Disclaimer: Hey Val, I don't know if you've ever seen Monty Python's Life of Brian, but it depicts a character named Brian living during the time of Jesus, and he bears a similar physical resemblance to Christ himself. At one point he yells out to a crowd "I'm not the Messiah!" to which they all respond "He is the Messiah!" in total cult-like fashion. Anyway, that's how I feel whenever I try telling you that I'm not Mark Zuckerberg and you shout back that I am, in fact, Mark Zuckerberg. But I'm not. Oh, I don't own Harry Potter by the way.

Chapter 36

"You can't drop Divination!"

"Ron, Sirius Black has successfully broken into Hogwarts. It's pretty obvious he's after me. How is that not what you want to talk about right now?" Harry shook his head in disbelief, not looking up from his Defense essay.

"Mate, that Sirius Black nonsense was like, four days ago. I've moved on to better topics of conversation." Ron shrugged, tossing a Chocolate Cauldron into his mouth.

"Can we talk about the fact that Snape taught Defense class today?"

"Oh, yeah, that was horrible. Werewolves?" He shuddered. "But was worth it to watch you say 'Bite me' to him after what he said to Hermione." He chuckled at the memory before turning back to Harry. "Alright, now that we're done talking about that, let's discuss something important."

"Like me wanting to drop Divination?"

"Precisely." Ron grinned. "Seriously, I mean, it's the easiest class I've ever taken in my life. I've been making everything up all year and my grades have never been higher."

"Exactly, mate. It's not challenging at all. It does nothing for me but make me wish I was somewhere else."

"Isn't that how you feel about Potions?"

"Well, I can't drop Potions, can I?" Harry sighed in exasperation. "Have you even started the essay Snape gave us?"

"Please, you know Lupin. He's too nice of a guy to bother collecting this rubbish. We weren't even supposed to get to werewolves until what? April?" Ron chuckled, chowing down on another Chocolate Cauldron.

"Whatever." Harry huffed, returning his attention to his essay.

"Seriously, though, you can't drop Divination." Ron muttered after a pause.

"Why not?" Harry threw down his sword of Gryffindor quill in vexation.

"You want to tempt the wrath of whatever from high atop the thing?" Ron pointed vaguely to the heavens.

"I seriously think the incense in that classroom hemorrhages brain cells." Harry mumbled to himself, looking back at his Defense textbook.

"Hey, here comes Hermione!" Ron suddenly perked up. "See, she'll tell you not to drop Divination. And you have to listen to her since you two are…you know."

"Are you afraid of the word 'dating'?" Harry raised an eyebrow, but before Ron could offer a sheepish answer Hermione dropped her bag on the ground dramatically, hopping onto the armrest of Harry's armchair.

"Hey." She smiled, leaning down to look at his essay. "You've made some nice progress."

"Ignore the essay, Hermione." Ron leaned forward in his chair. "Help me convince Harry to keep taking Divination."

"Why?" Hermione stiffened. "You want him all to yourself, is that it?"

"What?" The redhead's eyebrows shot towards the ceiling.

"Ron, Hermione's also dropping Divination. I'm swapping it for Ancient Runes." Harry explained. The youngest Weasley boy had never looked as dumbstruck as he did at that very moment.

"You're going to love it, Harry." Hermione squealed in excitement. "Hardly any of what we study in our other classes is theoretical in nature, it's such a refreshing change of pace. Plus, Professor Babbling is just brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."

"Hang on – the two best students in Gryffindor are dropping a class?" Ron still looked utterly baffled. "What planet am I on right now?"

"Did you not see this coming in your crystal ball?" Hermione waggled her eyebrows tauntingly, and Harry snorted. Ron's ears turned pink and he busied himself with another Cauldron Cake.

"How was Arithmancy?" He asked, opting to abandon his werewolf essay.

"Oh, it was fascinating." Hermione beamed, reaching into her bag and extracting a roll of parchment covered in number charts. Before she could launch into an incredibly thorough recapitulation of what she'd learned in Professor Vector's class, a booming voice called Harry's name.

"Harry!" Oliver Wood came strolling over. "How are you feeling, Seeker?"

"Spectacular." Harry said unenthusiastically.

"Get ready. We're holding an evening practice." The Captain winked.

"Right now?" Harry sputtered incredulously. "Curfew is in twenty minutes!"

"I got permission from McGonagall. It's only fair since we've been practicing for Slytherin for months only for them to chicken out." Wood shrugged.

"I still can't believe I caught a Snitch with a broken arm and Malfoy can't play with a scratch." Harry grumbled. "Wood, it's already dark out. I have this long werewolf essay to finish, and I – "

"What a coincidence!" Wood grinned. "It's a full moon. We've got all kinds of moonlight to go by."

"It's a full moon?" Hermione asked, absent-mindedly biting her bottom lip.

"You bet it is! Come on, everyone's on their way now. See? Here comes Angelina!" Wood waved her over with a smile, and she glared at him.

"This is stupid, Wood!" The star Chaser grumbled, but she brightened when she saw Harry and Hermione. "Hi guys!"

"Hi, Angelina!" Hermione flashed her a smile.

"No time to talk. It's practice time!" Wood grabbed a fistful of Harry's robes and yanked him out of his seat. "Be at the pitch in five minutes!" He reminded Harry before strolling off towards the portrait hole.

"I'll see you later?" Harry groaned to Hermione.

"I'll be here." She gave him an apologetic smile before hopping up and kissing him on the cheek. "Don't let Wood kill him, Angelina."

"Wouldn't dream of it." She winked. "Go get dressed, Seeker."

"You don't have to walk me down there." Harry said sheepishly the next morning. He and Hermione had just gotten up from the Gryffindor breakfast table, with Harry dressed in his scarlet Quidditch robes and Hermione decked out in full Gryffindor gear.

"Oh, please." Hermione replied automatically, lacing her fingers with his. "Shall we?"

"I suppose we shall." Harry grinned, squeezing her hand. Several Gryffindors shouted "Good luck, Harry!" or something similar as the pair departed. They marched out of the Great Hall and stood just inside the entrance doors. The roaring sound of the torrential downpour was almost loud enough to drown out the booming thunder that rang out every minute or so.

"Ready?" Hermione asked, biting her lip as a particularly vicious thunderclap rang out.

"Ready." He nodded, his voice firm with determination. With that, they exited the castle, towards the locker rooms. "It takes more than a bit of rain to take me down, right?"

Except it was considerably more than a bit of rain. The wind was so strong that the two third-years were staggering sideways on the grass, barely able to see straight, much less walk straight. Mercifully, they found the locker rooms amidst the sheets of rain. He turned to Hermione when they reached the entrance, but was certain if either of them said anything, they wouldn't be able to hear it.

Forgoing words, Hermione hopped up on her tiptoes, planting a soft kiss on his cheek and mouthing 'For luck.' Harry felt his face heat up despite the horrible weather and watched her stride back towards the castle purposefully. He smiled to himself, standing in a daze before realizing he was still in the rain. Shaking his head and sending a pint of water flying out of his hair, he entered the locker room.

"How are you feeling, Seeker?" The Captain asked as Harry fell into a chair, squeezing parts of his Quidditch robe like a sponge and watching water ooze out.

"I feel like I need gills." He mumbled, and Katie Bell snorted.

"Well, we'll be alright. Gryffindors don't worry about a bit of rain, right Wood?" Angelina smirked. Wood beamed with pride, not picking up on the sarcasm, and launched into his pre-game speech.

Harry had to admit it was rather lackluster compared to the Keeper's previous orations. Every time thunder rang out, Wood paled a bit but continued with his speech nonetheless.

"And Harry?" He said towards the end.

"I swear to everything that is holy, Wood, if you tell him to – "

"Get the Snitch or die trying." Wood winked, and Alicia groaned.

"Because that strategy worked so well last time."

"We won, didn't we?"

"He broke his bloody arm!" Katie pointed to his arm. "He spent the night in the Hospital Wing!"

"To be fair," George grinned, "that's only because Lockhart's a fraud."

"If it comes to our Defense teacher needing to save the day, I'm sure the worst thing Lupin does is give him a scar on his arm or something." Fred added.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Oh, you've never noticed all those scars on Lupin's arms?" Fred tilted his head. "I reckon he fights hippogriffs in his free time or something."

"Huh…" Harry mumbled.

"Can we please talk about Quidditch and not the hobbies of our Defense professor? Please?" Wood sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Aye-aye Captain." George winked.

Five minutes into the match, Harry was soaked to his skin and frozen, hardly able to see his teammates, let alone the glint of the Snitch. He flew backward and forward across the field past blurred red and yellow shapes, with no idea of what was happening in the rest of the game. He couldn't hear Lee Jordan's always entertaining commentary over the wind. He couldn't even hear the crowd, which was hidden beneath a sea of cloaks and battered umbrellas. Twice Harry came very close to being unseated by a Bludger; his vision was so clouded by the rain on his glasses he hadn't seen them coming.

Mercifully, Madam Hooch's whistle rang out after a fork of lightning lit up the sky. Harry could just make out his teammates descending towards an enormous scarlet and gold umbrella, and he quickly joined them, wiping off his glasses and shivering.

"We're fifty points up." Wood clarified for everyone. "But Harry, we'll be playing until Christmas if you don't catch the Snitch soon."

Harry had to agree. The sky had darkened inexplicably early, as if night had fallen. The sight of it alone made Harry's stomach tighten with dread, and he shivered even more.

"Wood, I've got no chance of spotting the Snitch with these on." He took off his glasses dejectedly, trying in vain to wipe them off.

"Harry!" A familiar voice sidled up next to him. "Give me your glasses."

"Wha – Hermione?"

"Give me your glasses!" She repeated, beaming for some unknown reason. Harry confusedly handed them over and she whipped out her wand.

"Impervius!" She said clearly. "There. Now they'll repel water." She handed them back to a stunned Harry.

"Brilliant…" Wood muttered. "Granger, you seriously are – oh, alright then." He trailed off awkwardly as Harry grabbed the front of Hermione's cloak and pulled her into a kiss.

There is something so heavenly about a kiss in the rain, a tender moment that just won't wait. It is that burst of affection that is expressed, not caring if the water soaks through to chill the skin, that makes it that much more special. It is a rebellion against the elements, an open defiance of nature. Nature can bring the rain, but our inner sunshine comes through just the same. And Harry felt his inner sunshine warming every inch of his body as he pulled away after a few seconds, grinning from ear to ear. Hermione blushed profusely and mumbled a quick "Good luck" before hurrying back to her seat with an elated smile on her face.

"One Galleon says Harry catches the Snitch in five minutes." Fred grinned at his brother.

"After that kiss? Three. Maximum." George winked at Harry before Madam Hooch's whistle rang out again. Harry knew he was still smiling like an idiot as he mounted his trusty Nimbus Two Thousand and rocketed into the air, performing a few difficult rolls and flips simply because he could.

Fred said five minutes. George said three. It took ninety seconds for Harry to spot the Golden Snitch hovering near the middle of the field, and he streaked towards it immediately. He heard a rush of wind growing louder behind him and he knew Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff Seeker, was hot on his tail.

Harry was still riding high from the kiss, reaching his hand out and never taking his eyes off of the Snitch. The rushing of blood in his ears was loud enough for him to not notice the abrupt silence that fell over the crowd. The pleasant heat that had flooded his body was enough for him to not notice how much colder the stadium suddenly was.

The Snitch jerked upwards, and Harry turned his broom vertically immediately, soaring higher than he'd ever flown before. Lunging upwards, he closed his fingers around the Snitch, and came dangerously close to recoiling and letting it flutter away. It was colder than anything he'd ever touched, as if the raindrops on its surface were turning to ice.

Harry managed to turn to see Cedric Diggory racing towards him, shouting something at the top of his lungs. Harry moved to fly closer to him, brandishing the Snitch towards him to show the game was over.

Then he felt it.

A horribly familiar wave of cold swept over him, rocking him to his core. It was as though freezing water were rising in his chest, cutting at his insides. He instinctively looked down, and the agonizing feeling multiplied.

Nearly a hundred dementors had flooded the field, and Harry was barely able to register them before he was slipping off of his Nimbus, his fingers going limp and letting the Snitch zip away from him, eager to return to flying around at high speeds. Then, he heard screaming again. A woman, crying for mercy, crying for her life, crying for him to be saved.

Harry felt total darkness envelope him, as the cloaked wraiths that he feared above anything came closer and closer, as if they were rushing up to meet him.

Or as if he were rushing down to meet them.

There were voices, but they sounded distant.

"Honestly, Wood, if you tell Harry to get the Snitch or die trying one more time, I'm going to kill you myself."

"Get in line, Alicia."

"He caught the damn Snitch, didn't he?"

"According to Diggory. Honestly, if we were playing any other team they would have claimed they caught it."

"Cedric really is so selfless, isn't he?"

"Keep it in your pants, Angelina."

"I'm just saying! Not only is the bloke really attractive, but he was noble enough to insist that Harry caught the Snitch before he fainted a hundred feet in the air."

"Nobody said anything about him being attractive."

"Oh, shut it, Fred!"

"I'm George."

"Quiet! He's moving!"

"Harry?"

That last voice was enough for Harry to snap his eyes open. He blinked a few times, pushing his glasses up from the tip of his nose and taking in his surroundings. He was back in the Hospital Wing, surrounded by a crowd of people. His Quidditch teammates were there, splattered from head to toe in mud and rain. They all were looking pale, but Wood was grinning triumphantly despite his ghostly appearance. Harry turned and saw the entirety of the Gryffindor Gang had crowded around his bed. Most of them were shaking their heads in disbelief, and all of them looked like they had just climbed out of a swimming pool.

"Harry?" The familiar voice repeated. He blinked and saw Hermione sitting in a chair next to him, her eyes shining with tears. Her usually bushy brown hair was a sopping mess, clumped together erratically as if she'd been running her hands through it nervously.

"W-what happened?" Harry managed to stammer out, sitting up in bed. His entire body ached, like he'd been trampled by a horde of centaurs. He winced, and he felt Hermione's hand dart out to his and squeeze it reassuringly.

"You fell off, that's what happened." Fred said.

"We thought you died." A shaking Katie Bell added.

Hermione made a small, squeaky noise. Her eyes were extremely bloodshot.

"But, the match?" Harry muttered, still cringing at the pain all over his body.

"Harry," George said slowly, "did you catch the Snitch before you fell? Do you remember?"

Harry closed his eyes, clenching his jaw as he tried to recall what had transpired on the pitch. Rain. Wind. Flying straight up in the air, like a rocket ship. And the feeling of ice-cold metal on his hand.

"Yeah." He said quietly. "But only for a minute, then I – "

"Bloody hell, Diggory really is a saint, isn't he?" Seamus chuckled.

"You were too high for us to see what happened." Dean added. "Diggory came flying down with the Snitch, but he was insisting you were the one who caught it first."

"He was shouting at Madam Hooch about it, saying he'd take Veritaserum to prove it." Ron piped up.

"He looked so handsome when he was yelling…" Lavender said dreamily, and Pavarti giggled.

"Ah, you're awake." Madam Pomfrey came bustling over, shooing his visitors away. "This is a new record, Mister Potter, you went two months and six days without landing yourself in one of these beds."

"Please, Madam Pomfrey." Hermione whispered, now clutching Harry's hand with both of hers. "Can I stay?" She asked as everyone else cleared out.

"Hmph." The matron said indignantly. "Oh, I suppose it's only fair." She huffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry raised an eyebrow. Madam Pomfrey didn't answer, instead glancing at them both with a smile. She took Harry's temperature and made him choke down a few potions and a chocolate bar.

"You need rest." She said curtly before returning to her office.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked in a squeaky voice.

"Like I fell a hundred feet." Harry groaned, and Hermione whimpered again. "Oh, please don't cry. I'm alive, aren't I?"

"But…everyone thought – I thought, that you…" Her lip quivered, and despite the pain, Harry leaned over and wrapped his arms around Hermione, letting her weep into his robes. "Never do that to me again." She sobbed into his shoulder.

"I won't." Harry whispered. They sat like that for a long time, and Hermione's breath eventually evened out. She pulled away, her eyes even redder and puffier than they had been before.

"Dumbledore was irate." She finally said, her voice quaking. "He ran onto the field while you were falling, waving his wand at you. You sort of slowed down before you landed, but the sound…it was like this horrible thud."

"I see I've continued my tradition of near-death experiences during the first Quidditch match of the season." Harry let out a laugh, but there was no amusement in it. "If I keep this up my own broomstick is going to fly away before I get it destroyed."

"Oh, Harry…" Hermione cried out, burying her face in her hands. "Your…your broom…"

"Oh…" Harry said quietly.

"It flew into the Whomping Willow." Hermione sobbed. "It's this tree on the grounds, and it has the ability to hit things with its branches, and it…" She stopped, overcome with emotion. "Harry I'm so sorry." She exhaled, holding up a bag. She tilted the contents onto the bed, a dozen splintered pieces of twig and straw.

"It's…it's alright." Harry said quietly, staring at the tattered mess that had been his Nimbus Two Thousand. "Really, Hermione, it's alright." He reached out and grabbed her hand as she sobbed again.

"Harry, I'm so sorry." She repeated, tears pouring down her face as she kept her eyes on her lap.

"You don't have to apologize, Hermione." He sighed, squeezing her hand. "Although, I should let you know I'm not planning on quitting Quidditch just because of this." He smirked. Hermione let out a small laugh.

"Prat." She whispered, finally meeting his eyes. They sat in silence for a moment, and Harry watched Hermione slowly stop crying. She gave a shy smile once her breathing was under control.

"Better?" He asked, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Loads." She nodded. "Do you need anything?"

"I need to finish that bloody werewolf essay, but I suppose that can wait until I'm out of here." He shrugged, and Hermione laughed again, the sound dissipating any lingering frigidness in his body. "I do have to thank Cedric, though. Any other Seeker would say they caught it and they should get the win."

Hermione squeezed his hand. "Especially Malfoy."

"Especially Malfoy." Harry let out a genuine laugh. "I suppose he's going to have a field day with me fainting again."

"There's worse things than Malfoy being a smarmy brat, aren't there?" Hermione reassured him. She stood up, keeping a hold of his hand and taking out her wand with the other. She muttered a Hot-Air charm and dried herself off so she could sit on the edge of his bed.

"I forgot to tell you how brilliant that Impervius was." Harry grinned. "I wouldn't have caught the Snitch without it."

"Oh, the message was received." Hermione blushed. Harry's eye twinkled mischievously. "That was rather cheeky of you to kiss me in front of everyone like that." She added.

"More cheeky than you using a time-travel device to – "

"Hush!" Hermione blushed even more, whipping her head around to make sure nobody was around.

"Just saying, you're one to talk when you – MMPH!" He was cut off by Hermione leaning down and pressing her lips into his. She giggled into the kiss and pulled back after only a moment, smirking. Harry stood with his mouth open, trying to remember what he was going to say, along with what his name was and what planet he lived on.

"Now I know how to get you to shut up." She winked, swiveling her hips so she could cross her legs on Harry's bed.

"You know, that worked a lot more than the chocolate." Harry said sheepishly, feeling a blush creep up onto his cheek.

A/N: Howdy, everyone! First things first, I have been waiting for ages to publish this chapter because it references one of my favorite West Wing lines of all time. If you've seen the show, you definitely recognize it. It's just iconic. Another big West Wing reference is coming up soon in the story, and I'm really excited for it. Also, the whole description for the kiss in the rain is borrowed from a friend of mine and one of her works. She's a brilliant writer and I'm a pretty lame writer, so, I borrowed a few sentences to make me feel better about my work.

To those of you who are so kind and so beautiful (even if you claim you aren't, PastaShark000, you are) to leave reviews and follow and favorite this story, you guys are the greatest. Truly, my favorite people on the planet. I love you all. Please, if you are enjoying the story and this chapter, do follow/favorite/review this story. It means the world to me. Thank you all, and stay safe!