Chapter 102

For a moment, Harry felt a small trickle of anxiety. What if he wasn't good enough? What if MgLaggen really was better than him? What if he didn't make the team? While he had decided to try out in order to boost his reputation, there was a big chance his reputation could be sullied. How bad would it look to his peers if he, a first year, went out for the Quidditch team and failed? He would look like an arrogant and presumptuous child who bit off more than he could chew, and it would make people question whether or not he was really everything they thought he was.

"Two..."

No! he couldn't think like that. Defeatist thinking always led to defeat. He couldn't let fear rule him. The first enemy to conquer if he wanted to succeed was fear, just like his master always told him, and he would rather give it his all and fail knowing he tried his best, then not even try because he was too afraid of failure.

"One..."

The whistle blew and Harry put everything except the task at hand out of his mind as he pushed off the ground. All of his worries, all of his hopes, all of his goals and desires faded, as if they were a dream. Right now, only one thing mattered: getting the Snitch before MgLaggen.

MgLaggen decided to take the high ground in his search for the Snitch. No doubt he hoped that the overhead view would allow him to find it more quickly than Harry. In most cases, that would probably work, but not against someone like Harry.

Using his unnaturally perceptive vision granted to him through his eidetic memory, Harry swerved along the pitch on his broom, memorizing everything he laid eyes. Any change taking place in between sweeps would be cataloged into his mind and referenced for future use at light speeds.

His eyes darted from left to right, up and down, while his head constantly turned and scanned the area. So long as the Snitch wasn't hiding behind one of the stands, he would see it.

There! He could see the Snitch hanging low to the ground near one of the student stands on the opposite side of the pitch. MgLaggen hadn't noticed it yet, he wasn't even looking in the right direction.

Harry felt a grin come to his face as his competitive side came to the fore. Wanting to snatch the Snitch before his opponent could even begin to guess what was happening, the raven-haired boy urged his broom towards the small golden ball with wings.

His broom felt sluggish under his grip, and Harry could feel it begin veering towards the left as he pushed it past its boundaries. Small bucks and jerks tried to rock it this way and that, but he kept a firm grip on the handle and let his magic flow through his fingers and into the wood. Slowly but surely, the spastic jerks ceased for the most part, with only a few relatively minor bucks that were easily quelled.

The Snitch was much closer now. It zoomed to the left and Harry tailed it doggedly. MgLaggen had only just realized that Harry was on the Snitch's tail and tried to coax his broom to zoom in on them so he could take the winged ball out from under Harry's nose.

His broom was much faster than Harry's. A Comet 290, one of the faster brooms out there. However, despite the speed advantage he had over Harry, he was too far away to catch up before Harry caught the Snitch.

"Excellent job, Potter!" Oliver said as Harry handed the small ball over to him with a grin. MgLaggen landed beside them, glaring at the younger year. It was a glare that went ignored by the other two. "You get it one more time and you're on the team. Better try harder if you want on with us, MgLaggen."

MgLaggen looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel his face was so red. Harry ignored him in favor of letting his eyesight fall upon a group of people who had come onto the pitch sometime before he caught the Snitch.

Blaise, Hannah, Lisa, Neville, Susan, Terry and Tracey had all come onto the Quidditch Pitch, probably to watch him, and huddled in a group with the Weasley Twins, who looked like they were trying to convince the first years to place their bets on who would be getting the Seeker position.

"Let's do this again." Oliver's voice caused Harry to look away from his friends and focus on the task at and, getting the Snitch before MgLaggen.

The second time was not as easy as the first. The moment the whistle was blown, MgLaggen began tailing Harry, a not unexpected developing, considering what happened last time.

Harry did not try to look for the Snitch immediately. With MgLaggen following him around like a mouse on cheese, trying to find the Snitch would not be the wisest decision. The other boy's broom was faster. Even if Harry was more skilled, which was still an untested theory seeing as the last competition had been won due in no small part to luck, the difference between their brooms would outstrip any skill advantage.

Instead Harry took MgLaggen on a chase. He wove through the stands, rose into the air and dove towards the ground. All of it done in an effort to make MgLaggen confused and disoriented. Whether it worked or not, Harry didn't know. Turning his head to look behind him, he saw that MgLaggen was still tailing him and the older student's eyes were locked on him like the cross hairs of a fighter jet.

Well, it wasn't quite what he wanted, but this would still suit Harry's needs. So long as the boy was so focused on him that he didn't focus on the Snitch, that was all that mattered.

He found the Snitch in short order. It had only been five minutes since the ball was released, and it was flitting about near the hoops closest to him. MgLaggen hadn't noticed it, so focused was his attention on Harry.

That was good. Now all he needed to do was get near the Snitch without alerting MgLaggen that he had found the Snitch.

With a yank of his broom, Harry quickly ascended into the skies. MgLaggen followed without a hint of hesitation, making Harry smile. When they past the general altitude where the Snitch was, Harry turned his broom so it would move over the hoops.

Predictably, MgLaggen followed, still completely unaware of what Harry was doing. Good. Just a little more maneuvering and he would be in position to get the Snitch.

The Snitch was still near the spot he had originally seen it. The ball had only moved a bit. Now it was near the left hoop. As soon as Harry felt he was close enough, he shove the broom down as hard as it could go, making a steep dive toward the Snitch.

It must have seen him, or sensed him, or however it was the Snitch could tell a player was near. As soon as Harry entered his dive, it took off in its own swift descent towards the ground.

Harry felt a growl escape his throat. His eyes narrowed as he laid himself nearly flat against the broom to decrease his wind resistance. He could feel the broom shuddering as he pushed it far beyond its normal limits and did what he could with his magic to keep it stable.

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