The arrival of the Firebolt greatly boosted the morale of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Their fighting spirit for the Quidditch Cup seemed to reignite.
After all, there were still two matches left, and nothing had been decided yet.
"As long as we beat Slytherin and Ravenclaw, the championship will be ours. Don't worry!" Cedric Diggory told his teammates.
In mid-February, Hufflepuff narrowly defeated Slytherin.
But just a day later, Gryffindor crushed Ravenclaw... Harry Potter and his Firebolt played a decisive role, as he nearly overwhelmed Ravenclaw's Seeker Cho Chang and caught the Golden Snitch.
The standings suddenly became unpredictable...
Three months later, the match between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw would determine the final outcome. If Hufflepuff lost, Gryffindor, having gained a large advantage in points, would also still be in the running for the Quidditch Cup.
At that moment, the Quidditch Pitch was boiling over in a sea of red.
Six blurred scarlet figures surrounded Harry Potter. Alicia, Angelina, and Katie—Gryffindor's three Chasers—each kissed him, while Fred and George Weasley grabbed his hands and nearly pulled him apart. Wood pounded the ground with both fists, letting out a triumphant roar.
It was said there had even been two incidents during the match—
First, Lee Jordan mentioned the Firebolt far too often during commentary. Professor McGonagall mistook it for advertising, scolded him harshly, and deducted twenty points from Gryffindor.
Second, four Slytherin students attempted to disguise themselves as Dementors to frighten Gryffindor's Seeker, but were caught by Professor Lupin. Slytherin was deducted one hundred points, and the four students were sentenced to detention.
Honestly, none of this had much to do with Hufflepuff... except that Gryffindor's celebrations at noon and in the afternoon were so loud they echoed across half the castle and disturbed their rest.
...
Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Jon left the Room of Requirement.
He stretched lazily, planning to head to the kitchens for something to eat before coming back.
But when he passed the Charms classroom on the fourth floor, he suddenly heard a strange sound coming from inside.
Could it be Myrtle? But how could she get into the Charms classroom?
Curious, Jon gently pushed the door open.
Inside was not a ghost as he had imagined, but a brown-haired girl.
A Gryffindor student he knew quite well: Hermione Granger.
Her hair was a tangled, frizzy mess like a bird's nest. Her brown eyes were dull, swollen red from crying, and ringed with dark circles.
Clearly, she was the one who had been crying.
"Jon?" Hermione looked up in alarm, meeting his eyes.
"G–good afternoon... Hermione..." Jon gave an awkward smile and raised his right hand in greeting.
No one liked to be seen in such a state, especially not a girl.
Jon considered leaving the classroom, but realized that would feel even ruder and more awkward.
So he walked up instead and stammered, "What's wrong? You don't look like you've been resting well."
He thought Hermione would brush it off with a few words and give him an excuse to leave. But to his surprise, she suddenly broke down, covering her face with both hands as tears poured down uncontrollably.
The awkwardness deepened, and Jon knew he had to step in... Otherwise, if someone passed by, it might look like he had abandoned her after making her cry.
"Don't cry, Hermione. If something's upsetting you, you can talk about it..."
Jon had only spoken half a sentence when—
"Oh, what do we have here?" a mischievous voice called from outside the door.
Just what he had feared... Peeves had appeared in the Charms classroom.
"Hart made Granger cry, Granger's bawling her eyes out!"
"Troublemaker Hart..."
"Crybaby Granger..."
Peeves sang gleefully, stirring up trouble as usual.
Jon, flustered and annoyed, raised his wand and pointed at a feather on the floor.
"Waddiwasi!"
The light feather shot like a bullet, flying straight into Peeves' nose.
With a strangled cry, Peeves fled in a panic.
...
With Peeves gone, the heavy awkwardness in the room began to lift.
Jon glanced at Hermione's desk. It was piled with books on the Care of Magical Creatures and magical creature laws... She was still pouring all her effort into saving Buckbeak the Hippogriff.
"Thank you, Jon!" Hermione had wiped away her tears, though her smile hurt even more than her tears.
"It's nothing... What happened?" Jon asked.
Of course, he already knew. Because of the Firebolt and Scabbers, Ron Weasley had completely fallen out with her, mocking and snapping at her constantly, sometimes even being outright cruel. Harry Potter pretended to stay neutral, but in truth leaned heavily toward Ron. Otherwise, when the Gryffindor dormitory was bursting with celebration, Hermione wouldn't have been hiding here alone, reading and crying.
But Hermione would never admit that. Instead, she lowered her head and handed Jon a piece of parchment.
It was damp, with large tear stains that had blurred much of the ink. Some parts were almost unreadable.
"Dear Hermione:
We lost.
I was allowed to bring it back to Hogwarts.
The date of execution has yet to be decided.
Buckbeak likes London.
I won't forget all the help you've given us...
Hagrid"
Jon's eyes lingered on the line "The date of execution has yet to be decided" several times.
"The Hippogriff that injured Draco Malfoy?" he asked carefully.
"That idiot! He brought it on himself—Buckbeak is innocent!" Hermione said fiercely.
She then briefly explained what had really happened in that Care of Magical Creatures lesson.
"I think..." After pausing for a moment, Jon said at last, "If I get the chance, I'll look into it too. There's still an appeal, isn't there?"
"Of course. It's just a small bit of help—you don't even need to tell Hagrid!" Jon added, "But whatever the final verdict is, even if it's a death sentence, I hope you'll tell me, Hermione..."
"Thank you, Jon!" Hermione gave him a grateful look.
Then she pulled out a tissue and dabbed at her eyes.
Seizing the moment, Jon snuck a glance at her chest.
If he remembered correctly, the Time-Turner should be hanging there.
But it was too cold, and she was wrapped in so many layers of clothing that he couldn't catch a glimpse
"What is it?"
"Nothing!" Jon quickly looked away.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione noticed the pendant Jon wore around his neck, the gift from the House-elves.
"What a beautiful piece of jewelry!" Miss Hermione Granger smiled.
"Thanks..."