24 Quidditch

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. The gatekeeper, Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaver skin boots.

The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Pansy would be playing in her first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the house championship, and even if they lose it won't affect Slytherin in any way since Slytherin is in the top of the House championship. Everyone was sure unless something unexpected happens, Slytherin would win the House cup. Pansy had been working extremely hard since she didn't want to let Draco and Snape down, they had provided her with an opportunity and a lot of support. So she has been practicing day and night in the cold weather.

Pansy's competitor Harry was working hard as well and now due to the support of Hermione, he could finish his homework on time and focus more on training.Quidditch was really the most annoying thing in the world, there are seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players, and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them and although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert. Draco had to applaud to the people who even after knowing these things still participate in this stupid game.

"Its finally done." Theodore and Draco stretched their backs. Today, they had managed to finally complete the antidote. After months of extensive research, the potion was finally complete. The ingredients were changed to cheaper ones and the effect changed a lot making the effect of the potion last for nearly a whole day, and since the whole compound was changed the new potion couldn't be detected by the Ministry of Magic.

Draco was secretly experimenting on the potion himself with his blood, and he finally got the result he wanted. The potion was now turned into the permanent version. Originally Draco had completed the potion 2 days ago but due to him having to test secretly he delayed the completion of the potion. After drinking the potion, Draco now had complete control of it. So in the future, even if someone forces him to drink Veritaserum, the effect would not last even a second.

To celebrate the completion of the potion, they ordered a lot of food with owls, since the potion was a secret, only the two of them celebrated and ate till they never wanted to see food again in their life. After their small celebration, Draco left the common room towards Snape's office. Snape had called him to be an assistant to work on a new potion he was making. The potion was supposed to be an antidote to venom of most kinds.

Draco knocked on the door and the gloomy sound came from within, "Come in."

Draco went inside to see that Snape was not working on the potion but was on his chair. Draco went over to sit on the nearby chair. He glanced at Snape's tore pants and bleeding leg.

"What happened, Godfather?" Draco asked even though he guessed it.

"It's a small wound." He replied, "Since you have already seen it, we will work on the potion some other time."

"Sure, but the cut looks deep. Do you want a healing potion?" Draco asked

"You have one?"

Draco nodded and took out a potion from his pouch. His pouch was also an enchanted pouch which could carry a lot of items and Draco being a potioneer he collected two different things, potions, and ingredients. So to do so he always carried a lot of potions and ingredients with him. Healing potion was a rare and expensive potion since most people don't get serious injuries often and even if they did they could heal it using magic unless it is affected by some kind of poison.

Draco handed him the potion. Snape took the potion from Draco's hand and drank half of the potion and poured the other half on the wound. The potion usually closed the wound and numbed it, but the effect wasn't the same as the one that red haired lady used on him in his dream.

"The wounds bigger than I expected, what creature were you fighting?" Draco joked but all he got was a gloomy, cold look in return.

*Cough* "I will leave now." Draco said standing up.

"Good choice, next time I will send you an owl when I am in need of your assistance," Snape said.

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Morning of the match, Both the Gryffindors and Slytherins were excited. Pansy wasn't eating much due to nervousness.

"Pansy you gotta eat." Said an over-weight guy who was the batter of the team. "How can you have the energy to knock people off when you won't eat."

"Haha.. leave him alone Rick." Marcus Flint said, "She must be nervous since it's her first match."

Daphne and the other girls were supporting and cheering her up, to ease her nervousness. Draco and Theodore weren't around for breakfast since yesterday's meal had started working its magic of its own.

By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes. Draco went to the locker room to talk to Pansy since he had missed her at breakfast.

"Hey, Pansy." He called out to Pansy who looked lost.

Pansy looked at Draco and lazily came over, "You finally came huh!"

"I am sorry I am late." Draco looked at Pansy who didn't look much motivated at all. "Are you okay?" He asked

"I am nervous, I don't know if we are going to win or not." Pansy said looking at Draco, "I don't want to lose, Draco... I am afraid."

"Sigh! Silly!" He said and hugged her tightly.

Pansy broke from her nervousness and started to get shy, she wanted to push Draco off but he was hugging her too tightly.

"Idiot! Being nervous means you care, and that's what matters the most. And whether you win or lose, I and the others won't care, what we care about is you putting your best into it."

Pansy stayed silent first then hugged Draco back slowly, "I will try my best."

Draco released her from the hug but was still holding her, "Go get'em my tiger, or should I say snake."

"Hahaha... I will win for you." Pansy said with determination.

*Whistles* Soon whistles came from within the locker room. Draco and Pansy immediately separated seeing the other members from the Slytherin team glaring at them with teasing looks.

"Good luck! I will watch you from the stadium." Draco said running back leaving the embarrassed Pansy alone.

Draco went up and joined the Daphne and Theodore. Since today was Gryffindor vs Slytherin, Hermione was standing on the Gryffindors side but she had came to wish Pansy good luck this morning. Being friends with someone with the rival house is very difficult but since nothing major has happened they have managed to keep their friendship in check. On the Gryffindor's side, they had painted a large banner on a sheet. It said Potter for President, and there was a large Gryffindor lion underneath and the paint flashed different colors.

Slytherins, on the other hand, were very extreme, Daphne and the other girls had professional helpers design a beautiful banner on which Go Pansy! was written in huge letters and beneath it had a moving picture of a snake attacking a lion and slowly choking it to death. After seeing the flashy banner the Gryffindors side went silent for a while but soon continued cheering after the players entered the stadium.

Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand. "Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her.

"Mount your brooms, please." She said

The Slytherins clambered onto their Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off. "And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor -- what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too --"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor."

The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.

Draco didn't have much interest in general so he was just watching Pansy fly around trying to look for the snitch. Due to there being too many flying brooms and balls, focusing on a single person was much easier.

The Gryffindors started scoring first but soon the Slytherin played their game, with a little bit of foul and a good broom they managed to tie up to Gryffindor in no time and started beating them soon enough. Pansy had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off her feelings and started searching for the snitch.

Draco out of the corner of his eyes noticed Harry struggling in his broom. 'So it started huh!' Draco looked at Quirrell who was chanting the jinx and at Snape who was using an anti-jinx to keep Potter on the broom.

At the same time, Pansy caught the sight of the snitch and went chasing after it. The snitch was moving in random pattern making it harder for her to catch it. At that moment, Potter was falling off the broom and was barely managing to hang onto it. Draco found something weird, the snitch was moving around Potter as if it wants him to catch it, not Pansy.

Draco focused on the snitch, trying to read the mana around it and his guess was correct, the snitch was being manipulated by someone, and was trying to change its course. Draco realized something, in the book Harry caught the snitch in his mouth when he fell off the broom, but that's impossible considering the nature of the snitch to not move around in a single place and wait to be swallowed. Draco looked around but he didn't see anyone who could possibly be doing it. Then a thought popped into his head, 'Dumbledore.' Draco figured Dumbledore wanted to boost Potter's confidence by making him win, so he chose to manipulate the snitch.

'Yes, there is no coincidence in this world.' Draco thought.

Dumbledore might want to support Potter by helping him cheat but Draco wouldn't let him, he started chanting his own spell to manipulate the snitch, even though it was very difficult to take complete control of the snitch but he could still push the snitch here and there.

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On the Gryffindor's side--

People were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.

"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.

"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic -- no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand." At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.

"What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced.

"I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape -- look."

Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath. But then he lowered his binoculars down a little and saw Draco was doing the same, he was muttering something similar to Snape with his eye fixed around Harry.

"He's doing something -- jinxing the broom," said Hermione.

"I think its Draco." Ron said

"What do you mean?"

"Look", he passed over the binoculars, She looked over and saw that Draco was chanting something similar but his eyes weren't exactly on Harry but around him.

"No, it's Snape. You need eye contact and Draco isn't looking at him." Hermione said defending Draco.

Ron looked at Hermione and didn't continue to convince her since she is more likely to believe in Draco than him, "So what do we do?"

"Leave it to me." She said.

Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. Ron turned the binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but it was no good -- every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.

Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately.