ONLY LIGHT. harry potter

╰➢ the final match

— "I'M STARTING TO GET TIRED OF HIM."

Angelina nodded in agreement. The Gryffindor-Slytherin match would take place on the first Saturday after the Easter holidays. Slytherin was leading the tournament by exactly two hundred points. This meant (as Wood constantly reminded his team) that they needed to win the match by more than that amount to win the Cup. It also meant that the burden of winning fell largely on Harry, because capturing the Snitch was worth one hundred and fifty points.

"So you must catch it only if we're more than fifty points up," Wood told Harry constantly. "Only if we're more than fifty points up, Harry, or we win the match but lose the Cup. You've got that, Haven't you? You must catch the Snitch only if we're —"

"I KNOW, OLIVER!" Harry yelled.

It was bad for Nicole too. Crabble and Goyle were constantly trying to trip her, make her fall, break a leg, maybe an arm. The whole school knew that Nicole was one of the best— if not the best— Quiddtich players in school.

Harry and Nicole didn't talk about the almost snogging incident too. It made him crazy how Nicole didn't seem like she was bothered, but every time that he would think of it he would turn bright red.

In addition to that, Wood had given instructions that Harry and Nicole should be accompanied everywhere they went, in case the Slytherins tried to put them out of action. The whole of Gryffindor House took up the challenge enthusiastically, so that it was impossible for the pair to get to classes on time because they were surrounded by a vast, chattering crowd.

All usual pursuits were abandoned in the Gryffindor common room the night before the match. Even Hermione had put down her books.

"I can't work, I can't concentrate," she said nervously.

There was a great deal of noise. Fred and George Weasley were dealing with the pressure by being louder and more exuberant than ever. Oliver Wood and Nicole were crouched over a model of a Quidditch field in the corner, prodding little figures across it with their wands and muttering to himself Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were laughing at Fred's and George's jokes.

"You're going to be fine," Hermione told him, though she looked positively terrified.

"You've got a Firebolt!" Ron added.

"Yeah..." said Harry, his stomach writhing.
It came as a relief when Wood suddenly stood up and yelled, "Team! Bed!"

The next morning, Nicole was in the common room, pacing around. Oliver Wood was talking to her about the weather conditions and Nicole was telling him about how he didn't need to be nervous since they would beat Slytherin's asses easily.

Harry went down the stairs slowly, his eyes widening when he saw Nicole and Wood discussing something. They already had their Quidditch robes on, too.

"There's our seeker!" Nicole exclaimed happily.

Harry was surprised. It was 6am. She wasn't usually happy at that time.

They spent the rest of the time they had constantly reminding Harry about how he had to catch the snitch fifty points in, which annoyed him a bit.

Nicole and the rest of the Gryffindor team entered the Great Hall the next day to enormous applause. Nicole couldn't help grinning broadly as she saw that both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were applauding them too.

The Slytherin table hissed loudly as they passed. Nicole laughed when she noticed that Malfoy looked even paler than usual.

Wood spent the whole of breakfast urging his team to eat, while touching nothing himself. Nicole forced him to eat two pieces of toast, and when he wouldn't agree, the girl had shoved it into his mouth.