There was a cool hand on her forehead and two concerned faces peering at her.
"You feel all right?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"No, yes… I mean… I'm alive?" Kate whispered.
"What's wrong with her?" Wood asked.
"She hasn't been eating."
"I have too!" Kate argued. "Just… not too much."
"You need to start eating properly," Madam Pomfrey scolded. "You have lost over thirty pounds in two months."
"Oh, that much? That's more than I meant to…." Kate shook her head. "How long was I out?"
"Hardly twenty minutes. You're lucky that these symptoms have only just started. You can still get back into a proper diet, young lady."
Kate nodded, feeling liable to cry. "I'm sorry."
"Eat something during breakfast, and I don't mean a couple of slices of bread."
Light was streaming in through the infirmary window.
"Get to breakfast, then, Mister Wood. I'll be feeding my patient a proper meal." Madam Pomfrey shooed Wood from the room. He left, giving Kate a final worried look. The nurse conjured up some oatmeal, eggs and orange juice and watched to make sure she finished every bite. Kate was humiliated that she had been caught. Her father was a doctor and her mother was a nurse. All during her life she had been told how eating disorders were bad and so forth. What would her parents say if they found out?
The school nurse didn't allow her to leave until she was sure she had let the food settle in her stomach. She checked Kate for signs of other possible eating disorders and pronounced her "somewhat healthy." Kate slipped from the room, patches of pink shame coming to her cheeks. When she returned to the common room, only the early risers were up and doing homework. Hermione was re-reading her Charms book.
"I didn't see you at breakfast," Hermione frowned at her.
Kate shrugged. "I'm going to get some sleep."
"Okay, I'll wake you before the game then, shall I?"
Smiling shakily, Kate agreed and walked trembling up the stairs. Falling instantly asleep, she avoided crying.
A few hours later, Hermione sat on the edge of her four-poster, shaking her shoulder gently.
"S'about time to start." She said. Kate sat up and scrunched her eyes against her knuckles. "Wait until you see the poster Seamus, Dean and I made."
Kate grinned, feeling much happier. The two of them walked quickly down the Quidditch pitch, which was already full of expectant fans, eager for the first game of the season. Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville were already in the top row waiting for Kate and Hermione. Lavender and Parvati sat a row ahead of them, chatting with Ravenclaws Padma Patil and Mandy Brocklehurst. Kate and Hermione threw a quick "hello" to them and sat back in her seat, staring excitedly at the pitch.
The goals did look very much like the bubble-wands that Kate had played with when she was younger. There were six, three on either side. The day was clear and sunny; apparently perfect weather for a Quidditch match. The pitch was far below the seats and Kate wondered how clear the game would be to monitor.
"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Seamus greeted Kate.
Kate grinned almost apologetically, crossing her arms against her bony ribs. "Your banner rocks my socks." She moved her head up to indicate the banner that floated above the stands reading "Potter for President" in changing colors with a Gryffindor lion underneath.
"Thanks." Dean said, smiling.
"Ooh, the game! It's starting!" Seamus clapped his hands together and leaned forward.
A hush fell over the stands as the two teams entered the pitch. The fourteen players gathered around Madam Hooch, who seemed to be giving last-minute instructions.
"Look at the size of the Slytherin players!" Kate whispered to Ron. "Harry looks so tiny next to them."
Ron nodded. "That's why Madam Pomfrey is here, I'll wager."
"You don't think she's here to enjoy the match?" Hermione asked.
Ron just muttered something about the players mounting their brooms, ears turning pink.
There was a tweet from the whistle below and the brooms shot into the air.
"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor- what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too-."
"JORDAN!"
"Sorry, Professor."
Kate looked up to see Lee Jordan, friend of the Weasley twins, with a magical megaphone next, to a wary Professor McGonagall.
"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve- back to Johnson and- no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes- Flint flying like an eagle up there- he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle- that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and- OUCH- that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger- Quaffle taken by the Slytherins- that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger- sent his way by Fred of George Weasley, can't tell which- nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes- she's really flying- doges a speeding Bludger- the goal posts are ahead- come on, no, Angelina- Keeper Bletchley dives- misses- GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"
Gryffindors cheered wildly. Kate stared in awe at the players, amazed at their aptitude for the game. It looked extremely difficult from where she sat. The players zoomed around in red and green blurs. It made her think of Christmas blobs or something equally bizarre.
"Budge up there, move along."
"Hey, Hagrid!" Kate said, grinning at the gamekeeper.
Hermione squished Kate against Ron to give Hagrid enough room to join them.
"Bin watchin' from me hut," Hagrid said, tapping a large pair of binoculars strapped about his neck. "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"
"Nope," Ron shook his head, eyes fixated on the game as though the Snitch might suddenly appear, "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."
"Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," Hagrid lifted his binoculars to watch Harry as he drifted aimlessly through the sky.
"Really high up there," Kate shook her head, "this isn't a game for the height-o-phobes."
Hagrid chuckled, "No, certainly not."
There was a surprised murmur suddenly and Kate saw too, there was a golden speck and the Seekers began to chase it ferociously. Harry was just a bit faster than Higgs… he was so close! Kate crossed her fingers for him, nearly breaking them at the knuckles she was squeezing so hard-
WHAM!
"What the-!" Kate shouted. "What are you thinking, you great lug!" Kate yelled at the Slytherin player, Marcus Flint, who had intentionally blocked Harry. Harry flew off course and Kate was momentarily afraid that he would plummet to his death. She stood, gripping the row in front of her.
"FOUL!" The Gryffindors shouted around her.
Madam Hooch gave the Gryffindors a free shot. Meanwhile Dean was getting his word in.
"Send him off, ref! Red card!"
"What are you talking about, Dean?" Ron frowned.
"Red card! In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!" Dean said furiously.
"But this isn't soccer, Dean,"
"They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air," Hagrid agreed with Dean.
Lee Jordan began to have difficulties staying a neutral commentator.
"So- after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-."
"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall growled.
"I mean, after that open and revolting foul-."
"Jordan, I'm warning you-."
"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."
Kate shook her head and looked back at Harry to see how he was doing.
"Slytherin in possession- Flint with the Quaffle- passes Spinnet- passes Bell- hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose- only joking, Professor- Slytherins score- oh no…."
The Slytherins were cheering now.
Kate looked up at the speck that was Harry. Hagrid was doing the same but with the enhanced vision of his binoculars.
"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," he mumbled, "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom… but he can't have…."
Kate suddenly was able to see what Harry was doing. He was being jerked roughly around and his broom was rolling all over the place. He barely managed to hold on but… the whole crowd gasped as Harry swung off suddenly. He was just dangling from it… one handed.
"Oh my gods," Kate started biting her thumb nervously.
"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.
"Can't have," Hagrid's voice was tremulous. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic- no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."
Hermione let out a little gasp and grabbed Hagrid's binoculars. Instead of watching Harry, she looked frantically around the crowd.
"What are you doing?" Ron moaned, looking ill.
"I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape- look."
Ron took a peak and then allowed Kate to look. Snape had his eyes fixed on Harry and he was muttering nonstop under his breath. Kate frowned and looked a bit further to the side and saw Quirrell doing a very similar activity.
"He's doing something- jinxing the broom," Hermione breathed.
"Quirrell…."
"What should we do?" Ron interrupted.
"Leave it to me,"
"But-." Hermione had already disappeared. "I have a very bad feeling about this." Kate muttered.
"Yeah… yeah…." Ron watched Harry desperately. The Weasley twins had flown up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but it was no good- every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher into the air. They finally gave up and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell. Flint, ever the cheater, grabbed the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.
"Come on, Hermione." Ron muttered fervently.
Kate looked through the binoculars to look at Quirrell. Hermione's bushy hair was just visible behind him and suddenly Quirrell was knocked head-first into the row in front of him. Hermione plummeted on without looking back at Quirrell. Kate looked back at Harry; his broom had already begun to calm down. Then Kate saw that Hermione was behind Snape lighting fire to his robes. Kate hoped that she wouldn't harm him. Hermione pulled the fire away once Snape had turned to look at what was scalding him.
Harry, at this point, was able to clamber back onto his broom.
"Neville, you can look!"
Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes. Kate reached over to pat Neville's hand.
Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was going to be sick- he hit the field on all fours- Kate jumped again to her feet- he coughed and something gold fell into his hand.
Harry waved his closed fist into the air and shouted.
The game ended in utter confusion. Kate wasn't sure whether to cry or to cheer.
Flint, the Slytherin captain howled for twenty minutes afterwards how Harry had only swallowed it, not caught it, but the win had been fair-and-square, unlike Slytherin's extra fifty points thanks to Flint's cheating. But Gryffindor won anyway; 170 to 60.
Hagrid left the stands to go and speak to Harry, trailed by Kate, Hermione and Ron.