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Chapter 140: “Popularity”
🕑 Added 2024-05-09 15:35:22 +0000 UTC“Come on, Potter! Today's your day!”
“You can do it, James!”
“Good luck, Potter!”
At breakfast before the match, James doesn't know how many of these comments he received from Gryffindor students. They were all pinning their hopes on him.
He began to feel more nervous. More so than when he played his first quidditch match. Even the team members seemed to be pinning their hopes on him.
“Don't be nervous, James. Just play like you always do. Everything will be fine if that's you,” William said with a smile and a very confident tone. He could already taste victory. The moment James caught the snitch they reached the top of the scoreboard.
The most important thing was for the chasers to score a lot of goals, to widen the gap with Slytherin even more. If Annabeth and Sirius are fine they could achieve a difference of 150 points with Slytherin.
'If it's me...?' thought James in confusion.
“Don't worry, James. We'll see to it that the bludgers don't hit you. Just crush the opposing seeker as usual' said Gideon with a thumbs up, and Fabian nodded, agreeing with his brother.
'How usual? I only played one game,' thought James. It seemed that everyone had great confidence in him. As if victory was already a given. It was good to be confident, but not that confident. They might underestimate the opponent and find themselves in for a surprise.
However, he didn't know how to tell them this. He would look like a spoilsport, so he didn't say anything. He just had to catch the snitch and play with as much concentration as possible.
As James was about to leave the Great Hall for the locker room with the rest of the team, he heard a low female voice calling out to him. As he turned around he noticed a group of three girls who appeared to be Gryffindor first years.
“What do you need?” asked James. The two girls to the side pushed their friend forward slightly.
A girl with short shoulder-length black hair and gray eyes looked at James nervously. Her friends behind her giggled under their breath.
“Do you need something...?” asked James again as the girl didn't respond and just looked at him then looked down and a few seconds later repeated the process.
“No... I mean yes! Take this!” said the girl, stuttering and stretching out both arms. In her hands was a scarf with Gryffindor colors, a lion, and a golden snitch.
James could also notice the Puddlemere United crest. The quidditch team he is a fan of. It was combined with the Gryffindor colors to look matching.
“A present?” asked James, taking the scarf. The girl nodded repeatedly as she looked nervously at James, who was examining the scarf.
“What's your name?” asked James.
“R-Rachel Ollivander,” replied the girl with flushed cheeks.
“Thanks, Rachel. The scarf is nice,” said James with a smile.
“Y-you're welcome! Good luck in the match today, J-James!” said Rachel with a cheerful smile and left with her friends quickly, as she realized she was being watched by many people.
“Thanks...” muttered James, watching the girl leaving to the Gryffindor table. He turned around and noticed wide smirks on the faces of Sirius, Gideon, and Fabian.
“What are you looking at me for? Let's go,” said James, putting on his scarf and walking off. There was a bit of a cool wind today, so he could use a scarf.
“Let's follow Don Popular,” said Gideon as he started marching like a trooper behind James. His brother kept up the act.
“Hey, Don Popular. Your Slytherin girl doesn't look too happy,” Sirius said with a slight smile and in a low tone close to James.
James turned his head, and at the Slytherin table, he found Gwen, who was scowling at him. He began to think that maybe it wasn't the best thing to put on the scarf at that moment.
“Shut up. She's not my girl,” James said, quickening his pace.
As they reached the locker room, James began to think about how Rachel knew that his favorite team was Puddlemere United. His thoughts were interrupted when William started with his pre-match motivational speech.
As he walked out onto the pitch in his quidditch uniform and his Nimbus 1001 he noticed that the Gryffindor stand had a greater enthusiasm, and their chanting was much more powerful than in the first match.
The Slytherin stand was also more powerful than usual, but they weren't cheering for them. They were whistling at them and throwing acid comments at them with all their might. They knew that if Gryffindor won they would be very close to winning the championship.
With instructor Hooch's whistle, the match kicked off. This year's Ravenclaw had improved a lot compared to last year's worst Ravenclaw ever.
Despite having started with a defeat in the first game, they were very motivated and did not want to lose again and repeat the failure of the previous season.
James could see a familiar face on the Ravenclaw team: Penny Warrington. She was the new Ravenclaw chaser. Her talent could not be underestimated, as she managed to be a starter as a sophomore and outperformed many in the team tryouts.
The game started very lively. The goals were not long in coming. Ravenclaw got the lead, but before long Gryffindor responded and overtook them on the scoreboard.
At one point as James was looking for the golden snitch, the Ravenclaw batsman threw a bludger at him. Gideon cursed as he was unable to block the bludger to defend James.
Out of the corner of his eye, James noticed something approaching him at an astonishing speed. He used the Sloth Grip Roll tactic to dodge the incoming bludger.
It consisted of hanging upside down from his broom in one swift motion, holding on tightly with his hands and feet. He watched as the bludger hit the spot where he was before.
The Gryffindor stands began to cheer louder as they saw this incredible dodge. It was rarely used, as it was not easy to execute.
The game continued. Sirius and Annabeth were having their day. Thanks to Penny, Ravenclaw was following them, but they were slowly getting further and further away.
James kept dodging Bludger's with quick spins and peculiar moves. Every time he did so the entire Gryffindor stand screamed in excitement.
'I still didn't do anything...' thought James as he looked for the snitch.
James saw that the score was 50-30 in favor of Gryffindor. Not much time had passed. Suddenly an idea occurred to him. The best thing to do would be to get a lot of goals before catching the snitch, but the opposing seeker would be an imminent danger because if he catches it the game is over.
So the best option is to get rid of the opposing seeker. Clearly in a legal way. He would not use fouls or his telekinetic powers which would be the most effective, as with a simple glance he could make the broom turn and at the speeds they drive they could easily collide.
With his wandless magic, it would be very easy to make opponents lose their balance while flying and knock them out of the game. Or even catch the snitch, but James doesn't want to cheat. Plus, the game was being watched by Dumbledore and the professors. They might notice someone using magic without a wand and it would be cheating, so they would lose the game.
So the only way to get rid of the rival seeker was to do it completely legally.
'Let's put it to the test,' thought James with a slight smile as he began to descend at a rapid pace.
“Oh look! It looks like James Potter, the Gryffindor seeker found traces of the snitch!” exclaimed Murphy McNully the school's Quidditch commentator excitedly.
All the stands focused their vision on James and his incredible speed as he went lower and lower. Many rose from their seats and watched with their omnichromes.
The Ravenclaw seeker quickly began to follow James at top speed. He couldn't let him catch the snitch, he had to catch him no matter what.
James slowed down in a disguised manner. He waited until the opposing seeker was very close to him. In the meantime, he was getting lower and lower and closer to the ground.
He stretched out his hand, and his opponent copied him, but at the last second something happened that puzzled the Ravenclaw seeker and everyone in the stadium. James before reaching the ground feinted at a high speed and quickly left the ground.
The rival seeker with a frightened face realized that there was no snitch. Only the hard ground. However, it was too late to try to do anything. His only fate was to crash to the ground at many miles per hour.
The entire audience in the stands shouted, “Ouch!” and many averted their eyes as they watched the Ravenclaw boy crash and begin to spin against the ground. His broom broke in two, and it looked like he had broken a few bones.
'Sorry... It's nothing personal,' thought James, looking sideways and sighing in relief. For a moment he thought he would be the person to crash. This feint was very dangerous. One false move, and you'd be on your broom and broken bones.
“That's it... Wronski's feint! Spectacular, it was executed to perfection! I never thought, I'd see this dangerous and famous feint in a Hogwarts Quidditch match!” shouted Murphy with excitement and microphone in hand. He got up from his seat and began to explain to the entire audience about this feint.
The Wronski feint was created by the famous Polish player Josef Wronski. Josef is considered the most innovative seeker in the world. The feint consisted of a seeker pretending to detect the golden snitch far below and running to catch it, hoping that the opposing seeker would copy it. At the last second, before reaching the ground, the feinting seeker would come out of a dive. This usually caused the opposing seeker to crash.
This maneuver was very dangerous and many who tried it ended up failing, seriously injuring themselves. That's why many were surprised that James was able to execute it. He was only 12 years old! And he had already pulled off a feint that even professionals struggle and fear to perform.
Quidditch fans knew it and were just as excited as Murphy. No one thought James would dare to try this feint, let alone get it right!
'This damn crazy...' thought William, and a big grin formed on his face. He understood why James made this dangerous feint.
“Listen up everyone, it's time for goals! Chasers and batters attack!” shouted William, bringing the other members of the team back to reality as they were just as shocked as the crowd in the stands.
The Gryffindor team started with a forceful attack. The chasers with the help of the beaters began to score goals left and right. The Ravenclaw team was still in shock. For their seeker was injured and being attended to by Madame Poppy.
The batsmen no longer had to worry about the opposing seeker. Until the Ravenclaw captain reacted and called time out. The game was stopped.
Gryffindor had reached a hundred points! And they still hadn't caught the snitch. The Ravenclaw seeker couldn't play again, so his substitute had to come in.
The substitute was a second-year boy who was very nervous and trembling. He looked at James fearfully as if he was a maniac and was afraid that he would try to do the same feint.
However, James wasn't that reckless. Besides, he knew that it wouldn't work as well to perform the same feint, as his opponent would be suspicious of his moves.
The match resumed, and after forty minutes James saw the glint of the snitch. He dashed at full speed towards the snitch. Thanks to the rival seeker being cautious it was very easy to catch the snitch.
“Gryffindor wins the match with 280 points!” exclaimed Murphy as Hooch's whistle ended the match.
The Gryffindor stands exploded in cheers and applause like never before. This was a huge lead. They came in first place with 490 points! They were two hundred points ahead of Slytherin, who was in second place. An abysmal difference.
This was not only thanks to James, it was also thanks to the three Gryffindor chasers who scored a great number of goals.
Although most thought James had a lot to do with it, as he managed to legally get rid of the opposing seeker. This gave them a great opportunity to score goals for the chasers and to have a rookie seeker on the field.
Because of this James was the center of attention that night at the Gryffindor party in their common room. He couldn't escape. Gideon and Fabian made sure of that. After performing the Wronski feint his popularity had reached a new peak.
