opened. Potter ran up the stairs and quickly opened the door to the office. Dumbledore was sleeping peacefully on a huge red bed against the wall near the portraits of past Headmasters of Hogwarts. Harry was stunned for a moment, forgetting why he had come running in here in the middle of the night in the first place. Two thoughts were rushing through his head, each of which was inappropriate under the circumstances:
"I wonder where that queen bed came from, did the headmaster conjure it up or drag it in?"
"Oh, he can sleep, cool!"
However, Harry quickly snapped back to reality and shook Albus hard by the shoulder.
- Headmaster! Professor Dumbledore! There's that voice again! Just now directly, you asked to be informed!
One moment ago the Headmaster of Hogwarts had only just opened his eyes, and now he was already dressed and running out of his office. Harry was momentarily taken aback by such speed, it was theoretically impossible to move so fast, there was definitely no magic involved....
- Where? Where did you hear him? Quickly, Harry!
- In the living room of Hufflepuff," Potter replied. - But the sound wasn't coming from there, I think the snake is somewhere near the kitchen!
- 'I'll go first, you run to the kitchen if the snake hasn't attacked yet, I'll need you to locate the voice,' Dumbledore said and... Disappeared?
Harry obeyed the Headmaster and ran back towards the Hufflepuff common room. He ran slower this time and stopped to rest a couple of times, his body couldn't cope with the strain and the fatigue from the last run.
Before he reached the kitchen, Harry spotted Dumbledore waving his wand a few metres away from the body lying on the floor.
- Gone," he said, noticing Potter. - I didn't manage to prevent the attack, but I didn't let the snake eat the victim, there's the daze again. You don't hear the voice anymore, do you?
Harry shook his head and stared at the man lying there. There was a camera in his hands, it looked like he had been taking pictures of something just before the attack. It was a modern camera, at least six months old, the same one he'd given him... Stop....
- That's Colin! Colin Creevey!
- Yeah, I noticed he was taking photos before he was attacked. I wonder if he could have captured his attacker?
Harry tried to grab the camera, but as soon as he touched it, he yanked his hand away, it was incredibly hot.
- Did you burn yourself? - Dumbledore asked. - Let me have a look.
Albus waved his wand and his right hand was covered in some kind of blue crust, he easily pulled out the camera with that hand.
- It's terribly hot. I can even feel it through the ice barrier. How did it not melt?
- I know it's protected," Potter had an answer ready. - I bought it as a present, it's a vandal-proof camera that can withstand huge temperatures, not for long, though....
Dumbledore waved his wand again, and the camera was covered in a crust of ice like the one on his hand.
- Can it withstand low temperatures, too?
- Yes. Look, Professor Dumbledore, this may not be the time or place for this question, but why can't you ask Lockhart for help? He says he knows where the Chamber of Secrets is; if he can be persuaded to share that information, we might be able to catch the snake there.
- Professor Lockhart, Harry, and he doesn't know where the Chamber of Secrets is, only says he does. His assignment is probably the biggest mistake of all... Anyway, I shouldn't be talking to you about this... I've cooled down the camera, let's see what Mr Creevey's got.
With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore removed the ice crust and switched on the camera. For about a minute he pressed the arrows and worked out what worked and how it worked, then he turned sharply pale and handed the camera to Harry. Potter took the camera and stared at the last picture taken. It showed the incredibly huge head of a snake looking straight at the photographer.