Chapter Eleven

Falling for the Fallen

Madam Pomfrey wasn't keen on letting the team into the Hospital Wing.

"My patients need peace and quiet," she said, standing in the doorway, hands on her hips.

"Please, Madam Pomfrey – we'll be really quiet, and we won't stay long," Samuel said.

"Alright," Madam Pomfrey conceded eventually. "But if you start getting rowdy, I'm throwing the lot of you out."

Roxanne and Reuben were in adjacent beds, both looking mostly like their usual selves.

"What happened?" Roxanne asked, at the same time as Reuben said,

"So, how much did we lose by?"

"We lost," Samuel said.

"220 to 180," Kyle added.

"But Sam caught the Snitch," Mia said.

"Anyway, I vote we just chalk this one up to experience, and move on," Samuel said. "You two both feeling better, then?"

"Yep – good as new," Reuben said, flexing his arm.

"And that is exactly why I'm keeping you in overnight, young man," Madam Pomfrey said, tutting and plumping up Reuben's pillows. "You need to rest it."

"And you've stopped puking, I see," Lily said to Roxanne. "What exactly was wrong with you, anyway?"

"Experimental extra-strong puking pastilles," Madam Pomfrey said, shaking her head. "Two of them! I shall be having words with that brother of yours, Miss Weasley."

"Fred hadn't told me they were delayed-action," Roxanne told her team mates. "He just asked me to test them. So when the first one didn't work, I took another, and then when that one did nothing either I decided they must be duds and went to sleep. I'm sorry, Sam – I'm an idiot."

"Well, it's done now," Samuel shrugged. "Right, I oughta go find my brother – any ideas where he went, Reu?"

"He said to find something to drown his sorrows with, but I'm fairly sure he was joking," Reuben said.

Samuel headed off to find Peter, and after a few minutes, Lily and Kyle left as well – Lily to do homework, and Kyle muttering something about his girlfriend. Mary sat down in the chair next to Roxanne's bed, and so Mia sat down beside Reuben's bed.

"Are you really alright?" she asked him.

"It hurts a bit if I move it too much," Reuben confessed. "Which I guess is why Madam Pomfrey wants to keep me in. Great end to my first Quidditch match, eh? – in the Hospital Wing with broken bones."

"Same as my first match," Mia shrugged.

Reuben raised his eyebrows.

"I was hit by a Bludger just after the match ended," Mia told him. "Broke a rib."

"Oh yeah, I think I remember that," Reuben said. "At least you waited until the end of the match."

Madam Pomfrey came back over and shooed Mary away. "Miss Weasley needs her rest." She turned to Mia. "You can stay for a while, so long as you're quiet." She put a screen up between the two beds.

"You know, I always wanted to play Quidditch," Reuben mused, lowering his voice so Roxanne could rest. "I remember when Krystelle got her first broom – she was seven, I was five. I had a toy broom, which I'd loved, but suddenly it seemed pathetic compared to Krys' real broom. So I... borrowed it." Reuben winked conspiratorially at Mia.

"What happened?" Mia asked.

"I snuck down to the broom shed and got it out. It was... exhilarating, until I crashed into a tree and broke my arm – same arm, actually, which probably explains why it broke so easily. Mum was livid – it was Friday afternoon, and we had the Rabbi coming for Shabbat, but she had to stop preparing dinner to perform healing magic on me."

"You're Jewish?" Mia asked – she hadn't known that about Reuben.

"Uh-huh," Reuben nodded.

"Do you still celebrate... Shabbat, is it? – at Hogwarts?" Mia asked.

"No, we're not practicing Jews anymore," Reuben explained. "Mum and Dad had a big falling out with the Rabbi when Krystelle started Hogwarts because he said flying counted as work, and was therefore forbidden on the Sabbath, which would've meant Krys couldn't play for her house team. So we still celebrate some festivals – when we feel like it – but we don't observe the Sabbath. Anyway, Mum's a Healer, and she often has to work weekends – which is allowed in Judaism, because it counts as saving lives – but it never really felt like we were properly observing Shabbat anyway. So, what about you – when did you know you wanted to play Quidditch?"

"Well, I'm Muggle-born, but I think it was when I first flew in flying lessons – it just felt like I'd been doing it my whole life, even thought I knew I hadn't."

"I remember looking at the team as a first year, and thinking how amazing they were, and hoping I'd be able to get on the team one day," Reuben said. "I knew there wouldn't be an opening until my fourth year – after Danielle left, and then it was awful not getting in last year, although I know Lily's a better player than me."

"Only marginally," Mia said. Then she sighed. "I didn't play very well."

"I'm sure you played as well as you could under challenging circumstances," Reuben said diplomatically.

"But that's just it – nothing should've changed for me – having different, and then less, players shouldn't affect me. I was awful today."

"Stop talking rubbish," Reuben said firmly, reaching out for Mia's hand and squeezing it. "Being a Beater down would've given the Ravenclaws more opportunities to send Bludgers at you, and one less Chaser means Ravenclaw would've been in possession more, so more shots on goal. So you can just stop talking rubbish, Mia Dursley - I'm sure you did your best."

Mia was suddenly aware of the overwhelming urge to kiss Reuben. He was so kind and sweet, and yes, good-looking too... Mia leaned over and kissed him – tentatively at first, then with more certainty as Reuben reached up with his good hand and put it on the back of her head.

They broke apart and Mia leapt to her feet.

"I've... gotta go," she said, rushing out of the Hospital Wing.

"Mia, wait!" Reuben called after her, but Mia was already gone.

Mia decided against going to the Gryffindor Common Room or Inter-House Common Room, where her friends might be. Instead, she went up to the Owlery, on the pretence of checking on her owl, Felix. When she reached the cold tower room, with its glassless windows, Felix flew down from his perch and landed on Mia's shoulder, holding his leg out questioningly.

"I haven't got a letter for you," Mia told him, stroking his feathery head. Felix chirruped hopefully. "Or any food –sorry."

Felix hooted disdainfully and flew off.

"Oh, thanks," Mia said. "Nice to know I'm loved, isn't it?"

She heard footsteps on the stairs, and turned around to see Emma enter the Owlery, holding a letter.

"Hi, Mia," she said as her owl, Olivia, landed on her shoulder. "Who were you talking to?"

"Just my owl, Felix," Mia said, as Emma tied a letter to Olivia's leg. "But he flew off when I told him I didn't have any owl treats. Who are you writing to?"

"Eddie," Emma said. "I've told him all about the match – he thinks Quidditch sounds awesome."

"How is he? And your sisters?" Mia said, deliberately bypassing the subject of Quidditch, because it made her think about Reuben.

"Yeah, they're good," Emma said. "Evie just started school, and her teacher is the same teacher I had when I was in Reception. Eddie says Evie says she remembers me. Apparently, Evie's told her I've gone to 'magic school', even though Eddie told her not to, but of course the teacher won't believe her – Evie's always making up weird stories."

Mia was glad things were working out for Emma. She thought back to this time last year, when Emma hadn't even been sure she was going to stay at Hogwarts, worrying that she wasn't home to protect her younger siblings from her step-father's temper. The appearance of Emma's biological father, Draco Malfoy, in July had changed things for the better for Emma, and Mia thought she already seemed more confident than she'd been last year.

Olivia took off with Emma's letter, and Mia turned to her 'little sister'. "Heading back to Gryffindor Tower?" she asked, and Emma nodded. "I'll walk with you," Mia said, and they left the Owlery together, Mia trying to put Reuben Goldstein out of her mind.

A/N: Thanks once again to my wonderful Beta, Urgwaew, who also came up with this awesome chapter title!