Harry's broom careened to a halt as his conscious thoughts finally caught up to his unconscious grumblings. The storm had blanketed the grounds and masked the fog and cold of the Dementors. Harry had only seen them massing thanks to his height and continued circling for the Snitch. Flipping around, Harry peered into the darkness a short ways away only to see it moving. The horrible creatures were assembled and pushing towards the pitch in the middle of the game. Harry's eyes widened and he turned his Nimbus seeking out the box with McGonagall. He had…to…tell…
Not Harry! Please, not Harry!
"Well, bugger…" Harry muttered as the screams filled his head and he slid off the broom's side. As the wind whipped past his ears, Harry heard a dim roar of panic rise from the crowd. Harry slipped into unconsciousness thanking god that at least the people had noticed the Dementors.
Harry woke to a bland white ceiling hanging over him. A very familiar bland white ceiling. And a weight pressed against his side, trapping his arm.
Turning, Harry squinted and could make out brown hair splayed over the bed next to him. He smiled slightly and said, "Hey, Hermione. Any idea where my glasses are?"
The head leaning beside him shifted slightly. A dull murmur of protest rose before she twisted towards him. Hermione's blurry face centered on Harry's and suddenly she was a lot clearer as she jerked upright and leaned over him. "Harry! You're awake! Hang on, I have your glasses right here." Reaching off to the side, Hermione grabbed his glasses from the table and slipped them onto his face.
"Jeez, Harry, can't you even play a game like normal people?" Daphne snarked from the other side of his bed.
"I don't think 'normal' really means the same thing in Harry's personal dictionary, Daph," Tracey commented with a smirk.
"Perhaps 'normal' is another synonym for 'danger' or 'risking death' for Harry?" Luna asked in an airy voice, a faint smile on her lips.
"Hey, I've said it before and I'll say it again: worst good luck ever," Neville pronounced with a laugh from near Hermione.
"Nobody got hurt from the Dementors did they?" Harry asked looking between his five friends. He saw Shiva slumped across a bed across the way. "And is Shiva okay?"
Hermione smiled. "You're the one waking up in the hospital wing. Again. And the first thing you ask is if everyone else is okay." She shook her head. "What are we going to do with you, Harry."
"Technically, Hermione, the first thing he asked was where his glasses were. The nobility actually came second this time," Daphne said. "I think we're making progress even if it is incremental."
"Nah," Neville waved of her judgment. "He's got to be able to see to run off and save everyone. Doesn't really count."
"Is anyone going to answer my question?" Harry grumbled.
"No, no one was hurt besides you, Harry," Tracey said shaking her head. "Shiva is over there sleeping because she and a lot of the other Professors were busy casting Patroni to get the Dementors to back off. Hers was…a little more powerful than most of the others. Madam Pomfrey told her to rest to recover some of her stamina."
"Why was hers…"
Hermione shook her head. "We all saw you fall, Harry. You were very lucky. Professor Flitwick was close to you as you slipped off the broom and his quick relaxes let him hit you with an arresto momentum before you had picked up enough speed to receive more than bruises." Harry nodded and she continued, "Shiva was quite perturbed at the Dementors for nearly causing your death. Again. She was very enthusiastic with pushing them back. Professor Dumbledore told us all afterwards that they were likely drawn by the large crowd at the game."
"Oh," Harry said. "So is it rescheduled then?"
The group sadly shook their heads. "Sorry, Harry," Neville said mournfully. "Just before you fell, Cedric caught the Snitch. He didn't even realize something was wrong until the Professors starting jumping over the stands to get at the Dementors. He's been apologizing to everyone he could find about it. Even Oliver told him to shut up and that he doesn't blame him. You might want to talk to him later."
"Yeah. Guess I should." Harry sighed. While it sucked losing, he really couldn't complain considering how miserable the game had been anyway.
"Harry…" Hermione said. Harry turned back to her and saw her expression pinched and she was wringing her hands. His insides clenched. "Everybody was so focused on the Dementors that…well nobody really thought about your broom." His eyes widened and his breath hitched. "We tried to save it but…the winds pushed it into the Whomping Willow and by the time we realized it…I'm sorry Harry…"
Harry flopped back down into the bed. 'Bugger.' Careful to make sure his voice was steady, he asked, "Does anyone think I could sue the Ministry to pay for a new broom?" His friends gave the sad little laughs he had been hoping for. It may not be much, but it was something.
"Professor Lupin?" Harry asked knocking on the door to Remus' office. The man waved him inside and Harry sat down in the chair across from him.
"How can I help you, Harry?"
"Well, I could use some help, Sir…Also, I talked with Shiva about Halloween the other day. She…mentioned that you two got into a bit of a fight and that I should ask you about it first."
Remus sighed and pulled out a tea set. "Would you like some?" Harry shook his head. Remus poured a bit for himself and leaned back into the chair. "Did Bathsheda tell you the general subject of our disagreement?"
"No, but it's not too hard to figure out that it was about me."
"It was, but probably not in the way you are thinking, Harry. I…have not made the best of choices in the past decade. Your guardian drilled that into me rather effectively the other night. First allow me to apologize for the boggart incident. I should not have frozen like that. I simply never expected to see a student's boggart manifest as a teacher. Especially not one they are known to like."
"It's fine, Professor," Harry said waving that off. "I wanted to face the boggart. One of my friends actually tripped you up to make sure I could."
Remus' eyebrows rose. "Really?" he chuckled. "No wonder I tripped. Well whoever it was, congratulate them for me would you? That was a delightfully subtle little prank."
"I will. Anyway, it wasn't your fault. I figured my boggart would be weird and I'm a little embarrassed about how poorly I handled it. I do think I'm going to let others stick to dealing with them in the future though."
"There is certainly no shame in that, Harry," Remus said nodding to the boy. "Now, as to what Bathsheda and I argued about….I knew your parents, Harry." Harry's gaze jerked up and a lot of the humor in his expression visibly drained away. "I was quite close to your father actually. We were best friends during the majority of our schooling."
"Like with Sirius Black?" Harry asked.
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