Author's Note: Um, well, over 200 views total for my story. That's more than I ever thought I'd get. Thanks so much to everyone who has read, I know I'm the worst when it comes to regularity, but I try and make up for it with new plot twists. There will be serious plot twists soon, I promise. Meanwhile, enjoy the rest!
P.S. Please review/PM me if you have something to say about the story. I'm rather curious as to how you guys view my story.
"AND THEY'RE OFF! ANGELINA JOHNSON IMMEDIATELY TAKES POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE, PASSING IT TO ALICIA SPINNET!" Lee Jordan's voice boomed across the stadium, easily heard over the roaring of the crowds. Harry's heart pounded heavily, and he was immediately caught up in the beauty of the game. Chasers flying like blurs around the pitch, passing the Quaffle back and forth and scoring on occasion.
"THAT'S A NICE BLUDGER FROM GRYFFINDOR BEATER GEORGE-NO, FRED-OH, WHO CARES, IT'S ONE OF THE TWO." Lee Jordan tried to keep up with which twin was which, but it was difficult even for the Weasleys to differentiate between the two. Harry ducked as a Bludger soared over his head, and scrutinized the pitch. No sudden flashes of gold, and no sudden movements from Slytherin's Seeker, either.
The game played out magnificently, scores being made on both sides with greater frequency. But, of course, Harry couldn't tell. His broom suddenly began to buck wildly, intent on knocking him down.
"Argh!" He began to slip. The broom stopped bucking and began flying around, loosening Harry's grip. Jordan was still preoccupied with the game, not taking notice of Harry's sudden plight. "Help!" yelled Harry, but it was to no avail.
The crowd slowly began to take notice of Harry's broom, and murmurs swept through the throngs of people, some maliciously gleeful from the Slytherin side, some worried and panicked from the Gryffindor side.
Harry's broom started to vibrate and slow down, and the sweat from his palms made it extremely difficult to keep his grip. Finger by finger, he began to slip. The broom almost seemed to realize this, and then turned vertical.
Harry fell.
A flash of white, a gentle thud, and Harry found himself on the ground. Dumbledore was standing by him, frowning. The rest of the players had paused, and were also standing by him. "Are you alright, Harry?" Dumbledore said with concern.
Harry nodded. "Professor, m-my broom." His Nimbus Two Thousand was dutifully floating by his side, like a friendly housepet, almost as if it had never tried to throw him off.
Dumbledore nodded grimly. "Someone in the crowd was jinxing your broom, Harry. And it was far too difficult a jinx to cast for any student to have done so."
Harry's first thought was Snape, but he kept his mouth shut. "Who jinxed it, Professor?"
Dumbledore frowned even more. "That is a good question, Harry. It is also beyond my knowledge. I do not know who jinxed your broom, but whoever did was determined to cause your harm. Foolishly, of course, as I immediately cast a Cushioning Charm beneath you as you fell. I would never let anything happen to any of my students."
Harry blinked. If he heard anyone else say that to him, he would have thought it to be arrogant. However, Dumbledore was obviously more powerful than he looked. Dumbledore gently helped Harry to his feet. "I do hope you shall forgive me for this, but I have decided to postpone the match for three days, while I sort out how best to protect you."
Harry swallowed his anger. Despite having just been "attacked", he was not highly inclined to give up the sport he had so suddenly become attached to. "O-okay."
The rest of the players grumbled openly, but didn't say anything in specific. As Harry got changed in the locker room, he rubbed his eyes blearily. Why would Snape jinx him? Sure, he was a greasy-nosed git who had a sadistic tendency towards Gryffindors, but why single him out?
His thoughts ran wild as he made his way back to his common room, but they weren't so clouded as to prevent him from noticing a limping Snape exiting a nearby classroom. Harry immediately jumped behind a statue of a cowering wizard, and listened, heart beating like mad, to his maybe-attacker.
"The boy needed to be taught a lesson." Snape snarled at whoever he was with. He began mumbling vicious things about meddling students, but a high, cold voice cut him off.
"Silence! That trick you pulled up there could have killed the boy."
Harry's heart stopped. Not only did Snape jinx him, but he did it on the commands of someone else? Someone with (as hard as it was to believe) worse intentions than Snape? As the cold voice spoke again, Harry stopped breathing, taking in every word.
"You have displeased me, Severus. I shall be keeping that in mind. But in the meantime, I require…sustenance. Commence brewing my potion immediately."
Snape answered, "Yes, of course," in a steady voice, but it seemed as though he was biting back something…was it anger? No…it was fear. Harry waited for Snape to leave, then began taking heaving breaths. Snape was the one who jinxed him, and it was no longer just his suspicion.
Harry ran down the corridor, eager to get back to Hermione and Ron to tell them about this, but he bumped into a giant, hairy wall—Hagrid.
"Blimey, Harry, wha's got you in a hurry?" he said, worry in his voice. "I saw what happened up there with yer broom, and lots of the teachers looked in a right state about it."
"Hagrid, I just heard Snape talking to someone about how he jinxed my broom," Harry gasped.
"What? No, Snape's a teacher, Harry. He wouldn' do somethin' like that." Hagrid said dismissively.
"Hagrid, I have proof! He tried getting past that three-headed dog on Halloween, I'm sure of it!"
"Wha—how do you know about Fluffy?"
Harry paused. "Fluffy?" he said cautiously.
Hagrid nodded. "Yeah, he's mine. Bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year. Lent him to Dumbledore to protect the, uh, well, tha's not important."
"Snape's trying to steal whatever's being guarded by Fluffy!" Harry insisted, but Hagrid waved his hand airily.
"Don' worry, Snape's one of the teachers protectin' the ruddy thing! Now, you listen to me," Hagrid said, suddenly serious. "You stop meddlin' in this stuff, it's gonna get you in more trouble than it's worth, so forget the dog, forget what he's guardin', and don' start investigatin' or nothin', that's between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."
Hagrid suddenly flushed. "I shouldn' have said that, I shouldn' have said that." He walked away, shaking his head and mumbling, leaving Harry to stand there in shock, wondering who Nicholas Flamel could possibly be, and why Snape was trying to steal something from him.
