The roar of the crowd still rang around the Quidditch Pitch long after the match had ended. Rain-soaked banners snapped violently in the wind above the stands, green and silver tangled with scarlet and gold where furious students had shoved past one another on the stairways. Mud churned beneath heavy boots at the edge of the pitch, trampled flat from the chaos of players, teachers, and spectators spilling onto the field all at once.

Almost seconds after the touch down the yelling started. Marcus Flint marched over to where the Gryffindors were, with Harry holding the cup and Fred, George, Angelina, Alicia, and Oliver were standing. This match had probably been the dirtiest played match in all of Hogwarts history. Earlier in the match Flint had rammed into Angelina, causing Fred to slam his bat into Flint's forehead. Flint's nose was still bleeding as you watched. The Slytherin beaters had knocked Oliver to the ground, but Gryffindor won 230-20.

"You're all a bunch of non-talented barbarics." Snarled Flint. Harry scoffed. Draco scowled, and the Slyrherins' Nimbus 2001s gleamed under the spring sky. "Non-talented?" Said Oliver. "At least we aren't cheats."

“Cheats?” Flint barked a laugh so sharp it barely sounded human. Rain dripped from the ends of his dark hair, blood still sliding from his nose onto his Quidditch robes. “Funny coming from Gryffindor.”

Oliver Wood stepped forward before Harry could answer. You saw the way his shoulders squared immediately — rigid, furious, exhausted from the match but still spoiling for another battle. Flint towered over him, broader and heavier, but Oliver didn’t give an inch.

“Say that again,” Oliver said coldly.

Around them, the crowd shifted closer. Fred and George had already moved to either side of Angelina like guard dogs. Alicia gripped her broom so tightly her knuckles had gone white. Draco lingered behind Flint with the other Slytherins, pale face twisted in disgust.

Flint sneered. “You heard me, Wood. Your team plays like animals. Your girlfriend's deluded if she thinks you're a good player, Wood.”

Flint shoved Oliver hard and then everything exploded.

You heard the collective gasp ripple through the students before Oliver slammed back into him with enough force to nearly send them both skidding in the mud as Wood roared, "shut your cheating mouth, Flint!"