Chapter 9


It took a couple days, but eventually Ron got over being upset about Hermione's Prefect status. In fact, after the twins pointed out to him that there'd be quite a few benefits being friends with a Prefect, he seemed almost delighted. Hermione appeared to be unsure whether she should be pleased with his change of attitude or irritated. Still, it was much nicer having everyone back on speaking terms.

It was strange being at school so early. When they had arrived, there were already a handful of students moved in. Daily, it seemed that more and more students would arrive to get settled in for the school year. Professor McGonagall's _expression got bleaker each day as she tried to keep everything and everyone in order. Most of the teachers hadn't arrived yet, so she was pretty much on her own.

One day while Hermione was helping Professor McGonagall keep a group of second years out of trouble, Ron and Harry decided to head out to the Quidditch pitch to practice. As the position for Keeper was open for the Gryffindor team, Ron was working tirelessly at perfecting his skills so he could get the spot. The boys were just coming onto the field when they heard angry voices echoing around them. It took them a minute to locate the speakers . . . although, they'd both immediately recognized the one voice as being Malfoy.

"Listen her," the blonde boy was saying to someone blocked from view. "I'm a Prefect, which means that you have to do what I tell you."

A female voice replied hotly, "Like bloody hell I do!" Ron and Harry only glanced at each other for a second before they both rushed over to where the others were standing.

As soon as they were close enough, they could see the owner of the female voice, which they'd already recognized. Loudly, Ron asked, "Is anything wrong here, Ginny?"

Malfoy whirled around and glared at the approaching boys. "Bug off," he said shortly, "This is neither of yours' business."

But Ron already moved over next to Ginny as he replied, "If it's got to do with my sister, then it Is my business." He glanced down at Ginny and asked, "What's going on here? Is he threatening you?"

Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy all began to laugh at that. Ginny, however, didn't look at all amused. "No, Ron . . . he isn't threatening me. Malfoy here was just telling me that the only students that can use the pitch are house Quidditch team players. All other students are forbidden to even just fly around down here."

Smirking, Malfoy added, "I was telling the little Weaslette that she needed to leave."

In an icy tone, Ginny shot back, "And I was telling Ferretface that I have as much right to fly down here as any other student."

Harry gawked at the girl standing there arguing with Malfoy. He found it hard to believe that she was the same shy little Ginny that blushed and dropped things around him. Of course, he'd already noticed that she had got over being clumsy around him. And she'd become more talkative and open with him too. But he wasn't at all used to this fiery girl's display of anger.


Malfoy seemed to be amused by it though. "If you dare leave the ground, I'll take off twenty points from Gryffindor just like that." And he snapped his fingers to prove his point.

"You can't do that," Ginny argued.

Moving right up to her face, Malfoy said back coolly, "You want to bet?

Ginny looked about ready to explode. In a quiet voice, Harry said, "She's right, Malfoy . . . you can't do that. The rule is that there is to be no flying down at the pitch after sunset unless for official team practice. And that has to be okayed by Professor McGonagall. Otherwise, the pitch is open to anyone with a broom."

Turning his glare onto Harry, Malfoy exclaimed, "How would You know what the rules are, Potty? You're not a Prefect!"

Harry just shrugged, not at all bothered by that fact. In the same quiet tone as he'd used before, he said, "No, I'm not. But Hermione is. She knows every single rule forewords and backwards. And she enjoys listing them out for us too."

"Well, personally, I wouldn't trust a Mudblood to know anything," Malfoy stated in a smug tone.

That, of course, was a huge mistake. Ron had whipped out his wand and was getting ready to fling the first curse that came to his mind at the Slytherin. Both Harry and Ginny managed to grab him, even as Crabbe and Goyle moved to protect Malfoy. Sputtering with anger, Ron said, "You better watch your mouth, Malfoy ..."

Laughing, Malfoy asked, "Or what?" His _expression became more serious as he stated calmly, "I'm not the one who's in any danger. Potty is, of course, because he's 'the boy who lived'. And that Mudblood girlfriend of yours is. For that matter, you and your whole weasel family better watch their backs . . . except Percy, of course. It's a bit too late for him ..."

That was a step too far. Harry and Ginny both dropped their hold on Ron as they went for their wands. All three in unison began to throw curses at the blonde boy. To their amazement, Crabbe and Goyle countered the curses without blinking an eye. From behind them, Malfoy just laughed. "You'll have to do better than that. As you can see, we've been training during the holiday."


Unable to do anything else, Harry dropped his wand arm down to his side. Ginny did the same a moment later. Ron, however, was clutching his wand tightly as he glared viciously at Malfoy. The Slytherin must have felt secure behind his two large friends, for he turned his attention once again on Ginny. In a pompous tone, he said, "Potty did say one thing right. The pitch is open to anyone with a broom. I don't see yours, Weaslette . . . could it be that you don't have one?"

Through clenched teeth, Ginny replied, "I was going to use one of the school's brooms."

Malfoy gave an overly dramatic sigh, then said, "I'm afraid that won't be possible. The storage shed is locked and only the Prefects know the password. I might have been willing to help you out earlier, but . . . after your recent behavior, I just don't feel that it would be right. So, since you don't have a broom, then you have no reason to be here." He paused as if realizing something suddenly, then smiled. In a voice dripping with sarcasm, he said, "If you would like, however, I'd be more than happy to escort you back up to the castle."

"She's not going anywhere with you, Malfoy," Ron snarled. He glanced at his broom, then looked up smugly. "If all she needs is a broom, then . . . here . . . we can share, Ginny." He held out the broom to his sister, bringing a bright smile to her face. Ginny mounted the broom, gave Malfoy a look of contempt, then kicked off of the ground to soar off into the sky above.

The boys below watched her fly swiftly and smoothly around the pitch for a moment. Then, knowing that he'd been beaten, Malfoy turned and stalked off. A second later, Crabbe and Goyle followed. As soon as they were out of earshot, Ron let out a string of some particularly offensive obscenities. Harry just stood there, silently agreeing with every word his best friend uttered.

When Ron finally calmed down, he glanced up at the sky at his sister and sighed. "Oh well . . . I'm sure I'll get a chance to practice some other time."

Harry looked at him questioningly, then peered down at his Firebolt. It only took him a moment to decide, before he thrust the broom out at Ron as he said, "Why don't you use mine? I can watch you from down here and let you know how you're doing."

Ron gave Harry a look of complete astonishment, then grinned widely. As he took the Firebolt from his friend, Ron said excitedly, "Thanks mate! This will be great!" He didn't wait a second more, but jumped onto the broom and took off into the air above. Soon, Harry was watching as, laughingly, Ron and Ginny chased each other around the sky.

So caught up in watching the red haired siblings, Harry lost track of time. He jumped with surprise when a voice suddenly said behind him. "Looks like they're having fun." Turning, he smiled and nodded at Hermione, who'd just come up from the school. She cocked her head to one side as she asked, "So how come your not up there too?"

Making a face of disgust, Harry said, "Because of Malfoy."

Hermione glanced around quickly. "Malfoy? Where?"

"He's not here now," Harry replied. "But he was earlier. He was giving Ginny a rough time because she wanted to do some flying. He had the nerve to tell her that the pitch was only open to house Quidditch team members."

Hermione interrupted, "Well, that is true . . . but only after sunset. During daylight hours, anyone can come down and use the pitch."

Nodding, Harry went on, "That's what we told him. So then he decided that you can only be down here if you've got a broom. Ginny, of course, didn't have one . . ."

Interrupting again, Hermione stated, "Well, that shouldn't have been a problem. She could just use one of the school's brooms. They're just in the storage shed across the field."

"I know, I know. But the shed's locked by password, and only Prefects know what it is. Malfoy, being a true git, refused to open it for her."

"Why that slimy little prat," Hermione exclaimed, causing Harry to grin. "I think that I may just have to speak to Professor McGonegall about this." She paused as she glanced up at the sky. "I'm surprised Malfoy didn't try to make you leave since you don't have a broom now."

Harry chuckled, "He didn't hang around long enough to find out that I was to become broomless. Just to spite Malfoy, Ron told him that he and Ginny were sharing his broom. Malfoy was truly peeved when Ron handed Gin the broom and she took off."

Hermione's _expression was somewhat proud and impressed as she followed Ron on the Firebolt with her eyes. "Good for them," she muttered. "That was a very mature way for you three to handle things. See . . . you didn't have to resort to physical threats or curses."

Harry's face immediately flushed as he glanced away guiltily. With a light groan, Hermione said, "Don't tell me. You guys did those things earlier." Nodding, Harry continued to look away. "Oh Harry . . . when will you boys learn . . ."

"Learn what?" Ron asked as he landed smoothly in front of them.

Hermione gave him a disapproving look as she said, "Learn that curses and threats and physical violence just aren't the way to deal with Malfoy."

All Ron could say to that was, "Oh."

Sighing, Hermione said, "Well, I'm here now, so I can get you boys another broom."

Ron got off the Firebolt and handed it back to Harry. "Here you go, Harry," he said, then turned quickly to fall in step with Hermione. In a casual tone, Ron stated, "I'll come with you, Hermione, so Harry can have his broom back."

Harry was fairly certain that wasn't the real reason he'd got his broom returned so quickly to him. Grinning and shaking his head lightly, Harry got on his broomstick and kicked off. Within seconds, he had totally forgotten about Ron and Hermione as he soared through the warm afternoon air. Harry loved the thrill of flying. It was one of the few things that he could truly enjoy without worrying about Voldemort or the war that was raging throughout the wizarding world.

A flash of red flew under him. Turning directions quickly, Harry found Ginny hovering behind him with a shining smile. "Hey there," she said, then zipped away again. Harry whipped his head around trying to locate her. He was totally baffled when Ginny suddenly appeared right next to him. She laughed happily at the _expression of surprise on his face.

"Your flying's improved a lot," Harry stated, his voice filled with admiration.

Ginny blushed lightly. Still smiling, she said, "Well it helps that I'm wide awake and my broom's not on fire."

Harry grinned too. "Yeah ... that is helpful. So, I take it that you're not planning on dive bombing to the ground." Ginny made a face as she shook her head no. "Good," Harry said, "If you change your mind, though, give me fair warning ... okay?"

"Sure. No problem," Ginny said with a wave of her hand. An impish grin suddenly appeared on her face as she looked at Harry and his broom for a moment.

Feeling a bit awkward, Harry asked, "What? What's wrong?"

Ginny continued to smile, eyes twinkling, as she replied, "Oh, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking about something." Harry stayed quiet, waiting for her to go on. Finally, she told him, "You know, we never did figure out it a person could switch from one broom to another broom in mid-air."

Harry gave her a startled look. "You're not suggesting that we try to find out now, are you?"

Ginny just shrugged. "I would think it'd be better to try it now rather than in the midst of an emergency."

He had to admit that she had a point there. Eyeing the distance to the ground, Harry said, "We should move down lower ... just in case." Nodding, Ginny nudged her broom downward and headed to the ground below. Hesitantly, Harry followed.

When they got a couple of feet off the ground, Harry called out, "Let's stop here, Gin. We don't want to be too close to the ground." He glanced at his broom and then over at Ginny's. "How do you want to do this? Me onto your broom or you onto mine?"

Ginny looked at her broom critically. "I think we should go with the broom that will hold the steadiest."

Harry wasn't sure what she meant by that, so he asked in a bewildered tone, 'So ... your broom or mine?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he smacked himself mentally.


Hovering, Ginny gave Harry an odd look, then began to giggle. Harry could feel the heat rising in his cheeks as he stated, "That didn't come out right." He watched as Ginny continued to laugh lightly, her head bowed down as she attempted to hide her own blush. When she continued to laugh at his misphrased question, Harry began to get a tad irritated. "It wasn't That funny."

Ginny glanced up at him, wiping at her eyes. "I know," she managed to say. "But I once overheard Fred and George talking about pick up lines and they both said that That line was one of the ones they hoped to get to use someday." She paused, took a deep breath, then began to giggle again. This just caused Harry to groan in dismay. She quickly tried to settle down as she said, "I'm sorry ... I'm sorry. It's just that ... George and Fred will be so proud to learn that you've got to use that line."

"I did Not 'use' the line," Harry protested. "I just ... said it. That's all."

Smirking, Ginny replied, "Okay ... Okay!"

Harry grumbled as he asked tersely, "Are we going to try this or not?"

Ginny bit her lip in response to the boy's tone. Harry noticed that she seemed to shy away from him a little even. In a soft voice, Ginny said, "We don't have to ... it was just an idea."

"It's a good idea," Harry said quickly, hoping to make up for having snapped at her. Smiling gently, he added, "Why don't we start with you trying to switch over to my broom" Silently, Ginny nodded. Harry edged his broom up next to her, then said, "Okay ... see if you can swing your leg over the Firebolt."

Twisting herself on her broom, Ginny tried to find the right angle to be in so she could slide off her broom and onto Harry's. First, she tried it by attempting to lift her one leg over Harry's broom as well as hers. That didn't work. She tried from the other side of Harry, but nearly fell off her broom. Shaking, yet determined, Ginny moved on her broom so that she was flying side-saddle.

Inching closer, Harry watched carefully as Ginny too a deep breath as she eyed the Firebolt with total concentration. Slowly, she moved one leg up and over Harry's broom, so that her knee was bent over it. Her broom lurched a bit, pulling them both down. "Grab my robe, Gin ... and pull yourself up," Harry suggested.

Ginny nodded silently, then reached up with one hand to grab on to the back of Harry's robe. In one swift, smooth move, she pushed off her broom with one hand , while pulling herself up with the other. A moment later, with Ginny safely on the broom with him, Harry watched as her broom fell to the ground.

Feeling Ginny shiver lightly from behind him, Harry turned and looked back at her. "You okay, Gin?" he asked, eyeing her with concern. She nodded, but still was clinging tightly to his robe.

Gently, Harry lowered them to the ground. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he turned once again to look at Ginny. She looked back at him with wide eyes as she said, "That ... was not as easy as I thought it would be."

Seeing the _expression of near fright on Ginny's pretty face, Harry suddenly felt bad for having had her go first. "I'm sorry, Gin," he said sincerely. "That was dangerous. I should have been the one to try first."

Ginny looked a bit surprised by his comment. For a moment, she seemed to be searching his eyes closely as if trying to read something in them. As she did, Harry found himself unable to look away ... nor did he have any desire to. Instead, he studied her eyes about as closely as she was his. He had never noticed before just how deep brown Ginny's eyes were, nor the way they held both a glint of innocence and yet a sparkle of mischief in them. Ginny blinked suddenly, then opened her mouth to speak.

"What the bloody hell do you think you were doing?" sounded a voice from near by.

Both Harry and Ginny broke eye contact to look over at the speaker. Ron was marching swiftly towards them with Hermione trying to keep up. "You could have got seriously hurt doing that, Ginny," Ron stated hotly. Turning on his best friend, he added, "And why did you let her do that, Harry?" What were you thinking?"

Harry sighed, a bit hurt by Ron's accusatory tone. Ginny, however, was glaring at her brother. "Sod off, Ron," she said as she got off of Harry's broom. "I'm not a little girl anymore ... I can try anything that I want ... dangerous or not." Walking over to were her broom lay, Ginny placed her hand over it and commanded, "Up!" The broom instantly flew up into her awaiting hand.

Ron began to open his mouth, but Hermione quickly interrupted. "We're not upset, Ginny," she said gently. "We just want to know why you two were doing something like that."

Hoping to clear things up quickly, Harry answered, "We were practicing switching from on broom to another. During the attack ..." Harry paused, casting a nervous, yet concerned glance at both Ginny and Ron. Both of the Weasleys, though obviously stung at the reminder of the past incident, were watching him intently. Deciding to continue, Harry went on, "When we were flying off towards the safety zone, Gin's broom caught on fire. We had tried to do a switch over then, but weren't able to. We just thought that it might be smart to figure it out in a less dangerous situation ... just in case ..."

For a moment, no one said anything. Then Ron replied, "Oh ... okay. That makes sense." Harry let out a breath he'd been holding in unaware. Ron glanced over at Hermione and grinned almost wickedly. "You know ... it would be a good idea to practice riding double on a broom ... just in case."

Hermione's eyes widened as she shook her head. "Oh no ... I don't like to fly ..."

"You won't have to do the flying," he stated quickly. "All you have to do is hold on ... I'll take care of the rest." Hermione didn't look at all convinced. In an exasperated voice, Ron added, "We'll just fly around the pitch a couple times. It's not as if I'm planning on doing a Wronski Feint or something."


The look of doubt began to fade from Hermione's face as she said softly, "Well ..." Ron immediately switched expressions once more, this time to a puppy-eyed, imploring gaze. The effect was quite obvious as Hermione seemed to relax a bit as she sighed. "Oh ... all right. But just a few times and then that's it."

Ron grinned broadly as he straddled the broom he was holding. Patting the stick behind him, he waggled his eyebrows at Hermione. She immediately blushed. Hesitantly she walked over and straddled the broom behind Ron. "Hold on," Ron stated as he kicked off the ground. Hermione gave a little squeal, then wrapped her arms tightly around Ron's waist. Grinning even wider, Ron flew them up and away.

Harry and Ginny exchanged looks, then burst into light laughter. Jumping onto her broom, Ginny said, "Come on, Harry. It's your turn now." She kicked off and flew up a little ways to hover as she waited. Without hesitation, Harry followed her example and soon was flying level with her.

"Okay, Gin," Harry said as he brought his broom close to hers. "Just concentrate on holding your broom steady." As Ginny worked on steadying her broom, Harry readjusted himself on the Firebolt. Then, very carefully, he put his leg over Ginny's broom behind her. "Oh blimey," Harry muttered, trying to keep his leg over Ginny's broom and still control the Firebolt. "This is harder than it looks."

"Just do what I did," Ginny said, giving him an encouraging smile. "Push off of your broom while pulling yourself up by my robe."

Despite his current position, Harry looked up at the girl with an _expression of serious doubt. "If I do that, I'll pull us both off," he stated.

Ginny rolled her eyes as she looked back at him. "Oh please," she said, "I think I'm strong enough to keep That from happening."

Harry continued to give her a doubtful stare, then finally sighed heavily. "Fine," he muttered, shifting himself into position. "Just don't blame me when we have to spend the night in the Hospital Wing having our bones mended."


With that said, Harry grabbed on to the back of Ginny's robe and did what she suggested. A second later, he was safely on the broom behind Ginny watching his Firebolt fall to the ground.


"Brilliant job, mate," Ron exclaimed as he and Hermione appeared on a broom next to them.

Harry was surprised to see that Hermione was actually smiling, her eyes sparkling with delight. "Having fun?" he asked her, fairly sure what her answer would be.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Flying's so much better when someone else is doing the flying. All I have to do is hold on." In front of him, Harry heard Ginny giggle at that.

In a daring voice, Ron said, "How about a race? Once around the pitch. We'll see who's the fastest."

Ginny glanced over her shoulder at Harry with a questioning look. A small smile formed on his face as he simply said, "Go for it!"

Turning back to her brother, Ginny stated, "You're on, Ron."

They moved over to one side of the pitch. In a loud voice, Hermione said, "On your mark . . . get set . . ."

"GO!" Ron shouted as he took off flying.

From where they hovered, Harry yelled, "Hey! That's cheating!" Even as he speaking, Ginny was working on correcting their late start. She leaned down low against the broom and urged it forward. Without any thought of what he was doing, Harry did the same until he was pressing down upon her back. "Come on, Gin," he encouraged, "We can do it!"

Within seconds, they had caught up to their friends. Ron, seeing their technique, tried to imitate them. Hermione, however, refused to lean forward and was instead yelling at Ron to sit back up. Ginny and Harry had no problem swooshing past them. The stayed close enough to listen to Ron trying unsuccessfully to convince Hermione to lean down.

Both Ginny and Harry looked over their shoulders to watch the argument between Ron and Hermione. Finally, Hermione just gave a frustrated groan and leaned forward. Not even a second later, a dark round object went whizzing fast across the broom where the girl's head would have been had she still been sitting up. Hermione screamed and Ron cursed loudly as he attempted to steer out of the path of another round object. "What the bloody . . ."

"Ron! Look out!" Harry yelled to his friend, after spotting yet another ball zooming towards his friends. He glanced up to watch the other two round balls continue their flight upward. Both paused in mid-air and then began to dive. Not straight down, though, but directly at Ron and Hermione. "Watch Out!" Harry shouted. "Those are bludgers!"

In front of him, Ginny called out, "Harry! Look!" She pointed down below where they were now hovering. Not one . . . or two . . . or even three bludgers were heading up towards them, but what looked to be over a dozen or so.

Repeating some of the same curses Ron had been uttering moments before, Harry watched the bludgers closely. He was about to yell to Ginny to get them out of there when he noticed something. None of the bludgers were heading for them. They all seemed to be targeting on Ron and Hermione. Harry blinked with surprise when the dozen or so balls came to a stop right under Ron's broom.

"What are they doing?" Ginny asked, staring in horror as the remaining bludgers took turns attacking her brother and friend.

"I don't know," Harry answered. "But they're not acting like normal bludgers. We got to go up there and help them." Ginny, however, didn't move. Anxiously, Harry said to her, "Come on, Gin ... we've got to do something before they get hurt." With a slight nod, Ginny turned the broom and began to head downward. "Ginny? Where are you going?"

Over her shoulder, Ginny yelled, "We won't do any good without some means of protection. We need clubs or something. And it'd be better if we were each on our own broom."

Harry looked at the girl with open amazement. What she said made sense. Still, he felt as if they were wasting time. All of a sudden, he heard Ginny mutter an angry curse. "What? What's wrong?" he asked.

Ginny motioned with a nod of her head as she answered, "Someone's after your Firebolt."

"What!" Harry exclaimed. Looking around the ground below, he caught sight of a figure running across the field towards the area where his broom lay. Because of the hood being pulled up, Harry couldn't see who the person was. But, whoever it was, there was no way he was going to let him or her get to his Firebolt first. Speaking into Ginny's ear, Harry said, "Try to get to the Firebolt first. Only slow down a little when we reach it ... and get as low as possible."

Ginny nodded in understanding and bent as low forward as possible. Harry held his breath as they came right above the hooded figure. Seconds later, they were in the lead with the broom only a few feet away. Ginny brought them down till their feet nearly touched the grass. With one hand, Harry held tight to Ginny's waist. The other, he stretched out to his side. As they passed over his Firebolt, Harry called out firmly, "UP!" The broom rose up in a flash and straight into his awaiting hand.

As Ginny pulled them up, Harry noticed that the figure had just reached the spot where his broom had been. When they reached a safe distance up, Ginny slowed her broom so they could hover. Harry moved his broom into position then said, "Well ... here goes nothing." In one smooth move, he leapt from Ginny's broom to the Firebolt. As soon as he was settled on it, he turned to Ginny. "We need to get some Beater clubs."

Looking up at where Ron and Hermione were still dodging bludgers, Ginny replied, "No time." She glanced around down at the ground below, then her eyes seemed to focus on something.

Harry followed her line of sight and realized that she was looking at the edge of a wooded section near the pitch. "What are you thinking, Gin?" he asked with curiosity.

"Wood," Ginny said simply, then took her broom into a dive for the forest. Harry quickly followed. Reaching the ground, she called back to him, "Find something to use as a club."

Harry searched around desperately. Finally, he spotted a small pile of blocks of wood. "There!" he yelled out, pointing to the wood. Ginny located his findings and zoomed towards it. They each picked up a sturdy piece of wood ... Harry took two, actually ... then exchanged a look. Without a word, they immediately flew back up to where their friends were.

Ron spotted them as he dove out of the way of another attacking bludger. "Where've you two been!?" he demanded. With great difficulty, Harry managed to slip through the wall of bludgers below Ron and fly up to his friends. Wordlessly, he handed Ron the extra stick of wood. Ron looked at it for a second blankly. Then, slowly, he began to smile. "Bloody Brilliant, mate!"

Another bludger interrupted them just then. As it whipped around to take another go, Ron raised his stick in anticipation. The bludger got so close before Ron smacked it with all his might, sending it hurtling towards the ground below. With a whoop of celebration, the redhead exclaimed, "Now This is more like it!"

Harry and Ron worked on batting away the attacking bludgers while below them, Ginny fought off the barricade of round balls. Despite all their hard effort, Harry knew that they were out numbered. They needed to catch each of the bludgers and lock them back up. But that was impossible to do up in the air. They'd have to break through the barrier of bludgers and lure them to the ground. But so far, Ginny hadn't been able to punch through it. In fact, the pesky little buggers were now nearly circling Ron, Hermione, and Harry.

Glancing down at Ginny, Harry suddenly yelled, "Gin! ... Behind you!"

A group of three bludgers were rocketing fast towards her. There was no way she could protect herself from all three. Harry just leaned slightly forward on his broom in preparation to dive towards the girl, when he saw a figure fly quickly below him. Another followed. Looking back at where Ginny was, Harry broke into a smile. "George! Fred! Good to see you!"

Neither of the twins looked very happy at the moment. With almost a battle cry, they began to attack the oncoming bludgers. Fred called up to the others, "Knock them towards the ground. Alicia and the others will catch them." Slowly ... and somewhat painfully ... they began to move all of the bludgers downward. On the ground below, Harry could see Alicia, Katie, Angelina, Seamus, Dean, and other Gryffindor students running around tackling the errant balls.

It took almost a half an hour, but they eventually had all of the bludgers caught and locked away. Wearily, the six students descended to the ground. As soon as they did, Hermione threw herself off the back of Ron's broom. She landed in a small heap, sobbing quietly. The older Gryffindor girls immediately began to console her as Ron looked on with a pale, yet dumbfounded _expression on his face.


Harry looked closely at his best friend as he asked, "Are you two okay? You didn't get hit, did you?"

Ron shook his head slowly. "I don't think so . . . we're shaken up, but I don't think we got hit." He still was gazing down with concern at Hermione.

Harry shifted his attention to Ginny, who was sitting on the ground next to him. "How about you? he asked, glancing her over in search of any bumps or bleeding.

She looked tired, but fine. "I'm okay. Did you get hit?" she asked, eyeing him also. Harry shook his head no.

"What the bloody hell did you think you were doing, Potter?" Fred demanded angrily as he marched up to where they all were sitting. Harry, startled by both the question and the boy's tone, just gapped at him. "Well?" the older boy said, getting right up into Harry's face.

"Back off, Fred," Ron said firmly. "None of this was Harry's fault."

Fred still didn't look away from Harry even though he did take a step back away from him. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed that even George was gawking at his brother's attitude. "Well, then," Fred said, still quite angry, "I'd like to know who thought it would be fun to set every single bludger the school owns loose."

Both Harry and Ron answered, "So would we!"

Ginny stepped up to her brother and placed a hand softly on his arm. "Fred," she said calmly, "We don't know who let the bludgers out. Harry and I saw someone in robes with the hood up running across the field. Whoever it was tried to get to Harry's Firebolt before we could."

Harry interrupted with, "He ... or she might have if Ginny hadn't flown so well. We just managed to reach it first."

Fred held his hand up. "Hold on. You've just lost me. Why were you riding a broom with my sister? And why were Ron and Hermione sharing a broom?"

Taking a deep breath, Harry told Fred and the others with him what all had happened since he and Ron had arrived at the pitch. When he finished, George commented, "Sounds to me like Malfoy was behind all this."

Everyone appeared to agree with that. In a quiet voice, Fred said to Harry, "Sorry about jumping on you like that. Seeing my brother and sister in danger ... after what happened ... I guess it made me snap."

Harry looked at the older boy silently for a moment. As Fred had been apologizing, Harry realized something. Fred automatically assumed that if his family were in danger than it must be because of him. That though was like a crushing blow. What was worse was that Harry knew that in a way, Fred was right. Muttering, Harry said, "I understand ... Perfectly." Not wanting to discuss it anymore, Harry stalked off the pitch, shoulders slumped in misery.

Over the remaining days of the summer holiday, Harry made up excuses to be alone and not have to see or speak to anyone. Ron, of course, was near impossible to get away from. But to Harry's surprise, his best friend didn't pressure him to talk or hand around. He did, however, make it perfectly clear that he was still there for Harry if he should need to talk.

September 1st finally rolled around and Harry, unable to come up with an excuse not to, found himself heading into the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast. As he sat down at the Gryffindor table, he glanced around at all the other students. More returning students had arrived, but it was still painfully obvious that there were some missing.

Ron and Hermione sat down next to him, also looking around the hall. As Harry glanced down his own table, he spotted the twins sitting not too far away. Next to them, sitting very quietly, was Ginny. With a pang of regret and guilt, Harry realized that in his retreat from everyone because of his feelings of hurt, he had also been ignoring Ginny. That was not something he'd intended to do.

Just then, the young girl raised her eyes from the table and gazed down at Harry. A rapid display of emotions crossed her face as their eyes met. Finally, she just looked at him with an _expression of frightened hope. Still holding her gaze, Harry slowly smiled softly at her. She blinked a couple of times in surprise ... which made the grin on Harry's face actually reach both his eyes and heart. Then, shyly, she smiled back.

"Hey Potter!" a voice yelled from the table over. Somewhat reluctantly, Harry tore his gaze away from Ginny to see who was greeting him. Waving wildly from the Ravenclaw table was Justin Finch-Fletchley. Harry gave a quick wave back, but said nothing. His eyes drifted across the occupants of the other house's table until they suddenly locked with two extremely dark brown eyes. It was Cho Chang.

She didn't wave or smile, but she also didn't look away. Her _expression was sad. Seeing that Harry was looking back at her, Cho gave a small smile as she nodded her head to acknowledge him. Harry forced himself to do the same in return.

The large doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall led in a nervous looking group of first years. Harry watched as the woman set up the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on top of it. He only half listened to the instructions the professor gave and the song that the Sorting Hat sang. Without hearing names, he watched as several students took their turns with the Sorting Hat.

"Li Chang," Professor McGonagall called out, immediately gaining Harry's attention. He watched a young boy with black hair and a very serious face walked up to the stool. It was fairly safe to assume that this boy was of some relation to Cho, as he looked almost exactly like her. Li sat down on the stool and Professor McGonagall lowered the hat onto his head.

Taking a quick glance, Harry noted that Cho was watching intensely. He turned his attention back to the boy. Li didn't move or fidget as many of the first years did. He just sat there calmly as minute upon minute passed by. A low murmur was beginning to stir through the room with the hat shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry's table burst into cheers, while a loud muttering sounded from Ravenclaw. As Li was greeted by his new housemates, Harry glanced over again at Cho. She was sitting there staring at Li with an _expression of pure shock.

"Darmia Crabbe," was called out next by Professor McGonagall. Harry turned back to the sorting in time to see a petite girl with blonde curls stroll up to the stool. As with Li, the Sorting Hat took awhile to decide on which house. "SLYTHERIN!" it eventually called out. The Slytherin table broke into applause as the girl calmly strolled over to join them.

Harry noticed Malfoy's one gooney, Crabbe, smile warmly at the girl as she sat down. "Must be his sister," Ron said, having also been watching. He added with a smirk, "She must have got her mother's looks and not her dad's ... like Crabbe did." Hermione tutted him as she lightly whapped his arm.

The sorting continued on with the Gryffindors getting their last addition rather early. A girl named Colleen Jefferies quietly took her seat at the table, her eyes full of mischief and wonder. After her, the remaining students either went to Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. When everyone was finally settled, Professor Dumbledore stood up to address them.

"I would like to welcome you all, both new and returning, to Hogwarts. We hope to have a pleasant and safe year. To help with that, there are a few rules. No student should enter the Forbidden Forest for any reason. All students are to be in their Common rooms or dormitories by sunset unless for classes or activities approved by one of the professors. We are asking that none of you wander off alone outdoors ...even during the day. And finally, it is necessary for every one of us to keep our eyes and ears open at all times. If you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, please inform me immediately."

Harry noted with dismay that Professor Dumbledore's last statement was almost completely directed at him and his friends.

Professor Dumbledore suddenly smiled then, as he continued on. "Not all of this year will be seriousness and studying. We will once again be holding Quidditch matches. And there may be another surprise or two awaiting you later in the year. So, with that said, it is time for the Welcoming Feast to begin." The older wizard waved his hand and the tables all were filled up with delicious food and treats.

Soon, all in the hall were eating. Harry, too, munched on his food as he thought about Dumbledore's words. He somehow doubted that this year would be more fun than serious. Still, he knew from experience that one could never tell what might happen at a place like Hogwarts.


A/N: Thanks to all who are still reading my fic. I love feedback. And a special thanks to my new beta reader, Amy! Hope you all are enjoying the story -- Thanks again for reading :-)