Chapter Four: Quidditch Games and Harpy Attacks

Draco was wearing a brave sort of grimace as Madame Pomfrey bandaged his shoulder, clucking her tongue like a mother hen. Alysia and the others watched in silence as she finished the job and backed away quietly.

"Keep that arm immobile for a week," she ordered, then hurried away muttering about "foolish acts of heroism". She drew the curtain around them and Alysia rounded on Draco crossly.

"Why the hell did you do that?" she snapped. "I knew what I was doing; you could have been killed!" Draco didn't answer, and Ron muttered something under his breath. Hermione, on the other hand, didn't seem to care why Draco had pushed Alysia out of the way.

"Didn't any of you pay attention? The manticore said, 'Get out of the way!'" she pointed out.

"We know this," Ron muttered.

"Manticores are really stupid. They don't usually speak in sentences. I don't think that manticore was acting out of his own free will," she continued. Alysia nodded.

"I agree. Of all the manticores I've ever seen, none of them have ever used a full sentence. Usually just a word or two." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Only problem is that most manticores are immune to controlling curses, like the Imperius Curse. Their brains aren't developed enough to be controlled in that way."

There was a silence for a moment until Harry spoke up. "It was probably after me," he commented quietly.

"Not necessarily. . ." Hermione began, but Ron cut her off.

"Not necessarily? Who else would it be after? You?" he shouted. Hermione looked stung, but Ron ignored it. "And I'll bet it's You-Know-Who again, too. Before we know it, we're going to have a manticore-infested castle!"

Had the situation not been so serious, Alysia would have laughed at Ron's last statement. As it was, however, she simply shook her head and turned to the three. "I'm not sure what made that manticore speak like that, but I am sure that there will be more to follow. Can you do me a favor? Look up mind- controlling curses in the library and see which ones can be used on a manticore." They hesitated for a moment, seemingly not wanting to leave Alysia alone with Draco, then hurried out of the hospital wing. Alysia turned to Draco and gave him a hard stare.

"I didn't want you to get hurt!" he exclaimed loudly. "That. . .that thing was about to swallow you whole."

"Draco, I had it under control," Alysia pointed out, her voice hard. "You nearly got yourself swallowed whole. Don't do that!"

Draco didn't respond, but instead leaned back and looked away. Alysia gave a huge sigh. "Look, I know you were just trying to protect me, but I don't need protecting. I never have. I can take care of myself."

"Is that because your dad wasn't around?" Draco asked suddenly, and Alysia's eyes widened in shock.

"How did you know that?" she asked.

"My father mentioned it when I told him who your mother was. He told me that your father left when you were a little less than a year old. Do you remember him at all?"

Alysia looked away and shook her head. She had been unprepared to tell Harry about her father; she felt even more unprepared to tell Draco much of anything about her family life. She hoped he would take the hint and leave the subject alone, which he did.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said. "Are you alright?"

Alysia nodded. "Don't worry about it. I'm just not ready to talk about it, that's all. I don't know you well enough."

Draco managed a smile. "Well, I hope you get to know me well enough soon." Alysia smiled back and touched his healthy arm.

"I'm going to go find Harry and the others now. I'll be back later, after supper," she told him before leaving the curtained enclosure.

That afternoon's research proved ineffective. No matter how many books the four looked in, they could not find a single passage about manticore mind- controlling curses. Finally, late for supper and exhausted, they gave up the search. Alysia went to Hufflepuff table for supper and did not answer one of Susan or Moira's pestering questions about the manticores and Draco. After supper, she returned to the hospital wing, only to find Draco sound asleep. She decided that she'd better wait until morning, rather than waking him. She didn't bother to write in her diary again that night, as she was too overwhelmed by the business of the day. In comparison, the days that followed were dull and colorless. She visited Draco in the hospital wing until Madame Pomfrey let him leave. She walked between classes with Draco or Harry and company or by herself. Her parents met with her on a regular basis, making sure that her classes were going well and that she was making plenty of friends. Finally, in October, the time of year she had been waiting for arrived: Quidditch Season.

It was a bright early October morning when Alysia and her Firebolt headed out to the Quidditch pitch for the first time. Try-outs had been announced for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and they were looking for a Seeker. Naturally, Alysia was thrilled with the idea and signed up immediately. When the time finally came, she had practiced until she could practice no more and felt more than a little ready. The team captain, sixth-year Hannah Abbott, was a beater and a familiar face to Alysia as they had several classes together. She smiled broadly when she saw Alysia approaching the pitch.

"Hey, Alysia. I don't think anyone else is coming. . .apparently the whole house heard that you're a great Seeker and decided to root for you instead. I'm not going to really make you try out or anything, just show me some moves so I can start strategizing around you," Hannah greeted Alysia, shaking her hand. Alysia was stunned, but didn't say a word as she mounted her broom and dove and feinted for Hannah's benefit. When she returned to the ground, Hannah was smiling even wider.

"Great job. Our first practice is tomorrow evening at five and we have our first game on Halloween against Gryffindor. Harry Potter's the Seeker for that team and he's only lost one match in the six years he's been here. Granted, that had something to do with the Dementors who were on the school ground at the time and the fact that Harry fell off his broom, but do you know who they lost to, Alysia? They lost to Hufflepuff. Cedric Diggory, God rest him, caught the Snitch and no one could argue that we won fair and square. I need another win like that, Alysia. Can you do that for me?" Hannah's pep talk was quite amusing, as Alysia already knew the story inside out and backwards. She simply nodded, however, and let Hannah keep talking as they headed to Herbology with the Gryffindors. Hannah was still talking about Quidditch as the lesson began, but Alysia ignored her and mouthed the words "I'm in" to Harry, Ron and Hermione, who grinned wildly.

Practice sessions went well, whether in rain or sunshine, and Alysia was mildly impressed to note that Draco was sitting in the stands for every one of them. This started to annoy Hannah by the third practice, and she spoke to Alysia about it while the chasers and keeper were running drills.

"Alysia," she began, "I don't want Malfoy at our practices. The Slytherins are cheaters. Everyone knows that."

"I don't think Draco is here to steal strategies, Hannah," Alysia pointed out, but Hannah shook her head.

"That may be, Alysia, but it's making other people on the team uncomfortable. You may trust him, but the rest of us don't." Hannah probably hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but her words stung Alysia like a slap across the face. She wondered if the same things would be said about her if people found out who her father was, but decided not to wonder aloud. She simply agreed to talk to Draco and let Hannah continue running the team her way.

Draco was not too pleased with Hannah's feelings on the situation. "Bloody hell! Just because I'm from Slytherin and I come on the field, I'm automatically a spy! Who does she think she is?" he yelled later on in the library. Madame Pince glared in their direction and Alysia sent her an apologetic glance.

"I can't help it. I don't think you're a spy, but Hannah apparently does. There's nothing I can do about it," she whispered.

"Alysia, this is why you don't belong in Hufflepuff. You're too smart for them!" Draco exclaimed, and Alysia shook her head.

"Draco, you're just as bad as they are," she muttered, looking away. Draco hadn't heard her and simply continued on his tirade against Hufflepuff, against Hannah Abbott in particular. This was routine for Draco. If there was anything Alysia had learned in the past several weeks, it was that her new friend liked to complain about any and everything to anyone who would listen. Though sometimes he was right in his complaints, Alysia was becoming accustomed to tuning out Draco's frustrated ranting. Once, she dared to ask if he'd ever done anything about the problems he so loved to complain about, but he just pressed his lips shut and looked away.

Classes kept everyone busy. Alysia's mother was cooperating Hagrid and together, the two were concentrating on magical creatures of England and multi-special beasts, or creatures whose bodies were made up of parts from several different animals. So far, they had covered banshees, bendiths, black annis, sirens and harpies in Defense against the Dark Arts and amadán, bwbachad, sphinx, mermaids and centaurs in Care for Magical Creatures. Transfiguration was going well, though Alysia and Draco never seemed to have time to transform Alysia into another animal. Alysia was considering helping Draco to become an animagus, just for the fun of it, but she had not mentioned the idea to him yet. Divination was a joke as always. Professor Trelawney constantly told Alysia that she was heading for certain doom, no matter what she did, but Alysia would simply roll her eyes and draw pictures of Professor Trelawney meeting the fates predicted for Alysia. Charms was a pleasant enough class, as Alysia enjoyed firing random charms at the Ravenclaw sixth years while Professor Flitwick applauded her efforts. Potions was also an easy class, to the frustration of Professor Snape. No matter how hard he tried to make one of Alysia's potions fail, he never succeeded and was forced to simply stand by and sneer while Alysia continued to make perfect potions. As for History of Magic and Herbology, Alysia barely had to pay attention to find herself acing each and every quiz and test.

Finally, Halloween morning arrived. Alysia woke up bright and early, wrote in her diary, and went to breakfast before anyone else could possibly be there. Soon, though, the hall started to fill with students excited about the first Quidditch match of the season. The other members of Hufflepuff team and most of the members of Gryffindor team were not eating their breakfast. Most seemed far too nervous to do anything but push the eggs and bacon around on their plates. Alysia, however, became hungrier the more nervous she was. She packed away her scrambled eggs and bacon like she would never eat again, then sat quietly, waiting for the other members of her team to give up on trying to eat anything.

Over on the other table, she spotted Harry being begged to eat by Ron and Hermione. Hermione even picked up a forkful of eggs and tried to force-feed him, but he pushed the fork away. Looking up, he spotted Alysia and gave her a nervous half-smile. Alysia smiled back then turned to look at the Slytherin table. Draco was, as usual, seated between his lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle. They ate nonchalantly, obviously not caring a wink about the upcoming match. Alysia suspected none of the Slytherins would be there, but Draco spotted her and winked merrily, so she realized it was quite possible that one Slytherin might be at the Quidditch pitch that afternoon.

And then it was time. Alysia was rushed out of the hall by the rest of the Quidditch team, Hannah dragging her by the wrist. Thankfully, the rest of the team let her change into her robes in peace, but once she was dressed in her robes and padding they surrounded her again and escorted her out to the field.

"Are you ready for this, Alysia?" Hannah asked. "Remember, Potter's good, but ridiculously unlucky. Play that to your advantage, alright? Don't get distracted and make sure that you catch the Snitch before Potter has time to think about it." Alysia nodded to acknowledge Hannah's instructions as they marched forth, brooms in hand. Alysia felt her Firebolt vibrating and clutched it tightly with anticipation. She could hear the roar of the crowd ahead. And then, it was time. The Hufflepuff house team headed out to the Quidditch pitch to the roar of a crowd dressed in yellow and red. Harry, the team captain for Gryffindor, walked out and shook Hannah's hand, and they pushed off the ground. Sydney Jordan, who called the games in the tradition of her older brother Lee, started speaking with her magically magnified voice.

"Welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor against Hufflepuff! This is the first time the teams have faced off in three years, and they are now two entirely different teams! Gryffindor's looking strong this year with Cox, Creevey, Finnegan, Weasley, Hume, Grant and Potter!" At the mention of Harry, the Gryffindor crowd went into rapturous cheers, while the Hufflepuff side remained silent. "They'll be facing fierce competition: Abbott, MacMillan, Strong, Weatherbee, Atkins, Allen and Karadhras!" Alysia followed her team in flying over the Hufflepuff stands as the house below cheered, and nearly fell off her broom in surprise seeing Draco Malfoy sitting (rather crossly) beside Susan and Moira. When she flew over him, he smiled broadly at her. Flying over the teachers, Alysia was in for another surprise. Her mother, sitting at the top of the stands with Professor Dumbledore, was accompanied by a large black dog, which she was scratching behind the ears. She cheered as Alysia passed, and the dog barked.

"Take your positions. I want a clean game, now," Madame Hooch called from below. Alysia flew to her position, above the rest of the team, facing Harry. She smiled at him, and he back at her, and in that moment, Alysia felt a conflict she'd never faced before. Though she desperately wanted to win the game, she also wanted Harry to win. Confused, Alysia turned back to the game. Madame Hooch released the Bludgers and the beaters were off. A moment later, Alysia heard a whirring sound and the Snitch flew around her head and ears and circled Harry's head before flying away and disappearing. Alysia didn't bother to watch where it went, knowing from experience that no matter how hard she watched, the Snitch would evade her. Seconds later, Madame Hooch tossed the Quaffle up in the air. Ron's younger sister Ginny caught it and the game began.

"It's Weasley, Creevey, Finnigan, back to Weasley and SCORE! Gryffindor leads by ten points. . .Weatherbee recovers the ball, to Strong, to Weatherbee. . .ten points to Hufflepuff! MacMillan recovers. . .blocked by Cox! To Weasley, Creevey, Finnigan, Creevey, Finnigan. . .ohhh blocked by Abbott! Finnigan recovers, to Weasley. . .SCORE! Gryffindor leads. . .no, wait. . .Strong's stolen the ball from Creevey, to MacMillan. . .ten points to Hufflepuff!" Sydney was yelling. "MacMillan recovers. . .again! Ten points to Hufflepuff!" Alysia laughed and did a loop-de-loop in the air, only to finish and see that Gryffindor had scored again. Harry grinned at her and did a loop-de-loop of his own, then ducked as a Bludger rushed overhead.

"Sorry!" Rupert Grant apologized to Harry as he flew overhead to recover the runaway Bludger. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor continued to score evenly against each other, though both teams were getting tired. Alysia was watching for the Snitch, when something else caught her eye. A hawk with a woman's face had landed on Harry's broom. The hawk's feathers glinted in the sun as it reached up a claw to strike Harry. Without thinking, Alysia whipped out her wand and fired sparks at the harpy. Harry whirled around to see the creature fall from the broom, only to recover and start hovering in the air near Harry's broom. She opened up her mouth and started to shriek and scream. Harry's broom started shaking violently, Harry almost being thrown several times. Alysia winced; the harpy's cry was almost painful. Several students were rushing from the stadium, as was the black dog. Alysia knew that in his dog form, her father could not stand severe sounds. For some reason, this made her angry. She rushed her broom forward so that it was underneath Harry's, yet out of the range of the harpy's voice. With little warning, Harry flipped off of the broom, dangling and holding on only by his hands. The harpy continued to shriek and the broom to shake. Alysia held onto the broom with one hand and with the other brandished her wand. Hoping she had remembered the correct spell, she pointed her wand at the harpy and cried, "Vox mortem!"

A jet of white light burst from the end of her wand and hit the harpy in the throat. The shrieks stopped suddenly and she started coughing. Now without a voice, the harpy was confused. The Gryffindor beaters grabbed her by the wings and flew her down to the stands where Hagrid stood with a makeshift leash. He looped the leash around the harpy, tying her wings to her body so that she couldn't escape.

But Harry was still dangling from his broom. "Alysia! Help me!" he exclaimed. "I can't hold on!"

"Just let go and drop onto my broom! I'll catch you!" Alysia answered. Harry looked down and tried to time his fall perfectly. He missed, however, by only a few inches. Alysia let go of her broom and caught him just as he passed her. With great effort, she hoisted him onto her broom and ascended so that she was level with Harry's broom. He grabbed his broom and moved onto it. A cheer erupted from the entire stadium as the two flew off together.

"Harry!" Alysia called as they were nearing the Gryffindor end of the field. He looked at her. "I have an idea. I don't want to lose, but I don't want you to lose either. I'm sure you feel the same way." Harry nodded. "Have you ever played a tie game?"

Harry smiled and no more needed to be said. He spotted the Snitch and nodded to Alysia, who also saw it. "Grab the end of my broom," he ordered, doing just so to her broom. Then, they dove. The Snitch was flying quickly, but Harry and Alysia were just as fast on their matching Firebolts. Soon, the ends of their brooms were past the Snitch, which was flying between them. "When I say now, grab it!" Harry exclaimed. "Now!"

Both of their steering hands left the brooms and clasped around the golden ball. For a moment, all was silent. Harry and Alysia looked at each other, slow smiled spreading across their faces. Sydney Jordan didn't seem to know what to make of the situation and was silent, until Harry and Alysia opened their hands to reveal the Snitch between them.

"It's a tie! Potter and Karadhras catch the Snitch at the same time for a tie! Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are tied. . .and the game is over!" Sydney was exclaiming. "I don't think this has ever happened before. . .the final score is 190-190."

Alysia laughed a happy laugh and dismounted from her broom. Harry did as well, and the two hugged in happy celebration. They were soon surrounded by their two teams, who seemed to think that the game could not have ended any better. Ron and Hermione hugged Harry and Alysia enthusiastically, and Hannah kissed them both on the cheek. Susan and Moira mobbed Alysia talking quickly and loudly, and Alysia had to forcibly look away to get them to shut up. Soon, her mother and the black dog had joined the group, her mother hugging first her, then Harry and praising them for a game well- played. The dog, "Snuffles", leapt on both her and Harry, lapping their faces and barking excitedly. The celebration began to head inside, and Alysia turned to see Draco standing off to the side. She excused herself from Harry's side (Harry rolled his eyes, but nodded understandingly) and ran over to Draco.

"Well. . .I probably would have let Potter fall. And I wouldn't have settled for a tie. But for you, Alysia. . .it was a good game," he assessed, trying to sound unbiased. Alysia giggled and gave him an enormous hug. She was not surprised when he hugged her back, but she was surprised at the feelings that rushed through her. Strangely, she did not want Draco to let go. . .ever. But within a minute, he had, and she was heading back to the dining hall for a banquet.

Late that night, Alysia, Harry, Ron and Hermione were talking in the library. Madame Pince kept looking at them impatiently, wanting to leave, but they were discussing important business. What had that harpy been doing on the field?

"Harpies are native to Greece," Alysia commented, "though they have been spotted by the coast. But Hogwart's is nowhere near the coast."

"So that explains it!" Hermione exclaimed. Everyone looked at her questioningly. "If you listened to the harpy's screams. . ."

"I was too busy trying to keep my ears from bleeding," Ron muttered.

". . .you would realize that she was screaming words. I couldn't understand the words, though, because they were in Greek. What could she have been saying?" Hermione now looked thoughtful.

"Do you remember what the Greek words were, Hermione?" Alysia asked.

"I think so. I'll start looking them up tomorrow." The others nodded.

"It's starting to look like multi-special animals are targeting Harry. It's a good think your mum's covering them this year, Alysia," Ron stated. Alysia smiled, but something else was on her mind. If multi-special animals were targeting Harry, was Voldemort behind it? And if so, were she and her family still considered targets?

A/N: My first Quidditch match! I hope it came out alright! I tried to make it as exciting as possible. And I hope I'm getting my info on harpies right! R/R Keep writing!