Disclaimer: If I did own any Harry Potter content – which I don't – then I sure as hell wouldn't be writing these stories of FFN. They'd be published in canon. Instead, JKR has forsaken me. Such is life.
Chapter 18:
A sharp whistle rocketed past Harry's ear, sending the hair on his forehead fluttering. He grimaced as he looked over his shoulder, and saw a black iron ball zooming away from him. Until, as it had for the past fifteen minutes, it careened in mid-air and began accelerating back in his direction.
Gryffindor was playing Slytherin in the school year's inaugural Quidditch match. Despite the pouring rain, every student was packed into the stands. Even those particularly unenthused by the most popular sport at Hogwarts had shown up, because everyone wanted to see just how fast the Slytherin's Nimbus Two Thousand and One broomsticks actually were.
Gryffindor was losing by sixty points, so, they were pretty damn fast. Harry was mad. So mad he wanted to snap his broomstick into pieces. But the score wasn't the worst thing about the match. A rogue Bludger had been targeting him from the moment Madam Hooch blew her whistle. Every ten seconds he'd been forced to dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge to avoid having his head taken off by the clearly bewitched ball. Gryffindor had been forced to call time-out, and every team member with the exception of Wood and Harry demanded the match be forfeited in favor of their star Seeker not dying. Harry and Wood had refused to concede, especially to Slytherin, and the match resumed – much to their teammates' dismay.
So Harry was being chased across the pitch by a Bludger that wanted his head to be detached from his body. Now, Harry was angry. So angry he could barely restrain himself from roaring in rage every time he heard that sharp whistle indicating his inanimate attacker was nearby. But the Bludger wasn't the worst thing about the match. Somehow.
The real worst thing about the match was Slytherin's Seeker. Most importantly, it was something he'd yelled to Harry just before the match had begun. Harry had been surveying the packed stands while his teammates were warming up, and grinned suddenly when he caught sight of the Gryffindor student section.
They were completely, utterly rambunctious. Harry was certain that they could be heard across the Atlantic Ocean. The wooden scaffolding beneath them was practically shaking and the entire structure was literally rocking. But as amusing as it was to see the House of McGonagall raging with unparalleled intensity, he wasn't grinning because of that.
He'd spotted a familiar mane of bushy brown hair bouncing up and down in the front row. As much as Hermione – albeit sarcastically – taunted him over Quidditch, she had yet to miss one of his games. Or practices, for that matter. Harry knew she abhorred crowds. Harry knew she abhorred loud noises. Harry knew Hermione Granger would abhor the concept of standing amongst the throng of rowdy Gryffindors at that very moment.
Yet there she stood, cheering with more ferocity than any of her peers. In the pouring rain, in the middle of a deafening swarm of students, she was there. For him. And Harry couldn't help but smile. Until…
"You've got a game to play, Scarhead. Actually, you've got a game to lose!" Malfoy sneered as he gracefully drifted around on his new broom. "You should stop checking out your pet Mudblood and get ready!"
Something indescribable snapped inside of Harry. It was like every vein in his body had been injected with liquid rage. Now, he was furious. So furious he was ready to knock Malfoy off of his broom and beat him to death with his own Nimbus Two Thousand and One. The blonde's insult against Hermione was the worst thing about the match. It rang around in Harry's head even as he zipped around the entirety of the Quidditch pitch, barely evading the Bludger. It echoed in his brain during the time-out Gryffindor had called – instead of focusing on whatever strategy Wood had explained, he'd been replaying the one word he'd grown to hate over the last two months.
So now, the boy wizard was flying at breakneck speeds, acting solely on instincts every time the cursed Bludger came within striking distance. He scanned the pitch for any sign of the Golden Snitch, rocketing around the perimeter of the field within spitting distance of the stands. As he came closer to the student body, the dejection of everyone not wearing green and silver became more apparent. The chants of "Go, go, Gryffindor!" were a frail whisper compared to what they'd been prior to the start of the match. Most had given up on cheering altogether, and those that were seemed desultory at best. Except one.
"Go Harry!" A voice he'd recognize from anywhere shouted at the top of her lungs. Harry couldn't suppress his smile upon hearing Hermione's cheers. She was clapping fiercely, her face lit up as he flew close by. "Go Harry!" She yelled again, practically leaning over the railing. Harry felt his anger at Malfoy, at Slytherin, at the Bludger almost melt away. He turned towards her voice, hoping to meet her eyes for some inexplicable reason. Her voice that was carrying over the wind, over the sharp whistle of the incoming Bludger.
'The Bludger!' Harry thought in a panic, whipping his head around just in time to watch the iron sphere crash into his arm at a hundred kilometers per hour. A sickening crack echoed across the stadium, followed by a deathly silence. Harry lay clutching his broom with his left hand, staring confusedly at his right arm that was dangling uselessly to the side.
Then he heard Hermione scream. Then several others followed suit. It was so sudden and so shrill he barely managed to dodge the Bludger as it roared back, clearly not satisfied with shattering half the bones in Harry's arm. The Seeker grimaced, turning to watch the Bludger race towards him once again.
If Harry was flying on instincts before, he was now flying on total muscle memory. Barely able to see straight through the rain and the excruciating pain in his arm, he haphazardly flew himself away from the stands and towards the middle of the pitch.
"Need to go home, Potter?" Malfoy sneered as he casually did a barrel roll next to Harry, not worried in the slightest about the Bludger. "Need your mum to kiss your arm and make it feel better?"
Harry whirled around to face the Slytherin, hoping to send him flying into the Great Lake after unleashing a string of swears that would make a sailor blush. But before he could even open his mouth, a glint of gold flashed just above Malfoy's ear.
"Game over, Malfoy." Harry managed to spit out, still groaning from pain as he flew straight towards the blonde, his arm outstretched. Before Malfoy could even react, Harry closed his fingers around the Snitch and held it tightly. He whirled his broom around, hoping to show the entirety of the stadium that he had caught the Snitch.
It just so happened that Harry's broom collided with Malfoy, sending the blonde screaming towards the Quidditch pitch. The drop was only a few meters, fortunately.
'Unfortunately…' Harry thought triumphantly as he slowly descended to the ground. The moment his feet touched the green grass, however, every bit of pain in his arm came roaring back. He staggered, his vision growing hazier by the second. He took one last glance at the gleaming ball of gold in his hand and grinned before he fainted.
Harry woke half an hour later in the Hospital Wing to an irate Madam Pomfrey. He had scarcely blinked open his eyes before the nurse launched into a tirade about unsafe games for children, and how Harry could be so moronic as to let himself keep playing with a rogue Bludger. She berated him for a few minutes before storming off to her office. Once the verbal assault was over, Harry managed to gather his surroundings well enough – he was in a bed fairly close to the Hospital Wing doors, with several people surrounding him. He met the eyes of his teammates, who were all shaking their heads in disbelief. Except Wood, who was beaming with pride.
"Brilliant flying, Harry. Truly. Catching the Snitch with a broken arm is definitely one for the books!" The Captain went to clap him on the shoulder before Katie Bell slapped his arm. Wood threw a look to Harry's right side and grimaced before stepping back.
"You're an idiot." Alicia Spinnet sighed.
"Really, incredibly stupid." Angelina Johnson echoed.
"But you make up for it with those gorgeous eyes!" Fred grinned. When nobody laughed, he quickly directed his eyes to the floor. "Just trying to diffuse the tension. Obviously he's a halfwit for playing with that bloody Bludger." He uttered dejectedly.
"I'd appreciate it if you all would stop insulting your teammate." A voice admonished from Harry's left. He turned and felt his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. He expected a sentence like that to come out of Wood's mouth, but not the mouth of Hermione Granger.
She was currently sitting on the edge of his bed, her fingers laced with his as she glared at the scarlet-clad players that surrounded her.
"You're saying you're perfectly fine with the fact that he kept playing with a death wish instead of forfeiting?" Katie asked incredulously. "You? Of all people?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" The bushy haired witch shot back, her eyes narrowing and her cheeks reddening. Katie just raised her hands in mock surrender, raising her eyebrows as she stepped back. "Obviously I wish he had stopped the match, but belittling him while he lies in the Hospital Wing missing thirty-three bones doesn't do him much good, does it?"
"Wha – did you say missing?" Harry asked with a snort. "Hermione, don't be ridiculous, I broke my arm, I'm not missing…" He trailed off when he looked at his right arm. The arm that was supposed to be broken. "What the hell?" He asked, staring in confusion at the fleshy lump attached to his shoulder that loosely resembled an arm.
"Lockhart butchered a spell. Said he was trying to heal you, but he ended up removing every bone in your arm instead." George Weasley smirked. "Claimed it was an accident that happens all the time. The man's a joke."
"At least it's not broken anymore, right?" Fred snorted. "Mission accomplished, if you ask me."
"Lockhart did this?" Harry whispered, more to himself than anything.
"You should have seen Hermione." Angelina was smirking at the brown-eyed witch. "She ran straight from the stands when you hit the ground. Got to you right after Lockhart did away with half your skeleton and completely unleashed on him."
"We all thought she was going to hex him into next week!" Alicia giggled. "I've never seen anyone so angry. Madam Hooch and I actually had to restrain her. She put up a good fight, though…" She held up her left arm and pulled back the sleeve of her Quidditch robes to reveal a purple bruise on her forearm.
Harry turned to Hermione, unable to hide his amusement. His best friend had buried her face in her hands, but her blush was still visible to everyone. "I'm so sorry, Alicia!" She mumbled embarrassedly. Alicia just waved her off, clearly more entertained than anything.
"If we lost I might be mad. But your idiot best friend here won us the match somehow, so we're off to the party in the common room. Feel better, Harry. We're glad you're not, you know. Dead." She grinned, and slowly the Gryffindor Quidditch team got to their feet and departed.
"We'll send Ron over with a bunch of food from the party." Fred winked before the Weasley Twins joined their teammates. Harry turned and saw it was just him and a still-flustered Hermione left in the Hospital Wing.
"Where is everyone?" He asked. Hermione slowly lifted her head from her hands and turned to him.
"Madam Pomfrey didn't want anyone here, but she made an exception for the Quidditch team since it was a Quidditch injury. But she didn't hesitate to send Ron and Seamus and all of them out the door." Hermione chuckled, and Harry couldn't help but grin at the vision of the Hogwarts nurse dragging the redhead out of the Hospital Wing with her trademark irate expression on her face.
"Since when did you join the Quidditch team?" Harry asked. "Or did you unleash on Madam Pomfrey too?"
"Oh, hush!" Hermione clearly wanted to sound stern, but it came out as a small squeak more than anything. "I simply insisted on being here. And I didn't unleash on Lockhart, they're exaggerating." She added indignantly. "I simply told him that it was unwise to perform such a complicated spell rather than leave it to Madam Pomfrey."
"And Alicia's bruise? Was that exaggerated?"
"I liked you better when you were unconscious…" Hermione muttered, her cheeks turning crimson once again. "I was just worried about you, you know. Clearly you'd been hurt badly by the Bludger and Lockhart made it worse. Naturally I was upset."
"Naturally." Harry didn't even attempt to subdue a playful smile as his friend's cheeks somehow turned redder. "You know why I knocked Malfoy off his broom?" He asked, his sly expression disappearing as his tone turned serious.
"Because you've hated him since that day on the Hogwarts Express?"
"He called you it again. During warm-ups I was looking at the Gryffindor student section and I saw you all cheering. You especially." Hermione's cheeks somehow turned even redder. "He saw me grinning like it was Christmas morning at you." Harry involuntarily clenched his fist, and Hermione lay her hand over it. Feeling some of his anger dissipate, he continued. "He told me to stop checking out my…pet that word."
Hermione bristled, but didn't say anything for a minute. Harry wasn't sure how she'd react not only to her being called that word again, or how she'd react to him blatantly trying to hurt another student.
"You did it for me?" She finally asked, her voice barely over a whisper. Harry nodded. She inhaled sharply, looking to the ground. Harry pulled his good hand out from under Hermione's and placed it on top, gently rubbing the back of her hand.
"You know, I heard you cheering. You were louder than everyone, even when we were getting pulverized." Hermione slowly lifted her head, a small smile pulling at her lips.
"Just cheering for my house. It's what a good Gryffindor does."
"I didn't hear you say 'Go Gryffindor', though. I think I heard 'Go Harry'." He smirked, doing his best to look smug as he lay in a hospital bed with one functioning arm.
"Well, don't let it get to your head." She huffed sarcastically, her smile growing by the second.
"Too late. You care about me. Sucker."
"Oh, honestly!" She turned to the ceiling and threw her hands up in defeat. "I don't know how you came to be such a prat."
"I had a good teacher. You'd love her, her name's Professor Granger, and she –"
"That's it, I'm breaking your other arm!" She glowered, but the carefree brightness in her eyes betrayed her. "I'm glad you're doing alright, even if it means you're back to sarcastic Harry." The pair shared smiles at that, and Harry instinctively squeezed Hermione's hand.
"Thanks for coming to see me." Harry blurted before he could stop himself, and Hermione's smile widened. She opened her mouth to say something, but a stern voice rang out across the Hospital Wing.
"Mister Potter!" Madam Pomfrey marched over to his bed from her office. Hermione squeaked and blushed once again, instinctively sitting on her hands. "You'll need to drink this. Assuming it doesn't come back up you'll be ready to leave tomorrow morning." She poured a foul-looking liquid into a glass. Harry spotted the words Skele-Gro on the bottle before she thrust the glass into his hand. "Drink up. And no more visitors. Growing bones is a gruesome process."
"But, Ron's coming back with food from – "
"The only thing you'll be consuming for the rest of the day, Mister Potter, is what's in that glass. Miss Granger, I'm sure you've helped Harry settle in, but it's time for you to go. Up, up!" She shepherded Hermione off the bed and towards the door. Harry caught her eye, and she offered a small smile and a feeble wave before the nurse shut the doors. Harry was barely able to swallow the Skele-Gro without coughing it back up, and once he did he laid back to stare at the ceiling in silence.
He wasn't sure when he fell asleep. He wasn't sure when he woke up. But it was dark outside when he blinked his eyes open, and the Hospital Wing was only lit by the slivers of moonlight that spilled onto the floor from the tall windows that lined the East and West walls.
Harry looked around to see what may have interrupted his sleep. After glancing at the nearby beds, the doors, and the windows, he found nothing strange. There was no sign of movement, no sounds, no nothing. He was alone in the darkness.
"Sorry to wake you!" A voice suddenly whispered from his left. He jumped, and barely suppressed a pained yelp as his right arm prickled in pain. He realized his bones were well on their way to growing back, but the process was anything but easy. He looked around towards the source of the noise but didn't see anything. Then, he sighed.
"Please tell me you didn't break into my dormitory to steal it, Hermione." He snickered as he fell back onto his pillow. He heard a small giggle before his best friend suddenly materialized out of thin air, a familiar silvery cloak clutched in her hands.
"I admit nothing." She responded meekly. "How's your arm?" She asked, folding the Invisibility Cloak and placing it on the bed next to Harry.
"Oh, peachy. Except for the part where it hurts, which is everywhere."
"You get very sarcastic when you're injured, you know that?" She sighed dramatically as she sat on the edge of Harry's bed, gingerly taking his functional hand in hers. "I'm so sorry this had to happen to you, Harry. They still don't know what happened with the Bludger. I heard McGonagall and Hooch bickering about it on my way back to the common room after Pomfrey kicked me out. McGonagall threatened to cancel Quidditch if it happened again."
"What? She can't cancel Quidditch, right?" Harry asked, partially amused and partially bewildered.
"I'm sure the school would riot if they did. And I'm sure that you, Ron, and Wood would be on the frontlines of it all."
"Probably." Harry mused, picturing himself waving a Gryffindor flag in the Great Hall like the painting of Liberty Leading the People. He suddenly had an interesting thought. "Who would you side with?" He asked. Hermione's smile vanished, replaced by a look of surprise.
"I, well – I mean, you know…" She stammered, clearly not expecting the question.
"You'd side with the teacher. Like always." Harry playfully nudged Hermione, but her flabbergasted expression suddenly vanished. Harry froze as her features hardened, mimicking the look she'd held when they'd discussed blood purity in the common room almost two months ago. Once again, she suddenly looked very badass.
"I don't always side with teachers. You seem to be forgetting that I lit one on fire last year." She glared at him. Harry opened his mouth but she marched on before he could speak. "And don't tell me that Snape is different. How about with Lockhart? In Diagon Alley do you think I wasn't furious with him for dragging you into the spotlight just so his teaching announcement could make the front page? How about after he vanished all the bones from your arm? I wish you could have seen me berating him, Harry Potter, because you would never test me again. I have never yelled at anyone like I yelled at that man. I think he would have docked a hundred points from Gryffindor if he hadn't been so shocked. Shocked and terrified." Harry sat with his mouth agape, unsure if his brain could formulate any response to what Hermione had just rambled to him. "I don't always side with teachers. Understand?"
Harry nodded dumbly, his mind still absorbing what he'd just heard. Hermione's features instantly softened and she squeezed his hand. "You know I'll be by your side for anything, Harry. From You-Know-Who to the Quidditch Resistance." She giggled, and Harry couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Good to know." He whispered, gently drumming his fingers on the back of her hand. "I'll be there for you too." He added, much quieter. The two sat in silence for a few moments, staring at each other with small smiles. Even in the darkness Harry could spot pink tinges on his friend's cheeks, but before he could ask what was wrong the pair heard a small pop.
"What the – " He suddenly scooted towards his pillow as a silhouette appeared at the foot of his bed. It was very small, vaguely humanoid, it had two large protrusions from the top of its head. Harry groaned.
"Dobby?" Hermione asked, her expression appearing as baffled as Harry felt. "What are you doing here?"
"Dobby came to check on Harry Potter! And Hermione Granger!" The elf squeaked, his tennis ball sized ears blinking furiously.
"I thought we told you not to bother us again, Dobby!" Harry growled.
"Harry Potter and Hermione Granger made Dobby promise to stop interfering with their mail, and to stop trying to prevent them from getting to Hogwarts." The creature replied. Harry raised his eyebrows expectantly. The elf noticed his glare and began wringing his small hands nervously. "Well, Dobby heard that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger have arrived at Hogwarts. So now, Dobby has kept his promise. But Dobby does not want Harry Potter and Hermione Granger to be in danger, so Dobby wants to have them sent home. The Bludger was only…" He stopped upon hearing Harry and Hermione gasp in shock.
"You bewitched the Bludger?" Harry uttered in a strangled growl.
"You could have killed Harry!" Hermione spat.
"Dobby never meant to kill Harry Potter! Dobby only meant to maim, or…seriously injure…"
"You'd better get lost before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you." Harry hissed.
"Don't threaten him, Harry!" Hermione swatted him on his good arm.
"It's alright. Dobby is used to death threats. Dobby gets them five times a day from his masters."
"That's barbaric! Who would treat someone like you so cruelly?" Hermione leaned forward intensely, her expression once again shifting to one of fierce determination. Dobby, however, simply shook his head before blowing his nose on the pillowcase he wore.
"Dobby, why are you wearing that?" Harry finally asked once his anger had partially subsided. "Is that the same thing you wore when you showed up during the summer?"
"Yes. 'Tis the mark of a house elf. House elves are only freed if their master presents them with clothes. Even so much as handing Dobby a sock would be enough to free him."
Hermione whipped her head around to face Harry, her eyes brightening expectantly. Harry couldn't gather what she was trying to communicate and just shrugged.
"Dobby is only here to ask Harry Potter and Hermione Granger once again to leave Hogwarts. There is grave danger – "
"Is this about the attack?" Hermione asked, but the elf continued lamenting as if he didn't hear her.
" – unbelievable danger at Hogwarts. Dobby hears how Harry Potter and Hermione Granger helped to stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named last year and knows they are important. Too important to be in danger at Hogwarts. Now that the Chamber of Secrets is open – " He suddenly froze, clapping his hands over his mouth in a panic.
"So the Chamber of Secrets is real?" Hermione asked, practically trembling with excited curiosity.
"Dobby has said too much. Dobby will punish himself at home. But for now…" He stopped, his bat-like ears twitching. Harry heard multiple pairs of footsteps approaching the Hospital Wing. He turned back to the elf, who disappeared with another pop.
Hermione quickly grabbed the Invisibility Cloak off of the bed next to Harry's and threw it over herself, disappearing from sight. Harry lay his head on his pillow once again, locking his eyes onto the doors.
Harry fought the urge to gasp as Dumbledore sent the doors gliding open, walking in backwards with his wand pointed to a statue hovering in after him, followed by several professors.
The statue passed through a patch of moonlight, and Harry realized with a jolt that it wasn't a statue at all. Holding an all too familiar camera was the young Colin Creevey – he'd been petrified.
A/N: Hi everybody! The first student at Hogwarts has been attacked. *spooky noises* Hopefully you all enjoyed my revisionist history of the rogue Bludger and Dobby's visit, as well as Hermione comforting Harry in the Hospital Wing. I tried to make one of Hermione's major canon diversions explicitly clear in this chapter because I've gotten several PM's about how I should make Hermione less in awe of teachers. I thought I was doing an alright job, but to be safe, enjoy the recounting of Hermione Granger 'unleashing' on Lockhart and telling Harry she'd side with him over a teacher every time.
To all of you incredibly kind souls who have written reviews or added this story to your favorites/follows, thank you so much. You guys mean the world to me, and make it that much more worth it to write every day. If you happened to enjoy this chapter, or any of the past chapters, please do write a review/favorite/follow this work! It was very encouraging to see several reviews read that this was 'not a pile of hot garbage' among other things. Thank you all, and stay safe!