Never Let Me Go ⚡︎ [ harry potter ]

⚡︎ • ❝ t h i r t y ❞ • ✴

Grace looked forward to the Easter holiday's, it was always a nice break from classes, and the weather was always fair and enjoyable. This year, however, they were not relaxing. She, and everyone else in her year, all had so much homework that she was ready to collapse from exhaustion every time she and Neville entered the common room after spending hours in the library studying.

"Call this a holiday!" Seamus roared in frustration one evening in the common room, pushing a book away in exhaustion. "The exams are ages away! What're they playing at?"

"It's only going to get worse," Grace muttered sadly as she reviewed Neville's Charms essay, while he reviewed her Herbology one. "Just think about Fifth year when we have to take our O.W.L. exams-"

"Oh hush, Gracie, we don' need to think about tha' right now!" Seamus groaned.

But she did agree with him, it was a tad much since exams were two months away. She even asked Remus why he had assigned a monster length essay, when he knew they were drowning in other classes, but he just smiled and nudged her along. However, no one had as much work to do as Hermione did. Honestly, Grace didn't know how Hermione was doing everything. Her friend was so overworked that Grace and Ron took it upon themselves to take over Buckbeaks appeal, when they weren't doing their own work that is. Then she looked at poor Harry, who looked so exhausted. Not just from classes and homework, but from the brutal practices that Wood has scheduled.

Tensions were high between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and that tension spread to the whole school. There's never been a match so highly anticipated as the one between Gryffindor and Slytherin, she even asked Remus if there had been one when he was in school, and to her surprise he admitted there wasn't, and even he was anxious to see the outcome.

It was the night before the match, and for once everyone had abandoned everything due to the high anxiety for the next day. Even Hermione put down her books and tried to relax. "I can't work, I can't concentrate," she told them nervously.

"Yeah, my stomach is in knots and I feel like I'm going to vomit," Grace sighed as she leaned into Harry's side, who rested an arm around her shoulder and rubbed it gently. "Can't imagine how you must be feeling, Harry," she added, glancing up at him, and he nodded numbly. She reached up and squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back.

"You're going to be fine," Hermione assured him, though she looks like she didn't quite believe her own words since she looked the same way that Grace felt.

"Yeah, you've got the Firebolt!" Ron reminded him.

"Yeah..." Harry sighed, feeling nauseous.

"Team! Bed!" Oliver Wood called and Harry sighed and pulled away from Grace to stand up.

The next day when Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team entered the Great hall, everyone (except Slytherins of course, as they hissed) erupted in applause. He grinned as he took a seat next to Grace, who was wearing his practice jersey again. He felt his stomach flip as she grinned at him, already wearing a red and gold zero and seven on her cheeks.

"Good luck, Harry!" Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker, said to Harry with a smile as she passed. Harry blushed. This didn't go unnoticed by Grace. She felt her stomach plummet at the look on his face. A sour taste filled her mouth as she scowled at her food, suddenly no longer hungry.

"You okay?" Harry asked her, nudging her with his elbow.

"I'm fine," she replied shortly and moved away from him. He frowned in confusion, then turned to Ron looking for an explanation but he looked as confused as Harry, and all he did was shrug. Then he turned to Hermione, who was on the other side of Grace, and she was giving him a cold look too.