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Being in the Right Place at the Right Time
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw battled fiercely for every point. Being fairly evenly matched, the game was exceptional and exciting. In fact, the only advantage either team had over the other was the borrowed Nimbus2001 that Hufflepuff’s Seeker rode. Two weeks before, Cedric’s Comet 260 had cracked along the handle from a collision with one of the Slytherin Beaters during a free-field bit of practice; the Slytherin Captain had offered his own broom as a temporary replacement in way of apology. While the power of the broom gave a slight advantage, Digory’s unfamiliarity with it balanced things out, or so he rationalized when he accepted the broom until he could get his own repaired.
The Griffindors watched intently. If Hufflepuff won by at least sixty points there was no way Gryffindor could place better than third for the year, and most likely would hold down the bottom spot. A lot was ridding on this game. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were completely absorbed and didn’t notice when Colin Creevey, camera ready for the “perfect shot“, snapped a picture of them cheering Ravenclaw’s current goal. The blinding flash, like being stabbed in the eyes, had all three shouting at him angrily, and Ron making a fumbled grab for the camera. Colin dashed off toward the floor of the Pitch before they could reach him.
Fearful of missing something important, he ran down the steps two at a time, constantly glancing through any space, checking as best he could. Around a corner when he couldn’t see, a cheer went up, prompting him to move faster. Finally free of the stands he paused to look closely at the scoreboard. Hufflepuff was up by thirty. Lee Jordan was going on about the overall scoring, emphasizing the placement of Houses with the three most likely scenarios. Colin sighed. He’d never been good at understanding the statistics, but it was plain that two of the three outcomes didn’t look very good for Gryffindor.
Suddenly the crowd went quiet.
The focus had been pulled from the game entirely by an owl swooping around the Commentator’s Box. McGonagall threw her arms over her face and hat, while another wizard, in purple robes, shot spells toward the bird, but it evaded them all and continued to dive bomb everyone in the box. Collin snapped away, excitedly capturing the action, then swinging around to get some crowd shots, noticed a clump of Slytherins looking too serious. He lowered his camera for a clearer view. Trying to keep it unseen, the pale blond in the middle of the group was pointing a wand toward the bird. For every dive, the wand traced the same pattern as the bird.
Colin raised his camera, then hesitated. At the Dueling Club Professor Snape had taken Professor Lockhart‘s wand with a disarming spell. By the time he could get to one of the adults, the Slytherins could be gone, or at least have stowed the offending wand. It didn’t seem a particularly difficult spell to perform. What did he have to lose? He let the camera hang from its strap around his neck, pulled his wand, aimed, and deliberately said, ”Expelliarmus!” Malfoy’s wand jerked from his hand and clattered down amongst the people in the seats. Shocked, Colin let his arm fall. He’d done it! It had actually worked!
A new noise swept through the crowd. The Ravenclaw Seeker was speeding toward the Commentator‘s Box, arm outstretched, only inches from the Snitch, directly in front of Colin. He jammed his wand into its pocket, grabbed the camera and flashed without taking time to focus or center the foreground.
The next day’s paper showed the perfect close-up picture of Ravenclaw’s victory moment, as the Seekers fingers closed around the fluttering ball, putting the final score ninety points over Hufflepuff.
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From Random Elements, a Story Make # 6
Jul 9 2008, 10:28 AM
yay 
