Bludgers and Blood
Harry woke up Saturday in a better mood than he�d been in for weeks. He�d just slept for the first time in almost a week and he didn�t have the dream. But his mood came crashing down when he got down to breakfast.
Hermione was sitting between Icicle and Ginny, where she always sat. She looked ill. Her skin was ghostly white and she had black marks under her eyes visible from across the room. Harry tore his eyes from her face and walked down to sit next to Ron. He took one look at the concerned looks on his sisters� faces and buried his face in his arms.
�Harry, don�t do that,� Sheila said. �We have the quidditch match in two hours. You need your strength.�
Harry lifted his head briefly to glare at her. He�d lost his interest in quidditch. He only went to practice because he had to. There was no reserve Seeker.
�Please,� Melissa pleaded. �If you eat something now, I promise I won�t bother you again today.�
Harry wasn�t really hungry, but he jumped at the chance to get them to stop bothering him. He picked up a piece of toast, took a bite out of it, and threw it on his plate. He got up and left the room. He couldn�t stand them feeling sorry for him. He walked up to Gryffindor Tower, got out his Firebolt, and headed down to the quidditch field.
* * *
�Harry! Snap out of it!�
Harry glared at Fred who had grabbed his shoulders and shaken him.
�Come on Harry!� George said. �Ya gotta give us the traditional pep talk.�
�You do it,� Harry growled.
�Okay then,� George said, imitating Oliver Wood. �The most important thing is that we win. Therefore, you girls will have your work cut out for you. Sheila, do whatever is necessary to block the Hufflepuffs. The rest of you, score as many goals as you can. With our Seeker�s current.... um.... condition.... we�ll need to get far enough ahead that it won�t matter.�
�Wow,� Fred said. �George just called Harry weak and he didn�t do anything. What�s wrong with him?�
�No idea,� Sheila lied. Harry silently thanked her. He didn�t want the whole team worrying about him. As if she could read his mind, Sheila turned and winked at him.
�All right, time to go,� George announced, pushing Harry out toward the field. �Captain goes first.� The rest of the team followed.
The crowd cheered as the teams walked out onto the field. Harry walked out to the middle and shook hands with Hannah Abbott, the Hufflepuff team captain. He walked back to his team and mounted his broom. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and he took off as fast as he could, trying to clear his head. But no matter how fast he flew, he couldn�t leave behind his thoughts of Hermione.
----------------------------------------------------
Hermione was thinking about Harry. In fact, she�d thought of nothing else in the past few days. She hadn�t been sleeping, because whenever she slept, she had the dream. She couldn�t bear to see the look on Harry�s face as he stared across the forest at his parents.
�Hermione!� Ginny shouted. �I said �let�s go sit over there.��
Hermione followed Ginny and Icicle over to where Ron was sitting. He was talking to one of the new girls. Melissa Wilson was her name. Hermione walked over and sat next to Ron. She could see the teams walking out onto the field.
�Hey Hermione,� Ron yelled over the cheering of the cheering of the crowd, �haven�t seen much of you!�
�I�ve been really busy, you know!� Hermione shouted back.
�There they go!� Ron yelled, jumping to his feet.
Hermione watched Harry rise into the air. He flew up until he was level with the top of the stands and scanned the field for the Snitch. Hermione was so focused on Harry she didn�t hear Ron yelling at her.
�Ow!� Hermione exclaimed when Ron poked her in the ribs.
�Look who it is,� Ron whispered, pointing at the row in front of them.
Hermione looked down and saw the silvery blond hair that could only belong to Draco Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle were nowhere to be seen and Malfoy seemed a little nervous.
�Hey,� Ron shouted, poking Malfoy in the back of the head, �this is the Gryffindor section.�
�I�m not in the mood, Weasel,� Malfoy yelled back, whipping around.
�Do you think I care?� Ron asked. �After everything you�ve done to me and my friend, do you think I give a damn?!�
�Ron, don�t!� Melissa shouted, but it was too late. Ron shoved him. Malfoy fell down a few levels, which, luckily, were empty. His head smashed into a seat and he fell back unconscious, blood soaking his hair.
�Weasley!�
Professor Snape had appeared at the scene and was rushing over.
�Twenty points from Gryffindor,� Snape growled, �and detention. You,� he glared at Melissa, who cringed, �take him to the hospital wing.�
�Yes sir,� Melissa said. Then whispering to Hermione, �Help me.� They rushed down to Malfoy. They each grabbed an arm and dragged him to the hospital wing.
-------------------------------------------------
�Ron, what did you do that for?� Icicle asked when Hermione, Melissa, and Malfoy were gone.
�What?� Ron yelled angrily, �He started it!�
�That�s the strange thing,� Ginny muttered. �For once, he didn�t start it.�
---------------------------------------------------
Harry was having trouble concentrating on the game. He kept thinking about Hermione.
�Gryffindor leads fifty to ten as Bell races across the field and.... watch out for that bludger!� Lee Jordan�s yell jerked Harry back to reality, but it was too late. The bludger slammed into his arm with a sickening crack.
�Ooh, a bludger takes out the Gryffindor Seeker. It must not have hurt him too bad. He isn�t calling time-out so the game continues.�
Harry looked at his arm and had to resist the urge to be sick. His arm, clearly broken, was bent the wrong way and blood was soaking through his robes. He was starting to feel lightheaded.
But he didn�t call a time-out. If he did, they would have to forfeit the match. He had to finish the match fast.
He saw a glint of gold across the field and raced after it. The Hufflepuff Seeker was racing after him, but he wasn�t fast enough. Harry reached out his good arm and closed his hand around the Snitch.
It�s over, Harry thought to himself before he blacked out and fell twenty feet to the ground.
* * *
Harry slowly opened his eyes. There were dark shadows moving around above him. He reached out to get his glasses and put them on.
He was lying in a bed in the hospital wing. His arm wasn�t broken anymore but it was so stiff he couldn�t move it anyway. Ron, Melissa, and the entire quidditch team were standing around him, talking in low voices. Sheila was the first to see him.
�Hey, he�s awake!�
Everyone stopped talking and looked down at him.
�Are you okay?� Melissa asked. �You had a nasty fall.�
�That was a great catch!� Fred said. �We won!�
�Here�s your broom,� George said, handing the Firebolt to Harry. �I managed to catch it before it smashed into a goalpost.�
They would�ve stayed longer, but Madam Pomfrey chased them out, saying Harry needed rest. Harry didn�t sleep but he was secretly grateful to Madam Pomfrey. He needed to be alone. He looked around and spotted Malfoy a couple beds down.
�What�s he doing here?� Harry asked Madam Pomfrey.
�Got into a fight with Ronald Weasley. He came in with a nasty bump on his head.�
Malfoy was unconscious and the bump on his head seemed to have been healed.
�Get some sleep,� Madam Pomfrey ordered. �You�ll be released in a few hours when you�ve got your strength back.� She walked out, leaving Harry alone. He spent the next few hours staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
____________________________________________________________
previous next
home