The Gryffindor Quidditch game against Slytherins was drawing nearer and nearer. The tension could be sensed everywhere I went. Slytherins would hiss and spit at Gryffindors while they walked by, and the Gryffindors would get back at them by throwing secret hexes.
This was a very important game to us. If Gryffindor won, we would move up to second place to win the House Cup.
Hardly anyone has seen Harry and I play because Wood decided, as secret weapons, that Harry and I should be kept, well, secret. But the news that I was playing Seeker and Harry a Chaser had leaked out somehow, and I didn't know if I should be happy about it or scared. Harry was worried, because everyone was either telling us that we would be brilliant or that they'd be running around holding a mattress under us. I tended to ignore the latter, of course.
The greatest improvement in the school was not my Quidditch skills, however, or my new found ability to ignore insults. The greatest improvement was Hermione, who had become a bit more relaxed about breaking the rules, and she was nicer to Harry and Ron for it. I didn't like the fact that they had kept that secret from me, even though it was ridiculous, but since it drew them all closer, I would let them off the hook. I couldn't stay mad at them forever.
The day before the Quidditch match came, and Harry was about to wet his pants from nervousness. I tried to hide my own uneasiness about the match, and I think I was doing good since no one tried to comfort me.
Outside, I knew that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were studying about the rules of Quidditch, but I refused to join them. All morning, a thought had plagued my mind. I sat down on my bed, the golden heart locket around me throat clutched between my fingers.
I wished that mum and dad were here to cheer for me. They had to be watching, they had to be happy for me.
I opened my locket, and smiled. The tiny picture of my mum and dad beamed when they saw me, and mum waved at me, while dad winked, like he knew what was going to happen, and he was proud. But it was just a picture, and I knew that they had no conscious thought.
"Goodnight, mum, dad," I said, kissing the locket and holding it to my heart. I fell asleep quickly after that, not wanting to wake up tired.
The next morning, I was the first one to wake up, other than the teachers. I trudged my way into the Great Hall, feeling strangely happy and carefree. I swayed in a little dance to my seat, then plopped down ungracefully. Some of the professors smiled kindly at me, but everyone else continued to eat.
I ate just enough to make sure that I wouldn't get dizzy during the game, but not too much that I my get sick. When I was done, I rested my chin in my hands and hummed to a song I don't remember the lyrics to.
“What are you singing?” Fred asked me, appearing from over my shoulder.
“I don't know,” I said, then looked at Harry, who had sat across from me and looked extremely green. “How are you, Harry?”
He looked downright miserable. “It's Quidditch today.”
“And that's a bad thing?” I asked.
“I'm nervous,” he admitted, looking sick. He didn't touch any food, even though everyone around him were stuffing their faces. “What if I get his with a bludger?”
"im nervous.... what if i get hit with a Bludger?" he asked.
I thought for a moment, before shrugging. “Then you fall to the ground, screaming in agony.”
Harry glared at me while. Ron, Fred, George, and Hermione all snickered. “How is that supposed to help?”
“Well, nothing can really help,” I told him, trying to keep my voice comforting even though my words were the complete opposite. “All you can do is hope that Fred and George have your back... unless you quit, but that would kind of suck and everyone would hate you.”
Harry poked at his egg, making the yoke leak out and spill into his waffles.
“Oh, come on, Harry!” I said, enthusiastic, but a bit annoyed that he won't show any excitement. “Be excited! You're going to fly!”
Harry managed a weak smile, but it looked a little forced. I narrowed my eyes at him, noticing the shaking fingers and the drooped shoulders. He needed to eat.
I grabbed a strip of crispy bacon and stuffed it into his mouth when he yawned. He choked on it, but he still swallowed it.
I laughed at his angry expression. Already, I could see a little color fill his cheeks.
After the very short breakfast, in which I tried to get Harry to eat more, we caught up with Wood and the rest of the team. Hermione, Neville, Ron, Seamus, and Dean all went to the bleachers with the rest of the school. Seamus had given me a hesitant goodbye, which I couldn't help but notice.
“Ok, men,” Wood said.
“And women,” Angelina and I added.
“And women,” Wood agreed, “this is it.”
“The big one,” George put in seriously.
“The one we've all been waiting for,” Fred added dramatically.
“We know Oliver's speech by heart,” George informed Harry and I, “we were on the team last year.”
“Shut up, you two,” Oliver scolded, like they were children, “this is the best team Hogwarts had in years. We're going to win. I know it,” he glared at us as if to say “or else.”
“Don't worry, Oliver,” I spoke up, but I couldn't help but notice how short I was compared to everyone else. “You have nothing to worry about! We've got this.”
“Right. Luck to all of you, let's go,” Wood said. He seemed relieved about my attitude. We all walked out of the locker room and into the field, which erupted in cheers that shook the floor.
I waved to Hermione, who waved back. Seamus did a happy wave, seeming to think that I had been waving to him.
After Madame Hooch explained the rules, she said, “mount your brooms, please.”
I swung my leg over my broom and gripped it tightly.
When she blew the whistle, every sound around me went on mute. I didn't hear what Jordan was saying, I didn't hear the cheers. It was just me, looking around for the Snitch.
Once in a while, a Bludger would come barreling towards me, but Fred would beat it away towards the Slytherins captain.
Then, I saw it. I see the Snitch! It zoomed by my left ear in a small flurry of golden wings. The Slytherin Seeker noticed it, too, when I jerked away in surprise. There was a rush of excitement; I dived downward for the little golden ball. Neck and neck, the other Seeker and I hurtled out way to the Snitch. All the Chasers seemed to forget what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.
I had the better broom, so Higgs (the Slytherin Seeker) could be left behind if I just sped up just a little... WHAM! Higgs had blocked me on purpose, and my broom went spiraling out of control. There was an uproar from the Gryffindors below while I hung on for dear life.
“Foul!” the Gryffindors shouted.
I forced the sounds to block out again. It didn't matter; the Snitch had disappeared. I glared accusingly at Higgs, who was sneering at me.
“Disgusting cheater!” I snapped, then flew as far away from him as the field would allow.
A Bludger flew dangerously close to my head, but I dodged it easily, my senses strained. That's when it happened. My broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. Panicked, I glanced at Harry to help me, but he was in the same dilemma. For a split second, I thought that we were going to fall, but Harry gripped his broom tightly between his hands and knees, and I followed his lead. I never felt my broom do anything like that.
It happened again. It was like the broom was trying to buck us off, but Nimbus Two Thousands didn't just decide to try to throw their riders off. I struggled to keep my broom steady, but it was completely out of my control. In the back of my mind, I noticed how both Harry's and my own broom were doing the same hectic movements.
Then, the broom became more brave. It zig-sagged through the air, yet no one seemed to notice.
After two long minutes – probably the longest minutes of my life – people started to gasp and point at Harry and I. I was holding on for dear life now; it was almost impossible. Then, both of our brooms did a violent jerk, and I just managed to hold on. Harry, however, wasn't so lucky. The crowd gasped as he swung off, only holding on with one hand.
I began to panic. I couldn't let Harry fall to his doom! That small thought, that distraction, was what made me loose concentration. It did it's most violent jerk yet; the brooms brought us higher and higher, and it found myself swung this way and that, over the broom and dangling under it.
The team tried to help, but every time they went near it, the broom would jerk higher. Soon the team was circling beneath Harry and I, obviously hoping to catch us if we fell. But the Slytherins were seeing Harry and my deaths as advantages as they scored several points.
The, the brooms stopped. Not giving myself enough time to be surprised, I swung myself back on my broom and sped to the floor. I just wanted to be on the ground, safe and sound... also, I'm sure I swallowed something.
When I reached the ground, I knelt on my hands and knees and clapped my hand over my mouth. The team watched me worriedly, probably thinking that I was going to be sick, but I didn't feel sick.
I coughed. Something gold fell into my hand. It was the Snitch.
I rolled on my back and held the Snitch up. Everyone stared in confusion for a moment, but then there were cheers from all sides except for the Slytherins. The stands emptied quickly as everyone wanted to congratulate me. But the only one I heard was Hermione cheering and hugging me frantically.
Seamus was excited, too, and he was beaming at me. I couldn't help but blush when he picked me up on his shoulders, jumping up and down.
Somehow, I escaped the crowd, and Hermione led Harry, Ron, and I towards Hagrid's hut, and the cheering dissipated to a background noise.
Hagrid made us hot tea, congratulating Harry and I. Harry had made the most points in the game.
“It was amazing!” I said, ecstatic. “Well, other than the foul and the whole broom incident, but it was a blast and-”
“It was Snape,” Hermione said.
“S-Snape?” I echoed. “What about Snape?”
“He jinxed both of your broomes!” Hermione said.
I rolled my eyes at her. “I know he hates me, but I don't think he'd try to hill me...” I thought back to the evil glares in the class, the dirty looks whenever I looked at him in the Great Hall. “Would he?”
“Apparently, he would,” Ron said it like it should have been obvious. “You and Harry!”
I rolled my eyes again, but this time with more attitude. “He's a teacher! Why don't you blame someone like Malfoy?”
“Because Malfoy is too daft to know how to do Dark Magic,” Harry said harshly.
They seemed pretty positive that it was Snape who had tried to kill us. Not for the first time, I wondered what else the three of them were hiding from me. “Tell me everything,” I signed. I couldn't help but feel like I've done this before.
They told me all of their suspicions of Snape. Hagrid and I just rolled our eyes, and Hagrid huffed when they got to the part with the three-headed dog.
“How do you know about Fluffy?” Hagrid demanded.
“Fluffy?” Harry's brow furrowed.
I snorted. That's when I noticed: “my hair is red!” I squealed with joy, but stopped when they looked at me like I'd gone mad. “What?”
“It's been red all day,” Hermione told me.
“Oh,” I frowned.
“Do you ever notice what goes on around you?” Hermione said in disapproval.
To prove her wrong, I looked around me, but I was a little surprised to find that we were in Hagrid's hut. I didn't remember going through the pumpkin patch, I only remember going through the field.
“When did we get here?”