If the Firebolt had been graceful, the XS was heaven. Harry spent the next two hours looping, diving, spinning, and generally speeding around the pitch. He then grabbed the Seeker Kit and opened it. Inside were several Snitches, and Harry decided reading the instructions was crucial. He opened the book and began matching each Snitch with its picture.
"Chaser Snitch: Let this one go and see if you can out run it. Generally used for beginner Seekers to practice losing other Seekers while in pursuit."
Harry snorted; he was no beginner. He could easily lose other Seekers, especially Malfoy. But he decided to try it anyway and read how to activate it.
"Simply let it go, mount your broom, and say, "go." The Snitch will wait five seconds before giving chase."
Harry shrugged and pulled the small ball out of its holder and released it. Unlike a normal Snitch, it hung in the air, awaiting the command. Harry mounted his broom, shouted "Go!" and took off. Seconds later, he heard the whirring and looked back. It was right on his tail. He wondered if the makers of the kit had updated the balls to account for the XS. Probably not, he thought as he smirked and sped up. But the little golden menace kept up with him. Harry immediately went into an intricate series of loops and dives, but could not lose the little bugger. After an hour of this, he finally decided on the Wronski Feint. He'd seen it last year at the Quidditch World Cup, but he'd never actually performed it. He dove rather sharply, and he heard the buzz that indicated the Snitch had followed. Just before he hit the ground, he pulled back, marveling at the maneuverability. His toes didn't even scrape the grass and he wondered if he could have dived a few more feet before pulling up. He looked back to see the golden Snitch embedded into the field, and laughed. He scaled high, and then plunged down again.
Not yet…not yet… He had to mentally keep himself from pulling up out of instinct and held the dive longer than he should have. If he had been listening closely, he would have heard a sharp intake of breath and a cry out for him to pull up. But he was so absorbed in the dive that he didn't notice the figure that had come onto the field. Harry pulled up far later than he should have, but the superiority of the broomstick outweighed normal judgment. The broom executed a complete 90-degree turn and Harry was zooming along, mere inches above the grass.
He stopped to pick up the Snitch still struggling to free itself and glided back over to the kit and the figure.
"That was some flying, Potter. Where'd you learn that?" He came to a stop and dismounted.
"Uh, last year at the World Cup. I went with the Weasleys and Hermione, and we saw Krum do it. Really plowed the Irish Seeker into the ground." Harry got a little too over-excited and plowed his fist into his other hand as he spoke. He then saw the raised eyebrow his father was giving him and he blushed. "Sorry."
"No need for apologies. It is something you feel very strongly about. I would think you might look into a career as a Seeker, Mr. Potter. You seem to have a natural gift for the game."
"Sir, did you play when you were here? I mean, I know, Da—I mean James played as a Seeker for Gryffindor and—" Snape cut him off with an upheld hand.
"James Potter, while not being your biological father, was indeed your father. I see no reason why you shouldn't keep referring to him as 'dad,' especially now. If you slip up and someone hears you call him James, it will raise interesting questions. And yes, I was a Chaser from my third year on." Harry nodded in understanding, then noticed something in the professor's hand.
"Sir?" He motioned to the broomstick Snape held casually at his side.
"Well, you seem to be a fine Seeker, but how are your Chaser skills?" Harry shrugged. He'd never really tried to be a Chaser. "Well then, do you know how to play one-on-one Quidditch?" Harry tentatively shook his head. "Come, I will teach you." Snape mounted his broom and took off. Harry pushed the confusing thoughts aside for now; he'd deal with them later. Right now, he was intent on having the best summer of his life, away from the Dursleys.
Snape rose to the goals and muttered an incantation. A force roughly the shape of a man appeared. Snape turned to Harry, who had joined him.
"This is a phantasm player, something you can conjure to defend the goals for you. I have instructed it to play for you. Now you may tell it whom you would wish it to play as. And it may not be a professional player." Harry nodded and turned to the apparition.
"Uh, Oliver Wood, he's the best keeper I've ever known." The force "nodded" to him and prepared to defend the hoops. Snape flew to his goals and did the same, muttering a name Harry couldn't hear. They met in the center and Snape pulled the Quaffle from the trunk.
"Now, this game can be played with or without a Bludger. We'll start off without, and depending on how fast you learn, I may let one go."
"Sir, what about the Snitch?"
"Ah, well, that too is optional." Harry nodded and Snape threw the Quaffle up. Harry pushed his XS up and easily beat Snape to the red ball. He outmaneuvered the Nimbus his professor was on and reached the goals. He threw it to the top one only to have it knocked back over his head by the force. Snape caught it and zoomed to the goal. But "Wood" was also a fine Keeper and easily managed to defend the hoops.
This went back and forth, and after two hours, each had only managed two goals. They met in the center to take a lunch break. Harry panted, clearly out of breath.
"You know, I would have caught the Snitch by now," he said smugly. Snape smirked down at him.
"That just shows how much you've paid attention. I let the Snitch go just after the Quaffle. How else do you think you beat me to it?"
"I thought my broom was just faster."
"Well, that may be true, but I am a skilled Chaser. I have outmaneuvered brooms that far excelled my own by a simple trick. It's all about redirection, Harry. Make them think you're going one way, then go another. Not unlike your feint earlier." Harry was so caught up in trying to take in all this new information that he completely missed being called by his first name.
"But sir, if you let the Snitch go, where is it?" Snape smirked again and pulled a small golden ball out of his pocket.
"I won the game ages ago," was all he said before they entered the Great Hall. Surprisingly, Trelawney had joined them for lunch and she stared at Harry as he trooped up to the table with Professor Snape.
"Young Harry, Severus, how are you?" she crowed. Harry and Snape exchanged furtive glances and Harry groaned as he realized the only open seat was beside her. Snape took his seat and watched intently as his son sat next to the old bat. Dumbledore came in not a moment later and got everyone's attention.
"Everyone, I would like to introduce to you our new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor. Many of you know him, or have at least heard of him. May I present, Professor Jaren Covial." Harry looked past the Headmaster to see a young man with black hair and ice blue eyes. He had the build of an athlete, but his face spoke of the dangers he had faced. Harry found himself looking forward to his lessons. That is, until he actually spoke with the man.
He looked up and recognized Harry at once, and bounded over. "Harry Potter! I wasn't expecting to see you before September, but I guess they told you I was coming and you begged to stay to meet me, no?" Harry could only stare wide-eyed as the stranger pumped his hand up and down. No! Not another Lockhart!
"Sorry, but who are you?" Harry might have well told the man he didn't know who Merlin was, the way he reacted. He clutched his heart and stood, mouth agape. He was speechless for several seconds, then when he did find his voice, he flustered. Finally, he regained some composure.
"You can't tell me you've never heard of me? Well, I haven't written any books or anything, (thank Merlin, Harry thought) not that I need to. My exploits are famed in text and lore alike." Harry risked a glance to Dumbledore, but the old wizard was merely smiling at him. Covial conjured a chair next to Harry and sat down, not giving Trelawney a second look. Only when he was safely concealed from Snape's eye did Covial lean into Harry and whisper.
"Padfoot, on the other hand, is a legend." Harry's eyes widened in shock and looked up at the man. The Headmaster came bouncing over, smiling happily.
"Harry, we thought it best if the students didn't recognize Professor Lupin, what with all that hubbub back in your third year, so I cast a concealment charm on him."
"Wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble last year if the greasy git hadn't blurted out the fact that I'm a werewolf," Lupin muttered. Harry thought for a moment, then realized that if Professor Lupin had stayed, his name never would have been put in the goblet in the first place. Of course, then he realized that it could have all been avoided if he'd let Lupin and Sirius kill Wormtail. Then Sirius would be free, and Snape never would have let it slip that Lupin was a werewolf. So really, it was his fault…all of it. He looked over to Snape, who didn't seem to keen to the idea of Lupin being back. Of course, Snape had also realized that Harry would have avoided so much had he kept his mouth shut. Harry decided to change the subject before Snape got too mad, at himself and at Lupin.
"Yeah, but then we never would have gotten to see Malfoy, the Amazing Bouncing Ferret." Lupin's eyes bulged and he sputtered for a moment before asking how. Harry smiled as he delved into the story, making sure his father (who was pretending not to listen or care) heard every word. After lunch, Lupin pulled Harry aside, who was trying to get a moment alone with Snape.
"Harry, that git didn't hurt you when he came to get you, did he?" Harry pulled away violently, much to the surprise of Remus.
"No, in fact, we saved each other's lives not a few hours later. A bear attacked us. Thing would have knocked me into the next life if Snape hadn't jumped in front of it and took the blow for me. I dispatched the bear and brought him here." Harry practically spat the words at his professor. Lupin looked down, no, up at the boy. This was not the timid, small Harry he remembered. Harry had grown inches and was now taller than Remus. His hair was longer and his facial features more pronounced. If he didn't know any better (and he did), he thought he'd seen Snape's glare in those emerald orbs. Probably Lily's temper, he reminded himself. Lupin watched him go, shocked for a moment that he was headed toward the dungeons, but then remembered the Headmaster telling him that was where Harry's room was.
I'll give him time to cool down. Then I'll talk with him. He nodded to himself, happy with this arrangement, and went to his chambers to unpack.
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A/N: Who loves me? A long chapter (with events) within two days of my last post. I am the Queen.
Okay, enough of my fantasy realm. Let's face it, I was just bored and got an idea and ran with it. So what does everyone think? You like my little farce with Lupin being someone else. HA! You thought he was another Lockhart. Actually, that's how it started out, but at the last minute I changed it. I like Lupin. And now I'm rambling. Please review and stay tuned for the next chapter of…
(chiller type voice) The Black Secret *insert maniacal laughter here*