Gone Awry

"You ... you want to give up?" she asked shocked at their silence.

"You just want those twelve hours we've been playing already to be for nothing?" she asked, her voice losing any calm that it still had and edging on hysteric.

"No winning of the Quidditch Cup? No fighting spirit in you guys any more?" By this time, tears were rimming her eyes, but she didn't let them fall just yet.

"Chase?" she asked looking at her fellow beater - he couldn't meet her eyes.

Taking a sharp breath, she looked at "Christina? - same reaction.

Wiping away a few tears she turned to "Harper?" - nothing.

"Sean? Isable? Graham?" No body looked at her, none of them fought with her. None of them wanted to play any more.

"Harry?" she asked, nearly not audible, breath caught in her throat. She didn't even turn around as she asked "Could we continue our conversation at the end of the two hours?"

Quickly Harry nodded and walked out the door, closing it behind him. Silence spread in the changing room as everyone was lost in thought and embarrassment.

"Ash?" Chase asked after a few minutes, finally he trusted himself to look up, but he regretted it instantly. What he saw wasn't the girl he normally knew. The strong happy-go-lucky prankster. Instead he found her crying just keeping herself from falling onto the floor by shear will.

Her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks swollen and streaked with shining lines, where the tears had run over.

"D..." she started, but had to stop again, swallowing a sob, "Do you really... want to quit?"

"Ash," Christina answered. "It's nearly one o'clock in the morning! We've been playing for twelve hours straight. We're exhausted and everything hurts us! We can't go on! We don't want to play any more."

Ash took a deep breath. "I know that. I've been on that field just as long as you have! I'm just as exhausted and hurting as you are. But does that really mean that we have to give up?" Ash asked sadly. "The others came to us with this proposal! They are just as exhausted as we are! We still have a chance on winning this stupid cup! Lets do it!"

"Why should we?" Montague asked. "If the Cup is that stupid, why should we try to get it? We can always get it again next year!"

"You... you're right... I understand... Why should you," Ash smiled slightly. "Well I guess, you can all go now," she chocked out, "I'll go to the pitch and tell Madam Hootch and the people that may still be sitting there."

Slowly she turned away from her former team mates and walked up to the door. Slowly she stretched out her hand to open and leave, but suddenly her emotions flipped from depressed to furious.

Swiftly she turned around and glared at the six people in front of her. "Fuck! No. You know what? I don't fucking understand! We've been training for this freaking match since six straight weeks, nearly every day! We've done anything to improve and now you guys just want to quit? Hell no! You know why you freaking people will march onto that field with me and will try your HARDEST to win this freaking match? Because I am you captain and because I want to win this stupid cup! If you don't do as I say, I will not only make sure that you will never be able to play Quidditch again, but I will make sure to personally curse you with the worst imaginable curses that I can find! I will rip out your guts, stomp on them until their unrecognisable and then stuff them up your loser asses! I will make your life a living hell! Did I make myself clear?" she screamed, near hysterics again. The only answer she got were plate sized eyes and shivers running down their backs.

"Did I make myself clear!?" she screamed even louder, making them jump and nod if fear.

"Good. Now get ready. We have a game to play," she spat and took a hold of her broom and bat, watching the others with a glare as they scrambled off their lazy asses and got ready for the final round in the game.

"Welcome back everyone to the start of the second round, the 13th hour of the match Slytherin vs. Gryffindor." Amelia yelled into her microphone, "The players are fitter, as am I, thank you for your concern and finally the rain has stopped! Hopefully our Seekers will be able to catch the Snitch now that the wind won't carry it away again!" she said.

"Now the teams are once again standing on the field, but something has changed. Not only did their injuries heal, but somehow the determination in the Slytherins eyes seems to have grown once again, while the Gryffindor teams seems a bit shocked and confused. I wonder what happened during the break!

"Anyway, Madam Hootch is blowing into her whistle and the game continues! Donot catches the Quaffle and flies straight to the Slytherin goal, before the Keeper Ron Weasley could even reach the hoops! SCORE! Both teams have now 430 points!"

"From behind the hoops Breaker hits the Quaffle back to Donot - Donot blocked by Weasley passes to Montague who throws and SCORE! 440:430 for Slytherin!"

Quickly Ash flew over to Harry and grinned, "Still want to end with an consent?" she asked jokingly.

"What did yo do to get them this fired up again?"

Ash debated what to say for a few seconds then grinned said, "I held a very dramatic and dynamic speech," before flying away.

Quickly she shot up high into the air and hit a Bludger right at Ginny as she was about to score a goal, hitting her outstretched. "Oops..." Ash said biting her lower lip, but only watched as Ginny let her broom land on the ground and walked up to Madam Pomfrey, who was already preparing to heal her arm.

That little demonstration, fired up the Slytherins even more, so that they once again became and unbeatable wall. In the next hour the Slytherin Chasers made 3 more goals. And finally after another hour of playing, Ash saw Harper shoot across the air straight at Harry. Shocked and with weakening reactions, he dived out of Harpers way. Harper quickly stretched out his hand and caught it!

"BLOODY MERLIN! THE SLYTHERIN SEEKER HENRY HARPER CAUGHT THE SNITCH!! HE CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH AND HENCE ENDED THE GAME! SLYTHERIN WIN WITH 620 POINTS!!! This game is sure to go into Hogwarts history!"

A cheer by the green clad crowd emerged and Ash grinned at Harper, flying up at him and embracing him tightly. "You did it! You did it!" Ash chanted over and over.

Happy with his success, Harper hugged his captain back and grinned. "Yes! I did!" he screamed in excitement as they flew to the ground, greeted by surprisingly many green clad Slytherins that were celebrating their victory over Gryffindor and the winning of the Quidditch Cup.

Crowded by the others, Ash didn't notice the Gryffindor captain walk up to them until he called out to them. Quickly Ash turned around and grinned at them.

"Congratulations on winning!" Harry said carefully, holding out his hand to shake.

"Thank you, it was a pretty awesome game, was it not?"

"Yes, you could say so..."

"Is Ginny alright? I didn't mean to break her arm"

"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey already fixed her," Harry answered shortly.

"Good. Tell her I'm sorry, but I said that I wouldn't hold back today."

"I'll tell her."

"Thanks!"

"Well, I wish you a nice rest of the weekend!" Harry said and nodded towards her, before joining his team again at the other side of the pitch.

Happily Ash walked up to her team and jumped onto Chases back - but being weak from the match he couldn't hold her and they fell to the ground, face first. Laughing they stood back up and slowly but cheerfully walked to the castle when Ash yelled, "lets go home!"