Gryffindor vs. Slytherin (1991)

**Gryffindor vs. Slytherin** is a game in the Inter-House Quidditch Cup in November 1991. It is a victory for Gryffindor at 170 to 60 points. It is Harry Potter's first ever game in the role of Seeker in which he wins when he catches the Golden Snitch. It appears in *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*.

## Game

### Lead-up

If Gryffindor won the game, they would go up in the House Championship to second place. They had a new Seeker, a first-year and the youngest Seeker in half a century, Harry Potter. The Captain, Oliver Wood wanted to keep the new weapon a secret but eventually the school found out. Harry was very nervous (having never even heard of the sport until September) and he looked at a book, Quidditch Through the Ages for help.

### The game

The game was commentated by Lee Jordan. Rolanda Hooch was the supervisor. Wood gave the team another legendary pep talk that senior players knew by heart, and told them that they had to win. Hooch gave the warning (looking at Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint at the time) that they should be fair. Angelina Johnson opened the scoring and Professor McGonagall shouted at Lee for commenting about how good-looking he thought Angelina was.

Flint then took the Quaffle from Alicia Spinnet but Wood saved the goal. Katie Bell then took the ball and dived around Flint but was hit in the head by a Bludger. Adrian Pucey took the ball and Fred and George Weasley intercepted and knocked a Bludger at him. Johnson took the ball back and dodges a Bludger, eventually scoring a goal past Miles Bletchley again.

Harry was given a plan from Wood to stay away and keep an eye out for the Golden Snitch. He done a loop-the-lop during the second goal and then thought he saw the ball but he was wrong. He dodged a Bludger and then Fred knocked it at Flint instead. Pucey then had the ball and dodged two Bludgers. Bell and the Weasleys attempted to stop him from scoring, and then Lee noticed the Golden Snitch. Pucey dropped the ball to look at it, and both Harry and Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs went after the Snitch.

The other players halted their game to watch Harry and Higgs chase the Golden Snitch but Flint then fouled Harry when he was inches from winning. Harry's broom spun around and Lee and the spectators called for Flint to be punished. Hooch awarded a free shot and the Golden Snitch faded out of sight again. Spinnet scored a goal and their team took control of the ball again.

But when Harry was dodged another Bludger, he suddenly lost control of the broom again. He knew it was being jinxed, lurching him forward, then bucking and zigzagging and he could do nothing about it. For the time-being, no-one noticed and Flint took the ball, passed Spinnet and Bell and managed to score even though a Bludger hit him in the face. Harry's broom kept bucking and taking him higher and away from the game.

Then the stadium noticed and saw Harry then get jerked and swing, leaving him hanging off the broom. In the audience, Hermione Granger deduced that Professor Snape was jinxing the broom and saw him muttering non-stop. But in fact, Snape was trying to save Harry by saying a counter-curse and it was Professor Quirrell that was jinxing the broom. Hermione intervened anyway by putting bluebell flames around Snape making him jump up. Hermione broke Quirrell's concentration and Harry managed to take control again.

During the time that everyone was watching Harry struggle and helping him (the Weasleys attempted to pull him up and the others were prepared to catch him when he fell), Flint had scored five times putting Slytherin in the lead. But Harry zoomed down to the ground in the confusion, and accidentally caught the Snitch but in the mouth instead of the hand. He hit the ground and held it up, winning the game.

### Impact

Flint complained for at least twenty minutes, saying Harry had not caught the Snitch properly but Hooch determined that it counted. Gryffindor had won the game 170 to 60 points. Harry, Ron and Hermione told Rubeus Hagrid at dinner that they thought Snape was trying to kill Harry but Hagrid wouldn't have it. Since Gryffindor won the game, they should have went up to second place for the House Championship.

## Behind the scenes

* Harry's friends made a banner for him saying "Potter for President".

## Notes and sources

1. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 8
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 11
3. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 17