A/N: Hmm… it seems as though I forgot to add the author's note last chapter. Oh well. I didn't get very many reviews last chappie, but I guess you have to take what you can, hey? I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far. I really appreciate it, guys!

I'm sorry about the late chapter. It wouldn't let me update the last few days for some reason...

Thanks to shadow929, snuffles101, sarcastic spastic, Gene Kelly, IddamSoyt, scared-of-open-spaces, mat hadder and MotherCrumpet for reviewing:D

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to snuffles101, for her swift message to check if I was okay when the cyclone hit Australia. You rock!

November 19th

"I'm so tired," I whine as I slump down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, in between Lee and Alicia.

"You're always tired," Lee replies cheerfully, drinking from his stupid yellow coffee cup.

"Lee… what the hell happened to your face?" I gasp in twisted horror as I look up to examine his face. It's painted black and there's wonky hearts all over it, as well as squiggles and funny things that vaguely resemble mutilated smiley faces.

"Thanks a lot," he retorts in mock-annoyance. Then he goes, "Bell! What the hell happened to your face?"

Oh, shit. I look down at my shiny plate and see that my reflection is absolutely black. Except Lee's made it all polka-dotty, so it looks like I've had a mangled case of the measles. Well, except that the measles were white, and my skin was black. But whatever.

"You idiot!" I cry, hitting him on the arm. "I told you not to do anything funny!"

Several people have started smirking at us.

"Yeah, well you did mine first!" he says defensively.

"But I told you not to!"

"But you still did it to me!"

"Yeah, but that's different!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Thankfully, George comes up behind us and plops himself down next to me. "What's up, people?" he asks.

Well, there's this minor little fact: I can't actually tell that it's George. All I can see of him is his orange hair and eyes. Everything else is painted black.

"George… you've got black stuff in your ear, right there," Ange says from behind him, then gets a good look at his face. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Bloody hell!" Ron says, as he comes up to the table and gets a good look at us. Yeah, look while you can, you little swearing-miniature-version-of-Fred-and-George!

"Ah!" Alicia screams when she sees her face in the plate. "What did you do?" she yells, rounding on me.

Personally, I think she has an unfair advantage. I mean, she's at least four inches taller than me. And she has bigger feet. I'm not sure what it's got to do with it, but you never know. It might help.

"Um," I say meekly as four angry people glare at me, "I didn't do it!" Which is a completely lame thing to say when they all saw you, but whatever.

Alicia stares at me.

"Okay, but I didn't get the paint," I concede. "That was Mr General over there." I point at Fred, who is STILL wearing his 'GENERAL' hat. Stupid hat. Stupid Fred.

"Hey, don't look at me," he says.

When we all keep staring at him, he relents. "Katie applied it."

"Yeah, but I didn't know it was going to stay permanently!"

"Neither did I!"

"Yes you did you stupid little creep!"

"Who are you calling little?"

I just raise my eyebrows at him.

"Oh." Fred looks sheepish. "Who are you calling stupid?"

Alicia begins to get mad. "Stop it," she says, pointing at me then Fred. "How do we get it off? The game's in a few hours!"

"Uh," Fred smirks, "you can't."

"What?" I shout, jumping up from my seat and knocking a tub of strawberry yogurt all over Lee in the process. "I was only kidding when I said it was permanent!"

"Ew," Ange mutters, scooting away from Lee. He smells sorta like a wet dog, now. A pink one, but still.

"So we have to play," I say slowly, "looking like that?" I point at George's goo covered face.

"Yep," Fred answers happily. "I guess so."

Just as I'm about to bash his head in, there's a sudden noise from the people nearest the door to the Great Hall. I turn, and see that Cedric's entered the room.

"Bogey at twelve 'o' clock," I murmur to Angelina.

Ange just looks at me all funny and goes, "what are you on?"

Cedric turns to look at us, and I gap in disappointment. Everything I did to him last night has gone! There's no gold and red miniature pom poms stuck to him, his head isn't red or gold… he looks completely normal. I mean, not that he's all that great looking without the works of art I did, but still.

"Bell!" Angelina bellows, and I have to dash out of the Great Hall as everyone laughs at me, and Connie Cretin takes numerous photos.

"This is it," Oliver announces just before we're about to go onto the pitch. "This is the Big One."

I mean, he says it like if we don't win, he'll die or something. I mean, he probably will, 'cause he'll go drown himself, but whatever. He's the biggest loser I know. I demand a new one! Well, he's not that bad. I mean, it'd be way better if he had a personality transplant, but then again you don't know what he'd end up like. Maybe Cedric. Shudder.

"Ollie," Fred says, "you say that every time."

Oliver just looks at him and goes, "because it is, Weasley. Now put on your gloves!"

I mean, whoa. He's going to have a heart attack before he's a hundred, the way he's going. Sheesh.

"So, Harry," I say to him, "how are you feeling? Nervous? That's okay. When I was your age, I felt nervous too."

"Bell," Angelina says, rolling her eyes at me, "Harry's been on the team almost as long as you."

"Has not!" I retort. I count on my fingers. "One… two… three… this is my fourth year! And it's only Harry's… when did you get on the team?" I ask. I mean, it just feels like he's always been on it.

"First year," Harry replies, looking a little nervous. I mean, the wind's like howling outside, and I think a few pot plants have crashed into the door, but whatever.

"So… one… what year are you?"

"Third," Harry sighs, still staring at the huge door.

"Right. One… two…" I begin.

"This is his third year!" Alicia shrieks. "How can you not know that?"

Whoa. Down, girl. Just because you are some number genius doesn't mean we all are. Sheesh.

"Fine," I reply grumpily. "But I'm still older than him."

"Yeah," Alicia agrees, looking at me all weird. "That's 'cause you're two years ahead of him."

Well. That did not make any sense whatsoever.

"Hang on," I say. "I'm…"

"Fifteen," Alicia replies, looking bored. She and George have started talking about something or other. Wow. She can have two conversations at once! Wicked.

"And Harry's…"

"Thirteen," she says, still not looking at me.

Hang on. How can she know that? I mean, it's alright for her to know my age, seeing as how we're best friends and all. But she shouldn't know Harry's. Unless… "Are you stalking him? Oh my god, Harry. Are you okay? Has she done anything to you? How do you feel? Come on. You know you can talk to me, right?" I put an arm around his shoulder. "Come on," I say in what I consider to be a gentle tone, "speak up."

Harry moves away from my arm. "No," he says, "I'm fine. Really," he adds, when he sees me looking at him doubtfully.

"I am not stalking Harry!" Alicia yells, when she realises what I accused her of. Wow. Guess she can't hold two conversations at once, then. I take back everything complimentary I said about her.

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" I retort defensively. "After all, you knew how old he was. And that's grounds for suspicion, I believe."

"Because everyone in third year is thirteen!" she shouts. "I was, you were, Oliver was!"

"Do you think we should do a down-and-out play?" Oliver asks nobody in particular, unaware he is part of the argument. "Or stick to the triple-tuck-and-roll?"

"Hang on…" I say slowly. "When is your birthday?"

She sighs exaggeratedly. "You don't know?" when I don't answer, she narrows her eyes at me and says, "ask anybody in this room."

"Okay," I reply, feeling a little bad that she's so mad at me. I mean, how am I supposed to remember her birthday? By writing it on a calendar? I don't think so. "Ollie," I say, sidling up to him, "when's Alicia's birthday?"

"Huh?" he looks up at me blankly. "How am I supposed to know?"

I smirk triumphantly at 'Lic.

"I meant," she says, "Fred or George or Ange."

"What about Harry?"

"Harry, do you know my birthday?" Alicia asks him kindly. I mean, I don't see why she can't be as kind with me as she is with him. Just because he's two years younger… well, I'm the shortest! Doesn't that count for some something?

"Sure," he replies, shrugging. "August twentieth, right?"

"No," she says, looking crestfallen. "Fred, do you know it?"

"Er… march third?" he guesses.

"Ange?"

"May twenty-sixth," Ange replies confidently.

"That's Katie's birthday!" Alicia exclaims. "George?"

It is all up to George. I can see the sweat beading on his forehead. He gulps, and looks at every team member for help, but no one responds. He is on his own. "June fourth?"

"No!" Alicia yells, but at the same time, the doors open and we got a full look at what we'll be playing in. Sunshine and rainbows.

No, just kidding. Absolute storms. And cyclones. In fact, I can see one just beyond the Quidditch pitch, in the lake…

"And it's the Gryffindor team!" I can barely hear Lee shouting. "Wood… Weasley… Weasley… Spinnet… Johnson… Bell and Potter!"

Yay. I'm announced. I steal a glance over at Alicia, who is determinedly not looking at any of us.

Oliver has to shake hands with Cedric. In that way, I do not envy him the task of being captain. I mean, who knows where those hands have been?

I'm practically being knocked over by the wind, and so is Harry. It's dark and cold, and it's times like this I hate my brothers for teaching me how to play Quidditch. I mean, if I sucked I never would have gotten onto the team. And then I wouldn't have had thirty-three broken bones and about two months in the Hospital Wing, all up. It's good though, 'cause one time I got off Potions exams. But then Alicia brought them up for me. Stupid, stupid Alicia.

"I want a nice, fair game," Madame Hooch says, like she does every game. Nah, she wants to see us all hex each other off our broomsticks! Yeah. That'd be so cool. Take that, Montague! How much fun would it be to just hex every one off their brooms?

Probably more than I should admit.

She blows her whistle, and the game is off!

I rise up in the air. Angelina has the Quaffle, but I can't see her.

"Catch!" someone screams, and I turn around with my arms outstretched just in time, because the Quaffle is hurtling towards me at like a hundred miles an hour. Sheesh that woman can throw.

I catch it and move down towards the goal end, having to dodge Aaron Abbot. Stupid wanker. If he knocks the Quaffle out of my hands I'll go next door and tell his mother. She'll put him straight. Mrs Abbot is scary; practically all the noise in our neighbourhood is from that house, with Mrs Abbot yelling at her children, because she's gone deaf in one ear from a potions accident and doesn't know how loud she talks.

Just in front of me is a stupid yellow person, but I see a flash of red and hurl the Quaffle in that direction. It's Alicia, and she catches it and gets a goal.

Yippee! We're winning, we're winning, we're winning! We so need a cheerleading team. Then they can be all, "Hufflepuff looks like pygmy puffs!" I mean, I don't actually know what pygmy puffs are, but they sound just like the Hufflepuff people.

Oh, damn. The Hufflepuff dude- what's her name, Dana, I think. Aaron's got a crush on her. Anyway. She stole the ball from Angelina!

Great. Now I actually have to move. I can't even really see, thanks to the not-insignificant sized lumps of ice that are pelting down. I hope one lands on one of the Hufflepuff people's heads. Haha. That would be funny.

Oh. There goes Connie Cretin's umbrella. I just hope it doesn't hit Harry. I mean, it wouldn't be all bad if it hit Cedric… no, just kidding. I'm not that cruel. Really.

I fly up next to Aaron Abbot and knock the Quaffle out off his hands, hoping that Ange or 'Lic are below to pick it up.

No such luck, because the other Hufflepuff dude- Norbody, I think- steals it. Then he drops it. Then, after catching it and dropping it yet again, Alicia catches it.

"Over here!" I shriek as loudly as possible, which unfortunately for me is very loud, because all three of the Hufflepuff people fly over to me, leaving Ange available.

Why do I always get the idiots?

"So," I say to the nearest one to me, Norbody. "Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?"

The poor guy just stares at me wordlessly.

"BELL! STOP FRATERNISING WITH THE ENEMY!" Oliver screams from his goalkeeper position.

Sheesh. No need to yell, Ollie. I am on the same pitch as you, you know.

Angelina gets a goal, too. I feel so sad. I'm like the little behind-the-scenes person. You know, set up a goal then give the Quaffle to someone else. I am such a non-Quaffle-hogger. And that didn't even make sense.

At least the idiots all go away and chase the quaffle, except for Norbody. He's still staring at me. I hope Lee doesn't notice and embarrass the poor guy.

"AND IT APPEARS THAT NORBODY HAS BEEN DUMB-STRUCK BY THE EVER SO RAVISHING KATIE BELL! NOT THAT HE WASN'T DUMB ANYWAY-" Lee's cut off by McGonagall attempting to wrestle the microphone away from him.

Too late.

Norbody blushes and goes down towards Oliver.

"Bell!" Angelina screams. I mean, what is with all the screaming, people? I'm not deaf or anything.

"Yeah?" I yell back.

"Quaffle!"

Oh, right. The funny ball shaped thing that I'm supposed to playing with. Yeah. I gear myself up then sort of cut in front of the Hufflepuff person, who tries to block me but then I take the Quaffle out of her hands. Score one for Katie!

I fly down to the goal area, and look for someone to pass it to so they can shoot a goal. But Ange is up the other end, and I can't even see Alicia. So I shoot.

And get it in! "Yippee!" I scream. I got a goal! I mean, it's not like I've never gotten a goal before. But it's the first goal for me as a fifth year. Besides practice.

We get a few more goals after that (I get two) and so we're in the lead. Now, if only Harry can hurry up and get the damn snitch…

It's getting colder. It's real weird, too, and I go up to Angelina, who's shivering. "It's cold, right?" I ask, wanting to make sure. I mean, she could have been having a seizure or something.

"Yeah," she mutters.

"Look at the sky," I say, craning my neck to look up at the purplish-blue sky.

"What?" she says, looking at me.

I shrug. "Looks like rain."

"Katie," she begins, "this isn't normal cold."

"It isn't? News to me," I reply with forced cheerfulness. I mean, if I don't keep the situation light-hearted, who will? Exactly.

She rolls her eyes. "Quaffle!"

Poor 'Lic. We left her all alone up at the end with only those three der-brains for company.

Ange manages to block Aaron Abbot, and I steal the Quaffle from him, and go down the other end to shoot.

"Here!" Alicia screams.

Just as I'm about to throw it to her, something red catches my eye and I look over my shoulder to see someone falling out of the sky.

Not just any someone. Harry.

"Harry!" Alicia yells. We all watch him plummet down towards the ground, until suddenly he slows, but still lands with a huge thump on the ground.

"Oh my god," I say, landing on the pitch and running to him. Fred, George, Ange and Alicia have done the same thing.

Dumbledore comes up and conjures a stretcher, and leads him away, along with some other teachers.

"What the hell happened?" George asks, looking up at the sky.

I can barely see Cedric flying down at the far side of the pitch, and all his team mates run towards him, yelling and cheering.

So we lost. I mean, I can't say I'm not disappointed, or anything. All those ice-blocks for nothing. But then again, a team mate (and saviour of the world, etc) is lying in the Hospital Wing, possibly injured. Or dead. Or worse.

Cedric comes up towards us; we're all just huddled in the middle of the Quidditch pitch in the pouring rain. Not that that's abnormal or anything…

"Hi," he says, looking worried. "Is Harry okay? I mean, up there, in the sky…" he cuts off, gesturing to the sky. Cedric, we're not dumb. We DO know where the sky is. Sheesh.

"What happened?" Fred asks, looking unusually serious.

"Oh," Cedric replies. "I… I don't really know," he says. "I mean, one moment Harry and I were racing for the snitch, and then he just… fell. But then I saw them."

"Saw what?" I ask curiously.

"The dementors," Cedric announces, to sudden gasps of 'oh!' The Hufflepuff team are standing around us.

"Well," I say. "At least we know why he fell off."

"Why?" Fred asks me.

I roll my eyes at him. "'Cause of the cold," I reply matter-of-factly. "Duh."

It's Ange's turn to roll her eyes. "Katie," she tells me, "not everyone is as sensitive as you."

"I guess we should go visit him," George says slowly.

"Don't look so eager about it, George," I say sarcastically to him as we walk away from the Hufflepuffs.

Just as we're about to walk into the castle, Cedric runs up behind us. "I think we should have a rematch," he says surprisingly.

Well. That was unexpected. I figured he was just going to make us say 'hi' to Harry from him.

"What?" Alicia and I ask at the same time.

Cedric shrugs. "I just think I had an unfair advantage," he says. "After all, I only caught the snitch once Harry fell off. Otherwise, I'm sure he would have won."

Seeing as how Oliver is nowhere to be seen, Ange thinks about this. She's like our unofficial substitute captain. Basically meaning she's so bossy that we let her take charge. "Well," she says thoughtfully, "if you're sure."

"I'm sure," Cedric says immediately.

I mean, how dumb is this guy? He's WAY too nice for his own good. Technically, everyone in his entire house should hate him for being nice. He's willing to give away his win, just because the other guy fell off his broom. I mean, there's nice and there's NICE. Cedric has just crossed the line.

"Okay then," Ange says, and when she turns away I see her grinning.

"By the way," he says as we turn again to leave, "my team wants to know where you got your face paints. They want them, too."

Ange groans softly and glares at me, as everyone else cracks us laughing.

"I'll be happy to give you some, Cedric," I say happily. "After all, it's of no use to us!" I leave him to wonder what meant and we go see Harry at the Hospital Wing.

When we get there, he's already woken up, with Hermione and Ron by his side.

"Heeeeeeey," I say cheerfully when we get in the room. "How're you feeling?"

"Oh yeah, Katie," Fred says, "he's feeling just great. He only fell fifty feet."

I poke my tongue out at him. "Whatever."

"So," George says to him, "what happened?"

"Cedric already told us," Alicia interrupts hastily, "you don't have to tell us."

"Yes he does," Angelina says, glaring at her.

"Oh," Harry says, and even I can tell he doesn't look too hot. And I'm like, the world's most oblivious person when it comes to feelings.

"Forget it," I tell him. "You can tell us another time."

Harry looks relieved. "Thanks," he says.

"Hey! What falls fifty feet and then lands on the ground?" Fred asks.

"What?" Alicia says suspiciously.

"Harry Potter!" Fred replies, then falls about laughing.

"Bloody idiots," Ron says, referring to Fred and George who are laughing at Fred's lame joke.

Personally, I think he should win the gold medal for best joke. It was just that funny. Either that or the tin can.

Then Lee bursts in. "Hey hey!" he yells, like he's some minister of magic or something. On second thoughts, the minister for magic wouldn't act like that. "Did I miss anything?"

"No, Lee," I say sarcastically, "absolutely nothing. Nothing at all."

Hmm. So... liked the chapter? Absolutely hated it? Lol. Please review!