Brighter Than the Sun

Chapter Ten

He handed them to her, and as the rest of us watched in amazement, Hermione tapped them with her wand and said, "Impervius! There!" she said, handing them back to Harry. "They'll repel water!"

Wood looked as though he could have kissed her.

"Brilliant!" he called hoarsely after her as she disappeared into the crowd. "Okay, team, let's go for it!"

"Impervius!" We chanted, and it was back to the game.

Hermione's spell had done the trick. Though I was wet literally everywhere else, I could see. Alicia, Angelina, and I had no problems making passes and avoiding bumping into things now.

"Harry!" I heard Wood yell, and I whipped around. Harry was staring at something in the stands. Meanwhile, Cedric Diggory was chasing the Snitch.

"Harry, behind you!" I warned.

Harry spun around, noticed Cedric, and bolted after him. I turned my attention back on my job, but suddenly the air around me froze. I looked up. Hundreds of dementors came swooping into the field.

"Oh, Styx," I murmured. I saw Harry fall moments later. "Oh, Styx!" I repeated, then urged my broom towards him as fast as it could go. The Hufflepuffs exploded, cheering as Cedric Diggory caught the Snitch.

I swooped below Harry and braced myself so I could catch him. He wasn't as heavy as I thought he was. Someone swooped down beside me. I looked up into Cedric Diggory's face.

"I didn't knock him off, did I?" he asked. "I didn't see him fall..."

"No, the dementors affected him," I replied.

"I'll help you get him down," Cedric offered. I nodded, and we lowered Harry to the ground. Wood came running up to us.

"Wood, look..." Cedric said. "I didn't see him fall until after I got the Snitch, I swear."

"I believe you," Wood said grimly.

"We can do a rematch--"

"No." Wood's shoulders slumped. "No, you won."

Cedric blinked, his mouth slightly open. "You're sure?"

"Wood, we can wait until Harry's awake again," I said.

"No," Wood said again. "No, I can't do that."

Wood told Madame Hooch his decision, and Hufflepuff was declared the winner of the match. Dumbledore came onto the field and shot silver lights at the Dementors. He conjured a stretcher and Harry was taken to the Hospital Wing. I asked Professor McGonagall if I could try to find Harry's broom, which had drifted off the field towards the grounds. She nodded, and even went with me to help.

We discovered it had floated over to the Whomping Willow, which was currently bashing the broom to bits. McGonagall summoned the remains of the broom and conjured a bag to carry them in.

"We'll see if Madame Hooch can mend it," she said.

Try as she might, Madame Hooch couldn't fix the broom. She looked almost as disappointed as I felt, like the broom had been a pet that had gotten run over by a car or something.

I dreaded telling Harry about his broom, but I knew I had to. When I arrived at the Hospital Wing, I found the team huddled around Harry's bed. Wood wasn't there, and when I asked about his whereabouts, Fred told me he'd gone straight to the showers. George asked about Harry's broom.

I placed the bag McGonagall had given me after Madame Hooch had given up on Harry's bed, careful to avoid his legs. I explained what had happened. When I was done, Ron looked like he was about to cry.