chap9pg1

It was late October, and Gryffindor�s first Quidditch match was approaching quickly. Ron�s nerves were skyrocketing, and it was all Harry could do to try to calm him down. He remembered how he had felt the day of his first Quidditch match four years ago, and although he was sympathetic with Ron, he thought he was overreacting a bit. But, nevertheless, he tried to keep Ron calm. The last thing they needed was an overly nervous keeper during their first match of the year.
Worse was that Harry found out they were playing Slytherin. Malfoy was very bitter about Harry becoming the Gryffindor captain, and he let Harry know it. Every chance he had, he would trip Harry in the hallways. In one potions lesson, he even slipped a few beetle legs into Harry�s pile of horehound roots, which caused Harry�s potion to explode when he dropped them in. He saw Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle sniggering in the corner of the room, so he knew that Malfoy was the culprit. Even so, Snape ended up taking twenty-five points from Gryffindor, and Harry had to stay after to clean up the mess. Harry knew how important it was to beat Slytherin, but he made it a point not to say anything to Ron. He also didn�t let any one know that Ron was the new keeper. Harry could just imagine what Malfoy and his crowd would do to Ron, once they knew Ron was keeper.
The day of the scheduled match finally came, and Ron wasn�t eating.
�Ron you have to eat,� said Harry, �You need your strength.�
�Yeah,� agreed Hermione, �Remember Harry�s first match? We made him eat and he won the game for us!�
They finally got Ron to eat an egg and a piece of toast. However, he was still pale and shaking. He wasn�t just nervous � he was scared.
�Listen,� Harry said, �You�re not going to get hurt.�
�How do you know?� Ron asked shakily.
�Just trust me,� Harry said, �You�ll be fine. Plus, it�s against the rules to intentionally hurt the keeper. Just relax!�
Harry thought this made Ron a little less nervous, but as they entered the locker room, Ron started shaking again. Harry remembered that, as captain, he had to give a pre-game speech. He stood up in front of his teammates, and nervously began.
�Alright, guys, this is an important game today. You all know that Slytherin is our biggest rivals. I really want to win, but don�t do anything dangerous. I wont be angry if we lose.� Fred and George rolled their eyes. �Ok,� Harry said, �So I may be a little angry�� The twins started coughing loudly. �ALRIGHT!� he yelled, �I�ll be pretty mad, but I don�t want any of you getting hurt! I would rather lose and have all of my teammates safe, then win but have one of you injured. So when you get out there, try your hardest but like I said, don�t do anything dangerous.�
The team walked out onto the field to a roar of cheering from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and, of course, Gryffindor. They mounted their brooms and flew into the starting positions. Madame Hooch was refereeing this game. As usual, Lee Jordan was commentating on the game.
�I want a nice clean game. No bad sportsmanship, any of you,� Madame Hooch warned them. She released the snitch and got ready to throw up the quaffle. �On my whistle,� she said. She then threw the quaffle up into the air, and as her whistle pierced the air, the game began.