Ch 27:- Results

The great hall was always abuzz with rumour and counter rumour whenever anything happened. This time there was a veritable roar of voices that was suddenly silenced as Harry walked in. Looking over to the Slytherin table, Harry realised that Malfoy was trying to evade Harry's eye, instead of trying to catch it. Harry wondered if, just maybe, Malfoy had thought the doubles were intended for something a good deal less sinister than dementor attacks, and was now rather regretting his part in the affair.

Reaching the Gryffindor table, Harry realised that Parvati and Lavender were missing and Seamus looked spellshocked as he sat with Dean. Ginny and Alison were also missing, presumably also at the Hospital Wing. Dennis Creevey was talking earnestly to a worried looking Stephanie Linney, though she seemed a little happier after Harry smiled at her and gave her the thumbs up.

Ron and Hermione had managed to save him a place as usual, so he sat down and began eating as the noise level returned to a significant proportion of the previous volume. Faces stared at Harry, then looked away as the Headmaster pushed his chair back from the teachers' top table and stood up.

'Silence, please. – Silence – thank you. I have an announcement to make.' He looked round the hall as the noise fell away.

'Firstly, I will confirm that two dementors attacked the Gryffindor students on the way back from Hogsmeade today.'

He stopped and waved for quiet as the noise level threatened eardrums for a short while.

'Yes – yes – a terrible thing. – However, I am sufficiently certain to tell you that the attack was NOT initiated by Lord Voldemort.' Several gasps rang out and one or two small shrieks at the sound of Voldemort's name, but the hall quickly quieted again as the headmaster remained standing and motioned for silence once more,

'Fortunately, none of the students were permanently injured, thanks to Mr Potter and two of his Defence Against the Dark Arts pupils.'

Harry cringed as Dumbledore pointed him out where he sat. He knew that Ginny wasn't even one of his pupils, but Dumbledore seemed to think the lie to be worthwhile.

'Evidence, if further evidence were needed,' continued the Headmaster, 'that expanding the teaching of this subject has been a worthwhile exercise. I shall be giving consideration to extending Mr Potter's teaching role. Thank you, please continue with your meal.'

'So he didn't consult with you then, Harry?' chuckled Ron.

'How do you know that?' mumbled Harry, round a mouthful of corned beef hash.

'The look on your face - how else?' said Hermione.

The noise level was sufficiently high to call for a loud voice to talk to anyone not immediately beside or opposite the talker. Harry could hear those around him asking just who could have control of two dementors, if it wasn't lord Voldemort, and he began to wonder why the Headmaster had told the School that the plan to implicate Voldemort had failed. The only reason he could think of was to warn both the factions in the Ministry, that the plot had been discovered. It was obvious to Harry that both factions would have informers in this many students. He glanced involuntarily over at the Ravenclaw table, to try to spot Marietta Edgecombe. She was staring at him.

Under cover of the noise, Harry quickly outlined to Ron and Hermione the conclusions reached at the meeting, and had then tried explaining his ideas about giving warning to the factions in the Ministry. Ron seemed too interested in his dinner to really pay attention, though, and by the time he had finished, even Hermione had a faraway look on her face.

'I wonder what would have happened if you and the girls hadn't stopped the dementors, Harry.' she said suddenly.

Ron almost choked on his dinner.

'Th'd h'v' b'n k'lled!' he spluttered, liberally coating the area in front of him with corned beef hash.

Hermione rolled her eyes roofwards as she fastidiously cleaned her goblet. 'Really? Actually kill three sixth years? And why those sixth years?' She lowered her voice. 'I know Parvati's got a bit of a reputation, but is that a good reason to eliminate her?'

'A reputation?' asked Harry, 'for what?'

'What do you think,' hissed Hermione.

'Really?' Harry mused. 'Well that explains a few things….'. It seemed his fears were not groundless. A rogue thought stirred in his brain, though. In the absence of any one else, maybe he ought to get to know Parvati better; there was no denying her attractiveness. A small smile began to play at the corners of his mouth.

A foot connected painfully with his leg.

'Harry, are you listening to me?' Hermione was looking closely at him.

'Er – no – er - what?'

Hermione rolled her eyes roofwards again. 'She's not a good idea, Harry, believe me. Now, do you really think actually killing anyone, at this point in time, would be a good idea?'

'Er –' Harry stopped. It did seem extreme, considering the unresolved situation in the Ministry. 'A warning perhaps?'

'Perhaps. Could be they never intended to actually hurt anyone, just menace them and then withdraw the dementors.'

'And make sure they were seen?'

'Could be.'

'So I wasted all that effort!' groaned Harry.

'Maybe, - but would you be willing to bet on it?'

'Not a chance!'

- o -

Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were released from the Hospital Wing the next morning, as were Ginny and Alison. All three sixth years made a point of thanking Harry and the two girls, Parvati making a special point of thanking Harry quite profusely. In truth, He rather enjoyed her attentions, especially as the other sixth and seventh year boys were looking on. He was, however, thoroughly startled to see Ginny and Alison both glaring at Parvati afterwards. Surely they weren't expecting a kiss from her too? Were they? He shook his head in dismay as he realised they were glaring at him as well.

Women

Harry just didn't understand them and he decided, there and then, never again to even try.

- o -

Halloween occurred in the middle of the week that year. The last day of October wore away in a haze of damp cold corridors and damp, slightly warmer classrooms. The rain of the previous weekend had hardly stopped and the castle seemed to be virtually waterlogged by the Wednesday. All those who had suffered from the attentions of the dementors were pretty much back to normal by then, though occasionally Alison Linney would stop and stare into space for a few seconds. Harry found himself looking out for her to make sure she was alright, though as the days passed, he realised Colin Creevey was also making a point of checking on her, and she had seemed pleased by his attention.

The moment of realisation brought a sudden burst of dislike for Colin that Harry had ruthlessly crushed. The sensation had been familiar though, Harry recognised the feeling of hatred he'd had for Dean when he first saw him with Ginny as they got off the Hogwarts Express.

Harry realised that, once again, a girl he liked was being taken over by another boy. No matter that she was too young for him, no matter that he still found himself far more attracted to Ginny, Harry had begun to think of Alison as more than just a fellow student, and now he would have to break a link with a girl once more.

It seemed that no sooner had he started to get close to a girl than she was taken away from him - and there was nothing he could do about it. His retreat to Classroom 14 after lessons had finished was almost automatic.

Harry buried himself in an essay for Professor McGonagall; buried himself so deep that it was only Ron coming to find him that prevented him from missing the evening meal completely.

- o -

The students in the packed great hall were laughing and shouting at each other as the Halloween bats flitted over their heads. Pumpkin heads floated over the assembled multitude, the candles inside flickering in the draught made by the castle ghosts as they engaged in formation flybys over the tables. Will O' the Wisps chased each other round the Pumpkin heads and through the occasional ghost, leading to curses and vain promises of punishment from the unfortunate phantom in question.

Harry turned and looked over the laughing students. A feeling of cold seemed to have settled on him, a coldness that nothing seemed to shake, though it seemed to have no earthly reason. He discounted Dementors, and even Lord Voldemort; there was no hint of the Dark Lord's presence nearby.

Looking down the table, Harry could see people in animated conversation; the Creeveys talking to Linney and MacDonald; Ginny and Dean deep in conversation with Neville and that fugitive from Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood; Jack and Katie discussing the quidditch match on Saturday; Parvati and Lavender were flirting with Seamus and a couple of seventh year boys: even Ron and Hermione, sitting opposite him, were engrossed in a conversation about the Christmas Holidays, which were still over six weeks away.

Glumly, Harry looked at his dinner. A more unappetising sight he could not remember and he was heartily relieved when the main course was magically removed and the pudding appeared. Sadly, even his favourite, Cherry Pie, wasn't enough to tempt him to eat. He started to get to his feet.

'Hey Harry? Where're you off to?' asked Ron.

'Not really hungry,' was Harry's reply.

'Well, you'd better have a better appetite by Christmas.'

'What?' Harry wondered what on earth Ron was on about.

'Mum'll be really upset if you don't eat'

Harry continued to look terminally perplexed.

Hermione was the one to realise the reason for Harry's confusion. 'She didn't ask you?'

'No.' muttered Harry.

'What? Why not?' spluttered Ron.

Harry looked down at the table. 'Probably because your house is too dangerous, Ron'

'DANGEROUS? Our place?' Ron looked thoroughly indignant.

"It was, this summer, for me.' Harry reminded him.

'Well – yeah – but that was just after, - well – you know –'

Harry smiled sadly. 'Yeah, I know, Ron... Nice thought though.'

Ron was still stoked up on indignation. 'Mum'll be getting an Owl from me tomorrow Harry!' He subsided, muttering about friends and Christmas and presents and the iniquity of it all.

Harry had extreme doubts about the likelihood of The Burrow being safe for him at Christmas, but he wasn't about to stop Ron in full flight just to refuse an invitation that was unlikely to arrive.

As he made to leave, Harry saw Ginny turn to look at him for a second. She seemed momentarily startled to see him on his feet, but almost immediately Dean had claimed her attention once more, leaving Harry staring at her mane of red hair.

That was a much better reason for missing out on a Christmas at The Burrow. Ginny would be there, tantalisingly out of reach. Maybe even Dean would be invited as well. No, Harry decided, - he was better off in Grimmauld Place, or the Leaky Cauldron, over Christmas; or even right here at Hogwarts, practising curses and countercurses for his prophesied showdown with Voldemort. He turned and made his way quickly out of the great hall and up to the classroom corridors.

- o -

All that week Harry wondered when the official request to return to the Ministry would appear. The talk of factions within the ministry and idle chatter about bloodless coups had wound him tight as a watch spring by the Friday evening. Various articles in the Daily Prophet had hinted at power changing hands up there and he feverishly concocted scenarios in an attempt to cover all possible combinations. He actually jumped six inches into the air when Professor McGonagall tapped him on the shoulder and told him to stand down for that weekend.

'The Headmaster has asked me to inform you that no request has been received, Harry. The official communications between the Ministry and the school are on hold until Monday morning.'

'No chance at all, Professor?' asked Harry worriedly.

'No chance, Mr. Potter, 'she replied.

He smiled wanly.

'Well, you might look a little happier.'

'I could have been playing in the match tomorrow, Professor,' he muttered glumly.

'Ah. – Yes.' McGonagall grimaced slightly. 'You can look as sad as you like, Mr. Potter.'

- o -

The Saturday dawned windy and wet. Not being a player, Harry had the luxury of not having to rush off from breakfast for a final detailed briefing from Katie, or to sit all morning trying to trap butterflies in his insides. He could see Alison and Ginny both getting nervous, Ginny telling Alison over and over again, how to play against Cho Chang and Alison getting more and more annoyed until a sudden 'I KNOW, Ginny!' brought silence.

In the silence, a little voice in Harry's head played back the words 'I KNOW, Oliver!' as Harry remembered a day long ago, before Oliver's last match as Gryffindor Captain. Harry smiled sadly to himself and left the common room for his classroom.

- o -

The view from the classroom wasn't encouraging. The tops of the mountains were hidden by cloud and skeins of rain and occasional sleet were floating down the valley from the west to clatter on the windows like handfulls of gravel. Although not gale force, the wind was blowing hard enough for the flags on the tops of the stands to snap and flutter on their poles. Harry shivered at the thought of flying in that weather and he was glad McGonagall had scotched the idea of a display earlier that morning.

'I'm sorry, Harry. It's just not a sensible idea in this wind.' she had protested. 'Besides, I do not want our seeker getting colder than she absolutely has to today. Everything might depend on her and I don't want anything putting her off.'

At the time, Harry had reluctantly agreed with his housemistress. Looking out at the wind and rain, he found himself profoundly thankful for her sanity. He sat and stared out of the window as the morning wore away and lunchtime approached, but he never moved – even when the bell rang for lunch.

At last the clocks dragged themselves round to 2 pm. The rest of the school had made their way through the rain to the quidditch pitch and settled themselves in the stands. Various enterprising students were running a roaring trade in rain repellent charms and magical see through umbrellas and a large number of students were either standing letting the rain bounce off them onto their neighbours, or trying to hold onto their new umbrellas as the wind fought for control.

Hermione had saved a seat for Harry and she took one look at his rain soaked features before hitting him with her most potent water repellent charm. The charm was so powerful that Harry decided he'd probably have to ask her to remove it if he wanted to take a drink. They eyed each other thoughtfully but eventually Hermione just shook her head slightly and smiled wryly.

'And you wanted to fly aerobics in this?' she chuckled.

'That's aerobatics, Hermione.' mumbled Harry.

'Whatever.'

Harry had lent Ginny his Firebolt GT in a wordless exchange that morning. Harry hadn't trusted himself to speak and Ginny hadn't wanted to. Both knew that Harry could have played after all and neither felt that stating the obvious would gain anything.

Alison had taken Harry's older Firebolt reverentially. Her eagerness was so obvious and so endearing, but Harry could only wish her luck in a voice that sounded to him both stilted and harsh. Alison didn't seem to notice though, for which Harry had been exceptionally grateful.

Watching them both mount up and take off for the pre match warm up, Harry had an empty feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with his missed lunch.

- o -

The match was a good one, Harry agreed with everyone else about that. The best team had won as well, even though they hadn't got the snitch.

Alison had been furious with herself.

- o -

Harry's prediction that Cho wouldn't be ale to control her team and be seeker had been borne out by the confusion amongst the Ravenclaw team at crucial points in the game. Gryffindor had scored first, a brilliant run from Katie, abetted by both Colin and Ginny playing down each side. The manoeuvre had been practised time and again in sight of the Ravenclaw watchers, but at a lower level, and with Katie on a wing. The change had fooled Ravenclaw completely, but gave Gryffindor an early psychological advantage that they never lost.

The Gryffindor scoring rate was four times their opponent's and it had become abundantly clear early on that Cho Chang had to get the snitch quickly. Unfortunately for her, this made controlling her team even harder.

Alison Linney had used the speed of Harry's broom and her aerobatic ability to frustrate Cho's every move. Alison had blocked her and run rings around her, edging her away from the snitch with a calculated ease that belied her inexperience. Harry had nothing but praise for her and for the coaching of Katie and Ginny.

It was after Gryffindor had edged more than 150 points ahead that Alison made a slight mistake. Fatigue, cold, a moment's inattention; whatever it was, Alison's turn was fractionally slow, giving Cho Chang a chance to evade her and capture the Snitch.

An explosion of cheers broke out from the Gryffindor stands as the winning team zoomed over the heads of the Gryffindors and circled to land. Harry couldn't help noticing that Alison was almost in tears - and that Colin Creevey was consoling her as best he could. As the team floated down to the ground, the Gryffindors charged out of the stand and rushed to encircle them.

Only Harry remained seated. He watched his housemates gather up their team and escort them to the castle, whilst the much more subdued Ravenclaws silently gathered at another corner of the pitch to commiserate with their team. Harry felt eyes on him and looked down. Cho Chang was staring up at the stand and as Harry watched she gave a sketchy wave and turned away. Absently, Harry waved back, before turning his attention to the skyline and the hills beneath.

As the rain bounced off him and the wind ruffled his hair and made him shiver, Harry lost himself in contemplation of the view,

- o -

At last, Hermione's water repellent charm faded sufficiently for Harry to begin to feel the raindrops on his face. Wearily, he climbed down from the empty stands and made his way back to the Castle. The party would still be in full swing and he really didn't want to talk to anyone, but a sense of duty drove him into the common room and the noisy celebration.

The team were still the centre of attention. Alison Linney had obviously shaken off her disappointment, and was laughing and joking with Ginny, Dean, Colin and Dennis Creevey and little Stephanie, amongst others. Ron and Hermione were the centre of another group of players and fans, obviously listening to Ron relive one of the superb saves he'd managed to pull off that afternoon.

It was Katie who spotted him, however.

'Hey, Harry! Over here!' She seemed at first glance to be in great spirits and almost dragged him into her group with Jack and Andrew. The two seventh year boys were also chatting animatedly to Parvati and Lavender about the game, but as Harry approached, Parvati, at least, turned to Harry with a big smile.

'So! How does it feel to sit in the wings, Harry?'

Before he could get over the apparent callousness of the comment, Parvati smiled archly at him and added 'Need a bit of help getting over it?'

Harry was about to say yes, but as he became aware of the effect of Parvati's words on the rest of the group, he hesitated. Jack and Andrew appeared to resent his intrusion, Katie was looking jubilant and Lavender was just grinning knowingly.

'Er – well...' mumbled Harry, worried that his indifference would offend Parvati, but he was saved from further embarrassment by a tap on the shoulder and a broom being thrust in his face as he turned.

'Here, Harry' said Ginny distantly, 'Thanks, I'm really getting to know how to use it now.' She turned and strode back to Dean and the rest of the crowd, only to be replaced by Alison Linney.

'Erm- I'm sorry, Harry' she murmured, 'I didn't do so well after all'

Harry snorted. 'You did just fine!' he said; 'you did really well to hold Cho Chang off for so long!'

Alison smiled shyly up at him. 'Thanks, Harry,' she said quietly, then abruptly turned and hurried away towards the group she had been talking to.

Harry turned back to the older students, only to find they were talking amongst themselves again and he now had both hands full of brooms.

'I'll just go and – well – brooms – dorms - - later then.' he muttered, then turned and hurried to the stairway up to the boys dorms. As he turned the corner out of sight, Harry realised no one had said anything to him at all, after Alison.

The dinner bell rang whilst Harry was still up in the dormitory. By the time he came down, the common room was empty, and he really didn't feel hungry, but he forced himself down to the great hall and sat silently opposite Ron and Hermione whilst they chatted about this and that. By the time the meal was over, the prospect of completing another McGonagall essay was positively tempting.

- o -

The call to the Ministry was finally received two weeks later. Two weeks of burying himself in the ever increasing workload and avoiding Malfoy. Avoiding Malfoy wasn't actually that difficult, as Malfoy and his minders tended to stay in the Slytherin common room unless flushed out by the need to attend classes every so often. Professor Snape occasionally sneered at Harry as they passed in the corridors, but even he had seemed subdued and withdrawn.

The Headmaster had told Harry nothing of the results of Snape's investigation into Malfoy's actions in Hogshead. Harry suspected that, once again, Snape had failed to find any evidence of guilt - or hadn't even tried. The meeting with Fudge would have to go ahead without the evidence needed to finish Umbridge for good.

Harry had also tried to avoid the girls but found no need for his efforts, as they seemed to be avoiding him even more effectively than he could have managed. Apart from quidditch practice and the Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons, Harry hardly spoke to Ginny or Alison for almost the entire two weeks.

He was beginning to get used to it.