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11

Of Quidditch and Trolls

The second weekend in October came and the quidditch game that was all the great hall seemed to be talking about. Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff, the first match of the season. Harry was thinking about how weird it was that he was going to be playing against the team he once trained with. He wondered who their seeker would be this time around. He had a feeling he wouldn't have a problem against their seeker but he had to watch out for the combined attacks of Fred and George. They made quite the beater pair. Harry had spoken to Cedric about his concern and the fact that they'd be even more vicious considering they was money riding on it. Cedric had informed his beaters to keep a close eye on the pair as they would probably targeting Harry.

After the team had changed and was waiting in the box, Harry looked at the Hufflepuff stands and watched Susan.

"You catch that snitch and I'll let you give it to your girlfriend," Cedric said with a grin.

Harry blushed. "Wha…who….I don't know what you're talking about Diggory."

Cedric nodded with a smirk on his face. "Sure you don't. Just get out there and get that snitch."

"Or die trying," Harry replied, remembering his old Gryffindor saying.

"Exactly," Cedric responded, "only don't actually die. I have a feeling your girlfriend wouldn't be too happy with either one of us."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Could've fooled me."

"LAAADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO THE FIRST QUIDDITCH MATCH OF THE SEASON. GRYFFINDOR VS. HUFFLEPUFF! AS ALWAYS, I'M LEE JORDAN.

ON THE HUFFLEPUFF TEAM WE HAVE CAPTAIN CEDRIC DIGGORY WHO WILL BE WATCHING FROM THE SIDELINES TODAY, BEATERS MAXINE O'FLAHERTY AND ANTHONY RICKETT, CHASERS MALCOM PREECE, HEIDI MACAVOY AND TAMSIN APPLEBEE, KEEPER HERBERT FLEET AND OF COURSE THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE TEAM, THE ONE AND ONLY BOY-WHO-LIVED, HARRY POTTER!"

As their names were announced the members of the team shot out in a yellow and black blur and flew the customary lap around the pitch before taking their position on the field. Harry flew high to keep an eye on the game and for the snitch.

"NOW PLAYING FOR GRYFFINDOR CAPTAIN AND KEEPER OLIVER WOOD, BEATERS GRED AND FORGE WEASLEY, SEEKER KENNETH TOWLER AND LET'S HERE IT FOR THE LOVELY GRYFFINDOR CHASERS ANGELINA JOHNSON, KATIE BELL AND ALICIA SPINNET!"

"Mr. Jordan," Professor McGonagall scolded as the Gryffindor team shot out in streaks of red for their lap before they too settled in to position. Cedric and Oliver shook hands before Cedric left to watch with the reserves and Oliver took his post by the goals.

"I want a nice clean game," Madam Hooch said as she released the bludger and the snitch. Finally she tossed up the quaffle, blew her whistle and the first fame of the season had begun!

Harry was busy scanning for the snitch to really watch the game but he kept hearing Lee Jordan announce the score.

"FIRST GOAL GOES TO GRYFFINDOR COURTESY OF THE GODDESS ANGELINA JOHNSON! 10-0!"

Harry heard Professor McGonagall scold Lee again. He was determined to find that snitch. Not so much for the money but because he wanted to prove he could still do it…and maybe a part of him wanted to see the look of Susan's face as he gave her his first snitch. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focus on the game as he continued looking for the snitch as he dodged the occasional bludger sent his way by the Weasley twins.

"GRYFFINDOR GOAL BY KATIE BELL 20-0 GRYFFINDOR!"

He caught a glimpse of something gold down by the Gryffindor stands but as soon as he went to focus it was gone.

"HUFFLEPUFF GOAL BY HEIDI MACAVOY 20-10 GRYFFINDOR!"

The game continued on for a little while. When he finally spotted the snitch it was 120-70 Gryffindor. The snitch was floating near the Slytherin stands. Harry arced his broom into a dive purposely misleading the Gryffindor Chaser while keeping an eye on the snitch.

"UH-OH! IT LOOKS LIKE OUR SEEKERS HAVE SPOTTED THE SNITCH! AWAY THEY GO WITH POTTER IN THE LEAD."

Harry dove towards the ground but made a sharp turn right before the stands flying mere inches above some of the heads. The Gryffindor seeker couldn't make as sharp of a turn on an older broom and that cost him some time and distance. They chased the snitch up and over the stands, around the Ravenclaw quidditch tower and down towards the center of the field. Harry narrowly dodged a bludger sent by the Weasleys as he came around the corner. As he inched closer to the snitch Towler was hot on his tail. He knew that he would only get one chance at this. As the broom and the snitch leveled off and shot across the ground, Harry stood up on his broom, scooted forward and extended his hand. Closer…closer…closer. He leapt forward off his broom and wrapped his hand around the snitch before rolling to a stop and landing on his back on the grass much to the gasping of the crowd. He held one hand up in the air that contained the snitch between his fingers.

"HE'S DONE IT! POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH AND WON THE GAME! FINAL SCORE 220-120!"

The crowd let loose a roar as Harry got back to his feet. He accio'd his broom as the rest of the team came down to congratulate him. Cedric approached the field. "A deal is a deal," he said with a grin. "Go give it to her."

Harry got back on his broom and flew over to the Hufflepuff stands. Apparently Lee Jordan felt the need to narrate this too.

"POTTER HAS WON THE GAME BUT HE'S BACK ON THE BROOM AND HEADED TOWARDS THE HUFFLEPUFF STANDS. WHAT'S HE UP TO NOW?"

As Harry approached the stands at a blazing speed he turned and slid to a stop in front of Susan Bones, who was blushing as the entire school was watching her. Harry flipped so he was hanging upside down in front of her and held out his closed hand. He opened it up slowly to reveal the game-winning golden snitch he has just caught. "For you," he said with that famous Potter grin. Susan reached out and took it from him. She was redder than her hair at this point. The entire school was watching.

"WOULD YOU BELIEVE THAT? HARRY POTTER JUST FLEW OVER AND HANDED HIS FIRST GAME-WINNING SNITCH TO NONE OTHER THAN SUSAN BONES. LOOK AT HIM GO! KNOCK 'EM DEAD HARRY!"

As soon as he handed her the snitch he flipped back over so the color could return to his face. He gave her a wink and headed back to the rest of his team who was still celebrating. There was definitely going to be a party in the Puff house tonight! A party there was too. Everyone from Hufflepuff was there, even Professor Sprout. Susan accompanied him throughout the party although they spent most of their time talking to Hannah and Neville in between Harry's thanking people who congratulated and complimented him.

"Let's hear it for the MVP! The game winner and ladies' man to boot, HARRY POTTER," Cedric shouted as he held up a cold butterbeer in a toast. "TO HARRY," the rest of the room shouted. It was a late night…actually to be fair it was an early morning by the time the Hufflepuff house got to bed. It was a good thing that the next day was a Sunday.

Harry groaned as he woke up, not having any idea what time it was. As he got up, put on a fresh set of clothes and got ready for the day he realized that Sue hadn't been there when he woke up. He shuffled towards the main room to find it empty. He exited out into the main Hufflepuff common room which was empty as well. Looking around, he figured it must be lunch time so he headed down to the great hall.

Sure enough when he got to the great hall everyone was sitting down eating. Although the Hufflepuff table still looked a little sparse but after last night he couldn't blame them for taking the opportunity to sleep in. He shuffled over to the Puff table and took his normal seat next to Susan which had of course been left open.

"Mornin'," he mumbled.

"It's almost afternoon Mr. Quidditch Stud," Hannah said

"My apologies then. Afternoon," Harry said sarcastically.

"I said almost afternoon. It's not afternoon yet."

"Well then forget it! Geez see if I greet you again," he replied as he stuck out as his tongue.

"Fine! Be like that," Hannah said as she stuck out her tongue.

"Children, if you keep acting up I'm going to turn this table around and we're going back to the common room," Susan interrupted. They both turned and looked at her and stuck out their tongues before busting out laughing.

OCTOBER 31st

The weekend after saw Slytherin defeat Ravenclaw and before they knew it Halloween had arrived. Harry had always hated that day. Not because it was Halloween but because that was the day he had lost his parents. It took the fun out of the air. He was sitting in the decorated great hall thinking when Susan, Hannah and even Neville went to approach him about what was bothering him.

"I know. I know. Something's up and I'm acting funny. It's just today is all. Never much cared for it. It's the day my parents were taken from me…as well as any hope of being normal. It's the day I was carted off to live with those…monsters," Harry said as they approached.

Susan put her hand on his shoulder. "It's ok Harry. You never have to go back there again. You're safe with Auntie and I back home."

"But that's the thing Susan. I'm not safe and as long as I'm with you and your Aunt neither are you. He's still out there. Somehow, some way. He's still living and until we defeat him for good nobody is safe," Harry stated as he looked down.

"It's not your fault Harry. You didn't make him this way. He chose his own path. It's a miracle you survived," Susan replied before whispering, "I'm glad you did too. My life wouldn't be the same without you. Trust me I've tried."

He turned to her and grinned before giving her a hug. "You know Sue I feel the same way," he whispered, "I've got this funny feeling that this time is going to be so much better than the last time." She blushed and nodded. By now pretty much all of the school was in the Great Hall looking forward to the Halloween feast. As the last few students sat down the Halloween feast appeared. Harry looked over to the Gryffindor table and saw that Hermione was missing. "Hey Ron, where's Hermione," Harry asked. Ron shrugged.

"One of the other girls said they saw her in the bathroom crying. She wanted to be left alone," Lavender Brown interjected.

"Here we go again," thought Harry. Harry turned to Susan and whispered, "Troll in the dungeon, just thought you should know." Susan's eyes widen. She had forgotten about this night. She had followed her prefects back to the house that night but from the look in his eyes she knew that Harry had other plans on his mind. "When this happens, go with the prefects. I've got to save Hermione from the troll, just like last time," he whispered.

"I'm not leaving you to deal with this yourself," she whispered back. "I'm coming too."

"It's too dangerous," he responded.

"And what if something happens to you," she hissed back.

"Nothing is going to happen to me."

All of a sudden the doors to the great hall flung open and in rushed Professor Quirrell shouting excitedly, "TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW!" With that he proceeded to feint with a THUMP as his body hit the floor. The great hall was silent for a moment before everyone started screaming and yelling.

"SILENCE," roared Professor Dumbledore before continuing, "Prefects take your students back to the dorms, teachers with me."

Harry followed the rest of the school out of the great hall but split off and headed down to save Hermione from the troll as soon as they left the hall. Susan was right behind him. As they approached the bathroom at the end of the hall they saw a large shadow approaching from the other direction. Harry skidded to a stop and pulled Susan behind a pillar. Around the corner came a large ugly troll who headed straight into the girl's bathroom, just like before. He looked at Susan, "Stay here. It will be dangerous."

"Not a chance Potter."

He didn't have time to argue with her so he took off down the hall towards the bathroom where he heard smashing and a young girl scream.

Hermione was crouched under the sink in the far corner while the troll was smashing the bathroom apart. There was water all over the floor and rubble everywhere as Harry and Susan entered the bathroom. The troll was facing away from them getting ready to swing his club when it was hit in the back of the head with a large piece of rubble thrown by Harry. It turned around to see two new things to smash standing in the open. It roared loudly at them.

Harry looked around for an idea before pointing to the floor. With a flick of his wrist his wand shot into his hand. He pointed his wand at the water on the floor.

"Glacius" he shouted and a blast of freezing cold air shot out of the end of his wand and started to freeze the water on the floor turning it into ice. Susan grabbed her wand and followed his example making the work go quicker. For a moment the troll looked at them confused but it roared again as it had become colder in the room. It raised its club above his head to swing at the two pesky things that had made the room colder.

Harry remembered last time and pointed his wand at the club. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The club floated out of the troll's hand which it didn't realize until half way through his swing. He stopped and looked confused. Susan pointed her wand at the club above the troll's head. "Engorgio!" With that the club above the head grew twice the size as Harry raised it to the ceiling. The troll looked up in confusion as Harry released the charm. The club fell straight down on its face with a loud clunk before rolling off and smashing the remaining stalls causing more water to flood out. The troll held its face as it moved around dizzly. It stepped on the icy floor and immediately slipped. It came crashing to the floor with a loud THUD as its head bounced off the floor and caused a reverberation that shook that part of the castle. It was out cold.

"Hermione, are you ok," Harry asked. She nodded in shock, both at being attacked by a troll and the combined attack of Harry and Susan.

"What in the blazes is going on in here," Professor McGonagall yelled as she entered. She was followed shortly by Snape and Quirrell who almost ran into her as she stopped and gasped at the unconscious troll on the floor. She looked at Harry and Susan, then to Hermione in the corner, then all the damage including the enlarged club which shrunk back to its original size and then back to the pair of Hufflepuffs. "Wha…what happened? Is everyone alright," she inquired.

"Yes Professor. I think we're fine," Harry replied as he slid across the wall and helped Hermione up.

"Can't say the same for the troll though," Susan added as she looked at Harry with a grin which Harry returned.

"That still doesn't answer what happened or how three first years managed to knock out a mountain troll," she scolded.

"It's all my fault Professor. I had snuck out of the great hall to use the loo and I hadn't heard the announcement about the troll…" Hermione began.

"We noticed she was missing before the announcement so we went to check on her and make sure she was safe but when we got here the troll was already in here picking on Hermione," Harry finished.

"Ok but that doesn't answer how it became unconscious," McGonagall continued.

"It slipped and hit its head Professor. Got to watch out. Wet floors can be dangerous after all," Susan answered.

"Especially when covered in Ice it seems," Professor Snape drawled, almost looking amused at the situation.

"The three of you get back to your rooms. 30 points to Hufflepuff for saving the life of a fellow student."

After they left Professors Snape and McGonagall took a moment to examine the damage.

"This is far above first year abilities," McGonagall observed.

"Indeed," Snape added looking at the frozen floor.

The pair made note of the unusual things to discuss with Professor Dumbledore before taking care of the very unconscious troll.