FEVER

Me-Love-You Owls with Red Striped Candy bars, Chocolate Frogs and Jumping Gummy Bears to cyci, MacFeichin, Mrs. Sirius Lennon, DarkFelineHuntress and Savoy Truffle!

Chapter 6: Lion versus Snake

"It's in those waters," Ron said disbelievingly as he read the letter Harry passed to him. Hedwig had taken off again after Harry had gave her a flow of praises and pampering. "Should we tell the professors?"

"But what it its not?" asked Harry. He was sitting up in bed, propped up by pillows, yawning. "Maybe she just imagined in...it was freezing cold after all."

"Well, whatever it is," replied Ron. "It has to wait for the morning. I doubt any professors would be sane enough at this hour."

Harry nodded sleepily. "Kay."

"Night, Harry." Ron burrowed under his blankets. Harry did too after a glance at the dark sky outside. They'll figure it out tomorrow.

* * * * * * *

"We need a seeker and two chasers..."

"What's up?" asked Ron to Neville who was also looking at the board among the crowds of students.

Neville stared at him, clearly expecting not to be spoken to. "Quidditch..." he said slowly.

Ron fought his way in and read the notice board. "You mean there is still going to be Quidditch? Lucky for us, Fred and George are not down with the 'flu'."

Harry was just about to ask what was Quidditch when he looked up to see Minerva who had tapped him on his shoulder. "Harry, would you mind following me to my office? I have something to talk about with you."

Harry nodded, and after throwing a glance at Ron and Neville, he followed the Transfiguration professor to her office. "What is it, Professor?"

"Gryffindor has lost in Quidditch seven times in a row," said Minerva, smiling to ease the nervousness she could sense from the child. "We really need a seeker right now, and I was wondering whether you could try for this position?"

"Me?" stammered Harry. "I don't even know what Quidditch is."

"It's just for a match, Harry," continued Minerva. "This is a friendly match, no problem if you lose it. I just hope you would match up...your father was a great seeker, Harry. You have the broom Severus gave you for your birthday? You can use that, I'll get Oliver to teach you how Quidditch is played."

"I'll just result in Gryffindor losing it!" said Harry desperate to get out of this situation.

"No, you won't," Minerva smiled. "Neither Slytherin nor Hufflepuff has a seeker, they'll have to find one too. Seems like almost all seekers are prone to this flu thing going on, and Gryffindor will be playing against Slytherin. I doubt their untrained seeker would be better than you."

"B-but..."

"It's just a friendly competition, Harry, don't worry if you lose it," Minerva got up from her chair and laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. "No pressure. Now we should get you to Oliver. He's the Captain."

* * * * * * *

"No way!" said Ron, almost dropping his goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Don't say a thing to me, yet. I'm trying to fathom it myself," said Harry. Where was his broom by the way? He didn't take it with him because first years were not allowed to own them, hence it had to be with Sirius, probably in his chambers. He'll have to get it afterwards.

"Did you know that you will be the youngest player in the century?" Ron continued, his food all forgotten.

"Oliver told me that," said Harry. "Ignore the rest of the players and find that golden thing. Easy enough, I think. If I don't fall off that broom first."

"Wow," said Neville.

Ron and Harry jumped, they hadn't even noticed Neville.

"Hey, Neville," said Harry weakly.

"Wow," repeated Neville.

Harry and Ron blinked. "Uhm...Neville, would you quit looking at him like that, it's pretty uncomfortable..."

"Oh, right, I'm sorry," muttered Neville. "I'm just so..."

"Awed," Ron and Neville both mumbled.

Harry couldn't suppress a grin at both his friends faces.

* * * * * * *

"Right now I'm taking a guilt trip to the moon and back by the sun," Harry muttered as he and Ron trudged down to their Charms class from their common room after another grueling hour of discussing Hermione's letter.

"Tell me about that," Ron said dolefully.

Ditching Neville had been extra hard today, and practically heartless when they hard to resolve to tricks to get rid of him. (They had went to the bathroom together, then as Neville was inspecting the sink, waiting for them, they had slipped out through the readily open door as his back was turned. The poor boy was probably still standing alone in the wet bathroom.

"So...tonight?" asked Ron nervously.

"Tonight," replied Harry, a bad feeling gnawing inside him.

"I really hope that George and Fred's underground tunnel works," muttered Ron as they entered the Charms class.

"And that we don't get caught," said Harry. They sat down at desks situated as far from Professor Flitwick's desk as possible. Plans had to be discussed.

They were just bending their heads down to study the map Fred and George had drew out for them (they hadn't even bothered to ask why the boys had wanted to get out of Hogwarts, they probably did their fair share) when the voice of Professor Snape sliced through the chaos the students were making as they talked on top of their voices.

"Professor Flitwick is down with the flu," he snapped. "All of you, back to your common rooms and don't roam about anywhere. If I catch you, 50 points from your house and detention for a week."

The volume of the noise started to rise.

"There will be no need to open your mouths," Professor Snape snapped. "One more word..."

The whole class fell silent, then started to stream out obediently.

* * * * * * *

"Even Flitwick had caught it," said Ron somewhat miserably. "Is Hermione absolutely sure there has to be a cure at the waters down there?"

"She mentioned that wherever the problem originates from, that's where the antidote will also be," said Harry. "Well, she's the smart one, right?"

"But if it's in the water, what are we going to take as the antidote?" asked Ron. "The seashells? Further more, who are we going to test it on? I mean, how would we know what is the antidote if we don't have a guinea pig? And we can't tell the professors because this is not having a firm base that it's true."

"I don't know," Harry confessed. "Hermione was the first one with this flu thing and she didn't have it until the water incident, maybe it is from the waters."

"What could be in the waters?" Ron argued. "What..."

"Potter!"

They immediately stopped talking and turned to face Oliver Wood who was running fast to catch up with them.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"Q-Quidditch..." the Gryffindor captain panted. "Tomorrow. You have to p-practice."

"I do?" asked Harry not really registering what the boy was saying. What Quidditch? .....Oh, right! Quidditch! "Now?"

"It's going to be held early in the morning, come on, after the Ravenclaws get off the field, it's our turn. Don't worry about lessons, we have a pass to do it," Oliver took Harry's arm and led him away. "Tonight, rest early, we have a match to win. Friendly or not, this one is a must win. Although I say that every year and we don't..."

Harry turned to look at Ron helplessly. Ron shrugged, apparently thinking along the same lines. What about tonight? Would they have to postpone it again? Will there be enough time?

* * * * * * *

It was very early in the morning. All the Quidditch players had been called down to a conference by their jittery captains. Oliver was talking animatedly when Harry sleepily trudged down after a restless night.

He had returned well after dinner last night and had eaten a quick one before heading up to the common room. He and Ron decided that they would postpone their trip down to the sea till tomorrow night, that is, tonight. No interruptions were legible in postponing it further, and they had both promised solemnly. This might save the students from another night of sickness.

"And Angelina, please look after Adam and Tracey. Adam, Tracey, please don't give the Quaffles to the opposition like you did last night. No mistakes can be afforded. Harry!" Oliver said in relief. "There you are! Remember, look carefully! Not look, search carefully. SEARCH."

Harry blushed, he had missed the Snitch one time after another as it practically dived right under his nose.

"And act fast, please," said Oliver. "And anyone of you feeling not well?"

Heads shook.

"Good. Excellent. Don't start puking black dust when you are up there, or you'll never live to see the next daylight," Oliver threatened.

A whistle sounded. Harry jumped, not even noticing that students had already started to stream in.

"This is it," Oliver was now jumping on one foot to the other. "In this one, we play against Slytherin. If we win, we advance to the Finals, then we either win or lose against Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff lost yesterday. Okay, everybody...please, do your best. Gryffindor hasn't had the glory it had since Charlie Weasley left."

Everyone nodded, Tracey rubbing her hands nervously and Adam holding his broom so tightly that his fingers were white.

"Good luck, team." Oliver shuddered when Madam Hooch gestured impatiently for them to come down.

The Slytherin players were already down there. Harry looked around the half filled stadium. "That's a lot of people..."

"No stage fright now!" said Oliver, distressed.

"No, no stage fright," Harry assured him although his heart was beating faster than it did usually. "No fright." He happened to glance at the Gryffindor stand and smiled as Remus, draped in a huge Gryffindor flag gave him the thumbs up. His Godfather, however was busy charming the large lion which was the Gryffindor's mascot into roaring every few seconds and from the hisses coming from the Slytherin section, Harry knew that Severus was probably doing the same.

He looked over at the Slytherin stands and grinned as Severus winked at him then went back to charming the snake's forked tongue into sticking out. A particularly loud roar that shook the ground announced to the whole stadium that Sirius' Sonorus charm had gone a little too far.

Really, they were such big kids sometimes.

"Captain, shake hands," said Madam Hooch throwing a disapproving glance at the professors. Sirius quickly stuck his wand out of sight.

Oliver grasped Marcus Flint's hand and they shook hands firmly. And both refused to let go.

"Shake and let go," said Madam Hooch loudly.

"Good luck," said Marcus, with a expression so full of fake sincerity.

"Good luck," said Oliver and from his red, strained face, suggested that saying these two words was the most hardest thing he ever had to do in his life.

"Boys..." started Madam Hooch.

Marcus and Oliver dropped each other's hands like it stank.

"Now, mount your brooms and 1...2...3...up!"

Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand leapt into the air with the other thirteen brooms. He gripped the broom tightly and breathed in and out. His first match.

This is scary...

The game moved decidedly slower for four of the Slytherin players were new. The beaters were no where near expertise and Fred and George ended up playing badminton-bludger with Dave and Leonard from Slytherin who seemingly only knew how to hit the bludgers back to who hit it to them.

Angelina caught the Quaffle but passing it to Tracey or Adam proved useless as Adrian and Marcus always managed to snatch them effortlessly or scare them into dropping it into their waiting arms.

"It's back to Flint, and it's moving..." Jordan was at his usual commentary seat. "Oh Good Lord, save Gryffindor, it's Tracey again who drops the Quaffle for the fifth time..."

"SIXTH!" The Slytherin crowd roared.

"Seventh time," said Jordan as Tracey again lost the Quaffle to Marcus Flint who was looking very pleased with himself.

"TRACEY!" screeched Angelina who flew down and almost kicked the poor girl in her head. "What's wrong with you?!"

"Pucey for Slytherin heading to the posts...he shoots...and Wood saves! Quaffle back to Angelina's ready arms, she's speeding towards the posts, I see that's she's not going to pass that Quaffle to anyone right now...back to the Weasleys who are still trying to teach Leonard and Dave to stop hitting it back to them...."

All eyes watched Harry as he encircled the field, searching for the Snitch, Terrence Higgs somewhere above him, on his tail. He suddenly spotted a flash of gold and went into a dive at once, Terrence on his heels immediately. The crowds drew in gasps of anticipation.

Halfway through, Harry realized that the flash of gold was actually from Dumbledore's glasses and hurriedly pulled out of the dive. Higgs, however, nearly crashed into the ground and waved his fist at Harry angrily. Harry gave an apologetic look.

"Seems like our young Harry over there had used an interesting tactic to throw Higgs off his tail, good job for a first timer!"

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. Tactic? Oh well.

"A bludger finally veers towards Pucey, who ducks and yells a rather obscene word at his team's beater who sent it his way...hint, it's a four letter word."

"Jordan..."

"Four letter word as in a very angry: DAVE!" continued Jordan ignoring Professor McGonagall's glare. "Now that girl Angelina, she's streaking up the pitch, neat avoid from Pucey... heading towards the goalposts...and it's Johnson for Gryffindor, firing for ten points!"

Angelina faked a left, faked a right then threw the Quaffle into the middle hoop just as Bletchley was recovering from his right block. The Gryffindor stands cheered loudly as Angelina turned her broom around, a radiant smile on her face.

"The first ten points for Gryffindor! Good job, Angelina! Would you marry me?"

"JORDAN!"

"And look at that!" Jordan gave a swift topic change to avoid Professor McGonagall's wrath. "Both Slytherin and Gryffindor seeker vying for position as they speed towards the Slytherin goalposts...is the Snitch there? Look at Bletchley's face, he thinks they are coming to attack him...stupid cow."

High above the Quidditch pitch, Harry finally spotted a moving flash of gold at the Slytherin goalposts. Unless Dumbledore's glasses were flying around the field, it was the Snitch. With a burst of speed, he leant forward on his broom, urging it to move faster. Behind him, it only took Higgs a moment to decide whether to risk being tricked or risk losing as he dived after Harry.

"Oh my God!" said Angelina. "Look at them!"

Bletchley looked up from Angelina's stunned face and gaped as the seekers hurtled towards him. Taking the opportunity, Angelina pulled out her concealed Quaffle she had hidden behind her back and threw it scoring another ten points.

"And there's twenty points...thirty....forty..." Jordan said distractedly as Angelina continued retrieving and sticking the ball into the hoops non stop until Flint stopped her and smacked Bletchley back to life.

Harry could feel Higgs passing him and he urged his broom to go faster but Higgs was ahead. He grabbed at the Snitch but missed, the Snitch flying past him heading towards Harry. Higgs turned around sharply just as Harry twisted his broom around, nearly smacking Higgs on his face with the twigs at the end of the broom and caught the Snitch nearly missing it.

"AND 150 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR! ENDING THE GAME 190 to 0!"

He soared into the air, arm held up high in victory and the Gryffindor stands exploded. The lion roared louder and louder while the boos and hisses from the Slytherin stands were drowned by the cheering. Oliver was speeding towards him, but Angelina reached him first and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. ("That was my first kiss," Harry later remarked to Ron.)

He landed, a huge smile on his face and opened his hand, letting the Snitch fly into Oliver's hand, whom he knew was above him. Oliver gave him a bear hug from behind.

"We are in the finals, and please, DON'T LOOSE THE QUAFFLE, I beg you!" Harry heard Angelina scolding Tracey somewhere as his Godfather reached him and swung him on his shoulders. He grinned as Sirius held his two hands, raising them in a symbol of victory, and carried him towards the Gryffindor stands where Ron and Neville was jumping up and down in joy.

But there was something nagging him behind all his happiness. And he could also see it in Ron's eyes. Tonight. That is scarier.

* * * * * * *

Replies to Reviews from:

Sykoticstalker27, DarkFelineHuntress, Ash of Mine, Froboy, Mrs. Sirius Lennon, Sunkyssed, Siri Kat, RandomPerson619, Music Star Lover, Kjkit and restless-soul, Raphaelle, Savoy Truffle -- *Tongue sticking out from the corner of her mouth as Snow Raine seals the last love letter to her reviewers. Picking up a bottle of perfume, she sprays an overly generous amount on the pink frilly envelope sealed shut with a large heart shaped sticker* To you, my loves! KISS KISS! (revolted? haha!)

Centaur219 -- Oh no! No one's better than anybody, we each have our own style of writing, no? :)
ChristinaLupin01442 -- *waves back* Thank you! Good luck for your exams too! (I hate World History by the way. Haha!)
Wiccan PussyKat -- *withers to the ground* Yes, fast running out of ideas. No, ran out of ideas. Sigh. The limits of keyboarding... What was Madam Pince reading? *coughs* Ahem. A porn magazine? Haha! Joking, joking. And who's the seeeeeker? TA-DAH! Harry! Big surprise...*nods head agreeing* Yes, yes, it is named "Harry Potter and the..." for some reason. Can't have Ron sitting right smack in the spotlight. *lifts a foot and kicks Ron out* Beam.
Lissy -- Harry/Hermione fic? Um...friendship one? :) Oh, MSN! Yes, I do! *nods proudly* Wanna talk? Could you let me add you? I don't want to make my email public, have some issues to deal with thanks to my snoopy friends whose all around ff.net trying to find my stories of which I don't want them to and my email would be a dead giveaway...haha!
jeangab057 -- Then just forget about the multiplying thing, easy! :)
MikiBaby -- I'm secretly rooting for Harry to catch it...hint hint.
amyaggie -- Why is Harry and Ron not sick? Well, according to the Snow Raine Theory, when Harry dived down to save Hermione, he swallowed some water and that is the cause of a late reaction. He'll get sick soon. *grins evilly* And Ron? Purely strong antibodies.
Invisible Child -- *hugs you back and thumps you hard on the back* Welcome, welcome! Haha, good question. Look up at the reply before you to amyaggie, would you? The answer's there!
Candidus-lupus-full Moon -- Hah! I finally found someone who loves writing reviews!
Wytil -- *bursts into laughter* You know, I keep imagining you with a blank face, intoning a flat voice: "The squid?" I know, I know, I'm crazy. Don't worry, quite a number of I-Love-ze-Squid Fans here, I'll save it, I promise!
Jadyn Potter -- Haha! Well, I always have you to keep my characterization in line, yes? I actually wanted to make him six or seven in WTCT but then there'll be no valid reason (at that time) for Sirius to go get him for Hogwarts. I mean, they don't go to Hogwarts until eleven. Sigh. Headache! Oh, for this, I had offered to 'babysit' a twelve year old kid (not that he needed much babysitting) two streets down from my house for this fic to balance it right. I kinda watched him like he was the cockroach on the biology table...I think I freaked the poor kid out.
Krysalys73 -- What a special cat! A six toe one, I've never seen. *shakes head* I'm going to observe my neighbor's cat now...Kill? KILL? Yikes! Kill? *sobs* I'm no...hic...murderer! Haha! Well, the stupid pathetic thing I stuck in the water didn't know for sure it could kill...I think :o)
Tati1 -- Ron? I don't think he's going to fall ill, but I can guarantee some injuries :) How long? Ten chapters, and maybe an epilogue. Then, I'm going to sit back and take a looong snooze. ZZZZZZZ
MalletWielderofDoom -- *yelps as MWoD shakes her mercilessly* I won't make him sick! No! StoP! *T finally rescues SR* Phew! *runs away like an over energized bunny then yells back* HE IS GOING TO BE SICK! ;)
EmeraldKatsEye -- Ginny? I guess so, I haven't really killed any characters off in the book yet. She's a year younger, right? Hmm...I don't think I'm going to write a second year story, so no, they wouldn't be involved. I prefer to stick to six-year-old Harrys so my fourth story won't be a school fic! I know! Use both! Put in alternate chapters so we readers can choose! LOL
athenakitty -- *gasps in horror* What are you? Chopped liver? No, no! Did I say that?

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