Chapter 8
"Well, now you know, you are technically the only full blood wizard alive. No one else descends from Merlin, Gryffindor, Ambrosius, and Emrys. All of which, in the Ancient Language of Magic all mean Royal Aaron. Your symbol of power, as you can easily guess, is lightning and the Royal Aaron." Miranda sat back, Harry thought hard, trying to sort out this information, in a way he'd already known, it wasn't that much of a surprise.
"there is more to the prophecy, the heir will find a way to destroy Voldemort, when, well, that's not known, do you have any ideas? Is that what you aren't telling us?" Harry frowned, Dumbledore couldn't get over the fact that Harry wasn't, couldn't, tell them everything about what he knew.
"Perhaps, it may be connected, it may not. Either way I'm not saying anything, so please stop asking, it won't do you any good to know, it'll make things worse." What Harry wasn't telling them, he knew that rankled with them, he trusted them completely, and they trusted him, but for their good and his he couldn't just spill all that he knew.
The fact was Harry's power stone hadn't worked correctly, he was only able to save a little power in them, not an infinite amount. The royal blue stone was the one he could store power in, the dark, almost black, was unresponsive. He could do nothing with it, he didn't know why, something he hadn't discovered. To make those stones Harry had melted a little of every metal and stone that existed, and mixed them together. In that mixture he had put some of his power. The mixture wouldn't recognize the power as his, it was just power to fuel its creation. To bind the stone to him and those he wished to be able to use them he'd poured in some of his blood. The mixture had remained liquid in a caldron made of power for a week. Then he'd stopped the heat, added more of his power so that the stones would form in a shape of his choosing, and then let it cool. Both stones weighed almost nothing, despite their size, about as large as a tennis ball cut in half. The bottom was flat and the ends rounded, the surface area was in an oval shape. But he'd missed something, something that had to be done after their creation that would make them work. And why were they different colors? He had planned for one power stone, and the extra material to be made into another stone, into which he could draw Voldemorts power until Voldemort's essence itself was forever trapped inside the stone. What was missing?
"How long did Madam Pomfrey say I'll have ot stay here?" he asked, dreading the answer.
"A week, you had extremely severe injuries Harry. Don't worry, you won't have to make up the missed work, since you know the spells already." Remus said, Harry sighed with relief. At that moment an owl dropped a letter onto his stomach. Harry opened it.
Fellow Prankster,
We've been looking through your list of pranks, and #320, caught our eye. We'll be performing the prank next Friday at lunch, don't drink a thing at lunch, bring your own water bottle. Thank you for the ideas, Ron is helping us, if you're allowed (or if your not) we'll tell you how to help if you want to. Since you have all that free time this week. Please get well soon, Gryffindor (and the rest of the school) is worried sick about you.
Your Fellow Pranksters
Harry grinned, "320 huh?" t was one of his better ones to be sure.
"What's the date?" he asked, hoping he'd be up and about by next Friday.
"It's Thursday, the 19th, not the 320th why?" Dumbledore asked, eyeing the letter, as if it were something potentially dangerous. Harry placed the letter, folded, beside him on the table, piled high with get well cards and presents.
"New quidditch game plans." Harry said, grinning, he wasn't going to tell what time or where, not with Snape listening like he was right now. Fortunately this was true, he did have new plans to start the team training for. And he was probably getting out of shape, having spent three weeks being tortured by Voldemort.
"Riiiight. And my aunt's a house elf." Miranda said, Harry blinked at her.
"Really? She is? Cool!" This set off a few chuckles, Miranda grinned.
"Yeah, can't you see the family resemblance?" Sirius asked, ducking a swipe from Miranda.
"Disgusting mutt." She retorted, she waved her hand at Sirius and a large black dog stood there, the words ULTIMATE LOSER glowing on his side. Sirius snarled and transformed to human again. There was a trill from the window, Raslith was bobbing his head up and down in agreement with her.
"Traitor, thought you were showing Zarglash to his temporary home." Sirius commented, Raslith flapped his wings slightly and nodded again.
"Harry I've been noticing that some students, mostly the younger ones, are going around ready to panic at their own shadows. Do you have any ideas as to what we can do?" Dumbledore asked, Harry nodded, the prefects were reporting to him each evening, and the picture they had drawn wasn't a good one for school moral.
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Friday Harry was finally freed from the Hospital wing.
"Harry! Finally, you're free. Come on, we've got class."
Harry groaned, Potions.
"Potter you missed several important assignments, I expect you to have them made up by Tuesday." Snape snapped at Harry, Harry smirked and handed him four bottles.
"I already did them Professor." Snape glared and took the potions, Harry sighed, Snape would purposely give him a F on all four. His saving Snape's life a couple times didn't seem to have helped matters. If anything Snape was worse, taking thirty points from Gryffindor for very minor offenses before class was over.
The day dragged on, finally lunch came. Harry made sure to bring his own water bottle.
At lunch all the silverware started tap dancing along the tables, over peoples heads, turning over food and drinks, and ending up piled on the staff table in a huge mound of knives, forks, and spoons, along with several goblets that decided to join the fun. Once everything got sorted out the meal was interrupted again by everyone's hair standing on end thanks to a special kind of "salad dressing". Harry could see the looks being directed his way by Prof. McGonagal, but evidently she thought he hadn't been out of the hospital wing long enough to manage anything like this, nor could she find any way to blame the twins.
"We really do have a problem here, this just can not continue. It just won't work, there must be something we can do." Harry listened noting the slight note of desperation in Dumbledore's voice as he addressed the staff and prefects. It was true, the students were a panicky mess, something had to be done soon.
"Sir Harry and I have finished the preparations for the party tomorrow. It will be a good chance for them to let off steam and relax. However we need help decorating, and choosing the food." This announcement from Ron was greeted by a few sighs of relief from staff and prefects alike. Dumbledore, obviously relieved and grateful turned to them.
"What's the theme? What sort of help did you have in mind?" This had been a topic of a major argument, ending in a compromise.
"Well we'll need tropical fruit juices, 620 grass skirts, 20 palm trees, 620 beach chairs, 900 flower necklaces, 8 hula-hoops, 200 varied tropical plants, 50 pounds of half wet sand, 14 brooms all the same type, 45 parrots, a large variety of fruit, salads, and three types of chicken. We'll also need to enchant the great hall with a very humid and hot temperature, the sun should be at about dusk." Harry reeled of the list from memory, wide grins were spreading across faces that had been worried and strained moments before as they realized what he had planned. "We'll also need a stage and some appropriate music, there are a bunch of volunteers who will do the rest. Right Hermione?" Hermione grinned, she too was in on the plan.
"Yep, I've got 24 volunteers ready to go." Dumbledore just shook his head and smiled.
"How much of that do you have done?" Remus asked.
"We've got the grass skirts, hula-hoops, parrots, sand, brooms, and palm trees finished." Ron said, looking over the list he was holding. "Ravenclaw you can take care of the flower necklaces and fruit juices, Hufflepuff you'll do the plants and tell the house elves what to put in the salads and the chicken, Slytherin you'll do the beach chairs and fruits. Gryffindor will work on the acts and set up the stage." He looked around, all the prefects were nodding, the work had been split up fairly evenly, but Gryffindor was still doing the most. "Professors you can choose some of the music and enchant the atmosphere and ceiling. If you have any questions just ask." As the room slowly emptied the professors stayed behind with the Gryffindors.
"Who's doing the performances?" McGonagal asked as soon as the door had shut.
"Well Hermione's volunteers will be dancing, synchronized hula-hooping, a hula-hooping contest, and acrobatics. The Gryffindor quidditch team is doing a thing on broomsticks and we have 6 students doing a hilarious pantomime thing, a pie eating contest, and several groups who are putting on other acts such as signing and dancing. Almost all of them are from Gryffindor, but that shouldn't be a problem, the Slytherins haven't volunteered at all, no surprise there." Harry said, enjoying the looks on their faces. "We also have a tap dancing group, no I'm not telling you who, they wish to remain anonymous, but from what I hear that should be very enjoyable." He traded looks with Ron, Ira, and Hermione who were struggling to keep straight faces, the professors would be doing that act, though they didn't know it yet. They had been enchanted with special tap dancing charms. The sight of their teachers tap dancing in grass skirts was sure to amuse the students no end.
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Clash! The clang of steel on steel echoed around the room. Harry swirled and slid back as Sirius's sword lashed out again. He was in the order wing, Sirius had insisted he practice here instead of on his own. Harry allowed Sirius to maneuver him until his back was to a wall before he attacked again, sparks flew everywhere. Sirius disengaged and dropped back, rubbing his arm to stop the vibrations running through it. Harry smiled and pressed his advantage, seeking for a way to disarm Sirius. It wasn't until he'd started fencing with the Order that Harry had realized how rare the style of fencing he used was. He'd found the instructions in an old book in the restricted section, little did he know that the book had been about a special style of sword play only used by the Lightdancers. An ancient method, originally developed by Godric Gryffindor's family, the users were all dead, Harry was the only one who knew the style, and could use it well. Finally he saw an opening, ducking Sirius's blade he used the flat of his to hit Sirius's arm, causing him to drop his sword while Harry's came up and rested on the bridge of his nose.
"Well fought Harry." Sirius said, lowering his blade, he meant it. He'd been going rather easy on Harry, who was still rather weak from his ordeal and tired easily, obviously Harry was pushing himself to return to peak fitness quickly. Harry grinned and stepped back, it was his fourth fight of the day, and he'd won all of them. He didn't dare push it anymore than that, though he didn't like to admit it he still tired quickly. He grabbed a towel from a rack and headed off the showers. All classes had been cancelled because of the party that evening, and he still had decorating to do.
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"Did you see that?" Sirius asked Albus as they left the gym.
"Yes, he's very good at it, it's amazing, he had to master the art of the Lightdancers all on his own with just an old book for guidance.
"He's a natural, born to fight, he's just as good with a bow or a knife. He will be a excellent addition to the Order, if he joins."
"Do you think he will?" Albus asked, this had been the topic for many discussions among the Order lately. For one who was so young and not a member to have as much power in the Order as Harry did was rare.
"Yes, if it is still around, I'm hoping he'll lead it. He may change his mind though, and I never did ask him if he wanted to join. But he's practically a member anyway." Sirius stopped as they had reached the great hall doors. On each side of the doors was a large, brightly colored bird with a stack of programs at its feet, ready to start giving them to the students. Inside the air was very warm, palm trees and tropical flowers were along the walls. Parrots squawked at them as they flew about from tree to tree. A stage was being erected at one end of the hall and brightly colored beach chairs were being arranged in rows with small tables in between them.
"You're nearly done." Albus commented to Ron who was supervising where the food went on the two tables in the back of the room.
"Not really sir, the chairs aren't done yet, the stage isn't completed, nor is the lighting, and the sand castle is only half finished." He gestured towards a huge sand castle, a model of Hogwarts, the stood beside the food tables in the back. It was nearly fifteen feet tall, enchanted shovels and pails of various sizes worked on their own, following a drawing Harry had made for them. It was only half done, a pile of tiny flags and water for the lake were beside it. High above them a group of students on brooms floated banners for each of the houses and one with the Hogwarts seal on it, attaching them to the enchanted ceiling with invisible ropes. A brilliant sunset lit the sky with red pinks oranges and yellows. The floor was covered in a five inch thick layer of sand. Over in a corner students were readying bags of confetti.
"This will be some party! Who's the DJ?" Sirius asked as he looked around in astonishment.
"Actually I think that may be the four organizers of this beach party. Can't wait, it should be fun for everyone." Albus said, heading towards his office.
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Students reported to the great hall, and were met by the two South American Toucans giving out programs, everyone looked rather nervous. The room was dark, so dark they could barely see, Harry sent a light signal to Ron from his hiding place against a wall. Ron passed it on to the other prefects. As the last student entered the doors slammed shut, the lights went on, with a flash everyone was wearing grass skirts and flower necklaces over the muggle shorts and T-shirt they'd been told to wear. Confetti fell from the ceiling Ron took the stage.
"Welcome everyone, now if you will all please take a seat, food and drinks are in the back if you want them, our first act is the acrobats."
Dumbledore gave Harry a thumbs up as the students quickly settled down on the chairs to watch. Lee and Ron were taking turns with the announcements and giant lizards were serving the food and drinks. Soon the wary and frightful looks on peoples faces were replaced with smiles and laughter.
"Now please cheer for the Gryffindor quidditch team!" Harry nodded to the rest of the team and they flew in through the door, standing on their brooms. They had spent all day perfecting this act. The flyers soared up almost to the ceiling, they began a flight pattern, so that sometimes there appeared to be only four people and sometimes 14, they wove around, occasionally jumping from their brooms to others and back again, unafraid of the fifty foot fall to the ground. Finally they finished that and began another demonstration of their skills, putting into play the most dangerous and amazing moves they knew. During the next twenty minutes each player took a turn pretending to fall, only to be caught by his/her team mates. Then after the last player had gone Ira began her act. She rolled off her broom and fell through the air, doing a summersault as she did, she turned it into a dive, headed straight for the ground. The two chasers zoomed in, one hung from her broom by her knees, as Ira fell in front of her Alicia grabbed Ira's wrists and together they swung back and forth, using the momentum of Ira's fall. Ira climbed onto Katie's broom behind her until her broom came back to her. Now Harry took center stage, behind him the others went into another intricate flying pattern in a half circle. He did a backflip off his broom followed by a spin and a double summersault, he then did two flips in the air, making sure that he kept his body as straight as possible. When someone came near to catch him he curled up and did four summersaults. Finally he stretched out into a dive, barely ten feet from the ground he reached out and grabbed Fred's hands, Fred let their momentum take them both under his broom and halfway back up again before he let go of Harry. Harry sailed off doing another summersault, only instead of going down he was now going across the ten foot gap between Fred and Angelina. He grabbed the Angelina's hands, and, like with Fred, they both swung around, only this time Harry went all the way around the broom with the chaser until he was back where he'd started. Both swung around on the broom like gymnasts on bars until they reach forty feet. Then Harry let go, diving down. Flipping through the air Harry plummeted, with a last summersault he righted himself, feet down. Suddenly his Firebolt sped over below him, Harry landed on one foot and did a back flip in the air before landing on his broom again, as he hit it the broom sank quickly, absorbing the impact. The teams flew down to join the celebrations as their performance ended.
The night wore on slowly, Harry joined Hermione and Ron back stage before the final act.
"We really out did ourselves this time you know, and we're not even done yet." Ron said gleefully as the crowd roared with laughter at Ira and Morgan, who were doing a comedy skit/muggle magic show. Finally their part ended, Harry, Ira, and Ron grabbed their brooms, Fred and George joined them in the air.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, for our final act!" Ira shouted from the stage, she waved at them and the four activated their spells.
The professors rose up into the air and landed on the stage, before they could do a thing their wands were taken and tap dancing charms put on them. Harry could have sworn the castle shook with the laughter coming from the students and the Order members who were attending. Harry, Ron, Fred, and George flew above the professors doing elaborate and dangerous flying maneuvers over the crowd. All at once the parrots took to the air, zooming about and dropping candy on people's heads.
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"Come on Harry, we've got class." Harry groaned and rolled over, Ron was glaring at him. "We're going to be late! Hurry up!" Harry grimaced and rolled out of bed as Ron headed down to the common room. Fine for him to be up so early, he hadn't been having prophetic dreams about Voldemort all night. Harry pulled on his robes, grabbed his glasses, and hurried off after him.
Snape was horrid in Potions class, taking fifty points from Gryffindor, though it was probably because of the tap dancing last night. Harry wasn't amused, he and Ron left the class plotting revenge.
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Harry hurried down the corridor, he was late for the Order meeting, not his fault, he'd been ambushed by Peeves. He slowed as he reached the door and walked in. Inside 143 (they had gotten some new recruits) Order members were sitting in a large circle, on the floor, desks and shelf tops, a few chairs, some just floated in the air, while others were lying on the floor, head propped up against walls or on piles of books or cushions from the three couches. Everyone was dressed casually and chatting away like they were all old friends. Hardly the dignified Order that the public saw. Harry saw that he wasn't in fact the last one, a minute later the broom brigade came in, looking very windblown after battling the fierce wind to get there. Sirius quirked an eyebrow at Harry questioningly. Harry tossed him the dream recording parchment and found a place on the floor next to Remus.
"Alright now that we're all here, on to the first topic, Sarlan?" Sarlan sat upright in his chair, he was head of intelligence, spies and such.
"Okay, not much new, Voldemort's next meeting place will be the East Park Graveyard. When, well we don't know. Severus you're not to go when he calls, we'll find a way to stop the call from forcing you to go, he'll only kill you. Did you make the last delivery?" Severus shook his head, seeing that not everyone understood he explained.
"Voldemort is preparing a potion, for what I don't know he's been asking me to help by making some of the ingredients. We really need to know what it is, unfortunately the ingredients he asked for can go into any number of potions." He stopped and Sarlan continued.
"Harry are you still having dream and visions of the death eaters? Your probably our best source of up to date information of Voldemort's movements, he doesn't trust any of the other spies easily." Harry gestured to Sirius who flicked the parchment open on the desk, slowly Harry's latest dream began to play.
"Yes, just watch." A black table top appeared with fifty different things on it, slowly everything swirled and mixed, bubbled and boiled for five minutes, turning a different color each minute, then it became still, the picture drew back and it was in a cup. A high, evil laugh rang out, muggles in chains marched in lines across a burnt field to huge building, row upon row of cells, millions of them. One muggle to each tiny cell, dementors floated about, death eaters cracked long whips at the muggles blood dripped and ran over the scene. Voldemort stood their laughing as nearly a thousand wizards and witch knelt in long rows. He walked down the lines, taking their wands and asking if they would serve him, screams rang our harshly a flash of light, the potion ingredients again, swirling together, bubbling into a cup, then Voldemort drinking it, the darkness.
The vision vanished, there was a long silence, then Harry began to explain.
"Voldemort is making a immortality potion, those were the ingredients, the ones on the left he has, the eight on the right he still needs. Most of them don't matter, however he has told Avery to steal these last things. I only know what two of them are, powdered basilisk fang, and chopped and boiling unicorn tail hair. Both of which offer us a relatively easy chance to destroy him." This was greeted with gasps, a murmurs and questions, Harry grinned a little, this could turn out to be soooo easy.
"Why? How?" Sarlan asked excitedly.
"Well you see dried and powdered Harpiler flower poison looks exactly like powdered basilisk poison, but it flames up as soon as it touches digestive juices, nothing can cure or stop the spontaneous combustion until the drinker is dead. Boiled and chopped arctic sphinx hair looks, and tastes exactly like unicorn tail hair. Except it's lethal, kills in ten seconds, all it needs to activate its poison is foxglove juice, which is another ingredient." Cheers erupted in the room, someone was pounding Harry on the back, everyone was on their feet cheering joyfully. Gradually Sirius restored order.
"Well I think it can be arranged that Avery gets those instead of what he intended, well done Harry, well done. Now, third patrol head to Antarctica, you're in charge of getting the arctic sphinx tail hair. Does anyone know where we could find Harpiler flowers?" Harry saw Dumbledore signal him from the doorway and followed him out.
"Leave them, they'll get it all right, the Gryffindor team wants you, I believe your practice is in five minutes. And good job, excellent, by this time next year we may be well rid of Voldemort." Smiling happily the headmaster went back into the order's wing, Harry hurried out to the quidditch pitch.
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Life in the castle gradually returned to normal, the snows melted and new grass grew. Harry got no word on what was happening with the Order, but they all seemed happy so he assumed it was all going well. The quidditch final was coming up in a month, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. The atmosphere in the halls was decidedly edgy, nerves were on high and there were several minor scuffles and duels. Under Harry's instructions the Gryffindors only fought when given no other choice, not allowing themselves to be provoked in any way. Everyone seemed angry at the Slytherins, they all knew who was most likely to be Voldemort's followers, but Harry was trying to befriend the Slytherins. Maybe he could save them from Voldemort and his dark ways, four third years seemed very promising, and the Gryffindors teamed up to be nice to the Slytherins whenever possible. However when it came to Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle attacking two fourth years the Gryffindors stood strong around their fellows, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived just as that fight was about halfway through. Harry broke up the fight, Hermione got a teacher, and Ron took the two injured fourth years to the hospital wing. Malfoy lost his prefect status for that, and got a month of detentions.
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"But we have to try to be nicer, there's so much stereotyping with Slytherin, their not all bad, most of them were decent people. But being in Slytherin, the most hated house, has ruined them. Thanks a lot you two." Harry added to Ira and Neville, since the hospital wing currently held eight Slytherins the Gryffindors were avoiding it. As a result they were curing their own injuries, Ira had turned out to be a very good healer as well as Keeper, and Neville was excellent with herbs. Harry lifted the collar of his robs again to cover the injury left by a sharp rock Malfoy and thrown at him. Neville handed him an odd looking leaf from a plant in their dormitory.
"Here, this'll stop the swelling and speed the healing process." Harry thanked him again and began chewing the leaf, while breaking up the fight someone had punched him on the jaw, now he had a blue bruise and it was swelling slightly.
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"Gryffindor quidditch team get up! We have a match in an hour!" Harry shouted, using the voice charm. There were groans as his shout woke the entire house. Soon the team stumbled into the common room, still half asleep, with their brooms.
"Alright everyone, we're not going down to breakfast with the rest of the house, we're eating outside on the pitch. Come on." Harry ignored their questioning looks as he grabbed his Firebolt and dove out the window. The team arrived on the pitch to find a table floating in the air with their breakfasts on it.
"Okay everyone, in order to warm up a bit and get our balance before the match we're all eating while sitting on our brooms. Then we'll have time for a lap or two around the pitch before the match." The team did as he said, using their brooms as chairs.
"You know this is a good idea, Slytherin won't have had a practice, however brief, before the match, it'll give us the advantage." Ira commented, struggling to balance while attempting to eat and sit cross legged on her broom. Harry finished and looked around, once everyone was done he flicked his wand and the table and food disappeared.
"Now, we'll just go through the maneuvers we'll need most, keep close to the ground, we have ten minutes." Two minutes before the match started Harry called everyone down and they went to go change, the crowds would be coming out soon and he wasn't sure if practicing before the match was legal.
"Captain shake hands, and they're off!" Ron was commentating for this match with Lee's help. Lee was training Ron to take over when he left, Harry zipped around Malfoy who attempted to knock him off his broom and flew up, high over the game, searching for the snitch. Malfoy was following him as best he could, and Harry didn't like that. Harry turned his broom and flew along at a speed Malfoy could barely match, then he gasped and dove straight down, as if he'd seen the snitch, Malfoy followed.
"Will you look at that! Potter's seen he snitch, but can he pull out of that dive in time?" Lee yelled, Ron was gaping at the two racing towards the hard ground. Two feet from the ground Harry reached out one hand and slowed a little, Malfoy pulled alongside and reached out to, looking for the snitch, Harry pulled out of the dive and went up again. Malfoy slammed into the ground with a loud thud.
"And Potter pulls off a perfect Wronksi Feint!" Ron shouted happily as the whistle blew and Madam Pomfrey hurried over to Malfoy. She put Malfoy on a stretcher and hurried off the field, another Slytherin came to take his place.
"And Malfoy is out of the game with a sprained wrist, and he's out cold, he may be back later though." Ron called out, Harry watched the approaching Seeker, the other was on a Nimbus Two thousand, Harry could beat him easy, he wasn't a very good flier. Harry ignored the opponent Seeker and dove towards a bunch of Slytherins who were attacking Katie as she attempted to score, they scattered as Harry pulled out of his dive just above their heads. Katie scored, a Slytherin got the ball and they headed up the field, Ira blocked it, Angelina and Alicia flew down the filed, passing it back and forth. The entire Slytherin team gathered near the goal to stop them. Harry signaled Fred and George, the three of the formed a triangle, bouncing the two Bludgers around inside it. Fred and George using their clubs, and Harry his broom. The came at the crowd from above, about twenty feet above them Harry changed his swing and sent a Bludger smashing into the Keeper, George did the same, knocking a chaser off his broom. Both players hit the ground, Alicia scored. Now it was 60-0, Harry flew off again, keeping low, instinct told him that the snitch would appear near the ground.
Harry's instinct was proved right, he felt the familiar tingle in his mind, a bright flash to his left, he swerved and went for the snitch, the other Seeker was to far away to get there in time. As he neared it the snitch vanished, Harry shot up like a rocket, realizing it would now be higher up, the new seeker was replaced as Malfoy returned. Harry scowled, not good, Harry began a series of swirls and loops around Malfoy, designed to confuse and dizzy him. It worked, when Harry stopped and flew off Malfoy was so dizzy he barely managed to stay on his broom.
"And she scores after that amazing pass by Gryffindor Seeker Potter! Score is now 110-30!" Angelina waved at Harry who gave her a thumbs up, he'd knocked the quaffle out of a Slytherin chaser's hands with a Bludger bounced it off his broom to Angelina. He wasn't allowed to touch quaffle or Bludgers with his hands, but there was nothing in the rules about not using your broom. Then Harry saw it, the snitch, nearly forty feet below him, Malfoy followed Harry's gaze and saw it, he sped towards it. Harry, deciding that it was not yet time to end the game pushed his broom to its limit, quickly catching up with Malfoy, at the last instant he swerved, pushing Malfoy aside, he continued to push until they both had done a half circle and were facing back the way they came. There were roars from the crowd, Malfoy began shouting insults, harry ignored him and bounced both Bludgers off his broom as they came at him, both hit the Slytherin Keeper just as Katie threw the quaffle, and scored as he was knocked out of the way and winded.
The game continued with no further sign of the snitch, Harry called into play every dangerous move he knew to beat the other team. Harry was now standing on his broom, to the pure joy of the crowd, cameras were flashing everywhere. Two hours passed, thrice more Harry turned Malfoy away from the snitch with a number of tricks. The Slytherin team had been beaten black and blue, every time they tried to cheat the Gryffindors used a legal move to injure them, finally they got the point and stopped cheating. But the damage was done, they were playing their second replacement Keeper, the first two were out of the game, and their third new Chaser, as the other three had been injured or taken out for too much cheating, and their fifth replacement Beater. With all the penalty shots Gryffindor had gotten plus the ones they scored anyway the score was 260 to 80, Gryffindor fans had nearly cheered themselves hoarse. The new Gryffindor cheerleading team was exhausted, they had just been replaced by the reserve group.
Then Harry saw his chance, the snitch, ninety feet below him, and Malfoy had just seen it. As Malfoy raced toward it Harry did a backflip off his broom. He flipped through the air, falling at and amazing speed, he finally turned it into a dive and reached out for the snitch. He couldn't breath, he was going to fast to breath, air whistled past him, he ears popped and began to really hurt, he was going to fast, he wouldn't be able to stop. Harry fought to control his panic and to breath as he dove, then the snitch was there, he grabbed it and turned, finally his feet were downwards, he used a wandless summoning charm to call his broom, it flew below him. He hit it and kept going down as the hard impact of his landing was absorbed. Finally, three feet from the ground, he stopped, the snitch held high above his head. Malfoy hurtled past and plowed a huge furrow in the ground as he hit.
Screams and cheers echoed around the stadium, Harry opened his eyes, everything blurred as they watered from the air streaming past him during his fall. It was over, 410 to 80. He'd done it, he'd won, the quidditch cup was Gryffindors. And the House cup too, with all the point he'd just gotten them. The crowd swarmed over the barriers, harry jumped down from his broom into the cheering mass and was lifted high again. He handed the snitch to Lee, suddenly seven red objects hit him hard.
"We won! We won! Go Harry!"
"The cup is ours! Yeah Harry!
"Way to go! Go team!" Harry laughed happily, as the team and him were carried high up to the steps, then they hopped down and went up to where Dumbledore stood beside the cup.
"Hey Ira, you're the newest team member, you take it!" Harry told her, Ira, beaming lifted the cup high as the crowd cheered before she was lifted up on Fred and George's shoulders, once she safely reached the ground again she put it back on the stand, Harry got the team's attention.
"Party time?" The enthusiastic roars from the Gryffindors told he was right, he traded wink with Fred and George, the two jumped on their broom and flew for the castle across the pitch to go get party supplies, Harry leaped back onto his broom, the rest of the team followed, though they sat on theirs. Harry lifted a fist and the crowd roared again as the team turned a flew for Gryffindor Tower. Behind them the swarms of students went back into the castle, leaving the professors on the pitch.
"Well done Minerva." Severus spat unhappily before stalking back to his dungeons.
"I don't think we'll be seeing him until his hurt pride has healed a bit. Flitwick commented. McGonagal nodded in agreement while beaming, her eyes wet with tears of joy.
"Go team! We're the best!" Harry laughed at the antic of Alicia, Angelina, and Katie as the three danced in a circle near the fire, cheering madly.
"Here." Fred and George arrived with more drinks and treats from the kitchens.
The party continued until midnight, then McGonagal came and sent them all off to bed. Harry fell into a dreamless sleep thinking of the new cup with Gryffindor's red and gold lion on it and Gryffindor inscribed on the bottom in red.
"Well, now you know, you are technically the only full blood wizard alive. No one else descends from Merlin, Gryffindor, Ambrosius, and Emrys. All of which, in the Ancient Language of Magic all mean Royal Aaron. Your symbol of power, as you can easily guess, is lightning and the Royal Aaron." Miranda sat back, Harry thought hard, trying to sort out this information, in a way he'd already known, it wasn't that much of a surprise.
"there is more to the prophecy, the heir will find a way to destroy Voldemort, when, well, that's not known, do you have any ideas? Is that what you aren't telling us?" Harry frowned, Dumbledore couldn't get over the fact that Harry wasn't, couldn't, tell them everything about what he knew.
"Perhaps, it may be connected, it may not. Either way I'm not saying anything, so please stop asking, it won't do you any good to know, it'll make things worse." What Harry wasn't telling them, he knew that rankled with them, he trusted them completely, and they trusted him, but for their good and his he couldn't just spill all that he knew.
The fact was Harry's power stone hadn't worked correctly, he was only able to save a little power in them, not an infinite amount. The royal blue stone was the one he could store power in, the dark, almost black, was unresponsive. He could do nothing with it, he didn't know why, something he hadn't discovered. To make those stones Harry had melted a little of every metal and stone that existed, and mixed them together. In that mixture he had put some of his power. The mixture wouldn't recognize the power as his, it was just power to fuel its creation. To bind the stone to him and those he wished to be able to use them he'd poured in some of his blood. The mixture had remained liquid in a caldron made of power for a week. Then he'd stopped the heat, added more of his power so that the stones would form in a shape of his choosing, and then let it cool. Both stones weighed almost nothing, despite their size, about as large as a tennis ball cut in half. The bottom was flat and the ends rounded, the surface area was in an oval shape. But he'd missed something, something that had to be done after their creation that would make them work. And why were they different colors? He had planned for one power stone, and the extra material to be made into another stone, into which he could draw Voldemorts power until Voldemort's essence itself was forever trapped inside the stone. What was missing?
"How long did Madam Pomfrey say I'll have ot stay here?" he asked, dreading the answer.
"A week, you had extremely severe injuries Harry. Don't worry, you won't have to make up the missed work, since you know the spells already." Remus said, Harry sighed with relief. At that moment an owl dropped a letter onto his stomach. Harry opened it.
Fellow Prankster,
We've been looking through your list of pranks, and #320, caught our eye. We'll be performing the prank next Friday at lunch, don't drink a thing at lunch, bring your own water bottle. Thank you for the ideas, Ron is helping us, if you're allowed (or if your not) we'll tell you how to help if you want to. Since you have all that free time this week. Please get well soon, Gryffindor (and the rest of the school) is worried sick about you.
Your Fellow Pranksters
Harry grinned, "320 huh?" t was one of his better ones to be sure.
"What's the date?" he asked, hoping he'd be up and about by next Friday.
"It's Thursday, the 19th, not the 320th why?" Dumbledore asked, eyeing the letter, as if it were something potentially dangerous. Harry placed the letter, folded, beside him on the table, piled high with get well cards and presents.
"New quidditch game plans." Harry said, grinning, he wasn't going to tell what time or where, not with Snape listening like he was right now. Fortunately this was true, he did have new plans to start the team training for. And he was probably getting out of shape, having spent three weeks being tortured by Voldemort.
"Riiiight. And my aunt's a house elf." Miranda said, Harry blinked at her.
"Really? She is? Cool!" This set off a few chuckles, Miranda grinned.
"Yeah, can't you see the family resemblance?" Sirius asked, ducking a swipe from Miranda.
"Disgusting mutt." She retorted, she waved her hand at Sirius and a large black dog stood there, the words ULTIMATE LOSER glowing on his side. Sirius snarled and transformed to human again. There was a trill from the window, Raslith was bobbing his head up and down in agreement with her.
"Traitor, thought you were showing Zarglash to his temporary home." Sirius commented, Raslith flapped his wings slightly and nodded again.
"Harry I've been noticing that some students, mostly the younger ones, are going around ready to panic at their own shadows. Do you have any ideas as to what we can do?" Dumbledore asked, Harry nodded, the prefects were reporting to him each evening, and the picture they had drawn wasn't a good one for school moral.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday Harry was finally freed from the Hospital wing.
"Harry! Finally, you're free. Come on, we've got class."
Harry groaned, Potions.
"Potter you missed several important assignments, I expect you to have them made up by Tuesday." Snape snapped at Harry, Harry smirked and handed him four bottles.
"I already did them Professor." Snape glared and took the potions, Harry sighed, Snape would purposely give him a F on all four. His saving Snape's life a couple times didn't seem to have helped matters. If anything Snape was worse, taking thirty points from Gryffindor for very minor offenses before class was over.
The day dragged on, finally lunch came. Harry made sure to bring his own water bottle.
At lunch all the silverware started tap dancing along the tables, over peoples heads, turning over food and drinks, and ending up piled on the staff table in a huge mound of knives, forks, and spoons, along with several goblets that decided to join the fun. Once everything got sorted out the meal was interrupted again by everyone's hair standing on end thanks to a special kind of "salad dressing". Harry could see the looks being directed his way by Prof. McGonagal, but evidently she thought he hadn't been out of the hospital wing long enough to manage anything like this, nor could she find any way to blame the twins.
"We really do have a problem here, this just can not continue. It just won't work, there must be something we can do." Harry listened noting the slight note of desperation in Dumbledore's voice as he addressed the staff and prefects. It was true, the students were a panicky mess, something had to be done soon.
"Sir Harry and I have finished the preparations for the party tomorrow. It will be a good chance for them to let off steam and relax. However we need help decorating, and choosing the food." This announcement from Ron was greeted by a few sighs of relief from staff and prefects alike. Dumbledore, obviously relieved and grateful turned to them.
"What's the theme? What sort of help did you have in mind?" This had been a topic of a major argument, ending in a compromise.
"Well we'll need tropical fruit juices, 620 grass skirts, 20 palm trees, 620 beach chairs, 900 flower necklaces, 8 hula-hoops, 200 varied tropical plants, 50 pounds of half wet sand, 14 brooms all the same type, 45 parrots, a large variety of fruit, salads, and three types of chicken. We'll also need to enchant the great hall with a very humid and hot temperature, the sun should be at about dusk." Harry reeled of the list from memory, wide grins were spreading across faces that had been worried and strained moments before as they realized what he had planned. "We'll also need a stage and some appropriate music, there are a bunch of volunteers who will do the rest. Right Hermione?" Hermione grinned, she too was in on the plan.
"Yep, I've got 24 volunteers ready to go." Dumbledore just shook his head and smiled.
"How much of that do you have done?" Remus asked.
"We've got the grass skirts, hula-hoops, parrots, sand, brooms, and palm trees finished." Ron said, looking over the list he was holding. "Ravenclaw you can take care of the flower necklaces and fruit juices, Hufflepuff you'll do the plants and tell the house elves what to put in the salads and the chicken, Slytherin you'll do the beach chairs and fruits. Gryffindor will work on the acts and set up the stage." He looked around, all the prefects were nodding, the work had been split up fairly evenly, but Gryffindor was still doing the most. "Professors you can choose some of the music and enchant the atmosphere and ceiling. If you have any questions just ask." As the room slowly emptied the professors stayed behind with the Gryffindors.
"Who's doing the performances?" McGonagal asked as soon as the door had shut.
"Well Hermione's volunteers will be dancing, synchronized hula-hooping, a hula-hooping contest, and acrobatics. The Gryffindor quidditch team is doing a thing on broomsticks and we have 6 students doing a hilarious pantomime thing, a pie eating contest, and several groups who are putting on other acts such as signing and dancing. Almost all of them are from Gryffindor, but that shouldn't be a problem, the Slytherins haven't volunteered at all, no surprise there." Harry said, enjoying the looks on their faces. "We also have a tap dancing group, no I'm not telling you who, they wish to remain anonymous, but from what I hear that should be very enjoyable." He traded looks with Ron, Ira, and Hermione who were struggling to keep straight faces, the professors would be doing that act, though they didn't know it yet. They had been enchanted with special tap dancing charms. The sight of their teachers tap dancing in grass skirts was sure to amuse the students no end.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Clash! The clang of steel on steel echoed around the room. Harry swirled and slid back as Sirius's sword lashed out again. He was in the order wing, Sirius had insisted he practice here instead of on his own. Harry allowed Sirius to maneuver him until his back was to a wall before he attacked again, sparks flew everywhere. Sirius disengaged and dropped back, rubbing his arm to stop the vibrations running through it. Harry smiled and pressed his advantage, seeking for a way to disarm Sirius. It wasn't until he'd started fencing with the Order that Harry had realized how rare the style of fencing he used was. He'd found the instructions in an old book in the restricted section, little did he know that the book had been about a special style of sword play only used by the Lightdancers. An ancient method, originally developed by Godric Gryffindor's family, the users were all dead, Harry was the only one who knew the style, and could use it well. Finally he saw an opening, ducking Sirius's blade he used the flat of his to hit Sirius's arm, causing him to drop his sword while Harry's came up and rested on the bridge of his nose.
"Well fought Harry." Sirius said, lowering his blade, he meant it. He'd been going rather easy on Harry, who was still rather weak from his ordeal and tired easily, obviously Harry was pushing himself to return to peak fitness quickly. Harry grinned and stepped back, it was his fourth fight of the day, and he'd won all of them. He didn't dare push it anymore than that, though he didn't like to admit it he still tired quickly. He grabbed a towel from a rack and headed off the showers. All classes had been cancelled because of the party that evening, and he still had decorating to do.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"Did you see that?" Sirius asked Albus as they left the gym.
"Yes, he's very good at it, it's amazing, he had to master the art of the Lightdancers all on his own with just an old book for guidance.
"He's a natural, born to fight, he's just as good with a bow or a knife. He will be a excellent addition to the Order, if he joins."
"Do you think he will?" Albus asked, this had been the topic for many discussions among the Order lately. For one who was so young and not a member to have as much power in the Order as Harry did was rare.
"Yes, if it is still around, I'm hoping he'll lead it. He may change his mind though, and I never did ask him if he wanted to join. But he's practically a member anyway." Sirius stopped as they had reached the great hall doors. On each side of the doors was a large, brightly colored bird with a stack of programs at its feet, ready to start giving them to the students. Inside the air was very warm, palm trees and tropical flowers were along the walls. Parrots squawked at them as they flew about from tree to tree. A stage was being erected at one end of the hall and brightly colored beach chairs were being arranged in rows with small tables in between them.
"You're nearly done." Albus commented to Ron who was supervising where the food went on the two tables in the back of the room.
"Not really sir, the chairs aren't done yet, the stage isn't completed, nor is the lighting, and the sand castle is only half finished." He gestured towards a huge sand castle, a model of Hogwarts, the stood beside the food tables in the back. It was nearly fifteen feet tall, enchanted shovels and pails of various sizes worked on their own, following a drawing Harry had made for them. It was only half done, a pile of tiny flags and water for the lake were beside it. High above them a group of students on brooms floated banners for each of the houses and one with the Hogwarts seal on it, attaching them to the enchanted ceiling with invisible ropes. A brilliant sunset lit the sky with red pinks oranges and yellows. The floor was covered in a five inch thick layer of sand. Over in a corner students were readying bags of confetti.
"This will be some party! Who's the DJ?" Sirius asked as he looked around in astonishment.
"Actually I think that may be the four organizers of this beach party. Can't wait, it should be fun for everyone." Albus said, heading towards his office.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Students reported to the great hall, and were met by the two South American Toucans giving out programs, everyone looked rather nervous. The room was dark, so dark they could barely see, Harry sent a light signal to Ron from his hiding place against a wall. Ron passed it on to the other prefects. As the last student entered the doors slammed shut, the lights went on, with a flash everyone was wearing grass skirts and flower necklaces over the muggle shorts and T-shirt they'd been told to wear. Confetti fell from the ceiling Ron took the stage.
"Welcome everyone, now if you will all please take a seat, food and drinks are in the back if you want them, our first act is the acrobats."
Dumbledore gave Harry a thumbs up as the students quickly settled down on the chairs to watch. Lee and Ron were taking turns with the announcements and giant lizards were serving the food and drinks. Soon the wary and frightful looks on peoples faces were replaced with smiles and laughter.
"Now please cheer for the Gryffindor quidditch team!" Harry nodded to the rest of the team and they flew in through the door, standing on their brooms. They had spent all day perfecting this act. The flyers soared up almost to the ceiling, they began a flight pattern, so that sometimes there appeared to be only four people and sometimes 14, they wove around, occasionally jumping from their brooms to others and back again, unafraid of the fifty foot fall to the ground. Finally they finished that and began another demonstration of their skills, putting into play the most dangerous and amazing moves they knew. During the next twenty minutes each player took a turn pretending to fall, only to be caught by his/her team mates. Then after the last player had gone Ira began her act. She rolled off her broom and fell through the air, doing a summersault as she did, she turned it into a dive, headed straight for the ground. The two chasers zoomed in, one hung from her broom by her knees, as Ira fell in front of her Alicia grabbed Ira's wrists and together they swung back and forth, using the momentum of Ira's fall. Ira climbed onto Katie's broom behind her until her broom came back to her. Now Harry took center stage, behind him the others went into another intricate flying pattern in a half circle. He did a backflip off his broom followed by a spin and a double summersault, he then did two flips in the air, making sure that he kept his body as straight as possible. When someone came near to catch him he curled up and did four summersaults. Finally he stretched out into a dive, barely ten feet from the ground he reached out and grabbed Fred's hands, Fred let their momentum take them both under his broom and halfway back up again before he let go of Harry. Harry sailed off doing another summersault, only instead of going down he was now going across the ten foot gap between Fred and Angelina. He grabbed the Angelina's hands, and, like with Fred, they both swung around, only this time Harry went all the way around the broom with the chaser until he was back where he'd started. Both swung around on the broom like gymnasts on bars until they reach forty feet. Then Harry let go, diving down. Flipping through the air Harry plummeted, with a last summersault he righted himself, feet down. Suddenly his Firebolt sped over below him, Harry landed on one foot and did a back flip in the air before landing on his broom again, as he hit it the broom sank quickly, absorbing the impact. The teams flew down to join the celebrations as their performance ended.
The night wore on slowly, Harry joined Hermione and Ron back stage before the final act.
"We really out did ourselves this time you know, and we're not even done yet." Ron said gleefully as the crowd roared with laughter at Ira and Morgan, who were doing a comedy skit/muggle magic show. Finally their part ended, Harry, Ira, and Ron grabbed their brooms, Fred and George joined them in the air.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, for our final act!" Ira shouted from the stage, she waved at them and the four activated their spells.
The professors rose up into the air and landed on the stage, before they could do a thing their wands were taken and tap dancing charms put on them. Harry could have sworn the castle shook with the laughter coming from the students and the Order members who were attending. Harry, Ron, Fred, and George flew above the professors doing elaborate and dangerous flying maneuvers over the crowd. All at once the parrots took to the air, zooming about and dropping candy on people's heads.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"Come on Harry, we've got class." Harry groaned and rolled over, Ron was glaring at him. "We're going to be late! Hurry up!" Harry grimaced and rolled out of bed as Ron headed down to the common room. Fine for him to be up so early, he hadn't been having prophetic dreams about Voldemort all night. Harry pulled on his robes, grabbed his glasses, and hurried off after him.
Snape was horrid in Potions class, taking fifty points from Gryffindor, though it was probably because of the tap dancing last night. Harry wasn't amused, he and Ron left the class plotting revenge.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Harry hurried down the corridor, he was late for the Order meeting, not his fault, he'd been ambushed by Peeves. He slowed as he reached the door and walked in. Inside 143 (they had gotten some new recruits) Order members were sitting in a large circle, on the floor, desks and shelf tops, a few chairs, some just floated in the air, while others were lying on the floor, head propped up against walls or on piles of books or cushions from the three couches. Everyone was dressed casually and chatting away like they were all old friends. Hardly the dignified Order that the public saw. Harry saw that he wasn't in fact the last one, a minute later the broom brigade came in, looking very windblown after battling the fierce wind to get there. Sirius quirked an eyebrow at Harry questioningly. Harry tossed him the dream recording parchment and found a place on the floor next to Remus.
"Alright now that we're all here, on to the first topic, Sarlan?" Sarlan sat upright in his chair, he was head of intelligence, spies and such.
"Okay, not much new, Voldemort's next meeting place will be the East Park Graveyard. When, well we don't know. Severus you're not to go when he calls, we'll find a way to stop the call from forcing you to go, he'll only kill you. Did you make the last delivery?" Severus shook his head, seeing that not everyone understood he explained.
"Voldemort is preparing a potion, for what I don't know he's been asking me to help by making some of the ingredients. We really need to know what it is, unfortunately the ingredients he asked for can go into any number of potions." He stopped and Sarlan continued.
"Harry are you still having dream and visions of the death eaters? Your probably our best source of up to date information of Voldemort's movements, he doesn't trust any of the other spies easily." Harry gestured to Sirius who flicked the parchment open on the desk, slowly Harry's latest dream began to play.
"Yes, just watch." A black table top appeared with fifty different things on it, slowly everything swirled and mixed, bubbled and boiled for five minutes, turning a different color each minute, then it became still, the picture drew back and it was in a cup. A high, evil laugh rang out, muggles in chains marched in lines across a burnt field to huge building, row upon row of cells, millions of them. One muggle to each tiny cell, dementors floated about, death eaters cracked long whips at the muggles blood dripped and ran over the scene. Voldemort stood their laughing as nearly a thousand wizards and witch knelt in long rows. He walked down the lines, taking their wands and asking if they would serve him, screams rang our harshly a flash of light, the potion ingredients again, swirling together, bubbling into a cup, then Voldemort drinking it, the darkness.
The vision vanished, there was a long silence, then Harry began to explain.
"Voldemort is making a immortality potion, those were the ingredients, the ones on the left he has, the eight on the right he still needs. Most of them don't matter, however he has told Avery to steal these last things. I only know what two of them are, powdered basilisk fang, and chopped and boiling unicorn tail hair. Both of which offer us a relatively easy chance to destroy him." This was greeted with gasps, a murmurs and questions, Harry grinned a little, this could turn out to be soooo easy.
"Why? How?" Sarlan asked excitedly.
"Well you see dried and powdered Harpiler flower poison looks exactly like powdered basilisk poison, but it flames up as soon as it touches digestive juices, nothing can cure or stop the spontaneous combustion until the drinker is dead. Boiled and chopped arctic sphinx hair looks, and tastes exactly like unicorn tail hair. Except it's lethal, kills in ten seconds, all it needs to activate its poison is foxglove juice, which is another ingredient." Cheers erupted in the room, someone was pounding Harry on the back, everyone was on their feet cheering joyfully. Gradually Sirius restored order.
"Well I think it can be arranged that Avery gets those instead of what he intended, well done Harry, well done. Now, third patrol head to Antarctica, you're in charge of getting the arctic sphinx tail hair. Does anyone know where we could find Harpiler flowers?" Harry saw Dumbledore signal him from the doorway and followed him out.
"Leave them, they'll get it all right, the Gryffindor team wants you, I believe your practice is in five minutes. And good job, excellent, by this time next year we may be well rid of Voldemort." Smiling happily the headmaster went back into the order's wing, Harry hurried out to the quidditch pitch.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Life in the castle gradually returned to normal, the snows melted and new grass grew. Harry got no word on what was happening with the Order, but they all seemed happy so he assumed it was all going well. The quidditch final was coming up in a month, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. The atmosphere in the halls was decidedly edgy, nerves were on high and there were several minor scuffles and duels. Under Harry's instructions the Gryffindors only fought when given no other choice, not allowing themselves to be provoked in any way. Everyone seemed angry at the Slytherins, they all knew who was most likely to be Voldemort's followers, but Harry was trying to befriend the Slytherins. Maybe he could save them from Voldemort and his dark ways, four third years seemed very promising, and the Gryffindors teamed up to be nice to the Slytherins whenever possible. However when it came to Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle attacking two fourth years the Gryffindors stood strong around their fellows, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived just as that fight was about halfway through. Harry broke up the fight, Hermione got a teacher, and Ron took the two injured fourth years to the hospital wing. Malfoy lost his prefect status for that, and got a month of detentions.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"But we have to try to be nicer, there's so much stereotyping with Slytherin, their not all bad, most of them were decent people. But being in Slytherin, the most hated house, has ruined them. Thanks a lot you two." Harry added to Ira and Neville, since the hospital wing currently held eight Slytherins the Gryffindors were avoiding it. As a result they were curing their own injuries, Ira had turned out to be a very good healer as well as Keeper, and Neville was excellent with herbs. Harry lifted the collar of his robs again to cover the injury left by a sharp rock Malfoy and thrown at him. Neville handed him an odd looking leaf from a plant in their dormitory.
"Here, this'll stop the swelling and speed the healing process." Harry thanked him again and began chewing the leaf, while breaking up the fight someone had punched him on the jaw, now he had a blue bruise and it was swelling slightly.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"Gryffindor quidditch team get up! We have a match in an hour!" Harry shouted, using the voice charm. There were groans as his shout woke the entire house. Soon the team stumbled into the common room, still half asleep, with their brooms.
"Alright everyone, we're not going down to breakfast with the rest of the house, we're eating outside on the pitch. Come on." Harry ignored their questioning looks as he grabbed his Firebolt and dove out the window. The team arrived on the pitch to find a table floating in the air with their breakfasts on it.
"Okay everyone, in order to warm up a bit and get our balance before the match we're all eating while sitting on our brooms. Then we'll have time for a lap or two around the pitch before the match." The team did as he said, using their brooms as chairs.
"You know this is a good idea, Slytherin won't have had a practice, however brief, before the match, it'll give us the advantage." Ira commented, struggling to balance while attempting to eat and sit cross legged on her broom. Harry finished and looked around, once everyone was done he flicked his wand and the table and food disappeared.
"Now, we'll just go through the maneuvers we'll need most, keep close to the ground, we have ten minutes." Two minutes before the match started Harry called everyone down and they went to go change, the crowds would be coming out soon and he wasn't sure if practicing before the match was legal.
"Captain shake hands, and they're off!" Ron was commentating for this match with Lee's help. Lee was training Ron to take over when he left, Harry zipped around Malfoy who attempted to knock him off his broom and flew up, high over the game, searching for the snitch. Malfoy was following him as best he could, and Harry didn't like that. Harry turned his broom and flew along at a speed Malfoy could barely match, then he gasped and dove straight down, as if he'd seen the snitch, Malfoy followed.
"Will you look at that! Potter's seen he snitch, but can he pull out of that dive in time?" Lee yelled, Ron was gaping at the two racing towards the hard ground. Two feet from the ground Harry reached out one hand and slowed a little, Malfoy pulled alongside and reached out to, looking for the snitch, Harry pulled out of the dive and went up again. Malfoy slammed into the ground with a loud thud.
"And Potter pulls off a perfect Wronksi Feint!" Ron shouted happily as the whistle blew and Madam Pomfrey hurried over to Malfoy. She put Malfoy on a stretcher and hurried off the field, another Slytherin came to take his place.
"And Malfoy is out of the game with a sprained wrist, and he's out cold, he may be back later though." Ron called out, Harry watched the approaching Seeker, the other was on a Nimbus Two thousand, Harry could beat him easy, he wasn't a very good flier. Harry ignored the opponent Seeker and dove towards a bunch of Slytherins who were attacking Katie as she attempted to score, they scattered as Harry pulled out of his dive just above their heads. Katie scored, a Slytherin got the ball and they headed up the field, Ira blocked it, Angelina and Alicia flew down the filed, passing it back and forth. The entire Slytherin team gathered near the goal to stop them. Harry signaled Fred and George, the three of the formed a triangle, bouncing the two Bludgers around inside it. Fred and George using their clubs, and Harry his broom. The came at the crowd from above, about twenty feet above them Harry changed his swing and sent a Bludger smashing into the Keeper, George did the same, knocking a chaser off his broom. Both players hit the ground, Alicia scored. Now it was 60-0, Harry flew off again, keeping low, instinct told him that the snitch would appear near the ground.
Harry's instinct was proved right, he felt the familiar tingle in his mind, a bright flash to his left, he swerved and went for the snitch, the other Seeker was to far away to get there in time. As he neared it the snitch vanished, Harry shot up like a rocket, realizing it would now be higher up, the new seeker was replaced as Malfoy returned. Harry scowled, not good, Harry began a series of swirls and loops around Malfoy, designed to confuse and dizzy him. It worked, when Harry stopped and flew off Malfoy was so dizzy he barely managed to stay on his broom.
"And she scores after that amazing pass by Gryffindor Seeker Potter! Score is now 110-30!" Angelina waved at Harry who gave her a thumbs up, he'd knocked the quaffle out of a Slytherin chaser's hands with a Bludger bounced it off his broom to Angelina. He wasn't allowed to touch quaffle or Bludgers with his hands, but there was nothing in the rules about not using your broom. Then Harry saw it, the snitch, nearly forty feet below him, Malfoy followed Harry's gaze and saw it, he sped towards it. Harry, deciding that it was not yet time to end the game pushed his broom to its limit, quickly catching up with Malfoy, at the last instant he swerved, pushing Malfoy aside, he continued to push until they both had done a half circle and were facing back the way they came. There were roars from the crowd, Malfoy began shouting insults, harry ignored him and bounced both Bludgers off his broom as they came at him, both hit the Slytherin Keeper just as Katie threw the quaffle, and scored as he was knocked out of the way and winded.
The game continued with no further sign of the snitch, Harry called into play every dangerous move he knew to beat the other team. Harry was now standing on his broom, to the pure joy of the crowd, cameras were flashing everywhere. Two hours passed, thrice more Harry turned Malfoy away from the snitch with a number of tricks. The Slytherin team had been beaten black and blue, every time they tried to cheat the Gryffindors used a legal move to injure them, finally they got the point and stopped cheating. But the damage was done, they were playing their second replacement Keeper, the first two were out of the game, and their third new Chaser, as the other three had been injured or taken out for too much cheating, and their fifth replacement Beater. With all the penalty shots Gryffindor had gotten plus the ones they scored anyway the score was 260 to 80, Gryffindor fans had nearly cheered themselves hoarse. The new Gryffindor cheerleading team was exhausted, they had just been replaced by the reserve group.
Then Harry saw his chance, the snitch, ninety feet below him, and Malfoy had just seen it. As Malfoy raced toward it Harry did a backflip off his broom. He flipped through the air, falling at and amazing speed, he finally turned it into a dive and reached out for the snitch. He couldn't breath, he was going to fast to breath, air whistled past him, he ears popped and began to really hurt, he was going to fast, he wouldn't be able to stop. Harry fought to control his panic and to breath as he dove, then the snitch was there, he grabbed it and turned, finally his feet were downwards, he used a wandless summoning charm to call his broom, it flew below him. He hit it and kept going down as the hard impact of his landing was absorbed. Finally, three feet from the ground, he stopped, the snitch held high above his head. Malfoy hurtled past and plowed a huge furrow in the ground as he hit.
Screams and cheers echoed around the stadium, Harry opened his eyes, everything blurred as they watered from the air streaming past him during his fall. It was over, 410 to 80. He'd done it, he'd won, the quidditch cup was Gryffindors. And the House cup too, with all the point he'd just gotten them. The crowd swarmed over the barriers, harry jumped down from his broom into the cheering mass and was lifted high again. He handed the snitch to Lee, suddenly seven red objects hit him hard.
"We won! We won! Go Harry!"
"The cup is ours! Yeah Harry!
"Way to go! Go team!" Harry laughed happily, as the team and him were carried high up to the steps, then they hopped down and went up to where Dumbledore stood beside the cup.
"Hey Ira, you're the newest team member, you take it!" Harry told her, Ira, beaming lifted the cup high as the crowd cheered before she was lifted up on Fred and George's shoulders, once she safely reached the ground again she put it back on the stand, Harry got the team's attention.
"Party time?" The enthusiastic roars from the Gryffindors told he was right, he traded wink with Fred and George, the two jumped on their broom and flew for the castle across the pitch to go get party supplies, Harry leaped back onto his broom, the rest of the team followed, though they sat on theirs. Harry lifted a fist and the crowd roared again as the team turned a flew for Gryffindor Tower. Behind them the swarms of students went back into the castle, leaving the professors on the pitch.
"Well done Minerva." Severus spat unhappily before stalking back to his dungeons.
"I don't think we'll be seeing him until his hurt pride has healed a bit. Flitwick commented. McGonagal nodded in agreement while beaming, her eyes wet with tears of joy.
"Go team! We're the best!" Harry laughed at the antic of Alicia, Angelina, and Katie as the three danced in a circle near the fire, cheering madly.
"Here." Fred and George arrived with more drinks and treats from the kitchens.
The party continued until midnight, then McGonagal came and sent them all off to bed. Harry fell into a dreamless sleep thinking of the new cup with Gryffindor's red and gold lion on it and Gryffindor inscribed on the bottom in red.