Chapter Three: Quidditch Lessons and Conversations

As it turned out, Ron was thrilled. He was still marveling at it as they made their way to dinner. "Seeker? You must be the youngest player..."

"In a century." Twin voices made both of them look up. Ron's twin brothers, Fred and George, stood behind them, sporting identical grins. "Congratulations Harry. Wood just told us." Fred, or maybe George, he couldn't tell them apart, smirked. "We're on the team too."

"Beaters." The other twin nodded. "It's our job to make sure you don't die." The smirks widened. "no promises..."

"Quidditch is a rough game, and Seekers are targets."

"But no worries. No one's died in years." Both twins grinned, clapped him on the shoulder, then went on their way. Harry watched them go, butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

"Oh, come on, Harry, it can't be that bad. You know how Fred and George are." Ron clapped his shoulder too, but he didn't sound nearly as sure as Harry would have liked.

"Not expelled Potter?" Another, familiar voice intruded. Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

His tone was arrogant, hard, like Dudley at his worst. But his eyes were oddly expressionless, as if his face and his words were a mask. Harry remembered their brief conversation in the air. "Not yet."

"Harry's on the Quidditch team." Ron smirked.

"That so Potter?" Malfoy cocked one blond eyebrow.

"It might be." Harry clenched his jaw.

"Well then. I've got something to show you, later tonight in the Trophy Room. Say midnight. You can bring Weasley if you like. Unless you're scared." Malfoy smirked.

Ron turned red-faced. "We'll see you there. But if you try anything funny..."

Malfoy offered up a rather lofty sneer, then walked away. Ron scowled. Harry watched the blond saunter towards the Slytherin table, then nudged Ron. "Come on. Let's get some dinner. I have to meet Wood on the field soon." Ron nodded, and they took their seats.

***FWBtD***

Harry met Wood outside on the lawn at dusk. The older boy had a hefty looking crate slung over one shoulder, and a short, heavy bat in one hand, and he looked positively cheerful. "This way Potter."

He led Harry out onto the lawn in front of the Castle. In the distance was the stadium Harry had glimpsed from the windows. Wood tilted his head at it. "That's the Quidditch pitch. We'll practice there later, but not tonight."

Harry looked at the stadium. There were high stands, nearly as tall as the Castle and decorated with the house colors. At each end were three hoops, all of them thirty or more feet in the air.

"Right then." Wood set the box down with a heavy thud, careful to keep it right side up. "This will do for now. So..." He stretched. "Now, you said you don't know anything?"

Harry flushed. "No. Sorry."

"Not to worry. Just means you've got a little catching up to do, but since you're the Seeker, that'll be easy enough. And, it means you've no bad habits, which is a bonus for us." Wood still looked pleased, and Harry began to relax a little.

"Now then, Quidditch is pretty easy to understand, though not as easy to play." Oliver bent down and opened the chest, to pull out a reddish ball. It was about the size of a football. Wood tossed it to him. It was hard, solid leather. "This is the Quaffle."

"Quaffle. Got it."

Oliver nodded at that. "Each team has seven players. Three of them are Chasers. One's a Keeper. I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. The Chasers try to score by getting the Quaffle into one of those three hoops." Wood nodded at the distant hoops. "The Keeper tries to keep the Chasers from scoring."

Harry nodded. "Three Chasers. They try to score by putting the Quaffle through the hoops. The Keeper tries to prevent them." He glanced at the box. There were two more balls inside, both black and locked tightly in place. "What about those?"

"Those..." Wood set the Quaffle back in the box. "Here." He handed Harry the bat. "Hold that, and watch yourself."

Without further warning, Wood bent and released one of the black balls. It shot in the air, paused for a second, then pelted at Harry's face. Harry swung at it, almost on instinct, and managed to connect with the bat, sending it smartly across the field. It whipped over the grass, then turned back and raced towards them again.

This time, Wood got in front of it. He caught it as it tried to pummel him, wrestling it to the ground with a grunt of effort. Then, with what looked like a terrific struggle, he wrestled it back into the box and strapped it down again. "That's a Bludger. They sweep around the field and try to knock players off their brooms."

Harry gulped. Oliver gave him a half-smile. "Bludgers are why each team has two Beaters. It's their job to keep the Bludgers off the other players on their team, try to get them to interfere with the other team." He huffed. "You needn't worry too much. The Weasley twins are our Beaters, and they're rather good. I mean, they're a bit like Bludgers themselves."

Harry grinned, relaxing a little bit.

Wood smiled back. "Good. See, the good news is, you don't have to worry about all that. Well, unless someone sends a Bludger at you. But you...you're the Seeker. Which means you have a special job."

Wood bent and touched a small panel in the box. It popped open, to reveal another ball. This one was about the size of a walnut, bright gold. Wood pulled it out. Immediately, the ball sprouted wings, whirring madly in the air. Harry grinned. "Neat."

"You say that now." Wood grimaced, a wry expression on his face. "This is the Snitch. It's wicked fast, and nearly impossible to see. And it's your job to catch it."

Harry blinked. "Catch it?"

"Catch it. That's what the Seeker's job is, to catch the Golden Snitch. The Seeker who catches it ends the game and earns their team 150 points. They nearly always win. That's why the Seekers are small, fast and light, and nearly always get fouled in every game. Your job, Potter, is to catch this before the other teams Seeker gets to it."

Harry stared at the golden ball with renewed appreciation.

After a moment, Wood put the ball away. "Can't risk losing the Snitch right now, but we can still practice a bit." He held up a bag, bulging with golf balls. "Up in the air Potter, and let's see how you do with these."

Harry clambered onto his broom and shot into the air. He did a few loops, thrilled to be flying again. Then Oliver rose into the air beside him, and practice began.

An hour later, Harry returned to the dorms. He was tired, but happy. Wood had made him work hard chasing the balls all over the lawn, but he hadn't missed a single one, not even with the early dusk making it difficult to see. Wood had been ecstatic when they'd landed, declaring him a natural and gushing over Harry's abilities in the air.

It was nice to be appreciated, and to have something he could do well. It made Harry feel like he belonged.

"Hey Harry." Ron popped up from the chair he was lounging in. "How'd it go?"

"Good. Wood thinks we've got a good shot at the Quidditch Cup this year." Harry grinned, still feeling the warm glow of pride. "He says I've got good potential."

Ron grinned. "Wicked, mate. I heard from Fred and George that Wood's a bit of a fanatic, so you must be good if you made him happy."

"I guess." Harry settled into a chair. "But now I've got practice three times a week. I hope I can keep up with my schoolwork." He sighed.

"Not like you've had any trouble on that score lately. Blimey, you study almost as much as Hermione." Ron tilted his head toward the bushy-haired first year girl sitting on the far side of the common room and surrounded by books. "Mind you, I don't think anyone really reads as much as she does. How she didn't wind up in Ravenclaw, I've no idea."

"Yeah, well, it's simpler in my case. I just don't want to get Snape mad at me. Besides...I want to do well. I really do." And he did. Playing around with Ron was fun, and he rather thought he was going to enjoy Quidditch, but he did want to do well. For the first time, he didn't have to worry about Dudley telling his teachers that he'd cheated, or spreading rumors that he was some sort of retarded freak.

"Sure mate." Ron shrugged. Then he grinned. "Want to play Exploding Snap until it's time?" He tilted his head towards the door.

Right. They were meeting Malfoy later. Harry swallowed hard, both excited and nervous about the prospect of being out after curfew. Thus far, he'd managed not to break any school rules. Well, not any major ones.

He pushed the thought away. They'd just have to make sure they weren't caught. That was all. Besides...he wanted to know what Malfoy was so keen on telling him.

He grinned back at Ron. "Sure. Why not?" None of his homework was due for a few more days, and he'd never be able to concentrate anyway.

He just hoped it wasn't some trick Malfoy was pulling on him.

***FWBtD***

Severus watched, carefully concealed by shadows and a Disillusionment Spell for good measure, as Draco Malfoy snuck quietly out of the Common Room and down the dungeon corridor. He huffed in exasperation. Did Draco really think he was that subtle?

Severus had known since dinner that Draco was up to something. The restlessness, the flickering glances towards the Gryffindor table...really, the boy was hardly difficult to read. And when one considered the conversation Severus knew he had instigated with Potter that afternoon, well, it wasn't hard to guess that Draco's plans involved the Gryffindor, and therefore a potential clandestine meeting, most likely a nocturnal journey out-of-bounds. It only remained to be seen exactly what Draco intended to do.

Severus sighed to himself, squashing his irritation with a firm mental hand as he followed silently after his student.

He knew, of course, about the incident in Flying Class. About Draco and Potter and their unauthorized flight, which had resulted in Potter's placement on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He had listened over dinner to Minerva nearly raving over Potter's supposed skill on a broom, and telling anyone who would listen about how the boy was a natural on a broomstick and detailing his 'spectacular catch, and after a fifty-foot dive that Charlie Weasley couldn't have matched'.

He would have given the boy detention for risking his neck, then put him in a proper tryout. Then, if the boy warranted it, he might have put the lad in the Quidditch reserves, or the team if he was truly that good.

But he still would have given Potter detention. He had given Draco detention for being the instigator of that particular incident. The fact that Minerva had rewarded the boy for his foolishness without any repercussions irritated him to no end. If nothing else, it set a bad precedent. Potter might begin to think he could get away with flouting school rules and risking his neck without consequence, and that was a mindset he most heartily did not wish the boy to develop. Particularly not with what was in the third floor corridor, and what was hidden beneath said corridor, and the strangeness that he had lately sensed about Quirrell.

He was brought back to the present by Draco turning into the trophy room. The torches came on as he did so, as they were spelled to do in this room of the castle. Never mind that it was after curfew. Then again, if one wanted a way to find a wayward student very quickly...Severus squashed the thought and slid into the nearest shadowed corner, settling into stillness so as not to disturb the Disillusionment Spell any more than necessary.

Moments later, the clock chimed midnight. The chimes were answered from out in the corridor by three badly hushed voices.

"You're going to get us into trouble, horrible trouble, you know…." That was a young girl.

"Oh, budge up. You didn't have to come along. And anyway, if you hadn't followed us, you wouldn't have been caught out." That was Weasley.

"Honestly, you don't even know if Malfoy is going to be here..." Three first years slipped into the room. Harry, in the lead, was alert, scanning the room for any occupants. The other two, Weasley and, oddly enough, Hermione Granger, followed him, arguing in fierce whispers. Granger was scowling, her young face tight with annoyance, while Ronald Weasley looked exasperated.

Interesting. He was tempted to interrupt them, but he hadn't followed them to listen to juvenile quarreling. He had followed to find out what Draco was up to.

Draco chose that moment to step into the light. "I am here, Granger." His chin stuck out in a mix of defensiveness and irritation. "I said I would be. Malfoys honor their word."

Weasley snorted. Draco flushed. Potter stepped between them. "That's enough, Ron." He turned back to Draco, looking both young and oddly mature for a student who was breaking half a dozen school rules. "You said you had something to show me?"

"Yeah." Draco relaxed slightly. "Weasley said you were on the Quidditch team. So I thought you might like to see this." He pointed at a trophy. "My father told me all about the teams when he was in school. So did my godfather. Did you know every winning team gets a trophy plaque in here?"

"Err...no."

"Of course Harry wouldn't know that yet. We've hardly had any time to learn that sort of thing." Granger's forehead wrinkled. Harry shot her an annoyed glance.

"Well, they do. And these...these here are from when our parents were in school. I thought you might be interested in this one." Draco pointed to a particular plaque.

Severus knew which one it was. The one for his Second Year. Potter's Second Year. When James Potter had become the star of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, leading them to a sweeping victory streak that had lasted for the other five years of his academic education.

Harry stepped forward, looking at the plaque, frowning. Severus knew the instant the boy saw what Draco intended him to see. The instant the boy's eyes widened, mouth dropping open. "Oh. My dad..."

"Father says he was very good at Quidditch. And he doesn't much like complimenting anything the Gryffindors do, so it's a high compliment. I thought you might not know, since..." Draco trailed off.

"Since my parents are dead, and hardly anyone talks about them." Harry's voice was quiet.

"I suppose. But I thought you might like to see." Draco reddened. "And I wanted to do it now because..." He took a deep breath, then turned to Ronald Weasley. "I want to declare pax between us Weasley."

"What?"

Draco scowled. "I want to declare wizard's truce. I won't...I won't make fun of your family any more, and you do the same. I can't swear I won't ever tease you..." Draco looked a little defiant. "I do have an image to uphold, after all, as the Malfoy heir. But I'll leave you be in Potions, and in Charms and Herbology, and Defense class, and I'll leave your family out of it. And you leave off calling my family names too."

"Why?" Ron looked suspicious.

"Because my father asked me to. He thinks we need to change, and he wants me to start things. He and my godfather have been talking about it for absolute ages. The Dark Lord's not gone, and my father...well, let's just say he has a different viewpoint than he used to." Draco sighed. "Besides...I want to be friends with Harry, and I can't be friends with Harry Potter and not at least civil to you. And I promised." His chin came up. "Speaking of which...I apologize, Weasley, for making fun of your family and your robes. Your father is a member of the Ministry, after all. And I suppose that having a large family does have it's benefits."

"Might." Ron scowled. "But why should we be friends with you? Why should Harry..."

"Because it's better." Harry broke in. "Snape told me that there are things…well, he told me some stuff, the night I had detention with him. And he told me that if we declared truce with Malfoy, he'd ease up on the Gryffindors in his class."

Severus scowled. That wasn't what he had said. But then, since much of his animosity towards Gryffindors had been generated by the elder Potter, perhaps he could loosen his grip a little…

But Longbottom was a disaster with a cauldron, no matter what anyone said. And he was not going to turn a blind eye towards foolish pranks or such gross ineptitude. No matter what Potter thought, or what might be at stake.

Weasley still looked highly reluctant, but Potter at least seemed to be considering the matter. Finally he spoke again. "All right Malfoy. Pax. But if you start anything, with any of us..."

"Fair enough. As long as the same applies to you and Weasley." Draco nodded and stuck out his hand. "Allies then, Potter?"

Potter looked at Weasley, who sighed, but didn't refuse. Then he turned back to Draco and accepted his handclasp. "Allies then...Draco."

Draco might have said something else, but Granger spoke up from behind Weasley, her expression pursed in a disapproving scowl. "If you all are quite finished...we'd better get out of here before Filch or one of the teachers comes. You know we'll get in awfully big trouble if they catch us out of bed like this."

Now that was true. Severus considered, then slid slowly and carefully out of the room and into the hall. Normally he would have simply revealed himself, but that might have damaged the fragile new truce between Potter...between Harry and Draco. He amended the boy's name in his head. This would be much easier if he could at least refer to the boy as Harry in his mind, even if he dared not permit himself such informality in spoken word.

The students emerged from the trophy room, Draco and Harry in the lead. Both boys looked around cautiously, but Severus was well disguised. He had dropped the spell, but his black robes blended in with the shadows of the corridors. He waited until Granger and Weasley had emerged before casting a silent Lumos.

All four children flinched at the sudden flare of light, then blanched as he emerged from the shadows. "What have we here?"

"Professor..." Hermione Granger's voice was a breathless gasp.

"Quiet." He let his eyes slip over each of the students in turn, noting with some satisfaction how Weasley gulped, and how Harry and Draco both paled but stood determined.

Draco was the first to break the silence. "Professor...I was just..."

"Out of bounds after curfew, wandering the halls in the company of three Gryffindors." He broke in before Draco could continue. "Did you think you were impervious to detection, Mr. Malfoy? Mr. Potter?"

Draco swallowed hard. Harry winced, then shook his head. "No sir."

"Ten points from each of you. And detention with me. Since you seem to be bored and in need of some form of evening activity to ensure you stay where you are meant to." Gryffindor would feel the point loss more than Slytherin with three students out of bed to his one, but the loss was not so great as it could be. Certainly, it was less than he would have made it in other circumstances.

Granger looked as if he'd slapped her. Weasley looked a bit mutinous. Harry and Draco, on the other hand, looked almost suitably chastened. No doubt by morning the sting of it would have faded, and they'd be back to the usual sorts of youthful idiocy that adolescents of all ages practiced, but for now he'd gotten his message across.

He flicked his wand, sending a beam of light down the corridor. "Return to your dorms. I will inform Mr. Filch that you have been suitably chastened. However, any detours will be dealt with very...severely." That got the appropriate wince out of all of them. "Draco, you will return with me."

The blond Slytherin nodded and obediently detached himself from the group. Snape studied the three Gryffindors for a few moments, then turned on his heel towards the dungeons, Draco right beside him. Behind him, his sharp ears caught muffled exhalations, and the sounds of three pairs of feet moving off in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

Hopefully the wretches would return straight to their dorm room. Imposing too many penalties on Harry and his friends would only damage his long-term goals.

"Professor?" Draco piped up from where he trotted at Severus's side. "How long were you really there, sir?"

Clever boy. He at least guessed that Severus hadn't just 'happened' upon them at the tail end of their conversation. Still...Severus glanced down and raised a mocking eyebrow. "Did you not think that I might erect wards to notify me when a student is out-of-bounds? Do you think you, Draco, are the first to try wandering the Castle at night?" He laced the words with as much biting irony as he could muster and had the satisfaction of seeing the boy flush in his wand light.

Of course, Draco rallied a moment later. "But then...you must have heard...I was doing as you and Father asked of me. I made a truce with Potter. And I know...I'm sure I can make proper friends with him, now that we aren't so opposed. Even with Weasley at his side." Draco grimaced. "We did...I did apologize and declare Pax."

"But to do so by breaking school rules and forcing me to take points was foolish of you. You might have behaved with more cunning than that. I recommend acting with more wisdom in the future." Severus kept his voice even. "Potter must come to trust us both, if we are to steer things the way we wish. You know this."

Draco scrunched his nose up, shoulders tensing in youthful exasperation. "I know. But...will you be writing Father?" He glanced up.

"I will not." Severus leveled as stern a look as he could manage, making Draco quail a little. "You will write your parents and inform them of your progress. Begin with your ill-advised behavior in flying class this afternoon, it's consequences, and the events that followed tonight. And what punishment you have had from me for your reckless behavior."

Draco shrunk in a little, looking sulky. As well he might. "Yes, Professor."

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. They had reached the Slytherin entrance, and he was tired. It was after one in the morning. Why the wretched children couldn't have waited until the weekend, only a day away, to behave so foolishly…well, if any of them shirked their Potions class, he would punish them accordingly. And at least he had managed to give Harry some consequences to consider. Not stringent ones, but it was a first warning.

He opened the door to the Common Room. "Inside and get to bed. You have Potions in the morning, and I expect your work to be up to it's usual standard."

"Yes Professor." Draco darted inside and the portrait hole closed behind him. Severus glared at it for a moment, then sought his own bed. It was fortunate that he required less sleep than most, but still, he might require a Pepper-Up to be appropriately alert for class. Or coffee, if he could get it. And he dared not risk being less than fully alert with Longbottom in class.

Perhaps he ought to set Granger or Draco to watch the boy. They might be able to prevent his usual disasters. He contemplated the thought, then released it to sink into the welcome blackness of sleep.

***FWBtD***

Making their way back to the Gryffindor Tower wasn't as easy as it sounded, not when they had to dodge Peeves and Filch. Still, they managed. They even found Neville, who'd apparently gotten lost earlier in they day and been wandering around the whole time. Soon they were back in the Common Room, warming themselves by the fire (the castle was unfortunately drafty at night).

Hermione was in a huff and she rounded on them as soon as the portrait hole shut. "I told you we were going to get into trouble, wandering about at night like that. You're lucky we didn't get in worse trouble. And now we'll have detentions and have to make up those lost points, which is frightfully irritating. And who knows what the rest of Gryffindor will say..."

"They won't say anything." Ron yawned. "Fred and George are always losing points like that. And anyway, it's practically expected to lose some points exploring at night. I reckon loads of kids have done it. I know all my brothers did. Except for Percy maybe."

"We're lucky it was Snape and not Filch." Harry sighed. "Luckier still that he wanted to be lenient because of Malfoy."

"But we still have detention. And those are supposed to be awful...besides..."

"What? It can't be that bad. I mean, there are rules for teachers, aren't there?" Harry shrugged. "My last one with Snape wasn't so horrible."

"I heard he makes students scrub the nastiest cauldrons and prepare really foul Potions ingredients, or clean the classroom…and it will take hours. It will completely throw off my study schedule." Hermione glared at them. "I had intended to spend that time looking up some notes Professor Flitwick mentioned about general Charms theory for our essay..."

"Really? Blimey, don't you study enough?" Ron stared at her. "I mean, are you really going for being a know-it-all or what?"

Hermione's jaw clenched. "Well, if that's the way you feel, I'm surprised you're even passing your classes." She jerked her head up. "I'm going to bed. Before you idiots come up with another plan to get us in trouble. Or expelled." Then she turned and marched up the stairs towards the girls dormitories.

"Well, it's not like she had to follow us, is it?" Ron growled the words, glaring at the staircase. "Seriously…someone needs to sort her priorities."

"Maybe. But we need to get to bed. Come on." Harry tugged Ron towards the boys dorms. Neville had already gone up, the minute they had entered. When they entered the dorm, he was already snoring softly behind his curtains.

Harry clambered up into his own bed and pulled the hangings shut, but it was some time before he could fall asleep.

His dad had played Quidditch. Not his first year, of course, but he had played. He had been a good flyer, leader of a winning team for six years. It was something he hadn't known, almost the first connection he had ever felt to his parents.

He wondered what his father would have said about his truce with Malfoy.

Then the thought finally vanished as his thoughts grew muzzy, and sleep claimed him.

Author's Note: So, finally got the next chapter out. From this point, there will be more divergence from the cannon. Hope you enjoyed!