Joanne Murray - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Or was it only Crookshanks? Harry squinted, pressing his nose flat against the glass. Crookshanks seemed to have come to a halt. Harry was sure he could see something else moving in the shadow of the trees, too.

And next moment, it had emerged: a gigantic, shaggy black dog, moving stealthily across the lawn, Crookshanks trotting at its side. Harry stared. What did this mean? If Crookshanks could see the dog as well, how could it be an omen of Harry’s death?

‘Ron!’ Harry hissed. ‘Ron! Wake up!’

‘Huh?’

‘I need you to tell me if you can see something!’

‘’S all dark, Harry,’ Ron muttered thickly. ‘What’re you on about?’

‘Down here -’

Harry looked quickly back out of the window.

Crookshanks and the dog had vanished. Harry climbed onto the windowsill to look right down into the shadows of the castle, but they weren’t there. Where had they gone?

A loud snore told him Ron had fallen asleep again.

*

Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team entered the Great Hall next day to enormous applause. Harry couldn’t help grinning broadly as he saw that both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were clapping them, too. The Slytherin table hissed loudly as they passed. Harry noticed that Malfoy looked even paler than usual.

Wood spent the whole of breakfast urging his team to eat, while touching nothing himself. Then he hurried them off to the pitch before anyone else had finished, so they could get an idea of the conditions. As they left the Great Hall, everyone applauded again.

‘Good luck, Harry!’ called Cho Chang. Harry felt himself blushing.

‘OK ... no wind to speak of ... sun’s a bit bright, that could impair your vision, watch out for it ... ground’s fairly hard, good, that’ll give us a fast kick-off ...’

Wood paced the pitch, staring around with the team behind him. Finally they saw the front doors of the castle open in the distance, and the rest of the school spill onto the lawn.

‘Changing rooms,’ said Wood tersely.

None of them spoke as they changed into their scarlet robes. Harry wondered if they were feeling like he was: as though he’d eaten something extremely wriggly for breakfast. In what seemed like no time at all, Wood was saying, ‘OK, it’s time, let’s go ... ’

They walked out onto the pitch to a tidal wave of noise. Three-quarters of the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them or brandishing banners with slogans such as ‘GO GRYFFINDOR!’ and ‘LIONS FOR THE CUP!’ Behind the Slytherin goalposts, however, two hundred people were wearing green; the silver serpent of Slytherin glittered on their flags, and Professor Snape sat in the very front row, wearing green like everyone else, and a very grim smile.

‘And here are the Gryffindors!’ yelled Lee Jordan, who was acting as commentator as usual. ‘Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best side Hogwarts has seen in a good few years -’

Lee’s comments were drowned by a tide of ‘boos’ from the Slytherin end.

‘And here come the Slytherin team, led by captain Flint. He’s made some changes in the line-up and seems to be going for size rather than skill -’

More boos from the Slytherin crowd. Harry, however, thought Lee had a point. Malfoy was easily the smallest person on the Slytherin team; the rest of them were enormous.

‘Captains, shake hands!’ said Madam Hooch.

Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other’s hands very tightly; it looked as though each was trying to break the other’s fingers.

‘Mount your brooms!’ said Madam Hooch. ‘Three ... two ... one ...’ The sound of her whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as fourteen brooms rose into the air. Harry felt his hair fly back off his forehead; his nerves left him in the thrill of the flight; he glanced around, saw Malfoy on his tail, and sped off in search of the Snitch.

‘And it’s Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no - Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the pitch -WHAM! - nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it’s caught by - Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina - nice swerve round Montague - duck, Angelina, that’s a Bludger! — SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!’

Angelina punched the air as she soared round the end of the

pitch; the sea of scarlet below was screaming its delight -

‘OUCH!’

Angelina was nearly thrown from her broom as Marcus Flint went smashing into her.

‘Sorry!’ said Flint, as the crowd below booed. ‘Sorry, didn’t see her!’

Next moment, Fred Weasley had chucked his Beater’s club at the back of Flint’s head. Flint’s nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed.

‘That will do!’ shrieked Madam Hooch, zooming between them. ‘Penalty to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!’

‘Come off it, Miss!’ howled Fred, but Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Alicia flew forward to take the penalty.

‘Come on, Alicia!’ yelled Lee into the silence that had descended on the crowd. ‘YES! SHE’S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!’

Harry turned the Firebolt sharply to watch Flint, still bleeding freely, fly forwards to take the Slytherin penalty. Wood was hovering in front of the Gryffindor goalposts, his jaw clenched.

‘’Course, Wood’s a superb Keeper!’ Lee Jordan told the crowd, as Flint waited for Madam Hooch’s whistle. ‘Superb! Very difficult to pass - very difficult indeed - YES! I DON’T BELIEVE IT! HE’S SAVED IT!’

Relieved, Harry zoomed away, gazing around for the Snitch, but still making sure he caught every word of Lee’s commentary. It was essential that he hold Malfoy off the Snitch until Gryffindor was more than fifty points up ...

‘Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession - no! -Gryffindor back in possession and it’s Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she’s streaking up the pitch - THAT WAS DELIBERATE!’

Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of Katie, and instead of seizing the Quaffle, had grabbed her head. Katie cartwheeled in the air, managed to stay on her broom but dropped the Quaffle.

Madam Hooch’s whistle rang out again as she soared over to Montague and began shouting at him. A minute later, Katie had put another penalty past the Slytherin Keeper.

‘THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING -’

‘Jordan, if you can’t commentate in an unbiased way -!’

‘I’m telling it like it is, Professor!’

Harry felt a huge jolt of excitement. He had seen the Snitch - it was shimmering at the foot of one of the Gryffindor goalposts -but he mustn’t catch it yet. And if Malfoy saw it ...

Faking a look of sudden concentration, Harry pulled his Firebolt round and sped off towards the Slytherin end. It worked. Malfoy went haring after him, clearly thinking Harry had seen the Snitch there ...

whoosh.

One of the Bludgers came streaking past Harry’s right ear, hit by the gigantic Slytherin Beater, Derrick. Next moment -

whoosh.

The second Bludger had grazed Harry’s elbow. The other Beater, Bole, was closing in.

Harry had a fleeting glimpse of Bole and Derrick zooming towards him, clubs raised -

He turned the Firebolt upwards at the last second, and Bole and Derrick collided with a sickening crunch.

‘Ha haaa!’ yelled Lee Jordan, as the Slytherin Beaters lurched away from each other, clutching their heads. ‘Too bad, boys! You’ll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it’s Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle - Flint alongside her - poke him in the eye, Angelina! - it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke - oh, no - Flint in possession, Flint flying towards the Gryffindor goalposts, come on, now, Wood, save -!’