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One Last Hope by Michie
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One Last Hope

Michie

The end of the final game was drawing near. Harry wasn't concentrating all that well during the last three games. Gryffindor had won two out of the three and Slytherin had taken the other one, and was on their way to victory for this one; meaning, they would be tied.

The wind whipped through his hair as he tried to concentrate hard on locating the snitch. For a while he hovered in the same spot, gazing around at the space around him. For a moment, Harry's eyes drifted over to where Hermione sat. She had Lavender and Parvati on each side of her, both appearing to be wrapped up in an intense conversation with each other and ignoring the fact that Hermione was right in between them. Again, Harry noticed Hermione's all too calm behavior as she gazed slowly but aimlessly around the stadium. She was totally avoiding him all together.

A split second later, Hermione turned her head and her eyes locked with Harry's. He couldn't help but see the pleading look in her eyes. Right at that very moment, he wanted to go up to her and apologize for how stupid he's been the past couple of months. Just then, a flash of gold blurred his vision and Harry became aware of the world around him once again.

He darted off in the direction of the snitch, closely followed by Draco Malfoy. Time seemed to stand still as the two seekers raced side by side for the one thing to end the game.

Malfoy was gaining speed and began to pass Harry, who seemed to be straining mentally to keep up. Harry felt something tug at him, triggering a new found strength within him to catch up.

Hermione stretched her upper body over the wall in front of her, to get a better look at what was going on. Malfoy and Harry were neck-in-neck, bumping each other out of the way slightly to pick up speed. Hermione bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes tight as everything seemed to blur together in slow motion. With that, she opened her eyes, hoping everything was all over. Harry and Malfoy flew right past her, chasing the snitch, still in slow motion as she concentrated.

The same went for Harry. Effort for reaching the snitch was intense, and grew more so at the fact of Malfoy just whispers away from him. Harry clung to the thoughts crowding his mind and clenched his eyes as he leaned further forward on his broom.

In a matter of seconds, it was all over in a blur.

"Harry Potter has caught the snitch!" a voice rang throughout the entire stadium.

Harry had indeed caught the snitch, and not a moment too soon. He held the shimmering gold sphere in his hand while he tried to steady himself on his broom as he continued to speed around the stadium, waving at all the Gryffindor supporters. Being so excited, he or the rest of his team mates weren't paying much attention and collided into each other softly, tumbling to the ground. It was an uproar. The team started laughing and enjoying themselves, with Harry dead in the center as they all praised him for winning Gryffindor the house cup. Pretty soon the stands started emptying and people crowded onto the field.

Harry pulled on the grass, slithering on his stomach out from under the crowd of people; using his elbows as leverage to free himself of the chaos. No one had noticed he slipped out. They went on with their cheering, enjoying themselves to the fullest. There he stood in an open space on the grass, brushing himself of the grass and dirt from being pinned to the ground by his team. What a day. Harry won the house cup for Gryffindor, feeling quite satisfied at beating Malfoy for the last time in school. School! It would be ending soon. Harry circled in his spot and located his broom on the grass. He took a few steps and bent down to pick up his broom.

Harry did all this unknowingly, under Hermione's watchful eye.

Hermione was still up in the stands with Lavender and Parvati as half the stadium was emptied onto the grass. She rested her hands on the ledge of the guard wall, looking down at everything taking place.

Harry was feeling the adrenaline rush in him still. He stopped and felt the snitch in his hand. It was fluttering lightly but didn't try to get away. Harry watched it in the palm of his hand and clasped his fingers tightly around it. A few short moments later, Harry let his eyes wander around the stadium, then up to meet Hermione's questioning face.

She almost seemed ashamed to be smiling down at him. After all, he had blown her off all these months, not wanting to have a serious conversation. Feeling like you don't have the right to be happy with your best friend is a horrible feeling. She wasn't even sure if she was his best friend anymore.

Harry stared up at her, trying to figure out what it was he saw in the expression on her face. He felt his stomach knot up a bit at remembering the small talk they had before his game and how he blew her off…yet again. Harry bit his bottom lip and mounted his broom without thinking.

Hermione was talking with Lavender and Parvati, turning to leave with them. But then she heard a familiar voice.

"Hermione."

Hermione turned around and saw Harry hovering not far from where she had been standing. He had a calm expression on his face, making Hermione feel all funny again, much like she did before she talked to him before the game.

"Yes?" she asked in a business-like tone, not being so sure as to what this encounter would reveal.