Trophy Cases

The week passed by and Harry's nerves were growing more frazzled as the weekend approached. He was excited for the first Quidditch practice of the year, to see how the sport was played in full form. He sat in Charms, scribbling notes while Professor Flitwick squeaked on about the importance of concentration and correct pronunciation.

"Now…we are going to practice the Wingardium Leviosa charm again today. Let's see if we can all get our feathers in the air," Flitwick instructed. Harry picked up his wand and looked at the feather. He knew he could do the spell correctly. He'd managed on the first day of class. With a breath he cast the charm with the proper swish and flick motion and watched his feather float higher into the air. Ron sat behind him glaring at the feather. He hadn't managed to get it off the desk earlier that week.

"Wingardium Leviosa," he said, his pronunciation incorrect. The feather didn't move. Hermione turned around and looked at him.

"It's Leviohsa not Lieviosah," she corrected. Ron stuck his tongue out at her once she'd turned around.

Class ended and everyone came away unscathed. No feathers had been accidentally blown up or lit on fire. Hermione scurried off to the library while Ron and Harry headed for the Defense corridor.

"What do you think of Quirrel? He's a bit odd, isn't he," Ron muttered, sitting down.

"He's alright I guess. Just seems nervous," Harry replied.

Down in the dungeons, Irlynn sat at a table, studying the notes she'd taken on the reading material for that day. She tried to ignore a certain Slytherin standing over her until the feeling of being watched unnerved her. She looked up at him.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Cheating are you, mudblood?" Draco shot.

"Call me that one more time and I'll hex you into next month," she grumbled.

"Mud-" he began but she was on her feet, wand pressed to his chest before he could finish the word.

"Miss McQuillen, what is going on here?" Professor Snape asked, his drawl unmistakable. She slowly lowered her wand and made to sit back down.

"Nothing, Sir," she answered.

"Liar! She was going to hex me for no reason," Draco proclaimed. Snape eyed Draco and then looked at Irlynn.

"Detention this evening Miss McQuillen. Seven o'clock sharp. Don't be late," he hissed before calling the class to order. Irlynn glowered in Malfoy's direction the rest of class. It had not been her fault. Malfoy had instigated it. But he was a Slytherin and that made all the difference in Snape's eyes. Irlynn finished taking down the assignment for the next class and packed up her things. Snape watched her leave the room and shook his head. Her attitude felt so familiar to him but he couldn't place it.

Irlynn took fast steps up to the main corridor and headed for dinner. She ran into Harry and Ron as they headed in.

"Hi," she called.

"Hi, Irlynn," Harry replied. He saw the upset expression on her face and stopped walking.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Fine. Snape gave me detention tonight for Malfoy being a prick," she sighed.

"I'm lucky I didn't lose house points," she grumbled and headed over to join the other Ravenclaws. Ron and Harry sat down near Fred and George.

"Oi, Harry. You ready for practice?" Fred asked, leaning across the table.

"I guess so," Harry said.

"Don't worry. We won't use you as target practice…much," George laughed.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled as he took a bite of potato.

Irlynn sat two tables over, not really paying attention to Luna's ramblings. She was too annoyed at having gotten detention. She was more annoyed with herself than Professor Snape or Draco. She should have been able to control her temper. As she ate, she heard the clock in the tower begin to chime. She counted the chimes silently; two, three, four, five, six. She had an hour before detention. Pushing her plate away she stood and gathered her bag.

"Have a lovely evening," Luna said. Irlynn forced a smile.

"You too, Luna. See you in the Common Room," she replied and walked off. She arrived at the Ravenclaw girls' dorm and sat on her bed. She looked around the room and let out a sigh. She tossed her potions books and scrolls into her trunk and lay down for a bit. She woke to find that she had only a few minutes to get to detention on time. She ran through the corridors, narrowly avoiding running into people. She stopped outside the door to Professor Snape's office, panting. She took a couple deep breaths to steady her breathing before walking in. She sat down at a desk and waited for him to speak. He finally looked up at her.

"Stand up," he said. She stood and waited for his next instruction.

"Come with me," he ordered and led her from the room. They walked up to the center level and around several bends Irlynn hadn't yet discovered. They ended up in the Trophy Room. Snape waved his wand and a bucket of rags appeared.

"Your detention tonight will be polishing all the trophies," he informed her. The room suddenly felt much larger.

"Yes, Sir," she said and picked up a rag. He left her to her work and returned to his office.

Irlynn spent the next three or so hours polishing each trophy to a nice shine. She looked around spotted the final case. It housed Quidditch cups. With a groan she opened the case and took out the first trophy. At least there were only a few in the case. She looked at the first trophy, examining the names engraved on the small plates. Under the title Seeker was the name James Potter. Irlynn couldn't help but laugh a little. So maybe Harry would have a good chance of being good at the sport. She wondered if he knew his father had played when he was in school.

The following morning, Harry woke up to two sets of arms shaking him violently. He tried to push them off but to no avail. He finally opened his eyes to see the blurry forms of Fred and George.

"Get off," he grumbled and reached for his glasses.

"Come on, sleepy. You're going to be late for practice," George said.

"Yeah…don't want that on your first day," Fred added and they let Harry up.

Harry climbed out of bed and pulled on yesterday's clothes. He was still half asleep as the twins led him down the stairs and out to the Quidditch pitch.

"Morning Harry," Oliver greeted.

"Morning," the eleven-year-old yawned. How quickly he'd fallen into getting to sleep in.

"Oi, Oliver…what's that?" Kate Bell asked, pointing to an oddly wrapped package.

"Don't know. It's got Harry's name on it," Oliver answered. Harry bent down and slowly unwrapped the paper.

"A broom," he breathed.

"That's a Nimbus 2000. Best broom out there," Oliver commented.

"I wonder who it's from," Harry mumbled.

"I think I saw McGonagall out here earlier," Angelina said.

"Alright, well come on. We've only go the pitch until ten. With our luck Slytherin will try and butt in," Oliver called. Everyone mounted their brooms. Before they took off, Harry caught Oliver's attention.

"Do I actually have to catch the Snitch…now?" Harry asked.

"No…save it for the game in two week. Besides, the little bugger is a pain to catch during practice," Oliver answered and they took to the sky. Harry did his best to stay out of the trajectory of the bludgers but Fred and George kept aiming them in his direction.

"Hey, ruddy idiots. You're going to kill him if you keep that up," Katie yelled.

"We're just messing with him," Fred replied, just as a bludger nearly collided with his arm.

"You're not supposed to hit me," he called to his brother. Katie just rolled her eyes and took off down the pitch. Later that afternoon, Harry found Ron looking rather pale.

"You ok?" Harry asked.

"It's Hermione…she's gone mental she has. Threatened to hex me…no reason," Ron babbled.

"Maybe you shouldn't make fun of her all the time," Harry said, spotting Professor McGonagall walking down the corridor.

"I'll be right back," he mumbled and approached the teacher before Ron had time to notice the broom in his friend's hand.

"Professor," he said.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Uh…do you know who this is from?" he asked, holding up the broom. She gave him a warm smile.

"I thought it would be easier to have your own," she said and patted him on the arm.

"Thank you," he said, beaming. Ron had wandered over and was examining the broom.

"Lucky. I'd love a broom like this," Ron sighed.

"Maybe I'll let you ride it some time," Harry laughed and they headed back towards Gryffindor Tower. Just as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Irlynn approached them.

"How did your first practice go?" she asked.

"Alright…except for Fred and George trying to kill me with the bludgers," Harry answered.

"How was detention?" he asked as Ron walked through the portrait hole.

"Not bad. Well…I had to clean all the trophies in the Trophy Room. It's bigger than it looks. One of the trophies…it was a Quidditch trophy. It had your dad's name on it. He played Keeper," she said in one large breath. Harry blinked. His dad had played Quidditch?

"I'd say you should be pretty good at it if you're anything like your dad," she said. With a smile exchanged between the two, she went on her way.