A/N: Ack! I've finally got this chapter done. There's been so much going on
lately - rehearsals, studying, tests, trips - that I haven't had time to
post. But, I'll try to update this story, and my others, soon. At least,
before the 5th book comes out (only a little over a week, yay!).
Thanks to PheonixFire; azntgr01; ER: Everyone's been asking me that....Basically, the name is based on someone I know from school; LoonyLoopyLisa: Great spotting of the CoS thing!; JerseyGirl03; Queen of Redwall: I wasn't sure of his middle name when I wrote this, but several people have pointed out that to me since then. As for longer chapters, I'll try. Oh, and I don't remember it saying who the Head of Ravenclaw is in the books, so you may be right. Somebody mentioned to me that they thought Flitwick was, so I went with that; Prd2bAmerican; Slim; Calani; pakerin pyros: You'll soon find out :^); Dadaiiro: Yay, more questions! Okay....we must wait and see, I know, I feel bad for Harry, too, see what I said to pakerin pyros for that one; I am planning on continuing this through all the years and Professor Lupin will make an appearance, Ron and Hermione may become friends eventually, but it'll take more time. After all, it was Harry that got the trio together. And, you can also count on another appearance of the Twins. And soon; wicket: Actually, I got the idea from a the song 'Kryptonite' by Three Doors Down. I'm not exactly sure why, but....Anyway, most of this fic will follow the story line of the PS with a few - twists; shadow4284: the teachers don't already know, but I figure Snape will definitely figure it out sooner or later. He may be mean, but he's not stupid and he is, like you said, naturally suspicious; and athenakitty: Yes! I love answering questions....let's see....Gradually different people will figure out who he is, but the whole world won't find out for awhile, Hermione - look below, as for Ron - we'll see, of course and of course again - those are both definite, partially, mmmhmm, and Yup (just so you know, when you wrote that question I had a very disturbing image of Voldie clog dancing :^] )!
CH17: Huh?
~But, as he was making his way back down the winding staircase, Harry heard Dumbledore say to himself,
"We were right."~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry, Draco, Cho, Fred, George, and Hermione were sitting in the library, quietly discussing the matter of Vault 713. Having become very good friends with the girls (knocking out a mountain troll will do that), Harry and Draco had finally filled everyone in. And they were still just as clueless.
"What could be so great that they would break into Gringotts for it?" Hermione voiced and it was disconcerting that nobody had an answer.
But they had other things on their minds. Last weekend the first Quidditch game was played - Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff - and this Saturday, Ravenclaw would be playing Slytherin.
Basically, Harry was a nervous wreck. He didn't even want to join in when the Twins changed Mrs. Norris red and blue. Cho wasn't much better.
"Come on," Draco reassured them. "You'll be brilliant."
Harry wasn't sure what was worse - people telling him he'd be brilliant or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress.
It was lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend - she turned out to be full of helpful tips. And much more relaxed now that she was friends with some of the biggest trouble makers in the school (he had introduced her to the twins a few days before). So, the day before Harry's first Quidditch match, the six of them - Hermione, Harry, Draco. Cho, Fred, and George - were out in the freezing courtyard during break.
It was definitely cold, but Harry didn't really mind. Ever since the incident at the Halloween Feast, people had been giving him not-so-subtle curious glances. Thankfully, most regarded it as a fluke that he could know about the troll, and left it at that.
As they gathered around a bright blue fire Hermione had conjured up for them when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed he was limping at once. The group huddled closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure they wouldn't be allowed. Unfortunately, something about there guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.
"What's that you got there, Andrews?"
It was a copy of 'Quidditch Through the Ages'. Harry showed him.
"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Ravenclaw."
"He just made that rule up," Cho muttered angrily, glaring at the retreating Potion Master's back.
"What's up with his leg?" Hermione wondered.
"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Draco bitterly. The twins snickered in agreement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ravenclaw common room was noisy that evening.
Harry was restless. He wanted 'Quidditch Through the Ages' back, to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow. Why should he be afraid of Snape? Getting up, he told Draco and Cho he was going to ask Snape if he could have it back.
"Better you than me," they said together, but Harry had the idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if other teachers were listening.
He made his way down to the staff room and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing.
Perhaps Snape left the book in there? It was worth a try. He pushed the door open and peered inside.
On a table, just out of his reach, laid the book. Harry pushed the door a bit more - and a horrible scene met his eyes.
Snape and Filch were alone inside (Not like that - Get your minds out of the gutter!). Snape was holding his robes above his knees (again, a sight that Harry could have lived happily without). One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.
"Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"
Harry tried to sneak away quietly, but -
"ANDREWS!"
Snape's face was twisted in fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped.
"I just wondered if I could have my book back."
"GET OUT! OUT!"
"Right, this is a bad time. I'll just be leaving then." He snatched up his book and, with a cheery smile at Snape, sprinted back up to the common room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Did you get it?" Draco asked as Harry joined them. "What's the matter?"
In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd just seen. And he was repeating the story again at breakfast the next morning for Hermione, Fred, and George.
"You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly, taking a sip of orange juice. "He tried to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween! That's where he was going - why he wasn't in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers. He's after what ever was in Gringotts. And I would bet anything he let the troll in, to create a diversion!"
Hermione's eyes were wide.
"No - he wouldn't," she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe.
"Honestly, Hermione," sighed Fred. "You think all teachers are saints or something."
"I'm with Andy on this one," agreed Draco.
"And I wouldn't put anything past Snape," George added.
Cho voiced the question they were all pondering. "But what is he after? What's that dog guarding?"
The rest of breakfast, Harry chewed on that thought while his friends tried to get him to physically eat something.
"You've got to eat breakfast."
"I'm not hungry."
"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.
"Andy, you need you're strength," said George.
"Yeah, Seekers are always the ones that get clobbered by the other team," Fred put in and Hermione whacked him on the head.
"That's reassuring," Harry mumbled.
"Don't worry, anyone who tries to get near you and Wham!, I'll make sure they are in the hospital wing for a week," Cho said. Harry managed a smile and picked on a small muffin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.
Draco, Hermione, Fred, George, and most of the first year Ravenclaws had gathered in the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on an extra sheet. It said 'Fly like the Wind, Andrews'. Mandy, who was very good with a quill, had drawn a beautiful eagle underneath it. Then Hermione had preformed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors and Cho had charmed the bird to fly around the letters.
Meanwhile, in the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their blue Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).
"Okay, everyone," Roberts began. "We have a great team this year.
"Damn Straight," Chaser Tanya Greutan said under her breath.
"We are going to win."
"Let me guess, Or else?" Beater Norman Julien asked.
"No, no," said Harry. "He's saving that for the Cup speech."
"Oh, good."
Roberts sighed. "Just get out there and kick some Slytherin arse." The team cheered.
Harry was sure his knees were going to give way as he marched out onto the field.
"Good luck," Cho whispered to him as she went to join her spot in the line.
"Back at you."
Madame Hooch was refereeing. "Now, I want a nice fair game all of you," she said once they took their places in the face off. Harry noticed she was speaking mostly to the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth year.
"Mount your brooms, please."
Harry clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand and Madame Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.
"And they're off!" shouted Lee Jordan. He was a friend of the twins and would be doing the commentary for this game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hours later, the group was gathered in the library. The match had been spectacular, despite all of Harry's worrying. The Keeper, Benjamin Lafet, had made several spectacular saves, while Roberts and the other Chaser, Sarah Vinerine, showed ingenuity in an amazing pass that brought the team into the lead. But the end had come when the Slytherin Seeker, a seventh year named Terence Higgs, tried to preform a difficult Wronski Feint, a diversionary dive. Unfortunately for him, he didn't notice the Snitch was about 200 feet above him at the time. But Harry did and Ravenclaw won by 180-70.
There was a raving party going on in the Ravenclaw common room, but they need some peace and quiet. Especially because of what they were talking about.
"Uggg! What could be in there!" Draco groaned. The mystery of Vault 713 was driving them all nuts.
"Shhhh, Draco," Hermione chided. "Madame Pince is looking over here." And, indeed, the orderly librarian was giving them the evil eye from her desk.
But Draco didn't care. "Don't 'Shhhh!' me! I'm trying to figure this out."
"Somehow I don't think banging your head with a book will help," Harry pointed out.
"Try the table top," Fred suggested.
Cho sighed. "What we need is a distraction. Just to get our minds off this for awhile. Let's talk about that assignment - " The twins cut her off with groans.
"Typical Ravenclaw," said George. "All schoolwork, schoolwork, schoolwork."
"And homework," said Fred.
"Hey, I think I'm insulted," Harry said with a mock offended look.
"Not you, Andy," George grinned. "You're the Weirdo of Ravenclaw House."
"Thanks."
"No, no," Cho laughed. "I was talking about Binns' biography report."
Every year, Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher, would have every one of his students write a report on a magical figure. It was the only slightly non-boring thing they did all year.
"Oh, well, I've got an easy report this year," Fred said. "Godric Gryffindor."
"Me, too," said George. "Merlin."
"Lucky," Draco groaned. "I've got Boris the Bewildered."
"Don't feel bad, I have Uric the Oddball," Hermione said comfortingly.
"Well, I've got some named Nicolas Flammel," Harry said. Then he added, "I know I've heard his name somewhere before, but I can't remember." Everyone else shrugged.
Then Cho said, "I was assigned Harry Potter." Harry choked a bit.
"What?" he asked startled.
Cho looked puzzled. "Harry Potter. Is something wrong with that?"
"No, no," Harry added hurriedly. "I just remembered that Dumbledore wanted to see me. Probably more about what happened at the Halloween feast. I have to run." And with that, he bolted from the library, much to the disapproval of Madame Pince.
After he left, his friends sat and stared at each other. Finally, Hermione said, "Do you think there is something Andy isn't telling us?" The group nodded as one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry set off down the corridors, looking for Dumbledore. There was something very important he had to discuss with the old wizard.
Lucky for Harry, Dumbledore seemed to be reading his thoughts. Just as he rounded the corner, he ran into the Headmaster.
"Hello, Professor," Harry greeted.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Andrews," Dumbledore said back. "Congratulations on today's match."
"Thank you. Actually, it was you I was looking for. If you have a minute, could we talk?"
"Of course. Let's just go in here." He motioned to the door to the right - the Transfiguration Classroom.
Once they were settled in - making sure that no one was in the room - Dumbledore turned to his student.
"Well, Harry, what did you wish to speak with me about?"
"My friends." Harry looked down at his feet. "I think they suspect something."
Dumbledore sighed. "I was afraid of something like this."
"It would be so much easier if I could just tell them...." he trailed off.
"I know, but we can't risk it. No one can find out. You can't tell them."
"But they're my friends! I hate lying to them!"
"Harry, I'm just trying to do what is best for you. I don't want you in any danger."
"I understand." He looked out one of the windows. "What happens if they figure out on their own? I mean, Cho and Hermione are very clever separated, but when they get together....And the Twins have to be sneaky to get away with everything they do. Plus, Draco is so good at reading people...."
"If they find out, you can tell them everything. If," he repeated. "But no one else."
"Alright."
"You should get going. It's almost dinner time."
"Bye, Professor." They left through the door in front of the classroom and went their separate ways in the hall. Neither noticed two red-heads peering through another door, wide-eyed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Okay, what were they saying?" Cho asked. The twins had come rushing back through the library doors and had quickly explained that they had just overheard a conversation between Andy and the Headmaster. But that was precisely what made no sense.
"They were talking about some secret and how Andy wanted to tell us, but couldn't," Fred said again.
"Anything else," Hermione asked.
"Yeah," said George. "Dumbledore called Andy, 'Harry'."
"Hmmmm," said Draco. They all sat in silence, thinking this over. Suddenly, Cho's face lit up.
"When he left before, he got all uptight after I said who I was doing for my history report. You don't think...?"
Hermione jumped in. "Well, he would be the right age. The books I've read say he was born in 1980."
Draco caught on. "This could all be a coincidence. I mean, Andy's middle name is Harry. And he said back on the train that Dumbledore was an old friend of the family. It could just be a nickname."
"What's going on?" George asked.
"This is all too weird for me," Cho mumbled. "Too many things fit."
"Like how he says You-Know-Who's name. And his parents - didn't he say they were an Auror and an Unspeakable," Hermione added.
"Well, yes, but - " Draco was cut off.
"What are you three talking about?" Fred questioned.
"I think we need to have a small chat with 'Evan Andrews'," Cho said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry reached the tapestry that protected the Ravenclaw House and went inside. He hadn't seen Cho or Draco at dinner, and Hermione and the Twins weren't at the Gryffindor table. So he decided to leave the meal early and search for his friends.
When he got to the common room, Harry found they were, surprisingly, all there.
"Hey, guys," he greeted.
"Andy," Hermione said. "We need to talk."
"Okay," he said uncertainly. He plopped into a chair. "About what."
"Basically," Fred began. "These two," he motioned to the girls, "have this crazy notion that you're, well..."
"Harry Potter," said George.
"I was wondering when you would figure that out," he said quietly.
"We knew it. This is just some made-up - " Draco stopped abruptly and he, along with Fred and George turned to stare at him.
"Huh?" they asked in unison.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Sorry, for not going into much detail with the Quidditch game, but there wasn't anything interesting happening. After all, Quirrell doesn't know he is Harry Potter. Yet.
Thanks to PheonixFire; azntgr01; ER: Everyone's been asking me that....Basically, the name is based on someone I know from school; LoonyLoopyLisa: Great spotting of the CoS thing!; JerseyGirl03; Queen of Redwall: I wasn't sure of his middle name when I wrote this, but several people have pointed out that to me since then. As for longer chapters, I'll try. Oh, and I don't remember it saying who the Head of Ravenclaw is in the books, so you may be right. Somebody mentioned to me that they thought Flitwick was, so I went with that; Prd2bAmerican; Slim; Calani; pakerin pyros: You'll soon find out :^); Dadaiiro: Yay, more questions! Okay....we must wait and see, I know, I feel bad for Harry, too, see what I said to pakerin pyros for that one; I am planning on continuing this through all the years and Professor Lupin will make an appearance, Ron and Hermione may become friends eventually, but it'll take more time. After all, it was Harry that got the trio together. And, you can also count on another appearance of the Twins. And soon; wicket: Actually, I got the idea from a the song 'Kryptonite' by Three Doors Down. I'm not exactly sure why, but....Anyway, most of this fic will follow the story line of the PS with a few - twists; shadow4284: the teachers don't already know, but I figure Snape will definitely figure it out sooner or later. He may be mean, but he's not stupid and he is, like you said, naturally suspicious; and athenakitty: Yes! I love answering questions....let's see....Gradually different people will figure out who he is, but the whole world won't find out for awhile, Hermione - look below, as for Ron - we'll see, of course and of course again - those are both definite, partially, mmmhmm, and Yup (just so you know, when you wrote that question I had a very disturbing image of Voldie clog dancing :^] )!
CH17: Huh?
~But, as he was making his way back down the winding staircase, Harry heard Dumbledore say to himself,
"We were right."~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry, Draco, Cho, Fred, George, and Hermione were sitting in the library, quietly discussing the matter of Vault 713. Having become very good friends with the girls (knocking out a mountain troll will do that), Harry and Draco had finally filled everyone in. And they were still just as clueless.
"What could be so great that they would break into Gringotts for it?" Hermione voiced and it was disconcerting that nobody had an answer.
But they had other things on their minds. Last weekend the first Quidditch game was played - Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff - and this Saturday, Ravenclaw would be playing Slytherin.
Basically, Harry was a nervous wreck. He didn't even want to join in when the Twins changed Mrs. Norris red and blue. Cho wasn't much better.
"Come on," Draco reassured them. "You'll be brilliant."
Harry wasn't sure what was worse - people telling him he'd be brilliant or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress.
It was lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend - she turned out to be full of helpful tips. And much more relaxed now that she was friends with some of the biggest trouble makers in the school (he had introduced her to the twins a few days before). So, the day before Harry's first Quidditch match, the six of them - Hermione, Harry, Draco. Cho, Fred, and George - were out in the freezing courtyard during break.
It was definitely cold, but Harry didn't really mind. Ever since the incident at the Halloween Feast, people had been giving him not-so-subtle curious glances. Thankfully, most regarded it as a fluke that he could know about the troll, and left it at that.
As they gathered around a bright blue fire Hermione had conjured up for them when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed he was limping at once. The group huddled closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure they wouldn't be allowed. Unfortunately, something about there guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.
"What's that you got there, Andrews?"
It was a copy of 'Quidditch Through the Ages'. Harry showed him.
"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Ravenclaw."
"He just made that rule up," Cho muttered angrily, glaring at the retreating Potion Master's back.
"What's up with his leg?" Hermione wondered.
"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Draco bitterly. The twins snickered in agreement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ravenclaw common room was noisy that evening.
Harry was restless. He wanted 'Quidditch Through the Ages' back, to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow. Why should he be afraid of Snape? Getting up, he told Draco and Cho he was going to ask Snape if he could have it back.
"Better you than me," they said together, but Harry had the idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if other teachers were listening.
He made his way down to the staff room and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing.
Perhaps Snape left the book in there? It was worth a try. He pushed the door open and peered inside.
On a table, just out of his reach, laid the book. Harry pushed the door a bit more - and a horrible scene met his eyes.
Snape and Filch were alone inside (Not like that - Get your minds out of the gutter!). Snape was holding his robes above his knees (again, a sight that Harry could have lived happily without). One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.
"Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"
Harry tried to sneak away quietly, but -
"ANDREWS!"
Snape's face was twisted in fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped.
"I just wondered if I could have my book back."
"GET OUT! OUT!"
"Right, this is a bad time. I'll just be leaving then." He snatched up his book and, with a cheery smile at Snape, sprinted back up to the common room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Did you get it?" Draco asked as Harry joined them. "What's the matter?"
In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd just seen. And he was repeating the story again at breakfast the next morning for Hermione, Fred, and George.
"You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly, taking a sip of orange juice. "He tried to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween! That's where he was going - why he wasn't in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers. He's after what ever was in Gringotts. And I would bet anything he let the troll in, to create a diversion!"
Hermione's eyes were wide.
"No - he wouldn't," she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe.
"Honestly, Hermione," sighed Fred. "You think all teachers are saints or something."
"I'm with Andy on this one," agreed Draco.
"And I wouldn't put anything past Snape," George added.
Cho voiced the question they were all pondering. "But what is he after? What's that dog guarding?"
The rest of breakfast, Harry chewed on that thought while his friends tried to get him to physically eat something.
"You've got to eat breakfast."
"I'm not hungry."
"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.
"Andy, you need you're strength," said George.
"Yeah, Seekers are always the ones that get clobbered by the other team," Fred put in and Hermione whacked him on the head.
"That's reassuring," Harry mumbled.
"Don't worry, anyone who tries to get near you and Wham!, I'll make sure they are in the hospital wing for a week," Cho said. Harry managed a smile and picked on a small muffin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.
Draco, Hermione, Fred, George, and most of the first year Ravenclaws had gathered in the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on an extra sheet. It said 'Fly like the Wind, Andrews'. Mandy, who was very good with a quill, had drawn a beautiful eagle underneath it. Then Hermione had preformed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors and Cho had charmed the bird to fly around the letters.
Meanwhile, in the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their blue Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).
"Okay, everyone," Roberts began. "We have a great team this year.
"Damn Straight," Chaser Tanya Greutan said under her breath.
"We are going to win."
"Let me guess, Or else?" Beater Norman Julien asked.
"No, no," said Harry. "He's saving that for the Cup speech."
"Oh, good."
Roberts sighed. "Just get out there and kick some Slytherin arse." The team cheered.
Harry was sure his knees were going to give way as he marched out onto the field.
"Good luck," Cho whispered to him as she went to join her spot in the line.
"Back at you."
Madame Hooch was refereeing. "Now, I want a nice fair game all of you," she said once they took their places in the face off. Harry noticed she was speaking mostly to the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth year.
"Mount your brooms, please."
Harry clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand and Madame Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.
"And they're off!" shouted Lee Jordan. He was a friend of the twins and would be doing the commentary for this game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hours later, the group was gathered in the library. The match had been spectacular, despite all of Harry's worrying. The Keeper, Benjamin Lafet, had made several spectacular saves, while Roberts and the other Chaser, Sarah Vinerine, showed ingenuity in an amazing pass that brought the team into the lead. But the end had come when the Slytherin Seeker, a seventh year named Terence Higgs, tried to preform a difficult Wronski Feint, a diversionary dive. Unfortunately for him, he didn't notice the Snitch was about 200 feet above him at the time. But Harry did and Ravenclaw won by 180-70.
There was a raving party going on in the Ravenclaw common room, but they need some peace and quiet. Especially because of what they were talking about.
"Uggg! What could be in there!" Draco groaned. The mystery of Vault 713 was driving them all nuts.
"Shhhh, Draco," Hermione chided. "Madame Pince is looking over here." And, indeed, the orderly librarian was giving them the evil eye from her desk.
But Draco didn't care. "Don't 'Shhhh!' me! I'm trying to figure this out."
"Somehow I don't think banging your head with a book will help," Harry pointed out.
"Try the table top," Fred suggested.
Cho sighed. "What we need is a distraction. Just to get our minds off this for awhile. Let's talk about that assignment - " The twins cut her off with groans.
"Typical Ravenclaw," said George. "All schoolwork, schoolwork, schoolwork."
"And homework," said Fred.
"Hey, I think I'm insulted," Harry said with a mock offended look.
"Not you, Andy," George grinned. "You're the Weirdo of Ravenclaw House."
"Thanks."
"No, no," Cho laughed. "I was talking about Binns' biography report."
Every year, Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher, would have every one of his students write a report on a magical figure. It was the only slightly non-boring thing they did all year.
"Oh, well, I've got an easy report this year," Fred said. "Godric Gryffindor."
"Me, too," said George. "Merlin."
"Lucky," Draco groaned. "I've got Boris the Bewildered."
"Don't feel bad, I have Uric the Oddball," Hermione said comfortingly.
"Well, I've got some named Nicolas Flammel," Harry said. Then he added, "I know I've heard his name somewhere before, but I can't remember." Everyone else shrugged.
Then Cho said, "I was assigned Harry Potter." Harry choked a bit.
"What?" he asked startled.
Cho looked puzzled. "Harry Potter. Is something wrong with that?"
"No, no," Harry added hurriedly. "I just remembered that Dumbledore wanted to see me. Probably more about what happened at the Halloween feast. I have to run." And with that, he bolted from the library, much to the disapproval of Madame Pince.
After he left, his friends sat and stared at each other. Finally, Hermione said, "Do you think there is something Andy isn't telling us?" The group nodded as one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry set off down the corridors, looking for Dumbledore. There was something very important he had to discuss with the old wizard.
Lucky for Harry, Dumbledore seemed to be reading his thoughts. Just as he rounded the corner, he ran into the Headmaster.
"Hello, Professor," Harry greeted.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Andrews," Dumbledore said back. "Congratulations on today's match."
"Thank you. Actually, it was you I was looking for. If you have a minute, could we talk?"
"Of course. Let's just go in here." He motioned to the door to the right - the Transfiguration Classroom.
Once they were settled in - making sure that no one was in the room - Dumbledore turned to his student.
"Well, Harry, what did you wish to speak with me about?"
"My friends." Harry looked down at his feet. "I think they suspect something."
Dumbledore sighed. "I was afraid of something like this."
"It would be so much easier if I could just tell them...." he trailed off.
"I know, but we can't risk it. No one can find out. You can't tell them."
"But they're my friends! I hate lying to them!"
"Harry, I'm just trying to do what is best for you. I don't want you in any danger."
"I understand." He looked out one of the windows. "What happens if they figure out on their own? I mean, Cho and Hermione are very clever separated, but when they get together....And the Twins have to be sneaky to get away with everything they do. Plus, Draco is so good at reading people...."
"If they find out, you can tell them everything. If," he repeated. "But no one else."
"Alright."
"You should get going. It's almost dinner time."
"Bye, Professor." They left through the door in front of the classroom and went their separate ways in the hall. Neither noticed two red-heads peering through another door, wide-eyed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Okay, what were they saying?" Cho asked. The twins had come rushing back through the library doors and had quickly explained that they had just overheard a conversation between Andy and the Headmaster. But that was precisely what made no sense.
"They were talking about some secret and how Andy wanted to tell us, but couldn't," Fred said again.
"Anything else," Hermione asked.
"Yeah," said George. "Dumbledore called Andy, 'Harry'."
"Hmmmm," said Draco. They all sat in silence, thinking this over. Suddenly, Cho's face lit up.
"When he left before, he got all uptight after I said who I was doing for my history report. You don't think...?"
Hermione jumped in. "Well, he would be the right age. The books I've read say he was born in 1980."
Draco caught on. "This could all be a coincidence. I mean, Andy's middle name is Harry. And he said back on the train that Dumbledore was an old friend of the family. It could just be a nickname."
"What's going on?" George asked.
"This is all too weird for me," Cho mumbled. "Too many things fit."
"Like how he says You-Know-Who's name. And his parents - didn't he say they were an Auror and an Unspeakable," Hermione added.
"Well, yes, but - " Draco was cut off.
"What are you three talking about?" Fred questioned.
"I think we need to have a small chat with 'Evan Andrews'," Cho said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry reached the tapestry that protected the Ravenclaw House and went inside. He hadn't seen Cho or Draco at dinner, and Hermione and the Twins weren't at the Gryffindor table. So he decided to leave the meal early and search for his friends.
When he got to the common room, Harry found they were, surprisingly, all there.
"Hey, guys," he greeted.
"Andy," Hermione said. "We need to talk."
"Okay," he said uncertainly. He plopped into a chair. "About what."
"Basically," Fred began. "These two," he motioned to the girls, "have this crazy notion that you're, well..."
"Harry Potter," said George.
"I was wondering when you would figure that out," he said quietly.
"We knew it. This is just some made-up - " Draco stopped abruptly and he, along with Fred and George turned to stare at him.
"Huh?" they asked in unison.
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Sorry, for not going into much detail with the Quidditch game, but there wasn't anything interesting happening. After all, Quirrell doesn't know he is Harry Potter. Yet.
