WARNING – OotP spoilers!

The Legacy of the Founders :: By: JoC a.k.a JkReviewer

::

Chapter V – Quidditch quarrels!

The rest of the week was rather eventful for Harry, although it was rather the same as always. Potions was horrible, Defence against the dark arts where good – everything else was in between. Snape was even more awful than normally, seeing that almost everybody liked Tonks classes (and everyone knew that Snape envied whomever had the DADA job), and he took his anger out on the Griffindors and Harry in particular. Tonks on the other hand seemed more happy then ever, Harry being her favourite student, tried extra hard in every class. After almost everybody had mastered the shadow blend spell they had moved on to the Cover of Darkness spell, otherwise known as the Centro Nox spell she had pulled of the first day. The harder you thought on hiding, the larger the area would be covered in darkness. The spell lasted until you used the counter spell, Centro Lumos. Most people had no problems understanding this, since it was basically just an overpowered reversed-lumos spell. (A/N: Ehh… right!) Neville, who had never been too logical-minded however, didn't really get the concept, so Tonks had to help him over and over again. Not that minded though, she rather seemed to be enjoying herself.

Although Tonks was sometimes really clumsy, she hadn't had any thing serious happen in her classes. A few broken vases and a window, was the only casualties so far. Everyone except the usual Slytherins liked her classes, but who could have expected otherwise? The spells taught in Tonks' classes were used a lot, especially by some of the more gossip-loving sixth year girls, who used the Shadow Blend spell to eavesdrop on everyone. No corridors were save…

During the last class of the week (Transfiguration) professor Dumbledore's magically enchanted voice was heard like an announcement speaker all over the school.  "Every student, is advised to be at their house tables at dinner today, matters of great importance are to be discussed." Everyone began talking, much to Professor McGonagall's displeasure. Most sounded thrilled, Harry however, feared the worst. This had never happened before.

Most of the students, who made there way to the great hall alongside Harry, seemed to look forward to the announcement as if it was an early Christmas present. They eagerly discussed what it could be; although it had just appeared on the table, no one really seemed to be paying the food any interest. Harry dreaded the moment that the Headmaster would appear before them. Almost subconsciously Harry had always had a very pessimistic side to him, that played in at moments just like this. Hermione wore the same expression as him, Harry thought. In his head – Harry smiled at this – he sometimes felt Hermione knew him better that almost anybody else.

At the same moment, Dumbledore appeared. He looked around at all the students, at the eager faces (and apparently also at the more worried ones) and then say: "No need to worry, this is not a sad announcement" Harry's heart returned to normal pace, and he sighed deeply. "This is however a very urgent message…" Most people were on the edge of the seat. "…it was just decided this afternoon, that there will be no ordinary Quidditch tournament this year!" Harry felt like he was going to faint – I anything could always keep him above depression when he was down it was Quidditch. A lot of people started crunching their fists. Not again, they thought. Some even stood up and yelled at Dumbledore.

"No need to worry though, as there will still be played Quidditch at Hogwarts this year – more than usual actually!" Dumbledore said with a slight amusement in his voice, having expected this responds of course. Everyone looked very confused now, Harry included. "This year there will be no house teams, instead each player will be randomly sorted into one of five teams. The top players with the most points will be awarded as winners, at Easter break." Nobody dared say a word at this moment; the great hall was quieter than ever. "A big surprise awaits those few players…" he cleared his throat. "Since there will now be five teams there will also be room for new players, so anyone who have wanted to play can now sign up. All old players will also have to sign up…" Dumbledore was finally finished, and the hall erupted into loud cheers and encores. Nobody really seemed to think that his was a bad decision. 

Harry was first a little alarmed by this fearing for his chance too play, but as he thought more about it – he had to admit to that he was one of the five best seekers in Hogwarts, although saying this to himself seemed somewhat like bragging. All around him, people were discussing this new form of tournament, even people Harry had never thought was interested in the sport, seemed to engage in conversations. Harry looked to Ron. At first he looked worrying but when he saw that he Harry was looking at him he smiled. "Great idea don't you think Harry?" He nodded back as a reply, because at the moment it seemed impossible to converse without screaming to each other, and Harry wasn't in the mood for a headache.

Dumbledore, who hadn't sat down yet, lifted his hand and the great hall became silent again, in a matter of seconds. "Madam Hooch, then inventor behind this new form of tournament will now explain a bit about the advanced point scoring and gaming rules." Random applauses were heard, as the headmaster finally sat down, must people didn't really notice as everyone's eyes turned to a slightly blushing Madam Hooch, the second Dumbledore had said it.

"Yes…well. I had a lot of time on my hands this summer…" she sobbed ones, then continued. "…as my best broom got stolen!" The hatred in her voice was frightening, and even startled a couple of first years. "So I thought I might give the original Quidditch ideas a few turns and tweaks. I hope this system will bring a more pleasant experience to both players and audience. The basic rule change is that each player will be judged individually, and will be awarded points for outstanding work in their particular position, as well as the points won by the team. The normal team names are disbanded for now, because of the oddness of the team selection. They will be named after five popular constellations instead. The teams are: Orion, Gemini, Pegasus, Aries and Vega."

She looked around to see if everyone was up to speed. "All who want to be a part of this are required to submit a note with their name on it, and the position they wish to play by tomorrow at noon. All entries will be placed in this." She pointed to a black box in front of her. "It has a basic age check to see if any first years might try slipping in their names, and it is the box alone that decides - on past experiences and general potential – who that are going to be playing this year." She tapped the box once with her wand. It opened and seemed to spray out loads of dark fog. "The box also decides what team you are on, before each game and the results will be posted on the note board by the entrance"

Nobody other than Madam Hooch had spoken for the last 5 minutes. Even the Slytherins had paid attention to the speech. "And that's about it…" she was about to sit down. "Oh… yeah and the last rule: Repetitive foul play will mean exclusion from the tournament."

After the (in Harry's ears anyway) huge announcement, he found that almost everybody he knew wanted to sign up. "I don't think I have many chances abut I'm trying anyway…" he heard Dean Thomas say. "Me too – maybe the box thinks I'm worthy of playing." Lavender Brown said enthusiastically. Harry shook his head and smiled. Quidditch fever was really heating up. Only Hermione seemed perfectly unaffected by recent news. "Hmrf… I had hoped it would be something important!" she said, getting glares from everyone in a ten-meter radius. Harry could only laugh. No matter how smart Hermione got that was one thing she would never understand.

Harry and Ron used the rest of the evening discussing if they would make the cut, and who else might do so as well. "I KNOW you're gonna make it Harry, but I really hope I do so to…" Ron said while they walked to the Griffindor tower. "Yeah, I hope so to Ron!" Harry said, although his mind wasn't really in to the conversation. He had a peculiar feeling that he had forgotten about something. Ron just kept on talking. "But maybe I should try out for Chaser instead, I mean, there are fifteen chances of being a Chaser, but only five at being a keeper." Harry was about to tell Ron that he should do what he was best at, when he finally remembered what it was he was supposed to do. "CHO…" he yelled and turned around, sprinting down the hall. "Harry – what…" was all that he heard of Ron's protests.

It was already 9:50; he had only ten minutes to make it all the way to the abandoned room in the northern tower. He had found the room by accident, while trying to use a secret way to the owlery. It was complete empty, and normally locked of. Harry had used Thursday night, to move a few training things into the room – like books and cushions for stun spells and things like that. Although Cho had mentioned wanting to learn the new stuff, the teacher spirit had overwhelmed him again – just like it had last year. He ran as fast as he could, taking all the shortcuts he knew, and yet he was still late.

She was there already, her arms crossed – wearing a pretty sour face. "Sorry-Cho-I-ran-as-fast-as-I-could!" he stuttered, while trying to catch his breath. Her face changed into a milder looking attitude, and she let her arms down. "Ohh… it's ok. I was half expecting you wouldn't show, you know after all that happened today I thought you might forget it." Harry gave her a guilty smile. Even though they were both here to learn and teach dark arts defence, they were also both seekers, and the small talk quickly shifted from DADA to quidditch. "I'm definitely going to put my name in for seeker." Cho said, eyeing Harry for a response. "Yeah, me too." Harry sighed. "Too bad we can't play on the same team then, I would have liked to see how our teamwork would go…" She smiled. Harry felt a slight blush coming to his cheeks. He hoped she wouldn't notice.

They talked for a while about everything quidditch, knowing that that was one thing they had I common. Harry really liked talking to Cho, because she seemed like a person who had been through just the same as Harry had. She was a seeker too, but more importantly she had tried losing someone too – it bound them together in a way. A way Harry had tried to ignore, but had failed completely. He knew deep down inside, that he would rather be here right now, than anywhere else. Harry could help stealing glances whenever he thought Cho wasn't looking directly at him. She was so beautiful… Harry, not wanting to go into the strange trance like state again, rose to his feet, Cho following his lead.

"Right, we better get started if we are to learn something before it is too late!" he took out his wand, as did she. "Ehh… okay. We have only learned two spells so far" Harry started. Cho didn't seem bothered. "The first one is called Shadow blend, and it's a disguise spell." He continued. "What it does is that it changes your appearance slightly to make you harder to spot while hiding in a shadow. You have to think real hard about blending in with the wall and the shadow. Now point you wand at a shadowed wall and say 'Umbramix' " She nodded. "I'm sure you can pull it of!" he said, hoping to get her confident. He knew that him looking at her usually made her nervous. "Umbramix" she shouted, and to Harry's big surprise she pulled it off first try. She giggled at his expression. "You can't have had high hopes for me with that look on your face!" Harry got himself together, blushing with embarrassment. "Well… It's just – you always seemed so nervous when I was around last year at the D.A…" she smiled. "Well, I'm still nervous around you but…" she stopped mid-sentence, realising what she had said, and how you could interpret it. Instead of waving it off, as a figure of speech or anything, she just smiled. They stood silently for a few minutes, just staring at each other.

After trying out the spell a few more times, he was convinced that she could do it and started working on the Centro Nox spell. In a few minutes the room was a dark as a moonless night, and Harry decided to call it a day, seeing that he could teach her more at the moment. He smiled at Cho, realizing that she had really meant that she wanted to study hard. "You did really good to night Cho. I - I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't expect this much of you…" He said nervously, waiting for the blow. It didn't come. Instead she just stood there, watching him with a smile on her lips. "Come on Harry, let's pack up and head down to the great hall." Harry stared puzzled at her. "We got to sign up for the tournament remember…"

They walked to the great hall together, discussing everything quidditch. "I have been practicing all summer, so I hope you up to it!" she teased Harry. "I am! Well, at least I think I am." A slight frown appeared. "I haven't been out flying for months, except if you count that morning where…" Harry suddenly realised what he was about to say, a stopped himself. "Ahh… Flying around when we're not supposed to are we… tsk tsk!" she said in a mocking voice.

Harry blushed, hopping she would try to get the real story out of him. Thankfully she didn't. "All I can say now is that it will really surprise you…" she said making a my-lips-are-sealed move across her lips. Her perfect lips… Harry caught himself thinking, almost slapping himself for spacing-out again. Was the crush he had on her, really coming back? He shook his head as if to clear his mind of thoughts. It didn't work… Harry sighed. This wasn't just a teenage crush – but he just could risk it. Or could he…

Suddenly he felt Cho's hand in his as they reached the gates to the hall. In his mind Harry wanted to pull away, but his heart wouldn't let him. Instead he just smiled happily for the first time in more than three months. They walked together in silence all the way to the application box. They both wrote their names on small pieces of paper, and submitted them to the box. "Well, nothing to do know but wait…" Harry said. Cho nodded. She started to speak, but stopped at the right away. She did this a couple of times, like she couldn't figure out how to say what she wanted to tell him.

"Harry…" she drew a deep breath. "I'm really glad that you help me and I hope we can continue. I must tell you that my friends would not approve of either this or of you!" Harry didn't know which leg to stand on. He just froze still. "But I'm ready to risk it all for these lessons, and I need to know if you fell the same…" she blushed and stared blankly at the ground. She obviously didn't expect a reassuring answer. "I am…"

She looked up, obviously very surprised. She looked at him for a few seconds, waiting for him to take it back. But he didn't, and instead of the doubting face she put on a face as Happy as Harry felt. Suddenly she turned and ran, making sobbing sounds and holding her hand to her eyes, leaving Harry all alone in the great hall. For the first time Harry wasn't sad she cried, as he was pretty sure she did it out of happiness.

Ten minutes later Harry returned to the Griffindor common room, finding both Hermione and Ron waiting up for him. As soon as he came in through the portrait hole, they assaulted him with questions. "Where were you?" they both yelled at the same time. "I- I have been around. Thinking about the tournament…" Hermione seemed to buy it for now, but she still looked very suspiciously at him. Ron however shook his head. "Then why did you yell 'go' or 'yo' or something before running of?" he said with a superior voice. This seemed to get Hermione to join the fray again. Harry was against the wall. "I said no, because I almost forgot to sign up…" Harry smiled like a fool hoping they would just let him alone. "But why run off like that, and why didn't you come back quicker?" Harry was caught, how would he get out of this mess? "I thought the time limit was this evening…and…then I met another player and we discussed tactics and stuff!" he said, realising that his lie was perhaps the thinnest in history.

But then like a guardian angel, Professor McGonagall appeared in the room. "Get to bed now, all of you and now yelling…" she practically shouted. Harry didn't need to hear this twice, ducked out of his "prison" and sprinting to his dorm. He was already in bed, when Ron came up although it had only been thirty seconds. "Hmm… I decided to go for it too. Just signed up today – as chaser!" he said. Harry, despite trying to look like he slept, turned around. "Ron? Why… you were a good keeper?" Ron just shook his head. "We'll talk tomorrow Harry, I'm too tired. Hermione can be really boring sometimes…" he laughed nervously. Harry smiled, or at least he thought he did – because at the same moment his head hit the pillow, and he blacked out.

* * * * * *

I'm real sorry about not updating for two days, but school has just begun again and then fanfiction was down? SO I'm asking you, the readers of this story, should I still update daily, but shorter chapters or would you rather prefer long chapters every second or third day?

Something I don't understand – one person writes 350 words and gets 6 reviews in a day. I write 15000 words and gets 12 reviews in a week? It's not a complaint just a question – anyone knows why?

Disclaimer: J.K.Rowling and a bunch of rich guys own Harry and friends, I'm just borrowing some for a cake… no really I mean it – really!

Anyway, as always:  I don't own any thing related to the Potter-universe that you can recognize!

Any criticism or comment you might have, about the story, the grammar, my weird sense of humour – I would be happy to hear it!

Oh and to anyone interested (which might not be anyone at all) Umbramix actually means Shadow meld or shadow blend in Latin. Am I good or what?

Respond to reviewers:

Darkpower – Yeah it really does doesn't it. :)

Potterlover2004 – I will, I will. Here is the next chapter. Hope you follow this story to the end, and maybe review again.

Hippyman69 – Damn you're crazy… j/k Thanks for reviewing again, really appreciate it.

Avri – Thought I told that I the first chapter (guess I forgot it) he actually got it from one of Arthur's friends at work, but since he isn't a seeker he thought Harry wanted it more. Thanks for the commenting on my language.

Please review – I like questions and ideas, cuz that way you guys might influence the direction of the story!