Another Potter

forty one

chapter forty one
the prisoner of azkaban

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"Lucky the ground was so soft."

"I thought she was dead for sure."

"But she still had a nosebleed."

"I'm staring to think she's just going to constantly have a nosebleed at this point."

Amelia could hear the voices whispering, but they made no sense whatsoever. She didn't have a clue where she was, or how she'd got there, or what she'd been doing before she got there. All she knew was that every inch of her was aching as though it had been beaten.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life."

Scariest. . . . the scariest thing. . . . hooded black figures. . . . cold. . . . screaming. . . .

Amelia's eyes snapped open. She was lying in the hospital wing. The Slytherin Quidditch team, spattered with mud from head to foot, was gathered around his bed. Daphne, Pansy, Millicent, Draco, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle were also there, looking as though they'd just climbed out of a swimming pool.

"Amelia!" said Millicent, who looked extremely white underneath, the mud. "How're you feeling?"

Amelia felt something in her throat, she so she sat up quickly and coughed, spitting blood out as Daphne rubbed her back.

"What happened?" Amelia said, looking around as there was dried blood from her nose and some around her mouth.

"You fell off," said Bletchley. "Must've been sixty odd feet?"

"We thought you'd died," said Pansy, who was shaking. Daphne made a small, squeaky noise. Her eyes were extremely bloodshot.

"I seem to be almost dying every year," Amelia said, waving her wand, not really caring, "not a big deal. "What happened with the match? Are we doing a replay?" No one said anything. The horrible truth sank into Amelia  like a stone. "Fuck," she said, tilting her head back and closing her eyes.

"Diggory got the Snitch," said Alec. "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square, even Flint admits it."

Amelia sat there, not saying a word. They had lost. For the first time ever, she had lost a Quidditch match.

After ten minutes or so, Madam Pomfrey came over to tell the team to leave him in peace.

"We'll come and see you later," Alec told him. "Don't beat yourself up. Amelia, you're still the best Seeker we've ever had." Amelia smiled weakly at them.

The team trooped out, trailing mud behind them. Madam Pomfrey shut the door behind them, looking disapproving. Draco and Daphne moved nearer to Amelia's bed.

"Dumbledore was really angry," Daphne said in a quaking voice. "I've never seen him like that before. He ran onto the field as you fell, waved his wand, and you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground. Then he whirled his wand at the Dementors. Shot silver stuff at them. They left the stadium right away. He was furious they'd come onto the grounds. We heard him. . . ."

"Then he magicked you onto a stretcher," said Draco. "And walked up to school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were. . . ." Amelia sighed as she nodded.

"Did someone get my Nimbus?" Draco and Daphne looked quickly at each other.

"Er. . . ."

"What?" said Amelia, looking from one to the other.