For the next couple of days, Sirius Black was all that anyone in the castle could talk about. Like Stevie, many of the student body couldn't believe that he'd managed to sneak by the Dementors a second time.
Everyone had their theory; underground tunnels, apparition (despite the fact that you couldn't apparate into the school grounds)...people were just letting their imaginations run wild.
It was now the first Quidditch match of the season and honestly, there couldn't have been a worse day for it. Not only was it blowing an absolute gale but the rain was pelting against the windows of Ravenclaw tower.
Hearing it when she woke, Stevie rolled over and cocooned herself in her warm blankets. She had found out just a few days earlier that the match was no longer going to be Gryffindor V Slytherin like it was originally planned.
Due to the incident with Draco Malfoy and Hagrid's Hippogriff, Hufflepuff were now playing instead and everyone knew that the Badgers weren't exactly the best when it came to Quidditch - at least with Slytherin you'd get a good match.
Perhaps I'll give it a miss Stevie thinks, already starting to dose off again.
However, her slumber didn't last because it isn't long until Ribh yanked the blankets off of her.
"Get up."
"No," she whines, curling up in a ball, "Go away."
"Come on, Stevie. The match is starting soon."
"'m not going. I'm not going out in that. Ravenclaw aren't even playing!"
"No but Gryffindor are. You know, the house our best friend is in and plays for?"
"You're not going to let me stay, are you?"
"Nope!"
The Great Hall is practically buzzing when they finally get downstairs and after snagging some toast, the pair make their way over to the Gryffidnor table, seeing the Quidditch team huddled together in the middle.
Kaye waves as they near and Oliver Wood, the burly seventh year looks to see who it is she's waving at and Stevie snickers when he immediately shuts up.
"Morning," Ribh greets, shoving her hands into her pockets.
"What do you want, Lawson?" he asks.
"We've come to wish our friend good luck," Stevie shrugs, "Is that alright?"
"Make it quick."
"He's so charming, isn't he?" Ribh asks Kaye, who laughs.
"He's just a little bit stressed."
"Good luck," Stevie hugs her, "Not that you need it. It is Hufflepuff you're playing. Didn't Potter catch the snitch in five minutes the last time you played them?"
"I really wish people would stop saying that." Oliver says behind them before he's leaning back in his seat to look at the doors, "Where are Fred and George? I told them to be down here first thing."
"Relax, Oliver," Kaye pats his shoulder, "They'll be here soon."
Just as she finishes her sentence, the two of them wander into the hall.
"Nice of you to show up," Wood mutters when they reach the table and then he looks at the two girls, "Can you two piss off now?"
"Since you asked oh-so-nicely. Good luck again, Kaye."
She waves and then goes back to listening to their Captain but as she does, she can't help but notice that someone isn't and that someone, is Fred Weasley. He's too busy watching Stevie leave - a small smile on his face when she starts laughing at something Ribh said.
~~|~~
By the time she and Ribh get to the Quidditch Pitch, they are soaked through and she is really starting to regret her choice in coming down here.
A poor Hufflepuff girl had brought an umbrella with her which had been violently ripped from her hands as soon as she stepped out of the castle.
Up in the stands, they found Roger Davies huddled together with a couple of other Ravenclaws and they decide to stand with them.
Thankfully, once the two teams arrived, they didn't hang about in getting the match started and above them, the sky flashed with lightning.
The wind was so bad that some of the players were struggling to stay on their brooms and Stevie has to cover her eyes when one of the Weasley's narrowly avoided a bludger, "They can barely see! Why hasn't it been cancelled?"
"You can't cancel Quidditch!" Roger yells over the storm.
"They did it last year."
"People were being petrified, Ribh." Stevie reminds her, pulling her soaking wet jacket closer in an attempt to warm up but she knows its pointless.
For a few moments, both teams descend to the pitch when Gryffindor call for a time out.
The storm rages on above them as all the players take to the sky once more, both seekers desperately trying to find the Snitch and end the game but the weather was getting worse - for every crack of thunder, came a fork of lightning almost immediately after.
"Look!" Roger points towards the middle of the pitch, "I think Diggory's caught sight of the Snitch!"
It sure seemed that way because Harry Potter was racing up behind him, dodging a Hufflepuff chaser and bludger almost simultaneously.
Both Cedric and Harry shot upwards, following the Snitch into the thick clouds and since it was impossible to see them, Stevie turns her attention back to the other players just in time to see Fred Weasley go racing by their stand. How did she know it was him? She'd managed to catch sight of the back of his Quidditch uniform before they'd left the hall. He was number two while George was number three.
"Come on, Kaye!" Ribh yells as their friend flies by as well and Stevie cheers loudly beside her.
They could win - all they needed was for Harry to catch the Snitch.
"Look!" Roger's pointing up at the sky now, "Is that, it's Harry!"
Stevie follows to where he's pointing and her mouth drops. His broom was nowhere to be seen and he was heading towards the ground at an alarming speed.
If that wasn't concerning enough, following him through the clouds, back into the sight of everyone in the stands, were...well there had to be dozens of Dementors chasing him.
"The fall will kill him!" Stevie turns away, covering her eyes as she waits for the screams.
But they don't come.
"It's alright," Ribh puts a hand on her shoulder but her voice is shaking, "Stevie, it's alright. Dumbledore, he saved him."
She uncovers her eyes to see their headmaster slowly lower Harry down onto the sodden pitch, the rest of his Gryffindor teammates already crowding round him.
It's then that Cedric lowers down from above the clouds, holding the Snitch tightly in his grasp. He doesn't see Harry lying on the grass until he's landed and from where they're sat, Ribh and Stevie can see him approaching Madam Hooch.
Harry's taken off the pitch, probably going straight to the hospital wing and Ribh turns to her friend, significantly paler than she was not five minutes ago.
"That poor lad can't seem to catch a break, can he?"
~~|~~
Shivering, they slowly return to the castle along with the rest of the crowd and Stevie cannot wait to get into a hot shower.
"Hey," Ribh says as they gather some dry clothes, "You can use the Prefect Bathroom if you want."
Her mouth drops, "Really? That's breaking the rules."
Ribh rolls her eyes and grabs her towel, "Is that a no?"
"No!" she says quickly, scrambling to follow her, "No, Ribh, wait!"
The Prefect's Bathroom is located on the fifth floor of the Hospital Tower, directly above the hospital wing and as they make their way to the second staircase, Stevie looks down the corridor to see Fred hovering at the doors of the infirmary.
She tells Ribh not to bother waiting for her and her friend takes one look down, raising her eyebrows but she says nothing, nodding as she continues on her way.
"Fred?" He's still dripping wet and caked in mud but even so, she can see that he's rather pale. He doesn't say anything as she approaches. "How," she clears her throat, "How is he? Harry?"
"He's alright," Fred nods, "He's awake. A little shaken up but he's awake."
"Good," she nods, eying him closely, "And how about you? Are you alright?"
He huffs out a laugh, "Potter's just fallen over a hundred feet and you're asking if I'm alright?"
"Fred."
He finally looks at her and releases a shaky breath, "We thought he was dead, Stevie."
She reaches out to place a hand on his arm.
"George and I, we tried to get to him, to catch him but he was just falling too fast." he shakes his head as if he was trying to get the image of his brother's best friend falling to what would have been his death, "I just-"
Timidly, Stevie steps forward and wraps her arms around his middle, resting her head against his shoulder.
For a good few moments, neither of them move until she feels Fred reciprocate the hug, holding her tightly against them as he tries to calm his breathing.
And they stand there, both of them soaking wet in the freezing cold corridor, knowing that they'll probably end up sick but they find themselves realising that they don't care. They don't care at all.