It was the first Saturday of November, meaning it was also the first Quidditch game of the year. Grace pulled on Harry's black hooded jumper, before slipping on his Gryffindor Quidditch practice shirt over top of it. It was storming out, and she knew it was going to be freezing.
"Isn't that Harry's jumper?" Hermione asked, nodding to the black hoodie.
"Andhis shirt!" Lavender teased. Grace's face burned and she glowered over at the girl.
"Yeah, so?"
"So, I've just noticed you haven't given his jumper back," Hermione spoke up with a smirk, and Grace rolled her eyes. "Andlike Lavender pointed out, youarewearing his practice jersey."
"Again,so? I asked him if I could wear it for the match! It doesn'tmeananything, Hermione," she muttered as she pulled out her scarlet and gold-knitted beanie from her trunk. "Harry's just been trying to cheer me up after...well...after everything this week." All week, people have been whispering and staring at her. Not only because of what happened on Halloween, but word spread like wild fire around the entire school that she stood up to Snape and walked out of his class. She had not only received a detention with him, which was cleaning the bed pans in the hospital wing with Ron, but she also got called into McGonagall's office. For over half an hour, McGonagall all but shouted at her and gave her another detention, and said she was going to have to send an owl to her mother.
However, she'd take McGonagall shouting at her for an hour over the meeting Remus called her into. The look of disappointment rivaled the night she snuck out on a full moon.
"What in theworldwere you thinking?!" Remus snapped.
"He was trying to out your secret-"
"I'm well aware of Severus' sneaky plans, Gracia. He's been trying to announce it to the world since we were fifteen!" He shouted, and she grimaced. "That still does not give you the right to blatantly disrespect your teacher!"
"What did you want me to do?! Sit there and just let him all but announce that you're a werewolf to the entire class!? Or sit there and have him forcemeto do it?! Because that's what he tried to do!" She shouted at him. "He also told the entire class that the Dementors almost got me, and that I screamed for you – he completely embarrassed me!"
"And how do you think he felt when his studentembarrassedhim?" Remus retorted with narrowed eyes, a look that she returned. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to convince, not only Minerva, but Severus tonotwrite to your mother? First you're hexing students in the corridors, then you're disappearing for hours, now you're disrespecting teachers and skipping classes? I thought,maybe, this year would be different. There is no way Grace would find herself in troubling situations if I'm here. Grace is so well behaved for me, this year will go smoothly. But,no,it seems that every week there's something new that has you acting out! Helena isright," Grace's heart fell as she stared at him, hurt. "Sometimes, you reallyarejust like your father," Remus shook his head in disappointment then waved her off. "Now go, dinner will be soon and quite frankly I'm too angry to look at you."
"I'm simply making an observation," Hermione shrugged and Grace rolled her eyes, but her cheeks still burned.
"Yes, well, you can keep your observations to yourself," Grace said shortly with a curt nod.
"She'sblushing," Parvati teased, giggling with Lavender. Grace glared over at them, her face burning more.
"Gracie is so cute when she's blushing," Lavender teased, making Parvati giggle.
"Ooh! You know she's been seeing a heart in her tea leaves! Not once or twice, but it's been there every day!" Parvati mentioned, and Lavendar 'ooooh'ed. Hermione rolled her eyes at the mention of the tea leaves but smirked over at Grace, who was glaring at the three of them.
"You all can go sod off," she huffed and waltzed out of the dorm room.
"Oi! Gracie!" Dean called out from the table across the room when he saw her coming down from the staircase. "Want face paint?" He asked.
"Uh, yeah!" She grinned and then made her way over to him. He was just finishing up Seamus' face paint. Neville's face was half scarlet and half gold, while Seamus was scarlet with a gold '' across his face. When Seamus stood up, Grace took his spot.
"What do you want?" Dean asked and Grace shrugged.
"Surprise me!" Dean nodded as he thought about what to do. Seamus walked around and whispered something in his ear, then Dean grinned.
"Brilliant," he said, then dipped his brush into the paint and went to work.
After about fifteen minutes, Dean put his brush down and stepped back with a grin. "You're all done, Gracie."
"Let's see," Neville said, as he came to look. He blinked, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open.
"What?" she asked Neville, and he shook his head, trying not to laugh. "What, Neville?" she asked again, lowly. "Dean! What did you do?!" she exclaimed, glaring over at the dark boy, who, with Seamus, was trying not to laugh.
"Oi, what are you lot do – oh bloody hell," Ron blinked at her once he came up to them. He tried not to laugh, but was failing.
"Oh not you too! What is it?!" She hissed as she went to a mirror that was hanging on the wall by the bulletin board. She looked and saw that her face was like Nevilles. Half scarlet, half gold... but then she noticed it. On the scarlet side, was a gold zero, and on the gold side was a scarlet seven. The same number she was currently wearing on her back. Harry's number. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she slowly turned around to look at the boys, who were all laughing. Grace closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, then slowly exhaled. She took out her wand, which made all of them flinch and shield their hair (word had gotten around about the shaving hex that she used on Malfoy). She waved her wand as she muttered a charm, then took her beanie and pulled it over her hair.
"Well, let's go, or else all the good seats will be gone," she said, then made her way to the portrait hole.
The storm was brutal, it was so hard to see what was going on with all the rain, but somehow, they all managed it. Grace waved her Gryffindor flag and cheered with her housemates. "Go Harry!" She screamed as he flew by. She saw him look over his shoulder, and their eyes locked (well she thought they did seeing as he was wearing goggles over his glasses) and he grinned at her before flying off and dodging a bludger.
"How is your face paint and hair not all ruined!" Lavendar complained as she leaned into her. "My poor hair is frizzy and wet! My curls are all gone!"
"Yeah how did you keep the face paint from getting wet?" Hermione asked.
"Water repelling charm!" Grace answered.
"Why didn't I think of that?!" Hermione frowned. "That's brilliant! Which one did you-"
"LET'S GO HARRY!" Grace shouted, cutting Hermione off when she noticed Harry had spotted the snitch. She watched him and Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff seeker, fly higher and higher. There was a flash of lightning, a loud clap of thunder, then she saw them. A whole hoard of Dementors flying around. Grace's heart felt like it stopped in her chest as she watched in horror. Harry's body was falling. Everyone gasped, and then silence.
"HARRY!" Grace heard herself screaming as she almost pushed herself over the edge of the stands. Dumbledore's voice rang throughout the Quidditch pitch, and Harry's body began slowing down. Grace pushed herself from the edge of the stands, then pushed her way through the crowd, not caring who it was that she walked over. She ran down the wooden stairs, then raced onto the pitch behind Madam Hooch, and several teachers. Both the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor quidditch teams were grounded, all looking in various degrees of concerned and fright.
"Harry!" Grace shouted again as she pushed her way through the Hufflepuff quidditch team. "Move!" She hissed, pushing their keeper out of the way. Her heart fell at the sight of Harry, motionless on the ground. She took a step forward, but felt someone grab hold of her. She tried to push the person away, to get out of their grip but they held on tighter.
"There's nothing you can do, Gracie," Remus whispered softly. "Let Madam Pomfrey take care of him." She only nodded numbly as she watched Madam Pomfrey begin to mutter healing spells, and with the help of Dumbledore, got him on a stretcher to take him to the Hospital Wing. "Go on," he whispered, nudging her to follow and she nodded.
She waited with the Gryffindor Team, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Ron and Hermione outside of the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey refused to let any of them until she was done. They all had been sitting around waiting for nearly hour before Madam Pomfrey let them in. "Now he's still resting, so donotoverwhelm him!" she told them sternly. Grace instantly went to his side and sat in the chair beside his bed.
"Looks a bit peaky, doesn't he?" Ron asked, looking at how pale and discolored Harry was.
"Peaky?" Fred scoffed. "What d'you expect him to look like? He fell fifty feet."
"Yeah, c'mon, Ron. We'll walk you off the Astronomy Tower and see how you come out looking." George scoffed.
"Probably a right sight better than he normally does," Harry muttered groggily as he blinked his eyes open.
"Harry! How are you feeling?" Hermione asked, and Grace rolled her eyes.
"Brilliant," Harry replied dryly as he moved to sit up. He winced as he pushed himself up the bed, with Grace's help.
"Gave us a right good scare, mate," Fred nodded.
"What happened?" Harry asked, looking at them all.
"You fell off," George answered.
"Must've been – what – fifty feet?" Fred continued.
"We-we thought you...you weren't going to wake up," Grace whispered, squeezing Harry's hand. He turned to look at her, and saw her grey eyes were glossy, and even though her scarlet and gold face paint was still flawless despite the rain, he could tell she had been crying.
"But that match," he started again, looking from Grace to the others. "What happened? Are we doing a replay?" Grace gaped at him, blinking. How could he think about a – agamewhen he nearly fell to his death! "We didn't –lose?" he asked, distressed when no one said anything.
"Diggory got the snitch," George spoke up. "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what ha happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But... they won fair and square... even Wood admits it."
"Where is Wood?" Harry asked, looking around for their captain.
"Still in the showers," said Fred. "We think he's trying to drown himself."
Harry made a face as he pulled his hand from Grace and gripped his hair in despair. Everyone else shared a look.
"C'mon, Harry, you've never missed the snitch before," Fred said gently, gripping Harry's shoulder in comfort.
"There had to be one time you didn't get it," George said.
"It's not over yet," Fred spoke up. "We lost by a hundred points, right? So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin..."
"Hufflepuff'll have to lose by at least two hundred points," George countered.
"But if they beat Ravenclaw..."
"No way, Ravenclaw is too good. But if Slytherin loses against Hufflepuff..."
"It all depends on the points – a margin of a hundred either way –"
Harry leaned back into the bed, and Grace looked at him in concern. He didn't look good, and she knew he was blaming himself for the loss and over all being upset thathe losta match. Grace grabbed his hand again, and even though Harry didn't look at her, he squeezed her hand gently. After about ten minutes of Fred and George bantering back and forth about Quidditch stats, Madam Pomfrey came over to tell the team to leave him to rest.
"Dumbledore was furious," Hermione spoke up. "I've never seen him like that before. He ran onto the field as you fell, waved his wand, and you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground," Hermione started to explain. Grace shivered as she replayed the terrible scene in her mind. "Then he whirled his wand at the dementors, shot silver stuff at them. They left the stadium right away... he wasfuriousthey'd come ono the grounds. We heard him – "
"Then he magicked you onto a stretcher," Ron cut Hermione off. "And walked up to the school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were..."
"I was – we were so scared," Grace whispered, and Harry turned to her again. His heart sank at the look in her eyes. He tore his gaze away and looked around them.
"Did anyone get my Nimbus?"
Ron and Hermione looked at each other, and Grace frowned at them. She didn't even think about Harry's broom, she didn't even bother to look for it as she was too concerned with him. "Er –"
"What?" Harry asked, looking between them.
"Well... when you fell off, it got blown away," Hermione started hesitantly.
"And?"
"And it hit – it hit – oh, Harry – it hit the Whomping Willow..."
Grace grimaced, her insides twisting. She knew what that meant.
"And?" Harry continued, as if hearing the answer would change anything.
"Well, you know the Whomping Willow," Ron started nervously, as he reached down and pulled the Gryffindor banner up from the floor. "It – it doesn't like being hit."
"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around," Hermione said in a small voice. Graces heart broke for Harry as she looked at the destroyed broom.
After a while, Ron and Hermione decided to leave to let Harry rest (mostly due to Madam Pomfrey's orders), but Grace had remained seated on the chair beside him. They didn't speak for a while, there was no reason for either of them to say anything as they opted to sit in a comfortable, comforting silence. That's usually the kind of silence Harry found when he was with Grace.
"You heard her screaming again, didn't you?" Grace asked in a voice so quiet that Harry had struggled to hear her. He looked over at her, and nodded stiffly. "I hear screaming too..." she confessed, staring at their conjoined hands. Harry looked over at her with surprise. "Only... it's me that's screaming."
"Grace," Harry started but she ignored him.
"I was ten," she started, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I-I snuck out at to go into the woods by my house – my old house – in the middle of the night. I wasn't alone..." she continued, and Harry squeezed her hand. "I-I don't know who, or what, it was but something attacked me. It chased me through the forest and – and I tripped. I thought I was going to die... but then Remus showed up, having heard me scream. He – he saved me," she swallowed again. "He was fighting – dueling I guess – with the attacker. I ran and hid in my treehouse and watched... Remus ended killing the attacker, trying to save me... I – I relive that night with the Dementors."
"Grace... I – I had – " Harry started but she shook her head.
"No one does, well... only Neville," she shrugged.
"Ron doesn't?" Harry asked, surprised. He thought Grace and Ron told each other everything since they were so close.
"No..." she shook her head. "That night is the reason me and Mum moved to Little Whinging... Mum thought it would be best if we moved so I wouldn't try to sneak out again..." she shrugged.
"No wonder you hate Little Whinging," Harry said softly. "Not that it's a pleasant place but... I can see why you hate being there, a reminder that you were taken from your home..."
Grace shrugged again. "I still go back to house. Remus lives there, so I'm there during the summer holidays some times. But..."
"It isn't the same?" he finished, and she nodded.
"It has all my memories, and every time I go back I wish I could stay," she sighed. "At least... I did."
"You don't anymore?"
"Not since this past summer."
"Why?"
"Because, summer holidays now mean it's just you and me," she answered with a smile. She was thankful for the face paint, as her face was burning and she didn't know why, but she didn't want Harry to see her blushing that vibrantly. Harry's own cheeks tinted pink and he smiled at her, and that fluttering feeling returned.
"I like your face," Harry said, changing the subject. Grace's eyes widened, and then Harry realized what he said and how it sounded. He shook his head and struggled to find words to fix the damage that was being done. "I – I meant your face paint! You – er chose my number – " he struggled, feeling embarrassed.
"Oh, er... actually I think it was Seamus' idea. He whispered something in Dean's ear and Dean did the paint," she explained, embarrassed. "They thought that – well since I'm wearing your practice shirt then my face should match – er I mean – " Grace cringed at herself, she needed to stop talking before she continued to embarrass herself more.
"I like it," Harry nodded, giving her a smile. "I'd do the same for you, you know," he admitted sheepishly, and Grace felt her cheeks burn hotter.
"I know," she whispered, and she believed it. She didn't know how, but, she knew he would wear her number on his face if the roles were reversed. The thought made her happy, that light fluttering feeling in her stomach started again, and this time she didn't try to push it down. She was accepting these feelings that she got when she was Harry, even if she didn't want to admit what they meant. Not yet anyway.