chap9pg2

Harry flew straight up to get out of the commotion. As the game commenced below him, he looked at Ron. Although he still looked a bit nervous, he was obviously determined to not let the quaffle get past him. Harry watched Ron eagerly, as he blocked three shots.
�Yeah, Ron!� he shouted. Ron couldn�t hear him, but he looked very confident now. He blocked an additional two shots on goal, and Harry decided that he would be ok. He had just begun to search for the snitch, when he heard a mean voice behind him.
�So, I see that your little Weasley pal made it into the keeper position. What, did you let him in out of pity? Or was he just your last resort?� sniggered Draco Malfoy. Harry turned around and glared at Malfoy.
�No, if you must know, he was let in out of pure talent,� he sneered, �Something that you wouldn�t know anything about.�
Malfoy scoffed at Harry, then flew off. Harry continued to look for any hint of gold in the air. The score was 30 to 50, Gryffindor, and Harry decided he�d better end the game before Slytherin had any chance to win.
Suddenly, in a flash of gold and wings, Harry had seen the snitch. He took off, speeding towards the small, winged ball. He saw Malfoy behind him, angrily trying to keep up. Suddenly, the snitch dove. Harry followed it closely. He reached out his hand, stretching his fingers toward the ball. He gave one last spurt of speed, and closed his hands around the snitch. His foot clipped the ground, and he tumbled off softly onto the grass. He stood up.
�I�ve got the snitch!� he shouted. He expected to hear cheering from the crowd, but instead, he heard cries of disbelief. He looked around to see his teammates, but all he saw was a large crowd of people at the other end of the field.
Harry got back on his broom and sped over to the crowd. He saw Professor McGonagall leading Malfoy inside, looking extremely angry. He reached the crowd and jumped off his broom. He pushed his way through the crowd to see what everybody was looking at. He got through and then looked at the ground. �Ron!� he cried out.
In the middle of the crowd were Madame Hooch and the Weasley twins, picking Ron up off of the ground. He had a large wound on his head, dripping with blood. His hair was matted to his head, and his eyes were closed. He was carried off of the field. Harry was overcome with worry. He had a sick feeling in his stomach. He ran over to Angelina Johnson, who was screaming at one of the Slytherin beaters.
�What happened?� he stammered.
�Well,� she said angrily, �After you caught the snitch, Draco Malfoy took this boy�s club, and hit a bludger at Ron ��
�He wasn�t trying to hurt him,� argued the boy, �He was just angry and wanted to knock him around a little.�
�Oh sure,� yelled Angelina, �He slammed the bludger at Ron, and it hit him right in the head. He fell off of his broom onto the ground. You had already won the game, but either way, they would have had to forfeit. I wouldn�t be surprised if Malfoy was kicked off of the team.�
But Harry wasn�t listening. His stomach was twisting in knots. He turned around, picked up his Firebolt, and started running towards the castle. He didn�t stop until he reached the hospital wing. He burst through the door, and saw Ron laying in one of the beds. Fred, George, Ginny, and Hermione were all standing at his bedside. Harry rushed over to Ron.
�Are you alright?� he asked. Ron blinked his eyes painfully.
�Not really,� he said, �Did we win?�
�Yeah, but who cares. Do you know what happened?� George asked.
�All I remember was seeing Harry catch the snitch, and then a bludger hit me in the face.� Ron moaned, his forehead obviously aching.
�Would you like to know how that bludger hit you?� said Hermione with a hint of anger in her voice. Ron nodded.
�Malfoy hit the bludger at you after we won,� Harry explained. �I still can�t believe that he did that.� Harry was angrier with Malfoy than he ever had been before. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.
�I can,� snarled Fred angrily. A tear ran down Ginny�s face. Suddenly they all heard a voice behind them. It was Madame Pomfrey.
�I�m sorry, children, but we need to treat Mr. Weasley�s forehead before it has a chance to leave a scar,� she said. She began ushering them out of the hospital wing.
�By the way, Harry,� Ron began.
�Yeah?� Harry asked.
�I thought you said I wouldn�t get hurt�� he said. Harry looked at him, opening his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Ron laughed weakly. �I�m just kidding,� he said, �I�m not mad at you.�
�Oh,� Harry said doubtfully. But Harry still felt miserably responsible. He also felt a wave of anger come over him. While leaving the room, he swore that no matter what, he would get his revenge on Malfoy.