Daniel Adams decided to go to the Quidditch game that day even though all of his friends wanted to stay inside and play Exploding Snap. He had made the excuse that he had to scout the other team to see what he was up against when he played Gryffindor and Slytherin. Even though he was chosen as Ravenclaw's Keeper the year before (his Second Year), he had been kept on reserve all year, so he couldn't really be in the action. Therefore, he didn't know how the other teams played.
Especially Harry Potter. He had heard that he was good, but Daniel only really knew him personally as the boy who he talked to in the library when he didn't want to study any longer. He had grown to like Harry. Even consider him somewhat of an acquaintance (he knew that they had not talked enough to be considered "friends").
As he watched the game, he knew that Gryffindor would be beaten. Slytherin was faster and meaner. He was just about to go back indoors with his friends and get out of the freezing rain when he saw someone fall off their broom about twenty feet higher than where the game was actually happening.
Daniel, who was sitting in the Gryffindor section of the Quidditch stadium heard a very loud gasp as others noticed the player falling. Then, "HARRY!" Daniel turned to look at the voice and realized it was Harry's little friend Granger. Whenever the two boys were in the library together Harry complained about how his friend Granger was the one who dragged him there. Granger raced down the stadium with a redheaded boy (who could only be a Weasley) in order to see Harry.
At that point, everyone was standing as close as they could. Daniel pushed his way to the front. When he got there, he noticed that Lockhart was bent over an unconscious Harry. Daniel didn't know whether Harry was unconscious when Lockhart got there, or if he was unconscious because of Lockhart.
Daniel couldn't help but notice the Gryffindor team celebrating and he wondered why until Lee Jordan announced, "AND GRYFFINDOR WINS WITH A GAME-SAVING CATCH BY HARRY POTTER!"
The stadium erupted in cheers all around Daniel. Although he was not celebrating because he was much too nervous about Harry's condition, he received a few pats on the back, and even a celebratory shake which he was obliged to fake a smile for.
But the cheers died down to a hush almost immediately as everyone saw how Lockhart attempted to "fix" Harry.
"D-did Lockhart remove all the bones from Harry's arm?" someone asked in a hushed whisper and everyone saw Harry being carted off the field, his two legs being held by the Wesley twins and one arm being held by Wood, who was still smiling carelessly because of the win. His other armed flopped helplessly to the ground and dragged slightly behind them. Daniel swallowed back the urge to puke.
oOo
"Was he crying?" asked Martin Gregory, Daniel's roommate, after Daniel had filled him and the rest of his friends in on what had happened. They had stopped their game of Exploding Snap to listen, but now Martin and Lionel Hans were back to playing.
"No, no of course not," Daniel said, slouching down in an arm chair near to the game. His friends in Ravenclaw were rarely ever interested in sports or the well-being of others. They mostly made fun of other people, who they considered much more dim than them. Not all Ravenclaws were like this, though. Daniel considered himself one of the good few who was very well-rounded.
"I'll reckon he did it on purpose," said Netta Erins, as she braided her friend, Emily Warrent's, hair close to the game. "He's always pulling reckless stunts for publicity."
"Oh, come off it," Emily said, giggling a bit. "You don't think he'd really do that."
Netta shook her head and un braided a section of Emily's head, then re-braided it more to her liking. "Of course I do," she replied. "It's always the same with those celebrity-types. Just look at Lockhart. I'll bet the two of them planned it that way."
Daniel harrumphed and his friends looked at him questioningly. "You don't know him personally," Daniel said, sitting up in his chair a little bit more, "so don't go around judging him. How dare you say that he intentionally hurt himself for attention? When you burned yourself with your straightening iron, Netta, no one said that you did it for attention. He's just a normal kid trying to pass his tests and get to grow up, just like me and you, and if you're jealous of a kid who's famous for his parents being killed the there is definitely something wrong with you."
Netta's jaw went slack and she abandoned Emily's half-done braid, letting her blonde hair flow to the ground where they were sitting. Emily was at a loss for words (she never was one to draw attention to herself, or stand up for others). Martin and Lionel had stopped their game once more, practically frozen in the position that they were in. A piece of their game exploded and they jerked back into motion, as if awaking from a long sleep. Before they could think up a response, Daniel stomped off to the library, where he could be alone once more.
Daniel Adams, the Boy who Angst-ed.
Thanks for reading! Please review (critiques are always appreciated)! It encourages me to write more!