𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐫 || 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐜𝐤

Thirty-Three

His mind flashed back to the second before he closed his eyes, when Donghyuck only had one hand on the broom, his posture precarious as he reached out for the Snitch. Now, the Snitch was still in front of him. Gritting his teeth, Mark made a split second decision.

You can do this. I know you can.

He pushed upwards for barely half a second, swinging his arm, before diving as fast as he could towards the bottom, frantically looking for Donghyuck.

Where is he? Where is he? His mind only had one thought, and it was chanting in like a mantra. His heart thumped in terror as he could see the bottom of the pitch already through the clouds, but Donghyuck was nowhere to be seen.

He cut through the cloud like a bullet, tears starting flowing desperately as he couldn’t see Donghyuck.

No. Why did I do that? I should’ve just–
The sound of the crowd simultaneously gasping, as Donghyuck's body was falling, lifelessly plummeting towards the bottom, his broom falling uselessly beside him. Mark used his last ounce of energy he had to head straight towards Donghyuck, but even if he was accelerating twice as fast, there was no way he would reach Donghyuck in time.

The crowd was in panic, the players were trying to position themselves to save him, but Donghyuck was seconds away from the worst possible ending.  Professors stood up, ready to chant their spells, but Donghyuck was gaining speed much too quickly for any of them to react in time.

There’s no time.

“Arresto momentum!” Mark screamed from above, one hand on his broom despite the straight downwards trajectory and the other clutching his wand, pointing it directly at Donghyuck's body.

Everyone froze, breath caught in their throat as the plummet of Donghyuck's body suddenly slowed, until it finally stopped, barely a metre above the ground. It hovered in a slightly chilling way for about two seconds, before dropping safely onto the soft sand beneath.

After a second of dead silence, chatter resumed, as students stood to see if Donghyuck was okay. Professors had already left their spot, rushing down to check on the state of their student. All the players had frozen in place, most terrified by what had almost happened right in front of their eyes.

All but one.

Before anyone else, Mark Lee practically crashed his broom to the ground, rushing over to Donghyuck with reddened eyes and calling his name over and over again despite all eyes on him. Wand still clutched in his hand, he grabbed onto Donghyuck's body, desperately trying to shake him back to his senses.

“Donghyuck, wake up!” he called, his voice breaking. “Donghyuck, you’re alright. You’re alright. You’ll be fine.”

“That’s enough, Mr. Lee.”

Mark looked up to see Madame Hooch standing before him, hands menacingly on her hips. The matrons were behind her, and Mark got the sign to back up as they quickly took Donghyuck away to make sure he was alright.

“How noble you are, Mark,” she spoke, her voice ice cold. “Using your magic to aid the rival member from the opposite team. Normally, this behaviour would be commendable, but did you forget that players are strictly prohibited to use their wands during an official match?”

Mark remained silent, his head bowed down in shame. Actually, he did remember. As Captain, he’d read and reread those rules a million times, so much that they were ingrained in his mind. But in that moment where he was about to lose the most precious thing of his life, everything else seemed irrelevant.

“But Madame, he just saved someone’s life!” It was Francis’ voice. In the midst of his trauma, Mark hadn’t realized that the remaining players had joined him, and the rest of his team was standing behind him. And to his surprise, even some of the Slytherin players across from him were nodding in agreement.

“Can’t you excuse it just for now?” Amy cut it. “Besides, the game isn’t over. No one’s caught the Snitch. The Slytherins still have a fair chance of winning.”

Madame Hooch appeared in deep contemplation, until Mark shuffled in front of everyone.

“Actually, I…uh…” He cleared his throat slightly, before lifting his sleeve. Everyone watched in shock as he promptly retrieved the Golden Snitch from within his robe and clutched it firmly within his palm.

Madame Hooch’s eyes were wide open. “Mark Lee. You managed to break through the clouds, catch the Snitch in those precarious conditions, pulled a Plumpton Pass, made it back to the pitch at unbelievable speeds, pulled your wand from your robe and cast an accurate and successful spell all while still maintaining control of your broom. If…if you hadn’t used your wand, you would’ve won the game. Never, in my countless years of Quidditch have I seen such flying abilities at this level…” Her voice trailed off, clearly stunned. And suddenly, all eyes were focussed on Mark, respect and awe overwhelming for the young Gryffindor.

After what felt like an eternity, Madame Hooch finally cleared her throat, making up her mind.

“But I’m sorry, Mark,” she said, sadness clearly laden in her eyes. “As the referee and official flying coach of the school, I cannot oversee the rules for your talent.”

“But he just saved Donghyuck's life!” one of the Slytherin players couldn’t help but scream, before behind held back by a teammate.

She held up a hand to silence any other protests. “Rules are rules, and these rules have been ingrained for hundreds of years for a reason. If I make an exception now, more loopholes will be seen in the future. Despite what may be the moralistic choice, I’m afraid I cannot overlook this instance.”

All the players could only watch in a letdown, as Madame Hooch took out her wand and placed it to her throat, ready to announce the final verdict.

“Due to violation of Quidditch rules and usage of magical spells during an official match by the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, the Gryffindor Team hereby forfeits the match,” she spoke clearly. “By default, the Slytherin Team wins.”

This time, the cheers were few and minimal at the declaration, the Quidditch Pitch seeming more barren than ever before.

A/n : I feel bad for the Gryffindor team tbh :(