Disclaimer: you recognize it, I don't own it. So there.
A/N: My my, you guys certainly get antsy when I leave for a few days. I really did enjoy my trip, it was a blast and I thoroughly wore my feet out. I was surprised at the reactions my little notice invoked. I realize that not many people like long-hair Harry *giggles* but there is a point to it. All questions will be answered in the course of the fic, and no, I won't give any teasers. Eva will be back though.
Some personal notes: koneko- thanks, I try to insert my own special brand of insane humor into my writing, and I'm glad you find it funny. Don't worry, I have problems too. Shadowaren- thanks ever so much, I appreciate your review. I've been reading your stories and find them of very high quality. Go ahead and use the time stopping idea; I don't know where it came from, it just solved several problems for my story. The person with the coolest penname- YOU'RE AWESOME!! And the person who thinks Eva is a really bad Mary-Sue of the worst kind- see the note from the end of chapter 3. And I can growl louder than you can.
Now on to the main event.
Chapter 9
Snape was the first to reach the doors and sprinted uncharacteristically through, expecting to find Harry climbing up the marble staircase towards the Gryffindor Tower. To his surprise, (then he wondered to himself why was he surprised) it was deserted. The other professors came crashing out behind him and also stared around.
Ron and Hermione joined them, and then the redhead announced, "He probably went up to bed. I'll go check," and sprinted off, Hermione hot on his heels. Ron burst through the portrait hole and headed straight for the dormitory, but she stayed behind and asked the Fat Lady whether Harry had come up yet.
"No dear, no one's been through here since dinner, until that rude young man barged in like that." She was looking highly affronted when Ron came back through. "He's not there," he reported, and they trudged back down to the Hall to the waiting professors, only to shake their heads to Dumbledore's inquiring look.
The headmaster sighed and signaled the entire group to follow him. No one said a word as they pushed through the crowds of chattering students exiting from the Hall, then traveled up the staircases to the entrance of Dumbledore's office. He gave the gargoyle the password (Canary Creams) and marched them up to his circular office, which magically expanded to accommodate them all.
Dumbledore settled behind his enormous desk and said, "I believe it's fairly obvious that Harry has decided to conceal a few things about himself from us. How has he been in classes?" Slowly, the professors who had already had Harry described the incredible ease he had demonstrated in all his subjects so far. Then Ron told of the training program he and Harry had begun that morning, which included some martial arts and basic sword training.
The headmaster shook his head. "So he never gave any indication that he was an Animagus?" Negative answers all around, and he walked over to stare out the window, muttering almost to himself. "He must have a plan to face Voldemort again. But how did he get so powerful? Not even his status as a blood heir would have made that great of a difference in such a short time. And it appears that he might be holding back. But if he is that strong, why did he return here? By all indications he could probably graduate tomorrow, yet he came back. What is he planning?"
Everyone listened in silence to the quiet questions, almost rhetorical in nature. Then Dumbledore turned and addressed them directly. "Observe him indiscreetly. If he starts behaving stranger than usual, report it to me. Especially you two," he pointed to Ron and Hermione, "he trusts you both and may tell you something. I suspect he may be planning to go after Voldemort himself."
Every person in the room blanched at the thought. Sirius blurted out, "That's suicide! How could he even think about that? I mean, I know he's gotten much stronger, but he'd be up against all the Death Eaters before he could even reach the Dark Lord. Is he crazy?!"
The aged wizard nodded solemnly. "He might be." He turned back to the window. "You know what his childhood was like, always told that he was a worthless freak," this was almost growled out. "Then he suddenly finds out that he is heir to three Hogwarts founders and is trained to use incredible power. That power may have gone to his head, and he's convinced that he is invincible. That is . . . very dangerous."
As the gathered adults considered this disturbing theory, Ron was completely confused. Had the headmaster finally gone senile? How could they all have forgotten the meeting right after the Halloween masquerade? Harry had explained how powerful he really was, about being a war mage and the prophecy about his inheritance of Merlin's abilities. Ron had not been surprised at the outcome of the duel, but had been slightly upset that Harry had never mentioned his Animagus form.
And as for You-Know-Who, Ron knew that Harry could take him any day now. During the morning training his friend had demonstrated some wandless and Elemental magic at Ron' request, and even let him briefly hold the staff and examine it while he explained what it was made out of and how it worked.
Ron glanced over at Hermione, who was looking just as perplexed as he was at their elders' apparent memory lapse. They silently decided not to mention it before they talked to Harry. Hermione flicked her eyes around the room, taking in the various expressions as Dumbledore dismissed them and reminded them to keep a close watch on Harry, and for just a second thought she saw the same confusion she felt reflected in Snape's dark eyes. Then his impassive mask fell again as he stalked out of the room, and she was sure she just imagined it.
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As soon as he was out of sight of the Hall and the view of others, Harry Apparated to the top of the Astronomy Tower again to sit and think in peace. It was funny to think that it was considered impossible to Apparate around the school, yet all that was required was a little bubble inside the wards to make it a viable reality. Although, Harry admitted wryly to himself, just to create that bubble required a great deal of concentration of wandless magic, the knowledge of which had been lost since the end of the war mages.
Back to the duel. That first night he had never told them the true extent of his training or powers. They had no idea that for practice he dueled against Eva and five practice dummies at the same time, all autonomous with Eva's knowledge and skill behind them. So for him, taking on two former Aurors and an Order member of the same caliber was a piece of cake. Still, he had not wanted to show off all of his abilities in front of the entire school. He obviously was not thinking, since that last bit with the Animagus was completely instinctual. He mentally berated himself for his lack of control. So much for keeping secrets.
As his eyes traced the stars' pattern in the sky, Harry mentally checked off everything he needed to begin his commando campaign against Voldemort and his followers. The only thing left that he could see was to practice the clone, mainly checking the initial conjuration speed and testing the reabsorption and learning charms. He summoned the Marauder's Map to him and searched for an empty classroom. Finding one in the Charms corridor, he Apparated there.
After a quick locking and silencing charm on the room to protect his privacy, Harry began his testing. After an hour he was able to conjure up the projection almost instantaneously, which pleased him. Then he tested the durability and ability of the clone. He had "him" read a chapter of a random book he found in the class, some cheesy Muggle romance novel shoved under the front desk, then he summoned "him" back into himself. The two identical bodies fused and became one again, and Harry suddenly could recall the entire chapter of the book as if he had read it himself. He grimaced; next time he would choose a boring textbook, because that romance novel was horrible. *How could anybody read those things?*
Oh well. It was ready. Time for the fun to begin.
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Ron and Hermione hurried toward their dormitories as Filch would love to catch them outside after curfew. Just as they reached the portrait hole, they heard a noise off to the right and turned to see their elusive friend walking tiredly toward them. Ron rushed over and muttered quietly, "We've gotta talk mate," and led him back down the corridor to a secluded corner, not trusting the privacy of the Common Room.
Hermione cast a Silencing charm so they would not be overheard, and Harry's eyes flicked between their solemn faces. "What is it?" Hermione quickly recounted the meeting in the headmaster's office, with Ron jumping in to contribute every now and then. "They all seem to have forgotten most of the things you told all of us just two nights ago, such as being a war mage and the Phoenix Lord and the heir of Merlin. What do you think happened?"
Harry looked puzzled for a minute, then grimaced and slapped his forehead with the heel of his hand. Ron asked, concerned, "What? Is it your scar again? D'you think You-Know-Who's behind this?" Harry shook his head, exasperated at himself. "No, it was me. I did something stupid. I walked through the Shield charm that night when I was mad without taking it down first. That's the one problem with that particular charm. It reacted with my emotions to block the specific memories of the meeting from everybody who passed the boundary after me. I knew better than that!"
Now Hermione was slightly confused. "But then how come Ron and I still remember?" Harry paused. "You were both mad, no, furious when you crossed the barrier. Strong emotions like that can prevent the block from working in your mind. And teenagers have more volatile emotions than adults, so the others would not have been quite as upset." He sighed. "Maybe it's better this way. I didn't really want to tell everything that night, but I couldn't exactly show up and say 'Look everyone, I'm back! You just can't know where I've been for the last three months.' Now it doesn't matter that I did. We three can share the secret, and I know I can trust you."
Suddenly he smiled a bit sheepishly. "Oh, and you were probably wondering about the finale of tonight's duel. Well, the truth is . . . I'm a magical Animagus." Hermione gasped. "Harry, that's amazing! There has only been four magical Animagi in history!" Harry explained to Ron, who was looking rather baffled, "I can transform into any animal I want. Tonight I didn't really mean to transform, instinct just kind of took over. I wanted to keep it a secret, but the cat's out of the bag now, huh?" Ron agreed wholeheartedly, "Literally."
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The next morning dawned bright and clear to find Harry and Ron hard at work finishing their morning run. After some cool down they worked on some flips and tumbles and Harry coached Ron through basic sword drills with a broadsword. Finally they headed for breakfast, Ron's stomach grumbling loudly in anticipation.
When the mail arrived, Hedwig flew in to see Harry, since she'd been away for the past few days. She landed on his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek affectionately with her soft head, while he stroked her feathers on her favorite spot right below the left shoulder. She stayed a few minutes after the other owls left, just enjoying the company of her master and friend, then flew off with a piece of bacon to go nap in the Owlry.
The rest of the day was progressing just like normal until Charms. Right in the middle of Professor Flitwick's lecture on basic protection charms Harry's left arm began to sting lightly. That was his alarm, indicating Death Eater attacks. Luckily he had sat in the back of the room, so after a quick glance to make sure no one was watching, he conjured the clone and the instant it appeared in his place, he Apparated to his room.
Harry checked his Detection Parchment, making a mental note to keep it on himself so he could go directly there without this little stopover. The Death Eaters were running rampant in a small village in Wales, and the Aurors had not shown up yet. Perfect. Harry smiled grimly. Foolish of them to attack in the middle of the day. He would show them how much of a mistake that really was.
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Lucius Malfoy, completely masked in his Death Eater outfit, put another terrified Muggle under the Cruciatus curse and watched her scream and writhe. The raid was going off without a hitch so far. The Aurors had not Apparated in yet, and the village was already mostly destroyed, several houses on fire while other were just smoking ruins. They had come for a wizard family that thought they would be safe from the Dark Lord's retribution by hiding among Muggles.
Malfoy snickered coldly and stalked off to see if he could get a chance to torture them. That was his favorite sport, and he always got such a pleasurable thrill knowing he could control people through pain. Besides, the Muggles were starting to bore him. Wizards at least knew what was happening to them.
The Yancey family- father, mother, and two sons- all knelt in a circle of Death Eaters, frightened out of their wits but trying not to show it. MacNair stepped up and cast the Cruciatus on the youngest son, laughing as the mother screamed helplessly as she watched her son convulse in pure agony. The other robed figures joined in on the laughter, creating a sickening counterpoint to the shrieks of pain.
Abruptly the screams stopped as the curse was lifted, and a disembodied voice growled, "Leave them alone if you know what's good for you." The gathered Dark wizards spun around searching for the owner to that voice, and Malfoy spoke up in contempt, "Are you too scared to show us your face? Come on out and quit hiding."
The air reverberated with muted chuckles. "I'm not scared of little parasites like you. You want to see my face? Very well." A shadowy figure suddenly appeared behind Malfoy, which was perceived to be a tall, dark haired man in a leather trenchrobe, his face obscured except for the almost- glowing blue-green eyes. Malfoy only sniffed disdainfully, "and who do you think you are?"
The man only chuckled. "I know who I am, and you will soon learn." With that, the wizard held out a hand and the entire circle was lifted off their feet and spun nauseatingly in the air like dust mites on the wind. Their wands flew to the man's feet, and ropes sprang out of nowhere to bind and gag the now thoroughly dizzy and sick Death Eaters. Then they were dumped on the hard ground in a pile.
The man bared his teeth in a sinister smile. "Around here I'm known as Wraith." He turned and stalked quickly toward another groups of attacking wizards, and launched himself into a flying leap so the lead Death Eater caught both booted feet right in the face and fell to the ground unconscious. The other four of the group trained their wands on this new threat, but darts suddenly shot out of his sleeves and embedded themselves in their throats. The men gasped, choked, and fell senseless as the sleeping potion took effect.
Soon all of the Death Eaters were dealt with in a similar fashion, gathered up in a gigantic pile in the center of town, all bound and gagged. The fires raging through the houses were put out with a snap of Wraith's fingers, and he treated the Cruciatus victims as well as he could, removing the lingering aches and damage. Finally, when the town was set back to rights, he raises his hand in the air and pointed his palm at the ghastly Dark Mark hovering above the village. Light erupted from his palm and formed a giant phoenix with a lion on its chest, which glowed a brilliant golden and dissipated the hideous skull and snake.
As the gathered villagers gazed up in wonder, the mysterious wizard Apparated out, at the exact moment the Aurors showed up, 10 minutes after the attack began. The Aurors all came prepared for battle, but were completely unprepared for what they found. The villagers were all chattering excitedly, none of them visibly harmed. The Yancey family knelt together in the center of town, hugging each other tightly and crying with relief. A huge pile of Death Eaters lay unmasked behind them, bound and gagged under the light of a golden phoenix in the sky.
They stared around with perplexity for a second, then began to sort out all the chaos. The villagers told a spectacular story of a mystery man all in black who took out all the invaders with apparent ease, before healing them and conjuring the phoenix, and then just vanished. The wizarding family had been close enough to catch a name: Wraith.
Meanwhile the agents of the Ministry of Magical Law Enforcement began to deal with the captured Death Eaters, which totaled 27 including three known members of the Inner Circle. The biggest surprise, however, came when they found a short, balding man with a silver hand lying unconscious at the very bottom of the pile. Someone gasped in astonishment. "Peter Pettigrew!"
All the while, Harry Potter stood hidden in the shadows of the forest nearby, laughing.
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The rest of the year passed in an almost perfectly normal fashion, which was a rarity for Hogwarts. Alicia Spinnet handed the captaincy of the Gryffindor Quidditch team over to Harry, who pushed them just as hard if not harder than Wood ever did. Classes returned to normal, except for Harry was now getting the top grades, edging out Hermione by a few points each time, and Ron was not far behind them, thanks to Harry tutoring him. The Weasley twins were constantly inventing new pranks to play on the Slytherins, but one day they made a critical mistake.
Bored with their regular targets, the twins decided to prank Harry and Ron together. Overnight their hair changed to shocking neon pink and green, which also stuck up as if they had just tangled with a bunch of electric eels in a lightning storm. Their skin was charmed a flashing purple, clashing horribly with the bright red dots sprinkled about on it. Just to add insult to injury, neither of the boys could speak without breaking out into song. When they came down to the Common Room that morning, everyone present had laughed so hard puddles of various bodily fluids appeared on the floor. Luckily Harry broke the enchantments rather quickly, so most people never saw them.
The resulting retribution on Fred and George made it quite clear why it was unhealthy to prank the son of a Marauder. Especially one with such a diabolical mind and training. Harry with Ron's assistance recreated what he affectionately termed Eva's chocolate incident, and sprung it on them in the middle of a Potions class. It was so fiendishly clever and publicly humiliating, the twins promised to never target them again. For an entire week the pranksters could not enter the Great Hall without someone giggling and starting a chain reaction of uncontrollable laughter.
During the Christmas break, Sirius turned himself in to the Ministry so his trial could take place. After Wormtail's capture and subsequent interrogation, Sirius' innocence was guaranteed, and the judge quickly pardoned him with two million Galleons in restitution for 12 years of wrongful imprisonment. Also the deed to his family manor was presented back to him, with most of his things impounded after his arrest. Wormtail and Lucius Malfoy were both convicted of being Death Eaters, along with 25 others, and sentenced to Azkaban for life. After that Draco was no longer slinking around the school looking smug. In fact, he looked rather lost and depressed, despite the fact that there was no love lost between father and son.
After Sirius was pardoned unconditionally, the Ministry called a vote of no confidence and a threat of impeachment against Cornelius Fudge. In the end he was kicked out of office, arrested and charged with conspiracy to institute a cover-up concerning Voldemort's return, withholding critical information and jeopardizing the safety of the wizarding world. While very serious, these charges would not land him in Azkaban if convicted. A general election for a new Minister of Magic was held, a new occurrence since usually a department head was chosen from the Ministry at large. However, the powers-that-be knew that the wizarding community needed to be united in the fight against Voldemort, and needed to know their leaders.
Dumbledore was nominated, but refused it and promoted Arthur Weasley in his place. With that respectable endorsement, Arthur won by a landslide, and with his new promotion came a huge pay raise. The family tore down their old home and built a new one on the same property, with 10 bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen large enough to make Molly and the new house elves happy, a library, and a blastproof room for the twins to invent in. They were getting tired of constantly mending the holes in the walls and floor due to failed experiments.
But all these changes happened in the outside world. At Hogwarts there were no new mysteries to solve, no Dementors, basilisks or convicts running amok, and no new death threats from Voldemort. It was actually getting kind of boring, to tell the truth. There was one slightly unusual thing though, and of course that was Harry Potter.
Death Eater attacks continued, but more and more were being stopped before the Aurors could arrive, and always with the Light Mark cast into the sky. Dozens of Dark wizards were found subdued and trussed up like turkeys at each site. No one knew anything about the mystery wizard who was behind it, despite the Ministry's best efforts. The professors and students of Hogwarts, however, had noted Harry Potter behaving a bit strangely. He would seem anxious and tense for a few moments and zone out, the suddenly pop right back to normal. Within an hour the same symptoms would appear, and his eyes seemed to flicker before returning to the present, always with a secretive smirk on his face that disappeared almost instantly.
These little episodes always took place before and after the foiled Death Eater attacks, and one would think that somebody would eventually get suspicious. However, not all the attacks were reported in the Daily Prophet, and Harry tended to keep a low profile as often as he could, and therefore few people connected the two. In all likelihood the only people who did were Ron and Hermione, because Harry had told them what he was doing. While they hated the fact that their friend was fighting without them, they had to admit that he was pretty damn effective.
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In April, the entire school was gripped with a tremendous excitement. Not only were Hogsmeade weekends reinstated due to the decreased threat of attack, but the final game for the Quidditch Cup was almost there. In a surprise victory, the Ravenclaw team clobbered the Slytherins 290-50, and would now play the Gryffindors for the cup. The two houses were neck in neck with points, so whoever won would most likely also win the House Cup.
A friendly rivalry ran between the two houses, nothing like the Gryffindor/Slytherin animosity of legend. The Hufflepuffs were uncertain as to whom they should support, and the Slytherins hated both of them, but especially Gryffindor and specifically Harry Potter. Most of their parents had been Death Eaters or at least supporters and they suspected that Potter had something to do with their downfalls.
The Saturday of the match dawned bright and clear, with just a light trace of mugginess to indicate rain sometime in the near future. While the two competing teams looked nervous as they chewed their bacon, Harry outwardly appeared exceptionally calm and composed. Internally though, he was slightly shaken and apprehensive. Not about the match however; he had every confidence in his team and their abilities.
No, he was worried about his campaign against the Dark side. One of the recent attacks turned out to be a trap set for him, and came within a hair's breadth of killing him. He mused over the consequences of that as he picked at his toast, unable to eat. Voldemort was getting smarter as his troops dwindled, and began to use his resources carefully. He now suspected that Harry was somehow involved, and Harry knew that his friends were in greater danger from the obsessed maniac. Harry needed to rethink some of his strategies to anticipate another trap like that, and had already traveled to the Grangers and the Weasleys houses, as well as Remus' and Sirius', to enhance the protection wards and add some of his own. He did the same around Hogsmeade and Hogwarts as well, without Dumbledore's knowledge.
Harry also began to surreptitiously arrange where he would stay for the summer. It was far too dangerous for him to go with the Weasleys or to move in with Sirius yet. Instead, with Eva's assistance he purchased a piece of land up in the highlands and built his own house there, which included an indoor gym and pool, a complete weight room and gymnastics setup, a weapons room, training areas, a rather big kitchen, and several guestrooms. The place was Unplottable and invisible to all but a select few. The entire house was magical, always clean and dust free, the kitchen well stocked with food, and rooms could be added or removed as needed.
It had been difficult sneaking out at times, even with the clone to take his place, and a couple times he had almost been caught while creeping back in when he was too exhausted to Apparate. Harry knew the professors were all under orders to watch him, and sometimes this rather complicated things.
Harry forced his mind back to the present. Now he needed to concentrate on Quidditch. The Ravenclaw team was led this year by Cho Chang and had become quite good. It was going to be a tough game, so Harry had worked his team harder than ever, mainly to increase their own confidence in their ever improving skills. Breakfast that morning seemed to last forever. Finally they rose as one to head down to the pitch, and the Hall burst into applause, several people wishing them luck.
The team walked around the pitch, inspecting the conditions until they saw the rest of the school start down the lawn to the stadium. "Locker room," Harry ordered, and they filed in and dressed quietly, butterflies somehow becoming lodged in their stomachs next to the masticated bacon. They gathered around Harry, who began his short pregame speech.
"Alright people. For some of you this is your last time on the Quidditch pitch here at Hogwarts. Let's make it memorable. Ravenclaw is a good team, but we know that we're better. Play your best and we will win. All right, hands in." With a loud shout of "GRYFFINDOR!" the team stepped out onto the pitch.
As always, Lee Jordan was commentating, closely monitored by McGonagall. "Welcome to the final of the Quidditch cup! Today's match up, just in case you've had your head under a rock for the past month, is Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor. This is going to be tight today people. The Lions, led by Captain Harry Potter, have proven themselves to be exceptional this year, while the Eagles with Captain Cho Chang delivered a surprise upset to compete here today. Now Madame Hooch steps out on the field and releases the balls."
"Captains, shake hands." Harry and Cho briefly grasped hands and nodded with tight smiles on their faces. "Players, mount your brooms." And with a blast of her whistle, 15 brooms shot into the air and the game began. Harry rose higher than anyone, keeping one eye out for the Snitch and the other on Cho, the opposing Seeker.
"Johnson has the Quaffle, passes it off to Bell, who streaks for the goal . . . Bludger knocked the Quaffle out of her hands, caught by Boot, he hands it off to Brocklehurst, she's flying towards the goal, shoots . . . saved by Keeper Weasley! Spinnet takes possession, dodges two Bludgers, passes to Johnson, she evades Boot, she shoots . . . SHE SCORES! 10-0 Gryffindor!"
Just then Harry spotted the Snitch lurking in the middle of the field, and he took off after it, Cho hot on his tail. The tiny golden ball darted away, zigzagging through the Chasers, and the two Seekers followed in its wake. Harry caught a glimpse of movement and ducked just as a Bludger whooshed through the spot his head has just vacated. George swung his bat and the Bludger shot straight back at Cho. She avoided it, but instead collided with one of her own Chasers, leaving Katie open to score, now 20- 0.
Harry had never taken his eyes off the Snitch and was now only a couple feet from it, when it abruptly disappeared. He did not see where it went, but did belatedly realize he was pelting headlong towards the stands and was only yards away from a very painful impact. He waited until the last moment, barely aware of the screams from the spectators, then suddenly swung off his broom, only hanging on by one hand and giving the tail a kick. His Firebolt whipped around to face in the opposite direction, and Harry used his feet to shove off from the stands, propelling him and the broom forward in an extra spurt of speed as he remounted. He dimly heard the shouts of amazement and Jordan's sputtered commentary at the insane maneuver as he scanned for the Snitch again.
The Gryffindors seemed heartened and energized by their captain's incredible flying skills and pushed their own skills to new heights. The Ravenclaws tried to keep up, but the score mounted. Soon Lee Jordan was gleefully shouting a score of 140-50. Ron gained more confidence and made some spectacular saves that even Wood would have been hard-pressed to duplicate. The game wore on, but the Snitch was nowhere to be seen. Clouds built up, and the smell of approaching rain filled the air. Soon echoes of the thunder rumbled through the mountains. A huge storm was brewing, and Harry wanted to catch the Snitch before it got too bad. He tended to have bad luck in storms.
With the first flash of lightning, the rain started falling, then pouring. It was like trying to fly underwater in the lake, and visibility was cut to practically zero. Harry got a pricking sense of danger, and dove to the right just as a huge bolt of lightning cleaved the air where he had been hovering. He let out a short stream of explicatives he had learnt from both Ron and Eva, then as another bolt flashed nearby, he saw the Snitch, diving towards the ground.
Harry tore after it, narrowly avoiding people and Bludgers, when suddenly Cho was there beside him, shoving him off course. He pushed right back while locking his gaze on the elusive golden speck through the gray haze of rain. Cho darted forward with an extra spurt of speed, cutting Harry off and forcing him to slow down. He frowned briefly, then flipped upside down and flew right beneath Cho, gauging the distances. The Snitch kept diving downwards until it skimmed along the grass below.
Just as Cho reached out to grasp the Snitch, Harry kicked upwards and connected with her broom, sending her spiraling out of control away from it. With sheer brute strength he forced his broom to remain on level, and still inverted, he urged the Firebolt forward the last little bit and closed his fingers on the cold, wet, struggling Snitch. A far off whistle sounded, signaling the end of the game, and Harry spun upright again to rise into the air, the small golden ball held tight in his raised fist. Cheering was dimly audible above the rush of rain, and he could see six blurry figures racing for him.
Abruptly the rain quit and an eerie silence pervaded the stadium. For a moment Harry was reminded of the unpleasant Quidditch match in third year. Rain . . . silence . . . Dementors. This train of thought was cut off when an enormous bolt of lightning about the width of a classroom cracked through the storm clouds to strike Harry. He had a brief glimpse of everybody's horrified faces, then a blinding flash of light and a roar filled his senses, and he blacked out.
A/N: My my, you guys certainly get antsy when I leave for a few days. I really did enjoy my trip, it was a blast and I thoroughly wore my feet out. I was surprised at the reactions my little notice invoked. I realize that not many people like long-hair Harry *giggles* but there is a point to it. All questions will be answered in the course of the fic, and no, I won't give any teasers. Eva will be back though.
Some personal notes: koneko- thanks, I try to insert my own special brand of insane humor into my writing, and I'm glad you find it funny. Don't worry, I have problems too. Shadowaren- thanks ever so much, I appreciate your review. I've been reading your stories and find them of very high quality. Go ahead and use the time stopping idea; I don't know where it came from, it just solved several problems for my story. The person with the coolest penname- YOU'RE AWESOME!! And the person who thinks Eva is a really bad Mary-Sue of the worst kind- see the note from the end of chapter 3. And I can growl louder than you can.
Now on to the main event.
Chapter 9
Snape was the first to reach the doors and sprinted uncharacteristically through, expecting to find Harry climbing up the marble staircase towards the Gryffindor Tower. To his surprise, (then he wondered to himself why was he surprised) it was deserted. The other professors came crashing out behind him and also stared around.
Ron and Hermione joined them, and then the redhead announced, "He probably went up to bed. I'll go check," and sprinted off, Hermione hot on his heels. Ron burst through the portrait hole and headed straight for the dormitory, but she stayed behind and asked the Fat Lady whether Harry had come up yet.
"No dear, no one's been through here since dinner, until that rude young man barged in like that." She was looking highly affronted when Ron came back through. "He's not there," he reported, and they trudged back down to the Hall to the waiting professors, only to shake their heads to Dumbledore's inquiring look.
The headmaster sighed and signaled the entire group to follow him. No one said a word as they pushed through the crowds of chattering students exiting from the Hall, then traveled up the staircases to the entrance of Dumbledore's office. He gave the gargoyle the password (Canary Creams) and marched them up to his circular office, which magically expanded to accommodate them all.
Dumbledore settled behind his enormous desk and said, "I believe it's fairly obvious that Harry has decided to conceal a few things about himself from us. How has he been in classes?" Slowly, the professors who had already had Harry described the incredible ease he had demonstrated in all his subjects so far. Then Ron told of the training program he and Harry had begun that morning, which included some martial arts and basic sword training.
The headmaster shook his head. "So he never gave any indication that he was an Animagus?" Negative answers all around, and he walked over to stare out the window, muttering almost to himself. "He must have a plan to face Voldemort again. But how did he get so powerful? Not even his status as a blood heir would have made that great of a difference in such a short time. And it appears that he might be holding back. But if he is that strong, why did he return here? By all indications he could probably graduate tomorrow, yet he came back. What is he planning?"
Everyone listened in silence to the quiet questions, almost rhetorical in nature. Then Dumbledore turned and addressed them directly. "Observe him indiscreetly. If he starts behaving stranger than usual, report it to me. Especially you two," he pointed to Ron and Hermione, "he trusts you both and may tell you something. I suspect he may be planning to go after Voldemort himself."
Every person in the room blanched at the thought. Sirius blurted out, "That's suicide! How could he even think about that? I mean, I know he's gotten much stronger, but he'd be up against all the Death Eaters before he could even reach the Dark Lord. Is he crazy?!"
The aged wizard nodded solemnly. "He might be." He turned back to the window. "You know what his childhood was like, always told that he was a worthless freak," this was almost growled out. "Then he suddenly finds out that he is heir to three Hogwarts founders and is trained to use incredible power. That power may have gone to his head, and he's convinced that he is invincible. That is . . . very dangerous."
As the gathered adults considered this disturbing theory, Ron was completely confused. Had the headmaster finally gone senile? How could they all have forgotten the meeting right after the Halloween masquerade? Harry had explained how powerful he really was, about being a war mage and the prophecy about his inheritance of Merlin's abilities. Ron had not been surprised at the outcome of the duel, but had been slightly upset that Harry had never mentioned his Animagus form.
And as for You-Know-Who, Ron knew that Harry could take him any day now. During the morning training his friend had demonstrated some wandless and Elemental magic at Ron' request, and even let him briefly hold the staff and examine it while he explained what it was made out of and how it worked.
Ron glanced over at Hermione, who was looking just as perplexed as he was at their elders' apparent memory lapse. They silently decided not to mention it before they talked to Harry. Hermione flicked her eyes around the room, taking in the various expressions as Dumbledore dismissed them and reminded them to keep a close watch on Harry, and for just a second thought she saw the same confusion she felt reflected in Snape's dark eyes. Then his impassive mask fell again as he stalked out of the room, and she was sure she just imagined it.
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As soon as he was out of sight of the Hall and the view of others, Harry Apparated to the top of the Astronomy Tower again to sit and think in peace. It was funny to think that it was considered impossible to Apparate around the school, yet all that was required was a little bubble inside the wards to make it a viable reality. Although, Harry admitted wryly to himself, just to create that bubble required a great deal of concentration of wandless magic, the knowledge of which had been lost since the end of the war mages.
Back to the duel. That first night he had never told them the true extent of his training or powers. They had no idea that for practice he dueled against Eva and five practice dummies at the same time, all autonomous with Eva's knowledge and skill behind them. So for him, taking on two former Aurors and an Order member of the same caliber was a piece of cake. Still, he had not wanted to show off all of his abilities in front of the entire school. He obviously was not thinking, since that last bit with the Animagus was completely instinctual. He mentally berated himself for his lack of control. So much for keeping secrets.
As his eyes traced the stars' pattern in the sky, Harry mentally checked off everything he needed to begin his commando campaign against Voldemort and his followers. The only thing left that he could see was to practice the clone, mainly checking the initial conjuration speed and testing the reabsorption and learning charms. He summoned the Marauder's Map to him and searched for an empty classroom. Finding one in the Charms corridor, he Apparated there.
After a quick locking and silencing charm on the room to protect his privacy, Harry began his testing. After an hour he was able to conjure up the projection almost instantaneously, which pleased him. Then he tested the durability and ability of the clone. He had "him" read a chapter of a random book he found in the class, some cheesy Muggle romance novel shoved under the front desk, then he summoned "him" back into himself. The two identical bodies fused and became one again, and Harry suddenly could recall the entire chapter of the book as if he had read it himself. He grimaced; next time he would choose a boring textbook, because that romance novel was horrible. *How could anybody read those things?*
Oh well. It was ready. Time for the fun to begin.
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Ron and Hermione hurried toward their dormitories as Filch would love to catch them outside after curfew. Just as they reached the portrait hole, they heard a noise off to the right and turned to see their elusive friend walking tiredly toward them. Ron rushed over and muttered quietly, "We've gotta talk mate," and led him back down the corridor to a secluded corner, not trusting the privacy of the Common Room.
Hermione cast a Silencing charm so they would not be overheard, and Harry's eyes flicked between their solemn faces. "What is it?" Hermione quickly recounted the meeting in the headmaster's office, with Ron jumping in to contribute every now and then. "They all seem to have forgotten most of the things you told all of us just two nights ago, such as being a war mage and the Phoenix Lord and the heir of Merlin. What do you think happened?"
Harry looked puzzled for a minute, then grimaced and slapped his forehead with the heel of his hand. Ron asked, concerned, "What? Is it your scar again? D'you think You-Know-Who's behind this?" Harry shook his head, exasperated at himself. "No, it was me. I did something stupid. I walked through the Shield charm that night when I was mad without taking it down first. That's the one problem with that particular charm. It reacted with my emotions to block the specific memories of the meeting from everybody who passed the boundary after me. I knew better than that!"
Now Hermione was slightly confused. "But then how come Ron and I still remember?" Harry paused. "You were both mad, no, furious when you crossed the barrier. Strong emotions like that can prevent the block from working in your mind. And teenagers have more volatile emotions than adults, so the others would not have been quite as upset." He sighed. "Maybe it's better this way. I didn't really want to tell everything that night, but I couldn't exactly show up and say 'Look everyone, I'm back! You just can't know where I've been for the last three months.' Now it doesn't matter that I did. We three can share the secret, and I know I can trust you."
Suddenly he smiled a bit sheepishly. "Oh, and you were probably wondering about the finale of tonight's duel. Well, the truth is . . . I'm a magical Animagus." Hermione gasped. "Harry, that's amazing! There has only been four magical Animagi in history!" Harry explained to Ron, who was looking rather baffled, "I can transform into any animal I want. Tonight I didn't really mean to transform, instinct just kind of took over. I wanted to keep it a secret, but the cat's out of the bag now, huh?" Ron agreed wholeheartedly, "Literally."
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The next morning dawned bright and clear to find Harry and Ron hard at work finishing their morning run. After some cool down they worked on some flips and tumbles and Harry coached Ron through basic sword drills with a broadsword. Finally they headed for breakfast, Ron's stomach grumbling loudly in anticipation.
When the mail arrived, Hedwig flew in to see Harry, since she'd been away for the past few days. She landed on his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek affectionately with her soft head, while he stroked her feathers on her favorite spot right below the left shoulder. She stayed a few minutes after the other owls left, just enjoying the company of her master and friend, then flew off with a piece of bacon to go nap in the Owlry.
The rest of the day was progressing just like normal until Charms. Right in the middle of Professor Flitwick's lecture on basic protection charms Harry's left arm began to sting lightly. That was his alarm, indicating Death Eater attacks. Luckily he had sat in the back of the room, so after a quick glance to make sure no one was watching, he conjured the clone and the instant it appeared in his place, he Apparated to his room.
Harry checked his Detection Parchment, making a mental note to keep it on himself so he could go directly there without this little stopover. The Death Eaters were running rampant in a small village in Wales, and the Aurors had not shown up yet. Perfect. Harry smiled grimly. Foolish of them to attack in the middle of the day. He would show them how much of a mistake that really was.
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Lucius Malfoy, completely masked in his Death Eater outfit, put another terrified Muggle under the Cruciatus curse and watched her scream and writhe. The raid was going off without a hitch so far. The Aurors had not Apparated in yet, and the village was already mostly destroyed, several houses on fire while other were just smoking ruins. They had come for a wizard family that thought they would be safe from the Dark Lord's retribution by hiding among Muggles.
Malfoy snickered coldly and stalked off to see if he could get a chance to torture them. That was his favorite sport, and he always got such a pleasurable thrill knowing he could control people through pain. Besides, the Muggles were starting to bore him. Wizards at least knew what was happening to them.
The Yancey family- father, mother, and two sons- all knelt in a circle of Death Eaters, frightened out of their wits but trying not to show it. MacNair stepped up and cast the Cruciatus on the youngest son, laughing as the mother screamed helplessly as she watched her son convulse in pure agony. The other robed figures joined in on the laughter, creating a sickening counterpoint to the shrieks of pain.
Abruptly the screams stopped as the curse was lifted, and a disembodied voice growled, "Leave them alone if you know what's good for you." The gathered Dark wizards spun around searching for the owner to that voice, and Malfoy spoke up in contempt, "Are you too scared to show us your face? Come on out and quit hiding."
The air reverberated with muted chuckles. "I'm not scared of little parasites like you. You want to see my face? Very well." A shadowy figure suddenly appeared behind Malfoy, which was perceived to be a tall, dark haired man in a leather trenchrobe, his face obscured except for the almost- glowing blue-green eyes. Malfoy only sniffed disdainfully, "and who do you think you are?"
The man only chuckled. "I know who I am, and you will soon learn." With that, the wizard held out a hand and the entire circle was lifted off their feet and spun nauseatingly in the air like dust mites on the wind. Their wands flew to the man's feet, and ropes sprang out of nowhere to bind and gag the now thoroughly dizzy and sick Death Eaters. Then they were dumped on the hard ground in a pile.
The man bared his teeth in a sinister smile. "Around here I'm known as Wraith." He turned and stalked quickly toward another groups of attacking wizards, and launched himself into a flying leap so the lead Death Eater caught both booted feet right in the face and fell to the ground unconscious. The other four of the group trained their wands on this new threat, but darts suddenly shot out of his sleeves and embedded themselves in their throats. The men gasped, choked, and fell senseless as the sleeping potion took effect.
Soon all of the Death Eaters were dealt with in a similar fashion, gathered up in a gigantic pile in the center of town, all bound and gagged. The fires raging through the houses were put out with a snap of Wraith's fingers, and he treated the Cruciatus victims as well as he could, removing the lingering aches and damage. Finally, when the town was set back to rights, he raises his hand in the air and pointed his palm at the ghastly Dark Mark hovering above the village. Light erupted from his palm and formed a giant phoenix with a lion on its chest, which glowed a brilliant golden and dissipated the hideous skull and snake.
As the gathered villagers gazed up in wonder, the mysterious wizard Apparated out, at the exact moment the Aurors showed up, 10 minutes after the attack began. The Aurors all came prepared for battle, but were completely unprepared for what they found. The villagers were all chattering excitedly, none of them visibly harmed. The Yancey family knelt together in the center of town, hugging each other tightly and crying with relief. A huge pile of Death Eaters lay unmasked behind them, bound and gagged under the light of a golden phoenix in the sky.
They stared around with perplexity for a second, then began to sort out all the chaos. The villagers told a spectacular story of a mystery man all in black who took out all the invaders with apparent ease, before healing them and conjuring the phoenix, and then just vanished. The wizarding family had been close enough to catch a name: Wraith.
Meanwhile the agents of the Ministry of Magical Law Enforcement began to deal with the captured Death Eaters, which totaled 27 including three known members of the Inner Circle. The biggest surprise, however, came when they found a short, balding man with a silver hand lying unconscious at the very bottom of the pile. Someone gasped in astonishment. "Peter Pettigrew!"
All the while, Harry Potter stood hidden in the shadows of the forest nearby, laughing.
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The rest of the year passed in an almost perfectly normal fashion, which was a rarity for Hogwarts. Alicia Spinnet handed the captaincy of the Gryffindor Quidditch team over to Harry, who pushed them just as hard if not harder than Wood ever did. Classes returned to normal, except for Harry was now getting the top grades, edging out Hermione by a few points each time, and Ron was not far behind them, thanks to Harry tutoring him. The Weasley twins were constantly inventing new pranks to play on the Slytherins, but one day they made a critical mistake.
Bored with their regular targets, the twins decided to prank Harry and Ron together. Overnight their hair changed to shocking neon pink and green, which also stuck up as if they had just tangled with a bunch of electric eels in a lightning storm. Their skin was charmed a flashing purple, clashing horribly with the bright red dots sprinkled about on it. Just to add insult to injury, neither of the boys could speak without breaking out into song. When they came down to the Common Room that morning, everyone present had laughed so hard puddles of various bodily fluids appeared on the floor. Luckily Harry broke the enchantments rather quickly, so most people never saw them.
The resulting retribution on Fred and George made it quite clear why it was unhealthy to prank the son of a Marauder. Especially one with such a diabolical mind and training. Harry with Ron's assistance recreated what he affectionately termed Eva's chocolate incident, and sprung it on them in the middle of a Potions class. It was so fiendishly clever and publicly humiliating, the twins promised to never target them again. For an entire week the pranksters could not enter the Great Hall without someone giggling and starting a chain reaction of uncontrollable laughter.
During the Christmas break, Sirius turned himself in to the Ministry so his trial could take place. After Wormtail's capture and subsequent interrogation, Sirius' innocence was guaranteed, and the judge quickly pardoned him with two million Galleons in restitution for 12 years of wrongful imprisonment. Also the deed to his family manor was presented back to him, with most of his things impounded after his arrest. Wormtail and Lucius Malfoy were both convicted of being Death Eaters, along with 25 others, and sentenced to Azkaban for life. After that Draco was no longer slinking around the school looking smug. In fact, he looked rather lost and depressed, despite the fact that there was no love lost between father and son.
After Sirius was pardoned unconditionally, the Ministry called a vote of no confidence and a threat of impeachment against Cornelius Fudge. In the end he was kicked out of office, arrested and charged with conspiracy to institute a cover-up concerning Voldemort's return, withholding critical information and jeopardizing the safety of the wizarding world. While very serious, these charges would not land him in Azkaban if convicted. A general election for a new Minister of Magic was held, a new occurrence since usually a department head was chosen from the Ministry at large. However, the powers-that-be knew that the wizarding community needed to be united in the fight against Voldemort, and needed to know their leaders.
Dumbledore was nominated, but refused it and promoted Arthur Weasley in his place. With that respectable endorsement, Arthur won by a landslide, and with his new promotion came a huge pay raise. The family tore down their old home and built a new one on the same property, with 10 bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen large enough to make Molly and the new house elves happy, a library, and a blastproof room for the twins to invent in. They were getting tired of constantly mending the holes in the walls and floor due to failed experiments.
But all these changes happened in the outside world. At Hogwarts there were no new mysteries to solve, no Dementors, basilisks or convicts running amok, and no new death threats from Voldemort. It was actually getting kind of boring, to tell the truth. There was one slightly unusual thing though, and of course that was Harry Potter.
Death Eater attacks continued, but more and more were being stopped before the Aurors could arrive, and always with the Light Mark cast into the sky. Dozens of Dark wizards were found subdued and trussed up like turkeys at each site. No one knew anything about the mystery wizard who was behind it, despite the Ministry's best efforts. The professors and students of Hogwarts, however, had noted Harry Potter behaving a bit strangely. He would seem anxious and tense for a few moments and zone out, the suddenly pop right back to normal. Within an hour the same symptoms would appear, and his eyes seemed to flicker before returning to the present, always with a secretive smirk on his face that disappeared almost instantly.
These little episodes always took place before and after the foiled Death Eater attacks, and one would think that somebody would eventually get suspicious. However, not all the attacks were reported in the Daily Prophet, and Harry tended to keep a low profile as often as he could, and therefore few people connected the two. In all likelihood the only people who did were Ron and Hermione, because Harry had told them what he was doing. While they hated the fact that their friend was fighting without them, they had to admit that he was pretty damn effective.
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In April, the entire school was gripped with a tremendous excitement. Not only were Hogsmeade weekends reinstated due to the decreased threat of attack, but the final game for the Quidditch Cup was almost there. In a surprise victory, the Ravenclaw team clobbered the Slytherins 290-50, and would now play the Gryffindors for the cup. The two houses were neck in neck with points, so whoever won would most likely also win the House Cup.
A friendly rivalry ran between the two houses, nothing like the Gryffindor/Slytherin animosity of legend. The Hufflepuffs were uncertain as to whom they should support, and the Slytherins hated both of them, but especially Gryffindor and specifically Harry Potter. Most of their parents had been Death Eaters or at least supporters and they suspected that Potter had something to do with their downfalls.
The Saturday of the match dawned bright and clear, with just a light trace of mugginess to indicate rain sometime in the near future. While the two competing teams looked nervous as they chewed their bacon, Harry outwardly appeared exceptionally calm and composed. Internally though, he was slightly shaken and apprehensive. Not about the match however; he had every confidence in his team and their abilities.
No, he was worried about his campaign against the Dark side. One of the recent attacks turned out to be a trap set for him, and came within a hair's breadth of killing him. He mused over the consequences of that as he picked at his toast, unable to eat. Voldemort was getting smarter as his troops dwindled, and began to use his resources carefully. He now suspected that Harry was somehow involved, and Harry knew that his friends were in greater danger from the obsessed maniac. Harry needed to rethink some of his strategies to anticipate another trap like that, and had already traveled to the Grangers and the Weasleys houses, as well as Remus' and Sirius', to enhance the protection wards and add some of his own. He did the same around Hogsmeade and Hogwarts as well, without Dumbledore's knowledge.
Harry also began to surreptitiously arrange where he would stay for the summer. It was far too dangerous for him to go with the Weasleys or to move in with Sirius yet. Instead, with Eva's assistance he purchased a piece of land up in the highlands and built his own house there, which included an indoor gym and pool, a complete weight room and gymnastics setup, a weapons room, training areas, a rather big kitchen, and several guestrooms. The place was Unplottable and invisible to all but a select few. The entire house was magical, always clean and dust free, the kitchen well stocked with food, and rooms could be added or removed as needed.
It had been difficult sneaking out at times, even with the clone to take his place, and a couple times he had almost been caught while creeping back in when he was too exhausted to Apparate. Harry knew the professors were all under orders to watch him, and sometimes this rather complicated things.
Harry forced his mind back to the present. Now he needed to concentrate on Quidditch. The Ravenclaw team was led this year by Cho Chang and had become quite good. It was going to be a tough game, so Harry had worked his team harder than ever, mainly to increase their own confidence in their ever improving skills. Breakfast that morning seemed to last forever. Finally they rose as one to head down to the pitch, and the Hall burst into applause, several people wishing them luck.
The team walked around the pitch, inspecting the conditions until they saw the rest of the school start down the lawn to the stadium. "Locker room," Harry ordered, and they filed in and dressed quietly, butterflies somehow becoming lodged in their stomachs next to the masticated bacon. They gathered around Harry, who began his short pregame speech.
"Alright people. For some of you this is your last time on the Quidditch pitch here at Hogwarts. Let's make it memorable. Ravenclaw is a good team, but we know that we're better. Play your best and we will win. All right, hands in." With a loud shout of "GRYFFINDOR!" the team stepped out onto the pitch.
As always, Lee Jordan was commentating, closely monitored by McGonagall. "Welcome to the final of the Quidditch cup! Today's match up, just in case you've had your head under a rock for the past month, is Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor. This is going to be tight today people. The Lions, led by Captain Harry Potter, have proven themselves to be exceptional this year, while the Eagles with Captain Cho Chang delivered a surprise upset to compete here today. Now Madame Hooch steps out on the field and releases the balls."
"Captains, shake hands." Harry and Cho briefly grasped hands and nodded with tight smiles on their faces. "Players, mount your brooms." And with a blast of her whistle, 15 brooms shot into the air and the game began. Harry rose higher than anyone, keeping one eye out for the Snitch and the other on Cho, the opposing Seeker.
"Johnson has the Quaffle, passes it off to Bell, who streaks for the goal . . . Bludger knocked the Quaffle out of her hands, caught by Boot, he hands it off to Brocklehurst, she's flying towards the goal, shoots . . . saved by Keeper Weasley! Spinnet takes possession, dodges two Bludgers, passes to Johnson, she evades Boot, she shoots . . . SHE SCORES! 10-0 Gryffindor!"
Just then Harry spotted the Snitch lurking in the middle of the field, and he took off after it, Cho hot on his tail. The tiny golden ball darted away, zigzagging through the Chasers, and the two Seekers followed in its wake. Harry caught a glimpse of movement and ducked just as a Bludger whooshed through the spot his head has just vacated. George swung his bat and the Bludger shot straight back at Cho. She avoided it, but instead collided with one of her own Chasers, leaving Katie open to score, now 20- 0.
Harry had never taken his eyes off the Snitch and was now only a couple feet from it, when it abruptly disappeared. He did not see where it went, but did belatedly realize he was pelting headlong towards the stands and was only yards away from a very painful impact. He waited until the last moment, barely aware of the screams from the spectators, then suddenly swung off his broom, only hanging on by one hand and giving the tail a kick. His Firebolt whipped around to face in the opposite direction, and Harry used his feet to shove off from the stands, propelling him and the broom forward in an extra spurt of speed as he remounted. He dimly heard the shouts of amazement and Jordan's sputtered commentary at the insane maneuver as he scanned for the Snitch again.
The Gryffindors seemed heartened and energized by their captain's incredible flying skills and pushed their own skills to new heights. The Ravenclaws tried to keep up, but the score mounted. Soon Lee Jordan was gleefully shouting a score of 140-50. Ron gained more confidence and made some spectacular saves that even Wood would have been hard-pressed to duplicate. The game wore on, but the Snitch was nowhere to be seen. Clouds built up, and the smell of approaching rain filled the air. Soon echoes of the thunder rumbled through the mountains. A huge storm was brewing, and Harry wanted to catch the Snitch before it got too bad. He tended to have bad luck in storms.
With the first flash of lightning, the rain started falling, then pouring. It was like trying to fly underwater in the lake, and visibility was cut to practically zero. Harry got a pricking sense of danger, and dove to the right just as a huge bolt of lightning cleaved the air where he had been hovering. He let out a short stream of explicatives he had learnt from both Ron and Eva, then as another bolt flashed nearby, he saw the Snitch, diving towards the ground.
Harry tore after it, narrowly avoiding people and Bludgers, when suddenly Cho was there beside him, shoving him off course. He pushed right back while locking his gaze on the elusive golden speck through the gray haze of rain. Cho darted forward with an extra spurt of speed, cutting Harry off and forcing him to slow down. He frowned briefly, then flipped upside down and flew right beneath Cho, gauging the distances. The Snitch kept diving downwards until it skimmed along the grass below.
Just as Cho reached out to grasp the Snitch, Harry kicked upwards and connected with her broom, sending her spiraling out of control away from it. With sheer brute strength he forced his broom to remain on level, and still inverted, he urged the Firebolt forward the last little bit and closed his fingers on the cold, wet, struggling Snitch. A far off whistle sounded, signaling the end of the game, and Harry spun upright again to rise into the air, the small golden ball held tight in his raised fist. Cheering was dimly audible above the rush of rain, and he could see six blurry figures racing for him.
Abruptly the rain quit and an eerie silence pervaded the stadium. For a moment Harry was reminded of the unpleasant Quidditch match in third year. Rain . . . silence . . . Dementors. This train of thought was cut off when an enormous bolt of lightning about the width of a classroom cracked through the storm clouds to strike Harry. He had a brief glimpse of everybody's horrified faces, then a blinding flash of light and a roar filled his senses, and he blacked out.