CHAPTER TWO : ARABELLA FIGG
After a week of reading and talking with Sirius, the day when the Hogwarts Express arrived had come. At eight o'clock the Hogwarts Express arrived, and the school will be full of students again. But some hours before, professor Lupin came to him in the library.
"Harry, I thought you'd be here. You know what Mrs. Figg gave me? She said she found this in her office." Lupin took an old parchment and gave it to Harry.
It was the Marauder's map. Barty Crouch jr. took it to his office last year because the map showed his true identity. |He used a polyjuice Potion to transform himself into Mad-Eye Moody.
"Be careful to not lose it again" Lupin told him. "I heard about the Triwizard Tournament last year, and I have to congratulate you for the good job you have done. As about your meeting with Voldemort... I have nothing to add."
Lupin walked out of the library. Harry looked on the Marauder's Map. Hogwarts was so empty... No students, there were about 15 people in the castle.
At 8 o'clock, he ran to the Great Hall and waited for the students to arrive. Some of the teachers were there, too.
After half an hour, professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall. She opened the doors and said "The Hogwarts Express did not arrive! I sent Flitwick to find the train." Harry looked around. Flitwick was not there, but he certainly was there when Harry arrived.
"What could have happened?" asked Dumbledore in an unusual voice.
"We have no idea. We must have to wait until Flitwick returns."
McGonagall walked to the staff table and started talking to the teachers. Harry could not hear them. After a quite long time, tiny old professor Flitwick arrived in the Great Hall. "Very bad news" he said. "Someone attacked the Hogwarts Express."
"Oh my goodness" Harry heard from professor McGonagall. "By whom?"
"No one knows, but it is confirmed that there were some dementors, too. Some said there were about five Death Eaters and five dementors. No one knows exactly. When I arrived there, they have deserted. Some children screaming, no one could control the situation. And I knew why I went there myself. I put a hover charm on the train. It will fly to the castle. We think no one died. I could not ask what happened. No one was in the mood to answer. We will ask them when they'll reach here."
They waited. At half past ten, the Express arrived. The students entered the Great Hall. Harry had seen Ron and Hermione. They greeted each other. Harry told them what happened in the holiday. He told them about Lupin, Sirius and Mrs. Figg.
After two minutes, the first years entered. They looked nervous. They had to be sorted. It was always the beginning of the year. Harry noticed there were not as many students as they were the last years. Maybe it had something to do with Voldemort. Parents could think that it was not safe to send their children to Hogwarts these days. And it has proven true, due to the incident with the Hogwarts Express.
"What happened on the train?" Harry asked.
Hermione started explaining.
"No one knows exactly but I think there were about ten Death Eaters, five on left and five on right of the train. Each one had a dementor near him. I wonder how was it possible that the dementors did not seem to affect the Death Eaters. I think the dementors weakened our minds, so we could not defend ourselves. Ten dementors affect you quite easy. Then the death eaters all tried to use a single spell. They created a barrier in front of the train. The train hit it and... Well it did not work anymore. There was a shock when the train hit the barrier. Everything shaken as if it was an earthquake. Lots of first years started screaming. We tried to calm them down, but it was impossible. Then the Death Eaters shot spells at us. The train windows were broken. Two compartments from the one we stayed exploded - we thought it was Fred and George again, but it was an exploding potion. All students in the room were hurt. Then we saw the Death Eaters run away, with the Dementors by their side. The train was lifted up...we thought it was going to blow. But then it started moving. And we reached Hogwarts."
"It was Flitwick the one who lifted you up." said Harry.
"And Harry, your situation is very bad. It is worse than anyone thought." Hermione said.
Then Harry explained them about the dreams he had. Hermione reacted as he thought. She took them worse than he did. Ron was still quiet. Then, he said "Harry! Hermione! The sorting is over!"
"Welcome", Dumbledore said, "To another year at Hogwarts." It was very quiet next moment. "There are very important words to say. Voldemort had come to power again." The hall sighed. "We shall be careful, and I will assure that none of you will be in danger. I have strengthened the Hogwarts magic fields."
"Second, I will remind anyone that the Dark Forest is forbidden to any student, and Hogsmeade is forbidden by any student less than third year."
"Third, I will inform you that there will be a Quidditch season this year"
Harry looked around the Great Hall. And he saw someone that he wished he had not seen. He had seen Cho Chang, a very pretty sixth year Ravenclaw girl who he liked, and that made him a bit sad. He saw that she was extremely sad, and Harry remembered that Cedric Diggory, her boyfriend, died two months ago, murdered by Voldemort.
"Let the Feast begin!" he heard Dumbledore. The plates in front of them filled with food. After the Feast, they went to the Gryffindor common room. They soon went to sleep. Harry stayed in bed, thinking. He thought about Voldemort, but he remembered that he should be safe at Hogwarts. Then his mind flew to Cho. He did not think too much about it, and he fell asleep.
Later they went to transfiguration. It became harder and harder. After the lesson, professor McGonagall called Harry to talk with her.
"As Dumbledore said, there is a quidditch season this year." Harry didn't say anything. "And Oliver Wood is no longer in the team, because he finished Hogwarts two years ago. So Gryffindor will need another keeper, and we'll have to name a captain." Harry did not want to be Gryffindor captain, he knew what Wood did. He was spending loads of time in making plans. Then he had a bigger responsibility, He had to decide when the practices should be. It was very hard work to be a captain. "We cannot have another captain. You are the only one who is able to do it. The keeper will be in his first quidditch year, so he can't be captain. The Weasleys are not at all good for a thing like this. And they are in the seventh and last year. As for the three chaser girls, well they are in the last year, too. So we have to put you captain." Harry could not do it... What could he say to McGonagall?
"I - I don't think I can d-do it..." said Harry.
"Yes you can, Potter.", McGonagall answered in a severe voice. "You have a good mind, you can think of good tactics. And... Imagine it. It is not so hard."
"And as for the keeper", she continued, "We will announce the Gryffindors that we look for a keeper. They will come, and you will decide who will be the best. I will tell them in person this evening."
Harry did not think that these things would start so quick. The term had just started...
After that Harry went to the Great hall. He stood on the chair between Ron and Hermione. He told them about what McGonagall said. Ron looked as if he wanted to be the keeper, but the excitement on his face disappeared. Maybe he figured out that he was not good for a keeper.
Next, he had Potions, still with the Slytherins. Snape was still taking points from Gryffindor for every thing they done. The interesting thing was that Malfoy wasn't there... And Harry hadn't seen him in the Great Hall. Maybe he was not at Hogwarts anymore.
Later, all the gryffindors were in the common room. The portrait swung open and professor McGonagall stepped in the room.
"Silence! I have to announce that the gryffindor Quidditch team needs a Keeper. Anyone who thinks he could do it, go to Harry Potter. Tomorrow evening we will choose the Keeper from those who want. Potter, I have to talk to you a bit."
Harry walked to the professor.
"Being the new team captain, the candidates should present to you. You will write their name and year. They will have to come tomorrow at five o'clock on the Quidditch Field, where we will see how well they fly and how good they are. Remember to tell them what I said. And tell all the team to be there, too."
Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait and left the common room. He stayed in the middle of the room. The candidates for the keeper post came to him. There were more than he thought. At least ten gryffindors offered to be keepers that day, and next day four more. At five o'clock, Harry and the rest of the team went to the quidditch field, accompanied by a few who wanted to be keepers. The others were already on the stadium. McGonagall arrived there a short time after them.
It was a sunny day. McGonagall announced:
"Harry Potter is the new Gryffindor captain. He and I will see how well anyone flies, and our chasers will try some goals to see how well he does it. We will start now.
Harry and McGonagall watched how good they do the job. Two of them weren't solid enough. They could be knocked down anytime. And in several hours, they had seen all of them. They did some loops and tried to catch the quaffle, but most of them did not do such a good job. There were only two of them who flew really well and did the keeping job quite well. Harry decided that the two of them would come next day at the same time and the same place to decide which one will remain the keeper.
Next day, in the morning, they had defense against the Dark Arts. Mrs. Figg was already in the classroom, waiting for them to come. When all of them found seats, she said:
"I am Arabella Figg, and I will teach you this year defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Only this year?" Ron's voice could be heard. "Yes, only this year" Mrs. Figg answered.
"I heard you covered creatures and curses. So, what remains to me is to teach you more than the other teachers did about both of them. And because of the circumstances, I will start with creatures. And the darkest creatures living may be the dementors. I haven't heard of any creature darker than this. They are evil, and no human likes them. As most of you know, especially Harry Potter, as he had big trouble with them, the dementors suck any happiness out of a human. They leave anyone filled with dark thoughts. Only with the worst experiences of their lives. They were the guards of Azkaban. That's why none of the prisoners escaped. No one except Sirius Black, who had proven to be innocent."
All the class except Harry, Ron and Hermione started talking. No one believed this.
"Yes", professor Figg continued, "Sirius Black WAS innocent. And the ones that cleared him are here, in the classroom. And after what they say, everything makes sense."
All the class looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione. It was obvious that they were the ones who said that Black was innocent.
"I assure you", Figg continued, "That Black never did the murder he was imprisoned for. Even the Ministry accepted it, after they proved that Peter Pettigrew, the wizard they thought Black killed, was still alive. Pettigrew was the one who restored Voldemort to power." Harry was sure that she wouldn't say that the last year the defense against the dark arts teacher was the greatest supporter of Lord Voldemort.
"They proved that Pettigrew was the murder, and that he did not die as everyone knew. But - wait a minute, here we are not talking the matter of Sirius Black." Mrs. Figg looked at some books on her desk.
"I am teaching you about the dementors because we are in grave danger because of them. The worst thing is that they are not at Azkaban anymore. "The class looked curious. "They have joined Lord Voldemort."
Harry knew this already. He was thinking that Mrs Figg did not say You-know-who to Voldemort. She was one of the few people who spoken his name.
They had a lesson about dementors and their powers and weaknesses. The lesson was very interesting. Professor Figg was a good teacher, no doubt for that. The two last years, defense against the dark arts was one of the best subjects they had, and this year was the same.
Later, Harry had to choose the keeper for the Gryffindor house. The two students were a fourth year and a sixth year. Professor McGonagall told the fourth year to show her all what he can do on a broom. Then, he was tested against buldgers. He was hit once in the chest, and he had to recover from the hit. That time they tested the sixth year. He was asked to do the same as the fourth year. He wasn't hit by the buldgers. They flew almost the same. Then, Harry and McGonagall decided the sixth year will be better for a keeper because he was more solid and even if he was hit by a buldger, he wasn't as hurt as the other one.
Professor McGonagall told him that he was the Gryffindor Keeper. Then, he was called to them.
"What is your name?" professor McGonagall asked.
"Kevin Trevion", the sixth year answered.
After this, professor McGonagall talked to him another half an hour, and after that, she asked Harry to think when they will do the practice. Harry still had no idea what plans to make, he was right. He was not good for a captain. He walked to the Gryffindor Tower, with Kevin. They talked on the way and Harry found out that he was a better chaser than keeper. They talked about the next year, when Fred, George, Angelina, Katie and Alicia weren't at Hogwarts anymore. They entered in the Gryffindor tower. There he met Ron and Hermione. Harry told them his problems about being a captain. Both Ron and Hermione tried to help him.
"I can help you with some moves and plans", Ron said.
"How?" Harry asked. "You have no idea how difficult it is"
"Go to the library", Hermione suggested, "and look for a book about this. I know I've seen one about being a quidditch captain... I am sure it could be useful".
Hermione's advice was a lot better. Harry wanted to go look for the book because that was his only chance. That evening, he went to the library. It took him one hour and a half to find it. The book was titled "Quidditch positions" and half of the book was about being a captain. It took all the possibilities: seeker captains, keeper captains, chaser captain and beater captains. Harry looked at the Seeker captains section, and started reading.
It was past midnight when he read all the section, and he read it in a hurry. He took it to the common room, which was almost empty. He went to the bedroom. On the spiral staircase there was a black metal door blocking his way. He had never seen that door. He tried to push it, pull it, hit it, but he hadn't done anything. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and said: Alohomora!
The door moved. But it did not open. It moved towards Harry, pulling him towards the common room. Harry jumped some stairs to reach the common room faster, but the door changed its speed.
Reaching the common room, all the few students looked at him. Harry looked at the door that stopped at the entrance of the spiral staircase, so he couldn't enter the bedroom.
"What's that?" he heard someone saying.
"Dunno", Harry answered.
"Go to professor McGonagall!" the same person said. Harry thought that was a good idea. He pulled the portrait, and he met the last person he wanted to meet in the night on the corridors, professor Snape.
"Now what are you doing at this time running on the corridors?" he asked.
"I-I-I need to see professor McGonagall" said Harry.
"Why?"
"Because something strange happened in the common room. It's urgent!" said Harry.
"Fifteen points will be taken from Gryffindor!" Snape told him, "Five for running on the corridors and ten for being on the corridors at the midnight!"
Harry did not say anything to defend himself. He knew that he could lose another fifty points from Gryffindor if he argued. He walked to professor McGonagall and he stopped frozen. What did she say if he entered her office like that? He stayed there thinking. After three minutes, professor McGonagall exited her office.
"What do you think you're doing at this time on the corridors?" she asked angrily.
"The common room" said Harry. "I cannot enter the bedroom, a black metal door appeared in the staircase"
"How can that be?" McGonagall said. After that, she walked to the Gryffindor tower. When she entered, she saw the door but after a second it disappeared. McGonagall did not know what to believe after the look on her face. The other students in the common room told her what happened. She said "Call me if it happens again!" and she left. Harry went to bed. He slept well. He was quite tired.
On Friday they had Care of Magical Creatures. He hadn't visited Hagrid yet, all the time he was at Hogwarts. They had the lesson with the Slytherins, who were already there. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked quiet. They had nothing to say.
When they reached Hagrid's hut, they had seen one white, winged horse. At last, Hagrid brought something else than monsters. Everyone looked at the horse quite anxious to start the lesson. Hagrid wasn't there. The slytherins were not as insufferable as before. Malfoy wasn't there. Harry wondered why. He wanted one moment to ask where he is, but it was better this way - knowing that Malfoy was not there.
They waited a short time, and then Hagrid opened the hut's door and stepped out. He saw Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"Hello!" He told them.
"Hello Hagrid" they answered.
"As yeh see, this term we will start with Pegasi. Dumbledore brought this Pegasus 'specially for the class. They're not easy to catch". The class listened to him. Even the slytherins looked interested. "The pegasi are some of the most interesting creatures, completely magical. They were once used as transport, but they did not like it too much. They hate evil wizards. They never let one of them touch them. If you've a bad intention, the Pegasus senses it. Come close to him." The Pegasus gave evil stares at the slytherins. It had surely sensed the bad intentions in them. "Slytherins, get back!" he said warningly.
"Why should we?" a slytherin boy asked. He sounded just like Malfoy.
"If you want to stay close to him, stay! It was just a warning!" Hagrid said in a quite angry voice. Most slytherins stepped back when he said that, but that boy who sounded like Malfoy stood on place, and another three slytherins who were near him.
"The pegasi", he continued, changing the subject, he seemed to have noticed that if a slytherin was attacked he would be in trouble, "are as pure and innocent as the unicorns, but these are very rare." The Pegasus gave evil stares at those slytherins. "I am warning you again, step back or you will get back to the castle hurt!"
The four slytherins stepped back at last. Hagrid continued his lesson about pegasi.
"Now that I tol' yeh about them," Hagrid said after talking more, "I may show yeh how it is to fly on one of these. Does any student wan' to try? I will take measures so no one will get hurt."
Harry did not know what to do. He wanted Hagrid's lessons to be good, knowing that may happen if they weren't. He half wanted to stay where he was safer, half wanted to help Hagrid. Then, when Harry did was thinking hard, he saw that Hermione walked to Hagrid. From anyone, he never expected her to try that.
"Hermione, you want a try?" Hagrid asked.
"Yes", she answered in an unconfident voice.
"It is not so difficult to fly on a Pegasus. You have to be good intended, and to be soft with it, because any thing done how it does not like will get you thrown down." Hagrid told her a few more things, and it was time Hermione tried it.
Harry knew how she felt. He remembered when he first flew with a hippogriff. It was quite the same situation. She walked to the Pegasus, Hagrid was watching her. Harry thought that could not be Hermione. She never tried to be the first one to try things like this. But he saw her doing exactly what Hagrid said. She put her hands on the Pegasus's neck, and jumped softly on it.
"Yeah, that's it, Hermione! Yeh did it! Now the res' is easy. Being magical, he senses when you really wan' to be lifted up. Jus' think about wanting to fly and you will do it." Hagrid looked quite joyful. The Pegasus started flying. It looked as it tried to make Hermione's "trip" as comfortable as possible. She looked quite scared at the beginning but her scared face turned into a quite pleased one.
Hagrid shouted her what to do. She was quite high in the air, so if Hagrid said in a normal voice, he couldn't be heard. Hermione came down and the Pegasus landed softly.
"Congratulations!" said Hagrid and all the Gryffindors started applauding. The slytherins were quiet, they looked insulted by Hagrid. But, Harry thought, Hagrid was right. If the slytherins haven't walked back, who knew what could happen.
The class ended. Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to go to Hagrid and talk to him. He expected them to do so.
"So how's life?" Hagrid asked. "Good flying, Hermione!"
"Thanks Hag" she said. "I heard you spoken to the giants!"
"Yes, but unfortunately we caused harm. Me an' Madame Maxime have tried to make 'em our allies, but... Not all of 'em agreed."
"Not all of them?" Harry asked surprised. He thought the giants all came to their side. He noticed Hagrid was not happy anymore. He looked rather sad.
"My mother tried to collect 'em and come to figh' against You-know-who... But most of 'em did not agree. They looked like they're Death Eaters! Some of them looked quite insulted when we tried to make 'em fight against You-Know-Who. An'... Those who wanted to fight against him started a kind of war with the ones who didn't. I couldn' stop them..." Harry noticed a few tears on Hagrid's face. He looked unpleased with himself for putting the giants into conflict.
Harry wanted to tell him his worries. Like being the Gryffindor quidditch captain and about the black door. Then he realized he hadn't told Ron and Hermione about that. Hagrid was not in the mood for talking with him about his worries. Harry, Ron and Hermione bid him good-bye and left to the castle. On the way Harry told them about the black door, how he called professor McGonagall and how it vanished when she entered the common room.
Harry and Ron were late in Divination. Professor Trelawney continued her work on crystal orbs. None of the students were good at it. Harry thought of leaving Divination lessons and move to Arithmancy - Hermione was making too much noise about it. Every time Rom complained about professor Trelawney she tried to make him take Arithmancy. But Harry decided to stay with Divination because it was not good to take a subject after missing two years from it.
After a week of reading and talking with Sirius, the day when the Hogwarts Express arrived had come. At eight o'clock the Hogwarts Express arrived, and the school will be full of students again. But some hours before, professor Lupin came to him in the library.
"Harry, I thought you'd be here. You know what Mrs. Figg gave me? She said she found this in her office." Lupin took an old parchment and gave it to Harry.
It was the Marauder's map. Barty Crouch jr. took it to his office last year because the map showed his true identity. |He used a polyjuice Potion to transform himself into Mad-Eye Moody.
"Be careful to not lose it again" Lupin told him. "I heard about the Triwizard Tournament last year, and I have to congratulate you for the good job you have done. As about your meeting with Voldemort... I have nothing to add."
Lupin walked out of the library. Harry looked on the Marauder's Map. Hogwarts was so empty... No students, there were about 15 people in the castle.
At 8 o'clock, he ran to the Great Hall and waited for the students to arrive. Some of the teachers were there, too.
After half an hour, professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall. She opened the doors and said "The Hogwarts Express did not arrive! I sent Flitwick to find the train." Harry looked around. Flitwick was not there, but he certainly was there when Harry arrived.
"What could have happened?" asked Dumbledore in an unusual voice.
"We have no idea. We must have to wait until Flitwick returns."
McGonagall walked to the staff table and started talking to the teachers. Harry could not hear them. After a quite long time, tiny old professor Flitwick arrived in the Great Hall. "Very bad news" he said. "Someone attacked the Hogwarts Express."
"Oh my goodness" Harry heard from professor McGonagall. "By whom?"
"No one knows, but it is confirmed that there were some dementors, too. Some said there were about five Death Eaters and five dementors. No one knows exactly. When I arrived there, they have deserted. Some children screaming, no one could control the situation. And I knew why I went there myself. I put a hover charm on the train. It will fly to the castle. We think no one died. I could not ask what happened. No one was in the mood to answer. We will ask them when they'll reach here."
They waited. At half past ten, the Express arrived. The students entered the Great Hall. Harry had seen Ron and Hermione. They greeted each other. Harry told them what happened in the holiday. He told them about Lupin, Sirius and Mrs. Figg.
After two minutes, the first years entered. They looked nervous. They had to be sorted. It was always the beginning of the year. Harry noticed there were not as many students as they were the last years. Maybe it had something to do with Voldemort. Parents could think that it was not safe to send their children to Hogwarts these days. And it has proven true, due to the incident with the Hogwarts Express.
"What happened on the train?" Harry asked.
Hermione started explaining.
"No one knows exactly but I think there were about ten Death Eaters, five on left and five on right of the train. Each one had a dementor near him. I wonder how was it possible that the dementors did not seem to affect the Death Eaters. I think the dementors weakened our minds, so we could not defend ourselves. Ten dementors affect you quite easy. Then the death eaters all tried to use a single spell. They created a barrier in front of the train. The train hit it and... Well it did not work anymore. There was a shock when the train hit the barrier. Everything shaken as if it was an earthquake. Lots of first years started screaming. We tried to calm them down, but it was impossible. Then the Death Eaters shot spells at us. The train windows were broken. Two compartments from the one we stayed exploded - we thought it was Fred and George again, but it was an exploding potion. All students in the room were hurt. Then we saw the Death Eaters run away, with the Dementors by their side. The train was lifted up...we thought it was going to blow. But then it started moving. And we reached Hogwarts."
"It was Flitwick the one who lifted you up." said Harry.
"And Harry, your situation is very bad. It is worse than anyone thought." Hermione said.
Then Harry explained them about the dreams he had. Hermione reacted as he thought. She took them worse than he did. Ron was still quiet. Then, he said "Harry! Hermione! The sorting is over!"
"Welcome", Dumbledore said, "To another year at Hogwarts." It was very quiet next moment. "There are very important words to say. Voldemort had come to power again." The hall sighed. "We shall be careful, and I will assure that none of you will be in danger. I have strengthened the Hogwarts magic fields."
"Second, I will remind anyone that the Dark Forest is forbidden to any student, and Hogsmeade is forbidden by any student less than third year."
"Third, I will inform you that there will be a Quidditch season this year"
Harry looked around the Great Hall. And he saw someone that he wished he had not seen. He had seen Cho Chang, a very pretty sixth year Ravenclaw girl who he liked, and that made him a bit sad. He saw that she was extremely sad, and Harry remembered that Cedric Diggory, her boyfriend, died two months ago, murdered by Voldemort.
"Let the Feast begin!" he heard Dumbledore. The plates in front of them filled with food. After the Feast, they went to the Gryffindor common room. They soon went to sleep. Harry stayed in bed, thinking. He thought about Voldemort, but he remembered that he should be safe at Hogwarts. Then his mind flew to Cho. He did not think too much about it, and he fell asleep.
Later they went to transfiguration. It became harder and harder. After the lesson, professor McGonagall called Harry to talk with her.
"As Dumbledore said, there is a quidditch season this year." Harry didn't say anything. "And Oliver Wood is no longer in the team, because he finished Hogwarts two years ago. So Gryffindor will need another keeper, and we'll have to name a captain." Harry did not want to be Gryffindor captain, he knew what Wood did. He was spending loads of time in making plans. Then he had a bigger responsibility, He had to decide when the practices should be. It was very hard work to be a captain. "We cannot have another captain. You are the only one who is able to do it. The keeper will be in his first quidditch year, so he can't be captain. The Weasleys are not at all good for a thing like this. And they are in the seventh and last year. As for the three chaser girls, well they are in the last year, too. So we have to put you captain." Harry could not do it... What could he say to McGonagall?
"I - I don't think I can d-do it..." said Harry.
"Yes you can, Potter.", McGonagall answered in a severe voice. "You have a good mind, you can think of good tactics. And... Imagine it. It is not so hard."
"And as for the keeper", she continued, "We will announce the Gryffindors that we look for a keeper. They will come, and you will decide who will be the best. I will tell them in person this evening."
Harry did not think that these things would start so quick. The term had just started...
After that Harry went to the Great hall. He stood on the chair between Ron and Hermione. He told them about what McGonagall said. Ron looked as if he wanted to be the keeper, but the excitement on his face disappeared. Maybe he figured out that he was not good for a keeper.
Next, he had Potions, still with the Slytherins. Snape was still taking points from Gryffindor for every thing they done. The interesting thing was that Malfoy wasn't there... And Harry hadn't seen him in the Great Hall. Maybe he was not at Hogwarts anymore.
Later, all the gryffindors were in the common room. The portrait swung open and professor McGonagall stepped in the room.
"Silence! I have to announce that the gryffindor Quidditch team needs a Keeper. Anyone who thinks he could do it, go to Harry Potter. Tomorrow evening we will choose the Keeper from those who want. Potter, I have to talk to you a bit."
Harry walked to the professor.
"Being the new team captain, the candidates should present to you. You will write their name and year. They will have to come tomorrow at five o'clock on the Quidditch Field, where we will see how well they fly and how good they are. Remember to tell them what I said. And tell all the team to be there, too."
Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait and left the common room. He stayed in the middle of the room. The candidates for the keeper post came to him. There were more than he thought. At least ten gryffindors offered to be keepers that day, and next day four more. At five o'clock, Harry and the rest of the team went to the quidditch field, accompanied by a few who wanted to be keepers. The others were already on the stadium. McGonagall arrived there a short time after them.
It was a sunny day. McGonagall announced:
"Harry Potter is the new Gryffindor captain. He and I will see how well anyone flies, and our chasers will try some goals to see how well he does it. We will start now.
Harry and McGonagall watched how good they do the job. Two of them weren't solid enough. They could be knocked down anytime. And in several hours, they had seen all of them. They did some loops and tried to catch the quaffle, but most of them did not do such a good job. There were only two of them who flew really well and did the keeping job quite well. Harry decided that the two of them would come next day at the same time and the same place to decide which one will remain the keeper.
Next day, in the morning, they had defense against the Dark Arts. Mrs. Figg was already in the classroom, waiting for them to come. When all of them found seats, she said:
"I am Arabella Figg, and I will teach you this year defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Only this year?" Ron's voice could be heard. "Yes, only this year" Mrs. Figg answered.
"I heard you covered creatures and curses. So, what remains to me is to teach you more than the other teachers did about both of them. And because of the circumstances, I will start with creatures. And the darkest creatures living may be the dementors. I haven't heard of any creature darker than this. They are evil, and no human likes them. As most of you know, especially Harry Potter, as he had big trouble with them, the dementors suck any happiness out of a human. They leave anyone filled with dark thoughts. Only with the worst experiences of their lives. They were the guards of Azkaban. That's why none of the prisoners escaped. No one except Sirius Black, who had proven to be innocent."
All the class except Harry, Ron and Hermione started talking. No one believed this.
"Yes", professor Figg continued, "Sirius Black WAS innocent. And the ones that cleared him are here, in the classroom. And after what they say, everything makes sense."
All the class looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione. It was obvious that they were the ones who said that Black was innocent.
"I assure you", Figg continued, "That Black never did the murder he was imprisoned for. Even the Ministry accepted it, after they proved that Peter Pettigrew, the wizard they thought Black killed, was still alive. Pettigrew was the one who restored Voldemort to power." Harry was sure that she wouldn't say that the last year the defense against the dark arts teacher was the greatest supporter of Lord Voldemort.
"They proved that Pettigrew was the murder, and that he did not die as everyone knew. But - wait a minute, here we are not talking the matter of Sirius Black." Mrs. Figg looked at some books on her desk.
"I am teaching you about the dementors because we are in grave danger because of them. The worst thing is that they are not at Azkaban anymore. "The class looked curious. "They have joined Lord Voldemort."
Harry knew this already. He was thinking that Mrs Figg did not say You-know-who to Voldemort. She was one of the few people who spoken his name.
They had a lesson about dementors and their powers and weaknesses. The lesson was very interesting. Professor Figg was a good teacher, no doubt for that. The two last years, defense against the dark arts was one of the best subjects they had, and this year was the same.
Later, Harry had to choose the keeper for the Gryffindor house. The two students were a fourth year and a sixth year. Professor McGonagall told the fourth year to show her all what he can do on a broom. Then, he was tested against buldgers. He was hit once in the chest, and he had to recover from the hit. That time they tested the sixth year. He was asked to do the same as the fourth year. He wasn't hit by the buldgers. They flew almost the same. Then, Harry and McGonagall decided the sixth year will be better for a keeper because he was more solid and even if he was hit by a buldger, he wasn't as hurt as the other one.
Professor McGonagall told him that he was the Gryffindor Keeper. Then, he was called to them.
"What is your name?" professor McGonagall asked.
"Kevin Trevion", the sixth year answered.
After this, professor McGonagall talked to him another half an hour, and after that, she asked Harry to think when they will do the practice. Harry still had no idea what plans to make, he was right. He was not good for a captain. He walked to the Gryffindor Tower, with Kevin. They talked on the way and Harry found out that he was a better chaser than keeper. They talked about the next year, when Fred, George, Angelina, Katie and Alicia weren't at Hogwarts anymore. They entered in the Gryffindor tower. There he met Ron and Hermione. Harry told them his problems about being a captain. Both Ron and Hermione tried to help him.
"I can help you with some moves and plans", Ron said.
"How?" Harry asked. "You have no idea how difficult it is"
"Go to the library", Hermione suggested, "and look for a book about this. I know I've seen one about being a quidditch captain... I am sure it could be useful".
Hermione's advice was a lot better. Harry wanted to go look for the book because that was his only chance. That evening, he went to the library. It took him one hour and a half to find it. The book was titled "Quidditch positions" and half of the book was about being a captain. It took all the possibilities: seeker captains, keeper captains, chaser captain and beater captains. Harry looked at the Seeker captains section, and started reading.
It was past midnight when he read all the section, and he read it in a hurry. He took it to the common room, which was almost empty. He went to the bedroom. On the spiral staircase there was a black metal door blocking his way. He had never seen that door. He tried to push it, pull it, hit it, but he hadn't done anything. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and said: Alohomora!
The door moved. But it did not open. It moved towards Harry, pulling him towards the common room. Harry jumped some stairs to reach the common room faster, but the door changed its speed.
Reaching the common room, all the few students looked at him. Harry looked at the door that stopped at the entrance of the spiral staircase, so he couldn't enter the bedroom.
"What's that?" he heard someone saying.
"Dunno", Harry answered.
"Go to professor McGonagall!" the same person said. Harry thought that was a good idea. He pulled the portrait, and he met the last person he wanted to meet in the night on the corridors, professor Snape.
"Now what are you doing at this time running on the corridors?" he asked.
"I-I-I need to see professor McGonagall" said Harry.
"Why?"
"Because something strange happened in the common room. It's urgent!" said Harry.
"Fifteen points will be taken from Gryffindor!" Snape told him, "Five for running on the corridors and ten for being on the corridors at the midnight!"
Harry did not say anything to defend himself. He knew that he could lose another fifty points from Gryffindor if he argued. He walked to professor McGonagall and he stopped frozen. What did she say if he entered her office like that? He stayed there thinking. After three minutes, professor McGonagall exited her office.
"What do you think you're doing at this time on the corridors?" she asked angrily.
"The common room" said Harry. "I cannot enter the bedroom, a black metal door appeared in the staircase"
"How can that be?" McGonagall said. After that, she walked to the Gryffindor tower. When she entered, she saw the door but after a second it disappeared. McGonagall did not know what to believe after the look on her face. The other students in the common room told her what happened. She said "Call me if it happens again!" and she left. Harry went to bed. He slept well. He was quite tired.
On Friday they had Care of Magical Creatures. He hadn't visited Hagrid yet, all the time he was at Hogwarts. They had the lesson with the Slytherins, who were already there. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked quiet. They had nothing to say.
When they reached Hagrid's hut, they had seen one white, winged horse. At last, Hagrid brought something else than monsters. Everyone looked at the horse quite anxious to start the lesson. Hagrid wasn't there. The slytherins were not as insufferable as before. Malfoy wasn't there. Harry wondered why. He wanted one moment to ask where he is, but it was better this way - knowing that Malfoy was not there.
They waited a short time, and then Hagrid opened the hut's door and stepped out. He saw Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"Hello!" He told them.
"Hello Hagrid" they answered.
"As yeh see, this term we will start with Pegasi. Dumbledore brought this Pegasus 'specially for the class. They're not easy to catch". The class listened to him. Even the slytherins looked interested. "The pegasi are some of the most interesting creatures, completely magical. They were once used as transport, but they did not like it too much. They hate evil wizards. They never let one of them touch them. If you've a bad intention, the Pegasus senses it. Come close to him." The Pegasus gave evil stares at the slytherins. It had surely sensed the bad intentions in them. "Slytherins, get back!" he said warningly.
"Why should we?" a slytherin boy asked. He sounded just like Malfoy.
"If you want to stay close to him, stay! It was just a warning!" Hagrid said in a quite angry voice. Most slytherins stepped back when he said that, but that boy who sounded like Malfoy stood on place, and another three slytherins who were near him.
"The pegasi", he continued, changing the subject, he seemed to have noticed that if a slytherin was attacked he would be in trouble, "are as pure and innocent as the unicorns, but these are very rare." The Pegasus gave evil stares at those slytherins. "I am warning you again, step back or you will get back to the castle hurt!"
The four slytherins stepped back at last. Hagrid continued his lesson about pegasi.
"Now that I tol' yeh about them," Hagrid said after talking more, "I may show yeh how it is to fly on one of these. Does any student wan' to try? I will take measures so no one will get hurt."
Harry did not know what to do. He wanted Hagrid's lessons to be good, knowing that may happen if they weren't. He half wanted to stay where he was safer, half wanted to help Hagrid. Then, when Harry did was thinking hard, he saw that Hermione walked to Hagrid. From anyone, he never expected her to try that.
"Hermione, you want a try?" Hagrid asked.
"Yes", she answered in an unconfident voice.
"It is not so difficult to fly on a Pegasus. You have to be good intended, and to be soft with it, because any thing done how it does not like will get you thrown down." Hagrid told her a few more things, and it was time Hermione tried it.
Harry knew how she felt. He remembered when he first flew with a hippogriff. It was quite the same situation. She walked to the Pegasus, Hagrid was watching her. Harry thought that could not be Hermione. She never tried to be the first one to try things like this. But he saw her doing exactly what Hagrid said. She put her hands on the Pegasus's neck, and jumped softly on it.
"Yeah, that's it, Hermione! Yeh did it! Now the res' is easy. Being magical, he senses when you really wan' to be lifted up. Jus' think about wanting to fly and you will do it." Hagrid looked quite joyful. The Pegasus started flying. It looked as it tried to make Hermione's "trip" as comfortable as possible. She looked quite scared at the beginning but her scared face turned into a quite pleased one.
Hagrid shouted her what to do. She was quite high in the air, so if Hagrid said in a normal voice, he couldn't be heard. Hermione came down and the Pegasus landed softly.
"Congratulations!" said Hagrid and all the Gryffindors started applauding. The slytherins were quiet, they looked insulted by Hagrid. But, Harry thought, Hagrid was right. If the slytherins haven't walked back, who knew what could happen.
The class ended. Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to go to Hagrid and talk to him. He expected them to do so.
"So how's life?" Hagrid asked. "Good flying, Hermione!"
"Thanks Hag" she said. "I heard you spoken to the giants!"
"Yes, but unfortunately we caused harm. Me an' Madame Maxime have tried to make 'em our allies, but... Not all of 'em agreed."
"Not all of them?" Harry asked surprised. He thought the giants all came to their side. He noticed Hagrid was not happy anymore. He looked rather sad.
"My mother tried to collect 'em and come to figh' against You-know-who... But most of 'em did not agree. They looked like they're Death Eaters! Some of them looked quite insulted when we tried to make 'em fight against You-Know-Who. An'... Those who wanted to fight against him started a kind of war with the ones who didn't. I couldn' stop them..." Harry noticed a few tears on Hagrid's face. He looked unpleased with himself for putting the giants into conflict.
Harry wanted to tell him his worries. Like being the Gryffindor quidditch captain and about the black door. Then he realized he hadn't told Ron and Hermione about that. Hagrid was not in the mood for talking with him about his worries. Harry, Ron and Hermione bid him good-bye and left to the castle. On the way Harry told them about the black door, how he called professor McGonagall and how it vanished when she entered the common room.
Harry and Ron were late in Divination. Professor Trelawney continued her work on crystal orbs. None of the students were good at it. Harry thought of leaving Divination lessons and move to Arithmancy - Hermione was making too much noise about it. Every time Rom complained about professor Trelawney she tried to make him take Arithmancy. But Harry decided to stay with Divination because it was not good to take a subject after missing two years from it.