The quidditch game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was a few days ago. It seemed that the moments before the game were the moments that were the most stressful, though. At breakfast Ron and Ginny would hardly touch their food.
I looked up from my bowl of cereal at Ginny who was leaning her head against her hand and prodding her scrambled eggs with her fork.
“What’s wrong, Gin?” I asked. “Are you feeling sick?”
“No,” she said wearily. “Just nervous. Pre-game jitters are all they are. I don’t want to mess up as my first time being Chaser for Gryffindor. I especially don’t want to lose.”
“Oh,” I nodded. I couldn’t really understand, of course, since I didn’t play quidditch. I wouldn’t know since I’m not that athletic, and that means I’ve never played in front of a large crowd, let alone the entire school. But I could only imagine. I looked to Ron who had a strained expression on his face and he stared at the table.
“Are you okay Ron?” I asked.
He looked up without changing expressions. “Nervous,” he said.
I glanced at Harry who was piling his plate with food. “Harry doesn’t seem to be nervous,” I said, pointing at him with my spoon.
“That’s because he’s used to having all of the attention on him,” Ron said. “For me it is just plain nerve-wracking.”
“Oh,” I said. I clearly don’t understand what it is like to be up there. Ha, I can’t even get a broom to come up to my hand. That is how much talent I have on the field.
When the owl post came, there was another shocking headline in the Daily Prophet: “You-Know-Who Sighting In Brazilian Rainforest.” The article mostly said that he was supposedly spotted in the rainforest with a crowd of Death Eaters. How this was spotted and by whom is unknown, though. That was not really shocking after yesterday’s headline, but nonetheless, it was still frightening. I can only imagine what he was doing out there. Rallying, perhaps? Plotting ways to get Harry? I showed the paper to Ron, Ginny, and Harry.
Harry took the paper in his hands and frowned. “Why can’t they come out and say ‘Voldemort’ instead of ‘You-Know-Who?’”
Ron and Ginny flinched, as well as a few surrounding students, and the sounds of Lord Voldemort’s name.
Coming out of their nervous trances, Ron and Ginny shared their opinions.
“Do you really think You-Know-Who was in Brazil?” Ginny asked.
“Rubbish,” Ron said. “He was just at Azkaban last night. How did he get to Brazil?”
Ginny tapped her wand impatiently on the table.
“Oh,” Ron said, embarrassed. “Wizard. Right.”
I laughed. “There’s a good chance he might have been there,” I said, answering Ginny’s question.
“I wonder who happened to be out, deep in the rainforest when he was,” Ginny said. “That is kind of strange.”
“Yes, you’re right,” I said, agreeing. “But whoever it was probably wants their identity to be hidden.”
“Oh yeah,” Ginny said.
“I guess it was pretty narrow-minded of me to think that only the United Kingdom would be involved in this…thing,” Ron said.
I agreed. I had never really given much thought to it before, and certainly didn’t consider it a worldly affair when I did. It does make the most sense that way, though. That must be one of the things that the adults say we don’t understand when they try to explain the fear Voldemort created in the wizarding world. He created a world-wide fear, and a world-wide fear is a very scary concept in my opinion.
Harry looked at his watch and then stood up. “It’s time,” he said to Ron and Ginny.
Both of their expressions changed again. Their expressions were pained as they remembered about the game. I almost felt bad for them, but I knew they would be fine again after we won the game. They stood up as well and followed Harry out of the Great Hall.
“See you later, Hermione,” Ginny said. “Cross your fingers for us!” she called.
I grabbed two bagels and gave one to each Ginny and Ron. “Eat them,” I instructed. “You’ll need it, trust me.” This much I know. You should never attempt to do anything important on an empty stomach.
“Thanks,” they said.
“I’m going out to the stands,” I told them as we walked out of the Great Hall in separate directions.
I made my way up to the Gryffindor section of the stands, and took a seat at the top. It was far from the perfect day for a game. The sky was filled with swirls of grey clouds. It was also a bit chilly out with small gusts of wind. I am glad I brought my cloak with me. To add to that, it was raining lightly. You could tell if you looked out to the lake where the thousands of raindrops made thousands of ripples on the surface. Since Harry, Ron, and Ginny were all on the team, I sat next to Neville. Most of the students were all ready outside. The Hufflepuffs were waving flags with their crest on it. In the Ravenclaw stands, I saw that Luna Lovegood was wearing her Gryffindor lion head on her shoulders.
A few minutes later, a loud voice said, “Welcome to the first quidditch match of the year!”
It was followed by a series of loud cheers, whistles, and stomps. The voice clearly wasn’t Lee Jordan’s since he graduated, and I didn’t recognize the new announcer’s voice. I’m sure that most of the Gryffindors felt that whoever it was would not take the place of Lee Jordan in our hearts.
“Now to welcome the Hufflepuff team!” the voice shouted as the Hufflepuff quidditch team flew out and went around the field. The Hufflepuff section roared and waved their flags furiously as our section booed and hissed loudly. Neither side takes it personally, thankfully. It’s all in good fun.
“And here is the Gryffindor team!” the voice shouted moments later. A flurry of crimson and gold flew up and circled the field as our section broke out into shouts and cheers. I clapped loudly. Harry, Ron, and Ginny waved to Neville and me. Thankfully, both Ron and Ginny looked liked they had gotten over their nerves because each of them wore matching Weasley grins. It must’ve been all of the applause that cured them. Alicia Spinnet and the Hufflepuff captain, who I vaguely recognized, shook hands and then flew up into the air, taking their positions. Ron guarded the goal posts as he flew continuously from one side to the other. Behind me, Colin Creevy was snapping pictures furiously.
Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and immediately the quaffle was in Gryffindor possession. Our section of the stands roared as Alicia flew past, dodging the bludgers, to the other side. Just as quickly, a Hufflepuff chaser managed to grab it, and flew off in the opposite direction. While all of this was going on, the announcer noted every move. I searched for Harry, spotting him a bit above the game, squinting for any sign of the golden snitch. As soon as I looked back at where the quaffle was, it flew through one of the Gryffindor goal posts. Ron barely missed saving it from going through. The Hufflepuff section applauded loudly.
“10-0, Hufflepuff,” the announcer said. “This is going to be interesting, folks.”
The Slytherin section was beginning to remember the lyrics and tune to ‘Weasley Is Our King.” Ron looked like he was going to be sick. The Gryffindor team once again got possession as Ginny flew past with the quaffle, scoring quickly as the Hufflepuff keeper missed saving it by a mile. She pumped her fist into the air as our section broke out in mass cheers. She obviously makes a very good chaser.
Ten minutes later, the score was 80-20 in favor of Gryffindor. Ron had shut the Slytherins up when he had made seven saves. Two of those saves, not one, but two of them, were spectacular. He had even made ten of our points when he blocked the quaffle from going in by flying to the other side and hitting it away with the end of his broomstick. It went so fast that no one wanted to get in its way. It went straight through the top goal post at the Hufflepuff end. I could tell all ready that even if we somehow lost, we would still have a party for that save.
I turned my attention to Harry, who still had not seen the snitch yet. All of a sudden, Harry flew down and across, to the other side of the field. The Hufflepuff seeker saw him, and dived as well, but Harry was all ready miles in front of him. As we watched Harry and the Hufflepuff seeker dive, all of the students in the stands held their breaths. Harry suddenly crashed into the ground, not being able to pull up out of the dive soon enough. We held our breaths even longer until Harry wearily held up the golden snitch which had his fingers clasped around it. We rooted and whistled as Madam Hooch hovered over him to see if he was okay.
“And that’s the game!” the announcer cried. “230-20, Gryffindor!” His voice was barely audible over the Gryffindor bellows. The students flooded down to the field to see the teams. Some Gryffindors carried Ron through the crowd as he grinned from ear to ear. When Madam Hooch announced that Harry was fine, another wave of students heaved Harry up and carried him as well. When they let him down, he spotted me and came over. Ron and Ginny were all ready well on their way back to the castle. He wrapped me up in a big soggy hug as he laughed.
“We won, Hermione!”
“I saw,” I said grinning. “You were great!” When I breathed, I breathed in that scent that solely belonged to Harry. It is a nice smell; it reminds me of being at home for Christmas, even though I haven’t done that in a while. It is hard to completely pin down what the smell reminds me of. It’s a mixture of all of the good things in life, like trips out into the country and going sledding in the winter.
As soon as we broke apart, Harry just as suddenly brought me into another lung-crushing hug. “I’m so happy!” he said.
“No way. I couldn’t tell,” I joked, but I barely managed to say it.
He let go of me and scratched his head sheepishly. “Whoops, sorry about that.”
“It’s no problem,” I said, rubbing my arms. “You almost suffocated me, but still, it’s no big deal,” I joked with a laugh.
We made our way inside as the rain fell slightly more than earlier. Everyone was soaking wet as we overflowed the Entrance Hall. It was nice and warm inside. The newly waxed hardwood floors were rapidly covered with rainwater and mud from our shoes. I could practically see the steam come out of Flich’s ears as we quickly went to our common rooms, not wanting to get in trouble with him.
When the Gryffindor crowd entered the common room, everyone congratulated the team. We weren’t about to have a party, especially since most of us had homework to do. It was only the afternoon, and any party would probably be held after dinner. I went up to the girls’ dormitory to grab my books. When I came downstairs into the common room, all of the students were doing homework. I took a seat on the cushioned ledge of the window and took out my Care of Magical Creatures book. Ron and Harry came over to me, still looking exhausted, with their books in hand.
“Can you help us with our homework, Hermione?” asked Ron.
“Sure,” I said. “But I’m not doing it for you. We can do it together.”
That response was accepted by both of them, and then we opened our books. As I flipped through the pages, the rain lightly tapped on the glass of the window. Rain has always been very calming for me. A cold breeze occasionally slipped through, but thankfully, there was the fire in the fireplace providing the warmth.
“Okay,” Ron started. “‘Question one: What kind of species is the Golden Snidget?’”
“Bird,” Harry replied automatically.
“Impressive,” said Ron.
Harry laughed. “Don’t count on it. That’s pretty much all I know about it.” Harry looked down at his paper and said, “Okay, my turn. ‘Question two: What are the properties of the Golden Snidget that make it different from other species of bird?’”
“Well,” I said as I began to write on my parchment, “The Golden Snidget is a fast flier with remarkable capabilities in changing direction at a given time. It is completely round and has a long, thin beak and the Golden Snidget has red eyes.”
“Hmmm, that sounds like one weird bird,” Ron said. “How come I haven’t seen any around?”
“They’re extremely rare,” I replied. “They even have sanctuaries for them around the world.”
“That makes sense,” said Harry as we all finished writing.
“‘Question three:’” I started, “‘why did the Golden Snidget almost become extinct and what have we done now to help them survive?’”
There was a long silence.
“Ron, it’s your question,” Harry said.
Ron flipped through some pages and then read out of the book, “‘The Golden Snidget's feathers and eyes are so highly prized that it was at one time in danger of being hunted to extinction by wizards.’” He stopped, comprehending what he just read. “Gross!” he exclaimed. “So wizards used to go around catching these things and then they’d pluck their feathers off, pop their eyes out, throw the rest of them to the ground and say ‘Have a nice day?’” he said making a disgusted face.
Harry laughed as he was writing. “That is pretty gross,” he agreed.
“It’s true, though,” I said. “Ron, there’s still another part to the question…” I said, trailing off, leaving him room to answer.
“Right,” he said, scanning the rest of the chapter on the Golden Snidget. “Well, there’s worldwide sanctuaries like Hermione said, and if you either capture or injure one, you’ll get a severe penalty,” he said summing it up.
We wrote that down and Ron read the next question. “‘Question four: What modern pastime is affected by the existence of the Golden Snidget?’”
“Um…pass?” Harry said.
I chuckled. “You of all people, Harry. Quidditch, of course!”
“Really?” he asked.
Ron rolled his eyes. “Golden Snitch…Golden Snidget… It might just be me, but they sound a bit alike, don’t they?”
Harry clapped a hand to his forehead as it dawned on him. “Well, that makes sense,” he said to himself as he scribbled it down.
Ron and I shared a knowing look as we grinned.
When we finished all of our homework, it was time for dinner. None of the Gryffindors ate very much, for the obvious reason. They were saving their appetite for the party that was bound to happen. Even I only ate a few bites of my food. Why not join in the celebrations, right?
After dinner was over, the Gryffindors charged up the stairs to start the party. When we got into the common room, Dean Thomas had all ready hung up his large Gryffindor banner, and Neville had gone down into the kitchens to get all of the food, which he made float behind him in the air. All kinds of food were presented to us hungry students on a few tables that someone nicked out of a random storage closet.
One student I recognized as one of Ginny’s friends stood up on a chair holding a butterbeer and shouted, “To the best bloody quidditch team in the entire school!”
Everyone roared in agreement and then everyone killed each other to get to the food. I stayed with Harry, Ron, and Ginny, who were continuously getting clapped on the back (especially Harry and Ron, the two stars of today’s game). The grins on the team member’s faces spread from ear to ear. Not only that, but it was dreadfully contagious. I found myself grinning along with them as did everyone else.
The noise of the party was incredible. Balloons were being popped and everyone seemed to be shouting at the top of their lungs.
“Having fun?” Ginny asked me as we got some more food.
“WHAT?” I shouted. “IT’S TOO LOUD! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”
“ARE. YOU. HAVING. FUN?” Ginny said, shouting out each word separately. Even then, I could barely hear her.
I nodded. It was the most fun I’ve had in a while. Someone popped a balloon in my face as confetti and streamers burst out of it, covering me with a variety of colors. I saw Harry grin, holding the burst balloon.
“WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?” I shouted, trying to be heard above the noise.
“I WAS TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION WHICH IS CLEARLY IMPOSSIBLE IN HERE, ISN’T IT?” Harry shouted back.
Just then, Professor McGonagall burst through the door. Everyone who noticed immediately shut up. But then again, that was only a couple people. Barely anyone noticed.
“Children!” she shouted, wearily.
No one responded.
“CHILDREN!!!” Her voice barely carried across to where Harry, Ginny, and I were, which was only three feet away.
She noticed us standing there and said, “Nice job out there Potter. And you too Ms. Weasley. It’s thanks to you that I still have that cup in my classroom. Don’t lose it for me.”
Harry and Ginny obviously didn’t hear what she said, but they nodded anyways.
“DO YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF THIS?” she shouted to us, referring to the party.
“DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT THEY WILL LISTEN TO ME?” Harry shouted back.
Professor McGonagall just sighed, without putting up a fight. She looked a bit flustered as if she was having a party herself.
“OKAY THEN. JUST AS LONG AS YOU’RE NOT LATE TO CLASS TOMORROW!” she shouted as she closed the door. We could tell that she wasn’t actually mad. Filch probably sent her up here to shut us up. I guess she'd have to tell him it was a failed mission, then.
Harry gave us all another round of butterbeer as he drank all of his bottle in a few gulps.
A game of limbo started up in the middle of the room. They were using a long wooden coat rack as the limbo pole.
“Limbo!” Harry shouted out. “One of the best games ever!”
I watched him as he went to the end of the line.
“Oh, come on Hermione!” he shouted as he noticed I hadn’t followed him. He came back and took my hand, dragging me with him to the end of the line.
“You must have had too much butterbeer, Harry,” I said. “I’m not going to limbo.”
“I have not,” Harry said with a straight face as he went under the pole. “And you must!” he said, beckoning to me from the other side.
I stood there and shook my head.
“Come on Hermione!” people shouted behind me. “You’re holding up the line!” some people yelled.
I sighed loudly and went under the pole as well. Harry clapped as we went to the end of the line.
“Now was that too hard?” he asked jokingly as I shook my head.
By this time, the pole was at medium height and everyone was singing a Weird Sisters song for the limbo music. I had to admit, it was really fun and it loosened me up a lot.
Now it had gotten to the hard part. The coat rack…I mean the limbo pole…had reached an all time low and everyone who was left was getting out now. In front of me, Harry’s nose had touched the pole, and that got him out.
“Come on Hermione! You can do it!” he shouted.
I closed my eyes. This probably wasn’t going to be pretty. When I opened them again, surprise, surprise, I made it! I won the game! That was the first semi-athletic game I had ever won!
“Woo, Hermione!” people cheered. I laughed.
Harry hugged me for the third time this day. This was weird since he normally isn’t the hugging type of person.
“I’m not hugging you too tightly this time, am I?” he said with a smile.
I grinned and shook my head. It was actually quite nice. Again, for the third time this day, Harry completely filled my senses. I flung my arms around his neck and shouted, “I won!” into his ear.
“And the prize for the Limbo Queen!” someone shouted as two people heaved a bucket of melted ice (really, really cold water) on my head and Harry’s head. I drew a long, shuddering gasp as the water went down my back. I suddenly felt numb, and Colin Creevy was snapping pictures.
“A fitting prize,” Harry said. “I’m glad I got to share it with you,” he said with a grin.
Right at this moment, I am still soaked, and the party is still going on. It hasn’t gone down at all. Everyone is still as hyped up as before, even though it is obviously very late into the night. That limbo game was the highlight of tonight, though. Maybe it was butterbeer that messed with my instincts. I know I should be sleeping, but I don’t feel like sleeping right now. I do know one thing, though. The next time someone asks me what to do when they’re feeling down, or sad, or bored, I’ll just tell them that all they need is a little limbo. Hey, look! Another game is starting!
- H. Granger