What Happened in the Stands.
Minutes before Harry entered the field, Percy was bursting with excitement, eagerly waiting to see his brother win the match in a magnificent way. And, just in case, he had his wooden sword ready to throw at the Potions professor, who was positioned right in the middle of the field.
For a moment, Snape looked up toward the stands, directly at the place where Percy was sitting, so Percy quickly hid the sword beneath his robes.
Even though Percy believed that no one had noticed he was the one who had thrown the sword that had accidentally knocked Professor Quirrell unconscious, Snape's expression, which seemed to be staring straight at him, made him hesitate.
"There's no way he noticed, right?", Percy thought, while feeling the gaze of the great bat fixed firmly on him.
Luckily for him, as the players entered the field in their parade, Snape turned his attention away. Though now his gaze was fixed on Harry.
So Percy tightened his grip on the sword, ready to strike that evil professor if he made even the slightest suspicious move.
"Is that Dumbledore?", Hermione suddenly said, immediately brightening up. "That's good. If the Headmaster is present, Snape won't dare do anything, because the Headmaster would notice", she added cheerfully.
As Percy let out a quiet sigh of relief, he also realized that if he did something like throwing the sword again, the old Headmaster would definitely notice him. Damn it, he thought for a moment before putting it away. After all, he really wanted revenge on Professor Snape, and taking advantage of the moment while saving his brother was like killing two birds with one stone. Or with a wooden sword, in this case.
"Look at Snape's face", Ron said, genuinely delighted at the sight of the professor's furious expression in the middle of the field. It made him incredibly happy. "Surely…" Before he could finish speaking, someone suddenly hit him on the back of the head, nearly making him bite his tongue.
Ron turned around immediately, angry, just like Percy and the others. The culprit was Malfoy.
"Sorry, Weasley, I didn't see you", Malfoy said with a mocking smile, mirrored by Crabbe and Goyle. "I wonder how long Potter will last on his broom. Last time he almost fell and ended up with all his bones turned to mush. It would be funny if that happened now, wouldn't it?", he added.
No one answered him. They only glared at him in annoyance. Percy had thought that the arrogant idiot Malfoy would be too busy searching for the next clue to become the Heir of Slytherin, the one he and Harry had invented just to keep him distracted. But apparently, that hadn't kept him busy enough this time.
Just then, Snape suddenly blew his whistle to award a penalty to Hufflepuff, since George Weasley had launched a bludger straight at him.
Hermione was not even interested in what was happening behind her. She stared fixedly at Harry while crossing her fingers on her lap, as if praying for him to have all the luck in the world.
"You know, I have a theory about how people are chosen for Gryffindor", Draco suddenly said, still standing there and being an endless nuisance. "I think it's for people who inspire pity. For example, the Weasleys, who have no money; then Longbottom, who has no brain; and then…" he said, looking at Percy with a gaze that seemed superior to everyone else, as if his ego had inflated again and he no longer feared him like he had during the first days after those slaps. "There's Potter, who has no parents and ended up in a house with a disgusting traito…"
Before Draco could finish whatever he was about to say, he saw a fist rushing toward his face at full speed, completely unable to stop it.
Not even Crabbe or Goyle were fast enough to protect him. Malfoy hit the ground hard, clutching his nose as blood immediately began to pour out.
"Aaah!", Malfoy screamed as he stared at the blood on his hand. "B-b-bastard", he shouted at Percy. "I'll make sure you're expelled from the entire magical world, you and your brother. And your mother, a traitor to wizards, will be burned at the stake."
Before he could say anything else, Percy had already lunged at him again.
"Never insult my mother", he said as he began to strike him. But this time, he made sure they were slaps. After all, Malfoy was a wizard and extremely weak by comparison. If Percy used his full strength, he would end up breaking several bones. And even though Percy was truly tempted to leave him in the infirmary for several days while he healed so he would not be a nuisance, that would also get him into serious trouble.
"You! What are you doing? Help me!", Draco shouted as best he could while being struck again, just like that day in flying class.
Crabbe and Goyle, although frightened by Percy's violent behavior, still obeyed and rushed forward to jump on him.
Neville, who had been sitting calmly and undisturbed while watching the match, saw that his friend Percy was about to get into serious trouble and let out a rather strange battle cry. He climbed onto his chair and leapt onto Crabbe's back, grabbing his face and scratching wildly.
Crabbe, confused by what was happening, began spinning around with Neville clinging to his back, raising his arms and trying desperately to shake him off.
Meanwhile, Ron had also jumped in, but Goyle caught him midair and slammed him to the ground with ease. Even so, Ron did not give up and, as if rebounding off the floor…
Quickly, Ron grabbed onto Goyle's legs, causing him to crash down with a heavy thud, his face hitting the ground.
At that moment, Grover suddenly arrived and was left completely confused by what was happening.
"What are you doing, guys? Don't fight. There are many other ways to solve your problems", he said quickly, not knowing what to do, as everything turned into absolute chaos within seconds.
Meanwhile, Hermione had climbed onto her seat, completely ignoring what was happening behind her. She was truly excited, jumping nonstop, when suddenly Harry appeared above them, catching the snitch. He looked down for a brief moment, his face completely confused, as total silence fell.
"Woooo, Harry!", Hermione shouted up at him, snapping him out of his momentary confusion.
Then Harry flew back the way he had come, not without casting another glance to check if what he had seen was real, before turning his head away, as if he had not seen anything at all.
"Wait, guys, seriously, this is bad", Grover said as he tried to step in to separate Ron and Goyle first.
Goyle was crawling across the ground, trying to reach Malfoy to help him, while Ron remained clinging tightly to his legs.
When Grover moved closer to pull Ron away, Ron, trying to shake him off, elbowed Grover in the leg.
Grover, reacting on instinct to avoid being hit, lifted his leg too quickly and lost his balance.
He fell straight onto Goyle, his shoulder crashing directly into his back. The impact forced all the air out of Goyle's lungs at once, leaving him writhing for a few moments before he finally passed out.
Hermione, who had been dancing in a somewhat comical way, completely thrilled by Gryffindor's victory, turned to celebrate with her friends and only then noticed the chaos. At that very moment, Professor McGonagall arrived in a fury, as if she had been running from the spot where Lee Jordan had been commentating the match. It seemed she had seen everything from there.
"You… what do you think you're doing!", she shouted, freezing the entire scene instantly.
Percy stopped, but only after delivering one last slap to Malfoy's swollen, reddened face.
Neville, who had been perched on top of Crabbe, whose face was now completely scratched up, also let go and climbed down. Ron stood up with an air of victory, while Grover kept muttering to himself in a low, embarrassed voice, "Oh gods… I hit a child."
For several seconds, no one said anything. All that could be heard was everyone's heavy breathing and the distant murmur of the stadium celebrating the victory.
…
Harry left the locker room after the match while the rest of Gryffindor remained completely ecstatic, giving him strong pats on the back every time someone passed by. Even the girls. They were genuinely happy to have him on the team, while Harry could not help feeling a little embarrassed.
At least now they could not say he was just a famous name. Even the stares from people had stopped bothering him as much.
As he walked to put away his Nimbus 2000 in the broom shed, his face never lost that genuinely happy smile. Quidditch had been far more fun than he had expected. Or maybe it was because he had beaten Snape. Either way, it had been truly exciting. He needed to tell his mother and Aunt Mor, as well as everyone else, so he hurried his steps, almost running, to put the broom away.
When he reached the hut, he could not help but look back toward Hogwarts for a moment. The sunset made it look even more magical, drawing a small smile from him. Just before storing his broom, his gaze shifted to a man in black robes descending the front steps of the castle in a stealthy manner, heading straight for the Forbidden Forest.
Harry recognized him immediately. It was Snape.
But not only that. Mere moments later, Grover came down in the same stealthy way, scanning the surroundings, forcing Harry to hide for a moment so he would not be seen.
Harry narrowed his eyes as he watched the two of them, more suspicious than ever, heading toward the Forbidden Forest.