Chapter 14

Suddenly, Colin's voice boomed in the stadium, loud and imperious.

"Welcome to the Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin game!"

There was a loud cheering from the hundreds of students that filled the stands. After their welcoming applause, the players walked out onto the pitch, glaring at the opposite team furiously. Hermione could make out Harry's shock of black hair, and then Draco's white blond amongst the emerald green of the Slytherins.

Madame Hooch made Harry, who was captain of the Gryffindor's, shake hands with Draco, who was Slytherin's captain, and it seemed cordial from up in the stands, but Hermione could tell by Harry's stance that he was pissed off.

"On my whistle… Three… two… one…!" The whistle blew, loud and insistent. The players launched themselves into the air with frantic anger. There was more than just the simple Gryffindor Slytherin rivalry in the air. She could see Luc in the Slytherin crowd, jeering and yelling insults at the Gryffindor players. Hermione felt bile rise in her stomach and she wondered what she had ever seen in him.

"Ok, the quaffle goes to Gryffindor, and then to- oh, never mind, intercepted by Slytherin- and then- Oh good block by Ginny Weasley, Gryffindor Keeper, the quaffle is back in Gryffindor possession- and GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" Gryffindor let out a racket of joy and hullabaloo. Hermione could see Harry and Draco circling above the game, looking for the Snitch.

"Quaffle in Slytherin possession, it goes to the Slytherin chaser, Carter Doran, then to Sindyn Sarlin, and OOH! Steal by Gryffindor's Rhia Smith, and the Quaffle is going the other way! AGH! What's this? Another steal back by Doran and he passes to Sara Tsyth, and then to Sarlin and… oh no…. Slytherin scores," he said this so dejectedly that Professor McGonagall gave him the eye. The Slytherin stands erupted in screams and cheers.

"Okay, the Quaffle is in Gryffindor possession, and Smith heads down the field, passing to Aaron Winds, and then to Kailey Winston, and she aims, but – blocked! Slytherin Keeper Nicholas Adston blocks it admirally, and the ball is passed to Dorin, and then Tsyth, and oh no… Slytherin scores…"

Hermione looked away from the screaming Slytherins and searched the skies for Harry. She found him, hovering above the game, his eyes darting wildly.

Draco was on the other side of the field, also fixatedly looking for the Snitch. A Bludger whipped by him, but he ignored it as one of the Slytherin Beaters smacked it off toward Ginny.

Suddenly, both Draco and Harry saw the Snitch at the same time. They both dove.

"LOOK!" Hermione screamed. "They've both seen it!"

The swooped down, but suddenly, pulled away; it had disappeared. Hermione sighed dejectedly, but then realized that Gryffindor had scored yet again and the crowd was cheering.

"Ok," Colin started again, taking a deep breath. "Slytherin possession, Sarlin streaks down the field- and both seekers have seen the snitch!"

Hermione looked up in horror to see a both Draco and Harry streaking toward the field again, a blur of green and red opposite, dark and light, and she was about to close her eyes when a Bludger came out of no where and hit one of them.

She heard herself screaming as she saw Draco's eyes widen, and then he fell off his broom, hitting the ground with a loud thud. At first she thought that maybe he and Harry had collided, but the red covering the grass was a not crimson robe, but blood. He was vomiting blood.

Hermione found herself hurrying down the stairs, her feet clattering on the wooden steps, and out onto the vivid green pitch, where Harry was cradling Draco's head in his lap. As soon as he saw Hermione his eyes rolled up in his head and he went out cold. The game had been forgotten completely, and Hermione could see Professor Dumbledore rushing over.

"Oh my god," Hermione whispered. "What the hell was that?"

Harry narrowed his eyes, and Hermione noticed a smear of blood on his wan face. "That Bludger was tampered with. There's no way an ordinary Bludger would have had so much force behind it, as well as going specifically for Draco. And having been the prey of a Rogue Bludger before, I recognized the patterns. I tried to warn him, but he dismissed it."

"Why is it always us?" she groaned.

Dumbledore appeared next to them and pressed his firm fingers against Draco's pale temple, and motioned for Madame Pomfrey to come forward.

"Hermione, Harry, please meet me in my office in half an hour," Dumbledore said calmly. "We have much to discuss."

With a flick of his wand, Draco was on an invisible stretcher, and they took him to the infirmary, leaving Harry and Hermione standing in the middle of a blood soaked field.


They walked together to the Headmaster's office, their head bowed in silence. Upon reaching the gargoyle, they loitered outside the door, waiting for Dumbledore to come along.

Finally they heard the light familiar footsteps of the Professor, and they stopped leaning against the wall. Hermione shifted her feet nervously, hoping that their talk with Dumbledore wouldn't take long. She wanted to see how Draco was.

"Hello, Harry, Hermione," he nodded at her, and for an instant, Hermione thought perhaps that he knew more than he let on, but that was gone in an flash of light. He turned to the gargoyle.

"Acid pops," he said distinctly, and the gargoyle scowled.

"Fine, fine," the gargoyle muttered. "If you insist."

They all walked up the rotating stairs and when they reached Dumbledore's office, he sat down behind his desk and massaged his temples for a moment. Hermione and Harry stood in the doorway uncomfortably. They had been in Dumbledore's office numerous times for various misdemeanors, but for the first time, they were hesitant. It was if everything had changed so much that they no longer felt familiar with the man who had nurtured and taught them.

"Sit, sit," he said, motioning for them to do so. They sat slowly, as if they were afraid of what Dumbledore would say. He folded his hands on his desk and looked at them over the top of his crescent moon glasses, his blue eyes steady. Hermione took comfort that he was calm, because she was anything but.

"So, what happened up there, Harry?"

Harry rubbed the back of his head, messing up his hair. "Well, I saw that this Bludger seemed to have a certain fixation on Draco, and having once been attacked by a Bludger, I told him. He laughed and said-" Harry looked at Hermione quickly as if he was afraid of what he said next would offend her. Dumbledore motioned for him to continue, so he did. "He said that it didn't matter if it hit him."

Dumbledore simply nodded, though Hermione felt as if all the blood had been leached from her. She felt the world spin around her, and she clenched the armchairs until her knuckles turned white.

"So, what happened next?" Dumbledore prodded.

"Well, we saw the snitch a few minutes later, and we both dove for it. I had a bit of a head start; so I didn't see the Bludger coming. Next I knew, Draco was crashing toward the ground, and I flew after him, hoping to catch him. I guess we were too close to the ground for a teacher to help, but I landed next to him, and he started puking blood all over me."

"Internal bleeding," Hermione said faintly. "From the Bludger, he must have massive bruising."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said quietly. "And why was not Professor Hooch informed?"

Harry's face set angrily. "He asked me not to."

Dumbledore nodded, realizing Harry's conflicted emotions.

"Is he going to be okay?" Hermione blurted out, ignoring the silence that had settled around them. "He's going to live, right?"

"He will be fine," Dumbledore said stiffly, leaning back in his chair, his hands folded into a steeple, his blue eyes fixed on the sky outside. "And physically he will recover."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, alarmed.

"Harry will attest that being knocked out of the air is not a pleasant trip, and having someone trying to murder you is never a wonderful experience."

"I still have nightmares," Harry explained to the still scared Hermione. "We'd better go see Draco, Professor."

Dumbledore nodded knowingly, and the two filed out of the room, their pace quickening as soon as they reached the stairs. Dumbledore listened to them leave, and then looked back out the window.


A/N: HA! I wrote this chapter just before I read the newest book, and I will freely admit, that I was wwaaaaay off on some things that happened in that books. But some things... I won't say what... I got right! Whooh! Yipeeedoodaa! Okay, I'm good. Leave a review, please. :)