stardust ⋮ george weasley

seven :

S E V E N

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The storm was pouring down up above during the first Quidditch match of the year, and Adeline couldn't stop shivering in her wet, freezing clothes. Estelle stood next to her, holding her umbrella up above the pair so they could huddle under it.

They had been fully anticipating to be decked out in Gryffindor colors for the game to support Ophelia, but when it was announced that Hufflepuff would be playing the game as well, Estelle and Adeline had gone neutral. Ophelia had come the library that evening furious, calling Draco a weasel and muttering threats about how she would make his hippogriff "injury" real.

Through the pouring rain, Adeline could just barely make out what was happening in the game with the flashes of red and yellow jerseys flying past her at full speed. Even Lee's commentary, which was normally her favorite part of the game, was almost lost over the sounds of the wind.

A bludger came flying in the direction of the Ravenclaw stands and Estelle screamed, ducking behind Adeline to avoid getting hit in the face with the ball. One of the Gryffindor beaters flew forward and beat the bludger with his bat, sending it away from the Ravenclaws and towards the Hufflepuff team. When he turned his back to the stands, Adeline saw the number 6 on his back and remembered Ophelia mentioning that George and Fred were 6 and 5 respectively.

Strangely though, when he turned around to face the stands for a second, through the pouring rain and goggles, Adeline could've sworn she saw George winking.

Melanie flew right in front of her, the Quaffle held tight in her hands, and Adeline and Estelle cheered her on loudly despite the fact she probably could not hear her.

"How are they even playing in this weather?" Estelle questioned loudly.

"Pretty sure they charmed their goggles to repel water!" Adeline answered. "That would be the best solution. But even then, it's absolutely mind-boggling they didn't even think to cancel the game."

"Every day, I wonder why Quidditch is so appealing. Sure, it's loads of fun to watch. But it all seems like one big death trap for the players."

"I'm pretty sure it's the adrenaline rush. I have so much respect for Melanie and Ophelia for even getting on a broomstick. Flying alone is absolutely terrifying."

Across the pitch, they caught Ophelia throwing the ball through the hoop, earning loud cheers from both the Gryffindor stands and the two Ravenclaw girls.

Just moments later, Adeline began to hear screams around her, and at first she thought it was happy yells of victory. But to her horror, Adeline realized it was screams of alarm as she saw Harry Potter beginning to fall from the sky, his broom having seemed to disappear with the wind. She saw a swarm of dementors in the sky, and Adeline quickly figured out what happened.

With her hands over her mouth, Adeline watched in fear as Harry fell faster and faster, and she thought for a split-second that she was actually going to watch Harry hit the ground and die right in front of her. But with a spell from Dumbledore, Harry was now floating mere centimeters from the ground, looking to be unconscious but mostly unharmed.

The pitch dove into chaos as the other Quidditch players began to realize what had happened, including Cedric Diggory who had only just caught the Snitch when Harry nearly hit the ground. He started arguing with Madam Hooch immediately. and from what Adeline could tell, was frantically pleading for a rematch.