A Trickery With A Twist
I have written this story for my friend Rhi (Tonks42)
who is not only the kindest person I know but also an amazing singer!
Chapter 1
The sunlight was streaming through the mist of April showers on Sunday morning as Harry walked down to the Quidditch pitch with Ron and Hermione. The gold edging of Harry's Quidditch robes gleamed as if with a yellow fire and the raindrops that had settled in his black hair were glistening.
"What's your plan for today's practice?" Ron asked Harry, his broom slung over his shoulder. Their feet kicked the long lush grass, soaking the hem of their robes dark scarlet. This perfect weather for flying was such a change to the recent winter gales that Harry had organised a late-notice practice for the Gryffindor team.
"Scoring and goal-keeping training?" Ron suggested. "Or do you want to do more of that bludger dodging so that Malfoy gets knocked off his broom instead of you?!" Ron grinned while Hermione looked on disapprovingly.
"I don't think you-" she started.
They all stopped at the entrance to the changing rooms, listening to a thunderous bickering that was issuing from within. Hermione turned back to Ron and Harry, with a look on her face that suggested she was about to let loose a nasty criticism of Quidditch and the antagonism it provoked, but Ron got in first. "Well, have fun doing your Ancient Runes translation. And don't forget to cheer when I make a save!"
Hermione gave a sniff and looked at the bright sky behind both Harry and Ron's heads scornfully. "See you later," she said tersely and marched off into the blinding sunlight towards the Quidditch stands.
Ron turned to Harry. "What?" he said. "Does she not think I'll save anything? Who does she think she is? It's not as if she's any good at Quidditch!"
Before Harry could explain there was a swish of long flaming hair before his eyes as someone ran out the door. "Harry!"
Ginny smiled at him in relief. Harry's breath shot up his throat so fast that he broke into a violent coughing fit which he tried to suppress.
"Thank Merlin you've finally come! Everyone apart from me was thinking you weren't turning up!"
"N-no…" stumbled Harry, finding himself led inside by Ginny, Ron ducking under the doorway. His suppressions were only making matters worse. He now sounded like a balloon with asthma.
Harry led the team outside, trying to explain the plan for the practice while Ron slapped him hard on the back. The two beaters brought out the weather-beaten chest containing the Quaffle, two bludgers and the snitch, and kicked it open. By the time Harry's eyes had stopped watering, the snitch had vanished completely, and the zooming bludgers were posing a more imminent threat.
Over the course of the morning, the blindingly white clouds receded, leaving blue sky in their place. After all the recent rain, the stadium below Harry looked very green and the golden hoops looked as if they were glazed. Since Ron had been so keen (and Hermione was watching) the team practiced some simple goal scoring, and it gave Harry the chance to cruise lazily above and watch each of his players carefully.
Harry was finding himself entranced in watching a certain chaser as she swerved in between the beaters and past the keeper, her red hair flying out behind her as she scored goal after goal. Ron, meanwhile, was looking slightly less keen now compared to earlier, but he cheered up massively when Harry was struck by a bludger while he was looking… elsewhere.
"Pay attention, Harry!" Ron yelled amidst his laughter. Harry made a face back at him, rubbing to his bruised arm, but Ron merely added, "Shouldn't you be searching for the snitch?"
With a jolt Harry realised that he hadn't been concentrating for some time, and he soared off around the stadium; but his eyes still drifted back periodically to the group by the three goal hoops.
It was only when Dean was starting to complain about a grumbling stomach that Harry realised lunchtime must be approaching, and he still hadn't found the snitch. In the end, Harry was being so useless that all the other team members were looking for the snitch with him so that they could go to lunch. Harry drifted along after Ginny, as she made a fair Seeker.
"I can't believe you haven't found it! I'll have to take over as Seeker from you!" she joked, glancing around.
All of a sudden a golden blur whipped past Ginny's face towards Harry and they both caught sight of it at the same time.
"There it is!" she exclaimed excitedly and immediately bolted at top speed after it, straight into Harry, whose fist had already closed around the struggling ball. Ginny smacked into Harry's chest and the impact threw her backwards off her broomstick. Her left hand locked around the broom handle, but it was now diving vertically downwards like a bolt of lightning, pulling Ginny to the ground even faster than she would have just by falling.
At once Harry went down into a sharp dive and plummeted straight after Ginny's swirling red robes, feeling nauseous. Ginny was struggling to grasp her broom evenly, but couldn't. Harry wondered if Hermione would see and be able to stop Ginny hitting the ground, like Dumbledore could.
Harry drove his Firebolt on as fast as he could and they were only a few feet from the ground when he caught up and threw out his arm just in time to catch Ginny around the waist, but they were so close to crashing that he wondered if it would even be possible to pull up again in time. His heart was ramming against his ribcage.
Yet at that very moment, Harry was shocked to see that streaks of pale blue light shot out around them and interlocked like branches, forming a pale orb enclosing him and Ginny. Just as the ground came so dangerously close that Harry was convinced that they would crash, the half-visible globe in which they were encaged seemed to rebound and Harry felt his Firebolt pull him and Ginny firmly upwards.
Harry blinked fiercely as they soared rapidly up into the sky, straining to make out the blue fiery tongues around them. He wondered if Ginny had noticed, but she was presently hanging upside down, her hair grazing the rim of the sphere, seemingly quite unperturbed until she gave a cry as a purple furry blob burst out of the folds of her robes. She stretched out her free hand to reach what Harry realised was Arnold, but she missed, and the pygmy puff plummeted downwards.
Yet strangely the purple puffskein seemed to stop in mid-air where the globe encircled them and miraculously Ginny was then able to catch Arnold, just like a snitch. Harry heard some of his teammates shouting as they zoomed over to help and together they managed to pull Ginny up from her precarious swinging onto the length of her broomstick. When she had gained control of her broom, they all changed course and slowly cruised down at a safe speed to where the tight cluster of remaining red-robed Gryiffindors were anxiously calling up to them.
"Thanks, Harry," Ginny gasped, flushing heavily as she landed lightly next to Ron, who looked rather sick with worry.
"It was… nothing," Harry gasped, climbing off his broom shakily. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," Ginny waved the worry away as if she had only dropped a knut, not herself. "I'm fine."
Ron stared at her as if she was mad. Ginny grinned and tried to tame her extremely windswept hair. She seemed much more confident now that she was back on the ground, standing on her own two feet.
"Let's end today's session there," Harry suggested, and all the other players were quick to agree and ask Ginny what had happened. Ginny seemed to say it was her fault for not seeing Harry, but Harry knew it was his fault for tailing her so closely. He then wondered what Hermione would say at his foolish behaviour and a distinct queasiness consumed his insides again.
Harry warily searched the stands for Hermione, but then noticed that she was already talking with Ron. With a wave of relief, Harry saw that she was smiling… she didn't look at all in the bad mood she could have been incensed in.
Harry approached her and Hermione looked up. "Oh, hello!" she said, folding a scroll of parchment away into her robes. An accusatory frown shadowed her eyes. "I think you should learn to judge distances, Harry," she told him and gave him a meaningful stare. "…How far you can go."
Harry glanced down sheepishly, but immediately Ginny joined them, protesting. "Don't you go telling him off, Hermione!" she said. "If Harry had not been so near to me, I would have fallen to the ground." She smiled at him gratefully. "I'm going to see if Arnold's okay before I go to lunch… see you around, Harry."
Hermione didn't argue with Ginny but she kept an eye on Harry as they wandered back up the grassy slopes to the castle. Harry forced himself not to look back at Ginny.
"Did you actually see Ginny fall?" he asked her, wondering if she had seen the strange sphere of blue light that had surrounded them. He glanced around but there was no sign of it now. He began to think he had imagined it. Everything had happened so very quickly…
"No – but I saw you helping her back onto her broom," Hermione said sternly. Then her eyes lit up. "I was sent this letter, look!" She brought out the scroll. "Harry! Look! It's from Dumbledore!"
Harry was immediately interested. "Is it about my next meeting with him? Or the Horcruxes – is it about them?"
Hermione's face fell slightly. "No… but Dumbledore wants to see me! I'm so excited! It's about – the Vallatus Charm!" she breathed.
"What's that?" Harry and Ron both said simultaneously.
"Well, I don't know exactly," Hermione was speaking really fast, her hands shaking with enthusiasm, "but I do know that it's really advanced magic and some Aurors use it! Dumbledore must think I am good enough and want to teach it to me!"
"Cool!" said Harry. Ron smiled and met Hermione's eyes. She looked away hurriedly when she realised Harry was watching.
"Harry!" Hermione suddenly hissed, tugging his sleeve. She pointed as Draco Malfoy swished past them, glaring at them. Once he was out of earshot, Hermione began talking again.
"He was in the stands!" she whispered animatedly. "He came along just after you started playing, and he was watching right until you finished!"
"What?" Ron and Harry said simultaneously.
"I know!" squeaked Hermione. "I don't know what he's up to, but – Harry," her face suddenly became really serious. "Harry – I do think you're right. I think Malfoy is up to something…!"