I am sooo sorry for the long wait, folks! I meant to upload way sooner than this but a whole bunch of workload was piled upon me and when I finally finished, my computer completely erased the whole Gryffindor series and my precious Orlando Bloom pictures! Erm…was I typing that out? *Chuckles nervously*…anyhoo, it included the whole chapter 13, which was almost finished! Ugh! So, I had to copy and paste and do a whole bunch of other stuffs…Then that's when we come to this chapter finally…All I can say is that it is completely quidditch except the little surprise in the end…hmmm…what could it be…btw, the thanx notes will be at the bottom! Here we go!
Chapter 13: Qudditch and Proposals
********************************
For the past few weeks, Harry had been very busy at Hogwarts. His teachers have piled loads and loads of schoolwork. It was only a couple months since school began and already it seemed like finals were just around the corner waiting to rear its ugly head. He was also very much involved in quidditch practices. As captain, he was responsible for his team, and they had to prepare for the upcoming game against the Slytherins. He made sure that all techniques and coordination were superb. After all, they have to keep the Cup in Gryffindor, right?
Aside from schoolwork and quidditch, Harry was also involved in training with his father to control his "gift." So far they were tiring. In fact, at the end of it, he would run out of energy. He was to learn how to control his emotions first before he can learn to control fire with his own will. This was very difficult because Harry stressed about two things at this time: quidditch and how to tell Ron and Hermione of his lineage. Yes, up till now Harry hasn't told his friends of his identity as Gryffindor's heir. And it was very difficult to keep this from them, especially Hermione. One night, after a very exhausting training, Hermione noticed that Harry looked very pale and worn out. She had asked if there was something wrong with him, but he just shrugged and continued to walk up to his dormitory. It wasn't that Harry did not want to tell them, but it's just he couldn't find the right time to. As days turned to weeks, he knew that they deserved to know, and that time was now.
It was the night before the big quidditch match against the Slytherin, and Harry and the rest of his team were finishing up their practice. Harry was just giving some last minute pointers to the beaters, Lana and Noah, while Ron secretly flew towards the stands where Hermione sat watching them.
"So remember, Lana, the Slytherin beaters are twice your size," Harry was saying, "So you might want to use your speed against them."
"Right, and not to
mention to use this bat"-she held up her bat-"as a defense weapon against these
nasty Slytherins," said Lana simply. "And are you sure that I can't aim the
bludger at their heads? I mean they are
already dumb, so it wouldn't hurt them."
"Not unless you want to cause us the
match," grunted Noah. "Hitting the
bludgers intentionally at players are strictly against the rules."
"Who said anything about intentional?" murmured Lana.
"Noah's right, Lana. It would be best if you don't go aiming bludgers at opponents…yet. I am going to check on Ron, Juliana, and Nathan and see how they are doing." Harry turned his broomstick around and spotted only two chasers passing the quaffle around. "Oy! Nathan! Where's Ron!?" he called out to them.
"He's over there talking to Hermione!" Nathan called back.
Harry gave a small smile and searched the stands for a missing redheaded chaser on a broomstick. He spotted Ron on his left side. He steered his broomstick at Ron's direction and carefully not letting his emotions get the best of him. After all, he wouldn't want to fall fifty feet from the ground.
"Hmm…that would be
nice," giggled Hermione.
Harry cleared his throat as he approached them. Ron turned around and looked surprised.
"Harry, I can explain," he stammered.
"Explain later, loverboy, we've got practice to finish," said Harry with a fake stern voice. "May I borrow Ron for a while, Hermione? Thank you."
With that, they both flew back to the rest of the team and leaving a flushed Hermione behind. Harry called out to everyone to join him.
"All right everyone, one more try and then to the locker rooms!"
* * *
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Seamus made their way across the grounds towards the castle. The rest of the team already went ahead of them. Ron and Hermione were behind Harry and Seamus, both holding each other's hands and giggling. Harry and Seamus looked at each other uneasily and strode faster. At last, they reached the castle. As they walked from the entrance hall to the stairs, Harry suddenly halted. His session with his father! He almost forgot!
"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Ron behind him.
"Er, I remember I have to get something from Professor Evans's office," lied Harry. "Can you two come with me?"
Seamus, taking this as if his cue to leave, told them that he would see them upstairs at the Gryffindor Tower. Once Seamus left, Harry turned and stared at his friends. Once or twice he would open his mouth to say something but wouldn't. Finally, he got the courage to explain what he wanted to say.
"I have to show you two something. And it's quite something at that. So, if you please, follow me."
He led the way to the Defense classroom. At length, they reached the Professor's classroom. Upon reaching it, they heard voices inside.
"…Calm down, James, I am quite sure he has a very valid reason as to why he's extremely late…"
"Boy, when he comes through that door…"
"Oh, man," murmured Harry, more to himself than to anyone. Ron and Hermione looked at each other, confused. Harry took a deep breath and knocked on the door three times. Suddenly, the voices from the other side of the door ceased, and footsteps were made towards the door. The knob was turned and there stood Professor Evans. She was surprised to see Ron and Hermione there with Harry.
"Well, what can I help you three with? And at this hour?" she asked simply.
"Mum, it's all right. I want them to know now," said Harry. At that moment, Ron laughed out loud. Hermione gave him a repressive look.
"Sorry, but I thought you just called Professor Evans 'mum'. I mean she's not your mum because your mum's-"
"dead?" finished Lily, almost smiling. Ron stopped his laughter, dropped his jaws, and turned pale. Hermione looked like she was about to faint. "What's the matter, darling? You look like you have seen a ghost," said Lily, grinning. But seeing the looks on her students' faces were enough for her to stop. "I think that it is better to discuss this inside." She held the door as the three walked inside slowly. Ron and Hermione found out that their legs could still move, or they seemed to just manage them to. As they walked into the room, a voice spoke.
"You are a half an hour late, young man. Your mother and I have waited here in vain as to where you might be. You have made a commitment to the Powers, now you have to fulfill that."
"I know that, dad. It's just that we had a quidditch practice and, well, there's that big game tomorrow. I still have an obligation to the team and our House. I'm sorry but-"
"You had a quidditch practice? By Merlin! Why didn't you tell me? And a game tomorrow? Against who?" asked James eagerly.
"Slytherin. It's against Slytherin. So naturally I had to work the team. It is our first game of the year."
"Slytherin's a pushover, son. Now if I am not mistaken, they're still using the same techniques since when I was here. All you have to do is-"
At that moment Lily cleared her throat loud enough so that the two would stop conversing. James and Harry looked at her.
"Now that I have your attention. I think that there is a situation that needs both of your attention." She nodded her head towards Ron and Hermione, who both looked like they were carved out of stone. Both were stiff and rigid, like they have been petrified. Harry walked toward them.
"Ron, Hermione, I would like you two to meet my parents, James and Lily Potter," said Harry to his friends. He then turned to his parents. "Mum, dad, these are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."
James grinned boyishly that made him look exactly like Harry. "Well, it's finally quite an honor to meet another Weasley." James extended arm to Ron, who just looked at it and whimpered.
"It's all right, Ron," said James. "I'm real as anyone. See? I'm no ghost."
"W-why are you here?" squeaked Hermione, who finally had the courage to speak.
"That's what I wanted you two to come here," explained Harry. He took a deep breath and then continued, "You see, I am the Heir of Gryffindor just like Briana is the heir of Ravenclaw. But unlike Briana, I control the element of fire instead of air." Then Harry went on about why he had been setting things on fire, of Ophelia's visit to him on Halloween, of how he found out his parents are alive and why they were here. It took hours for all of these to sink in. But when Harry was done, there was a total silence. Then it was Hermione who spoke.
"So your parents are here to help control your powers? What happens when you can fully control it?"
"Then we will go back to what we were," answered Lily.
"Being dead?" asked Ron loudly. James laughed.
"Yes, Ron. It's no longer our world. We were brought here for only one reason and that's Harry. We are not regretting anything. On the contrary, we are happy to be here and are going to spend as much time as possible with our son."
"Then, we shall rest in peace once again. But you must understand that this is a secret. Only Dumbledore knows, and Annie," said Lily.
"Don't forget Sirius, Sam, and Remus," added James.
"I thought this was a secret," said Hermione dryly.
The Potters seemed to ignore that last comment. Because Harry continued, "If anyone finds out mum and dad are here. Well, I'm thinking hell will definitely break loose."
"Not too mention the fact that Voldemort will try to kill us- again," said James.
"And the chances of Harry improving his powers will be slim," added Lily.
"All right, all right, we get it. Bad things will happen," said Ron. "Really bad things."
After that, Hermione and Ron seemed a lot calmer than they were before.
* * *
"Come on, Harry, it's just a pre-game pep talk," said Ron with his arms folded against his chest. It was already Saturday morning; the big quidditch game. It was minutes before the game was about to start and the Gryffindor team was in the locker room waiting for Harry to make a speech.
"Yeah, it's not like you're about to speak to the whole school. There are only seven people here," said Lana. She was sitting on the bench fiddling with her broomstick. For a very nervous girl, she seemed the calmest.
Noah whistled. "Blimey, you know I would be really scared if I was about to talk to the whole school," he said, staring into space. "All those people staring at you waiting for you to speak and judging you if you make a mistake. I'll tell you, it does not look good."
Harry felt as if a brick was dropped into his stomach as Nathan said this. Juliana noticed this and said, "Oh, shut up, Noah, don't you think Harry's trying his best. Go on, Harry, it's only us. Just imagine talking to yourself in front of a mirror."
"Oh, like that's a whole lot better," muttered Seamus wryly.
"Would somebody please just like the captain talk?" grumbled Noah, standing a short distance away from everyone. The whole room fell silent.
Harry cleared his throat. "Well, here it goes: We've come a long way, guys-"
"Ahem," said Lana.
"-and gals," added Harry, "the Cup stayed with the Gryffindors for two years and if we want to make it three, then let's go out there and do the best we can! Let's go and slaughter the Slytherins!"
"YEAH!" said the rest of the team as they headed out of the locker room and into the cheering quidditch pitch.
"Oh, my," murmured Juliana, as everyone took their positions and waited for Madam Hooch to approach them. She beckoned the two captains to the middle of the pitch.
"Malfoy, Potter, I want a nice, clean game," she said. "Now shake hands." Harry looked surprised to see Malfoy as the new Slytherin captain. Malfoy, however, smirked.
"What's the matter, Potter?" he said, taking Harry's hand. "A little scared?"
"Why would I be scared of you, Malfoy?" sneered Harry, letting go quickly as if he touched a hot stove.
"Mount your brooms and at my whistle. GO!"
At that moment, Madam Hooch tossed the quaffle up and the game began. While the game commenced, Dean Thomas was commentating.
"Er, hello?" A loud feedback was heard all throughout the pitch. "Oops, er, sorry, professor. Er, let's see. They are all on their brooms and are flying around…"
Lavender Brown, who was sitting next to him keeping track of the scores, rolled her eyes at Dean, whose eyes looked like they were about to fall off watching the players flying here and there. Finally, she grabbed the microphone from him.
"Oh, give me that. That's not how you commentate a quidditch game."
"Oh, yeah, think you can do better?" said Dean skeptically.
"Yeah," she tested the microphone to see if it worked and began, "All right, Gryffindor with the quaffle-oh! Intercepted by Slytherin chaser Warrington. Warrington with the quaffle…Wait, is that Ron Weasley? Yes! And Weasley gets the quaffle…Zooms…YES! SCORE FOR GRYFFINDOR!" Lavender looked back at Dean, who sat gaping at her.
"What? Told you I can do better," and with that, she continued to commentate, "Lana Cohen hits a bludger towards the Slytherins-oh! Too bad you-" Lavender cursed and Dean burst out laughing.
"Ms. Brown!" said Professor Mcgonagall. "I would expected better words coming from you."
"Sorry, Professor, won't happen again."
Harry flew around looking for the snitch. He dodged a bludger while doing so. At the same time, he was watching his team. They were doing pretty well so far. Another goal was scored for the Gryffindor made by Nathan Meyers.
Meanwhile, a few distances away from the cheers and jeers of the quidditch pitch was Briana with a shaggy, black dog and a tall, hooded man. They were watching the game and felt that it would be less troubling if they stayed away from the crowds, as a hooded man would attract attention from all. Lily, Sam, and Remus were way up at the stands, with Remus wearing Briana's Invisibility Cloak. Behind his hood, James was smiling.
"I told you he was good," said Briana. "Look at him go. Reminds me of a certain Potter I used to challenge back in the days."
James chuckled softly. "Yes, indeed, he has my moves. Of course, he would have made a better chaser though. But a seeker is also good."
Briana watched as Ron intercepted a pass from Slytherin chaser. Then she felt a tug on her robes. It was Sirius and he was making a gesture that looked as if he wanted her to follow him. He was already trotting away when Briana looked back at James. He seemed to be very busy watching the game. Without telling him, Briana started to follow Sirius. He was going towards Hagrid's Hut. He waited there for her to open the door. As they went in, Sirius the dog had turned into a man. Outside, the cheers and jeers from the pitch could still be heard.
"I need to talk to you," said Sirius. "Have a seat."
Briana, confused, sat down on Hagrid's armchair by the fire. Sirius paced around for a while and then rummaged his pockets for something. He took out a beautiful gold ring with a diamond shining against the sunlight. He looked up to Briana and smiled, "Remember this?"
Briana gazed at it with amazement. "Of course, that's the ring you gave me when you proposed seventeen years ago. I remember the night I called it off. It was the night James and Lily died. Did I hurt you when I threw that ring at your face?"
Sirius simply smiled and joked, "Yes, and I've got the little scar on my forehead to prove it." He pointed at the space in between his eyebrows.
Briana laughed. "Sorry, if I had known things would be different than they were now, trust me, I would not have done it."
There was a silence following that for a moment. The sounds that could be heard were the distant sounds of the quidditch game. Sirius paced to and fro Hagrid's floor. Briana watched him as he muttered to himself. One moment he'd open his mouth to say something but would think better of it. Something was certainly not right, thought Briana.
"What's wrong, Sirius?"
He had stopped pacing and turned to look at Briana. He started towards her and knelt in front of her. He took a deep breath and said,
"Annie, fate has separated us several times before. Now, it has brought us back together again and I take that as a sign that we were meant to be together. You don't know how many times I thought about you in Azkaban and what would have happened if things were different. I lost you once, Annie-hell, more than once- but I know one thing is for sure, and that is I love you. I truly, deeply love you and I know what I am about to do is quite impossible and would contain a great deal of work. But trust me, Annie, it would be really worth it."
"Sirius, what are you trying to say?"
"I'm really ready for this. I've been ready but I just didn't know it. Anyway, what I am trying to say is that," he took Briana's hand, "Annie, will you marry me?"
Briana was slightly taken aback by Sirius's proposal. Another silence filled them as Briana tried to find the words to say. Many times had she opened her mouth to say something but couldn't.
"I-I don't know what to say, Sirius. I have never expected for you to-I mean, of course, I would want you to-but right now, it's just-it's just that…" She stared at his longing eyes-eyes that were waiting for an answer. "Sirius Alexander Black, yes, I will marry you."
Sirius grinned his biggest smile as he put the ring on her finger. They stood up and kissed each other. Briana wrapped her arms around his neck as they kissed. While this was going on, out on the quidditch pitch, the Gryffindors won their game.
Okay, I am so sorry that I can't say my thank you coz this is the longest chapter I had to write so far. But to all of those you had reviewed for chapter 12 and the rest of the other chapters. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart! I loved what you all had to say. As for chapter 14, right now I don't know what I am to put on yet, hopefully something from Voldemort's POV. But I am not yet sure. As always, please read and review!
