He couldn't believe it, "God damn Lucius Malfoy..."
Hermione was crying at this point, "Why?"
"Because the Malfoy's are spiteful of Hagrid, of Dumbledore, and of Hogwarts... I've got some reading to do in the first month of Summer Break," Jake said, they both decided to return to Hogwarts for the day.
"What kind of reading?" Hermione asked him, her eyes red from crying, eyes still leaking.
"Any book I can about the Ministry... They are bound to have books on Voldemort and his followers as well," Jake had a vengeful look in his eye.
The rest of the walk was spent in silence as they trudged back to Hogwarts. They got back to Gryffindor Tower, Jake keeping his eye on the Security Trolls, and both sat in the Common Room. Hermione was about to write a response to Hagrid when the Portrait hole opened again, and in walked Harry and Ron. Hermione stood up, letter in hand, and walked up to them, "Come to have a good gloat?" Ron asked with a sneer, "Or have you been to tell McGonagall on us?"
Jake stood up, watching them closely, "No," he heard Hermione say, "I just thought you ought to know... Hagrid lost his case... Buckbeak is going to be executed..."
She handed the letter to them and Harry took it, "They can't do this, they can't! Buckbeak isn't dangerous!"
"Malfoy's dad frightened the Committee into it," Hermione said and wiped her eyes of the tears that had appeared, "You know what he's like... they're a bunch of Doddery Old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal, there always is. Only, I can't see any hope in it... nothing will have changed..."
"Yeah, it will," Ron said fiercely, "You and Jake won't have to do all of the work this time, I'll help."
"Oh, Ron," her tears came back with a vengeance, "Thank you!"
Ron looked over at Jake a moment, and was met with a glare, "J-ake, I-I'm sorry... I've been a right prat."
"Yeah, you have," Jake walked up behind Hermione's left shoulder, "but it's not me you need to apologize to."
Ron turned to Hermione, "Hermione, I am really sorry for saying all of those nasty things, and treating you so badly..."
"Don't worry... I-I too am sorry... a-about Scabbers..." she stuttered out.
"Oh, well, he was old... and was rather useless... who knows, maybe mum and dad will get me an Owl now?" Ron looked like he was trying to move past the hostilities, "So... a-are we good?" He was looking at Jake when he asked.
He just glared at him a moment before talking, "I will tolerate you for now, Weasley. You're going to have to prove to me that being friends again is worth it... but for what it's worth, I also apologize for being as harsh as I was with you."
"Eh, it's alright, I'm glad we can at least get to where we are," Ron managed a smile.
*******
Because of the new security measures in place because of Sirius Black, it was nigh impossible for the Quartet to go and see Hagrid in the evening, which made talking to him in Care of Magical Creatures their only chance to do so.
Hagrid was, in all honesty, a blubbering mess. His lessons were barely functional because of his unenthused attitude. He just didn't have the mojo to talk to them the entire class. He did keep blaming himself, though, and the four of them kept saying it wasn't over.
They started walking back up to the Castle, Hagrid followed them a bit before turning around and hurrying back towards his cabin, his face buried in his handkerchief.
"Look at him blubber!" Malfoy yelled, as he, Crabbe, and Goyle all stood just inside the Castle Doors, "Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic? And he's supposed to be our teacher!"
Jake watched as Hermione picked up speed in her pace towards Draco, who showed no signs of caring. She managed to surprise Jake even when she punched Malfoy right in the nose, "Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul - you evil - you-"
"Hermione!" Ron said weakly, trying to grab her hand as she readied the swing for round two.
"Get off , Ron!" She shook him off and pulled her wand out, aiming it right at Malfoy's throat.
Crabbe and Goyle didn't dare to try and stop her with Jake there, "C'mon," Malfoy said as they scurried away into the dungeons.
" Hermione !" Ron said again, sounding both stunned and impressed.
"Harry, you better beat him in the Quidditch Final!" Hermione said shrilly, "You just better, because I can't stand it if Slytherin wins!" She then turned to Jake, "If you have to take over for him, you better beat him as well!"
"Come on, we're due in Charms," Ron said, still staring bewilderedly at Hermione.
They began walking and Jake found himself waking up in the Common Room, "What? What time is it?" He asked himself, yawning, as he looked at his watch. He widened awake when he saw it, "Hermione!" He yelled, looking over to see her asleep. He went beside her to shake her, "Hermione! Hermione, wake up!"
"Wha-?" She asked as she was stirred from her slumber.
"We're due in Charms in two minutes!" He was quickly gathering his and her stuff up.
"What!?" She helped him gather it all up and they hurried out of the Common Room to head for Charms Class. They walked into Class after a few minutes of jogging, "Sorry we're late, Professor, we had to-"
"Never mind that, pair off with Mr. Fernandes, we are experimenting with the Cheering Charm today," Flitwick said.
Hermione looked around and saw that everyone was looking at them, but not in a casual way, and when she stopped a second to think about it, it didn't look at all how it should. They looked disheveled and were late for class, 'Naturally, there is only one thing people would assume from this,' she thought as she and Jake went to a table, her face burning from the embarrassment. They had been in such a rush, they forgot to make themselves look presentable.
After Charms was Divination, and Hermione was quite honestly not looking forward to the class. She had trouble admitting it to herself, but deep down, she knew she'd taken on too much, and even deeper down, she knew Jake had as well. They all climbed the ladder into the dim, stifling tower room. Glowing on every little table were four Crystal Balls full of pearly white mist. The four of them sat down at the same rickety table, "I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term?" Ron asked in a mutter, casting wary eyes around for Professor Trelawney.
"Don't complain, this means we've finished palmistry," Harry muttered back to him, "I was getting sick of her flinching every time she looked at my hands, and I'm sure Jake was getting sick of it when she almost fainted every time she looked at his."
"Good day to you!" Said the familiar, misty voice of Trelawney. She made her usual dramatic entrance out of the shadows. Parvati and Lavender quivered with excitement, and then Jake placed his hand to his mouth.
"I think I threw up a little," he said quietly.
"I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I had planned," Trelawney said, seating herself with her back to the fire and gazing around, "The fates have informed me that your examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you sufficient practice."
Hermione snorted; she couldn't help herself with how ridiculous that was, "Well, honestly... 'The fates have informed her'... who sets the exams? She does! What an amazing prediction!" She didn't even bother keeping her voice down, she was almost done with Trelawney and her rambling of predictions and whatnot.
Jake glanced over at Trelawney, but because her face was shrouded in shadow, it was hard to tell whether she heard or not, even though everyone in class likely heard Hermione. She continued on, however, "Crystal-gazing is a particularly refined art," Trelawney said dreamily, "I do not expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's infinite depths. We shall start by practicing relaxing the conscious mind and external eyes, so as to clear the Inner Eye and the superconscious. Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of you will See before the end of the class."
And so they began to gaze into the Crystal Ball. Jake wondered briefly for a moment if what he saw would be the same for the others, but this was magical and likely not the case, so he removed the thought from his mind and relaxed. He felt mildly ridiculous, but never let the thought enter his mind. Eventually he did see something in his Crystal Ball, it wasn't exactly what he'd hoped to see, either; the Grayish smoke changed and was split into two colors. Red Smoke on one half and Black Smoke on the other. He consulted his book and wasn't that surprised at what he read; the Red smoke symbolized Danger to Come and the Black smoke symbolized Death at the hands of the Gazer. Honestly, it didn't fill him with good feelings.
"Seen anything, yet?" Harry asked after a quarter of an hour crystal gazing.
"Yeah, there's a burn on this table," Ron said quietly, pointing to it, "Someone's spilled their candle."
"This is such a waste of time," Hermione hissed, "I could be doing something more useful with my time, like researching more into Arithmancy-"
Professor Trelawney rustled past, "Would anyone like me to help them interpret the shadowy portents within their Orb?" She murmured over her clanking bangles.
"I don't need help," Ron said, barely above a whisper, "It's obvious what this means, there's going to be loads of Fog tonight."
Harry, Hermione, and Jake all busted out in laughter.
"Now, really!" Professor Trelawney said, drawing the attention of everyone in the classroom. Both Parvati and Lavender were looking scandalized, "You are disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!" She approached their table and gazed into Harry's Ball, because of course, "There is something here... something moving..." she whispered as she got closer and closer to his Crystal Ball, "but what is it?"
Jake actually looked at his watch, predicting in five seconds she would get to what it was.
"My dear," she breathed as she looked up at Harry, "It's here, plain as day... my dear, stalking towards you, drawing ever closer... the Gr -" Five Seconds exact.
"Oh, for goodness sake!" Hermione basically yelled, "Not that ridiculous Grim again !"
Professor Trelawney raised her head to look at Hermione, but one glance in that direction brought her eyes to Jake's Crystal Ball. She didn't have to get close to see what was in it. The moment she did see it, she fell backwards, pushing herself away from their table.
"Oh, what now ?" Hermione asked, getting impatient.
"My dear... the Harbinger... reality as we know it will be torn apart by his power!" Trelawney yelled in fright.
No one really knew how to react, though Parvati and Lavender were on the edge of their seats. Trelawney spoke again, voice still fearful, "How did I not see it before? You are HIS descendant!" This confused Jake, because he thought all of the teachers were aware of his ancestry, except for Lockhart, who only cared about his public image, "You are Merlin's Descendant!"
Jake paled. 'Did she really just... did she just...' He didn't know what to think. Trelawney really just outed him as Merlin's Descendant, and he couldn't believe it.
"Your power... you will be our Doom!" Trelawney yelled.
Jake suddenly stood up, the chair he was in skidding backwards a foot. He glared at her with his singular eye before he packed up his stuff, not even bothering to move the chair back in place. He swung his bag over his shoulder, knocking the Crystal Ball from its place and onto the floor, proving to be shatter-proof.
Hermione watched him walk over to the trapdoor to leave, and before he got there, it flung open on its own, tearing off the hinges. She knew that he was aware that if he didn't leave, he was going to do something he would regret. Trelawney just exposed the one thing Jake and Dumbledore both wanted kept under wraps. Hermione herself was about to stand up and follow him out when Lavender spoke up, "Ooooooh! Professor Trelawney! I've just remembered! You saw him leaving, didn't you? Didn't you, Professor? ' Around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever! ' You said it ages ago, Professor!"
Trelawney gave a dewy smile, "Yes, my dear, I did indeed know that Mr. Fernandes would be leaving us. One hopes, however, that one might have mistaken the Signs... the Inner Eye can be a burden, you know..."
Hermione looked at Lavender and Parvati and they looked deeply impressed, and moved over so Trelawney could join their table instead. Hermione smirked to herself, she was leaving as well, but she was going to have some fun with it, "Professor Trelawney?"
Trelawney looked up and stood back up, "Yes, Miss Granger? What is it I can do for you?"
"You said 'one' of us was leaving, is that correct?" Hermione asked her.
"Yes, I said 'one' of us would leave, do you dispute that?" Trelawney began to smirk.
"What are you getting at, Hermione? She was right, Jake left. For the better I say," Lavender said seethingly. She seemed to have not gotten over the way Jake spoke to her back in October.
Hermione glared at Lavender, "I just wanted to make sure I didn't mishear Professor Trelawney when she said 'one' of us was leaving," Hermione looked back to Trelawney, and when realization began to dawn on her face, Hermione smirked again, "Because it's actually 'two' that will be leaving," she gathered up her stuff and made her way to the trapdoor as well, "Oh, and Lavender," she turned to face the girl, "it is for the better Jake left, because now he can focus on more important studies that isn't just a bunch of guesswork," she spat at the girl and descended the ladder, following after her best friend. On her way down, she got to thinking, 'Was Lavender the one who sent him that acid spewing letter?' As much as she wanted to, she didn't bring it up to him at all, just in case she was wrong.
*******
On the First day of Easter Holiday, Jake and Hermione were sitting in the Common Room, doing homework, loads of homework that their Professors had set out for them. It was no big deal now that Divination and Muggle Studies had both been dropped by Jake. Hermione also dropped Muggle Studies after he made the compelling argument that they weren't learning anything useful in the class. The stress was lifted off of them both and it was wonderful, but even with the loss of two classes, many of them still overlapped, meaning the Time-Turner was still necessary. Next year they should be able to have three of the five electives and not need it.
Hermione had just finished with a Potions Essay when she looked up at Jake and didn't quite know what to say. The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff that were in their class, except for Harry and Ron, didn't know about Jake's ancestry. She had heard in the last Muggle Studies she went to, before she dropped it, from Justin that it had spread in the Hufflepuff Common Room. For someone at Hogwarts to be related to the Greatest Wizard to ever live was something of importance. It was safe to assume that Hufflepuff had spread the news to Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and trying to get them to not talk about it would be a near impossible task.
Jake storming out instead of refuting the claim Trelawney made didn't help his case, either. Hermione understood that he was frustrated and possibly angry at the Divination Professor for doing what she did.
All of the Weasley's had already known, so it was no shock to them, and they were the only Gryffindor aside from Harry and Hermione to be aware of it. They hadn't treated him any different, not from what Hermione could tell.
One thing she noticed, much to her chagrin, was that even more girls outside of Gryffindor were looking at him for longer than necessary. It was a different look than one that the guy students gave him; the girls gave him ones of either desire, admiration, or longing. She was aware they all basically meant the same, but they were varying degrees of the same meaning was how she justified it.
One girl who didn't give Jake any different sorts of looks was Katie; Hermione saw that Katie gave him the look she always did, which meant him being related to Merlin had no effect on how she viewed him, which Hermione both appreciated and loathed her for.
"Jake?" She spoke up after several minutes of staring at him.
"Yeah?" He glanced up at her.
"Do you want to talk? A-About..." She lost her confidence in saying it.
"No... no I don't," he said in a despondent tone.
Hermione's heart hurt for him. She wanted to help, she just didn't know how. She watched him as he translated some Runes in some of the homework she hadn't done yet. It was currently breakfast time, but Hermione had skipped Breakfast as Jake didn't go down there when she made to do so herself. She looked at her watch, "Breakfast will still be served for another twenty minutes, do you want me to go get you something?"
"If you want to," he said, not looking up at her.
She looked at him sadly. She knew what she wanted to do to try and make him feel better, but it wasn't something Best Friends did. She walked down the staircases and through the corridors to get to the Great Hall, when she realized it was April, "Oh... I missed his Birthday..." Next Hogsmeade trip, or over the Summer, she'd get him something.
She walked into the Great Hall and many eyes turned to her. She looked around for a moment and went to the Gryffindor Table to gather some food to take back. Harry and Ron asked her if he was okay, "Hermione, how's he doing?"
"Well, he doesn't want to talk about it, if that tells you anything," she said, holding herself together for her best friend. She wanted to cry, but she wasn't going to let herself. She made her way out, the talking of the students not being subtle, and she was sure they talked louder just so they could. She did her best to ignore them, and when she made it outside the Great Hall, she was stopped.
"Hermione?" She turned and saw Logan standing there.
"Oh... hello... I-Ivan..." she said, a bit startled by his appearance.
"Is he okay?" Logan asked her.
"He will be," she could feel her eyes misting. One blink would send a tear down her face, and she didn't want that to happen.
"You know, given my own ancestry, which I haven't exactly kept secret... but I'm not related to the strongest Wizard to ever live, I'm just related to Arthur Pendragon... did you know he was a Squib?" Logan asked her.
"No, I didn't know that," she said, honestly intrigued.
"Yeah, he was born into a family of Wizards, but his memory was wiped of anything to do with Wizard-kind, that's what my parents have told me at least. They also believe that if it wasn't for Merlin being Arthur's advisor, he may not have lived long enough to produce a child," Logan told her.
"I wonder if Jake knew about that...?" She asked herself, "Well, I guess I should get back to him so he doesn't start to worry."
"You like him, don't you?" He suddenly asked her.
She couldn't see it, but her cheeks were turning red, "Wh-What?"
"You like him, I could tell when we last spoke. He's basically just a Male Version of You, and I believe that to be the draw you have," he said with a smirk, knowing he was right.
Hermione just looked at him a moment longer, before turning around and walking away. She didn't want to be rude to him, but he knew almost exactly how she felt. She didn't like him, though, and she already admitted that to herself.
She got back to the Common Room with the Breakfast and set it down on the table, "Let's take a short break, we've got all Holiday to finish it, but I know we won't take the entire Holiday."
"Especially now that we've dropped Muggle Studies and the single-handedly most useless class in this school. I should've never taken Divination... especially if I knew that was going to happen..." he said and took a plate of food, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she smiled a moment, "No, if I had known that was going to happen, I don't think I'd have let you stay in that class," she began to eat. "What do you think Dumbledore is going to do about it?"
"Who knows... he may not do anything as the damage has already been done..." he began to eat as well.
They spent the rest of the first day of the Holiday working on Homework in the Common Room. Some of the girls when they entered squealed upon seeing him, but then just stayed in their little group, most likely talking about him, and Hermione did not like it.
On the second day of Break, Seamus was heard raging about how they were supposed to be on Holiday and that the exams were ages away. Hermione silently agreed they were two months away, but it was never too early to work on preparations.
Ron had taken over the research for Buckbeak's appeal, giving Jake and Hermione some relief in that regard.
Jake also had to squeeze in Quidditch Practice along with his mountainous homework, but that wasn't much of a problem. Oliver did constantly remind him and Harry how the match would be riding on them. Mainly Harry, but if Jake had to fill in again, it would be up to him. Oliver also expressed with great emphasis that they had to be up by Fifty Points before the Snitch could be caught, otherwise they'd lose the Cup. It got on Harry's nerves to the point where he yelled at Oliver that he understood.
Gryffindor House in its entirety was obsessed with the upcoming match. Gryffindor had apparently not won the Quidditch Cup since Ron's second oldest Brother, Charlie, had been Gryffindors Seeker. They would have won in their First Year if Harry hadn't been out of it, and they most likely would've won last year had it not been canceled, but this year, nothing was in their way to stop them. If any Dementors showed up for whatever reason, Jake and Harry both were capable of taking them on.
The House relations between Gryffindor and Slytherin were never great, but they were especially worsened with how much was riding on this final match of the year. It had been strained to a breaking-point by the time Easter Holiday had ended. Not long after, a number of small scuffles broke out in the corridors across several days leading up to the match, resulting in a few Hospital Wing visits. One such incident involved a Fourth-Year Gryffindor and a Sixth-Year Slytherin winding up there with Leeks sprouting out of their ears.
Hermione noticed that the Slytherin would try to trip up Harry wherever he went, but because Jake usually wasn't far behind, they didn't dare try anything, especially with the newfound knowledge of him being of Merlin's Bloodline. Logan tried to keep them from even attempting to, but he could only do so much to keep them in-line. Hermione wouldn't say it out loud, but she was thoroughly looking to the final match of the Year.
*******
Jake had awoken later than usual and found that he was actually the last one out of the Common Room. He found it odd that not even Hermione waited for him, but he was sure there was a good reason for that. He walked out of the Tower and made his way to the Great Hall. The moment he walked in, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff began clapping for his entrance, which caught him off guard. He eyed them before realizing that between Gryffindor and Slytherin, obviously they wanted Gryffindor to win. He gave a brief smile before going to find Hermione, ignoring the Slytherin hissing at him.
He sat down beside his Bushy Haired best friend, "Morning, you ready for the game?" He asked her.
She smiled as she looked at the book in front of her, but she didn't say a word. "Harry," he heard a familiarly dreamy voice. He looked up and saw Luna standing behind Harry, "I just wanted to say good luck in your match against Slytherin. Gryffindor really is counting on you as their Seeker," she looked at Jake next, "Jake, if you end up having to play in Harry's stead, I wish you the best of luck, even though I know you don't need it," she gave him a friendly smile and strode off back to her seat.
"One of a kind, she is," he smiled as he watched her.
"Hermione," Jake heard Seamus speak to her.
"Hmm?"
"I know it's a bit after the fact, but the other day, when you and Jake walked into Charms Class late, looking the way you did, what was that about?" The Irish boy asked.
Hermione felt her face heat up, "It's not at all what you think! We had to rush back to the Common Room because we had forgotten something for Charms," she tried to explain. She could tell Seamus didn't believe her, and anyone listening to her didn't believe her either.
Oliver then had the team, minus Jake, head out of the Great Hall, "Probably to get an idea of what the Conditions are like," he said.
He saw Katie walk by him and she gave him a friendly smile. He smiled back and missed Hermione's glare. She didn't want to hate Katie, but with how flirty she was towards Jake, Hermione couldn't help it. On the bright side, the talks of him being related to Merlin had died down, but no doubt still went on. Hermione wondered how long it would take for it to get out beyond the School.
Pretty soon, everyone was making their way towards the Stadium to watch the Match of the Decade take place. When they arrived the teams had, obviously, not made it out yet, but when they did show up, they were met with a tidal wave of noises. Three-quarters of the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor Lion upon them or brandishing banners with slogans reading 'GO GRYFFINDOR!' and 'LIONS FOR THE CUP!' Behind the Slytherin Goalposts, however, two hundred people were wearing green; the silver serpent of Slytherin glittered on their flags, and Professor Snape sat in the very front row, wearing green like everyone else, and a very grim smile.
"And here are the Gryffindors!" Lee Jordan yelled into his mic, "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best side Hogwarts has seen in a good few years-" his comments were drowned out by a tide of 'boos' from the Slytherin end, "And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the line-up and seems to be going for size rather than skill-" and more boos from the Slytherin Crowd.
Jake noticed that he wasn't wrong, because Draco was easily the smallest person on the team; the rest of them were enormous, but he doubted they were above average intelligence if they were anything like their two Beaters.
"Captains, shake hands!" Madam Hooch could be heard saying.
He saw Flint and Wood approach one another and grasped each other's hands tightly, almost like they were trying to break the other's fingers.
"Mount your brooms! Three... two... one..."
If her whistle made a sound, it was completely deafened by the crowd as it roared from fourteen brooms rising into the air. Jake immediately noticed that Malfoy was acting exactly as Chang did and simply followed Harry. Harry quickly sped off away from him, which was obvious in its speed as Malfoy, even on the Nimbus Two-Thousand and One, had a hard time keeping up.
"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no - Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the pitch - WHAM! - nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by - Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina - nice swerve around Montague - duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger! - SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"
Angelina was seen punching the air as she soared round the end of the stadium; the sea of scarlet below was screaming its delight- "AH!" Angelina yelled suddenly as Marcus Flint smashed into her, almost sending her off her broom.
"Leave it to Slytherin to play dirty!" Jake yelled, but only those immediately around him had heard him.
Flint was suddenly smashing his face into his broom handle and his nose had begun to bleed, "That will do!" Shrieked Madam Hooch, zooming between them, "Penalty to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"
Her whistle blew and Alicia flew forward to take the penalty shot. "Come on, Alicia!" Lee yelled into the silence that had befallen the crowd, "NO! SLYTHERIN KEEPER BLOCKS IT! TEN-ZERO, STILL TO GRYFFINDOR!" Lee had a slight edge to his voice, and no one missed it. Slytherin roared with cheer.
It wasn't even a bad throw, Pendragon was just that good of a Keeper, from what Jake could tell. Flint flew up to take the Slytherin Penalty shot. Flint threw it and Wood barely saved it, but the crowd of three-fourths of the stadium were cheering again.
Jake saw Katie in possession of the Quaffle after a few minutes, "Come on, Katie!" He yelled, even though he was almost certain she couldn't hear him. Suddenly, Slytherin Chaser Montague flew up on her and instead of seizing the Quaffle, he grabbed her head. She began to cartwheel in the air, but she managed to stay on, but dropped the Quaffle.
Madam Hooch's whistle was heard again as she soared over to Montague and began shouting at him, "You know, Quidditch needs some serious rule changes for people who deliberately do things like this. Shouting at them isn't going to get them to stop..." Hermione said beside Jake.
"I know, it's so ridiculous. If one game in 1473 can cause a myriad of rules and fouls to be put in place, surely they can add more," Jake said, frustrated.
Katie took a Penalty Shot, but this one got past Pendragon, giving Gryffindor Twenty Points.
The crowd cheered as Harry suddenly turned, soaring towards the Slytherin end of the stadium. Jake looked, but there was no Snitch in sight. He smirked as Harry had merely faked Malfoy out. Both of Slytherin's Beaters, Crabbe and Goyle, were hurtling towards him, and when he pulled up at the last second, they collided.
"Ha haaa!" Lee was heard yelling as they both lurched away from each other, clutching their heads, "Too bad, boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it's Gryffindor in Possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle - Flint alongside her - poke him in the eye, Angelina! It was a joke, Professor, it was a joke - oh, no - Flint in possession, Flint flying towards the Gryffindor goalposts, come on, now, Wood, save - HE SAVES IT!"
An eruption of cheer was heard as Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff began to cheer. Pretty soon, the match was going to take a turn for the worse. After Alicia scored another goal, faking Pendragon out again, the rest of Slytherin team had begun to play dirty, and this was why Jake and Hermione felt that deliberate dirty plays should be harsher on the offender, because just yelling at them wouldn't get them to stop. Goyle had hit Alicia with his Club, trying to say he thought she was a Bludger, which was an honestly poor excuse.
She took another Penalty Shot, but it was blocked that time by Pendragon. Gryffindor remained at Thirty Points, with Slytherin at Zero. The game went on until Gryffindor had achieved Sixty Points, leaving Slytherin at Ten. Harry saw the Snitch. Jake had seen it that time as well. It was funny to think that almost all of Gryffindor's points were from penalties, because they were not working out in Slytherin's favor.
The Snitch flew low to the ground, Harry was chasing it, his arm was stretched out, ready to grasp it - he was suddenly hit in his side, flung off his broomstick, which flew and landed safely on the ground. For good measure, Jake quickly stood up with his wand, just in case any Slytherin tried anything. He had missed, however, that Harry's glasses were thrown from his face. Goyle had hit the Bludger and sent it straight for the pair of glasses on the field. The Bludger impacted the floor, right where they were, shattering them completely. Boos were heard from Gryffindor, thundering from a quarter of the stadium.
Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signalling that the game was halted temporarily. Jake rushed down to the field, Hermione and Ron behind him, as they ran up to the team. When they got there, Alicia was holding Harry's glasses, but it was only the frames. "It's no good, Harry, we can't find the pieces," Wood said.
"Can't you just Reparo them?" Fred asked.
"There's nothing to repair them from, not enough pieces, and we can't waste time looking for the rest..." Wood answered the question. He turned to Jake, "Jake, I'm begging you to please, win us this match? Win us that Cup?"
"Let me go get dressed," Jake gave him a smirk and bolted for the changing room. Hermione watched him before going to collect Harry's Firebolt, which was thankfully unscathed.
She, Harry, and Ron returned to the Stands, "Can you see well enough to watch, Harry?"
"I should be fine," he was obviously furious at the Slytherin team, "just as long as we win."
Jake returned moments later, dressed in his Quidditch Robes, his own Firebolt in hand. He mounted the broom, as did every other player, and they flew off into the air as Hooch blew her whistle, restarting the game.
"After that brutish display against an innocent pair of glasses," Lee Jordan was heard saying, "Gryffindor Reserve Seeker Jake Fernandes is now playing, and while Harry is blind without his glasses, Jake is half-blind from missing an Eye, but as he proved in the match against Ravenclaw, that does not put him at a disadvantage!" Lee was excited to see the Match continue as Gryffindor was in the lead, "Reminder, Sixty-Ten in Gryffindors favor."
The match went on sluggishly to Jake as he flew around the stadium, looking for the Snitch. Malfoy tried to tail him, but because of how much faster Jake was on his Firebolt, he started to lag behind. The Chasers kept attempting shots, Keepers saved or missed, and the Beaters did their best to keep the Bludgers on the opposing team. An Overcast had begun to form in the sky with how long the game had gone on for.
Jake soon realized the score was Ninety-Forty, Gryffindors favor. He had to get that Snitch soon.
A glint of Gold caught his eye and he turned and raced ahead, seeing the Golden Snitch in front of him. Upon sensing the danger of being caught, it darted off, trying to keep away from him. Malfoy was on his tail, When the Snitch suddenly shot up. This was a familiar feeling; the Snitch did something similar last year. He chased after it, as did Malfoy, and the Snitch continued to climb. He had his hand outstretched, ready to grasp it, but it didn't feel like it was getting any closer. They soon approached high elevations, higher than what the Scottish Highlands already were. It was turning colder with each second he spent climbing after the Snitch. He looked behind him, but Malfoy had given up the chase. Jake had to hope Gryffindor stayed Fifty Points ahead of Slytherin, because he was catching the Snitch.
He felt his body growing colder, and time seemed to slow down for him. The Snitch didn't change course, but he felt himself slowing down.
'No! We are winning this match and that Cup!' He told himself. He shot forward, determined to catch that Golden Ball.
Hermione stood in the stands, hands over her mouth and nose as she waited impatiently for any sign of Jake. Gryffindor scored another goal and were Sixty Points ahead of Slytherin. She saw Malfoy fly back down moments ago, but Jake didn't show up, and Malfoy wasn't holding the Snitch, so at least Slytherin hadn't won.
"Do you see him?" She heard Harry ask.
"No... I don't know where he is... do you think he got the Snitch?" Ron answered and asked.
No one knew how to answer him. Lee Jordan kept commentating the game as normal, but even he kept glancing every now and then up at the sky.
Hermione's heart stopped when all of a sudden, a broom fell out through the clouds, but it dropped into her stomach when she realized Jake wasn't on it.
He soon breached the base of the overcast, spiraling out of control as he plummeted towards the ground. Hermione's heart was racing. She didn't know the spell to slow him down in the way he did with Harry.
Hermione saw Katie abandon the match and she flew up to Jake as he fell. She then turned and flew down at the speed he was falling, and she pulled him close to her. Just twenty feet before they hit the ground, she pulled up, but her broom still dropped a few feet from the added weight. Hermione was racing towards the pitch again, hoping to any divine being that he was okay. When she got to the field, she ran towards Katie and Jake as they were now on the ground.
The closer Hermione got, the easier it got to see the state Jake was in. He was frosted over and it appeared his skin had just started to change color. She was now a foot away from them and Katie was holding him closely to her in an effort to warm him up. Hermione honestly couldn't help the jealous feeling she felt upon seeing it.
More Gryffindor began flooding the field to check on their Seeker, most hoping he was okay, but some had more hoped he caught the Snitch.
"Come on, Jake, wake up!" Katie yelled. She pulled as close as possible to warm him up as much as she could.
His eye began to open ever so slightly. Even with an Overcast, he squinted when he tried to open his eye even more, the light seeping in from behind the clouds. He was shivering horribly when he was aware of his surroundings and his nerve-endings started working again. He wasn't aware of just how close he was to Katie, he was just glad there was some warmth he could use.
"Jake!" Hermione was kneeling down beside him, tears pouring from her eyes.
"Tell me..." he tried to speak, but it hurt his lungs with how on fire they felt. He pushed through the pain, though, "How much did we win by?"
"What are you-" Katie asked and he slowly lifted his hand with the Snitch struggling against his touch. Deafening roars of cheer could be heard from the field. The Team had all embraced him in a giant hug, lifting him into the air. He looked at Hermione and saw her beaming face that was stained with tears looking right at him. He didn't mean to give her, or anyone a scare like that, but he was damn determined to win the Cup. He looked and saw All of the Gryffindor faces around him, cheering and crying tears of complete joy and elation. He saw McGonagall, and she was sobbing the hardest he'd ever seen her. Oliver was crying as well, having finally won the Quidditch Cup in his last year at Hogwarts. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff crowd ran onto the field as well to congratulate Gryffindor on their hard fought victory.
With the combined efforts of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, the entire team, Harry included, was hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd. It was their victory just as much as it was Jake's. He was sure he was smiling like an absolute moron, but he didn't care one bit. The crowd carried the team towards one end of the Stadium where Dumbledore was standing, holding the enormous Quidditch Cup. Oliver accepted the Cup, admired it for a moment, before handing it to Jake and Harry; both of them holding it up high into the air, signaling that they were the Victors of this Quidditch Season. At that moment, no one in Gryffindor House could've been happier.