"Severus," You whispered with concern. "I don't know any counter-curses. Please, could you help that poor boy? He'll die if he falls..."

Fixing his eyes on Harry and the broom, Severus immediately started to mutter the most powerful counter-curse he could think of under his breath. He hadn't needed your persuasion; much as he disliked the Potter name, the last thing he or the rest of the wizarding world needed was to have the Boy-Who-Lived die from a broom fall.

He was concentrating so much on the counter-curse - even if he couldn't dispel whatever jinx was being used, at least he should be able to ensure that one of the other members of Harry's team could catch him if he did fall - that it took a moment or two to realize that Harry had managed to regain control of his broom.

"SEVERUS! YOU'RE ON FIRE!" You shrieked, turning bright white, as you felt more heat than normal arise from your feet. Quickly, you began helping the poor wizard stomp out the fire on the likely pricey overcoat that adorned him.

With a yelp, he stood up, ready to put the flames out, only to find that they had apparently gone out with your assistance. Another thing to fix...

The roar of the crowd made him look up in time to see Harry standing on the pitch, waving the Snitch, and Severus gritted his teeth as a crowd descended on the boy. So typical-- so like his blasted father-- to be able to come out of trouble smelling like a rose...

He had more to worry about than results of the Quidditch match, however. No matter how much he had wanted Slytherin to win, it was unimportant next to the fact that what had just happened had undeniably been an attempt to kill the Potter boy. He would have to report to Dumbledore quickly.

Glancing around the faculty box, his eyes fell on Quirrell, who was standing up and rubbing his forehead. His eyes narrowed as the a majority of the other teachers immediately headed out of the box. The only other new teacher to arrive beside you, Severus had his suspicions.

Not once this year had Severus ever liked Quirrell - not that he liked many people - but it wasn't for the reasons the students believed. Yes, the Defense Against the Dark Arts job was one that he wanted, but he understood Dumbledore's reasons for not giving it to him. Although, he had to admit he didn't like them. No, he simply found Quirrell too ineffectual to be a good teacher to a group of unruly and often trouble-making teenagers.