Percy Jackson and the Hound of Hogwarts [Book 3]

36) Firebolt

Apparently, over Christmas break Harry had been sent a new broom, a Firebolt, only to have it taken away immediately afterwards once Hermione had told Professor McGonagall. Both thought it might have been jinxed by Sirius Black.

Harry and Ron were both furious with Hermione. I knew she had been acting for what she believed in, but it still seemed far-fetched to me. The Firebolt was as fast as my broom, and Arion was made by a goddess. It seemed terrible to have it stripped.

The first Care of Magical Creatures lesson was unusually fun. We spent our time collecting firewood and watching salamanders scamper around the flames. Divination was much less fun. She was teaching palmistry, and told Harry that he had the shortest lifeline she had ever seen. That was saying something, considering she had read the palms of demigods who would go on to die at twelve. Harry was thirteen. She also screamed when she saw Draco and I's palms, saying that we were going to visit Hell. I thought it was pretty crazy how you could go somewhere that wasn't even a part of your religion.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry talked to Lupin at the end of class. He was going to learn how to fend of dementors with him.

After that, there was another argument with Hermione. She said she knew why Lupin was sick.

Somehow, I didn't doubt her.

***

A week after term started, Ravenclaw played Slytherin in Quidditch. Slytherin won, but not by much. I knew this was good for Gryffindor, because if they beat Ravenclaw, they'd be in second. This was not good for Hufflepuff, because Wood changed the schedule to where we practiced five times a week, and it was getting tiring. I knew Harry only had one night a week two do his homework, though it seemed Hermione was the one really struggling. She had cancelled our study sessions, and I worried that she might have taken on too much.

***

As the match drew nearer, Harry still hadn't  ordered a new broom. He asked Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt every Transfiguration class, but she wouldn't budge. He also seemed to be down because of his practice sessions with Lupin, saying that he wasn't really getting anywhere with it.

***

I was sitting in the Gryffindor common room with Fred, George, Connor, Travis, and Lee Jordan planning a prank on Angelina Johnson that involved a large amount of water. Much to everyone's surprise, Harry walked in carrying the Firebolt.

Nearly everyone rushed to go see it, and for ten minutes, it was passed around. I took a seat beside Hermione, watching them cheer over the broom.

Eventually, the crowd dispersed, and Harry and Ron came over to where Hermione and I sat. Hermione hesitantly looked up at them.

"I got it back," Harry grinned, holding up the Firebolt.

"See, Hermione? There wasn't anything wrong with it!" Ron grinned.

"Well — there might have been!" Hermione frowned. "I mean, at least you know now that it's safe!"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Harry smiled. "I'd better put it upstairs—"

"I'll take it!" Ron glowed. "I've got to give Scabbers his rat tonic."

Ron gently took the Firebolt from Harry, cautiously walking up the stairs.

"Can I sit down, then?" Harry looked at Hermione.

"I suppose so," Hermione moved a large stack of parchment off of the extra chair.

"How are you getting through all this stuff?" Harry stared around at the piles of books and essays on the table.

"Oh, well — you know — working hard," Hermione said.

"Why don't you just drop a couple of subjects?" I asked, staring at the bags beneath her eyes.

"I couldn't do that!" Hermione looked positively offended at the suggestion.

"Arithmancy looks terrible," Harry picked up a number chart.

"Oh no, it's wonderful!" Hermione beamed. "It's my favorite subject! It's—"

She was interrupted by a yell echoing down the boys staircase. The common room quieted as we all stared at the entrance. Ron rushed out, dragging his bedsheets behind him.

"LOOK!" He yelled, walking towards our table. "LOOK!" He shook the sheets in Hermione's face.

"Ron, what—?"

"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!"

Hermione leaned away from Ron, eyes wide with confusion. I looked down at Ron's sheets, and saw something horribly red on it.

"BLOOD!" Ron yelled into the silence. "HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"

"N-no," Hermione said shakily.

Ron threw something onto Hermione's rune translation. When I leaned closer, I could see that there were several long, ginger cat hairs.

My head hurts. I almost passed out in the bathroom. You know what the problem with that is? I'm not sick. It sucks. Like, this happens all the time (though nobody knows). My vision gets all gray, and I feel dizzy. And my head hurts not in that pounding way, but in this if-you-stand-up-I'm-going-to-scream kind of way. That probably doesn't make sense. It's not going to be too much of a problem, cause I'm pretty sure I know what it happens. My older sister is anemic. Ima bet I am too. It's where you've got messed up red blood cells. It makes you fatigued and stuff. You get dizzy, lightheaded, and can have a fast heart rate. It does the big bad when you stand up too fast. It might not be anemia, but it's definitely something (people don't normally pass out). It gets worse for me when I'm hot and sweaty I guess. But anyway, I passed out for real back on Christmas Eve. I didn't tell anyone. I was perfectly fine after that, so ima still not tell anyone. As a change of subject, my niece came over this weekend! She's adorable. She's gonna stay with us every other weekend and every other holiday. I'm excited. And she's super shy, so she's probably not that excited. Oh, if any of you read my other series, The Search for John Winchester, I just posted a one-shot book thing. It was requested. I'll probably do a one shot thing for this series too if people want it, but I want to wait until the end of the series. I post every other day for this series, and I still have to figure out a bunch of what-ifs for it. But it's a plan.

I hope you guys have all had and awesome Sunday, and I'll see you on Tuesday!