A/N – Hello, my faithful readers

A/N – Hello, my faithful readers! Another chapter for you, and some good news – I've gotten through a really awful bout of writer's block, so I'm able to continue writing again! YAY! Also, I would like to thank Pleaides for her wonderful beta-ing. That was exactly what I was looking for! IMPORTANT – READ

THIS! I have a list at http://groups.yahoo.com/innlefarseeker but I only have twelve members. I don't really see the point of having a list if no one uses it, so I may be closing it if there aren't enough people.

Chapter Thirteen

The next week was not a good one for Harry. The Howler had been stopped before it reached Colin, of course, but he had still received an Obituary Notice, and had blamed Harry for it in front of the whole school. Everyone had been avoiding him since then except for Ron and Hermione, who had become fiercely protective of him. They took it upon themselves to walk in front of him on the way to their classes, glaring at everyone who turned to look at the trio. Harry was not stupid however. He heard the whispers that died as he passed people in the hall, and heard them start again as soon as they believed he was out of earshot. He also saw the fearful glances that were thrown his way, just as they had been in his Second year when he had been suspected of opening the Chamber of Secrets. Even Ron and Hermione were watching him anxiously when they thought he was not looking. All of this made him retreat further into himself, and he usually did not speak unless he was spoken to. In fact, the only ones he spoke to willingly were Sebastian and Echolalia, with whom he had developed a strange kind of wordless language they could all understand. He had also thrown himself fully into his studies, and was, to everyone's shock, vying with Hermione for the top of the year level.

It was an extreme shock, therefore, when he informed the Quidditch team that they would be holding a practise that afternoon. When Katie and Alicia protested that it was raining, he simply stared at them for a moment, before turning and walking away.

It was still raining that afternoon, as the team huddled in a group on the field. They were waiting on Neville, who was still finishing his Potion's homework. Harry was standing a little bit away, and seemed to be studying the air in front of him. A few minutes later Neville came running out, holding his Cleansweep Seven tightly.

"Sorry I'm late!" He panted. "I had a lot of trouble with that last question."

"It doesn't matter," Harry had returned to the group unnoticed, but was still focusing on something far away.

"Well?" Demanded Alicia peevishly. "Are we going to get started, or are we just standing around here wasting our time?"

"First, I'd like to see exactly how good Neville and Colin are on their brooms," Harry said, finally turning to focus on them. "Are you okay with that?"

Both of them nodded, and mounted their brooms, before taking off. They hovered high above the ground, awaiting Harry's instructions.

"Right," He called. "Just do whatever I tell you as fast as possible. Forward!"

They shot off, racing up the field so fast that they blurred slightly.

"Left!" The banked, and shot of in the other direction. This continued for ten minutes, until Harry told them to come down.

"That's pretty good, but you both need to work on your turns. Now, Katie and Alicia, could you both show Colin the basics? While they are doing that, could you try to stop them Fred and George? Do not go easy on them, when we play a real game the opposition won't. And Neville, you defend the goals against them, okay?" The group took off and began to work, Harry sometimes shouting suggestions. Sometime through the training the clouds parted and the sun began to shine weakly down, warming them slightly.

Two people watched the team train from inside Hogwarts.

"How have you been Severus?" Dumbledore asked the man standing next to him.

Severus sighed and said, "I guess I can't really complain. It hasn't been as bad as I expected really, and I think he's beginning to trust me again."

"You do realise that you do not have to do this?"

Snape laughed at this. "I know. It is necessary though, and who else will? He isn't recruiting, and there is no one else that would even think of turning…by the way, where has Black gotten to? I would have thought that he would stay until he was sure that Harry was alright."

"He wanted to, but he was in too much danger here, and I needed him to go on a mission for me. It took forever to convince him to go…"

Dumbledore sighed. They were silent for a couple of minutes, and watched as the sun crept out from behind the clouds.

"He's very strong for his age," Albus observed. "You can hardly tell when he's having them now. You have to look for the effects around him, not at him to really see it."

"That was him?" Severus asked, surprised.

"Mmmm…I think I'll have to tell him soon."

"You-Know-Who didn't do anything like that until he was out of school. I believe he was in Romania when it happened. It's one of his favourite subjects, really. When he's got nothing else to say he goes on about how he changed the weather in Romania without a spell…" Severus winced and clapped his hand to his arm.

"He's calling, I have to go."

Dumbledore nodded and watched the lank-haired Professor walk away. He turned back to watch the team on the field for a moment, before he too walked away.

"Come on, you can do better then that!" Harry yelled as Neville missed a ball. "Okay, come on down." The team landed, Colin and Neville somewhat shakily. They had really been pushed by Harry, and were beginning to feel the effects.

"I need someone to release the Snitch," Harry told the team as he grabbed his broom. "I'll give it a minute or so before going after it." He took off, and watched as the Snitch flew off at top speed, and closed his eyes, silently counting. When he reached sixty, he opened his eyes and looked around.

Fred watched as Harry closed his eyes. He could only guess that he was counting. To tell the truth, Fred was worried about Harry. After what had happened to him during the Triwizard tournament it had taken ages for the blow to lessen, and then there was what had happened with his Uncle. Now this…Fred was sure that anyone else would have crumbled, but Harry just seemed to keep coming back for more. Yet there seemed to be something missing from him, a kind of feeling that he had always given out had almost disappeared, and the glow that used to be in his eyes had dulled. Something above them moved slightly, and Fred looked up to see Harry open his eyes and streak off, moving so fast that it was almost impossible to follow him. Suddenly he stopped, began to head downwards. In his hand there was a glint of gold and a pile of ruffled feathers.

"That's amazing!" Katie whispered. Fred nodded silently, before turning to Colin.

"Do you still blame him?"

Colin shuffled slightly before answering. "No, of course I don't. It's just I didn't want to believe it…and then I was so angry I just took it out on him…"

Fred nodded. "You know that, and the rest of us know that, but I think Harry still blames himself. It must be hard, knowing that people are being killed to get at him. I think you should tell him that it wasn't his fault."

Colin nodded miserably, and turned back to face the direction Harry was coming in from.

"Could we try that again? I think that was a fluke…" Harry said, a slight smile gracing his features for a moment before fading. Alicia nodded and held out her hand, taking the Snitch. He took off again, and began to count as soon as she released it. This continued for about an hour, the Snitch being released, Harry counting to give it some time to get away, then it being caught. Once Harry had simply shot his arm out to the side and caught it, to both the team's and his surprise. Eventually he landed, and told them that that was enough for today. As the team headed in Fred nudged Colin in the side, and nodded towards Harry, who had slipped back into his near-emotionless state. Colin headed towards Harry, and was about to tap him on the shoulder when Professor McGonagall called out to them. She was striding down the grass towards them, and called out again.

"Harry!" She said as she came up. "I have some news. Your Uncle is going on trial tomorrow. I know that you probably don't want to, but you have to go to it. You're an essential witness. I'm sorry."

Harry seemed to shrink noticeably, as he looked to the ground.

"Who'll be taking me?" He asked quietly.

"I'll be taking you, but I'll have to come back to school at ten o'clock. Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore will be accompanying you from then onwards."

Harry nodded silently, before continuing on his way towards the castle.