Disclaimer: Quidditch is war. Anyone telling you otherwise is trying to lure you into a false sense of security, only to kill you with a Bludger later. JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I am merely playing in her sandbox.
Chapter 10 – Quidditch IS War
It was only a week before the first Quidditch match of the year. Harry had learned from Oliver Wood, that every year the first game of the Quidditch season was Gryffindor verses Slytherin. According to Wood, those two teams had been the fiercest rivals for the past several centuries. Therefore, it was easiest for the school officials to do that match first to get all of the nonsense rivalry stuff out of the way, not to mention there was always an excellent school-wide turnout to see which team would win.
Apparently Gryffindors and Slytherins alike were equally competitive with their dislike of one another's team. Each strived to hold the yearly record of placing the higher amount of players from the other team in the hospital wing. Katie Bell informed Harry that the busiest time of the year for Madam Pomfrey was not flu season but Quidditch season, especially before the Gryffindor/Slytherin match.
With still a week before the match Harry could certainly see how it was likely for members of the teams to end up in the hospital. It seemed everywhere he turned people were either backing away and whispering about him (due to the troll incident a week before on Halloween) or stare at him menacing since it was well known he was the new Gryffindor Seeker.
Wood had wanted the knowledge of Harry's appointment to the Quidditch team to stay a secret; however that was not meant to be. A week after Harry received his Nimbus 2000, Ron Weasley saw it hidden under Harry's bed in their dorm. While Harry wanted to know why Ron was snooping under his bed, many suggested it wasn't Ron's fault that the information about Harry being on the team got out.
Perhaps it was Harry's fault, like Fred and George constantly suggested, for keeping his broom in his dorm room instead of in the school broom shed. But that didn't matter, Ron Weasley made a big spectacle about Harry having a broom stick in the Great Hall, and the whole school practically discovered that Harry Potter was Gryffindor's Seeker.
The one godsend during this time was Harry's constant companion, Hermione Granger. Without her, Harry didn't know where he would be. It seemed that most 'accidents' with members of the Quidditch teams happened when they were found alone with by members of the other house. Luckily for Harry, Hermione was always by his side, and no one from Slytherin wanted to take on both of the first years who faced a fully grown mountain troll and lived to tell the tale.
At this time Harry and Hermione were on their way to the Charms corridor. They were already two minutes late to the lesson, but it wasn't their fault. They were running late because Wood had stopped Harry to explain a new play to him, and Hermione was not about to leave him alone until all this 'silly Quidditch nonsense' was over. As they hurried around the next bend, they came across the most appalling sight.
Harry's teammate, Alicia Spinnet, was surrounded by a group of about six Slytherin upperclassmen. The Slytherins were lead by Marcus Flint, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, who was notorious for attempting to injure the rival team's players during the week before their Quidditch match as a means of intimidation. From Harry's quick assessment it appeared as through Alicia was somehow wandless, which meant it was very likely that this would not end well for her.
Before he could do anything, Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him back around the corner they had just walked around. Harry let Hermione lead him away with little protest. Even if Harry and Hermione made their presence known, they would have been out numbered, two to one. They would at least need a plan.
"Harry," Hermione hissed in a whisper, "we need to get a teacher. We should hurry back to Professor McGonagall to get her to help Alicia."
Since Hermione began to attend watching practices, the girls on the team had taken a liking to Harry's bushy-haired friend. Harry knew that Hermione most likely wanted to go around the corner and hex those poor excuses for students despite what she just said, but of course they didn't know enough spells to do so. Or did they?
"There is no time," Harry quickly replied, matching Hermione's whisper, "we need to act fast or they might injure Alicia. I know," Harry held up a pacifying hand to prevent Hermione from interrupting him, "that Madam Pomfrey can fix any injury, including broken bones in a few hours. But, they want to injure Alicia so Madam Pomfrey will take away her clearance to play in the match on Saturday."
"Wood warned us," Harry continued now that it was apparent that Hermione would let him speak, "that it is a Slytherin team tactic to attempt to injure players of the other team before a match to break up the Chaser formations the team is used to running. If Alicia was injured and we needed a sub, they wouldn't fly in the plays like Alicia would have."
Hermione was silent for a moment, considering what Harry said before she responded. "Be as that may, what can we do to help Alicia?"
"Hermione, do you trust me?" Harry asked looking her straight in the eye. She would have to perform everything just right, or Gryffindor would loose two team members for the upcoming match.
"Of course," Hermione replied. "What's the plan?"
Harry smiled at her. "For the most part you just need to follow my lead. We're going to have to bluff our way through this." Harry leaned in and quickly explained to Hermione the few details of his plan. He crossed his fingers as he did so hoping she would be an excellent actress.
Harry dashed out around the corner only to see the Slytherin students petrify Alicia.
"Now that's not nice," Harry said in a voice calculated to reach the students in front of him. Harry lightly tapped his wand repetitively on the palm of his free hand. The Slytherin students would understand the threat to use the wand at a moment's notice if the situation called for it.
Immediately the brutish Slytherin students turned around, their wands drawn, to face Harry.
"Well, lookie here, boys," the gorilla like boy, Marcus Flint began, "Looks like we'll be decreasing Gryffindor's chances by two!"
"Really?" Harry asked in a condescending tone, "is that so? Cause from where I am standing it looks like it will be Slytherin with the missing team members for Saturdays' match."
Flint and the two other boys who were on the Slytherin team, stared at each other, their confusion clear on their faces. All three boys trying their best to decipher the meaning of Harry's threat, finally after a few seconds, the boys gave up.
"What do you mean by that, Potter?" Flint, the apparent spokesperson of the group finally asked.
"Well there are six of you, against the two of us," Harry said indicating Hermione, "I honestly don't see how you guys have a prayer." The bored tone in Harry's voice came through loud and clear,
Flint began to laugh. "What are you playing at?" When none of Flint's cronies joined in, he turned to them. "What? Why aren't you all laughing?"
"Boss," the one to Flint's direct left began, "he's Harry Potter. He defeated You-Know-Who and I heard he killed the mountain troll with his bare hands on Halloween," the boy's face took on a scared look before he said the last part, "for fun!"
Harry couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. That had to be the biggest exaggeration of the story that he had heard yet. However, Flint noticed the action.
"See!" the fifth year yelled, "Look at Potter. Even he acts as though those stupid rumors are just that: stupid rumors!"
"Not really," Hermione spoke up for the first time. "Come on, do you really think a first year could possibly kill a twelve-foot mountain troll with his bare hands?" A smug look crossed Flint's face, however before he could reply, Hermione continued. "He used magic."
Go Hermione! Harry thought as his grin threatened to split his face in half. No one could ever claim Hermione was slow on the uptake. Harry snuck a glance of her out of the corner of his eye. She appeared to be examining her nails like this whole situation was below her concern. His plan was going beautifully.
"No, Potter couldn't have," Flint replied in a shaky voice, "Professor Snape would have told us so!"
Hermione gave Harry a small questioning glance, was Snape sharing confidential information about students of other houses with his Slytherins?
"Well that's no surprise," Harry said once again adopting his bored tone. "The headmaster wanted to cover it up."
Now the Slytherins looked positively scared. Once again it was Flint who spoke up.
"You're a couple of firsties. There is nothing too dangerous you two can do to us," Flint seemed rather smug with his assessment.
"Actually," Harry said in a drawling tone he had heard Draco Malfoy use on occasion, "I'm quite versatile with my knowledge of spells. You'd be surprised at what people would want to teach the Boy-Who-Lived. I guess many wizards and witches see it as a honor to teach me something new and powerful. Would any of you care to try living the rest of your life as a newt?"
Flint looked like he was about to be sick, but he still pressed on. "But she's a muggle-born! That girl couldn't possibly know anything!"
Hermione laughed a little. "Do you really think Harry wouldn't share with his friends?" Seeing that none of the Slytherins were about to respond to that statement Hermione continued, "He's a really good teacher."
"Let's get out of here," one of the boys who had begun inching away from the confrontation said. "This isn't worth it."
Slowly the other Slytherins voiced their agreement, until Marcus Flint was the only one left wanting to duel with Harry and Hermione.
"Why don't you unfreeze Alicia," Harry began, "and give her back her wand. That way we can each go our own ways and forget this ever happened."
One of the boys closest to Alicia said the counter curse and another threw her the wand.
"This isn't over, Potter," an angry Flint said once it was clear he wasn't going to get his way.
"I count on it," Harry replied as Flint and the other Slytherins walked away grumbling.
"Wow," Alicia said once they were alone in the hallway. "Harry, I had no idea that-"
But Harry cut her off, "Alicia, none of what we said was true."
Alicia had a shocked look on her face, while Hermione looked frantic and anxious.
"Oh, do you think we'll get in trouble?" Hermione fretted. "Oh dear, we're going to be very late to class. What will Professor Flitwick say?"
Just a few moments ago, Hermione was calm and cool; fooling those Slytherins like it was second nature. Now she was the slightly panicky, rule stickler Harry knew and loved.
"If those Slytherins go to a professor because of our threats," Harry said trying to calm down Hermione, "we can tell them about them freezing Alicia. Because of that, those Slytherins won't say anything."
"How can you be sure?" Hermione questioned.
"Positive," Harry said with a reassuring smile. "I know bullies, my cousin Dudley is one. They won't do anything to endanger themselves to adults."
"So you don't know any advance spells," Alicia asked in a confused tone. The older witch seemed to have a hard time wrapping her head around this situation.
"Nope," Harry replied. "We were bluffing."
"Bluffing?" Alicia repeated in wonder. "What did you hope to accomplish with that?"
"I hoped they would leave you alone and turn their attention to me," Harry replied a bit reluctantly. "I'm used to bullies and I'm rather fast which makes me hard to catch."
Alicia looked at Harry with something like awe in her eyes. "Why would you do that?"
"We're teammates-"
"And friends," Hermione jumped in now that she was beginning to collect herself.
"And friends," Harry amended. "I didn't want those jerks to hurt you if I could stop it."
Alicia gave Harry a small smile before she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Harry," she replied in a small voice, before turning to Hermione and giving her a hug before repeating the same words of thanks to the other witch.
After sharing her thanks, Alicia turned around and walked away. Seeing as there was nothing more for either of them to do, they continued on their way to class.
"You do realize that the stories about you are only going to get weirder?" Hermione asked as they were walking.
"I sort of figured that," Harry muttered in reply.
"Harry, I have to ask," Hermione said when they were in view of the classroom, "why a newt?"
"It's what Lexi wants me to learn to turn Dudley into," Harry replied with a smile.
Hermione stifled a laugh as the two students walked into their charms classroom. Neither of them realized exactly how much the legend of Harry Potter and his closest friends had gained a new chapter that afternoon, and how much it would impact their future to come.
~*~
"Get in the car," Petunia's shrill voice carried through the house.
Lexi had almost forgotten it was that time of the year again. It was time for her and Harry to visit Mr. Donaldson. Of course Harry wasn't going to be with her this year, however, it would be rather interesting to see what kind of a story Aunt Petunia was going to come up with to cover up Harry's absence.
"It is time to leave!" Aunt Petunia's loud voice broke Lexi from her thoughts, and the ten-year-old girl ran out from the cupboard to hurry into the car.
The car ride to Mr. Donaldson's office was going to be the worst part. In the past, at least Lexi had Harry to share the ride with, even though they weren't permitted to talk. Now Lexi's only companion was Aunt Petunia, which meant the trip was going to be less than spectacular.
"You will only answer direct questions," Aunt Petunia began to read Lexi the usual riot act once they were safely in the car and down the street. Every time they went to see Mr. Donaldson, Aunt Petunia felt the need to review the rules of behavior with her. The rules had never changed since she was a little girl; there was no reason for Lexi to act any differently than she had in the past. "If I hear one word about Hogwarts or magic, I will be locking you up in that cupboard of yours for a month!" Aunt Petunia warned.
Well that was new. Aunt Petunia had not uttered the words Hogwarts or magic since the night before Harry left. Obviously she was afraid that Lexi was going to say something about the subject that would be very difficult for her to explain.
That thought alone made Lexi's face break out into an evil grin. Harry and Padfoot had both individually explained to Lexi about the statue restricting knowledge of the magic world only to people who came from magic families. Aunt Petunia may or may not know about the restriction but she certainly didn't want Mr. Donaldson to think she was related to freaks who believed in magic. Perhaps this was the perfect time for Lexi to bring up the subject of her living arrangements once more.
"Aunt Petunia," Lexi began in a wondrous tone, "that is a lot of stuff for me to remember. It would be a lot easier if there was some incentive for me to conveniently forget where Harry is attending school." Lexi could see Aunt Petunia's mouth forming a tight line, at this low blow. Sirius had told her to strike the issue once more when she had the best advantage, she honestly didn't know if there would ever be a better chance to bring this up.
"And what kind of 'incentive' would you need?" Aunt Petunia said in little more than a whisper.
"Well, it would sure be nice for me and Harry to move out of that cramped cupboard," Lexi said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Even though Harry is away at school, he will be home during the holidays, and it would just be dreadful for us to continue to squeeze into our cupboard."
"What will happen if I don't agree?" Aunt Petunia asked, testing Lexi's resolve. Perhaps she did know all about the restrictions on the knowledge of the magical world.
"Well, I just wouldn't be able to make any guarantees regarding my memory," Lexi knew she was playing with fire, if she wasn't careful, she might get burned.
The rest of the car ride progressed in complete silence. Lexi hoped that Aunt Petunia was taking her 'request' seriously. If Aunt Petunia turned her down, there would be no chance that Harry and Lexi would ever be able to move out of that cupboard. They would be stuck there forever!
After they pulled into the parking lot, Aunt Petunia finally spoke again. "I guess now that Dudley is at school most of the time there is no need for him to have a second bedroom. After I clean it out, you can move your belongings up there."
Lexi was so excited that she was ready to do a cartwheel. Unfortunately, she was suddenly struck with a terrible thought. What if Aunt Petunia was merely saying this so she would behave during this visit and not actually follow through on the agreement?
"Aunt Petunia," Lexi said after she exited the car and joined her aunt in entering the social services building. "If you don't follow through on the agreement, not only will people from my world be very displeased, but I will guarantee to mention certain things on our next visit here."
Aunt Petunia turned a rather interesting shade of white, which made Lexi suspect she had no intention of following through on the agreement. At least now she had a better chance of improving her life on Privet Drive.
~*~
"You agreed to what?" the voice of Vernon Dursley bellowed from the kitchen.
The visit with Mr. Donaldson went rather well all things considering. He had been well aware that Harry now attended a school called Hogwarts, in Scotland. But instead of it being a school that taught magic, he thought it was a school for the gifted. Which, Lexi conceded one could consider individuals that performed magic as gifted.
The look on Aunt Petunia's face was something Lexi was going to remember for a very long time. At the mere mention of Hogwarts being for the gifted, Aunt Petunia looked like she bit into a very sour lemon and was stuck with it in her mouth for the rest of the visit. All things considered, that was the most fun Lexi had at one of those meetings in a long time.
"Those freaks are not going to take anything from Dudley!" Uncle Vernon's voice could be heard bellowing once more.
If Aunt Petunia honestly thought the neighbors couldn't hear Uncle Vernon's shouting rants then she was a lot thicker than she appeared. How anyone within twenty-five kilometers could avoid hearing what was being wailed by her walrus of an uncle was beyond her.
"I don't care if people from her world will interfere with our lives. We'll just get rid of the runt like we should have in the first place." Uncle Vernon continued to shout. "Let her freak of a brother figure out where she is once he gets back. I've never been convinced she was actually a part of the deal we made when we took him." Uncle Vernon's words made Lexi's blood turn to ice. She was paralyzed by fear that he could still somehow keep her from Harry, like he always threatened when they were younger.
Lexi had been gathering her merger possessions to prepare them for a quick trip up the stairs to her new room. However things had taken a drastic turn for the worst. Lexi stopped what she was doing and merely sat in front of the cupboard door desperately trying to listen to what was being said in the other room. This was the first time in her life that she wished her aunt was a bit louder when she spoke.
"I know, Pet," Vernon's voice seemed much quieter. "I just wish we could drop the freaks off at a foster home or an orphanage. I know we were forced into that agreement by that Dumbblydork man." Vernon spat as his volume increased. "The freaks will share a room, but that is it. Anymore trouble out of them and we'll kick them out and Dumbblydork will have to take us to court!"
Lexi breathed a sigh of relief. She and Harry won this round only because of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's fear of the wizarding world. It wasn't much in the way of victories but it was one. Now they had won a grand total of two things; the right to go to Hogwarts and the right to have a semi-comfortable living space.
~*~
Harry awoke early on Saturday morning. It was the day of his first Quidditch match and he could hardly wait. He had been training for this day for weeks and now that it was here he was anxious for the game to begin.
After a quick shower Harry rushed down to common room to meet Hermione for breakfast. Hermione was always a bit of an early bird, so Harry did not have to wait for long for her to join him in heading for breakfast.
The days leading up to the match had been quite ridiculous since the incident with the Slytherin students. For some reason the entire house began keeping their distance from the Gryffindor team for the first time in recent memory. When one student was finally cornered and asked why by Wood, the student merely replied 'the Gryff team was under Potter and Granger's protection'. Even now Harry had to chuckle at the absurdity of that statement.
Lexi had sent him an encouraging letter the day before that Hedwig delivered during dinner. Several of the other students sitting around Harry were quite curious as to why he would be receiving a letter in the evening instead of in the morning, but Harry wouldn't share any information about his letter with them. Hermione was the only person he shared anything personal with due to their friendship. Everyone else saw him as the Boy-Who-Lived, only Hermione saw him as just Harry.
Lexi had told Harry in her letter that she had several surprises for him when he came home for the winter holidays. She told him that they were the good kind of surprises but Harry still had a knot in his stomach at the mere thought. For some reason Harry had a feeling that Lexi was keeping something important from him, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it could be about.
Harry pushed aside his thoughts about Lexi's surprises once they reached the Great Hall. After sitting down at the Gryffindor table Harry had to concentrate on forcing down some food. He was so excited he could barely force himself to eat. However, under the watchful eyes of Hermione, he would be rightfully chewed out for not at least downing a few pieces of toast.
Once he had eaten enough food for Hermione to be satisfied, Harry glanced down at his watch and sighed, it was only eight am. He still had a long time left before the match began at eleven.
~*~
"… and this year's Gryffindor team is lead by captain and Keeper Oliver Wood; with Chasers Bell, Spinnet, and Johnson, Beaters Weasley, and Weasley and the youngest Seeker in a century Potter!" The voice of Gryffindor Lee Jordan rang across the pitch as the Gryffindor team flew into the stadium in formation at exactly eleven am.
Harry was in his element as he swooped around the Quidditch pitch in a quick warm-up lap to show off to the rest of the school watching the match. It was tradition for each team to fly around the pitch after they were announced before the school, but Harry saw it as a chance to let off a little pent up energy before the game actually started.
The team landed in perfect unison in their positions to start the match. Harry was standing directly across the pitch from the Slytherin Seeker, Terence Higgs. Higgs wasn't as big or brutish as the rest of the Slytherin team, but then again Wood had confided in Harry that Seekers were typically small and light to provide for easier maneuverability in the air.
"Now I want a nice clean match," Madam Hooch broke up the stare down occurring between the two teams. "Mount your brooms."
Both teams did as Madam Hooch asked and immediately at the sound of the whistle they all took off the ground.
"Johnson takes control of the Quaffle," Lee Jordan's voice rang through the stadium, but Harry tuned it out. There was only one thing he needed to concentrate on and that was catching the Snitch.
Harry knew there were technically two different plays for him in the air. If the Chasers had an easy time of the Slytherin team, and were able to rack up the score, Harry was supposed to let them go about it and try to delay his capture of the Snitch. Of course only if he was able to prevent the opposing Seeker from doing the same. However, if the Slytherins were slathering them, then Harry was supposed to catch the Snitch as fast as he could to end the game while they had a chance at winning.
As Harry made his usual sweeps of the pitch, Harry noticed something a bit odd. The Slytherin Seeker didn't seem to be forming his own search patterns; instead he was following everything that Harry did. If Harry dived, Higgs dived. If Harry flew over the stands, Higgs did as well. No matter what he tried to do, the other Seeker was right on top of him.
With the other Seeker right on top of him, it was hard for Harry to concentrate on his search for the Snitch. If the other Seeker diverted his course just a bit, they would run the risk of a collision. According to a book on Quidditch rules and regulations Hermione made him read, a collision between Seekers while the Snitch was not in play would result in a Gryffindor penalty.
There was only one thing Harry could do. He had to get rid of this git fast. Quickly developing a plan of attack, he looked for an opportunity to put it into play. Down below, Harry saw that Marcus Flint was directly under their flight path with the Quaffle in his hand. Perhaps this was a chance to kill two birds with one stone.
Harry allowed his face to contort into a look of surprise, then glee before he dove downward. Hoping Higgs had been close enough to see the look on his face; Harry continued to dive into Flint's path. If Higgs continued to follow him, then everyone would think Harry had seen the Snitch. Which was the important part of Harry's plan, since cutting in front of a Chaser while the Quaffle was in play was considered a penalty unless the Snitch was in play. It seemed as though the Snitch trumped just about everything else in Quidditch hierarchy.
Higgs did fall for Harry's trick and quickly followed Harry while trying to advance his speed. Unfortunately Higgs was slightly behind Harry and did not realize exactly where he was flying. While Harry was able to keep ahead of Flint's flight pattern, Higgs nearly crashed into his captain.
Harry would have preferred for his foe to crash into Flint, however, forcing Flint to fishtail into the path of one of the other Slytherin Chasers causing the Quaffle to drop while both Slytherins crashed to the ground was a good alternative. Higgs continued to shadow everything Harry did, thinking Harry saw the Snitch while he for some reason couldn't see it.
Harry kept a high speed as he continued to cruise around the pitch, weaving in and out of other people's flight patterns. Harry crossed paths with the occasional Gryffindor to keep appearances and prevent anyone from thinking he didn't see the Snitch. Nearing the Slytherin stands, Harry had a sudden burst of inspiration.
Harry slowed his speed by a fraction of a second, which allowed Higgs to gain some ground and end up with the tip of his broom at Harry's waist. Harry reached out his arm as he pretended to gain ground on the Snitch. Higgs on the other hand pushed his broom to the maximum level and gained more ground on Harry.
When Higgs finally got to head-level with Harry, they were practically on top of the stands. Harry gave Higgs a curtsy wink before diving down and Higgs, like a lapdog followed. The closer they were to the stands, the more Harry could see Higgs began to hesitate. Just as Harry was about to crash into the stands, when he veered to the left and headed towards the ground.
Higgs continued to follow Harry, and veered as well. It was almost as if Higgs was reading his mind, or perhaps he had no desire to eat the stands. Either way Higgs followed Harry rapidly heading to the ground. There was only one thing left that Harry could think of, but it was incredibly risky and he had never tried anything like it before. Which meant Hermione was likely to chew him out after the match for doing so. But this was Quidditch, it was war, he had to try.
Harry continued on his collision course with the ground as Higgs tried to regain the distance he lost on Harry during the incident with the stands. Harry continued until he was only twenty feet from the ground, his hand extended towards the imaginary Snitch once again. Higgs again put in an extra burst of speed, attempting to reach head-level with Harry.
Harry pretended to clutch at something only to fail to have anything in his hand. This immediately drew Higgs complete attention to where the Snitch should be, and not on the ground. Higgs continued to stare at where Harry's hand was as if he was trying to figure out exactly where the Snitch was in front of Harry. Harry used that distraction to his advantage, to continually rush to the ground while Higgs remained unaware of his surroundings.
Five feet to the ground, Harry sharply pulled out of the dive, Higgs however was too slow. As Higgs watched Harry pull out the dive, he immediately tried to do the same, but the delayed response was all it took for Higgs to crash into the ground.
~*~
"… and Slytherin Seeker Higgs eats the turf. It looks like Potter lost the Snitch at some point in his cross pitch journey and decided to perform the Wronski Defense Feint to show Higgs why its not a good idea to mark the other Seeker." Lee Jordan's voice rang across the Quidditch pitch.
"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall called out as a warning for the commentator to remain unbiased.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione fretted from her seat in the Gryffindor section. "I'm going to kill you for that, you haven't even practice that move before!"
"He hasn't?" Neville Longbottom, who was sitting next to her asked, the awe poorly hidden in his voice.
"Of course not!" Hermione snapped, more out of her worry for Harry than her annoyance at Neville. "My goodness, Neville, Harry only started flying the second week of September, there have been too many other things for him to master and worry about than advance Quidditch moves."
"That rumor's true?" Neville asked before continuing when Hermione nodded her head distractedly. She had not taken her eyes off Harry since he made it to the air. "I thought it was just something the Quidditch team made up to scare the other teams. Man, look at him fly!" Neville praised Harry after he made another sharp dive, apparently seeing the Snitch.
Hermione gripped the rail in front of her bleacher in a death grip. She sat in the front row to ensure that nothing would interfere with her view of Harry in the air. Flying and Quidditch was so dangerous, it was a wonder that the adults in the wizarding world felt it was an acceptable sport with its high mortality rate for players and spectators alike. While Hermione understood how much Harry enjoyed playing, it didn't stop her from worrying about him.
Suddenly Harry's broom started bucking in the air, as though it were about to throw him off. Hermione had seen tons of Quidditch practices to know immediately that there was something seriously wrong with her friend's broom. She had never seen a broom do anything like that before.
"What's he doing?" Neville asked with genuine concern for her friend.
"I have not the slightest clue," Hermione replied as she mentally cursed herself for not bringing her binoculars to Hogwarts with her. Her mother told her she wouldn't need them, and of course, there was nothing else she needed more at the moment. "Looks like someone hexed his broom," Hermione said, periodically taking her eyes off Harry to scan the crowd, hoping to find someone acting suspicious.
"No student could have cursed a broom," Neville replied. "The brooms have heavy enchantments on them, and since the Nimbus 2000 is the top of the line, you can bet it has the best money can buy."
Hermione immediately narrowed her eyes on the teacher bleachers the moment Neville said that. Someone obviously had it out for Harry, and it was beginning to look like it was a teacher. Perhaps this teacher was also the source of Harry's mysterious headache on Halloween night? Trying to scan the teacher section was useless from Hermione's distance so she turned her attention back on Harry, as she pulled her wand out. He was going to fall, she'd catch him. She had to.
~*~
Harry was hanging on to his broom for dear life. It had never acted this way before and it was very upsetting for Harry. He had no idea to react to his broom's behavior and what made it worse was there was no way for him to search for the Snitch will clinging to a bucking broom, praying not to fall. The Slytherin team had employed some really dirty tactics against his fellow players, and the only way to stop it was to catch the Snitch and end the game. However, with his broom acting up it was easier said than done.
The broom began to move more raggedly than merely small up and down bursts. Now his broom began to rise up a few feet before dropping Harry down several more. The broom began to go side to side. A bit to the right, then the broom would substantially drop down five to ten feet. Next the broom would move to the left before rising fifteen feet. There was no way for Harry to anticipate the broom's next action. Worst of all his head began to hurt again like it had done on Halloween, which made it very difficult for him to concentrate on what he was doing.
As Harry began to zig-zag up and down the field, he caught sight of something gold. Of course the first time he actually spotted the Snitch would come at a time that there was no way for him to actually grab it. But Harry had to try to do something. Higgs' time kissing the dirt didn't gain Harry as much time as he hoped. From his position high in the air, Harry could see the Slytherin Seeker preparing to get back on his broom. He had to do something or Gryffindor was likely to lose.
Harry firmly held on to the shaft of the broom with both hands. Putting all of his strength into it, Harry attempted to guide the broom to where the Snitch was hovering over the players. With all of Harry's strength and concentration put into guiding the broom, even with his head feeling like it was about to split open, Harry stopped moving left to right and was actually moving towards where the Snitch was positioned. The only problem was he was still moving higher and lower in the air, but at least he was moving where he wanted to go.
As Harry moved across the pitch he never noticed the temperature dramatically drop. He never heard the screams of the spectators as hundreds of cloaked figures made their way from the gates of the school towards the Quidditch pitch where there were hundreds of people experiencing joyous feelings for them to feast on. Harry never noticed these things since he had tuned out everything that risked him from meeting his goal.
Closer and closer Harry got to the Snitch. His broom stopped bucking wildly as he nearly reached the Snitch. Suddenly it stopped forcing Harry to go anywhere, and the pain in his head had instantly stopped. He nearly overshot the Snitch in all the confusion of those few crucial seconds. But he did it, his quick reflexes made the appropriate adjustments to his course and he was able to secure the Snitch.
Just as Harry was about to pump his fist in victory for catching the Snitch against the odds, the world began to get dark. While his head no longer hurt like it did before, he began to hear a voice screaming as if they were really far away. Almost as if the person screaming was at the end of a very long tunnel. As Harry tried to focus his attention away from the scream and the darkness it was becoming more and more difficult, since it seemed like the person screaming was getting
Harry's eyes began to close, and he knew that was not good. If he closed his eyes, he ran the risk of crashing and killing himself. He had to remain alert; he had to keep his eyes open. However, as he did so, he saw the unthinkable. A cloaked figure flew in front of him, and pulled down it's hood to relieve a skeletal like head, with wide open lips.
Harry felt like something was being sucked out of him, like all his happiness was going away. It was almost like he would never be happy again. As the thing got closer and closer to Harry the screaming became louder and Harry could hear words.
"Not Harry!" The woman pleaded. "Please don't hurt my son. Kill me instead."
Suddenly Harry could take no more, and despite his best efforts he slipped into the world of unconsciousness. Harry tumbled off his broom in the process.
~*~
Hermione's eyes never wavered from Harry as the Dementors stormed the pitch. All of the students and staff were in a panic due to their sudden appearance during a Quidditch match, but Hermione was not going to let it faze her. Harry was the one in more trouble than she. Hermione was one of many; Harry could be easily singled out by one of the beasts.
Neville had grabbed her arm and attempted to pull her along with him, as he fled the stadium, but she refused to go. Harry was up there, on a hexed broom, and he didn't seem to realize the Dementors were on the pitch. She brushed off his attempts to lead her away, and instead of leaving himself. Neville stayed with Hermione, trying to keep a watchful eye on Harry in all of the chaos.
One of the Dementors did exactly as Hermione predicted it would. It targeted Harry and started to go straight for him. She didn't know what to do, but she gripped her wand tightly. She could see the silvery creatures of the patroni of several staff members attacking the Dementors. However, none of them were targeting the one near Harry.
The Dementor shot closer to Harry, and he suddenly slipped off his broom. Hermione's wand shot up without a thought and she cast the only spell she could think of in the situation.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" the bushy-haired witch roared out like second nature.
Hermione's spell instantly connected with her target and caught Harry dramatically slowing his fall. Hermione pushed as much power as she could into her spell as she continued to attempt to control Harry's fall. Every second he seemed to be falling slower, but it didn't seem to be enough. She wasn't magically strong enough to stop her friend's fall.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" a quiet voice next to Hermione called out.
She knew who it was; Neville Longbottom was trying to help her with the spell. Neville's spell also connected with Harry as the two students gained control of Harry's fall. Hermione could feel that sweat dripping down her face, even in the Dementor chilled air, as she continued to put everything she had into the spell. Slowly yet surely, Harry's rapid fall had transitioned into a gentle glide as the two first years did the impossible, and caught a falling person with a levitation charm.
Once Harry had safely reached the ground, although his landing was a bit rough, Hermione finally took her wand off her friend and collapsed back into the seat behind her. She was quickly followed by Neville who seemed to be trying to say something.
"What is it, Neville?" Hermione tiredly asked the boy next to her.
"That is impossible," the boy spluttered. "You can't catch someone with a levitating charm. Heck, you're not supposed to be able to use it to lift anything large or living."
Hermione looked at Neville with wide eyes. She had never read that before. Granted she didn't spend a lot of time on the levitation charm since the incident on Halloween, but she would have seen or heard something like this before.
"Well, that was how we got past the troll on Halloween," Hermione began to explain. "We levitated pieces of the destroyed bathroom stalls into the troll. They are large but light. I just used this spell since it was the only thing I could think of," the bushy-haired witch continued to justify her actions. "And I didn't do it alone, you helped."
"You really faced a troll on Halloween?" Neville asked with wonder in his tone. "I just thought that was a story."
"No, its true," Hermione replied. "Why did you think it was a story?" Hermione was genuinely interested in knowing what the boy thought that while the rest of the school believed any strange story about Harry and her.
"Well, neither of you ever said anything about it," Neville replied in an embarrassed tone. "Sorry for not believing it."
"Don't worry," Hermione replied. "If I were in your position I probably wouldn't believe it myself." The round-faced boy shot her a small smile, which Hermione heartily returned.
"Let's go down to the pitch," Hermione said. "We better check on Harry."
As the two Gryffindors made their way to the Quidditch field, an important thought suddenly struck Hermione. Perhaps there was a way to kill all those silly rumors around Harry whenever something happened by having someone handle all of Harry's public relations issues. Perhaps Harry Potter needed a publicist?
~*~
A/N: Here's the next chapter! Couldn't leave this one with much of a cliffhanger like the troll/Remus part. As you can see Harry's backbone is starting to show itself as his zero tolerance policy with bullies begins to show itself and Hermione heartily shares his view. The school term is winding down and it is nearly time for the Christmas holidays which will have something everyone is looking forward to. ;) We've only have one more chapter to go.
I need to thank everyone that has reviewed. I greatly appreciate all the comments and critiques about my story. I've noticed that the reviews have been fewer during the last few chapters. Please leave me something even if you are telling me you don't like the story, I'd like to know if that is the case so I can work to improve it. Also, before I forget a big thank you to Zephy for her awesome beta skills. Also, work will be busy for while still so only weekly updates till it slows down again. Feel free to check out my profile for the date of the next update.
Foria
Next Chapter: Legilim- What?