Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ And All For A Broomstick ❯ And All For A Broomstick ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor am I making any money off of this story. I cry.

 

The inspiration for this little blurb came from Arabella of sugarquill.net, from her fanfiction 'Hermione, Queen of Witches: Year Three'. Go read it, it's a great piece of work that really made me sympathize with Hermione's situation in PoA.

 

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This has not been a fun day.

 

I woke up this morning, all eager about the match today- a nice, exciting game of Quidditch, right? I got dressed, went down to breakfast, had a bit of bacon and eggs, and headed out to the pitch with the rest of the school, ready to relax after a week of classes and have a good time. Now I'm soaking wet, I've got mud splattered on the front of my robes, and my lip's bleeding from me biting it so hard. I can just hear my mum now: "Ginny Weasley! What have you been doing to your robes, they're filthy! Do you know how long it'll take me to get the mud out of them? And is that BLOOD on your face? You can just take yourself up to your room right now and clean up, young lady, and don't EVER let me catch you like this again! You're getting to be as bad as the twins, honestly!" Ugh.

 

And on top of it all, I still can't get near this stupid tree!

 

I should probably stop right now and explain what's going on, shouldn't I?

 

Well, like I said, there was a Quidditch match today, Gryffindor (that's us) against Hufflepuff. We were SUPPOSED to be playing Slytherin, but those dirty sneaks chickened out. Said that their Seeker, Draco Malfoy, had an injury and couldn't play, but it was obvious that he was faking it- I mean, he's had that ''injury'' for about two months now, and Madam Pomfrey can heal a broken arm in about five minutes, come on- they just didn't want to risk playing in this weather, because it's been horrid outside for the last few days, our class got drenched just going to the greenhouses for Herbology yesterday. And it was even worse today at the actual match. We couldn't even hear the commentary over all the thunder and rain, and the wind was blowing so hard I'm amazed the players weren't thrown off their brooms- well, that's not entirely true.

 

See, one player did fall off his broom. It was the Gryffindor Seeker, Harry Potter- he's my brother Ron's best friend, and I've got a bit of a crush on him... oh, all right, more than a bit of a crush. It's embarrassing, though, I'm always so tense and I blush whenever he's around. I can't help it, him being one of the most famous wizards alive, and he's only thirteen and he hasn't let all the attention go to his head or anything, he's really quite nice and he actually saved my life last year, which is a long story so I won't go into the details, and on top of everything he's a fantastic Quidditch player, better than anyone else on the team even though he's younger than all of them- oh no, I'm rambling, aren't I? I can't help it, Harry's just- well, anyway, moving on...

 

So, Harry fell off his broom, but it wasn't his fault, because there are dementors guarding the castle this year. Headmaster Dumbledore said that they're "here on Ministry of Magic business." I guess the Ministry wants parents to feel like their children are safe, because a mass murderer broke out of Azkaban over the summer and he's still on the loose. Anyway, the dementors aren't supposed to be on school grounds, just stationed around outside- but they came in, a whole group of them showed up at the Quidditch game. It was terrifying. There must have been a hundred of them, the whole stadium went all cold and silent, and then Harry just toppled off his broom and fell. He dropped like a stone, and I'm sure I screamed, but I wasn't the only one. I was sitting with Ron and Hermione (she's another of Harry's friends), and they were just as scared as I was. Everyone was scared. Harry would have probably died if Dumbledore hadn't saved him- he ran out on the field and waved his wand, and Harry slowed down right before he hit the ground- and then Dumbledore shot a sort of silvery cloud at the dementors and they turned tail and went off.

 

And of course everyone was panicking about Harry, so I think that Ron, Hermione, and me were the only ones who saw this, but Harry's broomstick was still up in the air after he fell off. And the wind was still really fierce, so the broomstick was being blown about, and it sort of sailed off of the pitch and smacked right into this weird tree... Ron said it was called the Whomping Willow, and it was pretty clear why, because when the broomstick hit it-

 

Well, the tree hit back.

 

It was pretty easy to see that the broomstick was doomed, but everyone was more concerned about Harry. He was still unconscious from the fall, so Dumbledore got him on a stretcher and took him up to the school, and everybody left the stadium and followed him... except me.

 

I mean, of course I was worried about Harry, I really was, it was a nasty fall and that was when I bit my lip so hard that it bled- I was really scared for him! But I knew that the whole Gryffindor team would go up to the hospital wing to see him, and so would Ron and Hermione, and- well, I like Harry a lot, but I don't think he feels the same way about me- we don't really talk or hang out much, and I didn't want to go up to the hospital wing because I would feel sort of... misplaced.

 

But I still couldn't do nothing, I felt awful for Harry, losing the match like that- because they had lost, the Hufflepuff Seeker, Cedric Diggory, he got the Snitch right after Harry fell, so Gryffindor lost and Harry's broomstick had gotten smashed, which was also awful because Harry loves flying... well, I felt like I had to do something.

 

Okay, okay, I snuck off and went over to the Willow, to try and gather up Harry's broomstick. Just in case- hang on, the tree just tried to decapitate me. Again. I already got some of the pieces, but it won't leave me alone, it's mad! I tried to grab what looked like some of the handle, but it keeps flailing around like it's having a seizure- and I don't think it's planning on stopping any time soon.

 

And to make things worse, it's still raining... ugh. And I've got mud all down the front of my robes where the tree spattered it on me. It's been at least ten minutes, and I haven't even gotten close to the Willow yet. Some of the pieces sort of scattered when they broke off, but most of them are all around the base of the tree where I can't get to. So all I've been doing for ten minutes is dancing around like a trained monkey or something, trying to get close enough to pick up the pieces without getting my head whisked off. And it's tiring. And all this for a broomstick?!

 

...

 

Well, it's Harry's broomstick... and if I get all the pieces together, maybe there'd be a slight chance of him getting it fixed... I'm sure it would mean a lot to him... after all, he's done enough for me already... and it's quite a good broom... a Nimbus 2000, so he'd probably rather have this one back than buy a new one...

 

...

 

Oh, fine, I'm doing it because I like the boy. Why does it have to be so hard for me to just come out and say these things? It shouldn't be- in fact, I think I'll say it out loud right now.

 

"I like Harry Potter! Okay?! I LIKE HIM!"

 

Uh-oh, that came out louder than I meant... I hope nobody heard me. I'm not even supposed to be out here, if one of the teachers came looking for me-

 

Wait, the tree just eased up a little! Now's my chance!

 

I ran for the piece of the handle, grabbed it- and I get tripped up by a branch. Wonderful. Perfect. Splendid. Now I'm COVERED in mud, seeing as how I landed belly-down in it. It's oozing through my robes, too. Ick. I'm just glad I didn't get a faceful of it-

 

Oh no, the tree's coming back around!

 

I scrambled out of the way and managed to get up on my feet. Now I'm basically running in circles around the trunk, trying not to slip or get knocked by a branch, AND to pick up pieces of the broom at the same time- this is ridiculous. Oh look, I found another piece!

 

I think that's nearly all of them, there couldn't have been that many bits of it- yes, I don't see any more. Now I just need to get away from this tree before-

 

"AHH!"

 

... ow. That was painful. Ow.

 

I got whacked right in the back by a branch... it knocked me a good five feet out of range, though, so at least I'm safe now. Thank God I managed to hold on to all the pieces of the broom- if I had dropped them, I think I'd scream. All that work I went to picking them up, and- ouch, my back really hurts. I got the wind knocked out of me, too... ow.

 

All right, let's see if I can stand up. Ow, that stings. Ow. Okay then, I'm standing. Good. All limbs still intact. Good. I look like a mess, but at least I'm alive. Now-

 

"Miss Weasley!"

 

... oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

 

It's Professor Flitwick, he must have heard me yell when the Willow hit me. Oh no, I'm in trouble. Oh no.

 

"Miss Weasley, what on earth are you doing out here?"

 

What am I doing?

 

"Um- I was just-" I hold out the broken broomstick, as if hoping it'll explain the whole thing to him so that I won't have to. Sadly, it stays silent. I take a deep breath.

 

"I was... picking up Harry's broomstick," I mumble, feeling my face get hot for no reason. Great. Now I wish I had gotten a faceful of mud, then he wouldn't see me blushing.

 

Flitwick just looks at me and makes a sort of "hm'' noise, then says, "Well, you shouldn't be out here unsupervised while there are dementors around the castle, Miss Weasley. That was very irresponsible, not to mention dangerous- but no harm done, so be more mindful in the future, hm?"'

 

"Yes, sir." Right. No harm done. I've just been assaulted by a vicious tree, that's all. But I don't argue, because it doesn't seem like I'm about to get detention. In fact, I don't speak at all until we're back inside the castle. "Um- sir? What about Harry's broom?"

 

"Oh, that. I'll take it up to him," Flitwick assures me, taking the splintered wood out of my arms. "You should get back to your common room and get some clean robes on."

 

He leaves me to hurry up to the hospital wing. I look down at myself. Dripping wet, my robes soggy with mud- there's even mud in my hair. Yuck. I freeze as I realize something. Oh, no, I better get going before-

 

"Ah-HAH!"

 

It's Filch. He's spotted me, and he's limping towards me right now. For a man with a limp, he certainly moves fast when he wants to.

 

"What's this?" he croaks, glaring at me. "Tracking mud and grime in here, are you? I've got enough to do around here without you little hellions mucking up the hallways!" He's got a nasty smirk on his face now. "It's detention for you, little missy, a weeks worth, and if you don't get up to your common room quick I'll double it!" He shuffles off, looking pleased with himself. I'm tempted to hex him from behind, but that would just get me in more trouble, so I just growl and stalk away towards the staircases.

 

I'm absolutely drenched now, the mud's soaked through to my skin, there's water in my shoes so that they squish when I take a step, my back's still throbbing from where the Willow smacked me, and now I've got myself a week of detention with Filch.

 

And all for a broomstick. Honestly.

 

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