Quidditch Match

Harry's throat felt dry, his heart was pounding, and his legs felt weak.

The Quidditch match was about to begin, and his intense nerves had robbed him of any appetite, even though his usual favorite, bacon and eggs, sat on the table in front of him.

"Harry, please eat a little. You can't go without eating anything," Hermione urged.

"Yeah, Harry," Ron added. "We don't know how long the match will last. If you don't eat anything, you're bound to run out of energy."

"But I really don't have an appetite," Harry said miserably.

"Harry, you have to eat something." Parvati and Padma were both beside him, and it was the older sister, Parvati, who spoke. "The Seeker is a key target for the other team's defense. You need to keep your strength up."

Today's match was against Slytherin, and quite a few Ravenclaw girls had come over to encourage Harry.

Harry had always been popular with women-or rather, girls. That had been true at his Muggle primary school, and it remained true at Hogwarts.

Now that the match was approaching, almost everyone who came to cheer him on was a girl. Fred and George made a great noisy show of their envy, only to earn a thoroughly scornful look from Angelina Johnson, a pretty girl who also played Quidditch as a Chaser.

But who were the twins? They took even an eye roll as a flirtatious glance. They did not care in the slightest about her scorn and were even a little pleased.

Although Harry knew they were right, he still could not eat. He could only force down a little porridge with milk.

"You've got this, mate." With the match about to begin, Ron gave Harry a huge hug. He would not be playing today, but that did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm.

This was Harry's first time wearing a full set of Quidditch gear, most of which was protective equipment.

The helmet was heavy, tiring his neck and making his head uncomfortable, but Wood had solemnly insisted that it was essential.

The Bludgers flying wildly around the pitch posed an enormous threat to the players. Even with the Beaters protecting them, there was no way to cover everyone. Players still had to look out for themselves.

Once they had changed into their red protective gear and cloaks, their captain, Wood, delivered a brief pre-match pep talk. Then the irreverent George and Fred derailed it together with enough nonsense to ruin the mood completely.

Still, that helped Harry relax considerably; his legs had been going weak with nerves. By the time Wood ended his speech with an order to head out, Harry could finally follow him on somewhat shaky legs.

It was not his first time entering the Quidditch Pitch, but it was his first time entering it with the stands packed.

The students of the four houses sat in their respective sections, while the staff sat in a separate area, all watching the two teams make their entrance.

As both teams entered the pitch, the stands erupted in enthusiastic cheers and encouragement.

Madam Hooch, the referee, waited in the middle of the pitch with her broom. Once both teams were in position, she said loudly, "I expect you all to show good sportsmanship and play your best!"

After that, Madam Hooch checked the time, released the Golden Snitch, then released the Bludgers. Finally, she raised her hand. "Mount your brooms, please."

All the players mounted their brooms, and Harry climbed onto his Nimbus 2000.

Madam Hooch blew hard on her silver whistle, then rose into the air with the fourteen players.

Madam Hooch was skilled enough to receive invitations to coach at top international clubs. Her flying skills were far beyond those of a handful of young wizards.

Even riding an old-fashioned, practically antique broom, she reached the air before Harry on his Nimbus 2000 and the twins on their Cleansweep Sevens. And she did it while holding the Quaffle in one arm.

As the Quaffle was tossed high into the air, the match officially began.

At the edge of the pitch, Lee Jordan was providing commentary that was anything but objective.

A Gryffindor student and Fred and George's best friend, he was another reckless boy who spent his days testing the limits of the school rules. Now he had switched back into trouble-seeking mode, shamelessly lavishing praise and fawning over Angelina Johnson, who had seized the opening ball.

People who fawn like that always end up with nothing. That was what countless boys and girls were thinking about Lee Jordan at that moment.

That sentiment was even stronger within the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, because everyone on the team knew that Angelina had not the slightest interest in him.

This was Harry's first time watching an official Quidditch match, and from a super-VIP spot at that-the Seeker's position.

The feeling was so unusual, and the Golden Snitch remained so thoroughly out of sight, that he forgot he was actually playing too.

He had heard about Quidditch matches and played in a few practice games. But in practice, everyone focused on honing their skills. They did not compete all that fiercely or give it their all.

Now, though, the six Chasers were weaving and charging across the pitch at average speeds of over sixty kilometers an hour. When opponents moved to intercept them, they performed all sorts of dazzling turns and reversals in midair. No ordinary sporting event could compare with that spectacle.

Even motor racing, though faster, fell far short in sheer spectacle. After all, in a motor race, you could not see the people, only lumps of metal...

After watching for a while, Harry drew on the experience he had gained recently and worked out the general course of the match.

Leaving aside himself and the opposing Seeker, neither of whom had done much yet, Slytherin had a slight edge when it came to the other six players on each side.