Slytherin's New Seeker
Marcus Flint was the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. A burly guy with a rather... interesting face, the kind that made you wonder if somewhere in his family tree, one of his ancestors had married a troll.
Flint, like most Slytherins, had a look of disdain and cunning that made him seem like he believed he was better than everyone else, and made you want to punch him right in his ugly face.
The two rival teams approaching each other caught the attention of several nearby students, who quickly gathered around to watch the confrontation with interest.
Among them was Percy, who looked like he'd only just gotten out of bed, with Tyson following behind him.
On the other side were Ron and Hermione, who seemed to have brought part of this morning's breakfast for Harry wrapped in a few napkins.
Concerned, they hurried over as well.
"Where do you think you're going, Flint?" Wood asked, his voice already irritated, though he hardly needed an answer after seeing the uniforms and the entire Slytherin team standing there.
"Obviously to practice Quidditch," Flint said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"The pitch is reserved for Gryffindor today," Wood shot back through gritted teeth.
"Ah, but we have a note signed by Professor Snape," Flint replied calmly as he unrolled a piece of parchment and began reading it. "I, Professor Severus Snape, hereby grant permission for the Slytherin Quidditch team to practice on the Quidditch pitch today due to the need to train the team's new Seeker," Flint read before flashing Wood a smug smile.
Wood immediately snatched the note out of Flint's hands and began reading it himself, not trusting a single word Flint had said.
But there it was.
Even Professor Snape's wax seal confirmed the note was genuine, making Wood's expression grow even more irritated... and a little worried.
"You've got a new Seeker? Who?" Wood asked, looking toward the Slytherin team.
The six burly players stepped aside, allowing a seventh to walk forward, one who looked almost tiny compared to the rest.
He wore a sharp smile on his pale face.
It was none other than Draco Malfoy.
"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" Fred asked, glaring at Draco with obvious dislike.
"Funny that you mention Draco's father. Let me show you Mr. Malfoy's generous contribution to the Slytherin team," Flint said as he pretended to polish a golden plaque on his broomstick.
It read:
Nimbus 2001.
Every member of the Gryffindor team, along with the students gathered around to watch, couldn't help staring in surprise.
Every single member of the Slytherin team had the same broom, each handle perfectly polished, brand new, with identical golden plaques gleaming right in front of everyone.
"The latest model. It came out just last month," Draco said proudly, looking toward Harry, who had remained silent this whole time, simply watching. "It's far better than the Nimbus 2000. And as for those old Cleansweeps..." He deliberately left the sentence unfinished as he looked mockingly at Fred and George's brooms before letting out a smile full of utter contempt. "As you can see, my father gives us the very best. Perhaps the Gryffindor team could scrape together some gold by selling those Cleansweep Fives. I'm sure some museum would pay to have them on display," Draco finished, making the surrounding Slytherins burst into mocking laughter.
"At least the members of the Gryffindor team didn't have to buy their way in," Hermione interrupted as she stepped forward with the others. "Every one of them earned their place."
The smug look on Draco's face cracked. He turned toward her angrily before saying,
"No one asked for your opinion, filthy Mudblood," Draco spat, his voice dripping with absolute contempt.
The moment those words left his mouth, Percy, who had still been wearing a sleepy expression, and Ron, who had simply been admiring the brooms, immediately reacted and stepped forward.
At the same time, Fred and George had to be held back by Wood, as they were already trying to throw themselves at Malfoy.
Meanwhile, Flint stepped in front of the Gryffindor team, ready to defend his new Seeker.
Draco turned around proudly—
And instantly took a punch straight to the face that sent him crashing to the ground with an almost comical shriek.
Everyone present froze, not a single one of them having noticed when Harry had appeared beside Draco.
But the moment Flint saw Draco had been attacked, his eyes widened in alarm. He immediately drew his wand and pointed it at Harry.
Harry, who was already close to Flint, turned and grabbed Flint's wrist just as the spell Flint had been casting reached the tip of his wand, twisting it until it pointed directly at Flint's own face.
Flint was blasted backward several meters while Harry snatched the wand from his hand at the exact moment another member of the Slytherin team drew his own.
Without speaking a single incantation, Harry flicked Flint's wand, and a root burst out of the ground, wrapping itself around the Slytherin's leg and yanking his foot out from under him, sending him crashing hard onto the ground, while the spell he had been about to fire at Harry instead struck one of his own teammates, who hadn't even had time to draw his wand, causing his teeth to begin growing uncontrollably.
The other three players who managed to pull out their wands immediately fired the first spells that came to mind at Harry.
And they watched as the flashes of magic flew toward him, only moments away from striking.
But to everyone's shock, the spells passed straight through Harry, as though his body had turned into mist.
Or rather, they had hit a Harry made of mist.
"Percy, help him!" Hermione shouted at once, panicked as she saw Harry suddenly start a fight against the entire Slytherin team, snapping out of the pain from the horrible insult they had just thrown at her.
But Percy didn't move. Instead, he simply watched his brother calmly, even wearing a faint amused smile.
"Help who?" he asked, knowing Harry had everything perfectly under control.
And he was even holding back.
Harry was now standing in the middle of the three remaining Slytherins.
"Levioso," Harry said, pointing his wand at one of them. The moment the spell struck him, he began floating into the air, spinning helplessly.
Then Harry moved his hand with incredible speed as a reddish flash shot from his wand and struck another one in the face, blinding him for a moment with the burst of light.
"Depulso!" he shouted at the last one, who no longer knew what to do, stammering as he desperately tried to remember a spell before being blasted backward.
The last Slytherin, who had just recovered his vision after the flash, was ready to fire his spell at Harry.
But his wand flew out of his hand before he could.
At the same time, Flint's wand shot through the air at full speed and slammed into his forehead, knocking him to the ground.
The entire place fell silent.
Even the Gryffindor team, who had drawn their wands to help Harry, simply stood there frozen, mouths hanging open as a second-year student took down the entire Slytherin team in only a few seconds.
The Weasley twins stared at Harry in amazement.
Ron's mouth hung so wide open you could have fit a fist inside it.
Tyson looked at Harry with excitement.
Even Hermione couldn't hide how surprised she was by her friend's skill.
Only Percy looked completely unconcerned, even muttering,
"I can do the same thing... without magic."
But now everyone's attention was on Harry as he walked toward Draco, whose face had gone completely pale with fear as he watched him approach.
It was the same fear Draco normally felt toward Percy, but never toward Potter.
Because, to him, the only monster between those two brothers had always been Percy.
Harry never seemed to fight back.
Today, he'd just realized that wasn't really true.
The two brothers were both monsters.
"A-And... I-I... I'll tell my father and... and... and you'll be expelled," Draco stammered, desperately trying to threaten Harry.
"Go ahead and tell him. I'm sure our knight friends would love to have another talk with your father," Harry replied, returning the threat.
Draco turned completely pale as his lips began trembling.
Then his eyes shifted behind Harry, and he suddenly seemed to spot his salvation.
"Professor Snape! Help! Potter's gone mad! You have to help me!" he shouted immediately.
That made Harry, along with every member of Gryffindor, turn around.
And there he was.
Snape, his robes billowing behind him like a great bat, was striding rapidly across the grounds toward them, surprise and anger both clearly visible in his eyes.