CHAPTER SEVEN .
Professor Anigin
Most of the 5th year Gryffindors were dreading Tuesday afternoons, as they had double Care of Magical Creatures. It was a warm afternoon, so Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to arrive early, hoping to have time to talk to Hagrid and enjoy the sun before the lesson started, but to their annoyance, most of the class seemed to be thinking along the same lines, and were already crowded around Hagrid, looking apprehensive.
Hagrid seemed excited about something, but not prepared to tell them, yet, as he had an air of mystery about him, which was unusual in Hagrid. He showed them various methods of feeding birds, and told them that they were preparing for a project, which would be commencing at Easter.
They spent the next hour sticking their hands down the furry throats of several green and blue coloured birds. Ron finally flung down his handful of worms in agitation. 'Has this got anything to do with the project, Hagrid?' Hagrid's eyes twinkled, but he refused to say anything. In Harry's opinion, the birds were perfectly capable of feeding themselves. Even Hermione wasn't particularly interested, which ruled out the possibility that the birds had any extraordinary powers. When he pointed this out to Hagrid, he said 'We won't be dealing with this creature in particular, but this is good practice for yeh. Yeh'll be needing this skill if... erm... the creature gets....erm....hurt....and needs....er.... manual feeding.' At these words Hermione began to feed a particularly large bird eagerly. If this skill was useful, she needed all the practice she could get. Harry and Ron groaned inwardly. Ron carelessly poked his bird in the eye, which caused it to flutter around madly, pecking at everything within it's reach, including Harry and Hermione. This excited the other birds too, so Hagrid decided to release the useless birds, and end the lesson early. The class was very relieved
'Quiddich team results at supper.' Said Ron, trying to sound casual, but looking very pale. 'Don't worry, you'll get in.' Said Harry encouragingly, but he was still very nervous on Ron's behalf. They had been given lots of herbology homework, and decided they'd better get on with it as it was bound to take ages. They had to learn all the different species of 'bloom' bushes, their Latin names and what they were used for. Ron was sitting in an armchair by the fire, staring at his notes, but his eyes weren't moving. 'Cheer up Ron!' Said Ginny, who seemed to be in an unusually cheerful mood. 'It won't be the end of the world if you don't get in!' Ron looked like it would be, but he kept quiet. Hermione nudged Ginny hard. 'Ow- I mean- which of course, you will.' She walked away quickly, massaging her side. 'Come on.' Said Ron, looking at the clock. 'Lets go to supper- I'm hungry.' 'But Ron- it's too early! It only takes 5 minutes to get there!' But Ron was already making his way down the steps towards the fat lady, and didn't seem to hear him. Harry shrugged his shoulders at Hermione, and they hurried after him. When they reached the Entrance Hall, Harry noticed at small piece of parchment attached to the notice board. He could just make out the words Gryffindor Quiddich Trials at the top. Ron had noticed it too. 'I don't want to look!' Said Ron, before he got there. 'Can you look for me?' 'Sure!' He said. He could see Gryffindors stalking away, looking disappointed. He approached the notice board and read:
GRYFFINDOR QUIDDICH TRIALS
After consultation with the team Captain and Madame Hooch, we have reached a decision that the second round of trials is unnecessary. There was tough competition, and all candidates showed outstanding talent and ability. However, we feel that the following positions are allocated appropriately:
Keeper: Ronald Weasley Chaser: (Reserve) Seamus Finnigan Player: (Reserve) Thomas Grundle Rosemary Clearwater
Congratulations to everybody!
Professor M. McGonagall
'Ron!' shouted Harry 'Come here and look!' Ron ran over to Harry and read the notice, Harry feeling almost as happy for Ron as he would do for himself. Ron's eyes widened. 'But I-' Ron's ears had gone pink with pleasure. 'Ron, you deserve to be on the team- you were the best! Don't try and argue!' Ron was so pleased with himself, he forgot to argue back.
As Ron walked to supper, still lost for words, several Gryffindors ran up to congratulate him. Harry spent the whole of supper telling Ron how good he was, and congratulating him endlessly. Fred and George came up to Ron, too. Harry saw Alicia approaching, but after seeing Fred and George she turned around and stalked off, without having a chance to speak to Ron. Fred and George saw Harry looking at her curiously, and then looked at each other. Then Fred nodded, and George sighed. Without another word, they slowly went after her. 'What's up with her?' asked Harry, puzzled. 'Whenever I see Alicia near Fred and George, she ignores them, and stalks off!' 'Oh, that!' Said Ron, his mind on something other than Quiddich for the first time since he had heard the news. 'Apparently, Alicia isn't talking to them. It's been like this since last year. They didn't invite her to the Yule Ball, but invited her two best friends Angelina and Katie to go with them. She was angry with Angelina and Katie for not telling her they'd been invited, but they nominated her for team captain, so she made up with them. Fred and George nominated each other, no neither of them got the majority!'
The next day, it was transfiguration. The Gryffindors had to transform a racoon into several other animals. This, as McGonagall explained to them, was a type of human transfiguration, which they would soon be moving onto next term. Harry had practised many of these spells last year whilst he was preparing for the 3rd task, and so was quite good at it. Ron and Hermione were equally good at it, as they had been helping so thoughrally. Professor McGonagall was very pleased with them, and they were the only ones who didn't get extra homework.
All of the Fifth year Gryffindors were looking forward to their first defence against the dark arts lesson on Thursday with an almost infectious curiosity. Seamus and Dean said that they had heard Malfoy complaining about how much Anigin seemed to hate the Slytherins in their first lesson. This made the Gryffindors even more curious, and hopeful that he would favour the Gryffindors.
However, when they came in and the balding man snapped at them to sit down, their hopes sank. He was wearing the same long, black robes he had been wearing at the feast, and his face was long and bony with black eyes, in Harry's opinion, similar to Snape's. Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances. 'Well? Take out your quills and parchment. I hope you're not this slow every lesson. We're going to be taking notes on non-reversible curses.'
Throughout the lesson, Harry got the impression that he wasn't trying to be nasty, but just couldn't be bothered to do the opposite. He was cold to everybody, never asked questions, and snapped at everything. He wasn't biased- he was mean to everyone.
As the hour snailed by, the class, who had only been taking notes from dictation all lesson, began to loose concentration. However, nobody dared to speak, so the majority were just slumped backwards on their seats, daydreaming. Harry, Ron and Hermione had learnt all these curses last year, so even Hermione wasn't listening to what Anigin had to say. Ron was half asleep, leaning against the wall. However, Harry and Hermione were closely observing their new teacher, and as soon as the lesson was over, they rushed to the common room to discuss their observations.
'Did you see his eyes- it was like he was in some sort of trance or something!' Said Harry, excitedly. 'Not a trance,' said Hermione 'He just looks like somebody who's had too many of those permanent curses cast on him- as though he's been transformed from his original state.' 'Like you know who?' Said Ron, sounding awe-struck. 'Yes!' Said Hermione. 'How d'you know- you've never seen You Know Who, Hermione!' Ron challenged. Hermione's face assumed an all-knowing expression, and Harry could tell what was coming. 'I read it in a book.' Said Hermione, brightly. 'Typical.' Ron muttered, under his breath. Luckily, Hermione seemed to be preoccupied by the contents of her bag, and didn't hear him. Evidently, Ron too had predicted what Hermione would say.
*
Over the next few weeks, at every defence against the dark arts lesson, their suspicions grew. To Harry, it seemed like he didn't seem to have a soul at all, all though Harry thought he seemed trapped. Ron had long ago dismissed this theory with his own- that he was just a miserable half-squib who resented most of his life.
Quiddich practice had started every day, and Harry was particularly enjoying them now that Ron was on the team. They were playing Ravenclaw at the end of this term, and Harry was very glad to see that Cho was still on the team as seeker. He had also noticed that the Hufflepuff team had a new seeker. It was Harry's fellow fifth year, Ernie Macmillan. Most Hufflepuffs seemed to have forgotten their loss last year, or at least they were not so sad about it- Cedric Diggory had been in the 7th year, so all his closest friends had now left Hogwarts.
Harry's other lessons weren't as bad as he had expected either. Harry thought that everything would be extremely complicated and difficult, now that they were in the 5th year, but he found that it was really just going over what they had learnt in previous years. Harry, Ron and Hermione found that they had learnt so much in their 'Dark' Experiments in their 1st, 2nd and 4th years, Now, for OWL preparation, the class were only just learning these things, so they found themselves very far ahead. Divination was the only subject they found themselves not very far ahead of everybody. One lesson, when Ron refused to see anything in his Mist ball (Like a crystal ball, but looking at the patterns in the fog and cloud instead) Professor Trelawny swooped over him and hissed: 'I fear I see your OWLs rapidly approaching.' At this, the whole class, including Parvati and Lavender, couldn't hold their laughter.
Trelawny had been getting increasingly annoyed with Ron over the past for lessons, because he only seemed capable of making predictions about the weather, and nothing else. This weather, was not surprisingly, always bad, as mist was the only this which could ever be seen in the mist ball.
The day after the end of term, Gryffindor were due to play Ravenclaw, and the Gryffindor team had been practising every day in preparation. The castle was growing increasingly cold each day, and it was considered mad to venture out of the common room without at least two cloaks on. The last lesson of term was charms, and everybody was very glad of it. By the end of the lesson, Harry could hardly manage to move his hand, let alone flick a wand, he was so cold. They retired to the common room, numb with cold, but beginning to feel warm from the thought of Christmas and the end of term for the first time all day.
Harry was just settling down in an armchair by the roaring fire, when Alicia came running into the common room, looking rather like a snowman with the number of layers she had managed to squeeze under her school cloak. 'Come on Harry! We've got a match tomorrow! What do you think your doing? Come on! We're practising on the pitch in 5 minutes! Tell Ron.' Harry looked at Alicia in amazement as she ran over to Fred and George who were stretched out over 4 chairs in the corner. Unwillingly, Harry heaved himself up from the warm chair, and made his was up to the dormitory to put on extra layers. He didn't bother putting on his Quiddich robes, as they wouldn't be visible under his layers of cloaks. Grabbing his Firebolt, he hurried out of the common room, and he made his way back down to the charms classroom
He found Ron on his way back up to the common room. (He had been held back to help Neville clear up his Pewter Scales, which had accidentally been charmed to leap around the classroom whenever they were touched.) 'C'mon Ron!' He said 'Quiddich practice!' Ron groaned. 'Not today! It's the end of term! And we practised this morning!' Harry shrugged. 'Nothing stops Alicia. We have to be down there in a minute. I'll meet you on the pitch.' Ron rolled his eyes, but grinned. It was still quiddich practice, after all.
However, three hours later, he was so cold, it didn't feel like Quiddich practice at all. The team were beginning to loose concentration, and Fred and George had icicles hanging off the ends of their brooms (Although Harry wasn't entirely sure these were due to the cold, as Harry had seen some identical in Zonko's)
Finally, Alicia sighed, and said: 'Ok, Lets go in- I hope you all fly better than this tomorrow though!' Ron was so relieved, that he almost fell off his broom.
CHAPTER EIGHT .
Cho Chang
Harry woke with a start. It was still dark, and Neville was snoring loudly. Then he heard it. The pattering of tiny feet across the stone floor. 'Ron!' he whispered as loudly as he could. 'Ron! Wake up!' Ron rolled over, bringing his pillow with him, but finding not bet, but floor underneath him. 'Ow!' he said, getting up and massaging his head. 'What is it Harry? It'd better be important.' Harry put his finger to his lips, and listened again to the sound. 'Harry! You woke me up to listen to a mouse! Go back to sleep Harry, or you won't have any energy for the match.' But Harry wasn't listening. His eyes had strayed past Ron's angry face to the window, through which there was a view of the lake and the edge of the forest. There was a light moving along the edge of the forest, jerking slightly as though whatever it was, was carrying a heavy load. The light turned suddenly towards the forest, and all that could be seen was a faint glow, as the light moved deeper and deeper into the thicket. 'Ron come-' Harry whispered frantically, but he broke off as he saw Ron, who had sprawled himself across the bed, and was evidently fast asleep. Harry sighed and lay down on his pillow, shutting his eyes. When he opened them, it was light, and he had completely forgotten the nights incidents. He leapt out of bed, and pulled on his Quiddich Robes.
After breakfast, they ran down to the pitch early, as usual. This was the first match of the year, and it was important to get ahead now. Harry saw Cho warming up out of the corner of his eye. He would have turned round and waved to her, but Ron was near by. Harry jumped onto his broom, and despite the cold, he felt warm with energy.
Ten minutes later, the audience was flooding onto the pitch, all wrapped in thick layers of cloaks. Hermione was waving frantically from a high up stall, her pair of omnioculars clutched tightly in her scarlet-gloved hands.
Finally, they marched onto the pitch, greeted by loud cheers, Harry and Ron shaking. This was the first time Ron had played in a match, and Harry knew that Ron would be even more nervous than he was.
The two teams faced each other. Harry and Cho smiled at each other, both going red. Fortunately, Ron did not notice this. He seemed very preoccupied with rubbing the frost of his Keepers bat. Madame Pomfrey blew her whistle. The brooms shot up, Harry and Cho's together, rising high above the rest.
Harry and Cho stayed next to each other, flying lazily around. There was so far no sign of the snitch, so they were both inactive, Harry's mind concentrating only on Cho. Harry knew that he should be paying attention to the game, but he ignored this thought.
Suddenly, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned to see two players flying angrily behind them looking unimpressed. It was Alicia, and the Ravenclaw captain. 'What are you doing?' Alicia yelled, her face livid with rage. 'The snitch was hovering in the centre of the pitch for almost a minute! We shouted at you, but-' Harry felt a sharp knock on his head, and he was jerked back into his senses. 'You look dazed Harry!' Said Ron, brandishing his keepers club at him. 'I didn't whack you that hard, did I?' He looked like he was trying hard to hold back his laughter. 'I saved 7 goals for Gryffindor- We're leading 50-0!' Said Ron, grinning broadly. 'Wow!' Exclaimed Harry. 'That's brilliant!' Harry, having missed most of the game so far, decided he'd better concentrate. Cho seemed to have made the same resolution, but rolled her eyes as she saw Harry looking at her. He saw Madame Hooch signalling the end of time out, and zoomed off, Cho following closely behind him.
Although Harry knew that Ron was extremely nervous, he was hiding it well, and playing the best Harry had ever seen him. He hadn't let one single goal in yet, and the score was now 70-0 to Gryffindor. Harry grinned as he streaked past him, dodging out of the way of an energetic Bludger. And then he saw the Snitch. It was hovering about a foot from the ground, underneath the Ravenclaw goalpost.
He dived, hand stretched out, almost there, but then he saw Cho. She was close behind him, leaning forward on her broomstick, but she hadn't seen the Bludger aiming straight for her. 'Cho!' Harry cried out, taking his eyes off the snitch and spinning in mid air, but it was too late. WHAM!
The bludger hit her with a sickening thud. She gave a soft moan, and then slipped off her broom, her dark hair falling over her face. Harry dived, forgetting the match, forgetting the quiddich match, forgetting the entire school was watching him, and caught her just before she hit the ground. Although the rest of the team were still playing, Harry could see Alicia's face. She looked ready to kill.
Teachers were spilling onto the pitch, all looking very anxious. Harry turned suddenly, remembering the snitch, but it had gone. 'Lie her down on the grass, Potter,' Said a soft voice from behind him. It was professor Sinistra, head of Ravenclaw house, closely followed by Madame Pomfrey. 'Out cold.' She said, panting slightly. 'We'd better get her up to the hospital wing.' Harry felt dizzy with shock. Cho was out of the running and he'd lost the snitch again- what were the rest of Gryffindor going to do to him, and would Cho be OK? Suddenly, something hit him on the back of the head. He turned. 'Ow! Watch it!' He began, but stopped as he saw the snitch hovering just above his left ear, and Harry was sure that if it had had a face, it would have been looking incredibly cheeky. He stretched out his hand, and moved his palm towards the snitch. It was as though he was seeing everything in slow motion. The snitch flew just out of reach, and Harry stretched for it once more. It flew further, and Harry leapt back on his broom and dived at the snitch. He felt its wings flapping helplessly in his hands. He held it up, and punched the air in victory.
The Gryffindors exploded. The air seemed like it would be ripped through the volume of the noise, and Harry saw a group of Fifth year Gryffindors, including Hermione, pouring onto the pitch, waving Gryffindor banners in the air. Hermione noticed Alicia, swamped by the rest of the team, looking very relieved. The Ravenclaws were clapping as well, they were so glad that their seeker had been caught. Harry grinned inside. He had saved somebody's life!
The pitch was caked with Scarlet and Gold congratulating the team, but especially Ron, who had not let in a single goal- the final score was 220- 0.
After the rest of the school had gone back to the castle, Hermione and Hagrid, dragged them into Hagrid's hut for a cup of tea. Ron had a broad grin on his face, smirking at Harry as well as being pleased with himself. They had tea, and many, many rock cakes, (although they did not eat these). They discussed Quiddich, and the house cup, until Harry asked: 'Hagrid, d'you know anything about Professor Anigin, because he seems...well...really strange...' To Harry's surprise, Hagrid looked genuinely puzzled. 'Now that yeh come to mention it.... I can't say I know anything about him... nobody does... that's the strange thing about him!' Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, frowning. After a long pause, Harry said 'Well, why did Dumbledore hire him then?' 'Only one for the job. Yeh know how many teachers that job's got through...' 'Yeah, but-' 'I know it's strange Harry, but it's nothing for you to go poking your nose into, alright?' Harry felt slightly offended, and it must have shown on his face, because Hagrid said 'Look, I know its not like yeh mean any harm, but I know what you three are like, investigating stuff. I don't want yeh getting mixed up in all this... Yeh know who... business. Yeh're too much involved as it is. I'll walk yeh back to the castle business, alright?' He pulled on his mole skin overcoat, and ushered them out of the door, slamming it hard behind them.
They didn't talk all the way up to the castle, and Hagrid muttered a hurried goodbye, and left them in the entrance hall, staring bemusedly after him. Harry looked from Ron to Hermione. They were both as shocked as he was. 'D'you think he knows something?' Said Ron eagerly, as they made their way up to the common room. 'I don't know...' Said Harry thoughtfully. 'He seemed genuinely puzzled this time. Usually, when he doesn't know something, he changes the subject, and goes red, but this time, he just seemed concerned for us.' Hermione looked thoughtful. 'I'm sure I've seen him before though!' Said Hermione, exasperatedly. 'Who, Hagrid?' Said Ron, jokingly, but Hermione gave him a severe look. 'Professor Anigin.' 'Where?' Said Harry, interested. 'I don't remember... Maybe it wasn't him, but there's definitely something familiar about him.' She said. Ron rolled his eyes.
As they entered the common room, there was a loud cheer, and they were bombarded by handfuls of every type of food they could possibly imagine, and Harry felt like he would have gone flying, through the number of people clapping him on the back, if it were not for the hoards of people in front of him as well. They willingly excepted the food, although they were careful to avoid anything coming from Fred and George's direction- they had developed a whole new range of practical jokes. 'Thanks Harry.' Fred whispered in Harry's ear. 'We couldn't have done it without you!' he winked at him.
The party went on all evening, and Harry was thoughrally enjoying it. However, as all parties in the Gryffindor common room ended, the creaking of the Fat Lady, revealing a tartan clad figure, symbolised that it was time to scarper. However, it wasn't until an hour later that the common room was completely empty, except for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George. 'When's the next Hogsmede weekend?' Said Ron, as he picked up some used stink pellets fondly. 'I dunno, but I hope it's before Christmas- I need to get Christmas Presents!' Said Harry, thinking of the Cauldron full of Stink Pellets he had seen last time he was in Hogsmede, which would be a good Christmas present for Ron. 'Did you notice that they've closed down the Historical Books Store?' said Hermione, looking outraged. 'I hope they put something decent in its place.' Said Ron. Harry was still watching Fred and George, and he saw them give each other a smug smile. 'What are you two grinning about?' Said Ron, who had obviously been observing Fred and George as well. Fred and George quickly stopped grinning. 'You, Ron, always make us smirk.' With that they hurried up to bed.
The following day, Harry was planning to visit Cho in the hospital wing after breakfast. He ate quickly, and told Ron and Hermione that he would be right back. However, when he arrived, the hospital wing door was shut, and when he knocked, Madame Pomfrey just grunted that they couldn't risk visitors.
Harry walked back to the Great Hall, disappointed, but was soon distracted, by a walk around the Lake with Ron and Hermione, and a heated debate about the Chudley Cannons. Hermione was reading a thick book. 'How can you read, Hermione- Harry and I, have probably just concluded the most important debate in the history of the Cannons?' 'What d'you mean, how can I read! For your information, It's-' 'A book.' Harry interjected quickly, before Hermione and Ron had time to get into another argument. 'It's about the laws that special animals have, and their effects on the wizarding community. It's very interesting Ron, you should read it.' Ron smirked at Harry. This was typical of Hermione.
Harry and Ron were then distracted by the giant squid, who was currently floating on the surface of the lake. 'Look!' shouted Ron, suddenly. Harry looked round just in time to see Anigin stalking back towards the castle, apparently after just having talked to Hermione. Hermione was standing with her mouth open, staring after Anigin in disbelief, no longer holding a book in her hands. 'What's the matter?' Said Harry, running over to her. She shook her head, looking disbelieving. 'Anigin just came over here, took my book, and snarled 'I must confiscate this, Granger', then turned, and went straight back up to the castle!' 'He's really odd!' Said Ron 'All of the Defence Teachers are, and probably will be, if you ask my opinion. I agree with the rumours- the job is jinxed!' 'Don't be stupid!' Said Hermione dismissivly. 'He's just...well...' 'What?' asked Ron. 'Well, I think he's had some... first hand experience with the dark arts, and has somehow... suffered from it.' She replied. None of them talked on their way back to the castle, and Harry could tell, that like himself, Hermione and Ron were doing some careful thinking about Anigin.
Professor Anigin
Most of the 5th year Gryffindors were dreading Tuesday afternoons, as they had double Care of Magical Creatures. It was a warm afternoon, so Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to arrive early, hoping to have time to talk to Hagrid and enjoy the sun before the lesson started, but to their annoyance, most of the class seemed to be thinking along the same lines, and were already crowded around Hagrid, looking apprehensive.
Hagrid seemed excited about something, but not prepared to tell them, yet, as he had an air of mystery about him, which was unusual in Hagrid. He showed them various methods of feeding birds, and told them that they were preparing for a project, which would be commencing at Easter.
They spent the next hour sticking their hands down the furry throats of several green and blue coloured birds. Ron finally flung down his handful of worms in agitation. 'Has this got anything to do with the project, Hagrid?' Hagrid's eyes twinkled, but he refused to say anything. In Harry's opinion, the birds were perfectly capable of feeding themselves. Even Hermione wasn't particularly interested, which ruled out the possibility that the birds had any extraordinary powers. When he pointed this out to Hagrid, he said 'We won't be dealing with this creature in particular, but this is good practice for yeh. Yeh'll be needing this skill if... erm... the creature gets....erm....hurt....and needs....er.... manual feeding.' At these words Hermione began to feed a particularly large bird eagerly. If this skill was useful, she needed all the practice she could get. Harry and Ron groaned inwardly. Ron carelessly poked his bird in the eye, which caused it to flutter around madly, pecking at everything within it's reach, including Harry and Hermione. This excited the other birds too, so Hagrid decided to release the useless birds, and end the lesson early. The class was very relieved
'Quiddich team results at supper.' Said Ron, trying to sound casual, but looking very pale. 'Don't worry, you'll get in.' Said Harry encouragingly, but he was still very nervous on Ron's behalf. They had been given lots of herbology homework, and decided they'd better get on with it as it was bound to take ages. They had to learn all the different species of 'bloom' bushes, their Latin names and what they were used for. Ron was sitting in an armchair by the fire, staring at his notes, but his eyes weren't moving. 'Cheer up Ron!' Said Ginny, who seemed to be in an unusually cheerful mood. 'It won't be the end of the world if you don't get in!' Ron looked like it would be, but he kept quiet. Hermione nudged Ginny hard. 'Ow- I mean- which of course, you will.' She walked away quickly, massaging her side. 'Come on.' Said Ron, looking at the clock. 'Lets go to supper- I'm hungry.' 'But Ron- it's too early! It only takes 5 minutes to get there!' But Ron was already making his way down the steps towards the fat lady, and didn't seem to hear him. Harry shrugged his shoulders at Hermione, and they hurried after him. When they reached the Entrance Hall, Harry noticed at small piece of parchment attached to the notice board. He could just make out the words Gryffindor Quiddich Trials at the top. Ron had noticed it too. 'I don't want to look!' Said Ron, before he got there. 'Can you look for me?' 'Sure!' He said. He could see Gryffindors stalking away, looking disappointed. He approached the notice board and read:
GRYFFINDOR QUIDDICH TRIALS
After consultation with the team Captain and Madame Hooch, we have reached a decision that the second round of trials is unnecessary. There was tough competition, and all candidates showed outstanding talent and ability. However, we feel that the following positions are allocated appropriately:
Keeper: Ronald Weasley Chaser: (Reserve) Seamus Finnigan Player: (Reserve) Thomas Grundle Rosemary Clearwater
Congratulations to everybody!
Professor M. McGonagall
'Ron!' shouted Harry 'Come here and look!' Ron ran over to Harry and read the notice, Harry feeling almost as happy for Ron as he would do for himself. Ron's eyes widened. 'But I-' Ron's ears had gone pink with pleasure. 'Ron, you deserve to be on the team- you were the best! Don't try and argue!' Ron was so pleased with himself, he forgot to argue back.
As Ron walked to supper, still lost for words, several Gryffindors ran up to congratulate him. Harry spent the whole of supper telling Ron how good he was, and congratulating him endlessly. Fred and George came up to Ron, too. Harry saw Alicia approaching, but after seeing Fred and George she turned around and stalked off, without having a chance to speak to Ron. Fred and George saw Harry looking at her curiously, and then looked at each other. Then Fred nodded, and George sighed. Without another word, they slowly went after her. 'What's up with her?' asked Harry, puzzled. 'Whenever I see Alicia near Fred and George, she ignores them, and stalks off!' 'Oh, that!' Said Ron, his mind on something other than Quiddich for the first time since he had heard the news. 'Apparently, Alicia isn't talking to them. It's been like this since last year. They didn't invite her to the Yule Ball, but invited her two best friends Angelina and Katie to go with them. She was angry with Angelina and Katie for not telling her they'd been invited, but they nominated her for team captain, so she made up with them. Fred and George nominated each other, no neither of them got the majority!'
The next day, it was transfiguration. The Gryffindors had to transform a racoon into several other animals. This, as McGonagall explained to them, was a type of human transfiguration, which they would soon be moving onto next term. Harry had practised many of these spells last year whilst he was preparing for the 3rd task, and so was quite good at it. Ron and Hermione were equally good at it, as they had been helping so thoughrally. Professor McGonagall was very pleased with them, and they were the only ones who didn't get extra homework.
All of the Fifth year Gryffindors were looking forward to their first defence against the dark arts lesson on Thursday with an almost infectious curiosity. Seamus and Dean said that they had heard Malfoy complaining about how much Anigin seemed to hate the Slytherins in their first lesson. This made the Gryffindors even more curious, and hopeful that he would favour the Gryffindors.
However, when they came in and the balding man snapped at them to sit down, their hopes sank. He was wearing the same long, black robes he had been wearing at the feast, and his face was long and bony with black eyes, in Harry's opinion, similar to Snape's. Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances. 'Well? Take out your quills and parchment. I hope you're not this slow every lesson. We're going to be taking notes on non-reversible curses.'
Throughout the lesson, Harry got the impression that he wasn't trying to be nasty, but just couldn't be bothered to do the opposite. He was cold to everybody, never asked questions, and snapped at everything. He wasn't biased- he was mean to everyone.
As the hour snailed by, the class, who had only been taking notes from dictation all lesson, began to loose concentration. However, nobody dared to speak, so the majority were just slumped backwards on their seats, daydreaming. Harry, Ron and Hermione had learnt all these curses last year, so even Hermione wasn't listening to what Anigin had to say. Ron was half asleep, leaning against the wall. However, Harry and Hermione were closely observing their new teacher, and as soon as the lesson was over, they rushed to the common room to discuss their observations.
'Did you see his eyes- it was like he was in some sort of trance or something!' Said Harry, excitedly. 'Not a trance,' said Hermione 'He just looks like somebody who's had too many of those permanent curses cast on him- as though he's been transformed from his original state.' 'Like you know who?' Said Ron, sounding awe-struck. 'Yes!' Said Hermione. 'How d'you know- you've never seen You Know Who, Hermione!' Ron challenged. Hermione's face assumed an all-knowing expression, and Harry could tell what was coming. 'I read it in a book.' Said Hermione, brightly. 'Typical.' Ron muttered, under his breath. Luckily, Hermione seemed to be preoccupied by the contents of her bag, and didn't hear him. Evidently, Ron too had predicted what Hermione would say.
*
Over the next few weeks, at every defence against the dark arts lesson, their suspicions grew. To Harry, it seemed like he didn't seem to have a soul at all, all though Harry thought he seemed trapped. Ron had long ago dismissed this theory with his own- that he was just a miserable half-squib who resented most of his life.
Quiddich practice had started every day, and Harry was particularly enjoying them now that Ron was on the team. They were playing Ravenclaw at the end of this term, and Harry was very glad to see that Cho was still on the team as seeker. He had also noticed that the Hufflepuff team had a new seeker. It was Harry's fellow fifth year, Ernie Macmillan. Most Hufflepuffs seemed to have forgotten their loss last year, or at least they were not so sad about it- Cedric Diggory had been in the 7th year, so all his closest friends had now left Hogwarts.
Harry's other lessons weren't as bad as he had expected either. Harry thought that everything would be extremely complicated and difficult, now that they were in the 5th year, but he found that it was really just going over what they had learnt in previous years. Harry, Ron and Hermione found that they had learnt so much in their 'Dark' Experiments in their 1st, 2nd and 4th years, Now, for OWL preparation, the class were only just learning these things, so they found themselves very far ahead. Divination was the only subject they found themselves not very far ahead of everybody. One lesson, when Ron refused to see anything in his Mist ball (Like a crystal ball, but looking at the patterns in the fog and cloud instead) Professor Trelawny swooped over him and hissed: 'I fear I see your OWLs rapidly approaching.' At this, the whole class, including Parvati and Lavender, couldn't hold their laughter.
Trelawny had been getting increasingly annoyed with Ron over the past for lessons, because he only seemed capable of making predictions about the weather, and nothing else. This weather, was not surprisingly, always bad, as mist was the only this which could ever be seen in the mist ball.
The day after the end of term, Gryffindor were due to play Ravenclaw, and the Gryffindor team had been practising every day in preparation. The castle was growing increasingly cold each day, and it was considered mad to venture out of the common room without at least two cloaks on. The last lesson of term was charms, and everybody was very glad of it. By the end of the lesson, Harry could hardly manage to move his hand, let alone flick a wand, he was so cold. They retired to the common room, numb with cold, but beginning to feel warm from the thought of Christmas and the end of term for the first time all day.
Harry was just settling down in an armchair by the roaring fire, when Alicia came running into the common room, looking rather like a snowman with the number of layers she had managed to squeeze under her school cloak. 'Come on Harry! We've got a match tomorrow! What do you think your doing? Come on! We're practising on the pitch in 5 minutes! Tell Ron.' Harry looked at Alicia in amazement as she ran over to Fred and George who were stretched out over 4 chairs in the corner. Unwillingly, Harry heaved himself up from the warm chair, and made his was up to the dormitory to put on extra layers. He didn't bother putting on his Quiddich robes, as they wouldn't be visible under his layers of cloaks. Grabbing his Firebolt, he hurried out of the common room, and he made his way back down to the charms classroom
He found Ron on his way back up to the common room. (He had been held back to help Neville clear up his Pewter Scales, which had accidentally been charmed to leap around the classroom whenever they were touched.) 'C'mon Ron!' He said 'Quiddich practice!' Ron groaned. 'Not today! It's the end of term! And we practised this morning!' Harry shrugged. 'Nothing stops Alicia. We have to be down there in a minute. I'll meet you on the pitch.' Ron rolled his eyes, but grinned. It was still quiddich practice, after all.
However, three hours later, he was so cold, it didn't feel like Quiddich practice at all. The team were beginning to loose concentration, and Fred and George had icicles hanging off the ends of their brooms (Although Harry wasn't entirely sure these were due to the cold, as Harry had seen some identical in Zonko's)
Finally, Alicia sighed, and said: 'Ok, Lets go in- I hope you all fly better than this tomorrow though!' Ron was so relieved, that he almost fell off his broom.
CHAPTER EIGHT .
Cho Chang
Harry woke with a start. It was still dark, and Neville was snoring loudly. Then he heard it. The pattering of tiny feet across the stone floor. 'Ron!' he whispered as loudly as he could. 'Ron! Wake up!' Ron rolled over, bringing his pillow with him, but finding not bet, but floor underneath him. 'Ow!' he said, getting up and massaging his head. 'What is it Harry? It'd better be important.' Harry put his finger to his lips, and listened again to the sound. 'Harry! You woke me up to listen to a mouse! Go back to sleep Harry, or you won't have any energy for the match.' But Harry wasn't listening. His eyes had strayed past Ron's angry face to the window, through which there was a view of the lake and the edge of the forest. There was a light moving along the edge of the forest, jerking slightly as though whatever it was, was carrying a heavy load. The light turned suddenly towards the forest, and all that could be seen was a faint glow, as the light moved deeper and deeper into the thicket. 'Ron come-' Harry whispered frantically, but he broke off as he saw Ron, who had sprawled himself across the bed, and was evidently fast asleep. Harry sighed and lay down on his pillow, shutting his eyes. When he opened them, it was light, and he had completely forgotten the nights incidents. He leapt out of bed, and pulled on his Quiddich Robes.
After breakfast, they ran down to the pitch early, as usual. This was the first match of the year, and it was important to get ahead now. Harry saw Cho warming up out of the corner of his eye. He would have turned round and waved to her, but Ron was near by. Harry jumped onto his broom, and despite the cold, he felt warm with energy.
Ten minutes later, the audience was flooding onto the pitch, all wrapped in thick layers of cloaks. Hermione was waving frantically from a high up stall, her pair of omnioculars clutched tightly in her scarlet-gloved hands.
Finally, they marched onto the pitch, greeted by loud cheers, Harry and Ron shaking. This was the first time Ron had played in a match, and Harry knew that Ron would be even more nervous than he was.
The two teams faced each other. Harry and Cho smiled at each other, both going red. Fortunately, Ron did not notice this. He seemed very preoccupied with rubbing the frost of his Keepers bat. Madame Pomfrey blew her whistle. The brooms shot up, Harry and Cho's together, rising high above the rest.
Harry and Cho stayed next to each other, flying lazily around. There was so far no sign of the snitch, so they were both inactive, Harry's mind concentrating only on Cho. Harry knew that he should be paying attention to the game, but he ignored this thought.
Suddenly, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned to see two players flying angrily behind them looking unimpressed. It was Alicia, and the Ravenclaw captain. 'What are you doing?' Alicia yelled, her face livid with rage. 'The snitch was hovering in the centre of the pitch for almost a minute! We shouted at you, but-' Harry felt a sharp knock on his head, and he was jerked back into his senses. 'You look dazed Harry!' Said Ron, brandishing his keepers club at him. 'I didn't whack you that hard, did I?' He looked like he was trying hard to hold back his laughter. 'I saved 7 goals for Gryffindor- We're leading 50-0!' Said Ron, grinning broadly. 'Wow!' Exclaimed Harry. 'That's brilliant!' Harry, having missed most of the game so far, decided he'd better concentrate. Cho seemed to have made the same resolution, but rolled her eyes as she saw Harry looking at her. He saw Madame Hooch signalling the end of time out, and zoomed off, Cho following closely behind him.
Although Harry knew that Ron was extremely nervous, he was hiding it well, and playing the best Harry had ever seen him. He hadn't let one single goal in yet, and the score was now 70-0 to Gryffindor. Harry grinned as he streaked past him, dodging out of the way of an energetic Bludger. And then he saw the Snitch. It was hovering about a foot from the ground, underneath the Ravenclaw goalpost.
He dived, hand stretched out, almost there, but then he saw Cho. She was close behind him, leaning forward on her broomstick, but she hadn't seen the Bludger aiming straight for her. 'Cho!' Harry cried out, taking his eyes off the snitch and spinning in mid air, but it was too late. WHAM!
The bludger hit her with a sickening thud. She gave a soft moan, and then slipped off her broom, her dark hair falling over her face. Harry dived, forgetting the match, forgetting the quiddich match, forgetting the entire school was watching him, and caught her just before she hit the ground. Although the rest of the team were still playing, Harry could see Alicia's face. She looked ready to kill.
Teachers were spilling onto the pitch, all looking very anxious. Harry turned suddenly, remembering the snitch, but it had gone. 'Lie her down on the grass, Potter,' Said a soft voice from behind him. It was professor Sinistra, head of Ravenclaw house, closely followed by Madame Pomfrey. 'Out cold.' She said, panting slightly. 'We'd better get her up to the hospital wing.' Harry felt dizzy with shock. Cho was out of the running and he'd lost the snitch again- what were the rest of Gryffindor going to do to him, and would Cho be OK? Suddenly, something hit him on the back of the head. He turned. 'Ow! Watch it!' He began, but stopped as he saw the snitch hovering just above his left ear, and Harry was sure that if it had had a face, it would have been looking incredibly cheeky. He stretched out his hand, and moved his palm towards the snitch. It was as though he was seeing everything in slow motion. The snitch flew just out of reach, and Harry stretched for it once more. It flew further, and Harry leapt back on his broom and dived at the snitch. He felt its wings flapping helplessly in his hands. He held it up, and punched the air in victory.
The Gryffindors exploded. The air seemed like it would be ripped through the volume of the noise, and Harry saw a group of Fifth year Gryffindors, including Hermione, pouring onto the pitch, waving Gryffindor banners in the air. Hermione noticed Alicia, swamped by the rest of the team, looking very relieved. The Ravenclaws were clapping as well, they were so glad that their seeker had been caught. Harry grinned inside. He had saved somebody's life!
The pitch was caked with Scarlet and Gold congratulating the team, but especially Ron, who had not let in a single goal- the final score was 220- 0.
After the rest of the school had gone back to the castle, Hermione and Hagrid, dragged them into Hagrid's hut for a cup of tea. Ron had a broad grin on his face, smirking at Harry as well as being pleased with himself. They had tea, and many, many rock cakes, (although they did not eat these). They discussed Quiddich, and the house cup, until Harry asked: 'Hagrid, d'you know anything about Professor Anigin, because he seems...well...really strange...' To Harry's surprise, Hagrid looked genuinely puzzled. 'Now that yeh come to mention it.... I can't say I know anything about him... nobody does... that's the strange thing about him!' Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, frowning. After a long pause, Harry said 'Well, why did Dumbledore hire him then?' 'Only one for the job. Yeh know how many teachers that job's got through...' 'Yeah, but-' 'I know it's strange Harry, but it's nothing for you to go poking your nose into, alright?' Harry felt slightly offended, and it must have shown on his face, because Hagrid said 'Look, I know its not like yeh mean any harm, but I know what you three are like, investigating stuff. I don't want yeh getting mixed up in all this... Yeh know who... business. Yeh're too much involved as it is. I'll walk yeh back to the castle business, alright?' He pulled on his mole skin overcoat, and ushered them out of the door, slamming it hard behind them.
They didn't talk all the way up to the castle, and Hagrid muttered a hurried goodbye, and left them in the entrance hall, staring bemusedly after him. Harry looked from Ron to Hermione. They were both as shocked as he was. 'D'you think he knows something?' Said Ron eagerly, as they made their way up to the common room. 'I don't know...' Said Harry thoughtfully. 'He seemed genuinely puzzled this time. Usually, when he doesn't know something, he changes the subject, and goes red, but this time, he just seemed concerned for us.' Hermione looked thoughtful. 'I'm sure I've seen him before though!' Said Hermione, exasperatedly. 'Who, Hagrid?' Said Ron, jokingly, but Hermione gave him a severe look. 'Professor Anigin.' 'Where?' Said Harry, interested. 'I don't remember... Maybe it wasn't him, but there's definitely something familiar about him.' She said. Ron rolled his eyes.
As they entered the common room, there was a loud cheer, and they were bombarded by handfuls of every type of food they could possibly imagine, and Harry felt like he would have gone flying, through the number of people clapping him on the back, if it were not for the hoards of people in front of him as well. They willingly excepted the food, although they were careful to avoid anything coming from Fred and George's direction- they had developed a whole new range of practical jokes. 'Thanks Harry.' Fred whispered in Harry's ear. 'We couldn't have done it without you!' he winked at him.
The party went on all evening, and Harry was thoughrally enjoying it. However, as all parties in the Gryffindor common room ended, the creaking of the Fat Lady, revealing a tartan clad figure, symbolised that it was time to scarper. However, it wasn't until an hour later that the common room was completely empty, except for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George. 'When's the next Hogsmede weekend?' Said Ron, as he picked up some used stink pellets fondly. 'I dunno, but I hope it's before Christmas- I need to get Christmas Presents!' Said Harry, thinking of the Cauldron full of Stink Pellets he had seen last time he was in Hogsmede, which would be a good Christmas present for Ron. 'Did you notice that they've closed down the Historical Books Store?' said Hermione, looking outraged. 'I hope they put something decent in its place.' Said Ron. Harry was still watching Fred and George, and he saw them give each other a smug smile. 'What are you two grinning about?' Said Ron, who had obviously been observing Fred and George as well. Fred and George quickly stopped grinning. 'You, Ron, always make us smirk.' With that they hurried up to bed.
The following day, Harry was planning to visit Cho in the hospital wing after breakfast. He ate quickly, and told Ron and Hermione that he would be right back. However, when he arrived, the hospital wing door was shut, and when he knocked, Madame Pomfrey just grunted that they couldn't risk visitors.
Harry walked back to the Great Hall, disappointed, but was soon distracted, by a walk around the Lake with Ron and Hermione, and a heated debate about the Chudley Cannons. Hermione was reading a thick book. 'How can you read, Hermione- Harry and I, have probably just concluded the most important debate in the history of the Cannons?' 'What d'you mean, how can I read! For your information, It's-' 'A book.' Harry interjected quickly, before Hermione and Ron had time to get into another argument. 'It's about the laws that special animals have, and their effects on the wizarding community. It's very interesting Ron, you should read it.' Ron smirked at Harry. This was typical of Hermione.
Harry and Ron were then distracted by the giant squid, who was currently floating on the surface of the lake. 'Look!' shouted Ron, suddenly. Harry looked round just in time to see Anigin stalking back towards the castle, apparently after just having talked to Hermione. Hermione was standing with her mouth open, staring after Anigin in disbelief, no longer holding a book in her hands. 'What's the matter?' Said Harry, running over to her. She shook her head, looking disbelieving. 'Anigin just came over here, took my book, and snarled 'I must confiscate this, Granger', then turned, and went straight back up to the castle!' 'He's really odd!' Said Ron 'All of the Defence Teachers are, and probably will be, if you ask my opinion. I agree with the rumours- the job is jinxed!' 'Don't be stupid!' Said Hermione dismissivly. 'He's just...well...' 'What?' asked Ron. 'Well, I think he's had some... first hand experience with the dark arts, and has somehow... suffered from it.' She replied. None of them talked on their way back to the castle, and Harry could tell, that like himself, Hermione and Ron were doing some careful thinking about Anigin.