Hagrid was distraught, and understandably so, but Harry's group couldn't visit him due to the extremely tight security that was currently put upon the castle. They could only talk to him during care of magical creatures lessons, which, in spite of a notable improvement, did nothing to lift Hagrid's mood.
"S'all my fault. My tongue got all tied, and I kept droppin' me notes, forgettin' all those dates yeh looked up! Then Lucius Malfoy got up 'n said his bit 'n the committee did everything he said!" Hagrid explained sadly.
"Don't give up yet! There's still the appeal!" Ron said firmly. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle found it all hilarious.
"S'no good Ron. I jus' have to make sure that Beaky's last days are the best he's ever had." said Hagrid sadly.
"We can't give up Hagrid. It's not over until it's over." said Delilah, trying her best to continue comforting him. Malfoy let out a loud roar of laughter, though he was silenced by a rather terrifying look from John.
Once the lesson was over, Hagrid was escorting the class back up towards the castle, but as soon as he turned around to head back to his cabin, he could be seen wiping his face with an enormous handkerchief.
Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were listening from just inside the castle, still laughing at Hagrid's expense.
"Look at him blubber!" Malfoy said in between his laughs.
"Have you ever seen something that pathetic? He's meant to be our teacher too! I mean-"Malfoy started. Harry and Ron made furious moves towards Malfoy, but John held them back. John did not expect what happened next, and nor did Harry, Ron or Delilah.
Hermione had marched right up to Malfoy, and with all the strength she had, slapped him as hard as she could across his face. Malfoy staggered for a moment. Crabbe, Goyle, Harry and Ron looked on in shock, and John and Delilah burst out laughing.
"Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic! You're a foul, evil little cockroach and you don't get to call anyone pathetic! You're a waste of skin and air!" Hermione screamed, swinging her hand back again.
Ron caught it before she unloaded on Malfoy, who would no doubt sic Crabbe and Goyle on them, which would in turn leading to John having to beat his rugby teammates senseless. Delilah had stopped laughing and helped Ron pull Hermione back. John was still laughing like an idiot.
"Hermione, come on! He's not worth it!" Ron said, still holding onto Hermione's arm tightly. He was still looking at her as though she had just single-handedly destroyed the world's collective evil.
Malfoy looked to Crabbe and Goyle.
"Come on." he said, and the three of them disappeared off to their next lesson.
"The-the fucking look on his f-face!" John said, his laughter starting to subside.
Hermione turned to Harry and John, the fury still evident on her face.
"You two had better beat him in the Quidditch final! I can't stand it if they win!" she said, her voice still shrill with rage.
"They will, but we're due in charms." said Delilah, looking at Hermione with an odd sort of proud smile on her face. Harry was still shocked, and John was still thoroughly amused.
They were late to charms, during which they were learning cheering charms. Hermione never showed up though, and Ron pointed out that she'd probably used the time-turner to head off to another lesson and forgotten about charms altogether. However, she didn't show up at lunch either, and they began to worry about her.
"You don't think Malfoy did something to her, did you?" Ron asked.
It made sense - Malfoy didn't seem the type to take being slapped like that lying down.
However, they found Hermione later on that very evening, sat at a table in the common room, asleep, with her head in an open arithmancy textbook.
"Alright... this has gone way too bloody far." said Ron upon seeing her.
He and Harry sat at either side of her, and John and Delilah sat opposite her, and Harry prodded her until she woke up.
"W-what?" Hermione asked, lifting her head and looking around the room, clearly rather dazed and confused.
"What time is it? What lesson do we need to get to?" she asked.
"Divination and ancient runes, but not for another twenty minutes. But you forgot to go to charms." said Delilah.
Hermione seemed to wake up properly as soon as the words left Delilah's mouth.
"What? Oh my God, how could I forget?" Hermione wailed.
"Good question, you were with us right until we were outside Flitwick's classroom." said Harry.
"It was Malfoy, I was just thinking about how angry I got and just lost track of things!" Hermione seethed.
"Hermione, stop for a second." John said firmly.
Hermione stopped speaking and looked around at her friends who all had very concerned looks on their faces.
"You're cracking up. Trying to do too much. I mean obviously you're doing too many subjects, but that ti- I mean... necklace of yours is turning sixteen hour days into eighteen hour days." said Ron, stopping himself from saying time-turner out loud.
"I remember Harry asking you if you planned on eating or sleeping this year. I didn't think I'd actually be worrying about whether you're eating or sleeping. Forget charms, you just missed lunch." said John, who seemed unable to grasp the concept of actually skipping a meal.
"I just made a mistake, I'll just go to Professor Flitwick and-"Hermione began.
"No Hermione, you need to slow down. Seriously, you're doing way too much. You just have to drop some subjects." said Ron firmly.
"But I couldn't!" Hermione said, aghast.
"Muggle studies and divination? I think you could. You hate divination and Trelawney, and muggle studies is really not going to teach you anything." Ron reasoned.
"Hermione, there's a reason why adults always talk about a work life and personal life balance. Too much work is unhealthy, and psychologically damaging if it's too unbalanced." said Delilah.
"Do you remember the state you were in a few months ago? You burst into tears and it took us five minutes to calm you down." John said gently.
"And how long will it be before you break down again?" Ron asked, putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"I'm pretty sure you're doing more schoolwork than the NEWT students." John mused.
Hermione sighed.
"Maybe you're right. I'll just hold on for a few more days and make a more informed decision over what I should drop." said Hermione, finally relenting.
"You should try to make this decision as fast as you can honestly, for health reasons. We're worried about you." said Delilah softly.
"Has it really been that bad?" Hermione asked in a small voice.
"Yeah. I get that working is... not necessarily fun, but rewarding I guess for you, but it's not easy watching you overdo it like this. You know when we didn't see you this afternoon, Ron was worried Malfoy did something to you?" said John.
Hermione looked to Ron questioningly, and Ron nodded.
"I'm so sorry, all of you, I-"Hermione started.
"Hermione you don't have to apologise, we're supposed to look out for each other, you know?" Ron pointed out.
"And we haven't necessarily done the best job for you this year." said Delilah.
"You can't blame yourself, I chose to do these subjects, and it isn't like you haven't been busy either. Delilah you've got a boyfriend to worry about, and now John's in the same boat, and there's rugby and Quidditch, and the patronus too." said Hermione.
"No excuses. We've all been a bit stupid here. Hermione, your decision to take nine million subjects was in a nutshell... pretty fucking dumb." said John. Hermione looked sheepish.
"But we should've done more to help you out, no doubt about that." John finished.
"Well all that aside, let's head to divination. And ancient runes I guess..." Harry said.
Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed up to the divination classroom, to see each table accompanied by a crystal ball, which was unexpected.
"Thought we weren't meant to start on those until next term." Ron mused.
"I'm not about to complain. Every time she looked at my hand she looked like she was about to cry." Harry mumbled as they sat down.
"I have decided to start with our journey into the crystal ball earlier than expected. The fates have informed me that in June you will be tested upon this most critical aspect of understanding the future." Trelawney said in the mistiest, most faraway voice she could use.
"What a prediction! Honestly! Who sets the exam? She does! Bravo!" Hermione whispered. Harry and Ron struggled to hold back their laughter.
It appeared that Trelawney hadn't heard her, and everyone simply stared at the foggy crystal balls, not coming up with much of a prediction to speak of.
"Seen anything?" Harry asked dryly.
"I can foresee a nap. Just hope she doesn't notice." Ron responded. Harry and Hermione snorted but held back the laughter when Trelawney swept past.
"Would anyone like assistance in gazing into the foggy confines of the crystal ball?" Trelawney asked.
"I don't need help anymore. Look at it, I know exactly what's going to happen! There's going to be loads of fog tonight." Ron said.
Harry and Hermione couldn't restrain themselves this time and burst out laughing. Parvati and Lavender looked completely shocked and appalled.
"Now really! Such triviality fogs the truth! There is something here!" said Trelawney, staring directly at Harry, Ron and Hermione's ball.
"A dark shape, moving swiftly... it is the gr-"Trelawney started.
"Oh, not this again! It's getting ridiculous, with this Grim business!" Hermione groaned.
Trelawney turned to Hermione, surveying her with what could only be described as anger. It was very strange to see an angry Trelawney.
"I am sorry to say my dear, that as soon as you set foot in this classroom, I could tell that the inner eye was lost upon you. Never have I seen such a closed mind." Trelawney said.
Hermione stayed silent for a moment, as did the entire class.
"Alright!" she said, finally.
She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder.
"Alright. I give up." She said, and without another word, she angrily strode out of the classroom, leaving Harry, Ron and the rest of the class stunned in her wake.
"What the-"Harry started.
"She's having quite a day isn't she?" Ron remarked.
The Easter holidays soon dawned upon the students, but it was not relaxing in the slightest. They had been swamped with work. Neville seemed almost constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Ron and Delilah had completely taken over responsibility for Buckbeak's appeal, Hermione still had too much work to do, Divination or not, though she had confirmed that she would drop muggle studies at the end of the year. Harry and John's sporting commitments were making things very difficult too. Ron was also on the rugby teams, but John, being the captain of the third and fourth year team for Gryffindor, and now the vice captain at Hogwarts level, was not having an easy time of it. He was tipped as the favourite to become the captain of the Gryffindor third and fourth year teams next year.
Harry meanwhile, all too often found himself being targeted specifically by Wood, who repeatedly hammered home the point of not catching the snitch against Slytherin without being fifty points up first.
"So Harry, you can't catch the snitch until we're fifty up. Only if we're fifty or more up. Did you get that? We would win the match but lose the championship if you don't. Only catch the snitch if-"Wood said.
"I know Oliver! Fifty, fifty, fifty, I get it!" Harry yelled.
Wood looked offended, but upon a look from Angelina, he decided to leave it alone.
Harry often found himself wondering how John and Delilah had any time whatsoever to hang out with Katie and Machado respectively. On occasion he would see Katie and John sitting together in the common room in spite of Ron, Delilah, Hermione and himself all being in the same room. It felt... weird for John to deliberately spend time with someone else, despite how popular he was overall. Delilah had taken to properly introducing Machado, and decided to get him 'in' to their group. Or at least try to. While they didn't feel like Machado was an arse, it still felt slightly awkward whenever he was around. Not for Delilah of course.
One evening, while Harry decided to sit with Katie and John, hoping to talk about Quidditch, but Katie and John were discussing something else.
"I'm still a bit worried about her." John said.
"Who?" Harry asked, sitting down opposite them.
"Hermione. She's still overdoing it. I figured I should get more girls' opinions." said John.
"Well if you want mine, I'd say that Hermione's going about it the right way. She's already dropped divination as you said, and if she's dropping muggle studies at the end of the year, it should all sort itself out." Katie said.
"Yeah, I thought we were done with that?" Harry asked.
John rolled his eyes.
"Look at her." said John, motioning towards a table where Hermione was as usual, buried in piles of parchment and books.
There were noticeable bags under her eyes, and she looked almost as tired as professor Lupin.
"I see your point... but you can't force her to do anything. Besides, our names are registered for the exams already." said Katie.
"Quidditch should take her mind of things." said Harry, referring to the upcoming match.
"Actually, on the topic of Hermione..." Katie started.
Harry rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going.
"You do spend a lot of time with her. I really mean, a lot. Is there absolutely nothing... going on between you and her?" Katie asked.
"What... me and Herm- seriously?" John asked.
"Believe me Katie... if John wanted to be with Hermione, he'd have asked her out by now." said Harry.
"Definitely? Well... I can't help but feel threatened by her. She's really clever, really nice, and she's not exactly as unattractive as most Slytherins keep saying." said Katie.
"Come on Katie, it's like Harry said. I'd be all over her if I was interested in her in that way." said John, nonchalantly.
"Alright. Don't worry, I trust you. I just had to ask." said Katie.
John stayed silent for a moment.
"I can't blame you. Your boyfriend spends most of his time with a girl who doesn't exactly look like a troll... yeah." he said.
Harry snorted.
"I'll be totally honest here. Hermione is very attractive, but I can appreciate a girl being attractive without wanting to jump on her." said John.
Harry started outright laughing at John's bluntness, and Katie allowed herself to grin sheepishly.
"Jumping on a girl I'll reserve for you." said John, winking at Katie, who blushed.
"How are you so blunt and smooth at the same time?" Katie asked, resting her head on John's shoulder.
"I'll just leave before I vomit." said Harry, standing up and walking over to Ron, Delilah and Hermione, all of whom were working.
"Hard to be happy for John when he's being a nauseating twat." Harry said bluntly when he joined them.
"Harry!" Hermione said, looking scandalized.
Obviously Hermione hadn't accepted the concept of swear words being therapeutic.
"You know? Me and John are going to do some research and prove to you that swearing is a good idea." said Harry.
"Count me in. Though I don't know if wizards really look into this stuff." said Ron.
"No, they probably don't. Wizards aren't generally as curious as muggles about how things work." said Delilah.
"Well that is true. I mean aside from broomstick and wand making advances, there hasn't been much progress in wizarding society even since the Hogwarts founders were around, but look at what muggles have done since then." said Hermione.
"You planning on changing it single-handedly?" Ron said to Hermione teasingly.
"I certainly plan on doing something." said Hermione, her head still buried in her book.
Harry took a look at the book she was reading, and noted the title: Hairy Snout, Human Heart.
"What's that book about? It's not a textbook." said Harry.
"It's about an anonymous author and his struggles with being a werewolf. I've only just started, but it sounds awful. Completely tragic." said Hermione.
"Why would you read something that bloody depressing?" Ron asked.
Harry and Delilah gave Ron and Hermione weird looks.
"You see, werewolves aren't exactly treated well. Even when they're not transformed, they can't get jobs, people don't talk to them, offer them housing, and they're often lonely, poor and sometimes mentally unstable. I think of them as akin to black people about eighty years ago in the UK or USA." Hermione explained.
"A lot of werewolves just don't bother to be good people and just... become monsters whether they're transformed or not. There's this really infamous one called Fenrir Greyback. He's known for attacking people when he's not even transformed, and sometimes he sets it up so that he deliberately transforms near children." Ron said.
"What! Don't they realize they're just enforcing the stigma?" Hermione asked, shocked.
"You think they care? The way they see it, no one's going to offer a werewolf so much as a knut so they just punish the rest of the wizarding world for it." said Ron.
"Surely not all werewolves are like that?" Delilah asked.
"No. But definitely enough to make people not want to trust them overall." said Ron.
"Makes me a bit... torn. I don't know if werewolves should be helped or not." said Harry.
"I think they do. I'm sure they'll turn from violence if given opportunities." said Hermione.
"Is that why you're reading that book?" Ron asked.
"Yes. If you remember Snape's essay back when John lost it with him, I did a lot of research on werewolves. I feel so sorry for them." said Hermione.
"Not a lot of wizards agree with you there Hermione. I don't know what to think myself though." said Ron.
"Well I'm just going to have to change the broader perception when I'm an adult then, won't I?" Hermione asked rhetorically.
Almost everyone had forgotten about their busy schedules by the time the Gryffindor vs Slytherin match loomed. The night before it, almost no one could remember a match with so much anticipation. McGonagall and some of the older staff members recalled such an atmosphere when Ravenclaw stood a chance at beating James Potter's now legendary team, though it was promptly followed by a hammering by the invincible Gryffindors.
No one was under the impression that Gryffindor would easily destroy Slytherin, though they did acknowledge that the Potter brothers had become something of a weapon at this point.
Harry certainly didn't doubt that between Angelina, Katie and of course John, Gryffindor could be fifty up on Slytherin and hold a lead. He didn't forget however, that Malfoy, for all the arrogance, was actually a good flier.
Some Slytherins had taken to trying to sabotage Harry covertly. Legs in the great hall would stick out, trying to trip him over, Crabbe and Goyle would occasionally show up, though John's presence was enough of a deterrent, and Harry even caught Malfoy trying to sabotage his potion in one of the lessons. He had no idea what the potion would have done if Malfoy succeeded.
"What's the matter Malfoy? Scared you can't win in a fair match?" John taunted when Harry caught him.
Harry though, was more concerned for his firebolt's safety than his own. He had taken to locking it in his trunk whenever it was unattended. John took it almost everywhere he went.
Even Hermione was caught up in it all. Clearly she still hadn't got over how furious she was at Malfoy with his treatment of Hagrid.
"I just can't concentrate." she said, putting her books away.
When Harry was sleeping that night, he was awoken by a very strange dream in which the Slytherins had shown up riding dragons. Shaking that absurd idea out of his head, he got out of his bed to get some water, but he saw something out of the corner of his eye, through the window.
He looked out onto the castle grounds, and saw something lurking around the forest. It was definitely an animal. Not now... the grim couldn't show up so close to a Quidditch match!
But he looked more closely, and when the animal walked out into the open, it turned out to only be Crookshanks. Or was it just Crookshanks? He still saw movement from nearby bushes. And there it was. The massive black dog, the size of a tiger or lion was now walking along the grass alongside Crookshanks.
But... if Crookshanks could see it too, then it couldn't be a death omen, could it? And John and Delilah saw it before the Knight bus showed up! Why hadn't he thought of that?
"Ron!" Harry whispered.
"Ron, John, both of you, wake up!" Harry hissed.
"Huh?"
"Whasgoinon?"
"Look! Down on the grass!" Harry said.
"It's dark." John replied tiredly. "What are you on about?"
"Down on the-"Harry started, before looking out of the window again to see that both Crookshanks and the dog had vanished.
A loud snore told Harry that Ron had fallen asleep again. John too.
The next morning, the Gryffindor team seemed to be getting nothing but words of encouragement from almost everyone who wasn't a Slytherin. Harry felt his face flushing when he heard Cho calling "Good luck Harry!" to him. John groaned.
"Are you going to ask her out or what?" He asked in a tired voice.
Harry didn't answer, and simply followed the rest of the team out to the locker rooms, where they got ready for the match.
Katie kissed John passionately before the team walked out onto the pitch.
"We'd like to hold onto our breakfast thanks." said Fred dryly.
"Well I think they make an adorable couple." said Angelina.
"Please don't use the word adorable. Makes me feel like a bloody three year old." said John, grinning but rolling his eyes.
"Focus up! We have a cup to win!" Wood said strictly.
Harry could have sworn he heard John muttering something like 'and I have something to cup'. The bright red flushing of Katie's face confirmed that. What were she and John doing in their spare time?!
As soon as all fourteen players were out on the field, the commentary began with Lee Jordan as usual, whilst most of the stadium was adorned in red.
"And here come the Gryffindors! Potter, Potter, Bell, Johnson, Weasley, Weasley and Wood! Acknowledged by many as the best team Hogwarts has seen in years!" Lee called, to earn a lot of boos from the Slytherin crowd.
"And now the Slytherins have arrived, and Captain Marcus Flint has made changes to the lineup. He seems to be going for size rather than skill." Lee commented, to yet more boos.
Harry thought Lee had a point. Their average player was as heavily built as John. Malfoy was completely dwarfed by his teammates. Derrick and Bole, their beaters, a pair of sixth years looked something like what John would like like when he would be fully grown, and Harry couldn't deny how intimidating they were. If they were playing rugby...
Soon enough, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the fourteen players rose into the air, and Lee began the commentary.
"As ever, Potter finds himself with the quaffle immediately, and passes it back to Johnson! Johnson starts tearing up the field, but Warrington intercepts and steals it! He ducks under Bell, but finds himself blocked off by Potter! And will he-YES! Potter steals it back, and beats the keeper! Gryffindor takes the lead, ten to zero!" Lee cried.
The Slytherins were clearly as angry as the Gryffindors were pumped up. When John regained possession of the quaffle, Marcus Flint tried to intercept, but at the last second, chose to grab John by the hair instead of playing the quaffle. Katie didn't take it lying down and deliberately flew straight into Flint, who almost fell off his broom.
"Penalty to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack from Slytherin! Penalty to Slytherin for the same reason!" Madam Hooch called, stamping down some much needed authority.
John took the penalty and as expected, the quaffle rocketed straight through a hoop at such a speed that Slytherin's keeper didn't stand a chance.
"An incredibly powerful shot! One must ask the question, is the third year John Potter the strongest chaser on the pitch?" Lee said, to a great deal of Slytherin booing.
Wood somehow saved an admittedly good shot from Marcus Flint, keeping Gryffindor's lead somewhat extended.
The match continued, but it was only getting more and more littered with fouls. Bole, Slytherin's larger of their two beaters hit John not with a bludger, but with his beater's bat. John grunted in pain before he, in return, punched him so hard that Bole found himself unable to breathe for almost a minute, during which the match was paused. A match without four beaters on the field was just too uncontrollable with the nature of bludgers.
Harry expected Wood to berate John, and was rather surprised when he saw Wood's reaction.
"Damn good punch John." he said, smirking. Clearly because they were playing Slytherin, he was alright with hitting back.
Bole was clearly surprised that a third year could be that strong, and it seemed as if the Slytherins were now specifically planning on targeting Harry and the girls, as they were significantly less bulky than the Weasley twins, Wood and definitely John, and so fouls would be that much more effective on them.
Harry wasn't wrong with this guess. Angelina had a club thrown at her, Most of the Slytherin team were making walls now and again when Katie of Angelina got the quaffle (though that was legal), and by the time the match had reached half an hour in duration, Katie had a very noticeable nose bleed and a black eye, and Angelina had a very heavily bruised cheek.
John likely had a large bruise on the shoulder on which Bole hit him with a bat.
Meanwhile, Bole could still be seen occasionally clutching his chest. Maybe John had hit him so hard he'd broken a rib, and he was just running on adrenaline? The thought made Harry smirk. He couldn't wait to see what John could do on a rugby field when they reached seventh year.
Harry took a look at the scoreboard, and to his delight, saw that the score was now eighty to ten, and even though Slytherin were getting more desperate, it was making them careless.
John on his own had scored five of Gryffindor's eight goals, and didn't look to be in a mood to stop - he was on fire. Slytherin decided to target him once again, but now through ganging up.
When John next caught the quaffle, Flint flew straight at him, apparently seeking a head-on collision, which John did not look like shying away from. But John's tunnel-visioning on playing chicken with Flint made him oblivious to the Slytherin beaters both sending bludgers his way. John caught one of them before they struck, and dodged it, but the second one caught him in the stomach, winding him and causing him to drop the quaffle.
Harry was furious, but the move was legal. But he was distracted when he saw a familiar gold glint in the corner of his eye. Gryffindor were more than fifty points up... He zoomed towards it, but, somehow, felt himself slowing down to his horror. He had no idea what was going on until he looked behind him. Malfoy had somehow grabbed on to his firebolt's tail. The look on his face was a mix of exhaustion from holding onto the broom, and sheer determination to keep Harry away from the snitch at all costs.
"Why you little-"Harry started, before Madam Hooch, who was beside herself, blew the whistle for a Gryffindor penalty.
John couldn't take the penalty- he was still winded, and so Katie took it, but she was so angry that she missed outright. Gryffindor were losing focus with their anger, and Slytherin were spurred on by Malfoy's foul.
"Flint with possession and-" Lee commented before groaning. "He scores. Eighty to twenty. to Gryffindor."
Harry flew into the centre of the pitch, and to his horror, saw Malfoy flying in one direction single mindedly, completely away from every other player on the pitch. He knew what that meant, and immediately chased after Malfoy. He was closing in fast, then he was level... he took both arms off his broom, used one to knock Malfoy's arm out of the way, and with his other, made a mad grab for the snitch.
It didn't fully register with Harry when he held the struggling ball. John in fact had to fly up to him, with the goofiest grin he'd seen since he first got together with Katie before Harry realized that he'd just won Gryffindor the Quidditch cup.
This would certainly give some options for conjuring a patronus...
The two brothers flew down to the ground and immediately, the team all found themselves in a multi-person hug. Dumbledore handed a sobbing Wood the Quidditch cup, which he lifted triumphantly.
If the Gryffindor common room was a scene of chaos after the Ravenclaw victory, then this was simply something else entirely. Chants of "GRYFFINDOR!" or "POTTER!" were being heard for hours. John was too busy revelling in the chaos to notice something which Hermione and Delilah both spotted rather quickly.
"Where's Katie?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. I'd have expected her to be here if it's a party about her team winning the Quidditch cup." Delilah said.
"It certainly doesn't look like John knows." said Hermione, looking at John, who was currently having an eating contest with a portly fifth year boy. Harry and Ron of course, found it hilarious - neither of them were bothering to chew properly and made weird facial expressions whenever they swallowed a piece of food.
"I'll go and look for her. By the way, you should probably think of ways to not get Antonio to think about this." said Hermione.
"That's a good point... if I'm feeling this good about the win then he'll be feeling awful." said Delilah, while Hermione went upstairs towards the girls' dorm.
She knocked on the door to the fourth year dorm.
"Katie? Are you in there?" Hermione asked.
"Err... yeah, why?" Katie asked.
"Can I come in?" Hermione asked.
"Sure." said Katie.
Hermione walked in and saw Katie sat at her bed, not doing anything at all.
"What are you doing up here?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing." Katie replied very quickly.
"Well there's a party going on downstairs in your team's honour. Is there any reason in particular why you're not at it?" Hermione asked.
"Well... you might just find it a bit stupid." said Katie.
"Well no one's immune to stupidity." said Hermione.
Katie sighed.
"It's... the black eye. Normally I'd have no problem walking around with a black eye, but now... with John..."Katie said, before trailing off.
"You're worried about not seeming attractive?" Hermione asked.
Katie nodded, though she looked mortified.
"Isn't John your boyfriend?" Hermione asked.
Katie nodded again.
"In that case he's interested in more than what you look like. He's certainly interested in more than what you look like when you look your best." said Hermione.
"You're right. I really was just being stupid." said Katie. Hermione smiled, and the two of them headed back down the stairs.
It seemed that Katie dearly needed someone with some objectivity to assess the situation, and the massive smile on the face John (who had of course won his eating contest) when she showed up confirmed what Hermione was saying.
"Where have you been? You were fucking great in the match!" John said, rushing over to and hugging her. Hermione couldn't help but feel some kind of pride and warmth in her chest upon seeing it. She also felt mildly surprised that John appeared to be acting antithetical to the more shallow behaviour he would be displaying earlier in the year with god knows how many girls.
"Well... it was stupid. Hermione decided to drag me out of my head." said Katie.
"Well then Hermione, I owe you a butterbeer if I ever get to Hogsmeade." said John.
Hermione played it off as nothing and went to join Harry, Ron, Delilah who were with the rest of the Gryffindor team.
"So what exactly was it?" John asked.
"I was just worried about the black eye." said Katie.
John raised an eyebrow.
"Right... because I couldn't possibly date you while you're injured." John said sarcastically.
Katie slapped John's shoulder playfully.
"Alright, it sounded stupid enough talking to Hermione." she said.
John decided to cut the small talk and kiss the top of Katie's head.
"You're plenty attractive whatever the case." he said.
Katie and John proceeded to join the rest of the Gryffindor team and enjoy celebrating an accomplishment which would without a doubt, be an option for conjuring a powerful patronus for years to come.
