An American At Hogwarts: Book Three

Chapter Seventy-One

A/N: WE'RE BACK!!! The most popular option for the update schedule was every four days, so that's what we're going with! New chapters every four days, with Chapter Seventy-Two coming on February 4th. Enjoy!

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The noise from the Gryffindor stands was absolutely deafening as our team converged on Angelina, hugging tightly in a heap as we floated towards the ground together. A flash of irritation shot through my body at the familiar melody of that stupid Slytherin chant echoing across the pitch, but it disappeared immediately when I realized the words were a little different than they'd been the last time I heard them.

"WEASLEY IS OUR KING,
WEASLY IS OUR KING,
HE DIDN'T LET THE QUAFFLE IN,
WEASLEY IS OUR KING!

WEASLEY CAN SAVE ANYTHING,
HE NEVER LEAVES A SINGLE RING,
THAT'S WHY GRYFFINDORS ALL SING:

WEASLEY IS OUR KING!"

Amidst our tight team huddle, I caught sight of Ron. He looked like he'd just been bowled over by a truck, but slowly the expression turned to a smile. I glanced at Kenneth, and all those long practices spent sharing wordless looks with each other paid off as he instantly picked up on my idea. The two of us lifted Ron up onto our shoulders as Alicia, Katie, and Ginny did the same with Angelina.

Ron looked on the verge of tears, absolutely overwhelmed as all of Gryffindor house rushed towards us across the pitch. Angelia was screaming so loud she was already starting to lose her voice, but after a moment, it became impossible to pick her shouting out from any of the rest around us. The crowd swarmed us, screaming as loud as Angelina and quickly taking over the responsibility of keeping Ron and Angelina aloft. A moment later, my feet left the ground, too, as they swept the rest of us up into the air.

The celebration continued as our fellow Gryffindors lowered Angelina enough to accept the Quidditch House Cup from Madam Hooch. They shook hands, then Angelina turned back to all of us, hoisting the Cup high in the air. The screams and cheers resumed, almost deafening in volume as our bubble of people slowly started moving off the pitch and back up towards the castle. I had just enough presence of mind to pause, slipping off the shoulders of my fellow Gryffindors and ducking back towards the pitch as the celebration continued on ahead of me.

As happy as I was that we'd managed to win, especially for Angelina and Ron's sake, I also knew who would've won the Quidditch Cup if we hadn't.

It wasn't hard to find him. Cedric stood at the base of one of the grandstands, looking up at the pitch with a wistful expression on his face. The noise of celebration had faded now that most of the Gryffindors were well on their way to the castle, leaving a more peaceful quiet behind.

"Hey," I said, reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder. He turned to me with a sad smile on his face. "Are you... doing okay?"

He let out a long sigh.

"Just a bit disappointed. I'll be alright, though."

I pulled Cedric into a hug, which he relaxed into immediately, his arms wrapping tightly around my waist. We stayed like that for a few long moments, then Cedric gently pulled back.

"Love, I so appreciate you coming over here to talk to me. But I'll be fine, I promise. You need to go celebrate with your team."

"Ced..."

He held up his hands. "No, I won't hear it. You were an outstanding Beater today, they can't do the celebration without you."

I gave him a look, but he just looked right back, wordlessly insisting. After another moment's hesitation, Cedric physically turned me around and gave me a gentle push up towards the castle. I gave in and started walking, although I glanced back at Cedric. He gave me a wave, which I returned.