12 November 1993
Oliver scheduled practice for every available opening to prepare for the first match against Slytherins. However, Malfoy was still playing up his injury from Buckbeak, making Madam Hooch rearrange the whole quidditch schedule. Hagrid told them that there would be a hearing at the ministry to determine if he could keep his job and Buckbeak's fate. Hermione and her friends devoted some of their spare time to helping Hagrid put together a case. She didn't think she could be more grateful to Percy for showing her the abandoned corridor otherwise there was no way she would ever get enough sleep. Harry still watched her suspiciously, especially after seeing her schedule. Hermione was sworn not to tell anyone of the time turner or abuse the privilege for personal gain.
Luna was spending as much time away from the Ravenclaw tower as possible. Apparently, there were some awful older girls who constantly tormented the small blonde. From mocking her personality to stealing her things, the older girls never seemed to have trouble finding some way to make Luna's life in Ravenclaw difficult. Hermione didn't understand, Luna was top of her year, gained a lot of house points. She was also very helpful and sweet to everyone so why these girls constantly picked on Luna was beyond her. Hermione had been waiting to get their ring leader alone for a couple weeks when she saw her opportunity before the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff quidditch match.
"You!" Hermione hissed as she grabbed the pretty Asian 4th year into an abandoned classroom.
"What do you want?" Cho demanded.
"What is your problem?" Hermione demanded, her wand pressing into Cho's chest.
"You're the one who pulled me into a classroom and held me at wand point." Cho sneered.
"I told you to leave Luna alone!" Hermione snapped.
"Oh, so you're Looney's big bad body guard?" Cho smirked.
"No, I'm her best friend. I don't like the way she's being treated and unless you want to lose all your pretty hair, I would put a stop to it." Hermione glared at the girl.
"Yeah, right. We all heard about what you did to Parkinson. You couldn't do that to a competent witch." Cho smiled viciously at the smaller girl.
"I'm a Weasley. You really want to see what I could do to you? My brothers may avoid pretty girls with their pranks but I have no aversion." Hermione smiled wickedly as she saw the girls confidant smile falter.
"Fine! We'll leave loo-Luna alone." Cho snapped and rolled her eyes.
"It's been a pleasure." Hermione smirked at the taller girl before bowing out of the room. Before Hermione knew it she was lining up with her team mates for her very first game.
"Alright team, this is my last chance to have a quidditch cup as captain. Let's show them that Gryffindor is the best bloody house!" Oliver shouted at his team before turning to Harry. "They've for a new seeker this year, pretty boy Diggory isn't known for his brains. Get that snitch or die trying."
"and now introducing the best of the four, GRYFFINDOR!" Lee Jordan's shout signaled
the team to take off for their customary flight around the stadium. Hermione's nerves disappeared as the chasers did their choreographed flips and turns around each other. "Wood, Weasley, Weasley, Weasley, Spinnet, Bell, and POTTER!"
"That's a mouthful, so many Weasleys." Katie snickered as she took her place on Hermione's left.
"The Weasleys are always more than a mouthful, love!" George shouted as he flew by.
"George!" Hermione shrieked indignantly as their team mates laughed. As the balls were released, Hermione could vaguely hear Lee commentating but tried to block him out when Katie grabbed the quaffle. Hermione flew just below her as they soared across the pitch. A hufflepuff pulled up in front of Katie just as she pulled back to shoot, she released the quaffel, allowing Hermione to catch it and shoot. Winning them their first 10 points.
"And Weasley is the first to score! I remember when Fred shot her with a densaugeo, little Hermione stole Charlie's wand and chased Ron down to the pond, tripping over her own teeth." Lee said fondly.
"Jord-" McGonagall's chastisement was cut off as a bludger hit the stands, right above Lee's head.
"Sorry, Professor! Got away from me." Fred smiled cheekily as he flew off. The game progressed slowly, with the awful conditions it was hard to see only a few feet in front of them. They were only 20 minutes into the game when Madam Hooch blew her whistle for a time out.
"What are you doing, Harry?" Oliver snapped as they all touched down and walked to the locker room.
"I can't see my glasses on my face, how am I going to see the snitch!" Harry snapped back.
"Oh, honestly." Hermione snorted and shook her head. She took her goggles off and whispered, "impervious."
"What's that?" Oliver barked.
"Impervious charm. We should all do it, keeps the rain off."Hermione smiled sweetly as she took Harry's glasses and performed the charm.
"How come I didn't think of that?" Oliver whispered as he applied the same charm to his goggles. "Alright, I have no doubt the 'Puffs thought to do the same, so let's hurry up and win!"
The game got much more intense after the time out. Hermione only shot 4 of the 15 goals made thus far but Gryffindor was in the lead 150-40. The Gryffindor team felt confident, until the cold started to creep in, Hermione felt dizzy as the screams started. The quaffel fell from her limp fingers and Katie immediately had to dive to catch it. Alicia flew beside Hermione and wrapped an arm around the red head, looking around in confusion. Suddenly there was a scream, she looked up to see their seeker falling from the sky.
"Diggory's caught the snitch! HUFFLEPUFF WI-What the bleeding hell?" Lee's shout did not earn a reprimand from his head of house because she was too focused on casting her patronus, a griffin, to chase away the descending dementors.
"ARRESTO MOMENTUM!" Dumbledore's voice reverberated around the stadium as he slowed Harry's steep descent for the ground. The teachers around him all raised their wands to try and cast their patronus.
"What's going on?" Hermione cried when the echoing screams in her head faded away. Alicia looked at the 3rd year worriedly then back to where Harry fell to the ground with a sick thump.
"Dementors." Alicia whispered. Hermione followed her team mates gaze and immediately turned her broom to dive towards her friend.
"Move!" Hermione shrieked as she pushed students out of the way, she was able to clear a path for the faster professors and kneeled beside her friend.
"Move aside! Move it, Mr. Matthews! Don't make me say it again!" Madam Pomfrey pushed her way to the center of the crowd of students with her angry no nonsense tone. Conjuring a stretcher, she laid Harry up and brought him to about chest height so she could examine him for any immediate problems. "I need to get him to infirmary!"
"'Mione! What happened?" Ron pushed his way to his sister, his face pale.
"Harry must have got to close to the dementors." Hermione shivered.
"You guys go...I'm going to go wash up." Oliver said dully as the rest of the team walked behind Madam Pomfrey.
"Where's Harry's broom? Did anyone see it?" Hermione asked as she looked around the pitch.
"Nah, it got caught in the wind. I was too busy watching Harry fall." Neville said sadly as he walked up to his friends.
"I'm never coming to another quidditch match again!" Eloise cried as she wrapped Hermione into a tight hug. "I could barely see what was going on but watching people hit heavy balls at your best friend while she's flying a bloody broom stick through the sky! Then having to watch Harry fall from 500 feet in the air!"
"How will I ever survive if my best friend isn't there to cheer me on?" Hermione pouted and continued looking for Harry's broom.
"I would never miss a game." Luna skipped over, stomping in puddles.
"Fine. I'm sorry, of course I'll come." Eloise grumbled.
"Do you think it went into the forest?" Hermione asked absently as her eyes swept the pitch again.
"Harry's broom drifted off towards the Whomping Willow." Luna said distractedly as she hopped into a large puddle.
"You're going to wake him!" Hermione hissed at her raucous team mates as she collapsed on a chair besides Harry's bed. She was holding the remains of Harry's broom wrapped in her quidditch robes. They managed to get as many pieces of Harry's broom as they could find.
"Too late." Harry moaned as he slowly opened his eyes.
"How are you feeling, mate?" Ron asked.
"Like I fell off the astronomy tower. Did we win?" Harry sat up and immediately wished he hadn't asked when he looked at the glum faces of the Gryffindor team.
"Don't worry about it, Harry! You can't win them all." Hermione smiled weakly.
"He's in the shower trying to drown himself." Fred said when he saw Harry looking around at his team and friends.
"George!" Eloise snapped, glaring at the redhead.
"Yes?" George grinned devilishly from the other side of the room. Eloise flushed and glared at other twin with a matching mischievous grin.
"You guys should probably get washed up." Harry said sheepishly, noticing Madam Pomfrey's glare at the dripping quidditch players.
"Good luck, Harry!" George grinned as they left.
"Yeah, there will be a party in the tower when you get out!" Fred winked.
"Did anyone grab my broom?" Harry asked when he was left with Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna and Eloise.
"Errr..." Ron shuffled uncomfortably.