WITH OR WITHOUT YOU
Thanks to my1-and-only, Ashley, sissified, curlyqntx, Norie Ape1, scarlet-knight13, USAgirl (thanks for the grammatical hints! And you started guessing, huh?), xputteckx, xohugsndkisses, nichole-sumpter, SwTnDrEaMyPnAy03, Smiles28 (she knows cause of the DA! Thanks!), boredncrazy22 (thank you so much! But I have to say that JK is far better than me, so you can't imagine how glad I am for your compliments!)and random gal (I read your fics! You're doing great! Good luck!) for the reviews! And most of you guessed right where the broom was! I wish you have a merry Christmas and I hope I won't let you hanging till new year's eve, so…
Here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy! Cheers!
Chapter XXVIII
Please, God! Hermione never ran so fast in her whole life. It was getting really difficult to breath and her legs were aching. Just one more floor, Hermione! You can make it!
"Hermione is late". Harry gave up of eating the last piece of pumpkin bread. He didn't eat much, his stomach was turning like hell.
"Maybe she fell asleep. She was really tired". Ginny looked at the great hall entrance.
"I couldn't sleep at all. What are you thinking you should do, Harry?" Ron asked worried.
He sighed. "I'll do as Hermione said". He looked at the teacher's table, only Flitwick and Trelawney were still there. "I'll talk to McGonagall".
Ron shivered. "She'll cancel the game, mate. Are you sure?"
Harry turned to him. "And what else can I do?"
Ron lowered his eyes.
"Don't worry, Ron. I'm sure McGonagall will be reasonable. I can play using another broom".
"And what broom will you use? The school ones?" Ginny said sadly.
Harry said nothing, just got up and left.
"This time we're really in trouble". She looked at Ron's face and didn't know if she would pity him or Harry because Ron seemed to be almost falling to pieces. What should we do now?
Hermione was trying to recover her breath leaning on a wall at a corridor in the 7th floor. I'm here, finally! She breathed deeply and gave a few steps ahead, turned to the wall and faced it. It has to be here! She started walking again. I want to find Harry's broomstick! I want to find Harry's broomstick! I want to find Harry's broomstick! Suddenly a wooden door appeared in front of her. Hermione stretched her arm aiming for the doorknob. She gulped.
The Gryffindor quidditch team was already at the dressing room waiting for the captain.
"Where's Harry?" Michael Ferguson, one of the chasers, asked looking at Ron and Ginny.
"He had to talk to McGonagall, but don't worry, he'll arrive soon". Ginny said trying to sound confident.
"I hope so". Michael left them.
Ginny and Ron looked at each other and sighed.
Harry gave a deep breath and knocked on McGonagall's office door. He could hear her footsteps coming towards it. The doorknob turned and he found himself looking at Minerva's face.
"Yes, mister Potter?" Her face seemed to be made of marble.
"Professor, I need to talk to you about…"
"Harry!"
Both looked at the left side of the corridor. Hermione Granger was running towards them almost breathless.
"Hermione, what…"
She stopped beside him. "Thank God I found you". She was breathing heavily.
"What is so important, miss Granger, to make you storm like that in front of my office and interrupt my conversation with mister Potter?" Her eyes made it clear that Hermione would have to give a real good excuse.
She looked at McGonagall. "I'm sorry, professor. It's just that Ron asked me to tell Harry that he's alright". She turned to Harry. "And he already took your broom with him to the dressing room". Please, Harry, be smart as I know you are!
Harry's eyes were wide open. "My… my broom?"
She looked him in the eyes. "Yes, Harry". She said firmly.
"I hope you haven't forgotten about me". Minerva said harshly.
They finally turned to her.
"Miss Granger, you said mister Weasley is alright now. Was he, by any chances, ill? Because I saw he this morning at breakfast and he seemed to be quite well".
Hermione's stomach flopped. "He complained that he was nauseated, professor, and Harry got worried about that".
"And how could you know that since you didn't show up for breakfast?"
She felt herself smaller than a grain of sand. "Because… I met Harry at the corridor and he told me". She turned to him. "Right, Harry?"
He took a few seconds to nod.
"A nauseated person is something that madam Pomfrey can fix in a second. Why didn't he look for her?"
I can't answer this. She pressed Harry's arm slightly.
He looked like someone that had been pulled from a dream. "W… why? I… I told him to go to the hospital wing but he said… he said… he didn't like the potions taste, yeah. He said it would make him throw up before doing any good". He finished firmly.
McGonagall looked at them really suspicious, but it was almost time for the game to begin and she wanted to maintain the quidditch cup at her office. "I think it's time for you to go, mister Potter, but what were you going to tell me before miss Granger interrupt you so suddenly?"
He looked at Hermione who responded with those 'make-any-excuse' like eyes. "I was… I was going to talk about Ron but it's not necessary anymore". He grabbed Hermione's hand. "And, like you said, professor, I must go now. If you excuse us". He walked from McGonagall as fast as he could, pulling Hermione with him.
Inside of the gryffindors dressing room the roar of the crowd could be heard.
"It's about time for us to get outside. Where the hell is our useless captain?" Roger Grapevine, on the beater position, said angrily.
Ginny stood up. "He'll come! And he's not useless!"
Roger faced her. "Everybody here knows why you're defending him, Ginny Weasley! But don't expect us to be in love with him too!"
Ginny blushed harder but because she was really angry. "It's not because of that I'm defending him! You're just saying it because I dumped you! You freaking looser! And I'm not in love with Harry!"
"Sorry for being late but I didn't expect to find you in such a ruckus".
All of them turned to the entrance. Harry was standing there, his firebolt leant on his shoulder.
"Harry, your broom…"
He laughed at Ron's surprised face. "Alright, Ron. I thought you had already got used to it". He stepped towards them. "I'm really sorry. McGonagall took more than I wanted to give from my time. But I think everybody's ready and I don't need to make any speech". He looked at Ginny and Roger. "And I hope you leave your argument outside the quidditch pitch. Can I count on that?"
They nodded, ashamed.
Harry smiled. "Fine. Shall we go then?"
They made a line. Ron was first. The beaters were right after him. Ginny was the last of the chasers, right in front of Harry. "How did you get your broom back?" She whispered.
"Ask Hermione later". He answered without looking at her.
Ginny felt a chill going down her spine. Although it was a normal answer, something in his tone was frightening cold. It didn't sound like Harry at all. Her chest ached. I'm imagining things. Even though he had heard what I said to Roger, what difference could it make anyway? She glanced at him for a second. I'm just Ron's sister after all. Her thoughts were interrupted my madam Hooch's whistle.
"Alright, everyone! Time to go!" Harry yelled.
Hermione had to seat among some Huffle-Puffs. There were no places left between the gryffindors. She saw Ron entering the pitch followed by the other players and couldn't help smiling seeing Harry flying with his firebolt over the gryffindors buddies. Thank God I made it in time!
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It was really hard to know who would win. They were playing for almost three hours and Gryffindor was only ten points ahead. C'mon, Harry! You can find it!
"I thought you had said that his broom was missing!" A well-known cold voice screamed in her ear.
You must be kidding me! She turned. "Hello, Malfoy!" She yelled back because the crowd was really noisier.
He was sitting behind her. "Nice acting, Granger! You really convinced me and now the slytherins are angry at me!"
Hermione laughed. "I'm really sorry, Malfoy! But, you know, I think they're angry at you cause they might be thinking that was you who told me where Harry's broom was!"
He looked at her angrily. "I already told that I have nothing to do with this! And you can be sure that they would never guess a thing like that cause they think I hate you more than any other muggle in this world!"
"They don't THINK, Malfoy! They KNOW! Anyway, the fact is that someone entered at Harry's room and stole the broom! Only the gryffindors and you know the correct password! So who do you think I would blame?!"
He frowned then turned his eyes to Harry. "Although you say that, it seems that his firebolt is making no difference! He didn't catch the snitch yet! As for me, I hope he won't!" He looked at her again.
"You know he will! And that's why you came after me! Because your hopes just fell to the ground!"
An enormous roar made them look at the pitch. Ravenclaw just drew the game.
Malfoy smirked. "You really are week! A draw?!" He laughed.
Hermione ignored him and turned again to the pitch… and it was right about time.
Harry was diving really quickly towards the base of the Gryffindor hoops. Suddenly everybody at the stadium was in silence. The Ravenclaw seeker followed him but he was meters behind. A bludger was beaten towards Harry but he managed to avoid it going a little to the right. He didn't lose sight of the snitch but it started flying again… and it is going right to Mendoza's hand! Harry ordered his firebolt to go faster and it obeyed. To the crowd he was only a golden point moving really faster.
He's going to crash! Hermione put a hand over her mouth.
Mendoza was worried but he decided it was better to crash with Potter than lose the snitch, so he maintained his course.
The golden and the blue points seemed to become one for a second but then the blue point was going up and the golden one was flying a few feet from the ground, loosing speed slowly till the crowd could see a smiling Harry holding the snitch in his right hand.
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"What a strange story". Ginny looked at Hermione surprised.
They were at the common room of the Gryffindor tower. The other gryffindors were celebrating their great victory over Ravenclaw while Hermione, Ginny and Ron were at a corner almost whispering to each other.
"Now I'm curious to know who sent you the message". Ron's eyes were wide open.
"I didn't recognize the letter and I didn't have time to discover who sent it. But I'll try. It must have been someone that saw they hiding the broom but that didn't want to get involved in the trouble. I wish I can thank him… or her".
"We should give whoever that helped us an honor medal". Ron stood up. "I'm going to get some butterbeer" and left.
Hermione looked at Ginny. "You don't seem to be very happy. Something happened?"
Ginny smiled faintly. "No, nothing. You're imagining things".
"Like you said once that I can't deceive you, I think I can say you can't deceive me neither".
She sighed. "It's nothing. I'm just really stupid, that's all".
"Don't wanna talk about that?"
"Maybe later". She looked at the girls and boys that were talking aloud and laughing. "I think we should join the party". She got up. "Let's go".
"Ok". Hermione followed her.
