Chapter 23: A Quidditch Disaster

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"You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you." 
-Eric Hoffer

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Harry was convinced that the ghostly dog he had seen was Sirius. He had tried to question Hagrid more thoroughly on the matter,
but the teacher brushed him aside.

"Harry, there's no way sum'n who's dead could come back as a dog. Yer either a ghost or yer dead, there's no in-between. 
All that talk's codswallop, I wouldn' even think on it," he had replied, waving his giant hand in the air. Harry, however,
refused to give up. 

The next night he stared listlessly at his homework as he sat in the common room. Now that he was a seventh year, he had
less classes but somehow more work to do outside of class than he ever had before. A gentle snow had begun to fall outside
and he stared out the window wistfully, wishing that he could revisit the Forbidden Forest. Maybe I can, after everyone's
asleep... Hastily, he glanced around the room. It was still too early; everyone was still awake. I'll have to wait
until later, he thought angrily to himself, picking up his Charms book and trying to immerse himself in it. The chapter
he was supposed to be studying seemed pointless and he couldn't concentrate. The minutes continued to drag on and on, until
finally only a few people remained in the room. Ron and Hermione were practicing Transfiguration spells and didn't look like
they would be giving up any time soon. Harry stood up, faking a yawn.

"Hey guys, I'm going to head upstairs. Goodnight," he said, gathering his books and rushing up the steps to the Heads' 
dormitories. Hermione glanced up at the staircase just in time to see Harry disappear around the bend. Her eyes narrowed.

"Something funny's going on with Harry," she said slowly, turning to Ron. "Don't you think so?" Ron shrugged.

"Seems fine to me. Now, why can't I get this pumpkin to turn into a squash?" he asked, exasperated. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You're doing the wand movements all wrong, it's like this..."


***********

Harry dashed into his bedroom and closed the curtains around his bed, making sure that Ron wouldn't be able to see inside when
he came upstairs from the common room. He took only his wand, sliding it deep within his robes, and turned to the painting on
the wall. Secretly opening it, he followed the passageway until he reached the hallway. He slipped out the door near the
Great Hall, just as he had done only a few days before. The snow was quickly covering the ground, and Harry winced as he
realized he was leaving footprints. It's windy, he told himself. They'll disappear soon. He practically ran to
the edge of the forest, being careful to stay in the shadows of the castle to avoid being seen by anyone. A few feet into
the Forbidden Forest he looked around and, feeling satisfied that he was alone, transformed into his animagus. The wolf
immediately took over, and all of his pent-up energy from sitting inside and studying all day was released as he ran freely
through the trees. After a short while, he stopped as he remembered why he had come. Sirius, he thought, his senses
sharpening. He began to sniff the ground, searching for something, anything that could help him find his lost friend.

The wind had picked up considerably and the snow was now flinging itself at Harry's face, stinging his eyes and nose. He
stumbled through the undergrowth, but the weather was making it impossible for him to find any sign of the strange dog. 
Sitting back on his haunches, he let out a single mournful howl. The seconds after he stopped seemed like an eternity, but
in the end there was no response. Harry took a deep breath and tried again. 

"Ooouuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

The sound echoed through the empty forest, rising above the noise of the wind but still it was not answered. Harry stood up
and shook the snow off of his coat. Hanging his head and dropping his gaze to avoid the onslaught of the freezing snow, he
began the long walk back to his dormitory.

***********

"Hermione!" Someone whispering her name aloud made Hermione's eyes snap open. She glanced over at Ginny's bed, but saw that
the curtains were still shut. Then she realized it had been a male voice.

"Hermione," Ron repeated hoarsely, trying to squeeze in through the doorway without letting in too much light from the hallway.

"Ron? What's wrong?" she asked immediately, keeping her voice down as she struggled to sit upright. He motioned with his 
head towards the door.

"Come outside for a second." A little worried, she scrambled out of bed and followed him.

"What is it?" she asked at a normal tone, once they were outside the room where Ginny was still fast asleep. Ron sighed, running
his hand through his messy red hair.

"Well... remember how you said something was funny with Harry? He's uh... not in his bed anymore..."

"HE'S WHAT?!"

"Shhhh!" Ron whispered frantically. "You don't want to wake up everyone in the whole bloody tower, do you?"

"Ron, what are we going to do?" she asked, looking up at him anxiously. 

"I... I don't know," he confessed, looking worried.

"I'm going to find Professor McGonagall, right now!" Hermione said, starting towards the door.

"Hermione! What are you doing? He'll kill us if we tell!" Ron pleaded desperately.

"How do you know he hasn't been captured by Death Eaters or something?" she asked, her temper rising. "Are we just supposed
to assume he's out goofing off? This isn't any student Ron, it's Harry Potter, for Merlin's sake! You've seen how often he
gets into trouble, bad trouble, and if we're not there to stop him-"

"Mione," Ron said, holding up a hand. "You saw how he ran upstairs when he said he was going to bed, I'm sure he planned it
all. I don't know where he went but I don't think anyone forced him to go."

"Are you sure though? Did he leave a note?" she asked. 

"I didn't see one-"

"We'll go check," Hermione insisted, grabbing Ron's arm and dragging him towards he and Harry's bedroom. She went over to
Harry's bed immediately and began to investigate.

"Hmmm... the bed's completely made... He didn't even go to sleep. No note at all..." She sighed deeply as she sat down on
the end of his bed and put her hand to her forehead. "Now what? We can't just go to sleep and hope he'll be here in the
morning!"

"Hermione, we can't tell McGonagall! She'll kill him, and he'll kill us! It'll be a bloody massacre, I'm telling you-"

CREAK!

Ron and Hermione's heads turned simultaneously towards the left side of the room. Hermione gasped.

"Harry?" Ron asked incredulously as a painting of a lake swung forward. "What the hell... Where were you?" Harry gulped at
the sound of Ron's voice; he seemed very angry. Now I'm going to have to come up with some sort of explanation, he
thought miserably as he faced his two best friends, both of whom looked very cross. Hermione's arms were folded across her
nightgown and Ron's face was getting redder by the moment.

"Er... I'm sorry," he muttered, now standing completely inside the room. His clothing was drenched from the snow and he stood
close to the wall, a small puddle forming under his feet.

"What-what is this?" Ron asked, gesturing towards the painting. "A trapdoor? And what were you doing?"

"We thought you'd been kidnapped!" Hermione cried, still looking angry but also relieved. Harry felt guilt engulfing him.
He had made his friends horribly upset, all over a silly vision he had seen... He had no proof that it had ever been Sirius...

"Sit down, I'll tell you the whole thing," he said tiredly, pulling off his sopping wet cloak and t-shirt and stepping out
of his trainers. He pulled a blanket off of his bed to wrap aroun himself and began. "Well, first off, I'm an unregistered 
animagus." Hermione glared at him. "I know, I know, it's wrong," he said sarcastically. "So the other day, I decided to go 
for a walk in the woods-"

"In the Forbidden Forest? In your animagus form?" Hermione cried. "Harry, tell me you didn't."

"Er... Sorry, well I did-" Harry tried.

"What is it?" Ron asked excitedly, apparently no longer worried about Harry's well-being. "What form is your animagus?"

"A wolf," he answered proudly. "A timber wolf I think, with gray and a little bit of white-"

"Finish the story," Hermione growled. "So you've just been going out during the night for walks in the forest, is that what
you're telling us?"

"Let me finish," Harry said, clearly annoyed with the interruption. "So the first time I went into the woods, I went really
far and I got lost-"

"Figures," Hermione muttered. Harry pretended he hadn't heard her.

"-and I howled, and this dog sort of thing came up to me. I was worried at first, but eventually I followed it and it led me
out of the woods." Hermione inhaled sharply.

"The gytrash! So that's why the wolf footprints were in the forest! Hagrid said they don't usually associate with animals..."
she said thoughtfully.

"Hagrid said that some people think a gytrash is a loved one leading you to safety. I thought..." he trailed off before 
continuing. "I thought it might have been Sirius." Ron looked at him sympathetically.

"But mate, I think that's just a story, it's probably not really true." Harry sighed.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sure it wasn't. But it looked just like him, when he transformed... I was just so sure. So I thought if
I went out tonight and howled, maybe it would show up again. But it didn't."

"I think we should all just go to bed," Hermione said quietly. "It's nearly 3 AM and we have classes tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's Friday... we have Potions," Ron muttered, looking sick. Hermione said goodnight and retreated to her own room.
Harry took off the rest of his wet clothing and changed into his pajamas. 

"I'm glad it's nearly the weekend," Harry mumbled as he took off his glasses before lying in his bed. Ron snorted.

"Glad? We play Slytherin on Saturday! What is there to look forward to?" Harry felt a lump of fear in his chest. That game
wasn't going to be pretty...

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

Harry awoke early on Saturday morning and dragged himself down to breakfast. It was before 8 AM, so most of the other students
were still asleep. The few that were up were chatting excitedly about winter break, which was only a week away. Harry couldn't
even think about something that far away; the only thought in his mind was the game against Slythering that would take place
in only a few hours. Harry grabbed a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice, though he knew he would hardly eat anything.
He was just too nervous.

Though the games were usually spread out through the entire school year, after the attacks earlier that year Dumbledore had
made the decision to group them closer together. The result had been a game nearly every other weekend, which had been 
stressful for Harry but even worse for Ron. Trying to get the team to practice every day had been quite a challenge. Harry
had an idea that Dumbledore had done this to get the games over with as soon as possible; each Quidditch match drew so many
people that they were becoming easy targets for attacks.

Other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had begun to appear and the group began to congregate at one end of the table.
Ron came down eventually, with Hermione by his side. They sat by Harry, and he noticed the look of determination on Ron's face.
After a short while, the team moved outside; the snow had stopped falling, and the ground was covered in a layer of beautiful
shining white. Harry wrapped his cloak around him tightly, shivering a bit, while Ron kicked the ground angrily.

"This isn't going to help any... the glare from the snow'll just be in our eyes..." he muttered. They entered the locker room.
Gathering the team around him, Ron began his pep talk. "All right everyone. As you all know, this is our final game." Harry
felt his stomach drop. The final game. This is it. My last Quidditch game, he suddenly realized. "We've beat them
before, and we can do it again. We will win the Cup! We will win the tournament! We're going to go out there and show them 
how it's supposed to be done. We are going to WIN!" The team cheered loudly, but Harry felt the anxious tension in his chest
mounting. He could hear the announcements echoing in the stadium.

"And here comes the Slytherin team - Captain Draco Malfoy, beaters Crabbe and Goyle..." Dean's voice was drowned out by the
cheers from the Slytherin section. 

"Now welcome the Gryffindors! Captain Ron Weasley, beaters Sloper and Kirke, seeker Potter..." Harry flew into the arena and
his fears seemed to melt away. He could do this, he could handle the pressure, just one last time.

"I want a CLEAN game!" Madam Hooch shouted from the middle of the field. "Some of us do not seem to understand what this means,
but know this, I will not hesitate to penalize any player that violates the rules!" She raised her whistle to her mouth and
the match began.

As Madam Hooch had predicted, the game immediately got very dirty. A Slytherin chaser knocked Euan Abercrombie off his broom,
and the Gryffindors paid back the favor when Kirke lobbed a Bludger towards Crabbe's head. Harry was slowly circling the 
stadium but made sure to stay far off to the side, to avoid the melee in the center. He heard the crowd gasp and looked up to 
see Ginny Weasley danging from her broom 50 feet in the air. She managed to pull herself back on again, but looked shaky and
scared. Madam Hooch was nearly screaming at Goyle.

"But I didn't see her!" he protested, shrugging his huge shoulders.

"I DON'T CARE IF YOU SAW HER! PENALTY FOR GRYFFINDOR!" Ginny took the shot, but she was still too shaken up to make it. Harry
resumed his circling, keeping an eye on Draco at all times. 

Suddenly, there it was - the glittering Snitch, just across the field. Harry glanced rapidly over towards Draco before zooming
towards it, speeding as fast as he could. Within moments, Draco was close behind him and gaining on him every second. Everything
seemed to be in slow motion; Harry could feel the snowflakes that had begun to fall hitting his forehead one by one, he could
practically hear Draco's labored breathing beside him as he rushed to catch up. The crowd screamed but neither Harry nor Draco
paid them any attention. They were approaching the gold ball quickly. Two hands reached out, fumbling blindly in the cold
winter air - and one managed to catch the Snitch. 

Harry blinked back tears of joy as he stared at the winged ball, its feeble wings attempting to fly away. 

"I won... I won!" he cried, looking up at the crowd. But no one had noticed. Everyone was standing up and there was some sort
of uproar. Harry glanced at Draco to his left, and was surprised to see him looking shocked and more pale than usual.

"What's going on?" he asked him. Draco shook his head slowly.

"I don't know..." Draco whispered, lowering himself to the ground. Harry gasped as dark cloaked figures began appearing around
them.

"Death Eaters!" Ron exclaimed, rushing to his side. "Harry, we have to get out of here!" 

"We have to fight!" Harry replied, pulling his wand out from deep inside his robes. 

"All students are to report to their dormitories immediately! No exceptions!" McGonagall's voice echoed over the stadium.
Teachers and staff had begun to pour onto the field, fighting against the Death Eaters. Most of the students seemed to be
far enough away to be out of the danger. 

"Harry!" He looked down to see Rachel pulling at his sleeve. "Please, let's go," she pleaded, looking at him with fear in her
eyes.

"Harry, get out of here!" He looked up to see Kingsley Shaklebolt standing a few feet away from him. He didn't need to be
told again. Grabbing Rachel's hand, he rushed out of the area along with Ron. They reached the castle safely, and Harry made
sure that Rachel got back to the Hufflepuff tower before going to his own. He didn't see Hermione or Ron anywhere in the
common room on the first floor, so he headed up the spiral staircase to the Heads' common room. They were both seated on 
a sofa, along with Ginny, looking fearful.

"What was that?" Harry asked breathlessly. 

"I don't know where they came from, I think through the Forbidden Forest. But they were all wearing invisibility cloaks, no
one knew until they were standing right beside us all!" Hermione replied, her tone worrisome. 

"Why," Harry groaned, collapsing onto the sofa beside them. 

"Probably just for the hell of it," Ron growled. 

"Wanted to stir things up before the election," Hermione added, craning her neck to see out the small window at the edge of
the room.

"Election? When is the election?" Ron asked. She sighed impatiently.

"January, Ron. I would have thought, you of all people... After growing up in the magical world, you still don't know-"

"Stop fighting, you two. We have worse things to worry about than elections for the Minster of Magic," Harry said, standing up
and walking over to the window. Ginny followed him.

"Can you see anything?" she asked. Harry shook his head.

"Not really..."

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

At 3 PM, the trio heard their door open and looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing in the doorway. 

"What's happened?" Hermione cried, jumping up out of her chair.

"Is anyone hurt?" Harry asked.

Professor McGonagall sighed. "The attack is over and it is now safe for students to move about the castle. As Head Boy and Girl,
I thought I should inform you first. There were some serious injuries, but thankfully no one was killed. Will you both please
inform the younger students of this? You can help as well, Mr. Weasley, you're a prefect." With a nod, she turned toward the
door. "I must go, I have urgent business to attend to." Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way downstairs to the main common
room and began spreading the word. 

That evening at dinner, Professor Dumbledore made an announcement. "Thank you everyone for your cooperation today. The incident
on the Quidditch pitch, while short-lived, is a statement of Voldemort's growing power. Please remember that your safety is
in question in anything that you do. Keep an eye out for suspicious events, and report them to a professor or to myself as
soon as possible. Thank you."

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

The final week before break was filled with tension. Students roamed the halls in packs, afraid to be alone even for a few
minutes. The professors seemed to be on edge at all times. Harry was glad when it was finally Friday. He had decided to 
spend his winter break at 12 Grimmauld Place with Ron. Hermione was going on a vacation with her parents for a week to visit
Mexico and would be joining them later. Harry had tried to convince Rachel to come with them, but she declined his offer.

"I should see my family," she said stubbornly. "I'll try to come back towards the end of break, we'll see." It had made Harry
a little angry, but then again, she was right. They were her family.

Ron and Harry got off of the Hogwart's Express and met up with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Ginny trailed behind the two best friends,
her trunk stuffed to the seams.

"Ginny, this thing's overloaded!" George complained, trying to pick it up.

"It's gonna blow!" Fred cried, ducking as the clasps on the trunk broke and the items inside came falling out. Mrs. Weasley
glared at them both. 

"Stop it, you two. You'd think you were still three year olds!" she chastised, repairing the trunk and increasing its size with
a few quick spells. "Come along, we've got a cab waiting..."

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

Rachel was glad to be 'home', or at least a place she could consider to be home. She put all of her belongings up in the
spare bedroom and changed into nicer robes for dinner. She headed downstairs, expecting a delicious meal. When she entered
the formal dining room, her father and brothers were already there.

"Rachel!" her father said, smiling. She noticed his eyes didn't seem to reflect the happiness of his voice and found this odd.
What am I doing? Now I'm questioning my own family? she thought, disgusted with herself. 

The house-elf came bustling into the room, carrying several drinks. He set the first in front of Rachel. She looked at it, an
odd expression on her face.

"What is this stuff?" she asked, sniffing it. 

"It's a mix of cherry and pumpking juice, really marvelous. You must try it," her father said, grinning. Audric was looking
at her with a smirk on his face and she wondered why. She took a sip of the drink and nodded.

"It's pretty good," she said, setting the glass back down. 

"Have more, there's plenty where that came from," Mr. Marvolo said. She took another drink and suddenly felt an odd sensation.
Her arms fell to her sides and her head lolled forward towards her chest. "There's a good girl," he said with a sadistic grin.
"Now, tell us, where is Harry Potter?"

"At Ron's house," Rachel said in an unnaturally monotone voice.

"The Weasleys' house burned to the ground. Where is he?" Mr. Marvolo demanded.

"Wherever Ron is living now," Rachel replied. 

"When will Harry Potter be outside the school grounds after break?" Armro asked insistently.

"There's a Hogsmeade weekend, the week after we're back in school," Rachel said. 

"That's it!" Audric exclaimed. "Perfect. The Dark Lord will reward us for this information!" Mr. Marvolo grinned again.

"Wonderful job, boys," he said.

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

Whew! That chapter took me FOREVER, sorry about that. But it's longer than usual, if it's any consolation! I know a lot happened
in this chapter, hope I'm not confusing anyone. I must say thank you again to my wonderful readers!!

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