Chapter 25: Planning
Friday evening rolled around and Harry happily made his way up to Remus' quarters for dinner instead of the Great Hall. Sirius was already there and both of them were laughing heartily when Harry strode in. They greeted him as he sat in the armchair that had become his over the previous term. Shortly after, a House-Elf popped in with trays of food into which they all dug in with gusto.
"How's teaching History?" Harry asked. Remus let out an exasperated sigh.
"It's mostly damage control at the moment. Everybody is so far behind. Thankfully, as expected, I have no NEWT students. I will be holding study sessions on some evenings for those who wish to retake their OWL and for fifth years who are very far behind. It's worse than trying to clear up after Lockhart." He complained.
"Well Lockhart only ruined one year. Binns ruined decades." Sirius pointed out fairly. "We would have failed if you weren't such a bookworm who insisted on making us study."
"I might give those study sessions a miss." Harry looked apologetically at Remus.
"Somehow I thought you might." He said dryly. "Don't worry, I know you're taking more NEWT subjects than most people and your workload will rack up rather quickly." Harry grinned.
"You make it sound like it hasn't already. Every single teacher has started their first lesson with a lecture about how hard the next two years will be. Oh how I miss being an innocent second year." He added mock wistfully. Both adults laughed.
"It'll be over before you know it." Sirius assured him, ruffling his hair playfully. They spent the evening playing games and chatting. Remus helped Harry out with another labelled drawing for Hagrid that needed doing. Although Remus specialised in Dark Creatures, he knew an awful lot about most other creatures too and was a great help.
The Saturday of the second weekend of term was the day of the Quidditch trials. Harry ran through similar tests that had been done the year before. As she had said, Ginny was indeed a fine flyer, easily earning herself a spot as Chaser. Katie also flew excellently and returned to the team. A fourth year called Kenneth Chambers earned the last spot just outflying a girl called Demelza Robins. Harry asked her to stay behind as she would be a spare Chaser, training with the team in case one member was injured. He knew Ginny could play a backup seeker if he himself was the one unable to take part.
Doing the Beater tryout next, Harry was pleased with the two new recruits at the end of three painful hours. Josh Mann was a third year, tall and broad for his age with a fine aim. Lillie May was also a third year. She looked far too fragile to be a Beater but they all soon found that assumptions were dangerous as Lillie whizzed around the pitch almost like a third Bludger. Her aim was fantastic and she had a mighty swing for someone so small. She also worked very well with Josh, the duo took instantly to each other and formed a very good partnership.
When it came to the Keeper tryouts, Harry felt almost as nervous as Ron looked. Despite them not being quite as close as they used to be they were still good friends and he did not want to have to tell Ron that he was no longer Keeper. Though he would have no choice if someone else did better. A large seventh year with an even bigger attitude did rather well, saving four penalties out of five, making Harry even more nervous. He was considering turning the guy down even if he did the best out of everyone simply because he could not keep his mouth shut. Katie whispered to him that the bloke was Cormac McLaggen and nobody in their year could stand him because he was always boasting. However, Ron thankfully saved all five shots meaning he retained the position of Keeper. A bright fourth year, Edward Short, also saved four and Harry told him he would be the reserve Keeper. McLaggen put up a large fuss at this but Harry firmly told him that as a Seventh year he would be focused on NEWTs and would be leaving the team after a year. It was better for the team as a whole to have a younger member who had done equally well.
Later, Harry learned from Katie that McLaggen had complained to McGonagall about it who had firmly told him that as the Captain, Harry's choice was final and she trusted his judgement. That did explain the dirty looks McLaggen had been giving him in the Common room every time they were both there at the same time. As it was still early in the year they didn't start team practises for another few weeks but Harry did have a few team meetings where they could get to know each other better as only he, Katie and Ron had ever played together before. He also tried to coach Ron on how to play through his nerves. Ginny had agreed to do some extra practise with just Harry and Ron before full team training began and it did seem to help a little. Ron still got flustered when he made a mistake but he was able to pull himself back together provided he didn't make another immediately afterwards.
Lessons were getting more challenging as the weeks went by and Harry found himself enjoying the challenge. The DA still met but there was no longer such pressure to learn Defence by themselves and it became more of a study group. The NEWT and OWL students got to practise spells and the younger groups got to see advanced magic in action as well as learn more advanced spells than they would in lessons. Harry, Neville and the others were careful not to teach them stuff that was far too advanced. In this Hermione was a great help, recalling advice McGonagall had given her on not practising things too advanced for her and how to tell if she could manage or not.
Harry was pleased that Snape had not bothered him in the Defence lessons. Whether finally getting his desired position made him marginally happier or the threat of Sirius and Remus combined stopped him, Harry wasn't sure but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. It turned out Snape was actually a capable teacher when he took a break from insulting students long enough to teach. He did keep his favourite method of just giving them a spell to practise without any advice first or showing them how it was done but when it came to the theory he clearly knew a lot.
Hagrid had tried to convince Harry that studying Acromantula would be a good idea as there were specimens on hand but Harry had put his foot down citing a fear of spiders as a reason not to see them in person. It wasn't exactly a lie. He did have a very healthy fear of those particular spiders and no desire to see them again. Hagrid wasn't too happy but agreed they could just study them from the book instead of visiting the colony. Ron went a pale green colour as Harry recounted that particular conversation to him and Neville.
As the first Quidditch match of the season approach the atmosphere around Hogwarts grew excited and charged. As usual it would be Slytherin versus Gryffindor. The day before the game, Harry heard the Malfoy had pulled out sick and Gordon Kipp was going to take his place. This did not tally with the same Malfoy who faked an injury and got the entire game changed so that his team wouldn't have to play in a storm. A quick check to the Hospital Wing confirmed he wasn't there so it wasn't anything serious enough to require medication. A fierce curiosity burned in him at this but he wasn't sure what to do about it. He would be at the game and couldn't find out what Malfoy would be doing while the castle was empty. Nor did he want to tell Remus given that he had nothing really to go on and no idea as to what Malfoy could be doing. Thinking quickly, he pulled Daphne aside on Saturday morning before the game. He told her his suspicions and she looked equally surprised given that Malfoy had not been ill at all the day before. Their Captain hadn't questioned him when he said he wasn't well enough to play but he had attended all his lessons and been at dinner. Harry gave her the Marauder's Map and told her to keep an eye on Malfoy.
"Where on Earth did you get this?" Daphne asked him.
"I have to run but I got it from the twins. Originally my dad made it with Remus and Sirius." He told her, not adding on the last name, She looked down at the four names written on the parchment and decided not to comment.
"I take it you want me to hide it from the rest of my house?" She asked drly.
"Most certainly." He agreed, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. She nodded to him and he rushed off to the changing rooms. The rest of the team gave him surprised looks as he dashed into the room so late that they were all already dressed. He just shrugged and muttered something about Daphne. Ron and Katie gave him knowing smirks. He pulled his gear on.
"You've all trained spectacularly so far, let's put that to good use and thrash those Snakes!" The team let out a roar of approval and Harry led them out onto the pitch. It was a cold, clear day with almost perfect Quidditch conditions. He shook the Slytherin Captain's hand who, as usual, tried to squish his rather than actually shake it. Then Madam Hooch got the game started. Harry felt the familiar rush of excitement run through him and he forgot about Malfoy. He forgot about everything except finding the snitch. He caught a glimpse of gold as it was released from the box but soon lost it.
"Weasley to Chambers. Chambers neatly ducks around Troy and makes a clean pass back to Weasley. She advances on the Keeper. Nice dummy, GRYFFINDOR SCORE!" Whoever the new commentator was, Harry found him very dull compared to Lee Jordan who had graduated at the end of last year. With no bias or flirtatious comments towards the Chasers it wasn't particularly worth listening to except to hear the score. The extra training was clearly helping Ron, as was the chanting from the Gryffindor end with their own version of Weasley is our King. The score reached 100-30 with no sign of the snitch and the Slytherin Seeker had taken on Malfoy's favourite tactic of marking him rather than looking for the snitch on his own.
Harry did take time to admire how the team were working so seamlessly together they could have been playing for years as a unit. Kenneth, Ginny and Katie hadn't quite reached the fluidity of the previous trio but they weren't far off. Lillie and Josh easily had a similar partnership to Fred and George even if they weren't quite there with the skill. Ron was becoming more comfortable distributing the Quaffle to his Chasers, occasionally even yelling out a pass none of them had spotted. Given his strategic mind, it provided valuable insight.
As he was observing this unity, Harry spotted a flash of gold at the foot of the Gryffindor goalpost. Checking over his shoulder he saw Kipp watching him like a hawk but he was on the opposite side, closer to the Slytherin end. Happy with that, Harry turned back and dived towards the speck of gold that had now moved slightly higher. Kipp took off after him immediately but there was no contest. Harry's Firebolt was much too quick and he was a much better flyer. He had a massive lead and his fingers were about to close around the Snitch when there was a thump behind him. He caught it and looked back. Josh had caught Kipp in the back of the head with a solid thump on a Bludger. He looked rather pleased with himself, even more so when Lillie flew over and pulled him into an excited hug. The three Chasers and Ron flew over to congratulate Harry.
"Nice catch!" Ron called.
"Gryffindor win 270-50!" The commentator called out to loud applause and cheers, mixed with a few groans.
"Party in the common room!" Ginny yelled into his ear. He nodded to show he heard and the team made their way to the showers.
Once he was clean and dressed, Harry made his way to find Daphne. As expected she was waiting for him in their spot in the Library. He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes.
"Yes, yes well played." She sighed.
"Thanks." He grinned wider. "So, did you see anything?" He asked, turning serious.
"Malfoy disappeared off the map somewhere on the seventh floor just after the game started. I think he went into the Room of Requirement. He didn't emerge until about five minutes before you caught the Snitch." She told him.
"I wonder what was so important in there that he had to do it when the whole school was outside? And why he had to miss Quidditch for it?"
"Well there is quite often people from the DA in there studying. It's not like we have fixed days as such anymore." Daphne shrugged. "Maybe he needed a time he could be sure it was empty."
"Possibly." Harry mused. "I'll have to keep an eye out. If he's up to something, I doubt it's good."
"I'll keep an ear out." Daphne assured him.
"Be careful." He advised. She rolled her eyes.
"Please. I know how Slytherin works by now." She told him firmly.
"Well, I have a party to attend. I'll catch you for a study session tomorrow usual time and place?" He asked. She nodded. As they were alone he pulled her into a hug and kissed her hair. When they broke apart she handed him the map back.
"Useful map that." She noted with a smirk that usually meant she was planning something.
"Very." He agreed. With that they parted ways and Harry sped up to Gryffindor tower. The party was already in full swing but nobody seemed to have missed him. He was unsure who had taken over the twins' role of smuggling in food and drink but someone clearly had. Until he realised that the food provided wasn't just the usual haul of just sweets that the twins brought. It was full of sandwiches and other various foods not normally present. Neville told him later it was Dobby's doing at the request of Sirius who thought that win deserved a proper party. The usual haul of sweets was there but in a lower quantity than usual.
Sunday meant making up for the days worth of homework they had missed. Which was a lot. Harry had three essays due in on Monday, all of which he had finished but still needed to go over and correct any mistakes as one was for McGonagall and one was for Snape. The other was for Hagrid and so considered slightly less important. Most of the day was spent in the Library with Neville, Hannah, Susan, Justin, Ernie and Daphne. Once he had all his work done that was due in the next three days, Harry took a break to stare longingly out of the window. The fine weather was dying out as November dragged on and it was one of the few remaining sunny days that were reasonably warm. He convinced the others to spend the rest of the afternoon outside.
Over the next few weeks, Harry kept a close eye on the map. Malfoy made frequent visits to the Room of Requirement, often for hours at a time. However, he knew how tricky the room could be and he would have to be sneaky about trailing him. He decided that next time he saw Malfoy making his way there he would take the cloak and try to follow him in. He often had Crabbe and Goyle standing outside as guards but hopefully if they couldn't see him they couldn't stop him. He debating whether jinxing them both would cause enough distraction to slip past Malfoy into the room he was asking for but figured Malfoy would just close the door immediately. He may be annoying but he wasn't completely stupid, unlike the other two.
Once, when he knew Malfoy was in the room, he made his way to the seventh floor under the cloak. The map said Crabbe and Goyle were standing outside but instead of two hulking sixth years, Harry only saw two girls who were possibly in their first, maybe second year. Malfoy must have some Polyjuice.
He had passed that bit of news onto Daphne who had promised to try and find a way to have his stash discovered by a teacher. It would be hard to continue his plans if he were in permanent detention. Despite all the recon and Daphne keeping a look out, they were still no closer to figuring out what Malfoy was actually doing while he was in the room. At best Daphne had overhead some arguments where Crabbe and Goyle didn't seem too happy about continually turning into girls. Harry found he didn't blame them on that front.
Meanwhile, he didn't seem to be getting anywhere with Slughorn. The man had had a few parties since the one on the train. Harry attended each one faithfully with Daphne as his date. They were dreadfully dull and Harry found he had little time to talk to Slughorn himself. His reputation as a wonderful potion maker seemed to be having far more of an effect than attending the stupid gatherings but he still had no idea how to even broach the topic. He finally decided on starting a conversation based on his mother's Potion journals. Some part he didn't understand properly and slip it in somehow. Just casually, like 'Thanks for explaining that Professor, so, did you tell Voldemort anything about Horcruxes'. He snorted at his own ridiculousness. His little parties often had some amount of wine or firewhisky, maybe having Slughorn a little tipsy would help. Harry decided to act after the Christmas party that had been spoken about. He had hoped to avoid that one but it seemed like the best time where the most amount of alcohol would be available.
He discussed this plan with Sirius and Remus and they agreed it would be his best bet, but left time enough for him to hopefully repair any damage if it went wrong. Harry tried not to dwell on that possibility. Daphne told him that Slughorn loved crystalized pineapple and he made a note to get some for the Professor for Christmas. Anything that could help him get the Professor on side. All in all, Harry could not wait for the Christmas holidays when this horrible plan would hopefully be over.