WARNING! BIG HP 5 SPOILER! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Chapter 4: Brooms, Dreams, and Confrontations

The three female Chasers still looked at Jack with wonder.

"Great reflexes," Alicia Spinnet said.

"Yeah, and he's amazingly handsome," Angelina Johnson swooned.

"And he's got the hero music and everything," Katie Bell said.

"Wonder what that thing is in his hand?" Alicia said. "His wand?"

"I don't know," Katie said. "Maybe it's a special silver bat for Beating."

"It kinda looks like a sword," Angelina said. "Of course it can't be that."

"I don't know," Harry told the Weasleys. "If he's been confunded as hard as Hermione suggested, he may not be able to play Quidditch so well."

"Come on, Harry," Fred said. "Beater is an easy position to understand. I'm sure he'll have no problem."

Harry nearly protested again when Ron called up to the stands, "Hey Jack! Come down here!" Jack nodded, picked up his book, and walked down the stands. "Man, what you did back there with the Bludger was so wicked!"

"It was?" Jack asked. He looked offended. "I . . . did not intend to be evil."

Ron laughed. "No, no, I meant it in a good way."

"When is evil ever good?"

Ron looked as though he had no way to answer. So Fred spoke for him. "Jack, have you ever played Quidditch?"

"No. What is Quidditch?"

"It's a fun game. We think after we saw what you did that you would make a great Beater." Fred held out a bat. "All you gotta do is hit those same flying balls away from the rest of us. Would you like to give it a shot?"

Jack pondered for a moment and then replied, "No. I do not compete this way."

"Oh, come on!" several team members said at once.

"Don't look at it as competition," Ron said. "Look at it as a way to protect us."

Jack shook his head.

"It's our big game! The team who wins this game gets to play against Slytherin or Hufflepuff for the Quidditch Cup! We can't forfeit!"

"I am sorry, but I have more important things to do."

"We don't have class tomorrow because of the game," Harry argued.

"I am not only here for class."

"Alright, but you're letting down a lot of people," Fred said. "The whole student body, and the staff, and all the board of governors--"

"Board of governors? Is Undertaker coming?"

"Oh yeah," Harry answered. "He wouldn't miss it."

Jack thought it over and decided it would be worth it to find this mysterious school governor. "Very well." He took the bat from Fred. "Let's play." He gripped the handle and looked about him defensively.

"Wait, wait, wait," Fred said. "One detail we forgot to mention. We fly."

Jack did not like the sound of that. "I am grounded. I am not able to fly."

"Well here," George said. "You can borrow my broom. It's not the greatest racing broom in the world, that's Harry's Firebolt, but it'll do."

Puzzled, Jack investigated the broom. How could this fly? He tried sweeping with it. That only lead to the whole team laughing at him.

"It's ok," Ron said. "He was just confunded pretty good some years ago. He just doesn't remember."

"See Jack," Fred said, "you straddle it, like this."

Jack said down. Oddly enough, it was rather comfortable, like sitting in a chair, but there was no cushion to been seen.

"Good. Now, you kinda kick off like this."

Jack kicked rather hard, and his broom took off like a rocket. It zoomed. It zigged. It zagged. Jack couldn't control it. He became so dizzy. He wasn't sure if he lost his grip or it tossed him off, but after so long of this horror, Jack found himself in a lake.

The water was deep, but Jack was managing to float. He saw a girl with dark hair also floating in the water. Jack swam to save her, but then as he got a closer look, he saw she was a ghost. He tried to swim away, but she caught a glimpse of him. "Ooh!" she squealed. She floated closer to Jack and giggled. "Hello," she said eerily. She reached out to touch him, but Jack frantically began to swim to the surface. Suddenly, a tentacle surrounded him before Jack could get his sword. It had too tight a grip around him for Jack to muscle out of. Then, to his relief, the tentacle sat him down on the shore. The Gryffindor team was waiting for him.

"There is a drowned spirit in the waters," Jack gasped. "She tried to take me under."

Harry shook his head. "Quit playing around, Samson." He checked his watch. "We only have twenty minutes left. If you want to be a Beater, you have to learn how to fly within that time." He handed Jack the broom back and stomped off.

"Jack, you can't let it take control like that," Fred said.

"I do not like to fly," Jack answered.

"It's not too hard. Just try to keep your mind clear."

"I can do that." He straddled the broom again, breathed deeply, and kicked off. This time, it wasn't so bad. Jack was able to fly comfortably and direct the broom where he needed it to go.

"He looks like he's ready," Ron said.

"Release the Bludgers!" Harry ordered.

One huge, black ball headed straight for Jack's face, and he immediately knocked it out of the way.

"That was great, but don't hit it toward the stands," Fred advised. "There are going to be people in them tomorrow, and it will get us a penalty."

Jack nodded. Another came toward him. This time he hit it, and it went right through one of the hoops on one side of the pitch.

"Er, Jack, you don't need to score with the Bludger. Leave that to the Chasers. The best place to hit that is toward the other team, because we want to knock them off their brooms."

Jack nodded in acknowledgement, but he decided in his mind that this was the last thing he was going to do. He did not want to hurt anyone. So when the next Bludger came to him, he hit it hard and sent it flying high up in the sky. The rest of the team continued to marvel at his speed, reflexes and strength.

Fred criticized once more. "Don't forget to leave some action for me, Jack!" he said with a smile.

Finally, they decided Jack was ready enough to practice with the rest of the team and the rest of the balls. Unfortunately, after five minutes, Madame Hooch blew her whistle. "All right, Gryffindors. Time's up." The Gryffindors groaned and begged for a little longer as they came down, but they couldn't persuade her. "Come now. Make room for the Ravenclaws." She motioned to a group of young wizards and witches wearing blue robes and holding their own broomsticks. They looked very impatient. The Gryffindors passed by the team in a single file line.

Jack walked by them with little interest until one of them touched his elbow. "What?" he said, puzzled. He turned to see the girl from the Great Hall.

"Excuse me," the girl said in a soft voice. "Do I know you?"

Now that he got a closer look at her, he saw that she looked much like his friend who chased crickets with him. But there was no way this girl was the same. "No."

"Are you sure? You look so familiar to me."

"You remind me of someone I used to know, but . . . no, we have never met."

The girl smiled. "Can we meet now?"

Jack nodded. He saw no harm in that.

The girl extended her hand. "I'm Cho Chang, sixth year Ravenclaw."

Jack shook her hand. "Jack. Gryffindor. I'm new."

"You look a little old to be a first year. Are you--"

"Chang!" someone from her team yelled. "Come on! The clock is ticking!"

Cho started to back away. "So you play Quidditch?"

"Yes, Beater."

"Nice. I'm a Seeker. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Jack waved to her, and she ran back to her team.

Jack left the pitch, only to see Harry staring at him in fury. "What were you doing with her?"

"She only asked me a question."

"Sure she did. So, it's not enough to steal my life. You have to steal my girlfriend too."

"I am stealing nothing from you!" Jack yelled after him, but Harry ignored him. Why did Harry have so much animosity for Jack?

With the exception of Fred explaining to Jack more about Quidditch and Ron telling everyone in Gryffindor what a great Beater Jack will be, it was rather quiet that night. Jack read Hermione's book until he was too tired. Then he went to sleep.

He had a strange dream. He was walking through a heavy fog. It was so thick he could not see his hand in front of his face. Everything was silent, but Jack somehow knew there was someone here.

"Out of the mist, a stranger comes!" the sibyl announced from out of nowhere. Jack looked around for her, but he could not see her.

Then, out of the mist, high up in the sky, Jack saw an enormous, black hand, outstretched and beckoning. "Aku!" Jack cried. He jumped. He "jumped good." He jumped harder and higher than he ever did in his entire life. He still could not reach the hand, nor could he see any other part of its body

Then, in the sky, Jack saw Harry flying on a northwestern wind directly toward the hand. "Harry, no!" Jack screamed to him. "Don't go to him! He killed your parents, and he will destroy you!"

Harry looked down at Jack in contempt. "Don't tell me what to do, Samson!" In defiance, he landed upon the palm.

The long, black fingers began to curl slowly, but then, in one sharp motion they closed around Harry in a fist. "Harry!" Jack screamed.

Harry began to cry out in pain and yelled, "Help! Help!"

Then Jack awoke and realized Harry was screaming in real life, "Help! Undertaker! Undertaker! Help!" Jack felt cold, but not an ordinary cold. It was a sensation that told him evil was near, and he feared it was attacking Harry.

Jack ripped his curtains open, drew his sword, and opened the curtains on Harry's bed. "Harry!"

Harry was tossing about with his hand pressed against his forehead. When he heard Jack's voice, he stopped tossing and blinked open his eyes. "Samson?"

Jack hid his sword behind the curtains once he saw no visible danger. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I just had a nightmare is all."

"As did I."

"Well yeah, everyone's been having nightmares lately for obvious reasons. I've been having a recurring nightmare at least once a week, but the good thing is it gets better. All the rest of the guys are used to it, see? They don't wake me up in the middle of the night."

"There is a strong evil presence here, Harry. Can you not feel it?"

Harry looked at Jack as though he had lost his mind. "Go back to sleep, Samson. We have a big game tomorrow, and we need rest."

Jack sighed. As he shut the curtains on Harry's bed, he warned the boy, "Be careful."

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and when he was certain that things were safe, Jack was able to go back to sleep. Harry, however, grumpily informed him the next morning, "I could not go back to sleep last night, so I spent my time writing a letter to a friend of mine."

George lent Jack his Quidditch robes, and Jack headed out with Fred to the pitch. The new captain gave the team an encouraging pep talk, and then it was time for the game to start. Lee Jordan was finishing up naming the Ravenclaw team as the Gryffindors were coming out.

" . . . and Chang. Now, let's hear it for the Gryffindors! Spinnet, Bell, Johnson, Potter, Weasley, Weasley, and standing in for Weasley, Samson!"

Jack paused when he heard those names. He felt as though he should know Potter. Some time long ago, he had heard of something significant that a wizard named Potter did . . .

"Hey!" he heard someone whisper. He looked up to see Cho smiling at him. Jack nodded.

"Mount your brooms!" Madame Hooch ordered. "Kick off on my whistle."

The whistle sounded, and the teams were airborne. Jack watched like a hawk for Bludgers endangering any student. Every time he noticed such a problem, he flew as quickly as he could toward the student in danger and hit the Bludger high up to the sky. He paid little attention to the rest of the game. At least once, Cho passed by Jack and winked at him. Once Ron called to Jack, "Good show!" for knocking a Bludger away from the scoring area.

The crowd, meanwhile, were cheering loudly as they watched Jack hit Bludgers high into the air. They were amazed at how fast and strong he was. Lee was beside himself. "I don't believe I have ever seen such action at the hands of a Beater, outside the pros. Samson is a brick wall, and no one can take him down!"

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall yelled into the magic modifier.

"Sorry professor."

Fred seemed rather upset that he wasn't doing as much as Jack. At one point he hollered at Jack, "Don't forget, I'm a Beater too!"

Jack nodded and continued. Then he noticed Harry had changed positions for the first time. If Jack remembered what Fred told him correctly, this meant Harry had seen the Snitch. Yet as Harry went on his quest, Cho cut him off. She floated in front of him, smiling. "What is she doing?" Jack thought.

He may have been too distracted, or he messed up his trajectory, or he just wasn't thinking. Whatever the reason, Jack noticed a Bludger heading for Harry. He flew up and struck it out of the way. He knocked Cho off of her broom in the process.

"Cho!" he yelled.

For the first time since they met, Harry smiled at Jack. "Nice work, Samson."

But Jack didn't feel like it was nice work. He flew down to the pitch.

"What is he doing?" Lee yelled.

Jack looked down at Cho. "Are you alright?"

She smiled. "Nothing Madame Pomfrey can't fix."

"Forgive me. I did not mean to hurt you. I did not wish to hurt anyone."

"Don't feel bad. It's part of the game. You better get back; you're doing gre--" Cho's eyes suddenly grew as big as saucers. "LOOK OUT!"

Jack turned, but it was too late. A Bludger hit him in the back and sent him tumbling off his broom. He managed to roll over and cough up sand.

"Whoa," Lee said. "If that isn't irony, I don't know what is. Wait, Harry's got the Snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

Jack heard the Gryffindors cheer loudly and saw the Gryffindor Quidditch team congratulate each other in the air. Jack tried to get up, but his back hurt too badly.

"Alright Jack?" Fred said flying down to him.

"The sibyl has spoken," Jack mumbled.

"O . . . K . . . "

A shadow came over him. "Nice sportsmanship, young man," a suave, English voice said. Jack looked up. A large was man stood over him. Jack couldn't quite see his features because he was directly in front of the sun. "My name is Anteus Undertaker." His voice was so smooth and calming, but there was something about him Jack knew was foreboding. He glared at Undertaker and searched for words to say, but they were lost to him.

"He must still be delirious from that Bludger hitting him, Governor," Harry came up to the figure and said.

The figure turned away. "Oh yes, of course. You, Harry, were brilliant. I am looking forward to your performance in two weeks."

"You couldn't talk to him, huh?" Cho whispered. "I don't blame you. He's creepy."

"That's one way to put it," Jack replied.

***************

Jack's stay in the hospital wing took most of the afternoon as Madame Pomfrey healed his back. "Goodness. You've seen better days," she commented.

"You have no idea," Jack muttered.

Evidently, the Bludger broke some bones and bruised him pretty badly. Still, she was able to fix him in about an hour, then suggested he rest for a little bit. He was amazed to feel good as new.

Jack decided to explore the other floors of the castle on his way up, just so he could get his bearings a little better. On the second floor, he heard someone sobbing. He was concerned, so he followed the sound, into a girl's lavatory.

"Hello? What is wrong?"

A stall door opened, and out floated a ghost. "Ooh!" she squealed.

Jack gasped and held his hands out in defense. "Be gone, spirit!"

The ghost hung her head. "Oh. You do not like me?"

"If you intend to drag me down and share your fate, no I am not fond of you."

"Oh. Well, I am not intending to do that." She floated closer to him. "Oh, you are the same man as from the river! I was hoping you were dead. I am so lonely."

"I thought you drowned."

"No, not quite. My name is Myrtle. What about you?"

"I am Jack. Were you the one who was crying?"

Myrtle began to pout. "Yes. Peeves was mean to me."

"Who is Peeves?"

Myrtle described him, and Jack realized he had heard horror stories in the common room about that mischievous spirit. "I will take care of him for you."

"You will! Oh, that would be . . . but how could you?"

"Shh!" Jack said suddenly. He heard Ron and Harry yelling something outside. He carefully walked out. At the other end of the hall, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were either cornering or were being cornered by the tired boy, Malfoy, and his two, gigantic henchmen.

"Well, what are you going to do about it, Weasley?" the tired boy asked.

"I tell you what, Malfoy, I want to see what you do about it."

"You asked for it. Loco- (yawn) -motor Mortis!" His wand merely glowed and set off a few sparks. The Gryffindors laughed.

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead," Ron gasped.

"Give it up, Malfoy," Harry said. "As long as your tired like that, you're not going to be able to do magic. Isn't that right, Hermione?"

"Yes. Your brain is not clear enough to focus. You can call me Mudblood as much as you want, but you're never going to do the Leg Locker curse on any of us!"

"Go ahead," Malfoy sneered. "Laugh, all of you. You won't be laughing so hard this time next year when you're still in this stupid school, while I'm in the new Ministry of Magic earning 500 galleons an hour!"

"What's that, a new dream your father put in your head for following You- Know-Who?" Ron asked.

"My father. Ha! My father will be licking my boots. He's wrong. The Dark Lord is not the ultimate. There's a new order coming, and it will be here before you know it!"

The Gryffindors just shook their heads and walked on. At the mention of "the Dark Lord," Jack became more interested. He advanced on the Slytherins. "Excuse me, Malfoy," he said quietly.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Malfoy smirked "It's Gryffindor's Ludo Bagman!"

"I could not help overhearing. Could you please explain to me more of what you mean?"

"Why should I?"

"I need to know."

"Why? You want part?"

"Perhaps I do."

"Too bad. He will certainly not be interested in any Gryffindors. Besides, he's already chosen me, and nobody's getting in on it!"

"Who is he? Tell me, Malfoy. Is it Undertaker? Is it the Dark Lord?"

Draco only smiled. "I've heard about you. You are the Banished One, the Exiled One. Don't have a lot of sense left up there, eh?"

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"What's that under your robes? Pajamas? And Weasley called me a sleepyhead!" The two henchmen laughed.

"Lives are at stake, Malfoy! Answer my question!" They laughed harder.

"Look, I hope you don't fall asleep in your pajamas before me, Samson, or you might end up like your namesake--bald."

Enraged, Jack came at Draco, but the two large boys blocked him at first. Jack quickly threw them against the wall. He meant to press Draco back against the wall and order the boy to tell him the truth, but Draco, wild- eyed and afraid, yelled a spell at him. He didn't aim well, but it still knocked Jack off his feet. By the time he came to his senses, Draco and the two large boys were gone.

"The sibyl has spoken . . . again," Jack said to himself as he strained to get up. Luckily, this time he wasn't too badly hurt. He made his way back to the common room.

He was immediately greeted with loud cheers as all of the Gryffindors congratulated him on doing so well at the Quidditch match. He walked through the crowd, hardly paying any attention.

"Hey, Strong Man, over here!" Fred pulled him over and made him stand before the fireplace. "All right. Everyone who wants to see Jack Samson bludge our way to the Quidditch Cup, yell as loud as you can!" Jack was nearly knocked over by the noise.

"Brilliant!" George said coming out of the crowd. He took off his eye patch and threw it on the floor. His eye was back to normal. "And since I'm not anticipating another potions injury, I'll play the game with you."

"That sounds fair," somebody yelled.

Jack shook his head. "I don't know. One game was enough." But the cheers drowned his comment out. "I'm just going to look for your brother." He stepped out of the crowd and headed for the dorms. Ron wasn't there, but Harry was.

"Harry!"

Harry turned around. "Samson! I've been looking all over for you. What were you thinking? I thought you had an excellent strategy, knocking the opponent's Seeker off the field, but you could have cost us the game!"

"I had violated a sacred vow. Long ago, I promised that I would never cause harm to an innocent. If I did not receive her forgiveness, I would forever be shamed."

"That must be the lamest excuse I have ever heard."

"It is not an excuse! It is the truth!" Jack paused. "This is not about the game, is it? Harry, I am not interested in her!"

"Balderdash. Samson, she pulled a Delilah on you. That's what she does."

"You do not seem to care for her much either. You wanted me to knock her off her broom, didn't you?"

"We were playing Quidditch. That's different. It's no time to be a gentleman."

"Let's change the subject. What was happening back there with Malfoy?"

"We caught him hexing Neville. That's what he does."

"What was he talking about?"

"How should I know? Malfoy has a way of keeping secrets."

"Can you tell me more about Undertaker?"

"Oh yeah, best thing to ever happen to Hogwarts. He's brilliant, and he's going to save us all. I'm hungry. I'm going to the Great Hall."

Jack had a strong feeling that there was something Harry wasn't telling him. He was about to inquire what when he heard a tap on the window. An owl with a message was waiting. Jack opened the window and stroked the owl's brown feathers. "Hello there, little friend."

"Oh. That's probably for me," Harry said.

Jack took the scroll off of the owl's leg. "It isn't."

Harry rolled his eyes and walked out. As the owl flew away, Jack read the mysterious message--addressed to him!

Jack,

I need to speak with you. Meet me in the forest tonight. Borrow Harry's cloak. My dog will lead you to me.

A Friend