was undoubtedly a very good flier -- she kept cutting across him,
forcing him to change direction.
"Show her your acceleration, Harry!" Fred yelled as he whooshed past in
pursuit of a Bludger that was aiming for Alicia.
Harry urged the Firebolt forward as they rounded the Ravenclaw goal
posts and Cho fell behind. Just as Katie succeeded in scoring the first
goal of the match, and the Gryffindor end of the field went wild, he saw
it -- the Snitch was close to the ground, flitting near one of the
barriers.
Harry dived; Cho saw what he was doing and tore after him -- Harry was
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speeding up, excitement flooding him; dives were his speciality, he was
ten feet away -
Then a Bludger, hit by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters, came pelting out of
nowhere; Harry veered off course, avoiding it by an inch, and in those
few, crucial seconds, the Snitch had vanished.
There was a great "Ooooooh" of disappointment from the Gryffindor
supporters, but much applause for their Beater from the Ravenclaw end.
George Weasley vented his feelings by hitting the second Bludger
directly at the offending Beater, who was forced to roll right over in
midair to avoid it.
"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt
go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn --
Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision- balance
is really noticeable in these long --"
"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON
WITH THE
COMMENTARY!"
Ravenclaw was pulling back; they had now scored three goals, which put
Gryffindor only fifty points ahead -- if Cho got the Snitch before him,
Ravenclaw would win. Harry dropped lower, narrowly avoiding a Ravenclaw
Chaser, scanning the field frantically -- a glint of gold, a flutter of
tiny wings -- the Snitch was circling the Gryffindor goal post -
Harry accelerated, eyes fixed on the speck of gold ahead -- but just
then, Cho appeared out of thin air, blocking him -
"HARRY, THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A GENTLEMAN!" Wood roared as Harry
swerved
to avoid a collision. "KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!"
Harry turned and caught sight of Cho; she was grinning. The Snitch had
vanished again. Harry turned his Firebolt upward and was soon twenty
feet above the game. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cho following
him.... She'd decided to mark him rather than search for the Snitch
herself... All right, then... if she wanted to tail him, she'd have to
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take the consequences....
He dived again, and Cho, thinking he'd seen the Snitch, tried to follow;
Harry pulled out of the dive very sharply; she hurtled downward; he rose
fast as a bullet once more, and then saw it, for the third time -- the
Snitch was glittering way above the field at the Ravenclaw end.
He accelerated; so, many feet below, did Cho. He was winning, gaining on
the Snitch with every second -- then -
"Oh!" screamed Cho, pointing.
Distracted, Harry looked down.