I don't own Hellsing or Harry Potter, and I'm not making any money from this.

"I can't believe they're going to make you play in that."

George's eyes glanced over toward the window in the common room that Constance was pointing to. "I've played in the rain dozens of times." he told her.

The girl huffed in irritation. "But it's not just rain, is it?" she asked. "Someone is going to get struck by lightning out there!"

As if to emphasize her point, an intimidating, violent crash of thunder erupted from the clouds outside, loud enough to make everyone in the common room jump in surprise. Yep, the girl thought. Someone was going to get struck by lightning during this damn Quiddich match. If George or any of her friends got hurt because of the weather, Connie fully intended to raise hell amongst the staff about it.

"It just adds to the fun of the game." Fred piped up. He grabbed the wooden bat he'd set down on a table so he could pull on his outer Quiddich robe. "It's not like anyone has ever been struck by lightning before..."

George nudged him. "There was that one time."

Fred blinked at him, then seemed to remember something. "Oh, right! Yeah, there was that one time a few years back... How long did Charley stay in the hospital wing after that?"

"A couple of weeks if I remember right." George replied. "And his hair stuck out on end for months."

Constance knew full well that if their older brother had ever been struck by lightning while playing Quiddich, there was no way in hell any of them would have forgotten about it. But with the way those two were, there was no way to tell whether they were making it up or not. It was entirely possible they were exaggerating things just to make everyone nervous. She crossed her arms over her chest and sniffed in disapproval. George paused and gave her a reassuring look.

"You worry too much, Connie." he told her. "Me and Fred will be fine. Charley was a Seeker when he played. They're the ones most likely to get hit..."

Harry was standing near Ron and Hermione a few feet away. The moment those words left George's mouth, he snapped to attention.

"Oh, great." he said, glancing at the window nervously. "That's just the thing I needed to hear..."

"I'm sure there are spells placed on the pitch to keep the players from getting struck by lightning." Hermione said as she readjusted the large rain slicker she had in her arms. Her tone made it sound like she was trying to reassure herself as much as everyone else. She held out her hand toward Harry. "Let me see your glasses."

Harry had pretty much learned by now not to question Hermione when she asked for something, but Ron hadn't. The ginger headed boy blinked. "What do you need to see his glasses for?"

"So I can enchant them to repel water, of course!" The girl said in a short tone. "How else do you expect him to see well enough to catch the snitch in a rainstorm?"

For as upset as she had been after their little altercation regarding Snape's lesson in Defense Against the Dark Arts, it hadn't taken Hermione very long to get over it. In fact, she had hunted Connie down in the library the very next afternoon to question her about whether or not she believed the statements she'd made in class were true. It seemed that Hermione had been doing some research of her own and had come to the conclusion that Lupin was a werewolf. She was checking to see if Connie thought so as well. The girl shouldn't have been surprised she would figure it out. Hermione was excellent about putting things together. Once she had all the pieces of the puzzle firmly put into their places, she finally understood why Constance had been so upset with the Potions Master that day. Hermione had a bit of a soft spot for creatures that weren't treated fairly for reasons beyond their control. She agreed that Snape had been out of line with his actions. Since that conversation, the two girls were back to their normal way of interacting with each other. However, Connie noticed that Hermione didn't seem to be jumping up to tell Harry, Ron, or anyone else about what she'd learned about their favorite professor. She was learning the importance of keeping certain things to herself. It was a good thing it was all over and done with, because sitting in the stands next to her during the game would have been awkward otherwise.

Once Hermione performed a simple spell to keep the drops of rain from sticking to Harry's glasses, they headed downstairs. The players had to go off together for their pep talk before the game, so they all wished them good luck. Constance gave George a strong hug and kiss, along with a firm warning to take care of himself. (If you get hurt out there, I'll kick your arse when it's over.) Everyone else banded together to make the trek to the stands. The weather was worse outside than it had appeared from just looking out the castle windows. There was a heavy wind that was strong enough to knock you off balance if you weren't careful and the temperature had dropped so much in recent days that the rain itself was icy and frigid. The multiple layers of sweaters Connie had on under her raincoat helped to fend off the cold, but it looked like she was going to get drenched no matter what she did about it.

One of the interesting things about the school Quiddich games was that it was one of the few times when students from the different houses were allowed to freely intermingle. Technically, there were separate stands for each house, along with a fifth for the teachers and staff members, but few paid attention to them. Hagrid would often sit on the Gryffindor side with the students, and the members of the two houses who weren't involved in the game itself would pick and choose where they sat depending on who they were supporting. As always though, the Slytherins remained in their little area. Segregating themselves from the rest of the school. Since this match was Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, most of them would cheer for the Badgers since they hated them less. However, as everyone was trying to find positions that would give them the best view, Connie caught sight of the one Slytherin who didn't mind flying in the face of tradition.

"Mihnea?" she called out, waving her hands to catch his attention. She had to yell to be heard over the howling wind and masses of people. "What are you doing over here?"

Her cousin picked out her voice from among all the noise and found his way over. It wasn't nearly as much trouble for him as it had been for her, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, because when people saw him, they made sure to move out of the way.

"What, you think I'm going to support Hufflepuff?" he asked. He looked offended by the idea. "Potter is the best flier out there and you Gryffindors always get the best seats."

Ron and Hermione exchanged an odd look. "Won't the Slytherins give you hell for being over here?" the boy asked, pointing toward the stands across from them.

Mihnea turned to look at him and quirked a brow. "Do you really think I care what the other Slytherins think about me?"

Ron gulped. "Um... no, not really."

Mihnea gave a small grin at his response, then pulled open the front of his black raincoat just enough for them to see what he was wearing underneath. Connie smiled and Hermione's eyes widened a hair at the sight of the bright crimson sweater and yellow scarf. Mihnea Bassarab, the scariest Slytherin there had ever been, was wearing Gryffindor colors. Keeping them hidden under a dark coat, yes, but he was wearing them all the same. That was definitely a strong show of support from him. Ginny just stared as he pulled his raincoat closed before he got completely drenched, then opened her mouth as if to make a comment about it. But something caught her attention before she could say anything.

"Luna?" the redheaded girl questioned. Her face lit up in recognition. "I thought you'd be sitting with the Ravenclaws this game?"

Constance blinked in confusion, then saw that Ginny was speaking to a short, blonde girl standing just behind Mihnea. She couldn't be sure if she had just walked up, or if she had been there the whole time. Her cousin was big enough to make the girl look like a tiny porcelain doll in comparison. She had this... strange expression on her face. Like her mind was off thinking about something else, but something had her surprised. Of course, that could have been the way she always looked, seeing how light her eyebrows were. She gave Ginny a dreamy looking smile.

"Hello, Ginny." she greeted. "I would have sat with my house, but I put most of them off for some reason. And they're all afraid of him." she nodded toward Mihnea. "Have you seen my new galoshes, by the way?" she put one of her feet up on the step in front of her to show off a rubber boot that was painted with stripes and polka dots every color of the rainbow. "He gave them to me for my birthday."

"Late birthday." Mihnea corrected. "I missed it by a few days."

Luna stopped to peer at him with her head cocked to the side. "Hmm... Yes, you're right. It was a late birthday. But since I never told you what it was, you couldn't have known."

The others who were listening to the conversation all acted like they weren't quite sure what they were supposed to do. Ginny studied the boot the girl was showing off, then cleared her throat.

"They're... um... very nice, Luna."

They were interesting looking, Constance had to admit. They were the sort of shoes that only a certain type of person could pull off and not look stupid. Luna seemed to be just weird enough to manage it. But personally, she was more interested in the fact that Mihnea had a girl hanging around him and he was buying her presents. Was there something going on he hadn't told her about? She studied him intently.

"Mihnea...?"

He blinked, then registered why her tone was questioning. "Oh, right. Luna." he said, taking the girl's arm to turn her to face Connie. "This is my cousin, Constance Stryker, and those are her friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger." He pointed everyone out. "Connie, this is Luna Lovegood."

Luna smiled brightly and stuck out her hand. "Hello. It's very nice to meet you. Mihnea talks about you a lot." she paused and studied the space around Connie's head. The girl got the impression she was being carefully examined, which was weird given she wasn't looking directly at her. "I like you. You have very pretty colors around you." She then turned to glance at Ron and Hermione. Luna didn't seem to find them nearly as interesting. "I know who Ron is. You're Ginny's brother. And Hermione Granger is the one everyone calls the know-it-all." When she saw Hermione bristle at the term, she shook her head in understanding. "You shouldn't let it bother you, you know. People call me 'Loony Lovegood' all the time."

It was easy to see why, Constance thought. The girl seemed friendly enough, but she did give off the impression that she was... 'touched' in the head. Mihnea noticed that everyone was starting to get uncomfortable and put his arm around the girl's shoulders to pull her off.

"Luna," he said to her gently. "The game is about to start. We need to find a good place to sit."

The blonde girl hummed thoughtfully and nodded in agreement. "Yes, I suppose we should. I don't think your other friends want to talk to me right now anyway." She gave them all a small smile and wave. "It was nice to meet you."

Everyone just stared as the two of them pushed their way through the mass of students to find seats near one of the corners where they could see better.

"Well, I never!" Hermione commented with a frown. "What sort of person talks that way?"

She was probably referring to Luna's nonchalant mention of her being known as a 'know-it-all'. Ginny shook her head and touched Hermione's shoulder.

"She didn't mean anything by it." she said. "Luna is... interesting. She's always like that."

Connie blinked. "You know her?"

The redheaded girl nodded. "We're in Transfiguration together." she told them. "She's wicked smart and brilliant with spells. I think she's very nice. Weird... but nice."

Hmm... Constance thought. The girl would have to be smart if she were in Ravenclaw house. Was Luna the reason why she hadn't been seeing Mihnea around as often as she used to? She would have to ask him about it later. The players for both teams were in the air, and Madam Hooch was preparing to signal the start of the game. The bludgers and the golden snitch were released, and the quaffle tossed high up into the air.

The game itself proved to be one of the most intense Constance had witnessed thus far. Maybe Fred had a point about the storm adding to the fun. Along with making plays and avoiding bludgers, the players also had to navigate through the violent wind and avoid losing control in the gusts that whirled around higher up. Even with the spell Hermione placed on Harry's glasses, the girl had no idea how he would be able to see a tiny, wet ball flying around in this mess. He and the Hufflepuff Seeker, Cedric Diggory, were perched high above the others, slowly making circles around the field as they searched for it. As Fred made a scarily close pass to the stands to beat off a bludger that was chasing down Alicia Spinnet, Harry seemed to catch sight of something and sped high up into the clouds. Diggory followed, but he was probably using Harry as a means to locate the snitch rather than actually seeing it himself. That was the method all of the other teams' Seekers had taken to once Harry began playing. Bright streaks of crimson and yellow disappeared directly into the thunderhead looming over the field. Everyone cheered loudly, imagining that the game was going to come to a close soon. The two Seekers were out of sight for about five minutes before Cedric came swooping back down, chasing down the tiny metal object that only he was close enough to see. Harry, however, remained up in the clouds.

"What the devil is he doing?" Ron asked, holding a hand up to his eyes to block out the rain as he searched the skies. "Diggory's going to get the snitch if he doesn't get a move on!"

"It has to be the clouds." Ginny suggested. "It can't be easy to see up ther..."

The girl's face went pale as a bright flash of lightning illuminated the sky, making it as bright as daylight for a split second. Hermione's eyes went wide and her hands flew to her mouth in shock, while Ron and Constance both froze and stared at the sight above them in horror.

There were dementors up there. In that moment where the lightning provided perfect visibility, they could see Harry on his broomstick high above them. Surrounding him on all sides were dozens of black figures with cloaks billowing in the wind. A few seconds after they saw them, another flash of lightning pierced through the clouds. It allowed them to see the boy slip sideways off his broomstick and plummet toward the ground. Most of the students in the crowd hadn't seen the dementors and were still cheering for the teams. But the moment Harry starting falling, everything came to a screeching halt. Every student and teacher in the stands flew up to their feet, screaming and causing a commotion at the sight. The Gryffindor players all immediately dropped what they were doing on the pitch and flew up, trying to catch him before he hit the ground. But Harry was traveling too fast for them to reach in time. Fred actually got close enough for his hand to brush against the back of his robe, but the boy fell beyond his reach. Harry would die if someone didn't do something! But when he was about thirty feet from the ground, it looked like the boy's free-fall began to slow down. Across the field, Dumbledore was on his feet with his arm outstretched, pointed toward Harry. He must have been casting a spell to stop it. But while Harry's descent was greatly reduced in speed, it didn't stop completely. The boy hit the ground with a thud and rolled across the grass.

It was complete pandemonium. Students pushed against each other, trying to get out of the stands and onto the field so they could see what happened. Constance likened it to attempting to shove her way through a herd of elephants. When she, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny finally got to where Harry was laying, his eyes were closed, his face a ghastly shade of white, and he wasn't moving. Dumbledore and McGonagall pushed their way through the mass of students, running over to see about him. The older woman crouched down at his side and took hold of his wrist. Upon her declaration that he was alive, Dumbledore ordered all the students to stand back out of the way so the boy could be carried to the hospital wing. He then pointed his wand up at the sky. A bright, silvery jet of light erupted from the tip and flew up to banish the dementors. The patronus looked like some type of bird, but it was moving too fast for Connie to tell what kind.

"Professor!" Hermione called out, rushing toward McGonagall before she got too far ahead of them. "Can we go with him?"

The woman turned on her heel and looked at her, a worried expression written across her features. "Not now, Miss Granger." she said. "Give Madam Pomfrey time to work, then we'll see."

So they would be left waiting until someone came back to tell them whether Harry would be alright or not. It was not a pleasant way to spend one's time.

The members of the Gryffindor Quiddich team were understandably concerned about Harry. All of them waited in a small area just outside the doors of the hospital wing. Connie, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were allowed to stay there because they were close friends. None of them even bothered to change into fresh clothes. They all stood there with sopping wet hair and streams of water pouring off of them. However, Madam Pomfrey gave them all very firm instructions to stay outside until she was finished with her examination. There was no telling what sort of injuries the boy might have, or how long it would take to repair them. The only thing they had to hold on to was the knowledge that Harry was still breathing.

While Oliver Wood ranted and raved about the dementors being a bloody menace that damn near killed his Seeker, the twins and the four that didn't play Quiddich stood a bit away, leaned up against the wall and looking amongst each other.

"He'll be alright, wont he?" Ginny questioned, keeping a worried eye on the door. "I mean, he fell a long way..."

"Madam Pomfrey can fix anything." Fred said resolutely. "He'll be right as rain in a day or two. You'll see."

Ron was staring at the hospital doors as well, waiting for the smallest sign that they were about to be opened. "I'd almost rather think about Black being nearby without the dementors here." he said in a low voice. "He's gotten past them twice already and now they come onto the grounds and attack Harry? What's the bloody point of them being here?"

"It makes the Ministry feel that they're doing something." Hermione said with a shake of her head. "I don't like how they use them. Acting like they're guard dogs when they know they're some of the worst dark creatures out there..."

Constance found herself in full agreement. She was starting to think that the only reason dementors allowed themselves to be used by the Ministry of Magic was because they provided them with quick and easy prey. Criminals locked in a prison wouldn't be able to fight them. She clasped her hands firmly together in front of her to keep from wringing them. She glanced sideways at George.

"Did you feel them up there?" she asked.

He shook his head, making his wet hair spill into his eyes. It was a much darker, more vibrant shade of red than when it was dry. "No. Not a thing." he replied, his expression showing that he didn't like it at all.

Fred cleared his throat. "We thought we would have been able to." he said. "The dementors sort of freeze up your insides, don't they? But Harry was so far above us, I guess they were out of range."

George nodded. "With the rain as cold as it was, we might not have known what it was anyway." he added. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something else, but stopped when the door was pushed open.

Everyone pushed themselves away from walls and stepped forward as Madam Pomfrey came out to talk to them. The woman clasped her hands in front of her and cleared her throat.

"Mr. Potter has a concussion and a few bruised ribs." she reported. "He'll stay here for the rest of the weekend and he should be able to attend classes by Tuesday." She pushed the door open wider to allow them entrance. "You can see him now, but he's still out at the moment so keep it down. And be prepared. I imagine he'll have a whopper of a headache when he wakes up."

Connie and the others all breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to hear that there was nothing more serious than that. Considering how far he had fallen, even several broken bones would have been good news.

There was really no telling how long Harry would remain unconscious, so most of the other members of the team only stuck around long enough to make sure he was indeed alright. Harry looked awful, but there was a bit more color to his cheeks now that he was in a bed and not laying out in the rain. After about thirty minutes, there was only the six of them left waiting. Each of them was determined to stay until the boy woke up. However, when Ginny let out a loud sneeze, her brothers all unanimously decreed that she should go upstairs and change into dry clothes before she took sick. For all of their sibling rivalry and teasing, they did look out for each other. The younger girl didn't look happy about leaving, but relented when Hermione assured her she'd let her know the second Harry woke up. Once Ginny was gone, they all took up seats around the bed and went back to their quiet vigil. Constance had her arm propped up on it's elbow with her head resting her hand, but straightened when George nudged her in the ribs.

"I think it's about time to start working on that thing, don't you?" he whispered in a low voice.

Constance just blinked at him in confusion. "What?"

"You know, the thing." George prodded, giving her a meaningful look. "That we talked about on the train?"

"I have no idea what you're..." the girl paused, her eyes widening when she realized what he was talking about. "Oh! Right. That thing."

He was talking about his request for her to teach him sorcery. She found herself in agreement with him. Now that the dementors had shown that they were willing to cross into areas of the school they weren't supposed to be, it would be best for him to start learning. However, it was going to be complicated. She shot a tiny glance toward the others that were there, noting that they weren't really paying attention to their silent conversation, then leaned over to whisper in his ear so they wouldn't be able to hear.

"We can talk about this later." she told him. "But I think you're right."

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