Whether it was the first miss or whatever it was that Malfoy said to him, Ron's confidence suffered after that, allowing Slytherin to quickly gain the advantage. Gryffindor's chasers were still fighting hard, but all the cheap shots were eventually adding up. And Nate's nerves and lack of experience effectively made him more of a liability than anything. He had trouble holding onto the quaffle any time a bludger or a Slytherin player drew close. Katie was playing her heart out, completely used to the dirty play of the Slytherin team, and Stephanie was also playing admirably for her first real game experience. But they were at a distinct advantage.
Ron still managed to bock a good chunk of the shots on goal, but the score quickly climbed to 110-60 in favor of Slytherin. The snitch had yet to make an appearance, but that didn't mean that the seekers were bored. Malfoy never let an opportunity go by to shout taunts at any nearby Gryffindor players, and he seemed quite find of brushing brooms with Ginny. Ginny, for her part, was busy dodging bludgers and throwing elbows at Malfoy any time he drew in close. Harry was immensely glad he leant her his Firebolt as he saw her using its acceleration to avoid injury.
Play continued on in that vein, and the score was 180-80 Slytherin when the snitch made its first appearance. Ginny spotted it high in the sky not far from her current location. She took off without warning, and quickly closed in on the golden ball. The snitch shot off as Ginny approached, but it was no match for the speed of the Firebolt. After about 30 seconds of chase, Ginny's fingers closed around the winged ball and the match was over.
As Ginny pumped her fist in the air in triumph holding up the snitch for all to see, Harry grinned widely. His smile was interrupted, however, when moments later a green and silver blur barreled directly into Ginny from behind. Harry could see her look of surprise as she slid right off the broom, which she had only been gripping with her legs during her celebration. She was a good 50 meters off the ground when she fell, but the distance was rapidly closing.
Harry sprung into action before he even had a conscious thought about it. He was already casting the spell as his wand was sliding out of its holster. Since the wand was more of a formality and to avoid awkward questions, it didn't really matter to him. He didn't really think about what he was casting, only that he needed to stop Ginny's descent and bring her to safety. His magic apparently interpreted safety to mean in his arms, for her downward fall stopped when she was halfway to the ground, and she began floating towards the Gryffindor stands as Harry was jumping down the stairs to the edge.
She flew right into his arms, and he held onto her tightly as her own arms snaked around his neck and clutched his back in a death grip. She was shaking uncontrollably as the realization set in of what could have been. And she held onto Harry for dear life. Harry, for his part, didn't seem to mind that at all, for he was content to hold onto her for the rest of the day. His heart was still pounding wildly in his chest as the adrenaline of the last minute still coursed through his veins.
As he stood there holding Ginny to his chest, he couldn't help but think of those he had already lost, his mother and father, Cedric, and Sirius. He didn't think he could take another loss, especially not one so close to home. And the thought just made him clutch her even tighter.
It was a long minute before either one of them even became aware of anything that was going on around them. They both had closed their eyes as they held each other tightly. Harry finally opened his eyes and noticed the crowd around them, all looking rather unsure of how to approach them. A deep blush suffused his cheeks, but he shook off his embarrassment as best he could as he returned his focus to the red haired girl in his arms. "Are you alright?" he asked her softly.
She nodded into his shoulder before uttering, "Uh huh." But she didn't loosen her grip.
"You're not hurt or anything? You took a pretty big hit at the end, and you had a couple hits during the game as well," Harry said, concern bleeding through his voice.
"I'm okay," she said into his shoulder. "I just need a minute."
"Take your time," he told her honestly. "That was a great catch, by the way. Malfoy didn't stand a chance. You were brilliant out there today. Couldn't have done much better myself." He was hoping that getting her to think about something other than her fall would help ease her fears.
"Thanks," she replied. She held on for another moment before finally easing up her grip and backing up a step. Her hand flew up to her mouth as another realization dawned on her. "Oh no, your Firebolt. Is it alright? It's not broken is it? Oh, I just knew something like this would happen. I'm so sorry, Harry. I'll find some way to make it up to you."
"Shh," Harry said, holding a finger to her lips. "I don't know what happened to the broom. I could care less about the broom right now. My only concern is you. Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine," she told him.
"Now see, any time I tell people I'm fine, I just get yelled at for lying," Harry pouted playfully, which earned him a giggle.
"That's because your definition of fine is 'not dead,'" she retorted with something akin to her usual cheekiness.
....
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