Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am not making profit off of Rowling's amazing work.
"On my whistle," said Madam Hooch. "Three… two… one…"
With a roar from the crowd to speed them upward, the fourteen players rose toward the leaden sky.
It was Draco's first Quidditch game. Against the Gryffindors, no less. It was intimidating to be facing Harry Potter, the youngest Seeker in a century, but Draco was determined to do his best. After all, he did have something to prove – to Hermione, to his father, and most importantly, himself.
He zoomed around the field on his Nimbus Two Thousand and One, eyes sweeping over the field. It had started to rain. Good, he thought, Harry wears glasses and I don't. Must be hard for him to see. I wonder how he's getting on…
He glanced around quickly for the Gryffindor Seeker, then gasped as he noticed a Bludger zooming toward him. Quickly, he ducked…and the Bludger suddenly stopped moving, then reversed, heading right back where it came from.
What?
That was not how Bludgers behaved. They usually zoomed to the nearest target, attacking people indiscriminately. It was as if the Bludger had gone mad.
Draco tracked the mad Bludger – it was heading straight to Harry. The Gryffindor ducked, and one of his team's Beaters – one of Ron's brothers – hit it with a resounding WHACK! back towards Draco.
Once again Draco ducked – and once again it wasn't necessary. The Bludger stopped, and then reversed. Heading back towards Harry, as if pulled by an invisible magnet.
He watched as the Gryffindors desperately tried to protect their Seeker from the mad Bludger, which kept honing in on Harry no matter what they did. Draco groaned inwardly. Damn bloody POTTER, he thought. Why did it always seem like someone was out to kill him during Quidditch games?
With all the attention the Gryffindor Beaters were paying to Harry, the Slytherins had pulled ahead sixty to zero. The Gryffindors called for a time out.
He strained to hear what the Gryffindors were saying over the sound of rain.
"– it'll take your head off – "
"– let's ask for an inquiry – "
Then Harry's clear, boyish voice cut through the air. "If we stop now, we'll have to forfeit the match! And we're not losing to Slytherin just because of a crazy Bludger!"
Draco laughed under his breath. Typical Gryffindor.
The game resumed.
Focus, Draco thought. Find the Snitch.
He looped the field…once…twice…three times, looking carefully for a golden gleam. Every so often he would look up and see Harry flying in crazy patterns, cleverly avoiding the Snitch. Evidently the Gryffindor had told his Beaters to leave him alone and focus on the rest of the game.
Then he heard something whistle through the air.
He looked up just in time to see Harry speeding towards him, a demonic look in his green eyes.
"What the – " Draco gasped, pulling his broom up and careening out of Harry's way.
Too late, he saw it. The Snitch. It had been hovering in his blind spot just inches away all along.
Then it disappeared from view as Harry's hand closed around it.
With a sickening crack, the mad Bludger crashed into Harry's arm. Surprisingly, the boy didn't even let go of the Snitch.
Barely hanging on to his broom, Harry headed straight for the ground. With a splattering thud, he hit the mud and rolled off his broom. Draco felt slightly queasy when he noticed Harry's arm hanging at a very strange angle.
Draco sped down and landed. He bent over his friend.
"Harry?"
The boy was passed out.
Someone came running. He turned and saw Professor Lockhart.
"Oh, no, not you," Draco moaned, eyes widening.
"What are you talking about? It's a simple charm I've used countless times – "
And before Draco could react, the man pointed his wand at Harry's arm.
Draco looked, and immediately wished he hadn't. His stomach churned uncomfortably. Harry's arm looked like a thick, flesh-colored rubber glove. It flopped uselessly at his side, like a deflated balloon. Lockhart hadn't mended Harry's bones. He had removed them.
The Snitch rolled slowly out of his hand onto the mud.
"Ah," said Lockhart. "Yes. Well, that can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are no longer broken."
Harry moaned, and his green eyes blinked groggily open. "Whaaa - ?" He looked blearily at Lockhart, then glanced down at his arm, and his expression filled with horror.
Lockhart blabbered on. "Er, Mr. Malfoy, would you escort him up to the hospital wing? – and Madam Pomfrey will be able to – er – tidy him up a bit."
Draco could barely see through the red haze of his rage.
Luckily Madam Pomfrey and a night of Skele-Gro fixed Harry right up.
Draco was less lucky. Marcus Flint had spent an hour yelling at him for not seeing the Snitch "right on top of his head." His father had sent a scathing letter that Draco had tossed in the fireplace after only reading it halfway.
The next day, Draco came upon the three Gryffindors whispering in the Library.
" – I can't believe he fixed that Bludger – " Ron muttered.
Harry nodded. " – I know! And would you believe it, he said he wasn't out to kill me. He just wanted to hurt me enough to make me go home – "
"Who?" he asked.
His three friends turned to them. Their guilt was written all over their faces.
"Come on, guys, you can trust me," he said, irritated. He pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Promise you won't try to – to hurt the person we're talking about," Hermione said.
Draco rolled his eyes. As if he was big enough to beat anyone up. He knew he was a scrawny twelve-year-old. Who could he possibly harm?
"Alright, I promise."
"It was Dobby. The house-elf," said Harry.
Draco bolted to his feet. "AGAIN? That little bugger is going to wish he had never existed when I'm done with him -"
Hermione jumped up as well. "You promised not to hurt him! And it's not right to treat him like – like some slave – "
Draco looked at her as if she were crazy. "He's a house-elf. Serving is what his kind does. And I can't believe – he could have killed you, Harry!" He began to apologize, but Hermione cut him off.
"Dobby was just doing what he thought was right," she said. "And you don't need to apologize on his behalf."
"But I'm his Master – "
"You didn't order him to tamper with the Bludger, did you?"
"No, but – "
"Well that's settled then." Hermione turned away and crossed her arms, clearly ending the discussion.
Draco frowned, and sat back down.
Harry continued to tell them what he had learned from Dobby.
"He also said that the Chamber of Secrets had been open before, and then he started hitting himself."
Draco's lip curled. "Good," he muttered. Hermione shot him a frigid look, but stayed silent.
"Also…there's been another student attacked."
"Who?"
"Colin Creevey."
Draco snorted, trying to hold back his laughter.
"What, you think this is funny, Draco?" Hermione turned on him again.
"No. But you have to admit, the little gnat was getting annoying. 'Harry, can I have your picture? Can I have your autograph? Can I lick your shoes, please, Harry?'" he mimicked.
"You have a rotten sense of humor," Hermione spat.
Draco smiled at her evilly.
"Stop it, you're creeping me out," she complained, punching his arm.
He pretended to fall out of his chair.
"Stop it, guys," said Harry. "We need to figure out who's behind this."
"Draco thinks it's a Slytherin," Hermione said.
"Heir of Slytherin. Who would've guessed?" Draco said. Then he sighed. "And before you ask, no, I have no idea who it is. And yes, I've tried to find out."
"So you talked with all the Slytherins?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, no," Draco admitted.
"If only we could get in to the Slytherin Common Room," Ron moaned. "With four of us asking around I'm sure we could find out who it is!"
"There might be a way," said Hermione slowly, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "Of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We'd be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect –"
"If, in a month or so, you feel like explaining, you will let us know, won't you?" said Ron, sarcastically.
"All right," said Hermione coldly. "All we'd need would be some Polyjuice Potion."
"What's that?" said Ron and Harry together.
"You're a bloody brilliant witch," Draco murmured admiringly.
Hermione smirked at Draco. Then she turned to her fellow Gryffindors to explain. Polyjuice Potion could help transform the three Gryffindors into three Slytherins. Then Draco could sneak them all in. However, to get the recipe, they needed to borrow a book called Moste Potente Potions from the Restricted Section from the Library. Problem was, they needed a signed note of permission from a teacher.
"I think," said Hermione, "that if we made it sound as though we were just interested in the theory, we might stand a chance…"
"Oh, come on, no teacher's going to fall for that," said Ron. "They'd have to be really thick…"
The four students looked at each other, sudden realization dawning on all of them at once.
"Lockhart!"
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