THE QUIDDITCH FINAL-010
The sound of crying woke Diana up the next day, it came from Hermione's bed. Diana quickly threw off her covers and made her way over to her best friend's bed.
"Mione, what's wrong! Are you hurt?" She asked, pulling the curtains back with worry written on her face.
"No, Ana. I'm not hurt. But just read this." Hermione sniffled, handing the blonde a tear-covered letter.
Dear Hermione,
We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts. The execution date is to be fixed. Bucky had enjoyed London. I won't forget all the help you gave us.
Hagrid
Diana's face twisted with sadness. "Oh, Mione." she pulled Hermione into a hug as the poor girl cried. She pulled away slightly, wiping away her best friend's tears. "Let's go tell Harry and Ron."
The blonde helped Hermione out of her bed and grabbed her hand before walking out of the dorm and down to the common room. Hermione's lip trembled as they climbed out of the hole, Diana squeezed her hand, Harry and Ron walked towards them.
"Come to have a good gloat?" Ron savagely as he and Harry stopped in front of the girls. "You have just been to tell on us?"
Diana didn't say anything to Ron as her hair was blue which caught the boys' attention.
"Dia? What's wrong?" Harry asked, worriedly.
Hermione stepped forward, holding the letter in her hand. "We just thought you ought to know...Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeck is going to be executed. He sent me this," She held out the letter to Harry who gently took it and began to read it as Ron peeked over his shoulder.
"They can't do this," Harry said, his face heating up with anger. "They can't. Buckbeck isn't dangerous."
"Draco's dad frightened the Committee into it," Diana spoke as Hermione turned her head onto her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around her best friend's shoulder. "You know what he's like. They're a bunch of old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal, though, there always is. The only thing is, I can't see anything changing."
"Yeah, it will," Ron said fiercely. "You won't have to do all the alone, Hermione, Ana. I'll help."
"Oh, Ron!" Hermione suddenly flung herself out of Diana's arms and into Ron', her arms wrapped around the boy's neck as she broke down completely.
Ron, looking quite terrified, looked at Diana for help, but nothing came. He patted her very awkwardly on the top of the head. Finally, Hermione drew away, stepping back into Diana's arms.
"Ron, I'm, really, sorry about Scarbbers..." She sobbed into her best friend, her teary eyes locked onto the redhead.
"Oh—well Diana was right—he was old," Ron said, looking very relieved that she had let go of him. "And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum and Dad might get an owl now."
***
Diana and her friends hurried towards Hagrid, where they found him at the lake. Hagrid was standing in the lake, skipping rocks. Diana sat in front of the rock Harry was sitting on, leading against his legs, watching poor Hagrid.
"How'd it go, Hagrid?" Hermione asked. "The hearing?"
"It was all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They were all sitting there in black robes and I kept dropping my notes and forgetting all the dates, you looked up for me, Hermione. And then Lucius Malfoy stood up and said his bit, and the Committee just did exactly what he told them.."
"They're not sacking you?" Ron asked.
"No, I'm not sacked. Buckbeck's been sentenced to death." Hagrid cried.
Diana's heart clutched hearing how upset her Professor was. She stood up and walked into the lake not caring about her pants getting wet. Wrapping her arms around her professor--the best she could and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, Hagrid."
Hagrid petted the blonde on the head, wiping his tears away. "I'll be alright, Ana. You four should be getting back on, it's getting dark."
After saying goodbye to Hagrid, the four of them walked back to the castle before hearing laughter. In front of them, they see Draco and his goons' laughter as the four of them grow closer.
"Look at him blubber!" Draco laughed, pointing towards Hagrid who was walking towards his house, crying. "Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?! And he's supposed to be our teacher!"
Harry and Ron both made furious moves toward Malfoy, but Hermione got there first. Diana followed behind them, her hair melted to red. Suddenly, before anyone could think, Hermione wheeled her arm back and punched Draco as hard as she could, leaving a red handprint on the blonde boy's cheek. Draco stumbled back, crying out as Diana covered her mouth, fighting back laughter. Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle stood in awe as Hermione raised her hand again.
"Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you fool—you evil..."
"Hermione!" Ron called as he tried grabbing her fist.
"Get off, Ron!" Hermione said, pulling out her wand.
Diana was struggling to hold back a laugh as her cousin stepped backward. Crabbe and Goyle looked at him for instruction.
"C'mon," Draco muttered, hurrying away from the four of them.
Diana burst out laughing, holding her stomach as Ron said. "Hermione!"
"Harry, Ana, you'd better beat him in the Quidditch final!" Hermione said, looking at them. "You just better have, it because I can't stand it if Slytherin wins! No offense to Sammy."
"We're due in Charms," Ron said, dragging a still-laughing Diana as they headed back to the castle. " We'd better go."
***
The day of the Quidditch final came. Diana, Harry, and the rest of the Gryffindor team entered the Great Hall to enormous applause. Her hair was bright pink and a large grin was on her face as she saw both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were applauding for them too. The Slytherin table, beside Sam, hissed loudly as they passed.
Diana nudged Harry and pointed at Draco. "Draco looks like he going to be sick,"
They both laughed as they sat at their table. Wood spent the whole of breakfast urging his team to eat while touching nothing himself. Then he hurried them off to the pitch before anyone else had finished, so they could get an idea of the conditions. As they left the Great Hall, everyone applauded again.
"Good luck, Harry!" Cho Chang yelled out. Harry blushed making Diana's mood immediately sour.
"Okay. . .no wind to speak of. . . sun's a bit bright, that could impair your vision, watch out for it. . . the ground's fairly hard, good that'll give us a fast kick-off. . ." Wood paced the field, staring around the team behind him.
"How long is he going to do this?" Diana asked Fred who stood next to her with his arm slung over her shoulder.
"Dunno, love. Hope not for long, though." Fred replied as Wood called over to them.
"Locker rooms!" Wood said tersely.
None of them spoke as they changed into their scarlet robes. Diana let out a shaky breath as she buttoned her robe.
"Okay, it's time, let's go. . ." Wood said.
They walked out onto the pitch to a tidal wave of noise. Three-quarters of the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes, including Sam who stood next to Hermione, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them or brandishing banners with slogans such as 'GO GRYFFINDOR!' and 'LIONS FOR THE CUP!'
Behind the Slytherin goalpost, however, two hundred people were wearing green; the silver serpent of Slytherin glittered on their flags, and Professor Snape sat in the very front row, wearing green like everyone else, and a very grim smile.
"And here are the Gryffindors!" Lee yelled, who was acting as a commentator as usual. "Potter, Black, Spinnet, Johnson, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best side Hogwarts had seen in a good few years—"
Lee's comments were drowned by a tide of 'boos' from the Slytherin end.
"And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the line-up and seems to be going for size rather than skill—"
More boos from the Slytherin crowd as Diana thought Lee had a point. Draco was easily the smallest person on the Slytherin team; the rest of them were enormous.
"Captains, shake hands!" Madam Hooch said. Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other's hands very tightly; it looked as though each was trying to break the other's fingers. "Mount your brooms! Three. . .two. . .one. . ."
"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no—Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the pitch—-WHAM!—Nice Blugder there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by Black, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Annie—-nice swerve around, Montague—-duck, Annie, that's a Bludger!—She scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!"
Diana punched the air as she sourced around the end of the pitch; the sea of scarlet below was screaming its delight— "Hey!" She shouted, nearly thrown from her broom when Marcus Flint smashed into her.
"Sorry," Flint said smirking, as the crowd below booed. "Sorry, didn't see her!"
At the next moment, Fred chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed. "Don't you dare hurt her!"
"That will do!" Madam Hooch shrieked, zooming between them. "Penalty to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"
"Come off it, Miss!" Fred howled, but Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Diana flew forward to take the penalty.
"Come on, Annie!" Lee yelled into the silence that had descended the crowd. Diana breathed in, adjusted her grip on the Quaffle, and threw it. "Yes! She's beaten the Keeper! Twenty-zero to Gryffindor!"
Diana grinned wildly, giving a high five to Harry, who had flown towards her. She watched as Flint, still bleeding freely, flew forward to take the Slytherin penalty. Wood was hovering in front of the Gryffindor goalposts, his jaw clenched.
"Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee told the crowd, as Flint waited for Madam Hooch's whistle. "Superb! Very difficult to pass—very difficult indeed—Yes! I don't believe it! He saved it!"
Diana clapped along with the crowd, before taking her place next to Angelina to participate in the next play.
"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession—No!—Gryffindor back in possession and it's Angelina Johnson, Angelina Johnson for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up to the pitch—that was deliberate!"
Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of Angelina, and instead of seizing the Quaffle, had grabbed her head. Angelina cartwheeled in the air and managed to stay on her broom but dropped the Quaffle. Madam Hooch's whistle rang out again as she soared over to Montague and began shouting at him. A minture later, Angelina had put another penalty past the Slytherin Keeper.
"Thirty-zero! Take that, you dirty, cheating—!"
"Jordon, if you can't communicate in an unbiased way—"
"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"
Diana managed to grab the Quaffle and was now racing towards the Slytherin goalposts.
"And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Black takes the quaffle—Flint alongside her—poke him in the eye, Annie!—it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke—oh, no—Flint is in possession, Flint's flying towards the Gryffindor goal posts, come on, now, Wood, save—"
But Flint had scored, there was an eruption of cheers from the Slytherin end and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him.
"Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession—"
Diana had the Quaffle, she soared towards the Slytherin goalpost when a Bludger hit her in the back. She let out a pained yelp as she flew forward off her broom and fell to the ground.
"That's what you get, you freak!" Flint yelled, taking possession of the Quaffle.
Madam Hooch whistled rang out, pausing the game. The silence descended across the crowd. Sammy, Hermione, Ron, and Kodaline all were leaning far over the rail, looking down at Diana who was lying face down on the ground of the pitch. Madam Hooch landed next to her, placing a hand on her back as she asked. "Black, can you hear me?"
Diana made a noise, the only thing she could do. She couldn't move her body, making her panic. Fred and Harry jumped off their broom and rushed towards their girl.
"Annie!" Fred said, kneeling on her other side while Harry was right next to him.
The rest of the teachers had come down from the stands while Madam Hooch yelled Madam Pomfrey, who hurried over. She instructed Fred to carefully lift Diana and they hurried off to the infirmary. The redhead was replaced with another Gryffindor, as the match resumed. Harry, unfortunately, had to stay.
"Hurry, carefully place her on the bed!" Pomfrey instructed Fred when they entered the infirmary.
"Freddie," Diana whimpered as air filled her lungs again after being knocked out of her when she hit the ground.
Fred carried her over to the bed resting her on it. He held her hand tightly as he gave her a tiny smile. "It's going to be okay, love," he wiped a tear that ran down his little sister's cheek and let out a shaky breath. "You're going to be okay."