A/N: I made a mistake in Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 which I fixed. In Chapter 8, Harry explain that 60 broomsticks will be produced at once, with 30 broomsticks enchanted by each party but, at the shop Broomstix, the story explain that Harry wanted to buy 50 broomsticks and then add 10 more as backup in case he makes a mistake during the enchanting, resulting in 60 broomsticks... It clearly doesn't make sense so I changed it. I fixed it so that the deal between the Potter Broom Company and Quidditch Quality Supplies is 50 broomsticks total, with each party enchanting 25 of them. So, this works with what Harry thinks when retiring money. He buy for fifty broomsticks and ten in backup.
I hadn't noticed the problem before I wrote this chapter where Harry use some of the parts to enchant a Mark IV prototype. If I hadn't fixed it, then Harry would be lacking one broom at the end, so he wouldn't have fufilled the deal.
Even though Harry had built M.A.R.I.O.N. to help him on his various projects, the first week following her arrival was not productive in the slightest. The first few days after the completion of the magical intelligence were spent mostly talking and testing its limited abilities. For instance, nearly every hour, Harry would ask for the time of day or the temperature outside, two basic functions he had added in.
"It's currently six-o-clock in the morning, sir." or "Outside temperature is sixteen degrees Celcius with the sky covered with clouds." were her usual answers. Harry never tired of hearing her.
During classes, Harry would tell M.A.R.I.O.N. to scan one of the books they used to add the information to her database. At night, Harry would put a bunch of books he had taken out of the library on his nightstand for her to scan while he slept. After a week of scanning books almost every hour, M.A.R.I.O.N.'s database had grown significantly.
It was about at that point that Harry decided to reveal M.A.R.I.O.N. to his friends. They had noticed something strange with Harry during that week. In his excitement, he hadn't exactly been discreet while talking to the intelligence. His friends had noticed him muttering to himself more than once, and they were starting to become worried.
So, one day, Harry invited Hermione to his and Ron's dorm room. "Remember that personal project I mentioned a month ago?" he asked. Both of his friends nodded. "Well, I've completed it – or, rather, it's very first version."
"What did you work on?" asked Hermione, looking at his trunk. "Is it a special broom?"
"Nope." answered Harry. "I'm not planning on keeping any broomsticks in development secret from either of you. No, my project is something... different." Then, speaking to M.A.R.I.O.N., he said "You know what to do." with a grin.
"Who are you..." began Ron but was interrupted by M.A.R.I.O.N's voice which, for the first time since her creation, spoke aloud rather than directly in Harry's mind.
"Greetings, Miss Hermione Granger, Mr. Ronald Weasley." her soft, feminine voice spoke. "I am M.A.R.I.O.N., or 'Magically Advanced and Really Intelligent Operating Network'. I am a magical user interface system built by Mr. Potter to assist him in his various projects, monitor close and surrounding magic and act as a middle-woman between Mr. Potter and other types of magic."
"Who was that?" asked Ron, looking around the dorm as if looking for something. "Where did that voice come from?"
"Harry... did you really build a fricking A.I.?" exclaimed Hermione, looking at him with wide eyes.
"Maybe I did." he answered, giving Hermione a loop-sided grin. He hoped he would be able to make her blush.
"Sir, your chances at success are 14%." said M.A.R.I.O.N.. Mentally, she added "Miss Granger is too distracted by the knowledge of my existence to realize what you are doing." Harry blinked.
"How did you – you know what? Don't answer that." he said.
M.A.R.I.O.N. answered aloud despite his words. "You are simply too predictable, sir." Ron and Hermione snorted.
"I'm not predictable!" Harry protested.
"Of course, my bad. What was I thinking..." said M.A.R.I.O.N. with a hint of sarcasm.
Ron started laughing. "Let me see if I understand. Did you make a sentient intelligence to help you, but its instead sassing you?" He burst out laughing when Harry started flushing.
"That's certainly an unexpected demonstration." said Hermione, giggling madly.
"Yeah, yeah – laugh it up. It's not that funny. ... Stop laughing!" he cried, making them laugh harder. "You two are very bad friends." he pouted like a child.
"Sorry." gasped Hermione, wiping her eyes. "It's just... it was funny."
"What else can M.A.R.I.O.N. do?" asked Ron.
"For now, nothing much. I've spent most of my time working on the intelligence itself. For now, M.A.R.I.O.N. can know the weather and time of day. She is capable of detecting surrounding magic that is within twenty meters of me – though she can't figure out what these types of magic are yet. She's capable of retaining anything in memory – so I can, for instance, set an appointment a month away and she'll remind me the day before to make sure I didn't forget – and she can scans books in about an hour and keep the knowledge in her database, which she can then access at any time."
"M.A.R.I.O.N. can store knowledge from books?" asked Hermione, making Harry chuckle. He wasn't surprised it was what Hermione had latched on first.
"Indeed. It means that, as long as she has the knowledge, M.A.R.I.O.N. will be able to answer any questions I have. She'll even be able to suggest changes and improvements on my works once she know all about runes."
"That's impressive." she said. "You aren't planning on using her to cheat in classes, are you?" she asked sternly.
"Of course not!" protested Harry, a bit hurt. "I have no interest in cheating on exams and tests. I want my scores to be legitimate. I wouldn't use M.A.R.I.O.N. to cheat." he said. "It's the same thing with Quidditch. While she can't now, in the future, M.A.R.I.O.N. will most likely be able to detect the snitch and keep track of it at all times, even when its hidden, but using her to find it in a game wouldn't be sporting nor fun. Because of this, I made a specific clause for M.A.R.I.O.N. not to say anything that isn't urgent as long as I'm in an exam or playing Quidditch."
Hermione looked chastised. "Sorry for doubting you, Harry." she said quietly. Harry sighed and took his best female friend in a hug. "It's fine. Just don't assume things like that in the future." he muttered to her. Hermione nodded in his chest before they let go of each other.
"What upgrades did you have planned for her?" asked Ron.
"Many." answered Harry. "The first one I intend to do is to detect Dementors and their distance to me. With them around the school, I'm not taking chances of walking where one could be."
"It's a good idea." said Hermione.
"Next, I plan to have M.A.R.I.O.N. be able to monitor the enchantments of any broomstick close to me. She will also be able to gather live data from the broomstick – like speed, altitude, etc. The third upgrade I planned is about my glasses. I want M.A.R.I.O.N. to be able to write the data here for me to read, as if the glasses were transparent computer screens. And, fourth, I want her to be able to create illusions and manipulate them at will. That's about that for now. I have other things I want to add but its not a priority yet."
"You forgot something sir." said M.A.R.I.O.N.. "Something you promised to someone."
"Right. I'll get you a hat." chuckled Harry.
"When are you going to find the time to work on that?" asked Ron.
Harry smiled. "Once I have the Mark IV finished. Since I completed M.A.R.I.O.N., I can put all of my focus on it."
It took an additional week and a half for Harry to complete the first version of the Potter Mark IV. By that point, it was only a few days before Halloween, and a week and a half before the first match of the season against Hufflepuff.
Harry decided to relax in the few days until Halloween. The only things he worked on was his homework. On Halloween, which was a Sunday, was the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. Harry was slightly depressed he was unable to go to the village – lacking the authorization of a guardian to do so – but he was also excited to use the day to his advantage to enchant the Mark IV prototype. The day of Halloween would allow him to enchant the Mark IV prototype in the comfort of solitude and silence.
However, being unable to visit Hogsmeade meant one thing: he couldn't get a hat to use for M.A.R.I.O.N.'s physical form. There was a simple solution, though.
"Hermione!" exclaimed Harry, walking down the Entrance Hall just before Hermione and Ron left the castle. While Harry was simply wearing black trousers and a black t-shirt with grey sleeves, both of his friends were currently wearing their winter coats. Hermione had a light-purple winter hat on her head, making Harry freeze for a moment. She looked very cute like that.
"What is it, Harry?" she asked, snapping him back in reality.
"While you're at Hogsmeade, can you buy a pointy hat for me?" he asked.
"Why do you need one of those, mate?" asked Ron.
"It's not for me. It's... it's for M.A.R.I.O.N.." he said with a small flush.
"Huh?" blurted Ron.
"I don't mind buying one." answered Hermione, ignoring their confused friend. "Why does M.A.R.I.O.N. need one, though?"
"In short, I received the help of the Sorting Hat while working on her and, in exchange, he wanted me to give her a physical form like his so he wouldn't feel lonely alone in the headmaster's office."
Hermione looked amused. "Of course." she said. "I'll buy one that will make M.A.R.I.O.N. happy."
"Thank you, Miss Granger." spoke M.A.R.I.O.N. before Harry could.
"Yes, thanks, Hermione." Harry added.
"You're welcome." she said with a smile, making Harry's heart flutter. "Now, let's go, Ron."
"See you later, mate." said Ron. "I'll buy you plenty of sweets, don't worry." he assured.
Harry chuckled. "Thanks Ron. I'll just get to work, then." he said before he left them.
Harry went all the way back to Gryffindor Tower, thinking about the broomstick he was about to enchant. So occupied he was that he didn't notice Crookshanks – the cat Hermione had bought as a pet in Diagon Alley – in time to not trip on him.
The miniature tiger let out a loud hiss of surprise as Harry fell down. She sighed, lying on the ground. "Sorry, Crooks." he apologized. The cat only sent him a glare after walking away.
"It's an honour to work with someone who has such a good relationship with people's pets." said M.A.R.I.O.N., making Harry roll his eyes.
"Funny." he said. 'Why me.' he thought.
"I believe some people are questioning what you are doing on the ground, sir."
Harry rolled his eyes again before jumping back on his feet. Ignoring Colin Creevey's attempts to drag him with his group of friends, Harry walked up to his dorm.
"Right." he muttered. "How about we begin the enchanting of the Mark IV prototype?" he asked.
"Of course, sir. Have you figured a name for the broom yet?"
"I have known the name of the Mark IV since this summer, M.A.R.I.O.N.." said Harry. He went to his trunk, which was standing beside his bed, and opened it to the third compartment. Then, he walked inside the warehouse and used his wand to create lights.
"What is the name, sir?"
Harry smiled. "The PMK-4 Blackbird, named after the SR-71 Blackbird, an American supersonic spy plane from the Cold War."
"You named a Quidditch broom after a military spy plane?" asked M.A.R.I.O.N., sounding disbelieved.
"Hey! The Blackbird is an epic plane!" protested Harry. "It's the fastest plane ever built. It's so fast it stretchs at high speed, which forced its designers to purposefully build it so that it leaks fuel while on the ground. Thanks to this, when it stretch in the air, it become sealed! It's completely mental! It also has a very good looking shape." he commentated.
"I still think it's a stupid name."
Harry scoffed. "I'll make you read books on the SR-71. You will change your mind, you'll see"
"If you say so." said M.A.R.I.O.N., sounding amused. "But I keep the rights to tell you otherwise."
"Fine." chuckled Harry. "Now, I better start the prototype now if I don't want to spend the entire day on it."
"What is the first step, sir?" she asked, curious.
"You want to learn from your old man?" joked the thirteen-year-old.
"May I remind you, sir, that you enchanted me to help you on your projects."
"Not wrong." said Harry. "Well, the first step is rather simple. We have to assemble the broom first. The footrests are bolted on the broom head and the shaft is then screwed in the head. Thankfully, we don't need tools to do these steps, only a wand." he explained. "After, I'll put charms to solidify the connection between parts to make sure it won't break doing dangerous manoeuvres in the air."
"And that's what you are doing right now?"
"Indeed, that's what I am going to do." said Harry. He then did exactly what he said to M.A.R.I.O.N., bolting the footrests on the broom head, then screwing in the shaft inside the head. Then, he used his wand to apply sticking and strengthening charms to the parts.
"There you go. A fully assembled PMK-4 Blackbird." he said, showing the black and red broom to his companion.
"Now what?" asked M.A.R.I.O.N..
"There's one thing we need to do before we can begin the enchantments." said Harry. "All the broomsticks currently on the market hide their runes and encrypt them." said Harry. "The goal is to make sure nobody can read and copy the rune sequence to make sure they don't make illegal copies. Of course, some people try anyway. I'm personally tempted to get myself a Firebolt just to reverse engineer it, but I digress. While the encryption is done at the very end of the enchanting process, we still need to do something beforehand. The paint of the shaft - or polishing in some cases - also allow us to to hide the runes fully after the enchanting is done using a simple spell. However, anyone who know the spell will be able to make the runes appear, hence the encryption."
"What do you need to do, first, then?" asked M.A.R.I.O.N..
"Well, first, I will need to put a few runes to indicate that everything I'll write on the object from this time forward will be encrypted. At the end, I'll put on another set of runes, which will activate the encryption. In a way, I'm telling magic that any runes written on the object in between the creation of the smaller two runes sets is to be encrypted."
"So a few Runes first, then the enchantments."
"Indeed." confirmed Harry. "So, time to get to work."
The enchanting of the prototype took about twice longer than Harry had planned. While the enchanting of the Blackbird was only slightly more complicated than the Ravenstar, Harry lost a lot of time explaining the entire process to M.A.R.I.O.N.. The intelligence had caught on very quickly and, since Harry had made her read a few books on runes, she had even been able to detect a few errors Harry made, allowing him to fix them before it was too late.
Around midway through, Harry took a break and left his trunk to go eat a late lunch in the Great Hall. While eating, Harry made M.A.R.I.O.N. scan another book. During his break, Harry ended-up speaking to Professor Lupin. Harry had been curious about the Patronus Charm, wanting to know if it was possible to learn at his age. Professor Lupin had told him that it was usually taught to seventh-years and Aurors, but indicated that with enough motivation, it might be possible for someone his age to learn. Harry kept that in mind. He still didn't trust the Dementors and was sure something was going to happen during the year.
By the time Harry came back from the Great Hall, it was already past two-o-clock in the afternoon. Harry wanted to finish before the Halloween feast. While he did not care to celebrate Halloween – being the day his parents had died – he still wanted to attend the feast with his friends.
Harry entered his trunk once again and continued the enchanting process, injecting magic in the runes from time to time. He did not see the time pass until M.A.R.I.O.N. reminded him.
"Sir, it's now six-o-clock in the evening. The feast is due to start at any moment."
"Already?" he exclaimed, looking up from the broomstick. "I only have a few runes left to put so I should be done in... five to ten minutes."
"Don't you prefer to continue after the feast, sir?"
Harry shook his head. "I'm just about done. No need to wait after. It will just interrupt my momentum."
"If you say so, sir."
Harry finished engraving the runes six minutes later. The last runes he put were the encrypting runes, like he had told M.A.R.I.O.N. at the beginning. Using a magnifying glass, he checked to be sure there were no errors. Then, he used his magic and activated all of the runes. The encryption runes did their work and the runes became a garbled mess.
Harry took the Blackbird prototype in his hands and put it on the ground. "Up!" he called. The broom flew in his hand. He grinned.
"Congratulations, sir. It seems to be another successful work."
"Thank you, M.A.R.I.O.N.." said Harry proudly. "Now we can go to the feast." he said. Harry exited the trunk and closed it down. He stretched his arms before walking out of the dorm.
Harry's good mood came crashing down when he crossed the common room toward the exit. He hadn't expected to meet anyone on the way to the Great Hall so he was surprised when he heard the Fat Lady talk to someone. He couldn't hear what the person on the other side said, nor even recognize the voice as male or female, but he could hear the Fat Lady.
"This is the last time I will say it. You will not enter the common room!" she snapped, making Harry frown. He began walking toward the portrait when he was stopped dead on his feet. The Fat Lady had just let out a terrifying scream. Harry quickly withdrew his wand and ran the remaining distance to the exit before pushing it open. He noticed just in time a man in dirty grey clothes run around a corner. His blood chilled. Harry knew it could only be one man: Sirius Black.
Harry stayed fixed in his position for a few minutes, his wand pointed forward, making sure Black wasn't coming back. Once he began relaxing, he turned around and looked at the portrait of the Fat Lady.
It was horrible.
The portrait looked like someone had just tore a knife through it multiple times in a row. Larges parts of the portrait were pealing down on the ground, being only attached at the foot of the frame. Harry could not see the Fat Lady in the portrait, nor in the paintings close by. He was forced to assume she had fled somewhere else in the castle.
"M.A.R.I.O.N., make sure to warn me if you detect anyone close to me." he said.
"Understood, sir." said M.A.R.I.O.N..
Holding his wand firmly in his hand, Harry made his way toward the Great Hall. At every intersection, Harry would check to make sure Black wasn't hiding behind a corner. At random intervals, he would turn around to make sure he wasn't followed.
Eventually, to Harry's relief, Harry arrived in the Entrance Hall. He was pretty sure that Black had left the castle by now but he didn't want to lower his guard in case he was wrong. He opened the large doors of the Great Hall and entered before immediately closing them.
Many across the Hall, including Harry's best friends and some of the teachers, looked at him with curiosity. Dumbledore was frowning, his eyes on Harry's wand. Harry went on to surprise many and, instead of walking toward his friends at the Gryffindor table, he instead went to the staff table, right toward Dumbledore.
"Harry, I was wondering where you were." said the headmaster. "Are you alright? Why do you have your wand out?"
It did not escape Harry's notice that most of the students were trying to listen in on the conversation. Harry didn't want to incite panic, but he knew it was unavoidable. At least he wasn't doing like Quirrell with the troll.
"Professor." started Harry, gulping. "Something happened."
Dumbledore frowned. "What is it?"
"I was about to exit the common room to come here when I heard the Fat Lady speak to someone. It surprised me since I thought everyone else was here. I was about to walk to the portrait and open it to see who was outside when I heard the Fat Lady. She let out a terrifying scream."
"Someone attacked her?" asked Dumbledore, the usual twinkle in his eyes all gone. Harry could see that he had the attention of the other professors as well, especially McGonagall and Lupin. Professor Lupin was very pale, as if he had figured out where Harry was going in his tale.
Harry nodded. "I barged out of the common room when I heard the scream. I left just in time to see the perpetrator run around a corner." He gulped and said the words that would freeze the Great Hall that night. "It was Sirius Black."
Silence... Then chaos. The professors all jumped on their feet. Snape already had his wand withdrawn. Students started shouting and some cried. A minority were silent but all of them showed terror on their faces.
"SILENCE!" yelled Dumbledore, his wand to his throat. Once he had the attention of the student body, he spoke again, this time quieter. "Prefects, you will stay in the Great Hall and make sure nobody leaves. Students, you will obey the prefects as if they were members of staff. Professors, with me." said Dumbledore before he led them outside of the Great Hall.
Now alone at the front of the Great Hall, Harry decided to make his way back to his friends before anyone tried to ask him questions. Hermione immediately grabbed him in a hug when he found them.
"Sirius Black!" she exclaimed. "That's terrible! He want to kill you and you were so close to him!"
Harry rubbed her back. "Don't worry, Hermione." he said. "I'm here and am completely fine. A man like Sirius Black wouldn't be able to hurt me." he said pompously, attempting to make her smile.
And smile, she did. 'Success!' he thought.
"How did he look like?" asked Ron. Hermione immediately left Harry's embrace and turned toward their redhead friend. Her face was furious.
"Ronald Weasley!" she said. "How dare you ask this to Harry?! The man want to kill him and Harry just had a close encounter with him, you insensitive..."
"Wow! Hermione!" exclaimed Harry, grabbing her by the arms and pushing her away from Ron before she could start hitting him. "I'm sure Ron didn't mean it that way." he said. "Calm down, please. It will do no good to be angry at each other now."
Hermione's anger deflated. "You're right. Sorry, Ron."
"I'm sorry too." apologized Ron. "I shouldn't have asked this."
"It's fine. Now, I just spent the entire day working on the Mark IV. I'm hungry." said the raven-haired boy before sitting down at the Gryffindor table. He loaded his plate with food and began eating.
"How did it take an entire day?" asked Ron. "I though it only took a few hours."
"Ron's right." said Hermione. "Is the Mark IV that much more complex?"
"Nah, it isn't. Just slightly more than the Ravenstar. It took me all day because I was also explaining the entire process to M.A.R.I.O.N. in detail."
"Speaking of M.A.R.I.O.N.." said Hermione. "I bought the hat you requested." she said. "It's a purple and white one. I put it in my stuff when we came back."
"What do you think, M.A.R.I.O.N.?" asked Harry.
"I like it." she said aloud but quiet enough so that only the trio heard hear.
"Well, you have my seal of approval, then." said Harry to Hermione. "Thank you." Hermione nodded.
"Asking Miss Granger to chose the hat was probably the best idea you ever had." said M.A.R.I.O.N.. "If you had chosen it yourself, it would probably be an ugly one like green... or pink."
"When did I have a bad idea?" he asked.
"Blackbird." she said simply.
"It's not...!" he began protesting before turning to his friends. "Tell me, is the name Blackbird stupid?" he asked to Hermione. "I decided to name the Mark IV after the SR-71 Blackbird but M.A.R.I.O.N. tell me it is stupid."
"Well, it kinda is." said Hermione.
"What!?" exclaimed Harry.
"Told you." said M.A.R.I.O.N.. Hermione smiled.
"What's the SR-71 Blackbird?" asked Ron.
Hermione immediately began explaining before Harry even processed Ron's question. "The SR-71 Blackbird is a long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by Skunk Works, a division of the American muggle company Lockheed Martin. The SR-71 was used by the military during the 1960s and 1970s to spy on the Soviet Union and other communist countries. The SR-71 can reach a speed up to Mach 3."
"I shouldn't be surprised you know all of that." muttered Harry. Ron meanwhile looked like his brain had just vanished. "Huh?" he blurted. Harry decided to give him an un-Hermione description. "Mate, it's a big black and red plane that can go three times as fast as the speed of sound and it was used to spy on enemies."
"Oh." said Ron in understanding. "It's a cool name, then."
"Thank you!" exclaimed Harry.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Boys." she and M.A.R.I.O.N. said at the same time and on the same tone of voice. Harry and Ron blinked.
"That was uncanny." muttered Harry.
"Did you built M.A.R.I.O.N. to be like Hermione?" he asked quietly.
"Not as far as I can remember."
Professor Dumbledore came back at that moment, quieting everyone in the Great Hall. "We have indeed confirmed that Sirius Black was in the castle today." he said, making a many panic. "Tonight, all of the students shall sleep here, in the Great Hall." Then, the headmaster waved his wand. The tables disappeared, including the food (and the bite Harry was about to eat). They were replaced with hundreds of comfortable looking purple sleeping bags. "Last announcement for today, as a result of what happened tonight, classes will be cancelled tomorrow." The cheering wasn't as loud as one would expect at these announcements. Dumbledore seemed saddened by that. "Lights out in two hours." he said before leaving the Great Hall once again.
Harry, Ron and Hermione each grabbed a sleeping bag before going in one corner. Once they were sitting comfortably, they talked about the Blackbird broomstick. Harry explained to them his goals with the broom and he and Ron decided they would test it the next day.
About an hour before lights out, Oliver Wood came to the trio. "Harry, I have organized a practice tomorrow at six-o-clock. Be there." he said before leaving. Harry groaned.
"We have all day. Why does it have to be that early." he moaned.
"Wood paranoia, probably." joked Ron.
"Probably." said Harry. "You know what, change of plans. You come to me tomorrow at the end of practice and we'll test the Blackbird then. I'm not interested going back to the pitch later that day."
"How long does practice usually last?"
"Usually three hours, but it's Oliver so it could be much longer, especially with the match happening soon."
"I'll show up at eight with the Blackbird then." said Ron.
"Thanks. I think, if we have the time, I want to make the team test it. I'm interested to learn what they think about it, and how it compares to their own brooms."
Harry was shaken awake at five-thirty the next morning. "Stop it." he murmured.
"We have practice, Harry." said a voice. Harry shivered.
'Am I having a nightmare?' he thought to himself.
"Sir, Oliver Wood is trying to wake you up." said M.A.R.I.O.N.. "I believe it is better if you awake now, unless you want him to become more forceful." Since the idea scared Harry, he opened his eyes.
"Finally!" said Oliver in a loud whisper. "Time to rise, Harry. The professors allowed us to go back to our common rooms so we can pick our stuff.
"Yeah, yeah." said Harry, rubbing his face with one hand. "I'm getting up."
"Good. See you in the locker room in thirty minutes." said Wood before he left to wake someone else. Harry let out a last groan of resistance before he rose from his sleeping back. He took a look around the Great Hall.
It was eerie to see so many people sleeping in sleeping bags. The floor seemed covered in purple. The Hall felt both very empty and very full. On his right, Hermione and Ron were there, still asleep. Harry looked at Hermione. It had been something he was doing more and more, forcing him to question whether he was actually falling in love with her, or if it was just a simple crush. He wished he could say with certainty.
Deciding to repeat his performance from earlier in the month, Harry bent down and kissed Hermione on the cheek. Then, he rose on his feet and quietly walked out of the Great Hall. He did not notice Hermione's eyes open, nor her stupefied expression. He also missed the large smile that grew on her face.
Harry quickly went back to the common room before he went to grab the Nimbus 2000. He stopped before he could reach it. He was just now realizing something.
Harry had a broomstick company that shared his name. Not only was he the half-owner of the company, but he was also its celebrity spokesperson. It wouldn't be a good thing if the man who built and sold Quidditch broomsticks ended-up using the broom of a competitor in an actual match. For today, he would use the Nimbus 2000 but, once the PMK-4 Blackbird had been tested and was considered safe and stable, he would switch to it.
So, Harry grabbed his Nimbus and walked out of Gryffindor Tower.
"Now, boys..." started Oliver.
"And girls." immediately interrupted Katie, Angelina and Alicia.
"This is it!" said Fred.
"The big one!" said George.
"The one we've all been waiting for!" said Harry before they – excluding the captain – all started laughing.
"Shut up, you all." said Oliver, rolling his eyes at their laughter. "That's not what I was going to say. We aren't even on match day!"
"What were you going to say, then?" asked Katie to her boyfriend.
"We've been practising for the last two months preparing for next week's match." he said. "I've checked the weather reports and it's believed that it will rain heavily here next week."
Harry blinked. He knew wizards did not do weather reports since the weather was rarely something to worry about when you had magic, which meant... "Oliver, did you look at muggle weather reports a week before the match?"
"Maybe I did." confirmed Oliver amidst the snickering, his head high.
"Why?" exclaimed Alicia. "Muggle weather reports are well known to be inaccurate that far away from the date! It's not because it's announcing rain in a week that it will rain!"
"Well, we have to be ready for everything, which is what I was trying to say!"
"So, basically, we train harder today?" commented George. Oliver nodded, making the other players groan.
It was a very tired Gryffindor Quidditch team that landed on the pitch three hours later. They had spent nearly an entire hour doing exercises on the ground – like push-ups and jumping jacks – before being allowed to take off. The only one who looked anything but tired was Oliver. "Good job, team!"
"Hooray..." said Harry sarcastically.
"Now, don't be all depressive, team." chastised Oliver. "It's a good practice we had today. I believe we can win the match next weekend."
"Sure, whatever you say, Oliver." said Angelina with a yawn. "Can we go, now?" she asked.
"Sir, remember the Blackbird." said M.A.R.I.O.N. in his mind.
"Wait!" exclaimed Harry before Oliver could dismiss the team. He looked at the stands to see if Ron was there and, upon spotting him with Hermione, waved them to come down on the pitch. He was slightly surprised to see Hermione with Ron, believing she would use her free day to advance on her own work, but he didn't think about it. He turned back to the team. "I just finished working on a new broomstick, and I wanted to know if any of you were interested in testing it."
"I'm interested." said Oliver immediately.
"Of course you are." said Angelia. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I'm going back to bed."
"So am I." said Alicia. "I don't mind giving you my opinion later this week, but not today."
"That's fine." nodded Harry. The two girls left the pitch at the same time as Ron and Hermione entered it. "What about you?" he asked to the twins and Katie.
"I'll stay." said Katie.
The twins shared a look before they said "So are we!"
"Thank you." said Harry gratefully before turning to his friends.
"Here's the broom." said Ron.
"Thank you." said Harry. "You might have heard of the PMK-3 Ravenstar during the summer. This is the successor, the PMK-4 Blackbird."
"It looks good." said George.
"Love the red lines. It differentiate from Malfoy's Nimbus 2001."
"Otherwise, it look very similar."
Harry made a face of disgust. "They are nothing alike!" he protested. "Now, I just need you to fly it and tell me what you think of it. Who want to go first? Oliver?"
"Of course." said Oliver happily before he took the broom and began flying. Ron walked toward his brother and Katie and started talking to them, leaving Harry alone with Hermione. He turned to take a good look at her.
She was dressed similarly to when she had gone to Hogsmeade even though it wasn't cold outside. He was even surprised to see that some of Hermione's face was red – most especially the cheeks. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.
Hermione blinked. "What?"
"Your face." he said, pointing at his own. "It's kind of red. Are you sick?"
"What? Of course not!" she said with a giggle.
"Why is your face red, then? Please don't be sick, its really not a good time for me to catch your germs if you are." he joked.
Hermione rolled her eyes. The red became more pronounced. "I'm fine, Harry." she said. "It's nothing."
"If you say so."
Oliver landed back on the ground. "The broom is good!" said Oliver. "It seems faster than my Cleensweep Five back at home, though slower than my Cleansweep Six I have here. I do have a problem with the agility, though. In sharp corners, the broom is slightly unstable."
"Good to know." said Harry. "I'll fix it, then. Now, who's next?"
One by one, the broom was tested. Katie went first and reported the same problems as Oliver. The couple left together shortly after Katie's turn was over. Fred and George were the next to test it. They both claimed that there were no instabilities, or that they made it better (they alternated between the two) but also said that the top speed could be improved. Harry rolled his eyes at this.
Ron was the last to use the broom. He, just like Oliver and Katie, reported that there was some instability in sharp corners. He also said it was something that wasn't present on the Ravenstar. The second problem Ron found was that the Blackbird did not pull up as fast as it should, which was worrying since it could cause someone to crash. Harry noted all of the feedback and told M.A.R.I.O.N. to record it. Once it was done, Harry was left with a good list of what he wanted to improve for the final version of the Blackbird.
Finally, the first Quidditch match of the year arrived. Today, Gryffindor was going to face Hufflepuff on the pitch. Originally, the match was supposed to be against Slytherin but, upon noticing the weather, they decided to use the injury Malfoy had received in the first Care of Magical Creatures class to pull out of the match. Hufflepuff were moved forward in the calendar and would be the ones to play against Gryffindor.
As for the weather, Oliver's prediction that there would be heavy rain ended up being true. The team captain made sure everyone on the team knew he had been right before the beginning of the match. In the locker room, the team prepared themselves for a long and difficult match.
"Now..." started Oliver before he was immediately interrupted.
"Boys..." said George.
"And girls." said the girls.
"This is it!" said Harry.
"The big..." continued Fred but was interrupted by Oliver.
"STOP!" he shouted. "I get it, I say that a lot. But, this is serious today. With this weather, it's impossible to predict how the match will go."
"We know, Oliver. Today will be unpredictable and dangerous." said Harry. He was currently holding the PMK-4 Blackbird prototype in his hands. "Nothing we haven't done before."
"In practice, maybe, but I don't remember this team playing in such a heavy rain. The closest thing I can come up with was the match in the snowstorm in early 1989, in the second half of my second year. None of you were in the team back then. The game was very dangerous and a player in each team got gravely injured. I do not want this to happen today. Not on my watch." he said grimly.
His statement killed the amusement the others had felt. "We'll do our best to be safe, Oliver." said George seriously.
"Promise." added Fred.
"Thank you." said Oliver. "Now, I believe it's time for us to go to the pitch."
Raising on their feet, the team followed their captain outside. One by one, they mounted their brooms before taking off. The Gryffindor team began doing laps in formation, Oliver at the front. Harry was happy to notice that the Blackbird could keep up with the rest of the players.
"Welcome to the first Quidditch match of the year!" said the commentator of the match Lee Jordan. His voice was partially muffled by the wind and rain. "For Hufflepuff, we have Macavoy, Preece, Applebee, O'Flaherty, Rickett, Fleet and the team captain, Cedric Diggory!" The Hufflepuffs cheered. "As for Gryffindor, we have Bell, Spinnet, Johnson, Weasley, Weasley, Potter and their team captain, Oliver Wood!"
Both teams ended their formation laps and went to the centre of the pitch. "Captains, shake hands!" called Madam Hooch. Oliver and Diggory did so. "Take positions!" she yelled. Oliver flew back toward the Gryffindor rings. Katie, Angelina and Alicia placed themselves along the centre line, with Fred and George hovering behind them. Harry, as the Seeker, positioned himself a few feet over the beaters. The Hufflepuffs did the same on the other side.
"M.A.R.I.O.N., Code Gold." he said. Code Gold meant that Harry shouldn't be disturbed or receive any help from the magical intelligence unless it was urgent.
"Roger understood." said M.A.R.I.O.N..
Madam Hooch first released the Golden Snitch – who immediately flew away in the heavy rain – and the bludgers before she grabbed the quaffle. She flew up toward the players, placing herself between Angelina and Applebee. "I will throw the quaffle. The game only begin on the whistle." she warned before she threw the quaffle in the air.
Both teams looked at the quaffle, ready to move at a moment's notice. Then, the whistle sounded. The chasers immediately threw themselves at the quaffle while Harry shot upward toward the sky. He immediately regretted his decision. Because of the heavy rain, the visibility was not large. Launching higher in the air just meant he could see even less as he distanced himself from everything. He plunged straight back toward the ground. He began hovering at an altitude half as high as the towers around the pitch.
The game was rapidly turning up to be a nightmare scenario. The temperature was continuing to plummet, becoming colder and colder every minute. Harry's hands felt like they were icing on the broom, making it harder and harder. For a brief moment, Harry considered adding warming charms to the final version of the Blackbird.
At some point, Harry believed he had seen the Snitch and began flying after it. Along the way, he encountered a bludger, forcing Harry to make a sharp turn. Harry was almost thrown off his broom. For a moment, he believed the part of the enchantments which cancelled g-forces at high speed had failed, before realizing it was something else. In this weather, the broom was a lot more unstable in sharp turns than without cold and rain. It was very worrying.
Because of his problems, he quickly lost track of time, or the match in general. He didn't know what the score was, nor who was leading. Finding the Snitch was nearly impossible because of the rain, something that was not helped by Harry's glasses.
Eventually, to his relief, he heard a double-whistle, announcing a time-out. Harry immediately went back to the ground and met with the team under a large umbrella.
"What's the score?" he asked.
We lead a hundred to fifty but, and I'm sorry for the pressure, Harry, but you need to catch the snitch soon. Otherwise, the match might not stop until the end of this rain, which shouldn't happen until tomorrow evening.
"I'll try my best, but it's nearly impossible to play with these fucking glasses." Harry swore.
"Language, Harry." said someone behind him. Harry jumped.
"Hermione?" he asked, seeing her standing behind her. "What are you doing here?"
"I figured earlier that you would have a hard time with your glasses so I came up with a solution! Give them to me." Harry did so and Hermione put a spell on each lens. "There!" she called. "They'll now repel water!"
Harry almost kissed her right then and there. "Thank you, Hermione!" he exclaimed.
"You're welcome!" she said before she left the team.
"Brilliant, this girl." said Oliver. "Now, time to go back to the pitch."
The game was not much better after the time-out. While Harry could now see clearly through his glasses thanks to Hermione, the visibility had ironically become even worse. As if it wasn't enough, claps of thunder began being heard, signifying an approaching thunderstorm. The game had to finish, and soon.
Harry was half-tempted to activate back M.A.R.I.O.N. just to help him finish the bloody match – not that she could help since she hadn't been upgraded yet. It took another half-hour before anything remotely good happened.
"HARRY! BEHIND YOU!" shouted Oliver from across the pitch. Harry looked back. The Hufflepuff Seeker, Cedric Diggory, had found the Snitch and was chasing it! Harry immediately went in pursuit. Unfortunately, the Blackbird was no Nimbus 2000 and it never showed more than now. Harry did not catch Diggory before the Hufflepuff disappeared in the clouds.
Harry followed behind Diggory. Flying in the clouds made him feel like he had just plunged in a very cold ocean. Harry was looking for Diggory or the Snitch when M.A.R.I.O.N. spoke. Her voice sounded panicked.
"Sir!" she exclaimed. "I detect an unnatural cold in front of you! I believe Dementors are invading the pitch!"
"What!?" burst Harry. He looked in front of him just in time to see Diggory reappear and plunge straight back to the ground, his face terrified. Behind him, a large dementor was following.
"Shit!" exclaimed Harry, immediately turning around in the sharpest turn he had ever done. Unfortunately, that proved to be too much for the Blackbird prototype, and Harry was thrown right off.
"Uh oh." he said as he began falling down toward the earth. In the corner of his eye, he saw the Blackbird fly in the opposite direction. So high in the sky without a broom and with dementors behind him, he seriously feared for his life, knowing that it would need a miracle for him to survive.
As the ground and the stands began to reappear, he heard shouts of terror from the student body. He felt himself start to slow down but he knew it wouldn't be enough. He closed his eyes. 'I'm sorry, Hermione.' he thought. 'I wish I could have told you how I truly felt about you.'
It was the last thing he thought before he felt himself hit the ground. He immediately blacked-out.
A/N: M.A.R.I.O.N. is technically named after the actress Marion Cotillard... I guess. I honestly don't care much about her (the only movie I remember her staring in is Assassin's Creed) but I remembered her first name when I was trying to figure out what to name the the A.I. and I managed to make a nice anagram with the name so I used it.
I didn't mention Crookshanks before this chapter because he wasn't important to the story.
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Okay, I'll admit, I completely forgot about the orange fluff-ball. x)
Harry's outfit on Halloween is a reference to Iron Man 3. It's described similarily to what Tony Stark wears at the beginning of the film while working on Iron Man Mark 42.