Future Nostalgia / Harry Pott...

By xokassiexo

2.2M 70.5K 236K

"He'd do it again if it meant she got the chance to live." "He looked at her, actually looked at her, and won... More

Off to Hogwarts
The Lucky Cauldron
Dementor
Greeting Feast and New Professors
A Full Day of Classes and a Hippogriff Attack
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Lupin Addition
Hogsmeade and Sirius Black
Quidditch Match and Dementors
Hogsmeade and Uncovered Secrets
Making it Known
Christmas and Surprise Firebolts
Quidditch Cup and Surprise Common Room Visits
Hermione Gone Wild
The Quidditch Cup
Exams and Animal Murder
Sirius Black and Surprise Visitors
Peter Pettigrew
Time Turner
Freeing Sirius and Goodbyes
The Burrows and the Going to the Quidditch Cup
Shopping at the Quidditch Cup
Tragedy at the Quidditch Cup
Going Home
Hogwarts and DTR
Moody and Ferrets
Moody's First Class, S.P.E.W., and Sirius's Letter
Arrival of Drumstrang and Beauxbatons
The Arrival of Delegates and a Great Feast
The Aftermath of the Goblet of Fire
The First Task: Dragons
Yule Ball Preparations
The Yule Ball
Discovering Clues
The Second Task
Meeting with Sirius and Uncovering Secrets
Care of Magical Creatures and Mean Letters
The Third Task
Remembering Cedric & Heading Home
Order of the Pheonix
Dinner and Drama
The Truth of the Order
The Trial
The Boggart
The Ride to Hogwarts
The Ministry's Presence and Introduction to Umbridge
First Day of Term
Professor Umbridge
Classes and Detention
Talking with Sirius
A Full Day of Classes
Inspections and the Birth of an Idea
Forming the "Study Group"
Relations
More Inspections/Did Umbridge Find Out?
Studying Sessions
The First Meeting of Dumbledore's Army
The First Quidditch Match
The Return of Hagrid
Care of Magical Creature, Hagrid Edition
Alone time
Arthur Weasley's in Danger
Visiting Mr. Weasley
Christmas at the Twelve Grimmauld Place
Back to Hogwarts and a Poor Occulmency Lesson
Two Decrees in One Week and Interview at Hogsmeade
Failing Quidditch Team
Angry Umbridge and the Sacking of Trelawney
A Rat Ratted the D.A. Out
Meeting with Umbridge
Belated Anniversary Celebrations
The Epic Departure of Fred and George Weasley
The Keeping of a Giant Named Grawp in the Forbidden Forest
The Stress of Exams and the Sacking of Hagrid
Failure to Contact Sirius
The Sacking of Umbridge and Attempted Murder by Centaurs
Flight to the Ministry
The Battle in the Department of Mysteries
Voldemort is Back
Dumbledore Decides to Finally Tell the Truth
Going Home
Half-Blooded Prince, Arriving at the Burrow, and O.W.L. Results
Last Trip to Diagon Alley
Back to Hogwarts
First Day of N.E.W.T Classes...Half-Blooded Prince
Quidditch Tryouts & Making Things Right with Hagrid
The Possession of Katie Bell and Attempted Date Plans
Slugclub Christmas Party
Meeting the Minister of Magic
Poison and Beater Bats to the Back of the Head
Special Moments in the Library
The Influence of Liquid Luck
Sectumsempra, Rocky Relationships, and Their Last Meeting With Dumbledore
The Inferi and the Lightning-Struck Tower
The Future of Hogwarts
We've Had Time, Haven't we?
Journey to the Burrow
Preparing the Burrow for a Grand Event
The Reading of Albus Dumbledore's Will
Disaster at a Beautiful Ceremony
Regulus Articulus Black
Infiltrating the Ministry
Escaping the Ministry
Flared Tempers
Godric's Hollow
The Strange Appearance of a Familiar Silver Doe
The Tale of Three Brothers
Making Connections and Potterwatch
Malfoy Manner
Shell Cottage
Way Down We Go
Infiltrating Hogwarts and the Sacking of Severus Snape
The Battle of Hogwarts
Death, Loss, and Carnage
A Happy Affair
Epilogue

Quidditch: Slytherin v. Gryffindor

13.6K 427 2K
By xokassiexo

Katie was removed to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries the following day, by which time the news that she had been cursed had spread all over the school, thought the details were confused and nobody other than Estella, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Leanne seemed to know that Katie herself had not been the intended target.

"Oh, and Malfoy knows, of course," said Harry to the three, who continued their new policy of feigning deafness whenever Harry mentioned his Malfoy-Is-a-Death-Eater theory.

That night Estella found herself at Slughorn's dinner party, sitting between Ian and Hermione at a large round table where Slughorn sat at the head. Hermione wore a short, but formal, black dress and Estella wore a formal powder-blue bodycon dress and they both still felt underdressed as all the guys were wearing their best robes and the girls beautiful (homecoming-short-like) dresses.

Ian was handsome, to say the least; his normally messy brown hair sat neatly on his head and he wore an inviting smile.

"I'm so glad you two could finally make it," said Slughorn, beaming at Estella and Ian.

"Thank you for having us," Estella said politely, silently wishing he'd stop inviting her.

"Lovely manners, that one has," said Slughorn, before turning to speak with a few of the newly invited students.

"This is mental," said Ian with a slight shake of his head.

"I can't believe you came. Mione said you haven't been to any except the first one," said Estella, as she sipped her pumpkin juice.

"I heard you were coming. I couldn't conjure another bullshit excuse and I knew if you came it'd at least be bearable," Ian said truthfully.

"Ah, yet another thing we have in common," joked Estella. "We've run out of excuses and it's only the third meeting!"

Ian laughed at that, drawing attention to the pair of them.

"You two know each other?" asked Slughorn, looking surprised.

Estella nodded.

"More like he has-" Blaise began, but grew silent with a grunt.

"We've had classes together since first year," said Ian, glaring at Blaise.

"Makes sense. Two of the best in the year would take the same classes," Slughorn said quite proudly.

Estella blushed as eyes across the table glared at her.

She didn't ask Slughorn to take a fascination with her. If she were anyone else Slughorn wouldn't even notice her.

"Where's Harry," asked Ian, as the main courses of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and broccoli and salad were served.

"He has a meeting with Dumbledore tonight," she said.

"Any plans afterward?" he asked calmly, cutting into the beef.

"Yes," said Ginny quickly from beside Hermione. "We're going to study, right?"

Estella looked at the girl. They made no plans to study and she knew Ginny didn't need help in any of her subjects.

"What-?"

"Yes, we've got to finish that Arithmancy assignment and then help Ginny with her Transfiguration essay," said Hermione, adding to the blatant lie.

"I guess I do have plans," said Estella, looking between the two girls.

The rest of the dinner went surprisingly fast and was actually quite enjoyable. They even met a famous Quidditch player by the name of Gwenog Jones. Estella recognized her from the posters in Ginny's room at the Burrow.

She soon found herself walking back to the Gryffindor common room, heels in hand with Hermione and Ginny, both of whom, also had removed their shoes.

Heels were not comfortable, though wedges were much more bearable.

"When did we make plans to study?" asked Estella, as they approached the portrait hole.

"We didn't but it was obvious Ian was about to ask to go hang out, just the two of you," said Ginny.

"Dilligrout," said Hermione, and the door swung open.

"Ian doesn't like me," said Estella.

Hermione and Ginny exchanged skeptical looks.

"I swear, he doesn't like me," pressed Estella.

"Who doesn't like you?" said a voice from the couch.

"Harry! You're back earlier than I thought," said Estella, who plopped next to him on the couch and leaned over to kiss him.

"Ian," said Ginny, earning a glare from Estella.

Ian most certainly did not like her.

"No, he doesn't," she said dryly.

"That's surprising," muttered Ron, who left Lavender Brown at a table in the corner and moved into the armchair closest to the fireplace.

Estella forced Harry to look at her. "He doesn't like me."

His eyes narrowed.

"He doesn't!" she said loudly.

"Remember when you told me that Cho liked me and I didn't believe you?"

"That's not like this," sighed Estella.

Not caring she was wearing a dress, Estella laid down, her head on Harry's lap and her feet on Hermione.

If anyone looked they'd see black spandex anyway.

"You guys look good," said Ron, though his eyes lingered on Hermione.

"Thanks, Ron," said Hermione, her face blushing ever-so-slightly.

"Very beautiful," whispered Harry, his thumb skimmed her cheek.

She giggled and whispered, "I know."

The next morning, Estella, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off to Herbology where he filled them in as they walked across the vegetable patch toward the greenhouses. The weekend's brutal wind had died out at last; the weird mist had returned and it took them a little longer than usual to find the correct greenhouse.

"Wow, scary thought, the boy You-Know-Who," said Ron quietly, as they took their places around one of the gnarled Snargaluff stumps that formed this term's project, and began pulling on their protective gloves. "But I still don't get why Dumbledore's showing you all this. I mean, it's really interesting and everything, but what's the point?"

"Dunno," said Harry, inserting a gum shield. "But he says it's all important and it'll help me survive."

"I think it's fascinating," said Hermione earnestly, and Estella nodded. She only knew clippers of Tom Riddle's rise to power. "It makes absolute sense to know as much about Voldemort as possible. How else will you find out his weakness?"

"So how was Slughorn's latest party?" Harry asked the two through the gum shield.

"Oh, it was quite fun, really. Much better with Estella and Ian," said Hermione, now putting on protective goggles. "I mean, he drones on about famous ex-pupils a bit, and he absolutely fawns on McLaggen because he's so well-connected, but he gave us some really nice food and he introduced us to Gwenog Jones."

"Gwenog Jones?" said Ron, his eyes widening under his own goggles. "The Gwenog Jones? Captain of the Holyhead Harpies?"

"Yeah," said Estella. "Ginny and Ian raved over her but I kind of thought she was a bit full of herself, nice though-"

"Quite enough chat over here!" said Professor Sprout briskly, bustling over and looking stern. "You're lagging behind, everybody else has started, and Neville's already got his first pod!"

They looked around; sure enough, there sat Neville with a bloody lip and several nasty scratches along the side of his face, but clutching an unpleasantly pulsating green object about the size of a grapefruit.

"Sorry, Professor, we'll start now," said Estella.

"Should've used Muffliato, Harry," said Ron, lowering his voice when Sprout had turned away.

"No, we shouldn't!" said Hermione at once, looking, as she always did, intensely cross at the thought of the Half-Blood Prince and his spells. "Well, come on...we'd better get going..."

The gnarled stump sprang to life at once; long, prickly, bramblelike vines flew out of the top and whipped through the air. One tangled itself in Hermione's hair, and Ron beat it back with a pair of secateurs; Harry succeeded in trapping a couple of vines and knotting them together; Estella watched, knowing she'd definitely make things worse; a hole opened in the middle of all the tentaclelike branches; Hermione plunged her arm bravely into this hole, which closed like a trap around her elbow; Harry and Ron tugged and wrenched at the vines, forcing the hole to open again, and Hermione snatched her arm free, clutching in her fingers a pod just like Neville's. At once, the prickly vines shot back inside, and the gnarled stump sat there looking like an innocently dead lump of wood.

"You know, I don't think I'll be having any of these in my garden when I've got my own place," said Ron, pushing his goggles up onto his forehead and wiping sweat from his face.

"I'm not having a garden unless someone else takes care of it," said Estella, staring at the gnarled stump.

"Pass me a bowl," said Hermione, holding the pulsating pod at arm's length; Harry handed one over and she dropped the pod into it with a look of disgust on her face.

"Don't be squeamish, squeeze it out, they're best when they're fresh," called Professor Sprout.

That rhymed.

"Anyway," said Estella, continuing their previous conversation as though a lump of wood had not just attacked the other four, "Slughorn's going to have a Christmas party, Harry, and there's no way you'll be able to wriggle out of this one because he actually asked us to check your free evenings, so he could be sure to have it on a night you can come."

Harry groaned. Meanwhile, Ron, who was attempting to burst the pod in the bowl by putting both hands on it, standing up, and squashing it as hard as he could, said angrily, "And this is another party just for Slughorn's favorites, is it?"

"Just for the Slug Club, yes," said Hermione.

The pod flew out from Ron's fingers and hit the greenhouse glass, rebounding onto the back of Professor Sprout's head and knocking off her old, patched hat. Estella went to retrieve the pod; when she got back, Hermione was saying, "Look I didn't make up the name 'Slug Club'-"

"'Slug Club'" repeated Ron with a sneer worthy of Malfoy. "It's pathetic. Well, I hope you enjoy your party. Why don't you try hooking up with McLaggen, then Slughorn can make you King and Queen Slug-oh wait, that's reserved for Harry and Estella-"

"We're allowed to bring guest," said Hermione, who had turned a bright, boiling scarlet, "and I was going to ask you to come, but if you think it's that stupid then I won't bother."

Estella's mouth dropped. Hermione had made a move, despite how small it was. She was now, at least, acknowledging her feelings.

Harry had pulled Estella close to him, obviously trying to stop her from eavesdropping on Ron's and Hermione's conversation, though she could still hear every word.

"You were going to ask me?" asked Ron, in a completely different voice.

"Yes," said Hermione angrily. "But obviously if you'd rather I hooked up with McLaggen..."

There was a pause.

"You shouldn't be listening," whispered Harry.

"Shh!" she hissed as Ron said, "No, I wouldn't," in a quiet voice.

Harry missed the pod, hit the bowl, and shattered it.

"Reparo," he said hastily, poking the pieces with his wand, and the bowl sprang together again. The crash, however, appeared to have awoken Ron and Hermione back to Harry and Estella's presence. Hermione looked flustered and immediately started fussing about for her copy of Flesh-Eating Trees of the World to find a correct way to juice the Snargaluff pods; Ron, on the other hand, looked sheepish but also rather pleased with himself.

"Hand that over, Harry," said Hermione hurriedly. "It says we're supposed to puncture them with something sharp..."

Harry passed her the pod in the bowl and Estella moved to help her while Harry and Ron snapped their goggles back over their eyes and divvied, once more, for the stump.

"So-" Estella began.

"Shut it or I'll spread a rumor that I caught you and Harry in the broom cupboard on the sixth floor," hissed Hermione, obviously still flustered.

Estella laughed. "Hardly a rumor if it's true," she quipped, earning a glare from Hermione.

It was definitely worth it, though.

Estella flinched and jumped away from Hermione as she burst the first pod open, so that the bowl was full of tubers wriggling like pale green worms.

The rest of the lesson passed without further mention of Slughorn's party. Although, over the next few days, Ron and Hermione did not seem any different except that they were a little politer to each other than usual. Harry had expressed worries about their budding "relationship" that Estella quickly shut down. It was a bit hypocritical to think that it wasn't the best idea for Ron and Hermione to get together as the same could've been said for her and Harry.

Katie Bell was still in St. Mungo's Hospital with no prospect of leaving, which meant that the Gryffindor team was a Chaser short.

The only person not disgruntled by Harry's decision for Dean Thomas to play Chaser in Katie's absence was Seamus.

Estella found herself sitting in the common room with Hermione, finishing an Ancient Runes assignment when a loud voice sounded throughout the room.

"Oi!"

Looking around, Estella saw Ron staring daggers at Dean and Ginny, who were involved in a tense snogging session.

Dean and Ginny broke apart and looked around.

"What?" said Ginny.

"I don't want to find my own sister snogging people in public!"

"This was a deserted common room till you came butting in!" said Ginny.

Hermione and Estella exchanged a look, attempting to make themselves hidden as Ron swerved over to where the two of them were sitting.

"What about them?" exclaimed Ron.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Estella and Hermione most definitely don't care!" said Ginny.

Dean was looking embarrassed.

"Er...c'mon, Ginny," said Dean, "let's go back to my dorm..."

"You go!" said Ginny. "I want a word with my dear brother!"

Dean left, looking as though he was not sorry to depart the scene.

Ron was most certainly about to get yelled at.

Harry quickly moved from Ron's side and into the free seat next to Estella and across from Hermione.

"Right," said Ginny, tossing her long red hair out of her face and glaring at Ron, "let's get this straight once and for all. It is none of your business who I go out with or what I do with them, Ron-"

"Yeah, it is!" said Ron, just as angrily. "D'you think I want people saying my sister's a-"

"A what?" shouted Ginny, drawing her wand. "A what exactly?"

"He doesn't mean anything, Ginny-" said Harry automatically, and Estella whacked his arm.

Ron had no reason to call his sister any name. She dated two people and it's her body so it's her choice. Ginny was most certainly not any derogatory word used to insult women confident in who they were.

"Oh yes he does!" said Ginny. "Just because he's never snogged anyone in his life, just because the only kiss he's ever had is from our Auntie Muriel-"

"Shut your mouth!" bellowed Ron, bypassing red and turning maroon.

"No, I will not," yelled Ginny, beside herself. "I've seen you with Phlegm, hoping she'll kiss you on the cheek every time you see her, it's pathetic! If you went out and got a bit of snogging done yourself, you wouldn't mind so much that everyone else does it!"

Ron pulled out his wand.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" roared Ron, trying to get a clear shot around Ginny as Harry had jumped to his feet, and was standing between the two fighting siblings. "Just because I don't do it in public-!"

Ginny screamed with derisive laughter, trying to push Harry out of the way.

"Been kissing Pidwidgeon, have you? Or have you got a picture of Auntie Muriel stashed under your pillow?"

"You-"

A streak of orange light flew under Harry's left arm and missed Ginny by inches; Harry pushed Ron up against the wall.

"Don't be stupid-"

"Harry and Estella snog and do more than that all the time!" shouted Ginny, who sounded close to tears now. "And Hermione snogged Viktor Krum, it's only you who acts like it's disgusting, Ron, and that's because you've got about as much experience as a twelve-year-old!"

And with that, she stormed away. Harry quickly let go of Ron; the look on his face was murderous.

"Did Hermione snog Krum?" Ron asked abruptly as he approached the couch where Estella was sitting.

Hermione had raced after Ginny and Estella stayed behind to gather their stuff.

"What?" Harry said confusedly.

Ron turned to Estella, who avoided eye contact.

"I don't know what you want me to say," she said quickly.

Ron seemed to gather the worst from that sentence.

Estella spent the rest of the night calming Ginny, listening to the Twisted Sisters, and watching movies.

Breakfast was surprisingly civil the next day which was most likely due to the fact it was the first Gryffindor Quidditch match of the season.

The Gryffindor table, a solid mass of red and gold, cheered as Harry and Ron approached. Harry grinned and waved; Ron grimaced weakly and shook his head.

"Cheer up, Ron!" called Lavender. "I know you'll be brilliant!"

Ron ignored her.

"Tea?" Harry asked him. "Coffee? Pumpkin juice?"

"Anything," said Ron glumly, taking a moody bite of toast.

"How are you both feeling?" asked Estella tentatively.

"Fine," said Harry, who quickly kissed Estella before turning to Ron and handing him a glass of pumpkin juice. "There you go, Ron. Drink up."

Ron had just raised the glass to his lips when Hermione spoke sharply.

"Don't drink that, Ron!"

All three looked at her.

"Why not?" said Ron.

Hermione was now staring at Harry as though she could not believe her eyes.

"You just put something in that drink."

"Excuse me?" said Harry.

"You heard me. I saw you. You just tipped something into Ron's drink. You've got the bottle in your hand now!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Harry, covertly showing Estella and empty vial before stowing it in his pocket.

"Ron, I warn you, don't drink it!" Hermione said again, alarmed, but Ron picked up the glass, drained it in one gulp, and said, "Stop bossing me around, Hermione."

Estella hid her face against Harry's chest as he wrapped his arm around her. He knew she'd laugh. It was quite a predictable Estella thing to do in a "tense" situation.

"You should be expelled for that. I'd never believed it of you, Harry!" hissed Hermione.

"Hark who's talking," he whispered back. "Confudned anyone lately?"

Hermione stormed away from them.

"You did good," he whispered, kissing the top of Estella's head.

She shook her head.

"Oh Merlin, I can't sit with her today," she said sadly.

"Why?" asked Harry, laughing.

Estella looked at him as though he was dumb. "I'll blab so fast," she said sadly.

The only people she was good at lying to were adults, except her father, who always seemed to know.

She glanced at him before getting up. "Wear that sweater later and meet me in the study room," she whispered.

"I have time now!" she heard Harry yell as she left.

She felt his eyes follow her out of the Great Hall.

Estella found herself sitting with Luna, who was wearing her famous lion-topped hat, Astoria, and Hermione. Amidst all the yelling and clapping the roar of Luna's extravagant hat was audible.

The two teams emerged onto the pitch and the captains stepped to Madam Hooch, who was standing ready to release the balls from the crate.

"Captains shake hands," she said. "Mount your brooms. On the whistle...three...two...one..."

The whistle sounded, Harry and the others kicked off hard from the frozen ground, and they were away.

Harry soared around the perimeter of the grounds, clearly searching for the Snitch.

"Well, there you go, and I think we're all surprised to see the team that Potter's put together this year. Many thought, given Ronald Weasley's patchy performance as Keeper last year, that he might be off the team, but of course, a close personal friendship with the Captain does help..."

These words were greeted with jeers and applause from the Slytherin end of the pitch. Estella scowled as she noticed that Zacharias Smith was the new commentator.

"You should've signed up," whispered Astoria.

"I would've if I weren't so busy with my N.E.W.T. classes," she sighed.

Smith despised half of the Gryffindors on the Quidditch team from being in the D.A.

"Oh, and here comes Slytherin's first attempt on goal, it's Urquhart streaking down the pitch and-"

Her breath hitched in her throat.

"-Weasley saves it, well, he's bound to get lucky sometimes, I suppose..."

Estella lept in her seat, cheering loudly with Hermione, Luna, Astoria, who wasn't unafraid to cheer for her House's competing team, and Luna's loud, roaring lion hat.

Within half an hour of the game gone, Gryffindor were leading sixty points to zero, Ron having made some truly spectacular saves, some by the very tips of his gloves, and Ginny having scored four of Gryffindor's six goals. This effectively stopped Zacharias wondering loudly whether the two Weasleys were only there because Harry liked them, and he started on Peakes and Coote instead.

"Of course, Coote isn't really the usual build for a Beater," said Zacharias loftily, "they've generally got a bit more muscle..."

It seemed as though Gryffindor could do no wrong. Agan and again they scored, and again and again, at the other end of the pitch, Ron saved goals with apparent ease. He was actually smiling now, and when the crowd greeted a particularly good save with a rousing chorus of the old "Weasley Is Our King," he pretended to conduct them from the goal pitch.

The crowd's breath hitched simultaneously as Ian set in a fast dive.

"And I think Ian of Slytherin's seen the Snitch!" said Zacharias Smith through his megaphone. "Yes, he's certainly seen something Potter hasn't!"

The Snitch was speeding along high above them, glinting brightly against the clear blue sky.

Harry accelerated, but Ian was still ahead of him, and Gryffindor was only a hundred points up; if Ian got there first Gryffindor had lost...and Ian was feet from it, his hand outstretched.

The crowd was on the tip of their feet as they watched Ian falter at something Harry said, allowing the Snitch to slip through his fingers, and shoot right past him. Harry made a great swipe for the tiny, fluttering ball and caught it.

"YES!" Estella squealed, jumping with Hermione, as Harry hurtled back toward the ground, the Snitch held high in his hand. The stadium was full of loud shouts that almost drowned the sound of the whistle that signaled the end of the game.

Hermione wasted no time, grabbing Estella's arm and tugging her down to the Gryffindor changing room where Ron and Harry had just exited.

"I want a word with you, Harry." Hermione took a deep breath. "You shouldn't have done it. You heard Slughorn, it's illegal."

"What are you going to do, turn us in?" demanded Ron.

Harry had moved to Estella's side, a look of confusion on his face. "What are you three talking about," asked Harry, swooping down to kiss Estella's cheek.

"You know perfectly well what we're talking about!" said Hermione shrilly. "You spiked Ron's juice with lucky potion at breakfast! Felix Felicis!"

"No, I didn't," said Harry.

"Yes you did, Harry, and that's why everything went right, there were Slytherin players missing and Ron saved everything!"

"I didn't put it in!" said Harry, grinning broadly. He slipped his hand inside his jacket pocket and drew out the tiny bottle he's shown Estella earlier. It was full of the golden potion and the cork was still tightly sealed with wax. "I wanted Ron to think I'd done it, so I faked it when I knew you were looking." He looked at Ron. "You saved everything because you felt lucky. You did it all yourself."

He pocketed the potion again.

"There really wasn't anything in my pumpkin juice?" Ron said, sounding astounded. "But the weather's good...and Vaisey couldn't play...I honestly haven't been given any lucky potion?"

Harry shook his head. Ron gaped at him for a moment, then rounded on Hermione, imitating her voice. "You added Felix Felicis to Ron's juice this morning, that's why he saved everything!" See! I can save goals without help, Hermione!"

"I never said you couldn't-Ron, you thought you'd been given it too!"

But Ron had already strode past her out of the door with his broomstick over his shoulder.

"Er," said Harry into the sudden silence, shall...shall we go up to the party, then?"

"You two go!" said Hermione, blinking back tears. "I'm sick of Ron at the moment, I don't know what I'm supposed to have done..."

And she stormed out of the changing room too.

Estella took Harry's hand, pulling him slowly back up the grounds toward the castle through the crowd, many of whom shouted congratulations at him.

"Harry, it was a good plan. It wasn't like Hermione pieced together that she offended Ron by kissing Viktor. I mean, Ron's never made any move or showed that he likes her, and neither has Hermione, well, except for when she tried to invite him to Slughorn's Christmas party..."

"I don't know why I thought that if Ron won the match they'd be normal around each other again," muttered Harry.

Estella could not see Hermione at the Gryffindor celebration party, which was in full swing when they arrived. Renewed cheers and clapping greeted Harry's appearance, and he was soon surrounded by a mob of people congratulating him. Estella drifted from his side and across the common room where Ginny sat.

"Looking for Ron," asked Ginny, smirking as Harry broke off from the mob. "He's over there, the filthy hypocrite."

Estella looked into the corner where she was indicating. There, in full view of the whole room, stood Ron wrapped so closely around Lavender Brown it was hard to tell whose hands were whose.

"Ew, he looks like he's eating her face, doesn't it?" asked Estella before she averted her gaze.

"I suppose he's got to practice his technique somewhere," said Ginny.

She patted them on the shoulder and walked away, grabbing a butterbeer on her way.

"Do I look like that?" asked Harry, who tore his eyes from Ron and to Estella.

She laughed. "I'm not sure what you look like but I know you don't look like Ron, that's for sure."

She turned away from Ron, who did not look like he would be surfacing soon, just as the portrait hole was closing. With a sinking feeling, she thought she saw a mane of brown hair whipping out of sight.

She darted forward, Harry following behind her, and pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady. The corridor outside seemed to be deserted.

"Mione?"

They found her in the first unlocked classroom they tried. She was sitting on the teacher's desk, alone except for a small ring of twittering yellow birds circling her head, which she had clearly just conjured out of midair.

"Oh, hello," she said in a brittle voice. "I was just practicing."

"They're really cool," said Estella.

She wasn't good at comforting people when they were upset (that was reserved for Hermione), but from what her friends told her she was good at giving advice.

"Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations," she said, in an unnaturally high-pitched voice.

"Er...does he?" said Harry.

"Don't pretend you didn't see him," said Hermione. "He wasn't exactly hiding it, was-?"

The door behind them burst open. To Estella's horror, Ron came in, laughing, pulling Lavender by the hand.

"Oh," he said, drawing short at the sight of Estella, Harry, and Hermione.

"Ooops!" said Lavender, and she backed out of the room, giggling. The door swung shut behind her.

There was a horrible, swelling, billowing silence. Hermione was staring at Ron, who refused to look at her, but said with an odd mixture of bravado and awkwardness, "Hi, guys! Wondered where you'd got to!"

Hermione slid off the desk. The little flock of golden birds continued to twitter in circles around her head so that she looked like a strange, feathery model of the solar system.

"You shouldn't leave Lavender waiting outside," she said quietly. "She'll wonder where you've gone."

Hermione walked very slowly and erectly toward the door. Estella glanced at Ron, who was looking relieved that nothing worse had happened.

"Oppungo!" whispered Estella before Hermione could.

The little flock of birds was speeding like a hail of fat golden bullets toward Ron, who yelped and covered his face with his hands, but the birds attacked, pecking and clawing at every bit of flesh they could reach.

In a way, Ron deserved it. No matter how much she loved Ron, Hermione was her best friend and she knew Ron had a public snogging session to ensure she saw it, to hurt her as she hurt him.

"Gerremoffme!" he yelled, but with one last look of vindictive fury, Hermione wrenched open the door and disappeared through it. Estella thought she heard a sob before it slammed.

She never left a room so quickly after that.

Hi guys, hope you liked the chapter. Vote and comment. I love reading the comments!

I love marvel so much. Do you guys have a favorite Marvel superhero? My top three are Ironman, Spiderman, and Rocket.

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