Rohini was dozing off when the rest of the students finally arrived. Padma sat next to her and gave her an annoyed look.
"I was worried when I didn't see you this morning." She said. "You could have had another sleepwalking session and be anywhere in the castle."
"Sorry, I was just worried about Harry and couldn't sleep, so I came here." Rohini explained and Padma's features softened. They glanced at the Gryffindor's table where Harry seemed a bit green. "He isn't eating. Why isn't he eating? He's gonna faint if he has an empty stomach."
"Relax." Padma said, patting her arm. "He'll do just fine."
"Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team." Lisa said as she passed behind them to go sit at the end of the table. Rohini and Padma glanced at each other; who said every jerks were in Slytherin?
"Who's the Slytherin seeker?" Rohini asked, staring at the Snake house table. "I hope he's not a huge brute."
"No, it would be a disadvantage. You should be worried about the beaters though, I heard they were quite nasty."
"Thanks for reassuring me, Padma." Rohini groaned. "Please tell me there will be a net or something to catch them. If they fall."
"You know the answer, I saw you read a book about Quidditch last week." Padma said, raising an eyebrow and Rohini hid her face in her hands.
"I can read things, doesn't mean I will remember it all." She glanced at Harry again. "He's gonna die."
"I've heard that he was actually pretty good. If I were you, I would go cheer him up before the match." Padma suggested while helping herself to scrambled eggs. Rohini nodded and told her she'll meet her after breakfast and headed to the Gryffindor table.
"Oh, Rohini! You want to say your farewell to Harry before our match?" Fred Weasley asked.
"He might get hit in the face and broke a few bones; you'll look less alike this way." George teased and the two Weasleys giggled at their own peculiar sense of humour. Ron elbowed Fred with a groan.
"He has a scar and I have the coolest glasses. We're different enough, thank you." Rohini said, deadpan, before looking at Harry who was playing with his fork. "You're ok?"
"Yeah, never been better." Harry said with a lack of enthusiasm.
"I've learnt a spell that will slow down your fall if you slip off your broom." Rohini said and Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "I said if, not when."
A shadow suddenly stood behind them, and they all grimaced when they heard Snape's voice.
"Good luck today, Potter. A little game of Quidditch should be easy work for you...even if it is against Slytherin." He said with a smirk. Rohini felt Harry tense by her side.
"You shouldn't worry about Harry, Professor." She said innocently and Snape looked at her. "I'd be more worried about the Slytherin team once Harry catches the snitch right under their nose."
The Weasley twins snorted and Ron hid a smile behind his sleeve. Snape stared at Rohini, who gulped as she wondered if she went too far. It was Wood who saved them by asking Fred, George and Harry to follow him.
"Hello, Professor Snape. Here to encourage my team?" Wood asked and Snape stared at him for an uncomfortable second before limping away.
"That explains the blood." Harry said and they all frowned.
"The blood?" Rohini asked but Harry shook his head.
"I'll tell you about it later."
"Ok… good luck, Harry." Rohini said, hugging Harry a bit too tightly, making him wince. Then, she turned to the Weasleys. "Make sure he'll stay in one piece." They bowed and promised to do their best and followed Wood and the rest of the team outside.
"You coming with us?" Ron asked but Rohini shook her head.
"Padma is waiting for me. I'll see you after the match!" Rohini said before joining her friend back at the Ravenclaw table. Padma told her they should leave now if they wanted to have a good seat and so they did. As they stepped outside, they were stopped by Dean Thomas.
"Heya Rohini! We made those last night, and I thought ya might want one." He said with a smile before giving the girls a banner made out of a Gryffindor's bedsheet that said "Potter for President" with a lion drew underneath that moved and roared like a real one.
"Wow, that's so cool!" Rohini said before smiling at Dean. "Thanks. Harry's lucky to have you guys."
"No problem." Dean chuckled, blushing. "Well, see ya later!"
"See ya!"
They sat up at the top row of the Ravenclaw benches, facing the Gryffindor ones. Rohini grinned when she saw Harry's friend unrolling their banners. People arrived in groups and soon there was a buzzling sound coming from all the different conversations and loud cheers. Rohini felt a bit dizzy at this excited crowd.
Finally, the teachers took place and Madam Hooch, who was refereeing, stood up in the middle of the field. Rohini was shaking now, in both excitement and fear. She barely heard Padma over her heartbeats when her friend suggested they'd unroll the banner now. Another minute and the team entered the field.
As if it had been some kind of signal, everyone stood up and began to scream, waving their hands or tiny flags, either red or green. Rohini couldn't see anything because the boy in front of her was extremely tall and found herself having to stand up on the bench. The teams were facing each other while Madam Hooch gave them a speech. Padma had binoculars that Rohini borrowed to look at Harry's face. He seemed nervous, but a smile blossomed on his face when he looked at the Gryffindor banners. He seemed so tiny, next to the older students!
Finally, Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her whistle. The fifteen brooms rose up and the game began. A black student, standing next to McGonagall, was commenting the match.
"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."
The crowd giggled. Rohini thought she liked Lee's way of doing the commentary; it helped her to relax. Everything was going well so far; except from the flying part, it didn't seem as dangerous as what she had expected.
"Quaffle taken by the Slytherins!" Lee shouted and a wave of "Nooo!" rose in the air, followed by a loud cheer when the player was hit by a bludger, courtesy of one of the Weasley twins.
"Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle! Come on, now, Angelina—Keeper Bletchley dives—misses—GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"
"Yeeeeeeah!"
Rohini hopped on the bench, a large grin on her face. She had never been a sport person, but seeing a match in live instead of on TV truly was something else. Still, there was no sign of the Snitch. Harry was flying a bit above the rest of the players, looking around to spot the shiny little ball.
"How long do you think it will last?" Rohini asked Padma, loud enough to be heard.
"I don't know. Professional matches can last for days, but I think regular ones last around half an hour to two hours?"
"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying now, "Chaser Pucey ducks- wait a moment—was that the Snitch?"
A murmur ran through the crowd and Rohini tip toed around, narrowing her eyes to try to spot the golden ball. People gasped when Harry suddenly dived downward, the Slytherin Seeker going after him. Meanwhile, the rest of the players were still fighting for points but Rohini could only look at Harry, holding up her breath as he barely avoided a collision with the Slytherin captain.
"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—GRYFFINDOR SCORES AGAIN! EXCELLENT TEAM, WAY BETTER THAN THE SL-"
"Jordan!" They could heard McGonagall growling, making everybody giggle again.
"Sorry, Professor. Wait, what's happening to Harry's broom?"
Everybody looked at Harry and Rohini froze, horrified. Her brother's broom was lurching and twitching like a horse trying to buck its rider off.
"It's not normal, is it?" Rohini asked with a hint of hysteria in her voice.
"No, it's not. Especially with a new broom." Padma said, biting her lips. "Oh no…"
The broom was completely out of control. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him until he suddenly slipped off, holding the broomstick with one hand. Rohini screamed her brother's name, feeling hopeless.
'Arresto Momentum' she was repeating to herself. 'If he falls, use Arresto Momentum.'
The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew 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 still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.
"HOLD ON TIGHT, HARRY!" Rohini screamed," COME ON, HOLD ON TIGHT!"
Everybody was chanting her words now and soon you could only hear "HOLD ON TIGHT, HOLD ON TIGHT!" Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom and the crowd applauded. Rohini had to grip Padma's shoulder for she was shaking too hard to stand on her own.
The Slytherin seeker was after the Snitch and Harry hurried to reach his level. They butted out each other for a few seconds and the Snitch dived. Rohini moaned in fear as they followed it, approaching the ground quickly. The Slytherin Seeker backed out but Harry pulled up his broom and… stood up on the stick.
"Harry, what the heck!" Rohini squealed. "He's gonna fall, this idiot!"
And indeed, Harry stepped too far forwards and toppled off his broom, making her yelled. Harry stood up and lurched, as if he was going to throw up. The crowd stared in silence, holding their breath…
And then, Harry lurched on last time and the Snitch popped out his mouth.
"He's got the Snitch! Harry Potter receives 150 points for catching the Snitch! GRYFFINDOR WIN!"
"YYYYEAAAAAHHHH!"
Everybody stood up and whistled and Rohini couldn't help but cry a little as she applauded loudly. Padma was doing little excited jumps and the two girls hugged each other with a bright smile.
"Go go Gryffindor! Go go Gryffindor! Go go Gryffindor! Go go Gryffindor!" Everybody was chanting, except from the Slytherins who were looking grim. Rohini had never seen McGonagall looking so happy than on this instant.
When Harry, who was showing the Snitch to the crowd, spotted her, Rohini waved and smiled at him proudly. Harry had done it and without breaking a single bone. If their parents were still alive, no doubt they would be extremely proud of him too.
Xxx
"You show-off idiotic brother!" Rohini shouted, ruffling Harry's already messy hair, one arm passed around his neck. "Standing on your broom, really?"
Ron, Hermione and Rohini had joined Harry after the match and Rohini was happy to see that Hagrid was here too. Hagrid invited them to come and enjoy a cup of tea the next day at his hut and left them to their celebration. Everybody wanted to personally congratulate Harry for his game and Rohini decided to escape, joining Padma at the Ravenclaw table. Here, a few students began to ask her questions about Harry such as did he dream of being a Quidditch player since he was a toddler and other questions she had no answers for. Tired, she told them to go ask Harry directly and was finally left to enjoy her dinner in peace.
The Gryffindors were louder than usual and as they all went to bed, they could hear their victory cries echoing through Hogwarts corridors. Even the ghosts were discussing the result of the match and Rohini was glad that Harry will be famous for something else than his scar now.
Xxx
The next day, she was going to join everyone at Hagrid's hut when she was stopped by the Weasley twins.
"We did a pretty good job at protecting Harry, don't you think Fred? "George asked his brother who nodded.
"Excellent, even."
"Yeah, thanks for that." Rohini said with a smile before going through her bag were she found a box of jelly beans. "Here, as a reward."
"We should save Harry more often." Fred said and the three of them chuckled. "Actually, we have something for you, too."
"Really?" Rohini asked, surprised. She couldn't think of anything she had done to be offered a gift. The twins handed her two mirrors.
"It's a Two-way mirror." Fred said, grinning. "Two-way mirrors work so you can talk to someone else while you're in a different dorm…"
"…Or in separate detentions." George finished and Rohini wondered how many time they must have used it since they were at Hogwarts.
"Are you sure you want to give it to me? It must be helpful for you two!"
"Don't worry, we found another way." Fred said with an enigmatic smile. "Besides, we won the match against Slytherin thanks to Harry yesterday. It's our own way to thank him too."
"Thanks." Rohini said with a bright smile. "I'll give it to Harry as soon as I see him. See you!"
"See you later." The twins said in unison, waving at her as she left the castle. Fang jumped on her as soon as Hagrid opened the door and she realised she was the last one to arrive. Ron and Hermione were sitting on Hagrid's bed and Harry seemed extremely tiny on Hagrid's huge armchair.
"Rohini!" Hagrid said with a smile before handing her a plate of cookies. "I just bake them. Try one!"
"Thanks, Hagrid." Rohini said, forcing a smile on her face as she saw Ron's grimace behind the giant; the cookies were probably as hard as rock. "Delicious." She lied as she took a bite and almost broke her teeth on it. As soon as Hagrid turned his back to her to make tea, she gave the cookie to Fang who swallowed it in one go.
"How do you feel?" She asked Harry as she took a chair and sat next to him. "Hope they let you sleep a bit last night."
"I said it and I'll say it again: yeh did great Harry." Hagrid said, beaming as he served them a cup of steamy tea.
"Still what happened to your broom?" Rohini asked him with a frown and it's Ron who answered.
"It was Snape," Ron said, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing Harry's broomstick."
"He what?" Rohini yelled and Hagrid rolled his eyes; they were probably having the same conversation before she arrived.
"I know a jinx when I see one. I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all!" Hermione said. Rohini couldn't believe it; she knew Snape hated them, but to try to kill Harry? She felt as if someone had pushed her into a bucket filled with ice. Until now, she'd always thought Hogwarts was rather safe. Now, she wasn't so sure anymore.
"Maybe we should talk to a teacher about it. McGonagall or even Dumbledore. We can't let him get away with that." She said.
"Rubbish," Hagrid grunted. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another and Rohini had the feeling they knew something she didn't.
"That night, when the Troll was in the castle," Harry told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog from the forbidden corridor but it bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."
"How do you know about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked, looking paler.
"Fluffy?" The three of them repeated in unison, looking at Hagrid as if he had turned yellow.
"Yeah—he's mine—bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year." He explained and Rohini thought he wasn't really good at picking accurate names for his pets. "I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the— I shouldn't have say that." Hagrid realised as they all looked at him expectantly.
"We know Fluffy is guarding the thing you picked up that day at Gringotts." Rohini said, "It's quite obvious now. And whatever it is, Snape will do anything to steal it." She added with a grim expression. Hagrid chased the idea away as if it was an annoying fly.
"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher; he'd do nothin' of the sort."
"Well, teachers aren't supposed to harass their students yet here we are." Rohini pointed out bitterly before realising she must be sounding quite aggressive. "I'm sorry Hagrid."
"No offense taken." Hagrid assured her. "Now, yeh listen to me, all of yeh." He added, pointing at them. Rohini hadn't seen him look so serious since that night with the Dursleys. "Yer meddlin' in things that ought not to be meddled in. It's dangerous. What that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."
"Nicholas Flamel?" They repeated in unison and Hagrid seemed mortified. "Who's Nicholas Flamel?"
"I shouldn't have say that." The giant mumbled. "I shouldn't have say that."
Rohini decided it was probably time to leave and waved at the others to follow her outside. As they walked back to the castle, they thought about what they had just learnt. For the first time, neither Hermione nor she had an answer to give to the boys.
"Oh, Harry. Here, that's a gift from Fred and George." Rohini suddenly remembered, giving her brother one of the two mirrors and explained him how to use it.
"How comes they give you that when they don't even let me borrow their broom?" Ron said, envious. "That's not fair." He sulked and Hermione gently patted his back.
"Cool…" Harry said, looking at the mirror in every angle. Then they parted way, Hermione going to the library to see if she could find anything about Nicholas Flamel and Rohini going back to the Ravenclaw tower for she still had homework to do. As she and Padma practiced the last spells they had learn, Rohini thought about Fluffy and what it could possibly guarding.