Chapter 10: Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw.
Chelbell2016:
Please review.
Selena's POV:
It looked like the end of Ron and Hermione's friendship. Each was so angry with the other that Harry and I couldn't see how they'd ever make up.
Ron was enraged that Hermione had never taken Crookshanks's attempts to eat Scabbers seriously, hadn't bothered to keep a close enough watch on him, and Hermione was still trying to pretend that Crookshanks was innocent by suggesting that Ron look for Scabbers under all the boys' beds. Hermione, meanwhile, maintained fiercely that Ron had no proof that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, that the ginger hairs might have been there since Christmas, and that Ron had been prejudiced against her cat ever since Crookshanks had landed on Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie.
Personally, Harry was sure that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, and when he tried to point out to Hermione that the evidence all pointed that way, she lost her temper with Harry too.
"Okay, side with Ron, I knew you would!" she said shrilly. "First the Firebolt, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it! just leave me alone, Harry, I've got a lot of work to do!"
Ron had taken the loss of his rat very hard indeed.
"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was," said Fred bracingly. "And he's been off-color for ages, he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly - one swallow - he probably didn't feel a thing."
"Fred!" said Ginny and I indignantly.
"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself," said George.
"He bit Goyle for us once!" Ron said miserably. "Remember, Harry, Selena?"
"Yeah, that's true," said Harry.
"His finest hour," said Fred, unable to keep a straight face. "Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory. Oh, come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy a new rat, what's the point of moaning?"
In a last-ditch attempt to cheer Ron up, Harry persuaded him to come along with us bothto the Gryffindor team's final practice before the Ravenclaw match, so that he could have a ride on the Firebolt after they'd finished. This did seem to take Ron's mind off Scabbers for a moment ("Great! Can I try and shoot a few goals on it?") so they set off for the Quidditch field together.
Madam Hooch, who was still overseeing Gryffindor practices to keep an eye on Harry, was just as impressed with the Firebolt as everyone else had been. She took Harry's in her hands before takeoff and gave them the benefit of her professional opinion.
"Look at the balance on it! If the Nimbus series has a fault, it's a slight list to the tail end - you often find they develop a drag after a few years. They've updated the handle too, a bit slimmer than the Cleansweeps, reminds me of the old Silver Arrows - a Pity they've stopped making them. I learned to fly on one, and a very fine old broom it was too..."
She continued in this vein for some time, until Wood said, "Er - Madam Hooch? Is it okay if Harry has the Firebolt back? We need to practice..."
"Oh - right - here you are, then, Potter," said Madam Hooch. "I'll sit over here with Weasley..."
She and Ron left the field to sit in the stadium, and the Gryffindor team gathered around Wood for his final instructions for tomorrow's match.
"Harry, I've just found out who Ravenclaw is playing as Seeker. It's Cho Chang. She's a fourth year, and she's pretty good... I really hoped she wouldn't be fit, she's had some problems with injuries..." Wood scowled his displeasure that Cho Chang had made a full recovery, then said, "On the other hand, she rides a Comet Two Sixty, which is going to look like a joke next to the Firebolt." He gave Harry's broom a look of fervent admiration, then said, "Okay, everyone, let's go - "
And at long last, I mounted the Firebolt and kicked off.
It was better than I'd ever dreamed. The Firebolt turned with the lightest touch; it seemed to obey my thoughts rather than my grip; it sped across the field at such speed that the stadium turned into a green-and-gray blur; Harry turned his so sharply that we nearly crashed so I screamed and zoomed out of his way. then he went into a perfectly controlled dive, brushing the grassy field with his toes before rising thirty, forty, fifty feet into the air again.
"Harry, I'm letting the Snitch out!" Wood called.
As Harry went after the snitch I was passed the quaffle and I raced up the pitch. Just as Harry caught the snitch the quaffle zoomed by Wood and into the goal.
The team cheered madly. This time I pass the quaffle to Angelina who passes it to me and I speed to Katie who is not far from the goals. I pass it to her and she quickly scores again. All three of us girls high five.
It was the best practice ever; the team, inspired by the presence of the Firebolt in their midst, performed their best moves faultlessly, and by the time they hit the ground again, Wood didn't have a single criticism to make, which, as George Weasley pointed out, was a first.
"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow!" said Wood. "Not unless - Harry, Selena you've sorted out your dementor problem, haven't you?"
"Yeah," said Harry and I at the same time.
"The dementors won't turn up again, Oliver. Dumbledore'd go ballistic," said Fred confidently.
"Well, let's hope not," said Wood. "Anyway - good work, everyone. Let's get back to the tower... turn in early -"
"I'm staying out for a bit; Ron wants a go on the Firebolt," Harry told Wood, and while the rest of the team headed off to the locker rooms, Harry and I strode over to Ron, who vaulted the barrier to the stands and came to meet us. Madam Hooch had fallen asleep in her seat.
"Here you go," said Harry, handing Ron the Firebolt.
Ron, an expression of ecstasy on his face, mounted the broom and zoomed off into the gathering darkness and I followed him on my own broom while Harry walked around the edge of the field, watching him. Night had fallen before Madam Hooch awoke with a start, told Harry Ron and I off for not waking her, and insisted that they go back to the castle.
Harry and I shouldered our Firebolts and the two of us and Ron and Ron walked out of the shadowy stadium, discussing the Firebolt's superbly smooth action, its phenomenal acceleration, and its pinpoint turning. They were halfway toward the castle when I felt a pull at my heart. It was the same pull I felt at the last match.
Harry stopped dead, his heart banging against his ribs.
"What's the matter?" said Ron.
Harry pointed. Ron pulled out his wand and muttered, "Lumos!"
A beam of light fell across the grass, hit the bottom of a tree, and illuminated its branches; there, crouching among the budding leaves, was Crookshanks.
"Get out of here!" Ron roared, and he stooped down and seized a stone lying on the grass, but before he could do anything else, Crookshanks had vanished with one swish of his long ginger tail.
"See?" Ron said furiously, chucking the stone down again. "She's still letting him wander about wherever he wants - probably washing down Scabbers with a couple of birds now..."
Harry and I went down to breakfast the next morning with the rest of the boys in his dormitory and some girls from mine, all of whom seemed to think the Firebolts deserved a sort of guard of honor. As we entered the Great Hall, heads turned in the direction of the Firebolts, and there was a good deal of excited muttering. We saw, with enormous satisfaction, that the Slytherin team were all looking thunderstruck.
"Did you see his face?" said Ron gleefully, looking back at Malfaoy. "He can't believe it! This is brilliant!"
Wood, too, was basking in the reflected glory of the Firebolts.
"Put it here, you two," he said, laying the brooms in the middle of the table and carefully turning them so that the name faced upward. People from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were soon coming over to look. Cedric Diggory came over to congratulate Harry and I on having acquired such a superb replacement for his Nimbus, and Percy's Ravenclaw girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, asked if she could actually hold the Firebolt.
"Now, now, Penny, no sabotage!" said Percy heartily as she examined the Firebolt closely. "Penelope and I have got a bet on," he told the team. "Ten Galleons on the outcome of the match!"
Penelope put the Firebolt down again, thanked Harry, and went back to her table.
"Harry - Selena make sure you win," said Percy, in an urgent whisper. "I haven't got ten Galleons. Yes, I'm coming, Penny!" And-he bustled off to join her in a piece of toast.
"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter, Dumbledore?" said a cold, drawling voice.
Draco Malfoy had arrived for a closer look, Crabbe and Coyle right behind him.
"Yeah, reckon so," said Harry casually and I nod my head.
"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" said Malfoy, eyes glittering maliciously. "Shame it doesn't come with a parachute - in case you two get too near a dementor."
Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.
"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," said Harry. "Then it could catch the Snitch for you."
"And a seatbelt as last year you fell off of your broom," I say smiling politely.
The Gryffindor team laughed loudly. Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed, and he stalked away. They watched him rejoin the rest of the Slytherin team, who put their heads together, no doubt asking Malfoy whether Harry's broom really was a Firebolt.
At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the locker rooms. The weather couldn't have been more different from their match against Hufflepuff. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there would be no visibility problems this time, and I though nervous, was starting to feel the excitement only a Quidditch match could bring. They could hear the rest of the school moving into the stadium beyond.
I took off my black school robes, remove my wand from my pocket, and stuck it inside the T-shirt I am going to wear under my Quidditch robes. I can only hope I wouldn't need it. I wondered suddenly whether Professor Lupin was in the crowd, watching.
"You know what we've got to do," said Wood as they prepared to leave the locker rooms. "If we lose this match, we're out of the running. just - just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!"
They walked out onto the field to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw team, dressed in blue, were already standing in the middle of the field. Their Seeker, Cho Chang, was the only girl on their team.
"Wood, Davies, shake hands," Madam Hooch said briskly, and Wood shook hands with the Ravenclaw Captain.
"Mount your brooms... on my whistle... three - two - one -"
I kicked off into the air and zoomed into position so I am ready to catch the quaffle. Lee Jordan begins his commentary.
"They're off, and the big excitement this match are the Firebolts that Harry Potter and Selena Dumbledore are flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship -"
"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" interrupted Professor McGonagall's voice.
"Right you are, Professor - just giving a bit of background information - the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and -"
"Jordan!"
"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor, heading for goal..."
Katie passes the quaffle to me and I pass it back to her. Angelina then takes it and throws it back to me. I dodge a bludger and I shoot.
I SCORE! The gryffindor's go wild.
Ravenclaw has the quaffle so I quickly fly by and as there player throws it I catch it. There is a roar of anger from the ravenclaw side. I throw it to Angelina who scores.
Katie and I score three goals apiece. With my firebolt we cannot go wrong.
Not long after Harry had gone for the snitch but was intercepted by a bludger.
There was a great "Ooooooh" of disappointment from the Gryffindor supporters, but much applause for their Beater from the Ravenclaw end. George Weasley vented his feelings by hitting the second Bludger directly at the offending Beater, who was forced to roll right over in midair to avoid it.
"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Selena is unstoppable on hers as she scores more goals then anyone else. And Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn - Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision- balance is really noticeable in these long -"
"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"
Ravenclaw was pulling back; they had now scored three goals, which put Gryffindor only fifty points ahead - Harry needed to catch the snitch-
I scored another goal. But then as I went by Katie she gasped.
I looked down.
Three dementors, three tall, black, hooded dementors, were looking up at me.
I didn't stop to think. Plunging a hand down the neck of mt robes, I whipped out my wand and roared, "Expecto patronum!"
Harry did at the same time and I see two corporeal patronus' heading towards the dementors. It shocked me how clear my head is.
Madam Hooch's whistle sounded. I turned to see Harry had caught the snitch we all go racing to him.
"That's my boy!" Wood kept yelling. Angelina, and Katie had kissed Harry; Fred had me in a grip so tight I felt as though my head would come off In complete disarray, the team managed to make its way back to the ground. I got off my broom and looked up to see a gaggle of Gryffindor supporters sprinting onto the field, Ron in the lead. Before we knew it, we had been engulfed by the cheering crowd.
"Yes!" Ron yelled, yanking Harry's arm into the air. "Yes! Yes!"
"Well done, Harry!" said Percy, looking delighted. "Ten Galleons to me! Must find Penelope, excuse me -"
"Good for you, Harry!" roared Seamus Finnigan.
"Ruddy brilliant!" boomed Hagrid over the heads of the milling Gryffindors.
"WELL DONE GUYS!" Mum said clapping.
"That was quite some Patronus," said a voice in mine and Harry's ears.
Harry and I turned around to see Professor Lupin, who looked both shaken and pleased.
"The dementors didn't affect me at all!" Harry said excitedly. "I didn't feel a thing! What about you Selena?"
I nodded that it was the same for me.
"That would be because they - er - weren't dementors," said Professor Lupin. "Come and see - "
He led us out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of the field.
"You gave Mr. Malfoy quite a fright," said Lupin.
Harry and I stared. Lying in a crumpled heap on the ground were Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team Captain, all struggling to remove themselves from long, black, hooded robes. It looked as though Malfoy had been standing on Goyle's shoulders. Standing over them, with an expression of the utmost fury on her face, was Professor McGonagall.
"An unworthy trick!" she was shouting. "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker and one of there chasers! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"
If anything could have set the seal on Gryffindor's victory, it was this. Ron, who had fought his way through to Harry's side, doubled up with laughter as they watched Malfoy fighting to extricate himself from the robe, Goyle's head still stuck inside it.
"Come on, Harry Selena!" said George, fighting his way over. "Party! Gryffindor common room, now!"
"Right," said Harry and I, feeling happier than we had in ages, us two and the rest of the team led the way, still in their scarlet robes, out of the stadium and back up to the castle.
It felt as though they had already won the Quidditch Cup; the party went on all day and well into the night. Fred and George Weasley disappeared for a couple of hours and returned with armfuls of bottles of butterbeer, pumpkin fizz, and several bags full of Honeydukes sweets.
"How did you do that?" squealed Angelina Johnson as George started throwing Peppermint Toads into the crowd.
"With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Talon Padfoot, and Prongs," Fred muttered in Harry's ear.
Only one person wasn't joining in the festivities. Hermione, incredibly, was sitting in a corner, attempting to read an enormous book entitled Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles. Harry and I broke away from the table where Fred and George had started juggling butterbeer bottles and went over to her.
"Did you even come to the match?" Harry asked her.
"Of course I did," said Hermione in a strangely high-pitched voice, not looking up. "And I'm very glad we won, and I think you did really well, but I need to read this by Monday."
"Come on, Hermione, come and have some food," Harry said, looking over at Ron and wondering whether he was in a good enough mood to bury the hatchet.
"I can't, Harry. I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" said Hermione, now sounding slightly hysterical. "Anyway..." She glanced over at Ron too. "He doesn't want me to join in."
There was no arguing with this, as Ron chose that moment to say loudly, "If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He used to really like them -"
Hermione burst into tears. Before Harry could say or do anything, she tucked the enormous book under her arm, and, still sobbing, ran toward the staircase to the girls' dormitories and out of sight.
"Can't you give her a break?" Harry asked Ron quietly.
"No," said Ron flatly. "If she just acted like she was sorry - but she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers has gone on vacation or something."
The Gryffindor party ended only when Professor McGonagall turned up in her tartan dressing gown and hair net at one in the morning, to insist that they all go to bed. I climbed the stairs to the dormitory and fell asleep not long after.
"AAARRGGHH! NOOO!"
A loud scream was heard from the boys dormitory.
All of us girls shared a look before we all scrambled out of bed. We were not the only ones. Doors opened behind them, and sleepy voices called after them.
"Who shouted?"
"What're you doing?"
The common room was lit with the glow of the dying fire, still littered with the debris from the party. It was deserted.
"Are you sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?"
"I'm telling you, I saw him!"
"What's all the noise?"
"Professor McGonagall told us to go to bed!"
"Excellent, are we carrying on?" said Fred Weasley brightly.
"Everyone back upstairs!" said Percy, hurrying into the common room and pinning his Head Boy badge to his pajamas as he spoke.
"Perce - Sirius Black!" said Ron faintly. "In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!"
I froze as everyone became silent.
"Nonsense!" said Percy, looking startled. "You had too much to eat, Ron - had a nightmare -"
"I'm telling you -"
"Now, really, enough's enough!"
Professor McGonagall was back. She slammed the portrait behind her as she entered the common room and stared furiously around.
"I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"
"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" said Percy, puffing himself up indignantly. "I was just telling them all to get back to bed! My brother Ron here had a nightmare -"
"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron yelled. "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!"
Professor McGonagall stared at him.
"Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?"
"Ask him!" said Ron, pointing a shaking finger at the back of Sir Cadogan's picture. "Ask him if he saw -"
Glaring suspiciously at Ron, Professor McGonagall pushed the Portrait back open and went outside. The whole common room listened with bated breath. "Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?"
"Certainly, good lady!" cried Sir Cadogan.
There was a stunned silence, both inside and outside the common room.
"You - you did?" said Professor McGonagall. "But - but the password!"
"He had 'em!" said Sir Cadogan proudly. "Had the whole week's, my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!"
Professor McGonagall pulled herself back through the portrait hole to face the stunned crowd. She was white as chalk.
"Which person," she said, her voice shaking, "which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?"
There was utter silence, broken by the smallest of terrified squeaks. Neville Longbottom, trembling from head to fluffy slippered toes, raised his hand slowly into the air.
Suddenly Harry turns to me.
"Did you help him?!" He yelled and I shake my head.
"Harry what-" Fred says.
"DID YOU HELP HIM?!" He yells again ignoring my pleading look. "DID YOU HELP YOUR FATHER INTO THE CASTLE?!"
Everyone gasps and all eyes turn to me. Some disbelieving, some angry and some shocked.
Now everyone knew. It was no longer a secret.
They know I am not really Selena Dumbledore. I am Selena Black.
Chelbell2016:
DAMN YOU HARRY! Don't worry it will all clear up.