Chapter 14 – Snakes in the Sky

The first week of November passed quickly, with nothing but class, Quidditch and homework to keep Harry occupied. That all changed on Saturday morning, the day of the first Quidditch match of the season.

Harry awoke slowly, feeling somewhat groggy after a night of tossing and turning. All he'd been able to think about was the match, his first as Captain and against Slytherin too. He was confident in his team's abilities, but Slytherin had never been opposed to cheating to get ahead and now Malfoy was their Captain they were likely to be even worse.

By the time he got down to breakfast his tiredness had been replaced with a bad case of nerves, which made the food Katie piled on his plate look all the more unappetising. He made a show of eating it though, knowing that if he did, with his reputation of skipping meals when nervous, would bolster the rest of the team's confidence. He affected an air of calm as he listened to the conversations around him, participating when he didn't think he would be sick as soon as he opened his mouth. Katie, seeming to know his apparent serenity was an act, patted his hand under the table and made sure his goblet of pumpkin juice was always full. Harry idly wondered where Hermione was when she'd normally be comforting him before a hard match until he saw her sitting next to Ron and whispering in his ear. He pushed away the stab of jealousy. It was only natural that Hermione would be more worried about her boyfriend than her best friend.

When everyone had finished eating Harry gathered the team and led them down to the pitch to change. Only Katie seemed relaxed, but then she was the only other person on the team who had been playing for more than a year. Ron and Ginny were looking decidedly green and Ritchie was so pale Harry wasn't sure if he'd make it onto the pitch without fainting.

By the time they had changed the stands were full of students and their chatter echoed around the locker room where the rest of the team were lining one of the benches, looking at him expectantly. It took Harry a moment to realise they were expecting some kind of pre game speech and the butterflies in his stomach began to flutter in earnest. Why hadn't he even considered this possibility? He had nothing prepared; he was going to sound like an idiot.

He cleared his throat and they sat up straight, their full attention on him. "Er... I just wanted to say that... as long as we remember that we're a team we should be able to take anything Slytherin throw at us. We've always been the better team and they know it, which is why they have to resort to dirty tactics." On seeing their resolute looks and nods of agreement he felt his confidence come back to him a little. "I have faith in all of you, now let's get out there and win!"

They cheered and leapt up, heading for the pitch. Harry took a deep breath and followed. The hard part was over, now all he had to do was catch the snitch.

"Nice speech," Katie said lightly, falling back to walk with him. "A bit more inspirational than Angelina's, but lacking the 'win or die' aspect of Oliver's."

Harry grinned back. "I don't know. Oliver's speeches always drove me to try my hardest."

A wall of noise hit them as they stepped onto the pitch, making further conversation impossible, not that Harry could have managed it. He knew once he was in the air he'd forget all his worries, but right now all he could think about was the fact that every Gryffindor was counting on his team to win.

The Slytherin's were already there, with Malfoy heading them, his usual smirk in place. Madame Hooch ordered them to shake hands, so Harry stepped forward reluctantly, hand outstretched.

Malfoy grasped it roughly, squeezing as hard as he could. It was all Harry could do not to flinch before he began to squeeze back. He was disappointed when Malfoy showed no visible sign of pain. They released each other and turned back to their teams, Harry resisting the urge to shake his hand to get rid of the feeling of Malfoy's grip. He wouldn't give the git the satisfaction.

Somewhere above them Dean Thomas was informing the crowd on who was playing under McGonagall's watchful eye. Harry deliberately blocked it out, his mind already focused on getting the snitch and directing his team to get as many points as possible.

In the air Katie was in charge of signalling plays as Harry needed his attention on Malfoy and the snitch, but he would still need to keep some perspective on the game in case he needed to call for a time out.

Madame Hooch blew her whistle and they kicked off. As usual Harry felt the swooping feeling of flight wash away his fears. He was in his element here, where he belonged and Malfoy didn't stand a chance.

He climbed up until his head began to feel light, then he levelled off, circling the pitch below, his eyes peeled for any flash of gold. Gryffindor had taken the Quaffle at the whistle, according to Dean, and Katie was already streaking towards the Slytherin goals.

"And Bell passes to Weasley, who... scores! And it's ten-nil to Gryffindor!"

Harry grinned. They'd taken the first points, which meant Slytherin would be on the defensive. Unfortunately when Slytherins felt threatened they tended to get underhanded. A quick glance at Malfoy showed his face was red with annoyance and to Harry's delight; his attention was more on the rest of the match than the snitch.

Harry swerved to dodge a Bludger and swept the pitch with his eyes. No sign of the snitch so far and this time Demelza was winging her way to the goals.

"So, Potter, it looks like your team isn't totally incompetent after all," Malfoy said snidely as they passed. "I'm impressed; given that you're the Captain I expected this to be an easy win."

"Given that you're the Captain I expected your team to be too busy primping themselves to actually turn up," Harry replied.

"And Weasley can't stop it, that's twenty-ten to Gryffindor."

"Looks like your Keeper's not so hot, though," Malfoy said smugly.

"We're still ahead," Harry reminded him before flying in the opposite direction. He didn't want to provide Malfoy with too easy a target.

Over the next ten minutes the Gryffindor girls had almost total control over the Quaffle, on the few occasions the Slytherins had managed to get it away from them they'd only made one more goal, but there was still no sign of the snitch and the Slytherins were beginning to revert to form. Crabbe and Goyle were swinging their Beater's bats at their opponent's legs as they flew by and the Slytherin Chaser's were taking every opportunity to plough into Demelza, as the smallest and least experienced Gryffindor player. The tactic was beginning to make her so frightened she could barely fly in a straight line and now Slytherin was getting control of the Quaffle more frequently. Harry had to catch the snitch soon or they'd lose their lead.

Madame Hooch was calling fouls when she could, but as most of them were against Demelza and she was too scared to shoot they weren't making much of a difference. Before Harry knew it the score was ninety-seventy.

Harry signalled for a time out and they landed. He waved off his team mates questions and pulled Demelza to one side.

"I'm sorry, Harry," she whispered. "I thought I could do it, but I'm a coward, I don't deserve to be in Gryffindor."

"You do," Harry insisted quietly, conscious of all the eyes on them. "Remember what we talked about in the hospital wing? You have to work through your fear, if you don't face it now you'll be scared for the rest of your life."

"Easy for you to say," Demelza retorted.

Harry sighed. "I know it's hard because I've had to do it too, but I know you can do this. Just concentrate on the Quaffle and the feel of the wind in your face, let the rest of the world just fall away. There are no Slytherins up there, just you and the broom." The words were only partly his own, most of them had come from his tai chi training with Dumbledore, he'd just changed the context.

Demelza looked at him for a long moment before nodding, a new determination glinting in her eyes. "I won't let you down, Harry," she said.

Harry signalled Madame Hooch who blew her whistle as they all flew back up. Almost immediately the Slytherins began to harass Demelza, but she flew with a new confidence and they couldn't catch her.

Malfoy was tailing him closely and Harry was forced to keep a closer eye on him in case he tried something. Deciding to show him exactly what the Firebolt could do, Harry put on a burst of speed, rapidly flying to the opposite end of the pitch.

Whether he thought Harry had seen the snitch or was just following for the sake of tailing him, Malfoy pursued him as closely a he was able with his slower broom. Eager to leave Malfoy behind Harry turned his broom into a steep dive, grinning to himself when he realised that Malfoy was diving with him.

The crowd gasped and cheered, thinking they'd seen the snitch and Harry was sure Malfoy thought the same because he wasn't pulling up and Harry slowed, allowing him to get closer, so that they approached the ground at the same breakneck speed.

And Harry pulled up, knowing that if he'd left it a second later he would have flown into the ground and with an absolute certainty that Malfoy couldn't come out of the dive quickly enough to prevent being ploughed. Malfoy must have realised it at the exact same moment and desperately pulled on the handle of his broom, but he was just too late. With a scream of terror his broom handle caught on the solid ground and Malfoy was tipped head over heels. He groaned piteously as Harry began to climb back above the rest of the play. He shook his head. If there was one thing he was good at it was flying, but no matter how often he demonstrated his skill with a broom Malfoy insisted on challenging him and almost always ended up looking a fool, which is how Harry had known he wouldn't pull up until after Harry had; because he couldn't bear for everyone to see him give up and Harry receive all the praise yet again.

The Slytherins seemed dismayed at their Seeker's plight; although Harry knew he would be fine. Madame Pomfrey was checking him over, but game play continued, because only the Captain's could call for a time out; Malfoy was unable and Harry was too busy taking advantage of the situation.

What he really needed was for the snitch to appear right now, before Madame Pomfrey allowed Malfoy back on a broom. Fortunately Ginny, Katie and Demelza were scoring more rapidly now that the Slytherins were distracted and before he knew it the score was one hundred and ten-forty. If they got another eighty points it wouldn't matter if Malfoy rejoined the match or not, they'd win.

A minute or so later Malfoy was released and flew back onto the pitch. He was a bit wobbly on his broom, but otherwise unhurt. Harry was amused to note that he was now keeping his distance and staying lower to the ground.

The Gryffindor crowd cheered as Dean announced the score after Ginny scored again and that's when he saw it, the tiniest flash of gold near the ground. He didn't even think, just pointed his broom straight down and accelerated as fast as he could. He sped past Malfoy who was looking at him faintly, as if he might fall off any second. It seemed he hadn't seen what Harry had, nor was he looking in the right direction. Even if he gave chase now Harry was ahead with the faster broom. The snitch was his unless... it started to move away from him, still close to the ground, beating its tiny golden wings as fast as it could.

He had to slow down once he got close and fly parallel to the ground, chasing the elusive snitch and expecting Malfoy to be racing beside him any second, but Malfoy never appeared. A risky glance up showed Malfoy still sitting precariously fifty feet up, watching the chase, but making no move to join it.

And then Harry had it and held his fist up into the air as Dean announced, "Harry Potter has the snitch for one hundred and fifty points. That makes it two hundred and sixty-fifty to Gryffindor! Gryffindor wins!"

Harry grinned as he landed, a few seconds later the rest of the team joined him. Ron clapped him on the back proudly and Demelza gave him a huge hug. The Gryffindor stands had erupted with cheers and even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were joining in.

"Hey, mate!" Ron yelled over the noise. "You actually managed to finish a match and not get injured in the process."

Harry elbowed him in the ribs and turned to hug Ginny and then Katie as the rest of the Gryffindors made it onto the pitch, many of them still screaming their approval. Harry felt himself pulled into hug after hug between his hand being shaken and girls kissing him on the cheek. He waved to Hermione, but she only had eyes for Ron and threw herself into his arms. The crowd parted around them as they kissed.

"That is so disgusting," Ginny complained. "Who wants to watch that?"

"I don't know," Seamus grinned. "It's like some kind of nature study: the mating habits of Keepers and bookworms."

"Harry, you should see Malfoy's face," Dennis Creevey said happily. "The rest of his team are all having a go at him because he just sat there while you caught the snitch."

Harry craned his neck to where the Slytherin team was gathered. Sure enough Malfoy glowered in the centre of the group while they seemed to be harassing him. Strangely Harry couldn't find it in himself to be all that sorry for him.

"It was hilarious," Seamus agreed. "He seemed pretty out of it ever since that cool Wronski feint you did and when you dived it was like he thought you were just trying to do it again, even when it was obvious you were after the snitch he just watched you. Wonder if he has brain damage."

"Who would know?" Dean laughed and clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Come on mate. We're going to have a killer after party."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry's euphoria lasted until Monday morning when Hedwig swooped down to his place at the Gryffindor table. He'd almost given up on a reply from Petunia as it had been almost two weeks since he'd sent that letter.

It seemed Hedwig had given up too, because there was no letter attached to her leg or clutched in her claws. She seemed to give Harry an apologetic look before stealing a bit of bacon from his plate.

Harry couldn't hide the fact that he was disappointed. He had hoped that Petunia's reply would let him know one way or another if what Malachai had told him was true and he really wasn't related to her – the one part of what the elf had told him that he would have been quite happy to have confirmed. The rest he would happily dismiss, but there was still the Quintaped and what that encounter had told him and he couldn't forget that Malachai had told him he had family in the elf realm, family that actually wanted to know him and must care something about him if they had sent Malachai in the first place.

"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked him gently. "Did you write to someone?"

"No," Harry said, smiling to dispel her worry. "Hedwig's just come for some bacon, but I think she's cross because I haven't visited her in a while."

Hermione nodded sympathetically, reaching out to gently stroke Hedwig's feathers. "Maybe you could send a letter to Remus; I bet she'd like that. Him too."

"Yeah," Harry said absently. "The problem was that if his mum had kept all this as secret so well that not even Dumbledore knew about it then Moony wasn't likely to be much help either. Had she even told James?

"We'd best get to Defence," she said briskly, grabbing her bag. "We're meeting Ron there."

Harry followed her. If only he knew whether Petunia hadn't answered because she couldn't read the note or because she just didn't want to. For all he knew, with her aversion to Hedwig, parchment and anything else associated with the wizarding world, she hadn't even looked at it.

He took his usual seat expecting Ron to sit next to him, but Ron sent him an apologetic look and sat in front of him with Hermione. He twisted around in his seat with a sheepish grin. "Sorry mate. It's just – the girlfriend you know?"

"Its fine," Harry said, waving it off and gesturing for Neville, Hermione's usual partner, to take Ron's seat.

Class passed quickly. Harry and Hermione were both doing well with silent magic, so much so that Jones had let them try the silent duel again and this time they did much better, Harry winning only because Hermione hadn't got her shield up in time. Neither was yet up to the standard they held when speaking the spells aloud and certainly wouldn't be much of a challenge to a Death Eater if they were unable to speak, but they were proud of themselves nonetheless. Their classmates looked on enviously as they spent yet another lesson trying to cast silent jinxes at each other.

At the end of class Jones told them all to sit down and smiled widely. "I'm sure by now you've all heard the rumours that my Duelling Club has been cancelled," she began. "I can confirm to you all that this is true." A couple of groans broke out; surprising Harry as he'd thought the club had been mainly for younger students. "However, I've spoken to Mr. Potter and he has agreed to resume his own club from last year – Dumbledore's Army."

There was silence for a moment, except for Hermione and Ron – who had already known and began clapping – before the rest of the class joined in, shooting comments at Harry, like, "fantastic, I've been hoping you'd start it again," and "Harry, can I join?"

Jones gestured for Harry to say something so he rose and faced the rest of the class, silently thanking Jones for warning him about this beforehand.

"The first meeting's Friday night at seven in the Great Hall," he said, his voice getting steadier as he spoke. "Everybody's welcome-"

"Even Slytherins?"

Harry grinned. "Like I said, anyone's welcome. Professor McGonagall has agreed to drop by to make sure no one makes trouble. This is a serious club so if you think we'll just be playing games then you're better off not coming, but I really hope you will because this stuff is important." He sat down heavily, glad that was over. He hated speaking in front of groups and it would only be worse on Friday. Not for the first time he wondered what he'd gotten himself into.

Jones cleared her throat to stop the excited whispering. "Well that's it then, I'll just remind you all that Mr. Potter is generously giving up his time to help you all out and ask that you not waste this opportunity for frivolous reasons." Her gaze lingered on Lavender and Parvati who had been giggling about something. "Now off you go," she said gesturing to the door.

As they packed up their things Harry found himself surrounded by his classmates who were eager to inundate him with questions. Seamus seemed concerned he would be behind because he'd only gone to one meeting the year before, but Harry assured him he'd be starting at the beginning for any newcomers. Neville didn't speak, but shook Harry's hand firmly, a huge smile plastered over his face, while Lavender kept asking if they would be able to work on their 'pretty Patronus charms.' Harry bore it with as much fortitude as he could, while Ron and Hermione kept trying to remind everyone that they were supposed to be going to their next class.

It was Dean that reminded Harry of something he hadn't even thought of. "Harry, are you sure about letting everyone in. I mean, what if Malfoy tries to come, or that Marietta Edgecombe. We can't trust her."

Harry shouldered his bag and led the way out of the classroom. "I doubt Malfoy will come to anything I'm in charge of, especially when he hears McGonagall will be there."

"And Marietta the sneak?" Dean prodded.

"Things are different than last year," Harry sighed. "We're not doing this in secret and she can't hurt us. She deserves a chance to learn to defend herself as much as anyone else. If she comes I won't turn her away. Not that I'm going to be telling her my deepest, darkest secrets either."

"That's a very mature attitude," Hermione commended him as Dean nodded and walked away.

Harry smirked at her. "Of course, I'm a very mature person."

"I wouldn't go that far," Hermione shot back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By the time Friday rolled round Harry was so nervous he barely paid attention in class. All he could think about was the coming meeting. What if no one came? What if they all thought he was an idiot with a hero complex and walked out half way through? And McGonagall would be watching at least part of it, he couldn't imagine trying to lead a group with her watching over his shoulder, he'd probably make an idiot of himself and she'd have to take over.

Finally the evening came, and Harry, his stomach tying itself in knots by now, was unable to eat a bite. He hadn't wanted to use the Great Hall as a venue, thinking it too large, but Jones had insisted that it was the best place if he had a lot of people turn up and as dinner ended and there was very little movement in the Hall he was beginning to wonder if maybe she was right. What would he do if the whole school stayed? There was no way he could handle that many.

Professor Dumbledore and the other teachers began making their way out of the main entrance. Harry was dismayed to see that many of the Slytherins, including Malfoy, had stayed, but when McGonagall didn't move and just settled herself more comfortably in her chair they began a heated conversation that Harry would have done anything to overhear.

Seven rolled round and Harry stood reluctantly, knowing he couldn't delay any further, but before he could begin McGonagall rose and joined him.

"A few words before Mr. Potter begins," she said, eyeing the room sternly. "There are certain standards of behaviour I expect in class and I will hold you to them here as well. It does not matter that Mr. Potter is the same age as you, or younger in some cases, in these sessions you will treat him with the same respect as you would a Professor, or you will be banned from attending. Mr Filch has also been kind enough to donate his own time to anyone I – or Mr. Potter – feel deserves a detention. I believe he has all sorts of activities planned, such as cleaning the bathrooms without magic, so bear that in mind before you start making unnecessary problems." Her steely gaze swept the room, landing briefly on Malfoy who was scowling; obviously realising he wouldn't be able to do the majority of what he was planning with McGonagall present. "If you feel you cannot behave over the course of the next hour I will remind you that this is not necessary and you are free to leave at anytime. With that said, I will hand over to Mr. Potter."

Harry, who had found himself reddening slightly at the beginning of her speech, gulped. With some effort he managed to square his shoulders and look up at the students sitting around the Great Hall. There were very few empty seats and an awful lot of faces staring at him expectantly.

"Right, er... as there are a lot more people here than I expected we're going to have to break into smaller groups. We'll start with some simple spells so that I can see where you are and we'll move on from there. Everyone find a partner and find a clear space. We're going to be practising the disarming spell."

He waited while they did as he asked, some with more grumbling than others. He noticed that while the first, second and third years seemed quite content with the lesson many of the older years, excluding the old DA members, were grumbling at the simplicity of the spell. Malfoy in particular was rolling his eyes as he paired off with Blaise Zabini and said something that made the taller boy laugh.

When they were finally settled Harry asked Neville to join him and quickly demonstrated the spell. "Take it in turns to disarm your partner. Don't use any other spell. Professor McGonagall and I will be walking around to see if you need any help."

They began casting spells almost immediately while Harry and McGonagall took opposite ends of the room. By silent agreement McGonagall took the side where most of the Slytherins were practising.

Harry was proud to see that the old DA members were not only miles ahead of everyone else, but many were partnering younger students to help them out. He subtly walked around Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe, even if they'd been doing the spell wrong Harry still didn't think he was ready to talk to either of them just yet, if he ever would be.

The first years were eager, if nothing else and Harry spent a few moments with each of them, making sure they could do the spell perfectly.

As he came back to his starting point he came to the conclusion that there were just too many people, all of varying skill levels to be able to teach them all at once. They'd never get anywhere if the better students were complaining because those that weren't as strong were holding them back.

"Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall exclaimed. "Please explain to me why you are using the stunning spell when you were told specifically only to disarm your opponent."

Malfoy shrugged and turned to sneer at Harry. "I just don't see why we're spending so much time on a spell that any second year could do."

"You will follow the instructions that Mr. Potter sets out for you, or you will leave," McGonagall said firmly. Harry felt a rush of gratitude at her support. He just knew Malfoy would have been ten times worse without her here.

"That's just it," Malfoy said resentfully. "Why is Potter giving anyone instructions? What gives him the authority to lead this group? It should be someone who actually knows what they're doing, if Professor Jones can't do it, then Professor Snape would, he's an excellent duellist."

Harry remembered the first meeting of the original DA. Zacharias Smith had made a similar demand for Harry to prove he could teach them and when McGonagall turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised questioningly, Harry knew he'd have to handle this challenge much better than he had the last one, by staying calm and not letting himself be goaded into reacting angrily otherwise he'd lose he rest of them too.

"I don't need to prove anything to you," Harry said stiffly. "The Professors have decided I'm capable of teaching this club, but if you don't want to learn from me you can leave, I won't stop you."

"Well said Mr. Potter," McGonagall said approvingly. "Well Mr. Malfoy, what's it to be?"

Malfoy glared at Harry. "Come on," he said to Blaise. "I don't think there's any reason for us to stay here, we'll seek out an instructor who knows a little more about the subject." He turned and stalked out of the Hall, many of the older Slytherins on his heels.

"That's detention with Filch tomorrow at eight for your disrespect to Mr. Potter," McGonagall called after him.

"At least the younger Slytherins stayed," Hermione whispered to Harry.

"Yeah, but wait until Malfoy gets his hands on them," Ron said darkly. "I bet they won't turn up next time."

The Hall was filled with muttering after Malfoy's exit and Harry knew he had to quieten them down quickly or they'd be talking about it all night. He raised his wand and whispered, "Barba," and a shrill whistling noise erupted from the tip of his wand.

"OK, you're doing really well," he said loudly once everyone was looking at him. "Now we'll move onto the Impediment Jinx."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX