Chapter 20: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

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Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. 
-Ursula K. LeGuin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

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Christmas was quickly approaching. So was the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Ron had taken a position
much like that of his predecesors Oliver Wood and Angelina Johnson; the practices had grown longer and more intense, and
Harry was beginning to wish that the game would just be over with. Hermione seemed withdrawn, no doubt because of Ron's
intense interest in the upcoming match made him more focused on Quidditch than her.

"Hey, Hermione," Harry greeted her as he collapsed into a chair next to her in the Heads' common room one afternoon after
another grueling practice.

"How was practice?" she asked shortly, without looking up from her book.

"Eh, okay. I'd be glad I wasn't on the team if I were you," he muttered, watching a preoccupied Ron stroll across the room
and into the Heads' bathroom without even noticing his two best friends. Hermione's eyes flitted up to glance at her
boyfriend before returning to her book.

"Quidditch," she mumbled distastefully. "What a stupid sport."

**********************

The next morning in Transfiguration, Harry surprised himself by being the first in the class to transfigure a flowerpot into
a lizard. 

"Wonderful, Mr. Potter. Fifteen points for Gryffindor!" Professor McGonagall declared happily as she passed his side of the 
classroom. Hermione was glaring angrily at her flowerpot, which refused to change shape, and Ron was doodling Quidditch
plays on in the margins of his notebook. After twenty minutes of intense concentration, Hermione managed to transfigure her
flowerpot as well. She placed her lizard in a cage with Harry's and returned to the table where Harry was now reading and
Ron was still drawing.

"That was hard," she said emphatically, sitting down in the chair next to Harry. "Great job by the way, first in the class-"

"Well you were second, Mione. I've been reading up on transfiguration lately," he added vaguely, not disclosing the fact
that he was studying to become an animagi. "I think that helped." Hermione nodded, looking impressed.

"And how about you, Ron? Are you even going to TRY to transfigure this?" Hermione said scathingly, poking her wand at Ron's
still-unchanged flowerpot. He shrugged, not looking up from his paper.

"Nah. It's too hard. Anyways, I think I'm on to a really good play here, if I could just get the beaters to work together..."
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Hermione crossed her arms and Harry could tell she was angry; he could practically
see the steam coming out of her ears.

"Fine. Just worry about your stupid sport and don't think about your future, Ron! You're not going to get a job anywhere if
you keep on ignorning your studies!" Her face was flushed and she was definitely mad. 

"Maybe I'd like to play Quidditch in my future, Hermione, have you ever thought about that?" he retorted. Harry glanced around
the room and was glad to see that most of the other students were too involved in their difficult projects to notice the 
fight brewing between his best friends.

"Ha! Do you have any idea how many people play professional Quidditch? Hmm? Probably about 1% of the population! Face it,
Ron, it's never going to happen!" Hermione cried, throwing her hands into the air. Ron looked as if he had been slapped.

"You just don't understand. You don't know anything about Quidditch!" Ron yelled back. The bell rang and the students got up
to leave, but McGonagall told them to sit down.

"Please, if I could ask you to stay for just a few more minutes," she said loudly, trying to herd everyone back inside. "Next 
week we will be going over career plans. All students will meet with their advisor, that would be me, to discuss what job
they would like to apply for. Applications will be due in March, so make sure you have an idea when you come for your meeting.
A schedule of meeting times will be posted in the common room." The students once again began to leave. Hermione shot Ron an
"I told you so" look before exiting the room. Ron proceeded to throw his books angrily inside of his backpack.

"She doesn't know... has no confidence in me... has no idea..." he muttered furiously. He glanced up at Harry. "Are you coming?
We're going to be late for dinner."

"I'll catch up. I have a question for McGonagall," Harry replied. Ron shrugged, flung his bag over his shoulder, and stalked
angrily out of the room. Harry walked up to the teacher's desk.

"Er, Professor?" he asked, trying to remain calm. She looked up.

"Yes, Mr. Potter. What can I do for you?" 

"Er, well, I was wondering... Well, I'm interested in becoming an animagi. I've been reading about it, I think I could do it,
but I wanted to know about what animal I would be. I know there's some kind of spell, but the book didn't say..." he trailed
off, wondering how she would respond. McGonagall sighed deeply.

"Personally, I think you have many more things to be concerned with than becoming an animagi. But, I cannot tell you what to
do in your free time, and if that is something you would like to pursue... Well, then I would be happy to cast the spell on 
you right now." Harry's heart leapt into his throat.

"R-r-right now?" he stuttered. 

"Oh yes, it's very simple. Cui corpus animans!" she cried, pointing her wand at Harry. Everything suddenly went black.
His heart was racing a million miles an hour. It went wrong, he thought worriedly. Whatever was supposed to happen
didn't... What if I don't wake up? Suddenly, he saw a bright light shining in front of him. Blocking his eyes with his
hand, he managed glance at the object. It was becoming less bright. Harry gasped as he saw his future animagus staring straight
at him.

***********************

Much later than he would have liked to, Harry found himself running down the hallway towards the Great Hall for dinner. He
met Rachel and a couple of other girls from Hufflepuff coming back from eating. 

"Hey, Harry! How come you weren't at dinner?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, I'm going now... I had a question for McGonagall after class," he said simply. He didn't feel ready to tell anyone
about his animagus plans yet.

"oh, all right," Rachel said, nodding. Her two friends had continued down the hall without her. 

"Did you want us to wait for you, Rach?" a red-headed girl called back to her.

"No, I'll be back in a minute," she answered, turning to Harry. "What are you doing tonight?" she asked him.

"Oh, I've got tons of Potions for tomorrow, and lots of reading to do... Why?"

"Well, I thought maybe we could hang out tonight," she said innoncently. Harry sighed.

"Sorry Rach, I'm so busy-"

"Astronomy tower at 7? That sounds good to me too. See you then!" she said, walking off with a sly smile on her face. Harry
had to laugh. She sure knows what to say, he thought to himself, knowing that he would meet her at 7 despite all of
his homework.

*******************

Harry didn't make it back to the common room until 10 p.m. Ron was the only one still up; he had half expected Hermione to be
there as well, but remembering their fight during Transfiguration, he wasn't surprised. 

"Hey Ron," he said softly, sitting down near him. "How are things going?" Ron glanced up at him and snorted.

"Don't even come over here trying to make me feel better about Hermione when you look like that," he replied, giving Harry a
critical stare.

"Look like what?" Harry asked, nervously pushing his hair back.

"Look like you've just been snogging your girlfriend, with lipstick all over your face and your hair all messed up-"

"Sorry," Harry muttered, wiping his face. Ron began to laugh.

"Nah, it's okay. Funny actually," he added. His expression became more serious. "But about Hermione... I just don't know what
to do. Quidditch is something that's important to me, she knows that." He stared at the floor, looking cross.

"I'm sure she knows its important Ron, she just doesn't want it to be more important than she is," Harry said with a sigh.
"Don't worry, I'm sure after this game against Slytherin, everything will be fine." 

"I hope so," Ron muttered.

******************

The day of the big game arrived. Ron and Hermione were on speaking terms, but just barely. 

"I don't know if I'll come to the game," Hermione mused in the morning at breakfast. "I've got that Potions essay to finish-"

"The one that isn't due for three weeks?" Ron asked through gritted teeth, trying to control his temper.

"Yes," she replied subbornly. "Some people like to stay on top of their studies." Ron threw down his spoon.

"I think I'm done," he growled, leaving the table and heading outside. Hermione just rolled her eyes.

"I better go too, Hermione. I'll see you later... Come if you can," he said, a pleading look in his eyes. She sighed.

"I'll think about it."

Harry walked outside and across the grounds to the Quidditch pitch. A few other players were already there, along with Ron,
and they began their warm up exercises. Before he knew it, Harry was on the field and Madam Hooch was holding up the Quaffle
and waiting to blow the whistle. 

"I want a CLEAN GAME!" she said loudly. "Do we understand?" Ron and the Slytherin captain mumbled replies. She blew the whistle
and the game began. Harry flew into the air, his eyes immediately scanning the Gryffindor section of the bleachers for 
Hermione. He couldn't find her. A sudden Bludger flew his way and he was forced to roll over in midair to avoid it. He decided
his focus should be on the game, not Hermione, and he swooped downwards in search of the Snitch. He could see Malfoy all the
way across the pitch, watching his every move suspiciously. 


Harry continued circling the arena and listening to the scores being called out by Dean, who had been appointed the new commentator
for Quidditch matches after Lee Jordan graduated. The game was getting more and more violent, and Madam Hooch was not pleased.

"I told you I wanted a clean game!" she screamed to Goyle, who had 'accidentally' knocked Ginny off her broom; luckily it
was only a few feet off the ground. "Penalty for Gryffindor!" Jack Sloper took the shot and missed terribly. Harry cursed
his bad luck; he didn't want the game to come down to whether he caught the Snitch or not. He zoomed in and out of the players,
trying to avoid most of the action.

"Nott passes to Crabbe, they're nearing the Gryffindor goal... But the shot is blocked by the goalkeeper! Weasley manages
to keep it away! Gryffindor's in possession, Brown has the Quaffle, she's nearly halfway-" Harry spotted the glittering
Snitch on the far side of the pitch. The problem was, it was closer to Malfoy than to him. Glancing at Malfoy, he realized
that the other Seeker hadn't seen the Snitch yet. He darted forward, dodging a Bludger and raced towards his goal. Draco
saw him and quickly followed, only inches away from his tail.

"Back off, Potter!" he heard him hiss as he approached the shiny winged ball. Malfoy nudged Harry's shoulder; at their speed,
this was enough to send him far off course and nearly hit the ground, but not before he managed to wrap his fingers around
the Snitch. Grinning but in pain, Harry held it up. The crowd was roaring wildly. Harry glanced around the field and saw
that most of the Gryffindor players were in pretty bad shape; Ginny was clutching her arm from her fall, Ron was completely
winded, and Andrew Kirke was limping. He noticed that Draco Malfoy was getting a lecture from Madam Hooch on the definition
of a 'clean game', and Harry had to laugh. 

He began to walk over to Ron when he noticed Hermione standing at the foot of the bleachers. She smiled wanly at Harry, but 
seemed reluctant to come over and talk. By the time Harry reached Ron's side, his friend was in a deep conversation with
a man in a black cloak that Harry had never seen before. Changing his mind and deciding not to interrupt, Harry went to greet
Hermione.

"Thanks for coming," he said, smiling. She shrugged.

"Sure," she said quietly. 

"HARRY!" someone screamed from the top of the bleachers. Rachel ran down the steps as fast as she could and flung her arms
around his neck. "Congratulations! That was amazing!" They kissed briefly. Hermione turned away, feeling uncomfortable at
their public display of affection. Her eyes landed on Ron, who she was surprised to see was talking to an unfamiliar man.
He looked happier than she had ever seen him before, and Hermione had to smile. Sure, Quidditch might be stupid to her, but
Hogwarts, A History was stupid to Ron. She had to accept him, faults and all. The mysterious man walked away and
Hermione approached Ron, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Great game," she said quietly, smiling. Ron turned around, grinning, but his happiness faded a little when he saw her.

"Oh, thanks, Mione," he mumbled. 

"What did that guy want?" she asked, looking around for the man, who seemed to have vanished.

"Er... you probably wouldn't be very happy if I told you," Ron replied, laughing humorlessly. Hermione just stared at him
sternly. "Oh all right... see, he's a scout."

"A scout?" Hermione echoed.

"Yeah, you know, they recruit people for professional teams... Well, he wants me to play for the Chudley Cannons..." Hermione's
eyes widened.

"What did you say?" she asked him breathlessly. Ron grimaced.

"I told him I would think about it. I really want to but..." he trailed off, his cheeks flushing. "If you don't want me to..
Well, Hermione, I don't want to lose you over something stupid like Quidditch." Feeling tears forming in her eyes, Hermione
wrapped her arms around Ron suddenly. 

"Tell him yes," she choked out, finally making eye contact with Ron. Ron grinned.

"Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded, smiling. Harry and Rachel watched the pair from across the field.

"Well, I guess the fight's over," Harry commented, watching Ron and Hermione kiss in the middle of the now-deserted Quidditch
pitch.

*****************

School at the Magical Institute had gotten off to a good start, and Remus was enjoying his classes. He had felt much more
relaxed in this atmosphere than he had at Hogwart's; everyone here knew he was a werewolf and didn't care. He was getting 
himself a cup of tea from the staff lounge when he saw a pink-haired female enter the room behind him.

"Hey Tonks," he greeted her. "How did your date go with, uh, what's-his-name?" She snorted in laughter.

"Oh, you mean Rich? Eh, not so well." Remus' spirits lifted.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, sounding sincere but not meaning a word of it. "Would you like to go out to dinner tonight?"
There - I did it, he thought triumphantly. He hadn't even thought about it, the words had just come out of his mouth. 
He watched Tonks' reaction nervously.

"Um... sure!" she said, smiling. "Why not?" Remus grinned back at her. 

"I'll meet you at 8, then?"

*****************

Sorry about the wait... Midterms, etc. are getting in the way. I know this wasn't the most exciting chapter, and yes, as many
of you have mentioned things are going a little too smoothly right now... Don't worry, danger is near! Mwahahaha. Thanks to
my readers!!

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