Note to Readers:
".." Denotes speech *..* Denotes thoughts
Chapter 1: The Fall
"Watch out for that bludger!"
Harry heard Fred yell out as he turned to see the black ball come hurtling right towards his face and managed to duck just in time to hear the whoosh above him. His eyes followed the bludger as it hit one of the columns fiercely and come hurtling back towards Marcus Flint.
A wave of relief washed over his features and he gripped his broom handle and flew towards Fred.
"Thanks." He managed out, a little breathlessly.
"No problem, just keep your eyes peeled, huh?" said Fred, wiping the sweat off his brow in concentration. *This game's been going on for far too long. What I would do for a glass, no a jug of cool pumpkin juice. *
"Yeah, doing my best. Its just."
"Yeah I know." Fred threw him a sympathetic look. They were both tired and hot.
A loud groan broke through the pitch as the bludger-wounded column split down the middle and the metal skeleton of the structure tipped forward dangerously. The crowd let out an almost collective "Oh!"
And *Boom*. It finally crashed down onto the grassy pitch below.
Harry winced as he looked at the destroyed structure, metal parts strewn all over one part of the pitch as he tried not to think about what the bludger would have done to him instead.
"You are a lucky bastard, aren't you?"
Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy hovering on his Firebolt, with a smug grin on his face and he sighed inwardly.
"Still, no use crying over spilt milk, isn't it, Potter? We can only hope that you won't be quite so lucky next time."
Harry heard him but refused to look in Draco's direction. Instead he furrowed his brows and looked for any telltale glint of the golden snitch.
He heard Draco snort softly and knew he was pissed off that Harry wasn't rising to his bait.
Suddenly there it was. Harry caught a glint of the snitch over to his right, about 100 feet away and he instinctively shot off towards that glint, already visualizing his hands going over the cool metal surface of the tiny ball.
Draco spotted it as well and raced off to join Harry and pretty soon they were neck and neck. Both boys desperate to end the match and return to the cool shade of the showers and relax in the celebratory aftermatch.
The snitch moved faster, as if sensing that its been spotted by the seekers.
Both of them moved seamlessly together as if being pulled by an invisible string, mirroring the snitch's movements almost perfectly, yet only a hair's breadth behind.
"Looks like its anyone's match now. Slytherin and Gryffindor are neck to neck. Oh! So close!" Lee Jordan's voice boomed over the speakerphones as the snitch was almost in Harry's grasp before it sped off down to the other side of the pitch.
Draco frowned. *How could he have been so careless? Potter almost won the match. Again.* he thought bitterly to himself.
He sneered as he stole a quick glance over to his archrival who was bent over his handle with a fierce determination in his eyes.
*So you think you're going to get the snitch again, don't you? You arrogant little mudblood lover. Well, we'll see about that.*
They were halfway over the length of the pitch now, headed near to the column wreckage.
The snitch suddenly dove down and entered the broken frames of the spiny metal, as if seeking temporary refuge.
Draco and Harry stopped and hovered over the wreck.
They both knew they had no choice now but to wait for the snitch to make its exit. The gaps in the metal were far too small to let them fly through safely and continue with their chase.
Harry's dark eyes followed the movements of the little snitch, determined not to lose sight of it again. He didn't notice Draco's steely gaze on him, a hateful sneer on his lips.
*God, how he hated The-Boy-Who-Lived. How much simpler his life would be if he had just been The-Boy-Who-Died instead.*
At that moment Harry suddenly looked up and met Draco's hateful gaze. He shuddered a little. There was so much hate in it, those eyes were pure venom. Aimed only and directly for Harry.
*He must really, really hate me. And why am I surprised, this is Draco Malfoy.* thought Harry, trying to get he chill off his spine as he drew in a deep breath.
He could still feel Draco's grey eyes boring through him but he forced himself to look at the snitch's movements instead.
It suddenly stopped weaving in and out and hung in mid-air, a few inches above the wreckage, as if trying to sense whether or not it was safe to venture out.
Harry readied himself as the snitch took off, straight up in the air. He swiftly maneuvered his broom to an almost complete vertical shift.
Draco; suddenly caught short of his hateful reverie growled as his nemesis flew off in hot pursuit of the coveted snitch.
He took off in a dangerous burst of speed and almost gave himself a whiplash but that risk gave him the added boost he needed to catch up to Harry.
They were soon neck and neck again.
To everyone in the stands, they looked like two vertical blurs of red and green.
Harry was a breath away from the snitch and he could sense Draco right next to him. He reached out his right arm in a move to close his grip on the snitch. And he could hear Draco growl softly beside him.
As his fingers closed over the fluttering snitch, he was almost jolted off his broom. He caught himself at the last second as he felt a searing pain down the right side of his ribcage. Draco had elbowed him there sharply in a fit of rage when he saw Harry had gotten the snitch. Apparently nobody else had, not yet anyway.
Harry was still bent over in pain, breathless and he couldn't hold up his snitch to the crowd.
Draco grinned, an evil glint in his eye. And what happened next, nobody else knew exactly.
In a fit of fury, he had swung his left arm over and hit Harry over the side of his head with a force. He felt a momentary twinge of satisfaction at his move.
That was before Harry toppled off his broom.
Which would have been fine with Malfoy, except Harry had instinctively clutched at the nearest thing to fix his balance. And the nearest thing, or rather person; was Draco.
The crowd hushed in perfect silence, as the two seekers fell off their brooms.
To Harry, it seemed as if their fall was in slow motion. He was barely aware of Draco falling on top of him.
And he felt a sharp lightning pain course through his chest as he landed on the ground.
*Oh God!*
He let out a strangled gasp as he felt the blood spurt out of his mouth.
Draco fell heavily on top of him, half of his left side was covered by Draco's own left side.
*I can't breathe, this can't be happening.* screamed Harry in his head, taken over by momentary panic by this sudden turn of events.
Draco felt a hot sharp stab to his chest as he fell on top of Harry. *No, God, no.*
A warmth had slowly spread between the two of them. Fresh blood spread itself between the two boys.
The horrifying scene had momentarily stunned everyone, even Dumbledore who was in the stands with the other professors.
The two boys had fallen directly on a sharp metal spike, courtesy of the earlier wreckage. The spike's end wasn't visible from Draco's back, but it had definitely staked him. And it had speared Harry right through.
An almost deafening pandemonium ensued as Dumbledore left the stand to break out into a run. In mid-stride, he yelled out "Protectus Temporarus!" and pointed his wand towards the two boys.
The other professors, jolted out off their stunned horror at the brutal scene, immediately went to his aid and rushed to join their headmaster.
Harry laid his head back on the soft grass, he suddenly felt Draco turn his head to face him. They looked at each other in muted silence, fear in their eyes. The blood was trickling down Draco's lips.
"Potter."he whispered raspily.
Harry could almost hear the sound of his heart beating slowly in his battered chest. Or was it Draco's heartbeat? He didn't know.
He felt his heart thump in his chest as he let out a small gasp, and his eyes looked blankly up to the blue sky above them.
He felt it. An overwhelming surge filling his heart. For that brief second, it seemed as if they were one.
*Draco.*
He met those grey eyes again and knew he had felt it too.
"No! Don't move them!" voices interjected in the background, sounding so far away as Harry and Draco closed their eyes and resigned themselves to the enveloping darkness.
Harry's hand unfurled its grasp. And the golden snitch rolled out of his palm onto the grass.
".." Denotes speech *..* Denotes thoughts
Chapter 1: The Fall
"Watch out for that bludger!"
Harry heard Fred yell out as he turned to see the black ball come hurtling right towards his face and managed to duck just in time to hear the whoosh above him. His eyes followed the bludger as it hit one of the columns fiercely and come hurtling back towards Marcus Flint.
A wave of relief washed over his features and he gripped his broom handle and flew towards Fred.
"Thanks." He managed out, a little breathlessly.
"No problem, just keep your eyes peeled, huh?" said Fred, wiping the sweat off his brow in concentration. *This game's been going on for far too long. What I would do for a glass, no a jug of cool pumpkin juice. *
"Yeah, doing my best. Its just."
"Yeah I know." Fred threw him a sympathetic look. They were both tired and hot.
A loud groan broke through the pitch as the bludger-wounded column split down the middle and the metal skeleton of the structure tipped forward dangerously. The crowd let out an almost collective "Oh!"
And *Boom*. It finally crashed down onto the grassy pitch below.
Harry winced as he looked at the destroyed structure, metal parts strewn all over one part of the pitch as he tried not to think about what the bludger would have done to him instead.
"You are a lucky bastard, aren't you?"
Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy hovering on his Firebolt, with a smug grin on his face and he sighed inwardly.
"Still, no use crying over spilt milk, isn't it, Potter? We can only hope that you won't be quite so lucky next time."
Harry heard him but refused to look in Draco's direction. Instead he furrowed his brows and looked for any telltale glint of the golden snitch.
He heard Draco snort softly and knew he was pissed off that Harry wasn't rising to his bait.
Suddenly there it was. Harry caught a glint of the snitch over to his right, about 100 feet away and he instinctively shot off towards that glint, already visualizing his hands going over the cool metal surface of the tiny ball.
Draco spotted it as well and raced off to join Harry and pretty soon they were neck and neck. Both boys desperate to end the match and return to the cool shade of the showers and relax in the celebratory aftermatch.
The snitch moved faster, as if sensing that its been spotted by the seekers.
Both of them moved seamlessly together as if being pulled by an invisible string, mirroring the snitch's movements almost perfectly, yet only a hair's breadth behind.
"Looks like its anyone's match now. Slytherin and Gryffindor are neck to neck. Oh! So close!" Lee Jordan's voice boomed over the speakerphones as the snitch was almost in Harry's grasp before it sped off down to the other side of the pitch.
Draco frowned. *How could he have been so careless? Potter almost won the match. Again.* he thought bitterly to himself.
He sneered as he stole a quick glance over to his archrival who was bent over his handle with a fierce determination in his eyes.
*So you think you're going to get the snitch again, don't you? You arrogant little mudblood lover. Well, we'll see about that.*
They were halfway over the length of the pitch now, headed near to the column wreckage.
The snitch suddenly dove down and entered the broken frames of the spiny metal, as if seeking temporary refuge.
Draco and Harry stopped and hovered over the wreck.
They both knew they had no choice now but to wait for the snitch to make its exit. The gaps in the metal were far too small to let them fly through safely and continue with their chase.
Harry's dark eyes followed the movements of the little snitch, determined not to lose sight of it again. He didn't notice Draco's steely gaze on him, a hateful sneer on his lips.
*God, how he hated The-Boy-Who-Lived. How much simpler his life would be if he had just been The-Boy-Who-Died instead.*
At that moment Harry suddenly looked up and met Draco's hateful gaze. He shuddered a little. There was so much hate in it, those eyes were pure venom. Aimed only and directly for Harry.
*He must really, really hate me. And why am I surprised, this is Draco Malfoy.* thought Harry, trying to get he chill off his spine as he drew in a deep breath.
He could still feel Draco's grey eyes boring through him but he forced himself to look at the snitch's movements instead.
It suddenly stopped weaving in and out and hung in mid-air, a few inches above the wreckage, as if trying to sense whether or not it was safe to venture out.
Harry readied himself as the snitch took off, straight up in the air. He swiftly maneuvered his broom to an almost complete vertical shift.
Draco; suddenly caught short of his hateful reverie growled as his nemesis flew off in hot pursuit of the coveted snitch.
He took off in a dangerous burst of speed and almost gave himself a whiplash but that risk gave him the added boost he needed to catch up to Harry.
They were soon neck and neck again.
To everyone in the stands, they looked like two vertical blurs of red and green.
Harry was a breath away from the snitch and he could sense Draco right next to him. He reached out his right arm in a move to close his grip on the snitch. And he could hear Draco growl softly beside him.
As his fingers closed over the fluttering snitch, he was almost jolted off his broom. He caught himself at the last second as he felt a searing pain down the right side of his ribcage. Draco had elbowed him there sharply in a fit of rage when he saw Harry had gotten the snitch. Apparently nobody else had, not yet anyway.
Harry was still bent over in pain, breathless and he couldn't hold up his snitch to the crowd.
Draco grinned, an evil glint in his eye. And what happened next, nobody else knew exactly.
In a fit of fury, he had swung his left arm over and hit Harry over the side of his head with a force. He felt a momentary twinge of satisfaction at his move.
That was before Harry toppled off his broom.
Which would have been fine with Malfoy, except Harry had instinctively clutched at the nearest thing to fix his balance. And the nearest thing, or rather person; was Draco.
The crowd hushed in perfect silence, as the two seekers fell off their brooms.
To Harry, it seemed as if their fall was in slow motion. He was barely aware of Draco falling on top of him.
And he felt a sharp lightning pain course through his chest as he landed on the ground.
*Oh God!*
He let out a strangled gasp as he felt the blood spurt out of his mouth.
Draco fell heavily on top of him, half of his left side was covered by Draco's own left side.
*I can't breathe, this can't be happening.* screamed Harry in his head, taken over by momentary panic by this sudden turn of events.
Draco felt a hot sharp stab to his chest as he fell on top of Harry. *No, God, no.*
A warmth had slowly spread between the two of them. Fresh blood spread itself between the two boys.
The horrifying scene had momentarily stunned everyone, even Dumbledore who was in the stands with the other professors.
The two boys had fallen directly on a sharp metal spike, courtesy of the earlier wreckage. The spike's end wasn't visible from Draco's back, but it had definitely staked him. And it had speared Harry right through.
An almost deafening pandemonium ensued as Dumbledore left the stand to break out into a run. In mid-stride, he yelled out "Protectus Temporarus!" and pointed his wand towards the two boys.
The other professors, jolted out off their stunned horror at the brutal scene, immediately went to his aid and rushed to join their headmaster.
Harry laid his head back on the soft grass, he suddenly felt Draco turn his head to face him. They looked at each other in muted silence, fear in their eyes. The blood was trickling down Draco's lips.
"Potter."he whispered raspily.
Harry could almost hear the sound of his heart beating slowly in his battered chest. Or was it Draco's heartbeat? He didn't know.
He felt his heart thump in his chest as he let out a small gasp, and his eyes looked blankly up to the blue sky above them.
He felt it. An overwhelming surge filling his heart. For that brief second, it seemed as if they were one.
*Draco.*
He met those grey eyes again and knew he had felt it too.
"No! Don't move them!" voices interjected in the background, sounding so far away as Harry and Draco closed their eyes and resigned themselves to the enveloping darkness.
Harry's hand unfurled its grasp. And the golden snitch rolled out of his palm onto the grass.