D E M E N T O R P L A Y I N G Q U I D D I T C H ?
"She had never felt this scared in her life."
(TW: Umbitches husbands)
THE DAY BEFORE THE MATCH, the winds reached howling point and the rain fell harder than ever. It was so dark inside the corridors and classrooms that extra torches and lanterns were lit. Harry had told Aurora they weren't playing Slytherin anymore because of Malfoys arm.
Aurora currently stood with Harry, listening to Oliver Wood rant about how Harry should do this and that and this - it was annoying.
Aurora checked her muggle watch and saw they were ten minutes late for Defence Against the Dark Arts.
"Shit, Harry. We're ten minutes late for class." Aurora said in shock.
"Shit indeed," Harry murmured.
And so they set off at a run with Wood shouting after Harry, "Diggory's got a very fast swerve, Harry, so you might want to try looping him –"
"-Oh shut up Wood. You've said that five times already." Aurora shouted, turning a corner.
They skidded to a halt outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, pulled the door open and dashed inside.
"Sorry we're late, Professor Lupin, we -" Harry started to say but stopped when Professor Snape looked up at them.
You've got to be kidding me.
"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter, Black, so I think we'll make it twenty points from Gryffindor. Sit down."
But they didn't move.
"Where's Professor Lupin?" Aurora said.
"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today," Snape said with a twisted smile. "I believe I told you two to sit down?"
Again, they stayed where they were.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Did you poison him?"
Snape's black eyes glittered.
"Nothing life-threatening," he said, looking as though he wished it was. "Five more points from Gryffindor, and if I have to ask you two to sit down again, it will be fifty."
They both walked slowly to their seats and sat down. Snape looked around at the class. "As I was saying before Potter, and Black interrupted, Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far –"
"Please, sir, we've done Boggarts, Red Caps, Kappas and Grindylows," Hermione said quickly, "and we're just about to start –"
"-Be quiet," Snape said coldly. "I did not ask for information. I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin's lack of organisation."
"He's the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had," Dean Thomas said boldly, and there was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the class. Snape looked more menacing than ever.
"You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly over-taxing you – I would expect first-years to be able to deal with Red Caps and Grindylows. Today we shall discuss –" Aurora watched him flick through the textbook, to the very back chapter, which he must know they hadn't covered. "– werewolves," Snape said.
Aurora's eyes widen. Why would they be learning about werewolves? Especially when Professor Lupin isn't here...?
"But, sir," Aurora started to say looking at Hermione - who sat next to her, with a confused look. "we're not supposed to do werewolves yet, we're due to start Hinkypunks –"
"-Miss Black!" Snape said, in a voice of deadly calm, "I was under the impression that I was taking this lesson, not you. So I would advise shutting your and Miss Granger's mouths. And I am telling you all to turn to page three hundred and ninety-four." He glanced around again. "All of you! Now!"
With many bitter sidelong looks and some sullen muttering, the class opened their books. Aurora's blood boiled. There were so many things she wanted to say out loud but she decided against them. Oh, how mature I've become -
"-Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" Snape said. Everyone sat in motionless silence; everyone except Hermione, whose hand, as it so often did, had shot straight into the air. "Anyone?" Snape said, ignoring Hermione. His twisted smile was back. "Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the basic distinction between –"
"-We told you," Parvati said suddenly, "we haven't got as far as werewolves yet, we're still on –"
"Silence!" Snape snarled. "Well, well, well, I never thought I'd meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognise a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are ..."
"Please, sir," Hermione said, whose hand was still in the air, "the werewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways. The snout of the werewolf –"
"That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger," Snape said coolly. "Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all." Hermione went very red, put down her hand and stared at the floor with her eyes full of tears. Oh, Snape had just triggered something inside of Aurora, and one more mistake she wouldn't hold back any longer.
It was a mark of how much the class loathed Snape that they were all glaring at him because every one of them had called Hermione a know-it-all at least once, and Ron, who told Hermione she was a know-it-all at least twice a week, said loudly, "You asked us a question and she knows the answer! Why ask if you don't want to be told?"
The class knew instantly he'd gone too far. Snape advanced on Ron slowly, and the room held its breath. "Detention, Weasley," Snape said silkily his face very close to Ron's. "And if I ever hear you criticise how I teach a class again, you will be very sorry indeed."
Snape had pushed it way too far as well.
"This is such bullshit!" Aurora said suddenly, slamming her hands on the desk and standing up. "Why teach a class when you don't want anyone to answer you? Why be an ignorant snob who likes to bully children huh? Why -"
"-MRS. BLACK!"
"NO - How dare you treat my friend like shit! You think you can get away with this shit but I've had enough -" Aurora started to yell at Snape, whose face turned dark and angry.
"-DETENTION MRS. BLACK! HOW dare you speak to me like -" Snape started to but stopped when Aurora cut him off.
"- Speak to you like shit? Well, now you know how we feel." Aurora said. She was so, so angry. So, angry she wanted to cry. Tears threatened to fall out but she didn't want to give Snape the satisfaction. So, she sat back down and took deep breaths.
Harry and Ron were both grinning at Aurora when she turned her head towards them. Snape was still yelling at her, but as she looked into Harry's beautiful blue eyes, everything around her went silent. He had a proud look on his face.
When she turned away from Harry, she saw Snape was now sulking at his desk. She knew she had one that argument fair and square.
Oh, how mature of me...
***
The next morning, was the first Quidditch match of the term. Aurora tried to wake up early to wish Harry luck but she had no chance. It was raining outside making Aurora groan. This was bad weather to play Quidditch in. Aurora put a charm over herself, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, so they wouldn't get wet while watching the match.
Aurora currently sat in the stands and watched as the Gryffindor team emerged into the Quidditch field. The crowd cheered loudly. Aurora could barely see Harry. The rain was so bad, that the stands were covered with umbrellas.
The two teams shook hands and off they were. Within five minutes Aurora noticed that Harry was soaked to his skin and frozen, and could hardly see his teammates, let alone the tiny Snitch. Maybe I should've told him about the spell...
Aurora watched him fly backwards and forwards across the pitch, past blurred red and yellow shapes, with no idea of what was happening in the rest of the game. Aurora couldn't even hear the commentary.
Twice Aurora saw, Harry came very close to being unseated by a Bludger. The sky was getting darker, as though night had decided to come early. Twice she had noticed, Harry nearly hit another player, without knowing whether it was a team-mate or opponent; everyone was now so wet, and the rain so thick, even she could hardly tell them apart.
With the first flash of lightning came the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle. The whole team splashed down into the mud.
"I'm going down to Harry for a quick moment," Aurora said to the three of them. They all nodded their heads at Aurora. When she got down to the field, Aurora went up behind Harry and rested her head on his wet shoulder. Harry's eyes turned towards her and suddenly the stress in his eyes vanished.
"Can I have your glasses for a second?" Aurora asked Harry lifting her head from his shoulders.
"Er - sure." He said, taking them off and giving them to her.
Aurora grabbed her wand out and mumbled 'Impervius!". She then handed the glasses back to Harry and said, "You'll be able to see now."
Wood looked as though he could have kissed her. "Brilliant!" he called hoarsely after her, as she disappeared back into the crowd.
By the time she got back up to the others, the game started back up. There was another clap of thunder, followed immediately by forked lightning. It was getting more and more dangerous. Harry needed to get the Snitch quickly.
She watched as he turned, intending to head back towards the middle of the pitch, but at that moment, another flash of lightning illuminated the stands, and Harry seemed to see something that distracted him completely. Aurora tried to see what he was looking at but the clouds and the rain stopped her from doing so.
The four of them tried yelling at Harry to get his attention because now Cedric Diggory was pelting up the pitch, and a tiny speck of gold was shimmering in the rain-filled air between them.
Harry then threw himself flat to the broom handle and zoomed towards the Snitch. Aurora watched as Harry tried making his broom go faster but something odd was happening. An eerie silence was falling across the stadium.
Aurora's face went pale as she saw at least a hundred Dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at him, standing below. They started to go side to side, sucking the happiness from him.
Then, all of a sudden, Harry fell off his broom. At least fifty feet in the air. Aurora and the rest of them all stood up and started to panic. Dumblewhore's voice suddenly could be heard and Harry stopped falling only meters from the ground.
Without saying anything, Aurora pushed past people and started to make her way down to the Quidditch pitch. Her heart was racing and she felt like it could explode at any moment.
She heard someone call her name but it was like the world around her went silent and the only thing she wanted to do was to get to Harry.
When she got into the Quidditch pitch, she pushed passed everyone surrounding him. He was being lifted onto a hospital bed by Madam Promfrey. He seemed to be unconscious.
"Is he alright, poppy?" Aurora asked the elder woman, walking next to her.
"He's alive. Barely. Thankfully Dumbledore saved him in time... those damn dementors!" Madam Promfrey cursed under her breath.
Afterwards, Professor McGonagall caught up with them and the two elder women started talking in quiet voices. They were shit-talking the dementors.
Once they got to the hospital wing, madam Promfrey made Aurora stand outside for a while until she was done with him. She had never felt this scared in her life.
***
"Lucky the ground was so soft."
"I thought he was dead for sure."
"But he didn't even break his glasses."
Aurora currently sat next to Harry in the hospital wing. He was still passed out. Aurora had never felt so worried in her life. It scared her a little.
"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life."
The Gryffindor Quidditch team, spattered with mud from head to foot, was gathered around his bed. Ron and Hermione were also there, looking as though they'd just climbed out of a swimming pool.
Aurora was now staring outside of a window. The Whomping Willow was in view. She had sworn she saw a black dog, and what looked like two cats sitting there. Watching her. Strange. She hadn't realised Harry was awake, so when Fred said "Harry!" her head quickly turned towards the boy in front of her.
"Harry! How're you feeling? Are you alright?" Aurora immediately said. Harry was quiet for a moment, thinking about something, then he looked up at her and asked her, "What happened?" He then sat up so suddenly they all gasped.
"You fell off your broom, Harry," Aurora said quickly, not wanting the image of Harry falling to his death in her head again.
"Must've been – what – fifty feet?" Fred said after Aurora.
"We thought you'd died," Alicia said, who was shaking. Hermione made a small, squeaky noise. Her eyes were extremely bloodshot.
"But the match," Harry said. "What happened? Are we having a replay?" No one said anything. "We didn't – lose?"
"Diggory got the Snitch," George said. "Just after you fell. He didn't realise what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a re-match. But they won fair and square ... even Wood admits it."
"Where is Wood?" Harry said, suddenly realising he wasn't there.
"Still in the showers," Fred said. "We think he's trying to drown himself."
"Hopefully he knows how to swim," Aurora added, making a small chuckle escape everyone's lips, except Harry. Harry put his face to his knees, his hands gripping his hair. Fred grabbed his shoulder and shook it roughly.
"Come on, Harry, you've never missed the Snitch before."
"There had to be one time you didn't get it," George said.
"It's not over yet," Fred said. "We lost by a hundred points, right? So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin ..."
"Hufflepuff'll have to lose by at least two hundred points," George said."But if they beat Ravenclaw ..."
"No way, Ravenclaw are too good. But if Slytherin loses against Hufflepuff ..."
"It all depends on the points – a margin of a hundred either way –" Harry lay there, not saying a word. Aurora felt a tug in her heart when she realised that this was the first time Harry 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," Fred told Harry. "Don't beat yourself up, Harry, you're still the best Seeker we've ever had." The team trooped out, trailing mud behind them. Madam Pomfrey shut the door behind them looking disapproving. Ron and Hermione moved nearer to Harry's bed.
"Dumbledore was really angry," Hermione said in a quaking voice. "I've never seen him like that before. He ran onto the pitch 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 straight away ... he was furious they'd come into the grounds, we heard him –"
"Then Madam Promfrey magicked you onto a stretcher," Ron said. "And walked up to school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were ..."
His voice faded away. He looked up and saw Aurora, Ron and Hermione looking at him so anxiously that he quickly cast around for something matter-of-fact to say.
"Did someone get my Nimbus?" The three of them looked at each other. Another tug in her heart...
"Er –"
"What?" Harry said, looking from one to the other.
"Well -" Hermione started to say but stopped when Aurora cut her off.
"-Basically, when you fell off your broom, it got blown away," Aurora said hesitantly.
"And?"
"And it hit – uh - it got hit by the Whomping Willow...So uh you know longer have a broom..." Aurora said. She could see the devastation on his face.
The Whomping Willow was a very violent tree which stood alone in the middle of the grounds.
Slowly, Hermione reached down for a bag at her feet, turned it upside-down and tipped a dozen bits of splintered wood and twig onto the bed, the only remains of Harry's faithful, finally beaten broomstick.
***
A/N: Poor Harry :(
But at least sugar daddy Sirius Black will get him a new one
Urghhh also hate Snape.
We're slowly getting closer to the end of third year book!
How's your day been so far?
WC: 2834
"If one thing had been different, would everything be different today?"