The next day, Harry avoided his friends as much as possible but it
still wasn't enough. He had Transfiguration that morning with Ron, Hermione
and Renata and in order to avoid sitting with any of them he had to sit in
the front while McGonagall explained how to transfigure straw into wool.
Then they had potions together and Snape used Harry's lack of concentration
to repeatedly scream at him and take points from Gryffindor. Harry sat
alone in order to avoid his other friends other friends at lunch.
Divination was worse than usual, he didn't even have Ron to laugh with and
to make bad matters worse Ron was sitting with Renata. Harry sat next to
Anthony for two reasons: one, to make Ron mad, and two, there was nowhere
else to sit.
After class he asked, "Harry, what is wrong with you and your friends? What happened?"
"Quiditch."
"Oh. That wasn't a very good game on Saturday."
"Yeah 'oh'. That game was a disaster. Renata thinks it's my fault. She's taken over as Captain."
"Well, then why are you mad at Ron and Hermione? No one can ever be mad at Hermione," Anthony said eagerly.
"Because Renata put it to a vote and they voted against me too. And they aren't even on the team!" he replied crossly.
Harry spent the next few days sulking, and never spoke once to Ron, Hermione, or Renata. People who knew him well noticed the changes in behavior. Sirius and Lupin repeatedly asked if anything was wrong. Snape used Harry's foul temper as an excuse to be especially nasty. Draco Malfoy decided this was the perfect time to get on Harry's nerves.
By the end of the week, Harry just wanted to have nothing to do with anyone. He spent a lot of time studying; he didn't go to Quiditch practice. Quite a few Gryffindors were mad at him, not just the team and Ron and Hermione. That next Saturday Harry got a note at breakfast.
Harry, see me at 8 o'clock on the Quiditch field. Don't be late.
Harry was tempted to crumple up the note and throw it away, but as he had nothing else to do he decided to go. He hadn't let his friends know that he had had nothing to do all week and he wasn't go to let them know now. This time he actually had somewhere to be. That night Harry made sure Renata, Hermione, and Ron saw him leave the common room. They still hadn't really spoken to him all week. The words that had passed between them were few and far between and weren't very pleasant.
He entered the stadium and didn't see anyone at first. Then he saw a figure standing near one end of the field.
"I'm so glad you decided to show up." The voice was slightly sarcastic.
"What do you want?"
"Why? It's not as if you've got friends waiting for you in the common room. Do you?"
Harry didn't reply.
"Walk with me, talk with me." Rory walked up to him. "We'll walk around the field for awhile while I understand the facts. The four of you aren't very helpful in explaining things. Just answer true or false. You are mad at Renata, Hermione, and Ron."
"True."
"The fight is about that really bad Quiditch game last Saturday."
"True."
"They kicked you off the team when Ren called that emergency meeting."
"No, they didn't! I quit."
"Okay. Sure. Think what you want, they were suspending you anyway, whether you quit or not. Look at this." She drew a piece of parchment from her cloak.
"Th-this is an order signed by Dumbledore and McGonagall to get me temporarily suspended from the team."
"Yep."
"I can't believe they'd go behind my back like that and do this," he said angrily.
"Just take it easy, Harry. It's not their fault. It's yours."
"What are you talking about?"
"You. You've got to believe in the team, Harry. You're the reason they didn't know what to do out there last week. You didn't discuss the plays you wanted, you didn't talk about timing, you didn't teach them how to play. You just sent them out there like sheep and fed 'em to the wolves. You realize that? You don't, do you? Last year you had a team that knew how to play and knew how to work together. Those delightful twins and those three girls had been playing Quiditch together for six years when you took over last year, and I've never seen a girl more interested in Quiditch than Renata. Last year you had it made in the shade. This year needed work and you didn't do the work you should have. Well what have you got to say for yourself? Other than that you know I'm right."
Harry couldn't say anything. Rory was right. He hadn't given the team the effort he should have. They deserved better than he'd given them. Wood always spent his whole summer devising new Quiditch training programs and strategies, he'd make the team practice until they all knew the plays backwards and forwards, they knew where everyone on the field was at all times. This is was how he should have been running it. Now Wood would come to the next match know Harry had failed.
"So what am I supposed to do now?" he asked angrily. "Do you think they'll take me back? Are they going to forgive me?"
"As a friend, I think they will. As a team-member, I'm not so sure. You're pretty much the best Seeker in the school, but it doesn't mean that they won't replace you if they have to. Renata's a good Seeker too, but I don't know how they'll get a Keeper like her. I don't know what to tell you, Harry. I only have one piece of advice for you."
"And what advice is that?"
"Grovel. Beg. Plead. Apologize until you are so hoarse you can't speak anymore. Get on your knees and ask for forgiveness until they are so bloody and so that you can't get up again."
"And so how am I supposed to get up if I'm on my knees until they are so sore I can't?"
"Maybe, if you're lucky, your friends will be willing to help you up. That's what they are there for, Harry. That's why they are there." She said this in all seriousness. "We have to get back inside."
Harry thought the whole way back to Gryffindor Tower. He realized he had let everyone down. He had let his friends down. He let Gryffindor down. He probably let Sirius and Lupin down, too. His friends had been right when they'd shouted at him and told him what they thought. It was what he needed to hear, but he hadn't been listening at the time.
He was nearly at the portrait of the Fat Lady in the pink dress before either of them spoke.
"I have to go back downstairs since I'm staying in the Slytherin dormitory. I'll leave you to deal with that ghost over there and explain why you are so late getting back to the common room. Bye." Rory left quickly.
Harry sighed and turned around the final corner to meet Nearly- Headless-Nick, who was patrolling the corridor.
"Ah, Harry, what you doing out so late?"
"Er-hello, Nick. I was just talking to.Sirius."
"I see. That's nice."
"It's getting late and I've got some homework to do."
"Of course. Goodnight, Harry."
"Goodnight, Nick." Harry nearly gave a sigh of relief but was careful not to. He said the password and entered the common room.
He met the cold stare of his best friends. Renata, Hermione, and Ron were engaged in a game of cards an only spared him a half-glance. He was starting to feel annoyed again but he took a few deep breaths; he knew what he had to say, even if he didn't want to say it.
He approached his friends. "Er, I wanted to talk to you."
Renata and the other ignored him and she said, "I win. My turn to deal."
"Look. I need to talk to you."
Ron didn't even look at him as he asked, "So where were you?"
"I was talking to Rory."
"Oh, really. Why don't you just go back and talk to her again and leave us in peace?" Hermione said acidly.
"I really need to talk to you three."
"We don't speak to insensitive jerks," Renata said.
He took a deep breath, "What about an insensitive jerk who is sorry and wants to apologize to his best friends? Would you speak to him?"
The three at the table shared a look and Ron replied, "Keep talking and we'll see."
"Look, I messed up. The team deserved the best out of every single player; they didn't get the best from me. I-I was wrong. Ron, Hermione, you guys were being real friends; telling me what I needed to hear when I didn't want to hear it. That's what your real friends do. I was just stupid and didn't listen. Renata, I obviously haven't been the best Captain or even team member. Look, I understand if I'm not allowed back on the team again, but I'd rather have my friends back. That's more important to me than anything else."
His friends didn't say anything and Harry couldn't read their faces. "Well?" he asked after a minute or two of the awkward silence.
"We're thinking," Renata said. Her tone hadn't changed but Harry was almost sure that there was something almost playful about her expression. The three whispered for a couple of minutes while Harry waited and trained not to look nervous.
Ron was the first to look at Harry again. "We forgive you."
".But we've come up with a few rules," finished Hermione.
Harry puzzled, and asked, "Rules?"
Renata nodded, "One: as far as Quiditch goes, you, are on probation. Details will be discussed at a later time."
"What's the next rule?"
"Two: you have to promise to try to listen to us. Three-"
"Wait, how many rules are there?"
"Three. Three: you have to publicly apologize to us."
"When?"
"At the next Quiditch game."
Wait, a public apology?"
"Yes. Or there's always option two."
"What's my second option?"
"You have to kiss somebody over Christmas break."
"I can have Ginny walk under the mistletoe," grinned Ron.
Harry frowned. "So basically this is like a truth or dare thing? Either I tell the truth and admit that I was wrong in front of everybody at the Quiditch game, or I take the dare and I have to kiss somebody over Christmas break. Why?"
"We have our reasons."
"When do I get to find out what those reasons are?"
"When we feel like telling you. You were a jerk, and jerks should be punished. Now pull up a chair and we'll start another game of cards."
Harry grinned. "Alright."
"So what did you and Rory discuss?" asked Hermione.
"She showed me the error of my ways."
"Really? She explained to you that you were being a brat?"
"More or less."
"So what have you been up to all week? We've hardly spoken to you and I know lots of other people who weren't eager to speak to you either."
"Well, I spent a lot of time studying by myself. After all I didn't have anyone to talk to. Nobody in Gryffindor was willing to talk to me."
Renata asked, "So how badly did Malfoy get on your nerves? Did he remember to use that curse that makes your head swell up like a balloon? I love that one. It seemed to fit the situation nicely."
"How did you know about that?"
She grinned in response. "Hey, I was mad at you so I gave him a curse or two to use."
Harry sighed and shook his head. "Why do I ever get on your bad side? It always results in something like this."
Renata grinned again. "That's why nobody likes to get in fights with me.
Ron shook his head at her, "You're a little trouble-maker, that's why. You almost want him to fight with you."
"Sure. It adds some excitement to life when it gets boring. Although I still wish we hadn't lost that Quiditch game."
Hermione added, "At least it wasn't the match against Slytherin."
"Yeah, otherwise things would have been a hundred times worse. We still wouldn't be speaking to you."
"I win," declared Hermione.
"Great. Another game?"
"I'm tired."
"What's the matter, Harry? Apologizing to us really takes that much effort?"
"Yeah. You especially have an exhausting personality, Renata."
"I'll take that as compliment, Harry."
Harry picked up the cards and dealt them out again. "So what have all of you been up to this week?"
Ron shrugged.
Renata said, "Quiditch practice Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."
Ron added, "And don't forget Hogsmeade on Tuesday."
Hermione told him, "And Thursday we did our homework."
Harry suddenly felt left out; they'd had fun all week without him. Well, other than the homework part but it was still better than his week.
"Well, what did you do all week?" Hermione asked.
Harry sighed, "I told you, I was studying.that was fun."
"Not likely."
"I'm tired. I'm going upstairs. Goodnight, everybody."
"Goodnight, Harry," they replied together. "We'll see you in the morning."
Harry couldn't help smiling to himself. It was good to have friends again.
After class he asked, "Harry, what is wrong with you and your friends? What happened?"
"Quiditch."
"Oh. That wasn't a very good game on Saturday."
"Yeah 'oh'. That game was a disaster. Renata thinks it's my fault. She's taken over as Captain."
"Well, then why are you mad at Ron and Hermione? No one can ever be mad at Hermione," Anthony said eagerly.
"Because Renata put it to a vote and they voted against me too. And they aren't even on the team!" he replied crossly.
Harry spent the next few days sulking, and never spoke once to Ron, Hermione, or Renata. People who knew him well noticed the changes in behavior. Sirius and Lupin repeatedly asked if anything was wrong. Snape used Harry's foul temper as an excuse to be especially nasty. Draco Malfoy decided this was the perfect time to get on Harry's nerves.
By the end of the week, Harry just wanted to have nothing to do with anyone. He spent a lot of time studying; he didn't go to Quiditch practice. Quite a few Gryffindors were mad at him, not just the team and Ron and Hermione. That next Saturday Harry got a note at breakfast.
Harry, see me at 8 o'clock on the Quiditch field. Don't be late.
Harry was tempted to crumple up the note and throw it away, but as he had nothing else to do he decided to go. He hadn't let his friends know that he had had nothing to do all week and he wasn't go to let them know now. This time he actually had somewhere to be. That night Harry made sure Renata, Hermione, and Ron saw him leave the common room. They still hadn't really spoken to him all week. The words that had passed between them were few and far between and weren't very pleasant.
He entered the stadium and didn't see anyone at first. Then he saw a figure standing near one end of the field.
"I'm so glad you decided to show up." The voice was slightly sarcastic.
"What do you want?"
"Why? It's not as if you've got friends waiting for you in the common room. Do you?"
Harry didn't reply.
"Walk with me, talk with me." Rory walked up to him. "We'll walk around the field for awhile while I understand the facts. The four of you aren't very helpful in explaining things. Just answer true or false. You are mad at Renata, Hermione, and Ron."
"True."
"The fight is about that really bad Quiditch game last Saturday."
"True."
"They kicked you off the team when Ren called that emergency meeting."
"No, they didn't! I quit."
"Okay. Sure. Think what you want, they were suspending you anyway, whether you quit or not. Look at this." She drew a piece of parchment from her cloak.
"Th-this is an order signed by Dumbledore and McGonagall to get me temporarily suspended from the team."
"Yep."
"I can't believe they'd go behind my back like that and do this," he said angrily.
"Just take it easy, Harry. It's not their fault. It's yours."
"What are you talking about?"
"You. You've got to believe in the team, Harry. You're the reason they didn't know what to do out there last week. You didn't discuss the plays you wanted, you didn't talk about timing, you didn't teach them how to play. You just sent them out there like sheep and fed 'em to the wolves. You realize that? You don't, do you? Last year you had a team that knew how to play and knew how to work together. Those delightful twins and those three girls had been playing Quiditch together for six years when you took over last year, and I've never seen a girl more interested in Quiditch than Renata. Last year you had it made in the shade. This year needed work and you didn't do the work you should have. Well what have you got to say for yourself? Other than that you know I'm right."
Harry couldn't say anything. Rory was right. He hadn't given the team the effort he should have. They deserved better than he'd given them. Wood always spent his whole summer devising new Quiditch training programs and strategies, he'd make the team practice until they all knew the plays backwards and forwards, they knew where everyone on the field was at all times. This is was how he should have been running it. Now Wood would come to the next match know Harry had failed.
"So what am I supposed to do now?" he asked angrily. "Do you think they'll take me back? Are they going to forgive me?"
"As a friend, I think they will. As a team-member, I'm not so sure. You're pretty much the best Seeker in the school, but it doesn't mean that they won't replace you if they have to. Renata's a good Seeker too, but I don't know how they'll get a Keeper like her. I don't know what to tell you, Harry. I only have one piece of advice for you."
"And what advice is that?"
"Grovel. Beg. Plead. Apologize until you are so hoarse you can't speak anymore. Get on your knees and ask for forgiveness until they are so bloody and so that you can't get up again."
"And so how am I supposed to get up if I'm on my knees until they are so sore I can't?"
"Maybe, if you're lucky, your friends will be willing to help you up. That's what they are there for, Harry. That's why they are there." She said this in all seriousness. "We have to get back inside."
Harry thought the whole way back to Gryffindor Tower. He realized he had let everyone down. He had let his friends down. He let Gryffindor down. He probably let Sirius and Lupin down, too. His friends had been right when they'd shouted at him and told him what they thought. It was what he needed to hear, but he hadn't been listening at the time.
He was nearly at the portrait of the Fat Lady in the pink dress before either of them spoke.
"I have to go back downstairs since I'm staying in the Slytherin dormitory. I'll leave you to deal with that ghost over there and explain why you are so late getting back to the common room. Bye." Rory left quickly.
Harry sighed and turned around the final corner to meet Nearly- Headless-Nick, who was patrolling the corridor.
"Ah, Harry, what you doing out so late?"
"Er-hello, Nick. I was just talking to.Sirius."
"I see. That's nice."
"It's getting late and I've got some homework to do."
"Of course. Goodnight, Harry."
"Goodnight, Nick." Harry nearly gave a sigh of relief but was careful not to. He said the password and entered the common room.
He met the cold stare of his best friends. Renata, Hermione, and Ron were engaged in a game of cards an only spared him a half-glance. He was starting to feel annoyed again but he took a few deep breaths; he knew what he had to say, even if he didn't want to say it.
He approached his friends. "Er, I wanted to talk to you."
Renata and the other ignored him and she said, "I win. My turn to deal."
"Look. I need to talk to you."
Ron didn't even look at him as he asked, "So where were you?"
"I was talking to Rory."
"Oh, really. Why don't you just go back and talk to her again and leave us in peace?" Hermione said acidly.
"I really need to talk to you three."
"We don't speak to insensitive jerks," Renata said.
He took a deep breath, "What about an insensitive jerk who is sorry and wants to apologize to his best friends? Would you speak to him?"
The three at the table shared a look and Ron replied, "Keep talking and we'll see."
"Look, I messed up. The team deserved the best out of every single player; they didn't get the best from me. I-I was wrong. Ron, Hermione, you guys were being real friends; telling me what I needed to hear when I didn't want to hear it. That's what your real friends do. I was just stupid and didn't listen. Renata, I obviously haven't been the best Captain or even team member. Look, I understand if I'm not allowed back on the team again, but I'd rather have my friends back. That's more important to me than anything else."
His friends didn't say anything and Harry couldn't read their faces. "Well?" he asked after a minute or two of the awkward silence.
"We're thinking," Renata said. Her tone hadn't changed but Harry was almost sure that there was something almost playful about her expression. The three whispered for a couple of minutes while Harry waited and trained not to look nervous.
Ron was the first to look at Harry again. "We forgive you."
".But we've come up with a few rules," finished Hermione.
Harry puzzled, and asked, "Rules?"
Renata nodded, "One: as far as Quiditch goes, you, are on probation. Details will be discussed at a later time."
"What's the next rule?"
"Two: you have to promise to try to listen to us. Three-"
"Wait, how many rules are there?"
"Three. Three: you have to publicly apologize to us."
"When?"
"At the next Quiditch game."
Wait, a public apology?"
"Yes. Or there's always option two."
"What's my second option?"
"You have to kiss somebody over Christmas break."
"I can have Ginny walk under the mistletoe," grinned Ron.
Harry frowned. "So basically this is like a truth or dare thing? Either I tell the truth and admit that I was wrong in front of everybody at the Quiditch game, or I take the dare and I have to kiss somebody over Christmas break. Why?"
"We have our reasons."
"When do I get to find out what those reasons are?"
"When we feel like telling you. You were a jerk, and jerks should be punished. Now pull up a chair and we'll start another game of cards."
Harry grinned. "Alright."
"So what did you and Rory discuss?" asked Hermione.
"She showed me the error of my ways."
"Really? She explained to you that you were being a brat?"
"More or less."
"So what have you been up to all week? We've hardly spoken to you and I know lots of other people who weren't eager to speak to you either."
"Well, I spent a lot of time studying by myself. After all I didn't have anyone to talk to. Nobody in Gryffindor was willing to talk to me."
Renata asked, "So how badly did Malfoy get on your nerves? Did he remember to use that curse that makes your head swell up like a balloon? I love that one. It seemed to fit the situation nicely."
"How did you know about that?"
She grinned in response. "Hey, I was mad at you so I gave him a curse or two to use."
Harry sighed and shook his head. "Why do I ever get on your bad side? It always results in something like this."
Renata grinned again. "That's why nobody likes to get in fights with me.
Ron shook his head at her, "You're a little trouble-maker, that's why. You almost want him to fight with you."
"Sure. It adds some excitement to life when it gets boring. Although I still wish we hadn't lost that Quiditch game."
Hermione added, "At least it wasn't the match against Slytherin."
"Yeah, otherwise things would have been a hundred times worse. We still wouldn't be speaking to you."
"I win," declared Hermione.
"Great. Another game?"
"I'm tired."
"What's the matter, Harry? Apologizing to us really takes that much effort?"
"Yeah. You especially have an exhausting personality, Renata."
"I'll take that as compliment, Harry."
Harry picked up the cards and dealt them out again. "So what have all of you been up to this week?"
Ron shrugged.
Renata said, "Quiditch practice Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."
Ron added, "And don't forget Hogsmeade on Tuesday."
Hermione told him, "And Thursday we did our homework."
Harry suddenly felt left out; they'd had fun all week without him. Well, other than the homework part but it was still better than his week.
"Well, what did you do all week?" Hermione asked.
Harry sighed, "I told you, I was studying.that was fun."
"Not likely."
"I'm tired. I'm going upstairs. Goodnight, everybody."
"Goodnight, Harry," they replied together. "We'll see you in the morning."
Harry couldn't help smiling to himself. It was good to have friends again.
