Chapter Eighteen: Friend vs. Friend
They had been dreading this day. It was time to see if the newfound bonds of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff could survive the test of Quidditch. It was an excellent day for a match. There was no wind, the skies were nice and blue, and the sun was shining, but not glaring, down. It was cool, but not cold.
The Gryffindors had even gotten their new seeker her own robes, although they didn't have the surname 'Yamamoto' on them but 'Tennyson'.
"The Divination people saw something," Angelina said breezily when Julie brought this up, "Wouldn't say when exactly but at some point you change your surname to his…and it's some time soon…Hurry, get dressed…"
Blinking, Julie looked at the name and shrugged, pulling on her robes. She marched out with her team, meeting Cedric. They both grinned, saying together, actually hugging briefly while their respective teams merely shook hands, "No hard feelings. Good luck."
"—Seeking for Gryffindor, on a brand new Firebolt Praestantia, making her the first student currently attending our fine school to own the most coveted broom brand in th—"
"Jordan! Just announce her!"
"Alright Professor, Seeking for Gryffindor is Julie Yam—Wait, this can't be right! Professor! Come look at this!"
There was muttering to be heard but Jordan cleared his throat, saying with surprise coloring his voice, "Um, it seems like there are congratulations in order as Seeking for Gryffindor is Julie Tennyson! May the happy couple have many many years together!"
Julie, midair with all the other players, was so shocked that a strong gust could have thrown her off her broom.
"You got married?" Cedric asked incredulously, hovering close for the minute.
"No!"
Down in the stands Ben was being swarmed with people offering congratulations and was desperately trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
Up in the air the game was still going. Hufflepuff soon took the lead, scoring six times for a total of sixty points against Gryffindor's twenty.
Pushing her nuptials, that she herself was just learning about, out of her mind, Julie focused on finding something the size of a walnut…
Within the two hours that it took to find the Snitch Hufflepuff had gained an amazing lead, Jordan had been hit by thirteen different curses for suggesting that Ben and Julie's non-existent marriage had been a shotgun one and so wondered how exactly Julie had convinced her new husband to let her play and so Ron had taken over the commentary, aided by Ginny, and at points Harry, and they set the student body straight. Too bad it was too late for Ben who had been beaten to a bloody pulp for supposedly letting his pregnant wife play such a violent game as Quidditch could be. His attackers, upon hearing the truth, looked at his crumpled body sheepishly and six people picked him up to carry him back to the castle and to the Hospital Wing.
The chase for the Snitch was on, Cedric and Julie trying to best each other. They were neck and neck actually, despite the difference of broom models, weaving around each other as the Snitch frantically tried to evade them. They went higher than normal, racing beyond the normal bounds of the game. They began going down, almost nose-diving. And then Julie got a crazy idea; lunging forward, she prayed her trust in her friends was not misplaced or overestimated, she grabbed at the Snitch and her hand closed around it. Just as she had thought, she felt herself get hit by several different charms that stopped or slowed her fall.
"SHE HAS THE SNITCH! SHE HAS THE SNITCH!" the commentators chanted, even though they had their wands out, even Harry and his test wand, and pointed at Julie to stop her from falling, "GRYFFINDOR WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
Julie was lowered to the ground, only to be drowned in a wave of people. Red, yellow, blues, the students were ecstatic; Slytherin had lost the cup completely and Gryffindor's streak had been preserved.
However, the one person she wanted to see wasn't there; "Where's Ben?!" she shouted to her friends
"Hospital Wing!" they called back.
"WHAT?!" she broke free of her fans, throwing off her uniform and forgetting her broom, and ran into the castle, taking the staircase steps three at a time, and into the Hospital Wing to find Ben resting comfortably.
"You stupid, selfish girl!" Julie was hit by several charms and then she found herself in a bed, "Playing Quidditch in your condition!" Madam Pomfrey continued, hitting her new patient with more diagnostic charms.
"But I—" Julie found herself silenced.
"Now, I don't know how they handle such situations—Oh my…" the Ward Sister blushed in shame as her accusations proved to be unfounded, she freed the student, saying, "I apologize, really I—"
"What happened to Ben?"
"He was beaten to a pulp by concerned housemates once they heard the news and not the truth…He'll be fine…"
"Leave now."
"Yes, okay…" and Madam Pomfrey scurried off.
Julie sighed and began to wait.