"You're playing? I thought Slytherin was supposed to play against Gryffindor tomorrow?" Gaia asked Cedric as they turned another corner.
"They're saying that their seeker's still too injured to play," Cedric answered with a shrug making Gaia huff out a laugh.
"Injured? More like they're just afraid of the weather," she scoffed.
For the past couple days, the weather at Hogwarts had been absolutely horrible. Gaia had planned on having practices with the Ravenclaw Quidditch team but decided against it when she saw just how bad the weather was. Besides, they weren't playing anytime too soon.
"Isn't that a little mean?" Cedric asked as he cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Gaia with a teasing smile.
"What's mean is throwing Hufflepuff under the bus like that," Gaia said, rolling her eyes, "Gryffindor's been practicing for weeks now. Don't get me wrong, I love their team, but seems a bit unfair that Hufflepuff only gets less than a week to practice?"
"Who ever said that we haven't been practicing?" he smirked.
"Oh? So, did you scheme with Flint to take down Gryffindor's chance at the Quidditch cup?" Gaia asked teasingly.
Cedric laughed and shook his head.
After the attack, the professors decided that it would be better if the prefects patrolled in pairs or groups. Gaia was paired with Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff in her year who just so happened to share Gaia's struggle of being a prefect and the Quidditch Captain. The actually got along quite well, both of them being Quidditch captains certainly helped, and the patrols they had to do became a nice time to chat with each other.
"I'm hurt that you'd think so low of me, Gaia," Cedric answered in mock hurt.
"Sorry, pretty boy. Did I hurt your feelings?" Gaia cooed mockingly at him as she stood on her toes to get in his face.
Another thing about Cedric is the reputation he's gained with students, mostly female, in their year. Scratch that, probably through the whole school. Cedric Diggory: the tall, handsome, physical-embodiment-of-a-Hufflepuff who was as smart as he was athletic - or as Fred and George liked to call him, 'Pretty Boy Diggory'.
But for what it's worth, Cedric did live up to his reputation. He was undoubtedly attractive, and clearly one of the taller boys in their year. Despite being well gifted in the academic and athletic department, he was surprisingly humble about it and remained kind to everyone.
"The only way you'd be able to hurt my feelings is if you could actually reach my height." Cedric grinned, laughing as he pushed her away, "Besides, I'm not the only 'pretty one' between the two of us."
The little secret about the Eruditus sisters' veela blood spread fairly quickly that year, the students immediately noticing when Gaia had come back to Hogwarts seeming significantly more attractive to them.
"You flirting with me, Diggory?" Gaia raised an eyebrow.
"I could've been, but I'm quite sure Weasley's already got you wrapped around his finger," Cedric retorted, making her fac flush.
One more thing about Cedric, he could flirt with someone light-heartedly and still be able to bully them at the same time.
"Shut up," Gaia muttered, not bothering to suppress the pink that was seeping into her hair.
His laugh filled the empty corridor, which turned into a yelp when Gaia shoved him roughly, her own laugh replacing his afterwards.
✧✧✧
"I still think it's bullocks that Madam Hooch let Slytherin swap with Hufflepuff," Michael commented as he glared at a group of Slytherins making their way up the stands.
"It's ridiculous that she believed their seeker-still-injured excuse, innit?" Desiree Walsh said as she followed his gaze.
In the end, Gaia chose Desiree Walsh to take the position as Keeper, along with her brother, David Walsh (a 3rd year) as one of the Beaters and Cho Chang as the Seeker.
"As if," Roger scoffed, "If Madam Pomfrey could regrow Potter's bones, she could definitely patch up a scratch."
"Shush, you three. As much as I agree with you, I really don't think we should talk rubbish about opposing teams," Gaia scolded.
The three uttered their apologies before falling into a different conversation about the next game, which would actually be between them and Hufflepuff - but that was about three weeks away.
The weather had gotten even worse, though Gaia didn't think it was any possible. There was thunder booming through the sky and the wind was brutal, making her question if the brooms would even stay up in the air. Despite the dreadful weather, everyone was still filled with excitement as if it were just a normal day for a Quidditch match.
"Personally, I think they should've just postponed the match. The weather's horrendous," Kaleb said, gripping tightly to the umbrella he held in his hand.
"Y'know, your umbrella isn't helping," Michael snickered, Kaleb only glared slightly.
"It's helping a bit," Kaleb defended.
"Oliver would throw a fit, though. Even I'd be bummed to have a match cancelled if we'd been practicing as much as they have," Gaia answered.
"Would the brooms even stay up?" Cho asked from beside Gaia as she huddled with Kaleb under the umbrella.
"Hopefully," David answered in a quiet voice.
"We're about to find out," Gaia said, her lips pressed into a thin line with worry as both teams walked out into the field.
Gaia wasn't sure if Lee was commentating but if he was, she couldn't hear it over the howling wind and the loud rain.
Squinting her eyes, she could only see a blur of colors staggering through the field as the rain affected her visibility. Somehow, she was able to hear Madam Hooch's whistle and the blur of colors took off into the air. She spotted some players struggling to keep their broom straight as the wind blew harshly against them.
"Can't even tell who's who anymore," Desiree muttered.
From what Gaia had been able to see, Gryffindor was in the lead but neither Seekers had been able to catch the snitch yet. The sky was getting darker as the game went on and some players kept bumping into each other - whether it was because of the wind or the rain affecting their vision, she wasn't sure. There was a collective gasp from everyone when lightning struck down, nearly hitting one of the players. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and both teams flew down for a time-out and huddled together in respective large umbrellas.
"They seriously should just reschedule. I don't know how they're even playing anymore," Kaleb said, shaking his head.
"You can't stop it unless both teams decide to, and I'm pretty sure Wood's set on winning," Michael said.
Both teams went back in the air and the game resumed. Gaia had lost track of their points long ago, but she was pretty sure that Gryffindor was in the lead. Then, a blur of yellow sped through the field, eventually going upwards and being followed by a blur of red.
"Must be the Seekers," Cho commented.
Gaia bit her lip as she watched them disappear into the thick clouds before hesitantly directing her attention back to the field. Blurs of red were speeding through yellow while some hit bludgers away from their teammates. Suddenly, there were gasps and a few screams, making her look back up. Her heart stopped at the sight of red falling through the sky without a broom.
"Harry!" Gaia screamed as she watched the boy plummet down to the ground.
She clutched the railings tightly as players below in the field tried to position themselves to catch him, some actually attempting to fly up to him and catch him before he landed. Then, the falling figure slowed down but it was too late, and Harry still hit the ground with some force. Up above, Cedric emerged from the clouds with a glint of gold in his hands.
"Looks like Hufflepuff won," Michael pointed out, but Gaia was already running down the stands.
✧✧✧
By some miracle, Gaia was able to push her way through the crowd of students, mainly Gryffindors, that had gathered at the entrance of the Hopsital Wing.
Inside the room, Ron, Hermione, and the Gryffindor Quidditch team stood around Harry's bed. Everyone was whispering to each other, but she was too busy launching myself at one of the twins to really listen. Fred – she though it was Fred, though it was hard to tell with the mud covering him - huffed as he caught her in an embrace, stumbling back slightly.
"You'd think Fred was the one who fell from the air," George teased lightly.
Gaia turned to him and engulfed him in a tight hug as well, before checking them over to see if they got hit anywhere.
"Shut up. If I were the one playing in that horrible weather, you'd be worried as well," Gaia said before turning to the rest of the team, "You lot alright?"
They all nodded their heads before she directed her attention to Harry. The boy was slightly pale and his form seemed to shiver slightly from the cold of the rain he was in just minutes before.
"That's what you looked like when dementors got you too," Fred whispered.
Gaia looked at him in confusion for a second before remembering.
Right, dementors. When Harry hit the ground, there were dementors following him and a strange sort of wisp connected Harry and the dementors. It looked like they were sucking his soul out. Dumbledore had stepped out to the field and cast a spell - a Patronus charm - at the dementors, driving them away from the grounds.
"Yeah. It happens when your soul gets sucked out," Gaia replied.
"Lucky the ground was soft," Angelina muttered.
"I thought he was dead for sure," Alicia added quietly, shaking slightly - though Gaia wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from the shock of seeing Harry plummet to the ground without a broom.
"Look, his glasses aren't even broken," Cole said.
"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life," Ron said.
Then, Harry's eyes snapped open making Gaia gasp slightly. His eyes darted around at the crowd of people around his cot in confusion.
"Harry! How're you feeling?" Fred asked as he leaned towards the boy.
"What happened?" Harry asked, sitting up suddenly.
"You fell," Gaia answered.
"Must've been, what, 50 feet?" Fred continued.
"We thought you died," Alicia said.
Hermione made a small noise of distress at Alicia's comment. The poor girl had been crying her eyes out since the Quidditch pitch.
"But the match, what happened? Are we doing a replay?" Harry asked.
Everyone remained silent and Gaia could see the realization of the game's results sink into Harry.
"We didn't... lose?" Harry spoke quietly, as if he didn't want to know the answer.
"Diggory got the Snitch," George said after nobody answered Harry, "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square. Even Wood admits it."
"Where is he?" Harry asked.
Looking around, Gaia didn't even notice that Oliver wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"Still in the showers. We think he's trying to drown himself," Fred joked in an attempt to lighten up the mood.
Harry shook his head and buried it in his knees, his hand gripping his hair as he mumbled to himself.
"Hey, Harry. S'alright. No one's perfect. You've always caught the snitch, there was bound to be one time when you didn't," Gaia comforted, rubbing a hand up and down his back.
"It's not over yet," Fred chimed in, "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 cut him off, "But if they beat Ravenclaw..."
"Do you really think that lowly of my team, Georgie? Diggory may be good, but we can take him no problem," Gaia scoffed playfully.
"Yeah, Ravenclaw's too good," Fred agreed, "But if Slytherin loses against Hufflepuff-"
"Well, it'd depend on the points - a margin of a hundred either way," Angelina joined in.
Then, the Gryffindor team was in a conversation of how they could still overtake the difference of points that they had with Hufflepuff.
"I can't believe we lost," Harry mumbled as he brought his head up from his position, making Gaia look back over to him.
"It's not your fault Harry. Everyone loses every now and then, you're no exception to that," Gaia said softly, squeezing his arm lightly.
"The dementors," Harry started, "Did you hear anything when they attacked you?"
Gaia was shocked at the question and panicked for a few seconds. She had no recollection of actually being attacked by the dementors, even though the professors were sure that she was, but Harry didn't know that. What was she supposed to answer to a question she couldn't answer but should be able to?
"No, I don't think so. Why?" Gaia answered after a while.
"I heard a woman screaming, like she was about to be killed," Harry admitted.
Gaia frowned and her eyebrows furrowed. Was that normal? What if she had heard that as well but couldn't remember?
"I don't know, Harry. I didn't hear anything with me" I said. Then again, who knows if I actually did hear the same thing?
A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey came over and asked some of the people in the room to leave to give Harry some space. Seeing as Gaia was coated in mud due to hugging the twins earlier, she decided to be among the ones who left.
"We'll come and see you later. Don't beat yourself up, Harry, you're still the best Seeker we've ever had." Fred grinned.
"He's right, you know. You're the best one I've seen, but don't let my team know about that," Gaia said with a wink before walking out with the Gryffindor team.
✧✧✧
"What'd I tell you?" Gaia grinned at the twins as they walked onto the field with wide grins.
The match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had just ended, and she was proud to say that the Ravenclaw team had flattened Hufflepuff.
"Ravenclaw was brilliant out there," Fred said as he and George engulfed her in a tight hug before cheering along with the rest of the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors.
It seemed like every Gryffindor was aware of what it took to be able to catch up to Hufflepuff on the leader board, and so they were cheering for Ravenclaw to win the match.
"Great game, Eruditus," Cedric's voice called from behind Gaia.
She turned around with a smirk, seeing the Hufflepuff captain standing behind her with his own smiled as he gripped his broom in one hand.
"Hufflepuff put up a bit of a fight there," Gaia said.
"No need to brag about your brutal victory," Cedric scoffed playfully before patting her head.
"No need to brag about you ridiculously towering over me," Gaia hissed playfully and swatted his hand away.
Cedric laughed before pulling Gaia into a brief hug and walking away to the rest of the Hufflepuff team who were still congratulating each other despite the results. She looked at them with a smile as they tackled Cedric in a hug, congratulating him as well.
Something Gaia loved about the Hufflepuffs, nothing seemed to be able to bring down their cheerful mood. Plus, they rarely ever held bad blood against other houses despite what happens.
"Since when were you close with Pretty Boy Diggory?" Fred asked when Gaia turned back to them. Both twins stood with frowns on their faces, Fred's frown significantly deeper.
"Since I had to patrol with him? I told you a few days ago," she answered, raising an eyebrow.
Fred grumbled to himself, but Gaia was too far away to hear it. George, on the other hand, must've heard it because as soon as Fred started grumbling to himself, the frown on his face was replaced with a wide grin as he burst out laughing. Fred made a move to hit his brother but George dodged out of the way, all the while still laughing. She shook my head at them fondly.
"Well I'm off to the showers. I'll see you two later." Gaia waved goodbye as she walked away.
"Bye Gaia!" she heard George call back before another wave of laughter sounded from behind her.
✧✧✧
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I feel like some people might get offended with how Gaia and the others kind of trash-talked Hufflepuff BUT I just want to say, I love Hufflepuffs :) And I feel very guilty for writing about them like that but the dialogue lines said between them are actually from the book itself, only altered to be able to fit Gaia into the scene.
With that said, I am terribly sorry if anyone was offended, as well as the small trash talk aimed at Slytherin. I love all the houses (of course, I'm a bit biased towards Ravenclaw)
Thanks for reading! <3