The Match
~~~~~
“YES!” Ron yelled along with the rest of the Gryffindors as Hermione saved another goal. It was thirty minutes into the big game against Ravenclaw, and he was very nervous. He hated the suspense in any normal Quidditch match, but this was even worse. His two best friends were out on the field, and he didn’t have anyone to talk to that could take his mind off the game.
It did help some that Hermione was fairly good. If she missed every goal or something, it would have been pretty unbearable to watch. But she had been practicing almost every night, determined not to let him or the rest of the team down. She was doing a damn good job so far as he was concerned. But he was practically in love with her, so he was a tad biased.
“GRYFFINDOR SCORES!” Ron heard in the midst of the commentary. He usually liked to ignore what was being said and watch the game for himself, but sometimes that little Susie person could be pretty loud. Who would have thought such a tiny kid would have such a loud voice?
He watched even more nervously. They had to win the game, even by just one goal, if they wanted to go to the Quidditch final match. Ravenclaw was only up by thirty points, so they were okay for now. Hermione looked like she was starting to get a little fidgety, though. Harry needed to catch the snitch soon if he wanted to save the sanity of his Keeper. If she let the pressure get to her (why she would, Merlin only knew, since she never had any problems taking tests), she would start missing easy saves.
He couldn’t watch anymore. One of the Ravenclaw chasers was coming towards her at a not-so-nice speed, while a bludger was coming at the same pace to the exact spot she would need to be to block the throw.
He could tell that she was thinking, deciding whether to risk the bludger or let the goal in. In a very un-Hermione-like move, she took the crazy way and decided to chance it with the bludger. She did a very nice dive for such a beginner, and blocked the Quaffle, getting hit in the shoulder with in the process. Ron heard very loud cheering at the save, but it didn’t really register. He was looking to see if Hermione was okay. She seemed to be in pain, but she was handling it. It looked like she would be able to finish the game.
He looked over at Harry, relieved to find him in a steep dive. He was about to catch the snitch and end this madness. Ron saw his hands finally close on something that looked like a glint of gold.
‘They’ve done it!’ he thought, still in shock at how well the game had gone, ‘They won!’
He looked back over to Hermione and cried out as she fainted and fell off of her broom, tumbling at an alarming rate to the hard ground below.
Ron stared at her in disbelief as her body hit the grass. She wasn’t moving. Before he knew what he was doing, he was down on the pitch, sitting right next to her. She was very much unconscious. He took her hand in his, talking to her and praying that she would wake up. He loved her, dammit! He realized it the second he saw her fall, due to how scared he was of losing her. She was NOT going to die without knowing how he felt. Before he could do anything about it, he was shooed away by Madam Pomfrey.
He pushed through the crowd in an attempt to find Harry. It didn’t work. Instead, he ran to the hospital wing, knowing that Harry would be there shortly.
‘Well,’ he thought grimly as he waited, ‘I was right. She did finish the game. But she better live to brag about it, or Madam Pomfrey is going to get some arse-kicking.’
~~~~~
Madam Pomfrey finally came out after two hours to tell them that they could visit Hermione. Ron, Harry, and the rest of the Quidditch team were there to see her. They made a mad rush to the door, ignoring Madam Pomfrey’s cries of “Only five minutes! She needs her rest!”
Hermione was instantly bombarded with questions. Even she, the one who knew the answer to everything, was too overwhelmed to respond. Sensing this, the team said their congratulations on the game and their “get well soons” quickly. After a few minutes, they left, leaving Ron and Harry to talk to Hermione alone.
“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Harry said, a hint of relief in his voice.
“Me too,” Ron added. “We were afraid for a while that you were. . .”
“But I’m not, so stop worrying. That’s my job.” she said with a grin.
Forcing a weak smile at her joke attempt, Ron asked, “So what happened, anyway?”
“I’m not really sure, but I think I was in too much pain from the bludger, and I was really worried that we wouldn’t win and I would have let everyone down. I ignored it all during the game, but once Harry caught the snitch and ended it, I lost it. The pain and the stress got to me and I fainted. Luckily I wasn’t too high up when it happened. I only have a sprained shoulder, a minor concussion, and a few bruises.”
They sat talking for a few more minutes before the nurse kicked Ron and Harry out.
The could hear shouts of “The patient needs her rest!” following them down the halls.
~~~~~
On to Out of the Hell Hole-->
Back to The Insane Bet
