Chapter Two
Long awaited Pardon
Harry awoke the next morning to a loud alarm clock he didn't remember setting or even acquiring. He rolled over, jumping slightly to see an arm protruding through his hangings with a hand holding a large magenta alarm clock. Groaning, Harry looked at the time on the clock, eight thirty. It didn't seem human to be waking up this early on a Saturday. He remembered Oliver waking him early on Saturday's for practice, but Oliver wasn't human. Harry was sure of it. Nobody that motivated could be human. The Weasley Twins had then expressed their fear that Oliver had died and Angelina was channelling his spirit, and while Harry had laughed at the time, the alarm clock that seemed to resemble the sound of a church bell made Harry wonder (through the ringing in his ears) Whether or not Oliver really was channelling his spirit into every Gryffindor Quidditch Captain in turn.
"I'M UP!" Harry bellowed over the noise, at which point the arm retreated from Harry's hangings and the alarm stopped. From the other beds, Harry could hear loud grumbling.
"What time do you call this Weasley? Where did you get that thing anyway?" Dean was mumbling; his voice muffled from the pillow he had shoved over his head.
"It's eight thirty! Time for Harry to get up for Quidditch practice." Ron called cheerfully.
"We're not all called Harry!" Seamus groaned, swinging his legs out of bed, but forgetting to open the hangings so that all that was visible was a pair of feet in royal blue thick woollen socks and all they heard was a spluttering as Seamus received a mouthful of material when he tried to finish his sentence.
Once Harry was up and dressed, and Seamus had successfully unravelled himself from his hangings, they made their way down for breakfast, leaving a grumbling Dean to return to bed.
The Great Hall was empty apart from the other Gryffindor players, Hermione, and to Ron's great dismay, the Slytherin team.
"If they think they're using the pitch they've got another thing coming!" Ron snarled angrily as he sat down next to Ginny with a bang, causing the goblet of Pumpkin juice Ginny was holding to jolt and splash down her shirt. She gave Ron an angry glare before picking up a napkin to wipe herself off.
"Ron, you know what Malfoy's like. He's probably got a written letter from Snape." Harry groaned, helping himself to bacon. "No way we can stop them."
"Oh Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry." Ron smirked. "Don't underestimate me."
"I didn't!" Harry snapped defensively, the grin from Ron's face fading instantly.
"Mate, no need to snap my head off I was joking." He replied coolly. Harry looked down at his plate and didn't speak again until they left for the Quidditch Pitch.
Changing quickly, Harry shoved his wand inside his robes and followed Ron out onto the pitch, where, as expected, Malfoy was standing in the middle, grinning smugly as he held up a piece of parchment. They walked to the middle of the pitch, a few confused mutterings coming from the rest of the team behind them, probably concerning the new pitch.
"Turn around Weasley, read it and weep! Professor Snape said we could use the pitch!" He drawled mockingly.
Without as much as an annoyed look Ron put down the crate of balls and pulled a piece of parchment and gave it to Malfoy.
"You're the one turning around Malfoy! I booked the pitch weeks ago, and I made sure to get the Deputy Headmistress to sign saying so herself! So unless you've got an overriding letter from Dumbledore… You're not using the pitch until two o'clock when out practice finishes!"
Draco's straight nose wrinkled up in anger as he snatched up his broom and stalked off the pitch to the Slytherin changing rooms, the Slytherin team blundering off after him.
"Wow, Ron." Ginny laughed from behind Harry. "I didn't think you had it in you." Turning to them and flushing a deep crimson around his ears, Ron smiled slyly.
"I've been in correspondence with Oliver Wood since I found out I was Quidditch Captain. He told me how to beat back the Slytherins and make sure they didn't get the pitch. McGonagall was furious when I told her I wanted written confirmation for all my pitch bookings, but I got them." He grinned triumphantly, brandishing a stack of pitch bookings at them.
"Was it Oliver that gave you that clock by any chance?" Harry asked dully, for if he had, God only knew what else he had given him.
"Oh no, I got this from Fred and George. Sleep Blaster!" Ron explained. "Right, well I stayed up all last night looking up formations and battle tactics." He pulled out a large piece of parchment and laid it out over the crate in front of them. The ink drawn stick men with little nametags over their heads began flying around. Harry watched as his own figure zoomed around aimlessly.
"Now, I want everyone on defensive!" Ron exclaimed sternly. "We know Slytherin will be trying to take up out. Their battle tactic will be to hurt as many of us as possible so we have no chance of making the team, therefore everyone must be on high alert as all times." The stick drawings all began only flying around one set of goal posts, all apart from Harry's, which kept circling the pitch.
"Andrew, Jack, I want you two to focus as much power on Slytherin as possible."
"Ron, you can't do that!" Hailey protested, her long blonde braid swinging menacingly in the strong breeze.
"Look, Slytherin will be playing dirty! Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff have good teams, but they will be less hassle. Plus, their beaters are no where near as fierce as Crabbe and Goyle" Two green stick men had suddenly flown into the diagram and were proceeding to beat two black dots at the Gryffindor team causing them to have to keep scattering and regroup.
"Ron's right." Ginny piped up. "Slytherin will not care that there are two other teams playing. Nor will they be concentrating on winning. They'll just be trying to pick us off one by one." Ron nodded along with his sister's encouragement of his plan.
"Sorry to do this to you mate," Ron began, turning to Harry, "but we're pretty much counting on you for a win." Harry grimaced, the thought of such an important game riding on his broom with him made his stomach churn.
"On that note." Ron continued, we have a lot of formation stuff to go through down here, why don't you take the Snitch and let it loose." He finished, moving his diagram to the ground.
Nodding, Harry opene the crate and set the Snitch loose. Everyone watched it flutter for a minute and disappear just as Harry kicked off the ground and soared upwards. Floating stationary for a minute, Harry scanned the pitch; it was going to be near impossible to see the Snitch on such a large pitch, but as he began soaring around, the wind rushing through his hair, he knew this would be like any other time. His thoughts were confirmed as he saw the fluttering of wings behind Ron's flame red hair.
He turned his broom and saw Ginny also watching the Snitch, taking glances at Harry. Going into a dive, Harry zoomed towards them, hurtling towards the ground. He held out hif arm, his fingers closing over the cool Snitch, and the rustle as his sleeve patted against the back of Ron's head.
"What the hell?" Ron spluttered turning around as Harry flew off upwards again, the struggling Snitch in his hand.
"Catching the Snitch." Harry yelled down to him, brandishing the struggling ball before releasing it again.
Harry had caught the Snitch twice more, once involving a spectacular barrel roll to snatch his fingers over it when he realised he wasn't low enough, before Ron had finished his formations notes.
"I'm setting off the other balls Harry." He called up as Harry circled slowly, eyes peeled.
Within seconds, Ginny was up next to Harry, Hailey Penter floating on the other side of him.
"My, he can really talk!" Ginny sighed slowly, stifling a yawn.
"He's got some brilliant idea's though, like that Chaser feint, I wonder where he saw that." Hailey replied admirably.
"Oh, it's a variation of the Porskoff Ploy." Ginny replied casually. "He's not stopped reading Quidditch Through The Ages since he got here. Rather funny actually. He tried to draw on some directions lines on one of the diagrams. The book began beating him around the head, screaming a horrible war cry!" Hailey and Ginny burst out laughing, but Harry had just spotted the Snitch circling a goalpost to their right. Without a word, he zoomed off towards it, leaving Ginny and Hailey floating staring after him shocked.
The cool metal met his hand with a soft thump as he caught the Snitch. He flew back up to Hailey and Ginny, grinning madly.
"Sorry. Had to do it." He grinned.
"S'ok." Ginny replied, groaning as Ron yelled up at them. "Coming Ron!"
At two O'clock, they traipsed up to the castle, ready for a well-deserved late lunch.
"Harry," Hermione called from the end of the Gryffindor table. "Harry, over here." They walked over and sat down with Hermione as she passed Harry two envelopes.
"These came for you with the morning post." Ripping the first envelope, Harry pulled out the letter and read quietly to Hermione and Ron.
Dear Harry.
Hope everything is fine; everything good on this end. You must make the team! I'm counting on it. I need SOME Gryffindor people on the team. I am not just going to put up with Slytherins. I will see you on Saturday; I am coming to watch the game.
Oliver.
"Oliver?" Hermione asked in disbelief as she took the letter from Harry to check. "Why will Oliver be coming to the game?"
"He said about putting up with Slytherins. Maybe he's helping the Hogwarts team?" Harry guessed.
"He would have said!" Ron replied, crestfallen. "He has been owling me."
"Who wrote the first owl Ron?" Hermione asked slowly.
"He did. He owled me the day after I received my letter."
"You great twit!" Hermione scoffed. "He obviously owled you to give you pointers to make sure some Gryffindor's got on the team!"
"Open the other one Harry." Ron said almost too quickly.
He tore along the top of the envelope and as he pulled out the letter, a folded page of Newspaper fell out onto the table. Hermione picked it up, unfolded it and quickly and read it silently, her face breaking into an ecstatic grin. Harry and Ron stared anxiously at her before she handed the page to them, it was obviously a front-page article from the large shocking title.
SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT.
Sirius Black, the convicted murderer, it turns out, was innocent of all charges. Peter Petigrew, his supposed victim was spotted in Northern England yesterday. Remus Lupin, friend to the wrongly accused Black, gave a statement early yesterday morning.
"We all thought Sirius was guilty." Remus Lupin explained to our reporter animatedly. "All evidence pointed to him, but when I saw Peter with my own eyes three years ago, I knew it had all been a huge mistake. Peter was the spy who informed the Dark Lord of the Potter's whereabouts, not Sirius. Peter also faked his own death to make his escape, cutting off his finger and transforming into his animagus form."
Peter Petigrew, and unregistered animagi, is now wanted for the following of He-who-must-not-be-named, and for the help in murdering Lily and James Potter, parents of the Boy Who Lived.
This news came all too late though, as Sirius Black died in May of this year trying to protect Harry Potter, who the Prophet can exclusively reveal, is Black's godson. He was murdered in a duel with Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the wanted escaped prisoners.
Harry gaped openly at the article as Hermione smiled at him. He read the article three times before placing it on the table and staring at Hermione.
"Don't you get the prophet?" He asked.
"No." She replied sheepishly. "I cancelled my prescription when Fudge admitted being wrong."
"I think you should reapply." Harry grinned.
"What's the letter say?" Ron asked curiously, looking at the open letter staring up at them.
"Oh, I completely forgot." Harry grinned, picking up the letter.
Harry,
Brilliant about the article, I couldn't believe it when they knocked on my door for an interview. I wasn't sure if you were still getting the Prophet, so I got a few copies and sent them to people. (I sent one to Narcissa Malfoy as well; show her what her cousin really is… a hero, unlike her sister)
Harry could almost see Remus grinning.
Anyway, I'm hoping you're doing ok. Practice really hard for the game! Dumbledore is taking out all the stops! Oliver Wood will be helping the team, as will I!
"Remus helping the team?" Ron asked loudly making several people look up.
"Ron, SHHH!" Hermione cut him off pleadingly. "Harry, carry on."
Lee Jordan will be coming back to commentate. You need to be careful. Especially of Malfoy. I will be arriving on Friday. We will need to talk. See you on Friday Harry.
Remus.
"Remus is coming here?" Hermione asked. "That's brilliant!"
"He'll be helping the team, a member of the order with the team." Ron added quietly. "That's bloody excellent." Harry grinned at them proudly.
"And you know what's more?" He asked, putting his letter and cutting back in their envelope. "Malfoy will hate it!"
Long awaited Pardon
Harry awoke the next morning to a loud alarm clock he didn't remember setting or even acquiring. He rolled over, jumping slightly to see an arm protruding through his hangings with a hand holding a large magenta alarm clock. Groaning, Harry looked at the time on the clock, eight thirty. It didn't seem human to be waking up this early on a Saturday. He remembered Oliver waking him early on Saturday's for practice, but Oliver wasn't human. Harry was sure of it. Nobody that motivated could be human. The Weasley Twins had then expressed their fear that Oliver had died and Angelina was channelling his spirit, and while Harry had laughed at the time, the alarm clock that seemed to resemble the sound of a church bell made Harry wonder (through the ringing in his ears) Whether or not Oliver really was channelling his spirit into every Gryffindor Quidditch Captain in turn.
"I'M UP!" Harry bellowed over the noise, at which point the arm retreated from Harry's hangings and the alarm stopped. From the other beds, Harry could hear loud grumbling.
"What time do you call this Weasley? Where did you get that thing anyway?" Dean was mumbling; his voice muffled from the pillow he had shoved over his head.
"It's eight thirty! Time for Harry to get up for Quidditch practice." Ron called cheerfully.
"We're not all called Harry!" Seamus groaned, swinging his legs out of bed, but forgetting to open the hangings so that all that was visible was a pair of feet in royal blue thick woollen socks and all they heard was a spluttering as Seamus received a mouthful of material when he tried to finish his sentence.
Once Harry was up and dressed, and Seamus had successfully unravelled himself from his hangings, they made their way down for breakfast, leaving a grumbling Dean to return to bed.
The Great Hall was empty apart from the other Gryffindor players, Hermione, and to Ron's great dismay, the Slytherin team.
"If they think they're using the pitch they've got another thing coming!" Ron snarled angrily as he sat down next to Ginny with a bang, causing the goblet of Pumpkin juice Ginny was holding to jolt and splash down her shirt. She gave Ron an angry glare before picking up a napkin to wipe herself off.
"Ron, you know what Malfoy's like. He's probably got a written letter from Snape." Harry groaned, helping himself to bacon. "No way we can stop them."
"Oh Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry." Ron smirked. "Don't underestimate me."
"I didn't!" Harry snapped defensively, the grin from Ron's face fading instantly.
"Mate, no need to snap my head off I was joking." He replied coolly. Harry looked down at his plate and didn't speak again until they left for the Quidditch Pitch.
Changing quickly, Harry shoved his wand inside his robes and followed Ron out onto the pitch, where, as expected, Malfoy was standing in the middle, grinning smugly as he held up a piece of parchment. They walked to the middle of the pitch, a few confused mutterings coming from the rest of the team behind them, probably concerning the new pitch.
"Turn around Weasley, read it and weep! Professor Snape said we could use the pitch!" He drawled mockingly.
Without as much as an annoyed look Ron put down the crate of balls and pulled a piece of parchment and gave it to Malfoy.
"You're the one turning around Malfoy! I booked the pitch weeks ago, and I made sure to get the Deputy Headmistress to sign saying so herself! So unless you've got an overriding letter from Dumbledore… You're not using the pitch until two o'clock when out practice finishes!"
Draco's straight nose wrinkled up in anger as he snatched up his broom and stalked off the pitch to the Slytherin changing rooms, the Slytherin team blundering off after him.
"Wow, Ron." Ginny laughed from behind Harry. "I didn't think you had it in you." Turning to them and flushing a deep crimson around his ears, Ron smiled slyly.
"I've been in correspondence with Oliver Wood since I found out I was Quidditch Captain. He told me how to beat back the Slytherins and make sure they didn't get the pitch. McGonagall was furious when I told her I wanted written confirmation for all my pitch bookings, but I got them." He grinned triumphantly, brandishing a stack of pitch bookings at them.
"Was it Oliver that gave you that clock by any chance?" Harry asked dully, for if he had, God only knew what else he had given him.
"Oh no, I got this from Fred and George. Sleep Blaster!" Ron explained. "Right, well I stayed up all last night looking up formations and battle tactics." He pulled out a large piece of parchment and laid it out over the crate in front of them. The ink drawn stick men with little nametags over their heads began flying around. Harry watched as his own figure zoomed around aimlessly.
"Now, I want everyone on defensive!" Ron exclaimed sternly. "We know Slytherin will be trying to take up out. Their battle tactic will be to hurt as many of us as possible so we have no chance of making the team, therefore everyone must be on high alert as all times." The stick drawings all began only flying around one set of goal posts, all apart from Harry's, which kept circling the pitch.
"Andrew, Jack, I want you two to focus as much power on Slytherin as possible."
"Ron, you can't do that!" Hailey protested, her long blonde braid swinging menacingly in the strong breeze.
"Look, Slytherin will be playing dirty! Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff have good teams, but they will be less hassle. Plus, their beaters are no where near as fierce as Crabbe and Goyle" Two green stick men had suddenly flown into the diagram and were proceeding to beat two black dots at the Gryffindor team causing them to have to keep scattering and regroup.
"Ron's right." Ginny piped up. "Slytherin will not care that there are two other teams playing. Nor will they be concentrating on winning. They'll just be trying to pick us off one by one." Ron nodded along with his sister's encouragement of his plan.
"Sorry to do this to you mate," Ron began, turning to Harry, "but we're pretty much counting on you for a win." Harry grimaced, the thought of such an important game riding on his broom with him made his stomach churn.
"On that note." Ron continued, we have a lot of formation stuff to go through down here, why don't you take the Snitch and let it loose." He finished, moving his diagram to the ground.
Nodding, Harry opene the crate and set the Snitch loose. Everyone watched it flutter for a minute and disappear just as Harry kicked off the ground and soared upwards. Floating stationary for a minute, Harry scanned the pitch; it was going to be near impossible to see the Snitch on such a large pitch, but as he began soaring around, the wind rushing through his hair, he knew this would be like any other time. His thoughts were confirmed as he saw the fluttering of wings behind Ron's flame red hair.
He turned his broom and saw Ginny also watching the Snitch, taking glances at Harry. Going into a dive, Harry zoomed towards them, hurtling towards the ground. He held out hif arm, his fingers closing over the cool Snitch, and the rustle as his sleeve patted against the back of Ron's head.
"What the hell?" Ron spluttered turning around as Harry flew off upwards again, the struggling Snitch in his hand.
"Catching the Snitch." Harry yelled down to him, brandishing the struggling ball before releasing it again.
Harry had caught the Snitch twice more, once involving a spectacular barrel roll to snatch his fingers over it when he realised he wasn't low enough, before Ron had finished his formations notes.
"I'm setting off the other balls Harry." He called up as Harry circled slowly, eyes peeled.
Within seconds, Ginny was up next to Harry, Hailey Penter floating on the other side of him.
"My, he can really talk!" Ginny sighed slowly, stifling a yawn.
"He's got some brilliant idea's though, like that Chaser feint, I wonder where he saw that." Hailey replied admirably.
"Oh, it's a variation of the Porskoff Ploy." Ginny replied casually. "He's not stopped reading Quidditch Through The Ages since he got here. Rather funny actually. He tried to draw on some directions lines on one of the diagrams. The book began beating him around the head, screaming a horrible war cry!" Hailey and Ginny burst out laughing, but Harry had just spotted the Snitch circling a goalpost to their right. Without a word, he zoomed off towards it, leaving Ginny and Hailey floating staring after him shocked.
The cool metal met his hand with a soft thump as he caught the Snitch. He flew back up to Hailey and Ginny, grinning madly.
"Sorry. Had to do it." He grinned.
"S'ok." Ginny replied, groaning as Ron yelled up at them. "Coming Ron!"
At two O'clock, they traipsed up to the castle, ready for a well-deserved late lunch.
"Harry," Hermione called from the end of the Gryffindor table. "Harry, over here." They walked over and sat down with Hermione as she passed Harry two envelopes.
"These came for you with the morning post." Ripping the first envelope, Harry pulled out the letter and read quietly to Hermione and Ron.
Dear Harry.
Hope everything is fine; everything good on this end. You must make the team! I'm counting on it. I need SOME Gryffindor people on the team. I am not just going to put up with Slytherins. I will see you on Saturday; I am coming to watch the game.
Oliver.
"Oliver?" Hermione asked in disbelief as she took the letter from Harry to check. "Why will Oliver be coming to the game?"
"He said about putting up with Slytherins. Maybe he's helping the Hogwarts team?" Harry guessed.
"He would have said!" Ron replied, crestfallen. "He has been owling me."
"Who wrote the first owl Ron?" Hermione asked slowly.
"He did. He owled me the day after I received my letter."
"You great twit!" Hermione scoffed. "He obviously owled you to give you pointers to make sure some Gryffindor's got on the team!"
"Open the other one Harry." Ron said almost too quickly.
He tore along the top of the envelope and as he pulled out the letter, a folded page of Newspaper fell out onto the table. Hermione picked it up, unfolded it and quickly and read it silently, her face breaking into an ecstatic grin. Harry and Ron stared anxiously at her before she handed the page to them, it was obviously a front-page article from the large shocking title.
SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT.
Sirius Black, the convicted murderer, it turns out, was innocent of all charges. Peter Petigrew, his supposed victim was spotted in Northern England yesterday. Remus Lupin, friend to the wrongly accused Black, gave a statement early yesterday morning.
"We all thought Sirius was guilty." Remus Lupin explained to our reporter animatedly. "All evidence pointed to him, but when I saw Peter with my own eyes three years ago, I knew it had all been a huge mistake. Peter was the spy who informed the Dark Lord of the Potter's whereabouts, not Sirius. Peter also faked his own death to make his escape, cutting off his finger and transforming into his animagus form."
Peter Petigrew, and unregistered animagi, is now wanted for the following of He-who-must-not-be-named, and for the help in murdering Lily and James Potter, parents of the Boy Who Lived.
This news came all too late though, as Sirius Black died in May of this year trying to protect Harry Potter, who the Prophet can exclusively reveal, is Black's godson. He was murdered in a duel with Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the wanted escaped prisoners.
Harry gaped openly at the article as Hermione smiled at him. He read the article three times before placing it on the table and staring at Hermione.
"Don't you get the prophet?" He asked.
"No." She replied sheepishly. "I cancelled my prescription when Fudge admitted being wrong."
"I think you should reapply." Harry grinned.
"What's the letter say?" Ron asked curiously, looking at the open letter staring up at them.
"Oh, I completely forgot." Harry grinned, picking up the letter.
Harry,
Brilliant about the article, I couldn't believe it when they knocked on my door for an interview. I wasn't sure if you were still getting the Prophet, so I got a few copies and sent them to people. (I sent one to Narcissa Malfoy as well; show her what her cousin really is… a hero, unlike her sister)
Harry could almost see Remus grinning.
Anyway, I'm hoping you're doing ok. Practice really hard for the game! Dumbledore is taking out all the stops! Oliver Wood will be helping the team, as will I!
"Remus helping the team?" Ron asked loudly making several people look up.
"Ron, SHHH!" Hermione cut him off pleadingly. "Harry, carry on."
Lee Jordan will be coming back to commentate. You need to be careful. Especially of Malfoy. I will be arriving on Friday. We will need to talk. See you on Friday Harry.
Remus.
"Remus is coming here?" Hermione asked. "That's brilliant!"
"He'll be helping the team, a member of the order with the team." Ron added quietly. "That's bloody excellent." Harry grinned at them proudly.
"And you know what's more?" He asked, putting his letter and cutting back in their envelope. "Malfoy will hate it!"