5. Quidditch and Dreams
The next month was a study in contrasts for Harry Potter. Never before had Harry ever been more popular. To be sure, from the day he first stepped foot on the Hogwarts Express, he was a famous. Everyone wanted to see and talk to the Boy-Who-Lived, the youngest seeker in a century. Over the next five years, Harry remained famous, or infamous, but rarely popular. In fact, there were plenty of times when Harry was downright scorned and hated – there was the time in first year when he was caught after hours and cost Gryffindor 50 points; in second year he was thought to be the Heir of Slytherin; in fourth year he was despised by most of the school for his "attention-grabbing" from Cedric; and in fifth year he was either thought to be the saviour of the wizarding world or a raving lunatic. In fact, third year was probably his best; he only had dementors and an escaped prisoner (though wrongly convicted) after him.
But now, with the truth of Voldemort revealed, an Order of Merlin (3rd Class) to his credit, and captaincy of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Harry became popular; friends, acquaintances, and even strangers constantly surrounded him. He hardly had a quiet moment to himself except for rare moments in the library. And yet, despite it all, Harry never felt more alone in his life. In fact, he often felt that he would prefer to be hated by everyone else if it meant he could be with his two best friends again.
Ron was still as jealous as ever; the fact that Harry seemed to embrace his fans, rather then push them away, only deepened his bitterness. And after the incident in the hallway, Harry and Hermione felt very awkward around each other. It turned out that Hermione and Eddie have been seeing each other since the term started, having met at a Prefect meeting. After being caught, Hermione and Eddie decided there was no further point in concealing their relationship (Hermione had wanted to keep it a secret so she could tell Ron and Harry first). Now, they were openly dating, and she made no more excuses about where she spent her time. For the first time at Hogwarts, Harry had no one to talk to about his troubles; for even Hagrid had not returned from whatever secret mission he was on.
However, everything was not all gloom and doom for Harry. He was certain that Ron would come around someday, as he had in the past. He was also equally sure that that Hermione and Eddie were in that "new relationship" stage, and their need to always be together would lessen over time. In the meantime, Harry was able to spend more time with his fellow sixth-year Gryffindors, getting to know them better. He felt like he spent more time with Dean, Seamus, Neville, Lavender, and Pavarti in the past month then he had in the past five years. The other sixth years, in turn, were pleasantly surprised to get to know Harry better, and while they noticed the obvious break in his friendships with Ron and Hermione, they avoided the subject altogether. So, while Harry missed Ron and Hermione terribly, he was confident that things would turn out fine in the end.
As September turned into November, the first Quidditch match of the season was fast approaching. The first match pitted Gryffindor against Hufflepuff, as determined by last year's standings. Harry was looking forward to the match as Quidditch provided him with one of his few joys. As captain, Harry increased the number of practice sessions to daily, but kept them relatively light as Hufflepuff did not present a great challenge: the majority of their team was below 5th year, and they had a new 4th year seeker. Harry felt the Gryffindor team was progressing well and had high hopes for the future. The loss of Fred and George Weasley at beater had hurt the team, but Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper were coming along nicely, somehow having practiced over the summer. Ron seemed to retain his confidence from the final game of last year, and Ginny was proving to be an excellent chaser, having switched positions after Harry's lifetime ban was lifted.
Harry knew that, as captain, he would be looked upon to set the strategies for the team; unfortunately for Harry, he had never paid a great deal of attention to the plays of Oliver Wood or Angelina Johnson, since as seeker he was responsible only for the snitch. So, Harry spent many long hours in the library and talking with Seamus and other Quidditch-crazy Gryffindors, researching various Quidditch plays for chasers and beaters. He knew they were simplistic, but Harry was confidant of his team's chances. He also knew that the quality of his plays and strategies would have to improve against Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
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The day of the match finally arrived, and Harry led his team onto the Quidditch pitch. Clothed in their scarlet and gold robes, they gathered in the entrance tunnel, waiting to be announced. The stands were filled with cheering students, but not nearly to capacity, for the match was acknowledged by all as an easy win for Gryffindor; it would be a gigantic upset if Hufflepuff were to pull off a victory. Those with only a passing interest in Quidditch did not feel the need to attend, choosing instead to catch up on their studies
As Harry stood before his team, he felt a strange sense of unease. He tried to find the source of his discomfort. It wasn't about the outcome of the match – Harry was confident in his own skills and that of his team. But still, as the team flew onto the field to the cheers of the crowd, Harry couldn't shake that feeling that something was wrong. As he searched the stands for some sign of danger, he realized he was flying with less abandon, a little slower and more carefully then he normally would. He shook his head and tried to clear his mind as Madam Hootch released the snitch and the bludgers before tossing the Quaffle, signifying the start of the match.
Harry circled the stadium cautiously, keeping one eye out for the snitch, the other on the game below him. He quickly realized that the Hufflepuff seeker was shadowing him throughout; it seemed the plan for their seeker was to shadow Harry and hope for luck in grabbing the snitch first. As Harry flew, he couldn't shake his feeling of unease, which fairly distracted him from the game. Ron's play as keeper was phenomenal (although the Hufflepuff Chasers didn't provide the best competition), and he allowed only a few goals. Since the game wouldn't end until the snitch was caught, and since Harry was too distracted to find the snitch, and since the Hufflepuff seeker was only watching Harry, the score continued to climb as the match went on, and the students watching began to lose interest. By the time Harry spotted the snitch near the Hufflepuff goal, the score read Gryffindor 180 – Hufflepuff 40. Harry dove for the snitch, though with less speed than was his usual. The Hufflepuff took off immediately in pursuit, but even though Harry was flying below top speed, his superior broom and flying skills easily propelled him to the snitch before his opponent. Harry grabbed the snitch and raised his hand in victory, as the crowd cheered.
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The victory party in the Gryffindor common room was more reserved than for a victory over Slytherin, but a win was a win and any excuse for a party was a good one. Harry was the center of attention, being congratulated on his fine catch of the snitch as being gently mocked for letting the game go on for so long before catching it. Finally, Harry found himself on the couch, butterbeer in hand, with a few moments to himself. Looking around the common room, he spotted most of his fellow Gryffindors: Ron, still in his Quidditch robes, chatting away with Natalie McDonald and Jack Sloper; Dean and Seamus laughing with Lavender and Pavarti; and Ginny smiling warmly at Neville as he animatedly told a story. He noticed with disappointment that Hermione was not in the common room. He figured that she was probably studying or with Eddie.
All of sudden, Harry realized what was behind his feeling of unease. Hermione! Hermione wasn't at the Quidditch match, the first time she had missed one of his games. Then Harry grew confused. Why should that make him feel uneasy? He was disappointed of course, but he knew that Quidditch wasn't her favorite pastime, and now that she was dating Eddie, she naturally would want to spend time with him. He thought back over the years and gradually realized that to Harry, Hermione wasn't just another cheering fan. She was like his guardian angel out on the field. Whenever something bad happened to Harry on the Quidditch field, Hermione was there. Through countless incidents, Hermione was always by his side, offering her help and support, and her presence provided a sense of safety that allowed Harry to fly with reckless abandon. Harry frowned. Somehow, he would have to get her to attend the remaining matches; he didn't think he could play well enough to win without her.
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Two days before the last Hogsmeade weekend before winter break, Harry had a dream. Harry was in a forest clearing. It was night, and he couldn't make out anything past the trees around the clearing. Death Eaters surrounded Harry in a circle around him, their heads bowed in subservience. But the thing that caught his attention was the large shape of a man lying in front of him, bound and gagged.
"Ah, the time has come, my faithful Death Eaters," Harry said, in a voice not his own. "Turn the half-breed over so that I may look upon him."
Several hooded Death Eaters approached the bound man, and heaving with effort, they turned him over to face Harry. Harry wanted to scream, but he couldn't; for there in front of him, bloodied but alive, lay Hagrid, looking at Harry with eyes filled with fear.
"I know you are there, Harry Potter; I know you see what I see" Harry said himself. "Come to the Forbidden Forest tomorrow night at midnight if wish to avoid another death on your conscience. Come alone, for we will be watching, and do not think you can hide under your invisibility cloak. If you do not come alone, we will kill the half-blood immediately." With that, Harry pointed his wand towards Hagrid. "Crucio!"
Harry awoke with a start, Hagrid's screams of pain still ringing in his ears. His bedsheets were damp from his sweat. Taking several deep breaths, Harry tried to calm himself as he looked around. None of his roommates were had awoken. Harry lay back down thinking. Was it another trick by Voldemort, as his visions of Sirius had been? Harry thought that to be unlikely; he was progressing quite nicely in occlumency and believed he could tell truth from fiction. Plus, this time Voldemort spoke directly to him, contacting him through their shared connection. But regardless of whether it was a trick or not, Harry knew he couldn't simply ignore what he had seen.