Up in the Sky
Doctor Zimmermann is having trouble keeping any of his students settled down in his class on the day of the Preliminaries. Despite taking numerous amounts of points away from both Slytherin and Gryffindor, none of the students are able to sit still. Finally, he throws up his hands in defeat. "Obviously zis is no good. Class dismissed!"
The students just stare at him as though he's lost his mind. Then, they gather their things and rush out of the lecture hall. "Parker, a vord vith you, if you vould."
Johnny sighs in annoyance but heads over to Zimmermann's desk. She sees her last assignment in front of him and swallows uneasily. "Yes, sir?"
"You have been practicing, I see," Zimmermann starts simply.
Johnny nods. "Yes, sir. When I'm not on the Pitch with the team, I'm in the library working on it."
"It shows," Zimmermann replies. "Ten points to your house."
Johnny's eyes light up. "Really? Thank you so much!"
"No need to thank me, Parker. Thank Granger for her tutelage," Zimmermann says. Johnny blushes. "And good luck today. It is a big day for you Quidditch stars, is it not?"
Johnny nods eagerly. "Yes, sir. A very big day. The Gryffindors are competing for the spot on the mixed team today."
"Vell, good luck," Zimmermann says. He looks her in the eye. "You are destined for great things, Parker. Keep zat in mind as zis tournament continues."
Johnny is confused but she nods in agreement. "Thanks again, Doc," she rushes from the lecture hall.
By the time Johnny scrambles into her robes and grabs her bat, the preliminaries have already begun. Lee Jordan, a good friend of the Weasley twins, is commenting on the Chaser and Keeper contest. Katie, Alicia, and Angelina are zooming through the sky with Denise, Mark, and Cynthia. Ginny and Colby are in the air as well, guarding their respective posts.
"Johnny, up here!" Daniel shouts from the bleachers. Johnny hurries to take a seat next to him. "This thing's almost done. Only two more minutes and Colby's got the lead as far as being Keeper's concerned but Denise and Cynthia are taking a beating."
Johnny looks for Ginny in the sky. Even from far off, she can see that Ginny is getting very frustrated. She feels sorry for the girl. She just made the team and is almost sure to be on the sidelines for this year. Her mind wanders to the previous night and she sighs deeply.
"And it's all over folks. The judges are tallying up the final votes and we should get the results back in just a few minutes," Lee shouts. "Well done, everyone!"
The Gryffindors land by the bleachers and take the towels that are waiting for them. They each congratulate each other and wait for the scores to be announced.
The judges for the tournament are the heads of the houses: Sprout, Flitwick, Snape, and McGonagall as well as Dumbledore and Hooch. They huddle for a few minutes and Dumbledore stands. "In the event of fairness, I have decided that rather than announcing the scores at this time, I will post the new rosters at the end of the event on the door of the Great Hall."
The whole crowd groans at this news but it does seem fair to let everyone enjoy the tournament without news of anyone losing. Lee shakes his head of his shock and then continues announcing. "Well then, boys and girls, on to the Beaters and Seekers!"
Hermione and Ron rush toward the group. They can't stay for long, not being on the team, but they want to wish their friends luck. Hermione jumps into Harry's arms. "Knock him dead, Harry!"
Daniel grins. "Hey. That's not very nice…"
Hermione looks at him apologetically. "Good luck to you, too. But you have to understand that I'd want my own school to win."
"I know, I know," Daniel says. "Was just giving you a hard time, is all."
Fred and George both tousle Ron's hair. "Lay off, guys! I just wanted to say good luck!"
"We don't need luck!" Fred says, grinning at Matthew and Johnny. "Oliver used to say we're like human Bludgers. We can take on anything!"
"Come on, we haven't got all day!" Lee shouts.
Johnny yanks Hermione into her arms for a quick hug. "Thank you so much. If it wasn't for you, I'd lose my scholarship and not have this chance."
Hermione's eyes tear up. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me…"
"Yeah, no one actually compliments her on being studious," Ron laughs.
Hermione flashes Ron a hurt look. They head back to the audience, arguing.
Ginny had watched Hermione and Johnny hug and is surprised at the pang of jealousy she feels. She sighs and watches the group take to the air. She looks over at Colby, who is sipping at a thermos of water. "Good job out there."
Colby smiles. "You, too."
Ginny is surprised at how calm the boy is. She is going crazy with anxiousness to see who's going to win. "Aren't you going to root your school on?"
"Not if your school is better. We want a winning team and who's on it isn't that important. As long as we can kick the Slytherins' butts all over the Pitch for the rest of the season, I don't mind who's on the team."
Ginny thinks about Colby's unexpected logic and then shrugs. He has a point and it calms Ginny's fragile nerves. Now she can concentrate on something a lot more pleasant. Such as a certain American Beater and how amazing she looks on a broom. She gasps at her thought and then revels in it, wondering if maybe Johnny feels the same way. After the way they had looked at each other the previous night, Ginny is almost sure of it. But now that she's made this discovery, what to do?
Johnny's whole body is tingling, remembering the feel of Hermione in her arms. She knows that Hermione doesn't feel the same way but it's a great feeling, nonetheless. Suddenly, a Bludger hits her in the side and she jerks off her broom. She keeps her grip and climbs back on, cursing herself for getting distracted.
"Hey, you okay?' Matthew calls. He hits the Bludger away and flies near Johnny. "You're bleeding!"
Johnny looks down and sees the blood soaking through her robes. She blanches but stares away quickly. "I'm fine, Matt. Let's just hope those Seekers get the Snitch quickly."
Unlike the first round, this contest isn't timed. It is up to the Seekers to catch the Snitch to end the game. In the mean time, the Beaters are scored on their ability to keep the Seekers and themselves safe. Johnny grimaces. She's already gone against herself and it's been barely two minutes.
Harry and Daniel are flying side by side, both looking for the Snitch but less than thrilled about having to compete with each other. "Maybe Johnny knows something about Zimmermann. He seems to be okay with her, actually being nice to her and stuff," Harry is saying.
"Trying to keep your mind off of the Snitch, Potter?" Daniel laughs. Harry joins him. "Let's think about all that after this game, all right? May the best man win," he holds out a hand to Harry.
Harry takes his hand and shakes it firmly, grinning broadly. Then, they separate and search for the Snitch.
Fred and George are doing their best to impress the judges by banging the Bludger back and forth between them. Johnny and Matthew circle around them, hoping to get a chance to show their worth. Finally, George smashes the Bludger away and soars after Harry with Fred right behind him.
Matthew starts after the Bludger but realizes that it's heading right toward the stands. Johnny, who is much closer, watches helplessly as it soars by her. She turns to see that it's heading toward Ginny.
Thinking quickly, Johnny zooms toward the Bludger. She knows she can't catch up with it under broom power but, being as heavy as she is, she knows she can get it if she jumps.
"Harry's got the Snitch!" Lee screams suddenly and the crowd goes wild. "This match is over with Harry in the lead as Seeker and the Weasley twins in good standing as the possible Beaters. Wait a minute..!" he sees Johnny falling toward the stands. "What is Parker doing?"
Johnny is off her broom and past the Bludger. She spins so that she can bash the Bludger away as hard as she can. There is the dull sound of iron bending and then the crash of her falling into the bleachers only inches away from Ginny. She lays face down and the bat is broken in two in her hand.
Madam Pomfrey rushes to the bleachers and pushes aside the astonished students. She levitates Johnny, who is covered in her own blood and splinters from the stands. "Stay back! I've got to get her to the Hospital Wing!" she hurries off, muttering about how reckless Quidditch can be.
Madam Pomfrey sees the large group of students waiting out in the hall by the Hospital Wing. She tries to usher them away but finds that they will not leave without answers. "Miss Parker is recovering nicely and needs plenty of rest. The bones are going to need all night to mend. She is asleep right now and must not be disturbed."
That got most of the well wishers to leave the scene but Harry, Daniel, Ginny, Colby, and Hermione still stand around. Madam Pomfrey looks at them all for a moment before sighing deeply. "All right, you may come in to see her. But please don't wake her. It took quite some time to get her to sleep."
The group tiptoes inside and heads toward where Johnny is asleep. Her already pale skin is even whiter and she is bandaged up in a lot of places. She looks relatively peaceful, though, which puts their worried minds at ease. "Madam Pomfrey can work miracles," Harry whispers, remembering all the damage she's had to heal from all his injuries over the years.
"Hey, Johnny… in case you can hear us and just won't open your eyes," Daniel starts. "Congrats, man. You're on the team with Harry, Fred Weasley, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Colby, and Mark. Your heroics earned you the points to make it in, despite not handling the Bludger well. In fact, you put a huge dent in the side of it. That's solid iron, kid!"
"What did I tell you?" Madam Pomfrey snaps. "Out, out, out!"
Ginny slips around Madam Pomfrey as she shoos the rest of them away. She smiles. "Dumbledore said something about a Halloween Masquerade Ball at the end of the month, after all the houses are done competing. Just thought you'd like to know so that you'll have time to… I don't know, pick out a costume or a date or something…"
"Miss Weasley!" Madam Pomfrey is exasperated.
"Bye!" Ginny gives Johnny's hand a squeeze as she runs away from Madam Pomfrey's shouts.
