Chapter 8 – Quidditch Season
As it was no longer essential to get permission for groups and teams to meet (all of Umbridge's Educational Decrees being removed when she departed) Harry did not see any reason for changing the DA meetings from Thursday nights unless circumstances forced him to alter it. On Thursday evening Harry left Hermione and Ron early to prepare the room for the mock battles he intended to run with the group. When Harry arrived in the corridor in front of the Room of Requirements and concentrated on the idea he had been working on since the idea had occurred to him. When the door appeared he opened it and found himself inside a small room that had three doors leading from it. One was labelled 'Observer'. Harry had envisioned a labyrinth style setting with a separate area were he and other members of the DA could observe the battles being carried out inside the labyrinth and then once a team was successful the group could discuss what they had seen. His battle at the Ministry and the labyrinth he had fought in during the Triwizard Tournament had given him the idea for this first round of battle scenarios. Harry figured he could adapt the Room of Requirements to different settings as the group became more confident of themselves and their skills. Harry opened the door labelled observer and it lead to a staircase that went up. At the top of the stairs was a wall made completely of glass that he could view all parts of the labyrinth through. Inside the observers room was three rows of chairs that had small table attachments on the right side with a piece of parchment, quill and ink bottle which Harry assumed would allow the group observing to take notes on what the were witnessing for later reference. The rows where placed on an incline so that those in the back row would still be able to clearly see what was happening. Harry went back down the stairs and opened the door next to the observers 'door. It led into the labyrinth. The labyrinth looked quite different from here as all he could see was a long corridor that provided a number of different options for the user to take, left, right at several intervals or straight ahead. Though the lighting, provided by torches placed high on the labyrinth wall, was low Harry felt there would be enough for the groups to see adequately. The walls were extremely high, twelve foot at least, so people would not be able to see over them. Harry liked this idea as the groups could use the passages of the labyrinth to hide or to mount attacks from. He was not sure if it would work but felt this was a better way to start then an open room as this way an attack could come from around any corner. He looked up to where the observer viewing window should have been but could not see it. Harry was pleased with this as the groups battling would not be able to see if another member of the DA, who was observing, trying to give them directions. Harry left the labyrinth and returned to the small room with the doors waiting for the other members of the DA to arrive.
A short time later all the members, including those who had left Hogwarts, had arrived and were looking questioningly at Harry for an explanation regarding the enormous change to the Room of Requirement. Harry explained his idea to the group and gave them a quick tour of the observer room and the labyrinth. Once he was sure they understood what they were going to be doing he commenced dividing up the first two teams of six that would do battle. At this point things became difficult. Harry decided that because Ron and Hermione had actually been in a real battle that they should lead one group each. Most of the DA members did not have a problem with this. The problems began to arise when he started choosing the rest of the team.
"Luna, you are on Ron teams and Neville you can be on Hermione's" Hermione seemed ok with the decision while Ron gave Harry a look that screamed his displeasure. Luna on the other hand gave an expression that Harry felt showed that she seemed very comfortable with his decision. Harry decided to ignore the look from Ron, feeling that having people who had actually been in a battle situation would give the group a better idea of real battle techniques.
"Fred with Ron and George with Hermione" Harry continued trying to move on. Fred and George looked at each other.
"Excellent" they said happily in unison at the prospect of being on opposing forces.
"Dean, Lavender and Hannah with Ron and Seamus, Padma and Justin you will be with Hermione." Harry felt comfortable that the members he had chosen to complete the teams would be up to the task. There were a number of grumbles from other members of the group who were not picked who wanted to be, especially from Zacharias Smith.
"Everyone will get a chance to do this" Harry tried to reassure everyone though the expression on Zacharias's face did not improve.
"Ok" Harry said to the two teams who were now standing in front of a separate door to the labyrinth. "The rules are simple. The doors will lead you to different areas of the labyrinth and your team has to defeat the opposition and find their way out of the labyrinth through the opposing teams' door. Basically the first team out with as many of its members in tact wins. Now you can not use any permanently damaging spells on the opposition as I do not want to have to explain what happened to Madam Pomfrey. If no team is out within twenty minutes I will call time. Any questions?" Each team looked excited and desperate to get started. Hermione however raised her hand. The rest of the members about to enter the labyrinth groaned.
"Yes Hermione?"
"What will the rest of the DA group be doing while we are battling it out?" Harry had thought that by showing the DA members around at the start that this would have been obvious.
"Observing and taking notes" Hermione looked like she had another question that she wanted to ask but Ron's "Come on Hermione" stoped her.
"Good luck to all of you" Harry said before moving towards the observers' door and the groups moved into the labyrinth through their doors. Harry arrived upstairs and found the rest of the DA had already taken seats. He looked though the glass wall and found the teams had entered the labyrinth.
"Who's your money on, Harry?" Ginny asked loud enough for everyone to hear. This question sparked a debate amongst the observing members. Harry decided to remain quiet. He didn't want to be seen to be taking sides against either of his best friends. Harry decided to simply wait and watch.
It took the groups a short time to find each other and it was clear immediately that Ron and Hermione took a very different approach to battle. Ron attempted to position his team in strategic locations in the passages to stop the other team making it to the door. This meant that he had to split up his team. Harry felt this was also, on some small part to separate himself from Luna who he placed with Hannah and Dean. Hermione however preferred to keep her team together. Harry wasn't exactly sure his idea of mock battles was going to work until the first members of Ron team met Hermione's. Fred threw an impressive stunning spell at Hermione who shielded herself while Padma returned a body binding curse which Fred artfully dodged by moving behind a wall. Ron sent a spell at Neville who managed to move out of the way just in time. After that Ron seemed to concentrate his attacks on Hermione who seemed to anticipate his every move and blocked everything he had sent at her with skill. Fred was taken by surprise by a spell George sent at him while he was attempting to block a spell from Seamus. Seamus however did not notice Lavenders attack and fell shortly after. Padma attempted to join in sending a stunning spell at Lavender but found the spell came back at her when it was deflected by a shield Lavender was able to create just in time. Lavender was taken by surprise however by Neville who caught her with a stunner as soon as she dropped her shield. Ron did not last long on his own and was left in a full body bind sent by Hermione but he had managed to take George down before he fell. It took some time but Hermione's group eventually managed to move past Fred, Lavender and Ron though they left three members behind with their fallen opposition. Hermione, Neville and Justin continued on as Seamus, Padma and George were incapacitated. Luna, Dean and Hannah were the last line of defence for Ron's team. Luna took Neville down while Hermione concentrated on Hannah and Dean battled Justin. Hermione managed to incapacitate Luna with a disarming spell and then a body bind. Though the battle was extensive in the end only Hermione and Justin were left standing. They exited the labyrinth in just over fifteen minutes to the applause of the observers. After those left in the labyrinth had been collected and allowed to either recover or had the counter spell used to return them to normal the members of the DA who had observed the battle discussed the different options taken by Hermione and Ron. It was decided that both options had merit though some work was required on both strategies to ensure success in battle. It also highlighted spells for those that fallen that required work. Two new groups were then chosen with Alicia and Katie as the leaders and like Ron and Hermione's groups, they entered the labyrinth. By the end of the DA meeting three mock battles had been run and everyone had participated in at least one, including Zacharias, who had fallen to his first attacker. Though some members were nursing minor bruising from the falls they had taken when they had been attacked, all members seemed very pleased by the results and were keen to do it again. Once the meeting had ended Ron and Hermione hung back as the rest of the group congratulated Harry on his idea and said goodnight.
"That was really good Harry. Nothing like practical experience to prepare you for the real thing" Hermione said sounding completely sincere.
"Yeh Harry" Ron agreed "and now I have had a chance to go through were I went wrong, I know my team will win next time." Ron sent a look at Hermione that was almost a challenge. Harry decided not to have Ron and Hermione's team face each other next meeting just in case. Hermione decided to ignore Ron's look and focus her attention on Harry.
"I think it is an excellent idea" Hermione said
"Thanks Hermione" Harry replied returning her sincerity.
The next few weeks flew by and October was upon Harry in no time at all. Hermione kept her word and assisted Harry with his school work each night while Ron complained loudly that she was never willing to help him.
"Ron as I have said before, I am only helping Harry because of his extra studies, you don't have them so you don't need my help." Hermione had replied for the third time that week.
"I have to plan the attack strategies for the Quidditch team in my role as Captain as well as my school work" Ron reasoned.
"Yes Ron we all know you are the captain of the Quidditch team" Hermione said under her breath so that only Harry could hear. Harry had trouble stopping the laugh that was surfacing and attempted to disguise it as a cough though the look from Ron indicated that Ron knew Harry was getting at laugh at his expense. Ron spent the next hour grumbling under his breath. Hermione eventually gave in sightly and agreed to check over his work for mistakes which pacified Ron for the rest of the evening.
On the first Tuesday morning in October the trio were eating breakfast in the Great Hall as usual when the owl post arrived. As was Harry's practise he looked up though he did not see Hedwig. Harry decided he would go and visit her that afternoon as he had not seen Hedwig in sometime as he had not received any mail. Hermione's usual delivery of the Daily Prophet arrived and she opened it flattening to out and propping it up against the jug of pumpkin juice so she could continue her breakfast and read the news. Hermione suddenly dropped her fork onto her plate and the bang drew most of the tables' attention to her.
"Harry" Hermione said in a strangled whisper. The look on her face clearly showed the news she had just seen was not good. Hermione turned the paper around so that Harry could see the front page. The picture on the front cover showed a small house that Harry had never seen before with a familiar symbol hovering above it. The head line read 'Death Eater Attack Rocks Wizard Community'. Harry knew there would be attacks and though he was troubled by the fact that there had been attack he could not say that he was surprised.
"Hermione, now that people know that Voldermorts back we had to expect some attacks to occur" Harry said trying to calm Hermione.
"Read the story Harry" Hermione replied simply, her voice still quiet. Harry did as he was told.
'Last night Aurors were called to a disturbance at the home of Hestia Jones, a well respected witch in the community. When the Aurors arrived in the early morning hours they found the Dark Mark hovering above the home and Hestia dead inside. Hestia's death has shaken the wizard community at large as she was considered to be an extremely accomplished witch whose particular skills lay in creating spells and charms that could make a home practically impenetrable to anyone except her most trusted friends. The Minister gave a statement shortly after the discovery was made. "This recent death though tragic, highlights the importance of being constantly on guard at this time. No one should consider themselves safe until He Who Must Not Be Named has been stoped. I am appealing to anyone who has any information regarding Hestia's death or the where abouts of any suspected followers of He Who Must Not Be Named are urged to come forward immediately'.
The article continued with details regarding Hestia's life and remaining relatives and close friends, including Dumbledore, who all expressed their feelings regarding the sudden loss. Harry sat completely stunned. He looked towards the teachers table and notice for the first time that it was more subdued then normal. Harry's eyes met Dumbledore's briefly and he saw an obviously upset old man staring back at him. Harry suddenly felt extremely angry. 'You were supposed to protect Hestia' Harry sent his angry thoughts towards Dumbledore. For a second Harry thought Dumbledore had actually picked up on the telepathic message he was attempting to send as a guilty expression seemed to cross his face briefly and he turned away. With anger still seething though him Harry turned back to see Hermione's now tear stricken face while Ron's looked as though all colour had been drained from it. Harry communicated his desire for the trio to leave the Great Hall with a nod of his head towards the direction of the door. The group stood and made their way to the door without a word.
"McGonagall said Dumbledore would look after her!" Ron exclaimed once they were through the door. Harry could not bring himself to say anything as his anger towards Dumbledore had not yet subsided.
"Didn't you read the article Ron" Hermione snapped wiping away the tears that were still running down her face. "It said quite clearly that she was accomplished at home protection magic. Dumbledore probably thought she would be safe in her own home and expected the attack to come while she was out" Hermione reasoned.Harry suddenly remembered something he had overheard Lupin, Tonks, Moody and Shacklebolt discuss the morning he had caught the Hogwarts Express.
"What if someone in the Order told the Death Eaters how to get in?" Harry asked seriously. Hermione and Ron looked uncertain how to respond at first. Harry continued telling them about the conversation he had overheard at Lupin's.
"No one in the Order would do that" Ron stated though his voice projected far less confidence then the statement itself.
"Peter Pettigrew did" Hermione replied, her expression lost in thought. "Did they give any indication as to who they thought it was?" Hermione asked Harry. Harry simply shook his head in reply.
"Hey" Ron said suddenly "what if it's like what happened to Mad-eye and a Death Eater has captured a member of the Order and the Death Eater is impersonating them using a polyjuice potion?" Harry had to admit that he had not considered that.
"It could be I suppose" Hermione replied sounding slightly dubious about the idea. "I guess the best idea for now is to follow Mad-eyes advice." Both boys threw her a questioning look.
"Constant Vigilance!" Harry had to admit that Hermione's Moody impersonation wasn't bad. The boys nodded in agreement. Harry and Hermione said a subdued goodbye to Ron and headed up the stairs to their first class. When they arrived at the door to the potions room they were greeted by unwelcome looks of glee from many of the Slytherin students. None were as sickening however as Malfoys'. The unwholesome smile on his face was extremely unsettling.
"It's only a matter of time Potter before it's your turn" Malfoy said sadistically.
"Shut up Malfoy" Hermione retaliated before Harry could say anything. Harry wanted to punch Malfoy for the simple fact that he was pleased by someone's death.
"You have your girlfriend defending you now Potter" Malfoy's cronies laughed at Malfoy's taunt and Harry held himself back with what he later though was super human strength. 'Don't rise' Harry heard over and over again in his head. At first Harry had thought it was Hermione whispering to him but when he turned his head slightly to check he realised that no one would be able to talk as clearly as he heard the voice in his head while they were also attempting to bite off their bottom lip as Hermione appeared to be doing. Snape suddenly opened the door.
"Am I interrupting something?" Snape snapped looking directly at Harry. Harry couldn't believe it. He was simply standing there while half the sixth year Slytherin House laughed at him and Snape was looking at him as if he had been caught stealing from Snape's office. Harry was on the verge of throwing a scathing reply to Snape when he again heard the voice repeat in his head 'Don't rise'. With the tiny amount of self control Harry still possessed he refrained himself.
"No Sir" Malfoy replied happily sending one last smile in Harry's direction before heading into the classroom. Harry noted that during the class Snape did not appear to be moved by the news of Hestia's death in anyway, though Harry did not feel that this alone was enough for him to suspect Snape as the traitor, no matter how much he hated him.
By lunch time the news of the Death Eater attack was though the school and the feeling of the students could be summed up in almost one word, scared. As was customary with any news regarding Voldermort, eyes were again on Harry and he suddenly felt a great deal of pressure to calm the student body. Harry however was not entirely sure if this pressure was coming in an unspoken form from the eyes or from his own mind, with the knowledge of the prophesy weighing heavily on him.
The following Thursday evening Harry decided it was time to try and gather as much information from as many of the sources he had available to him as he could regarding anything to do with Voldermort.
"Hello everyone" Harry said as the members of the DA gathered around him. "Please take a seat" the members of the group looked slightly confused as they had expected to break up into small teams for the mock battles. "I just want to talk to you briefly before we get started tonight" Harry said answering the groups' unasked question and they all quickly sat down.
"I am sure you have all heard by now about the recent death of Hestia Jones by Voldermort's followers" the usual scared reactions of group greeted his use of Voldermorts' name. "I think it is time that we started to pay more attention to what is going on outside of this castle. If we are going to fight against Voldermort we need to know as much as we can about what is going on!" A few scattered mumbles of agreement were returned.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Zacharias said in what Harry assumed was his most scathing tone. "We're not out of the castle any more then you are!"
"We are" Fred, George, Alicia and Katie replied in unison.
"Well that's fine for you. What about the rest of us?" Zacharias countered
"Many of your parents are living in the Wizard community as are your other friends' parents who are not in the DA. Ask questions about anything strange going on that they are aware of. Some of you even have parents or relatives working for the Ministry of Magic who would be privilege to information that other people might not be" a few heads around the group nodded in agreement. Hermione raised her hand before asking her question which was her custom.
"What about people from purely muggle families?" Harry knew that Hermione was truly interested rather then trying to mock him as Zacharias had done.
"Over the summer break there were attacks on people in the muggle community by Voldermort's followers. If anything strange appears in the muggle news I think that we should also be following it. I don't expect us to be able to see Voldermorts' plans laid out in front of us like an open book from this but we may be able to see patterns and we may get some ideas about what he might be planning to do next. All I am asking is for you to pay attention to what's happening out there and maybe ask some questions that you might not have bothered to ask before. You would be amazed at just how much information can be gathered if you bother to pay attention" Harry concluded noticing that Ron and Hermione were nodding in agreement. Harry knew from previous experience that a considerable amount of information could be uncovered by a small group of people, simply by keeping an ear to the ground. Most of the rest of the group seemed dubious about Harry's request though he did note that Fred and George seemed excited by the idea. Harry suspected that the Order was yet to give them an assignment of a spying nature and they were excited by the prospect. The group then broke up into teams and began their mock battles. After the meeting was completed Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way back to their common room.
"Harry are you sure it is a good idea to have the members of the DA searching into Voldermort's activities?" Hermione asked with a slightly worried expression.
"Yes, why?" Harry returned confused by her sudden apparent change of heart to an idea she had shown support for an hour ago.
"I just think it may draw attention to the members of the DA and could make them target for attack" Harry had not considered that possibility. It seemed obvious now that Hermione had mentioned it. 'Why didn't I think of that?' Harry thought to himself.
"Don't worry Hermione" Ron said "we're safe at Hogwarts." Harry wished he could be as confident as Ron. From the expression on Hermione's face she too was also less then convinced.
"Look Voldermort has never directly attacked the castle or anyone in it. He is afraid of Dumbledore. We all know that" Ron continued trying to add weight to his previous declaration.
"Dumbledore can not defeat him" Harry stated before he realised what he was saying. Both Ron and Hermione sent him confused looks "alone" Harry added quickly. "Dumbledore can not defeat him alone, he needs as may supporters as he can get. The Order is trying to rally as many as possible and I think we should do the same. If we come across any useful information we can pass it on to them. It may be dangerous Hermione, but we have to do something. You said yourself that the DA wanted to fight Voldermort. Well before I go into battle the next time I would like to have a bit more information about what I could be up against. What about you?" Harry could see by the look on Hermione's face that she agreed though there was still a measure of concern evident.
As the end of October approached excitement buzzed through the school as the first visit to Hogsmeade was approaching. It was scheduled for the day of Halloween. Harry was looking forward to getting out of school and taking a break as much as anyone. The week before the scheduled outing Harry, Ron and Hermione were in Transfiguration.
"Ok class, I think we are ready to start work on human transfiguration. As you have undoubtedly read in the notes that you have already taken this spell is complicated as you use the same spell for all animals that you are transforming a person into. What you need to do is have a clear picture in your mind of the animal that you want to transform the person into and then cast the spell. Now before you start attempting to transform the other members of the class I think that it is important that you also know the process for reversing the spell. The reversal spell is 'Reducius'. Let's practise the reversal spell together" the class repeated the reversal spell with McGonagall. "The wand movement is a counter clockwise circle. Please show me". The class did as requested and repeated the word and wand movement as McGonagall walked around the class checking that they were all doing it correctly.
"I will now go around and change every second person into a cat and I want those who have not been changed to use the reversal spell to change them back." McGonagall changed Ron and Hermione initially and Harry was able to return Hermione to her normal form on his second while it took a considerably more attempts to return Ron to his natural form which was being attempted by Lavender. Once everyone had been returned to their normal form McGonagall turned those who were not transformed originally into cats. Harry found the sensation of being transformed into a cat very odd. His sense of smell and hearing were dramatically increased and he had an overwhelming desire to scratch behind his ears, while at the same time he was still able to think quite normally. Harry was returned to his normal form quickly by Hermione while Ron took a number of attempts to return Lavender. Harry felt that this was not so much due to Ron's skill but more that Ron wanted Lavender to wait as he had had to. Once Professor McGonagall seemed confident that each member of the class was clear on the reversal process she moved on.
"Now the transformation spell is 'Flecto'. Note the pronunciation carefully." Professor McGonagall looked at the expectant faces of the class "Please repeat after me. Flecto" The class repeated the spell a number of times until McGonagall raised her hand signalling them to stop. "Now the wand movement is a little more complicated then that for the reversal spell. It consists of two clockwise circle movements of the wand pointing straight up with a quick flick of the wand to point it at the person you wish to transform to complete it." McGonagall demonstrated using her own wand as she verbally went through the spell. The class followed her instruction and duplicate her moves. "Now I want you to practise the movements and the pronunciation for this spell and the reversal spell as well as revising your notes for next class. We will be attempting human transformation from the start of next session" McGonagall concluded as the bell rang signalling the end of class. As the class began packing up and heading out the Professor called Harry over. Harry moved towards her accompanied by Ron and Hermione.
"I do not recall asking for you Mr Weasley or you Miss Granger." McGonagall said as the three of them approached. Ron and Hermione gave Harry a quick reassuring look before making there way towards the door with the few remaining students that were still leaving.
"Harry, I am afraid that you will not be able to go to Hogsmeade this year."
"Why not?" Harry could not think why he was being restricted this year as his permission slip had been signed at the end of his third year.
"I am sorry, but Sirius permission is no longer valid and the Dursley's returned the permission slip we sent them back torn into little pieces. I'm sorry Harry but without permission from a living guardian we can not let you go" Harry realised that McGonagall was being as delicate as she could. "Professor Dumbledore believes it best if you remain within the school grounds anyway, for your own safety." Harry didn't know how to respond to this so he simply nodded in acknowledgement of the information he was given and turned and walked out the door. Ron and Hermione were waiting for him just outside.
"What was that about?" Ron asked
"I can't go to Hogsmeade this weekend." Harry replied
"Why?" Ron and Hermione both asked together, shock evident in their voices.
"I have to have a living guardian sign my permission slip and the Dursleys didn't" Harry said in a dispirited tone. Hermione's expression was close to how Harry was feeling. Being reminded of Sirius death so forcefully brought back the feelings of loss and depression he had not felt since the summer break. Ron's expression was very different.
"That's not fair" Ron said angrily. Ron continued his rant for sometime and Harry let him do so. Hermione also remained quiet seemingly too upset to make any statement. When Saturday arrived Ron and Hermione prepared to go to the village while Harry watched on.
"I'm really sorry you can't come. Maybe you could use the invisibility clock and the Marauder's map to join us in the village" Ron said excitedly, obviously just thinking of this option. Harry however, had already considered this and had decided against it. Besides from the possibility of being caught Harry remembered that Lupin had once expressed his disappointment in Harry for leaving the school without permission and though Harry knew it was unlikely that Lupin would find out he still did not want to take the chance of disappointing Lupin further. Dumbledore had also expressed a desire for Harry to remain in the school according to Professor McGonagall and Harry felt that it may be best to follow the advice he had been given at this point.
"No I don't think so" Harry said.
"Why not?" Ron asked apparently bewildered by Harry's reluctance.
"I just think it would be better if I remained at the school this time" Harry replied seriously. He also believed that it would be safer for his friends if he did not go with them. Harry had found himself thinking long and hard about the actions he had taken in the past and he realised that he had not only placed himself in unnecessary danger but on occasion, also his friends. He was determined not to do that this year. Hermione's response to Harry's decision was very different to Ron's.
"Well I think you are doing the right thing Harry" Hermione stated and Ron made an unpleasant face at her. "Do you want us to get you anything from Hogsmeade?" Harry thought about this for a moment.
"Yes" Harry replied suddenly "I would like some butterbeer and some chocolate frogs" Harry replied with a small smile crossing his face.
"Of course mate" Ron replied "I will also have a look around in Honeydukes and bring you back anything else good that I find" Ron's returned a smile that showed Harry that in some small way Ron understood Harry's position.
"Of course we will get them for you Harry and we will see you at the feast tonight" Hermione said also giving a small smiling. Harry somehow knew that Hermione understood exactly, though if he had been asked how he would not have been able to explain it. Harry waved them off from the top of the stairs and Malfoy, who was standing a few places back in the line, seemed to take pleasure in the fact that Harry was not going and he sent Harry a mock wave before proceeding out the main doors. Harry decided to go back to thecommon room and complete some of the back log of work he had built up in the last week with his extra studies. He collected his bag and sat at a table in the common room and was about to start when he noticed Neville in an arm chair across from him looking confused.
"Are you alright Neville?" Harry asked and Neville looked up.
"Harry, I didn't notice you there. Why didn't you go to Hogsmeade?" Neville asked curiously.
"Too much work to do" Harry lied holding up the book he had been given by Professor McGonagall during his extra studies to emphasis the lie. "What are you working on?"
"Our recent Medical Magic essay"
"Do you need any help?" Harry asked honestly wanting to help Neville. Harry was very proud of the achievements Neville had made in the DA and in his own personal self confidence in the last year. Harry had felt particularly close to Neville since Dumbledore had told Harry about the prophecy.
"That would be great" Neville said looking relieved. Harry helped Neville for most of the day and though he did not get as much of his own work done as he had hoped he still found that he had had a good day and was in a surprisingly good mood when Ron and Hermione returned early. The Halloween feast was excellent with the food at its usual high standard and Ron and Hermione's insistence that he didn't miss anything except for cold weather and long lines at Honeydukes. Harry last thoughts before he went to bed were that though he had anticipated a boring and lonely day, it had turned out to be an un-expectantly good day.
As the first Quidditch match approached Ron became almost unbearable to be around. He was demanding almost non-stop practices and Harry finally had to put his foot down.
"Ron I can't" Harry said
"What do you mean you can't?" Ron snapped back. Harry could see that Ron's stress levels were rising with every passing second.
"I have to much work to do" this was not an exaggeration. With his extra class and his normal course work the number of assignments he was being expected to get through where averaging three a night. Even with Hermione's help Harry found he was only just keeping up. Snape's vindictive behaviour since the pensive incident in Harry's fifth year had in no way subsided and Harry was finding himself working on Potions homework more often then not.
"Harry, our first game is in two weeks. We have to be ready" Ron almost yelled at Harry.
"I know that Ron" Harry replied keeping his voice as calm as possible not wanting to be drawn into a fight. Harry disagreed with Ron regarding the team needing more practice. In his opinion the team was working well together and in the last few practices Harry had seen a marked improvement in each member with almost all manoeuvres that Ron wanted them to prefect being done flawlessly, despite the terrible weather their captain made them to practice in. A number of the team members, including Ginny, had complained to Harry regarding Ron's relentless pressure to win. "I simply don't have enough time to go to more then one practice a week at the moment. I'm sorry. Just have the practice without me" Harry thought that this would pacify Ron. He was wrong.
"If you are not serious about being on the team Harry I will have to find a seeker that is!" with that final statement Ron stormed off towards their dormitory leaving Harry in a state of shock. Harry couldn't believe that Ron, his best friend, had just threatened to take him off the Gryffindor Quidditch team. 'And I gave him the captaincy!' Harry thought to himself angrily. Hermione, who had remained silent throughout the encounter, decided it was time to speak.
"I don't think he really meant that Harry" Hermione said in a small voice "he is just stressed. I'm sure that by tomorrow he will be sorry for what he said. Besides, were will he find another seeker in two weeks?" Hermione made a far point. There was no way Ron could replace him at this point, but this did little to reduce Harry's anger toward Ron at that moment. It turned out however that Hermione was correct. The next morning at breakfast Ron joined Harry and Hermione late and initially did not want to make eye contact with Harry as Ron took the seat beside him.
"Look mate" Ron said quietly "I'm sorry about what I said last night" Harry knew Ron was not good with apologises and Harry felt all the remaining anger he still felt drain away.
"It's ok" Harry replied sensing from Ron's tone how bad he felt about the incident "I know you just want to beat Malfoy" Ron smiled in relief. Harry noticed that though Hermione had had her head buried behind her copy of the Daily Prophet, apparently not listening, a small smile appeared on her face once the boys had resolved their argument.
The morning of the first Quidditch match, Gryffindor verse Slytherin, finally arrived and Harry, as usual, had not been blessed with a good nights sleep. Some of this was due to the tension Harry always felt before a game. The other was because Ron spent most of the night and early morning reminding Harry what a victory in this game meant and reviewing the strategies Ron had created for the team, all of which Harry had preformed perfectly during the last four practices the team had had. Harry ate a light breakfast of toast while Ron appeared to be unable to eat.
"Ron, you really should eat something as you don't look well" Hermione said looking concerned. Harry had to agree, Ron did not look good. His face was extremely pale and Harry gave Ron an encouraging smile, which Ron attempted to return with limited success. Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and found that Malfoy also looked a little more white then usual and Harry realised that Malfoy was as nervous as Ron regarding the upcoming match. Harry found this amusing considering the cocky comments about an expected Slytherin victory that Malfoy had been throwing toward Harry and Ron at every opportunity in the preceding weeks. When the time came Harry and the rest of the team made their way down to the change rooms to prepare for the match. Harry had left Sherman with Hermione as he customarily did when he went to quidditich practice. As he was changing into his Quidditch robes Ron was distracted by something and he was staring directly at Harry's chest.
"What?" Harry asked wondering what could have caught Ron's attention.
"What's that?" Ron returned pointing to the middle of Harry's chest. Harry looked down and notice the pendent that he had placed around his neck before term had started. Harry had completely forgotten that he had it on and didn't even realise that it was there until Ron pointed it out.
"I got it for my birthday" Harry replied feeling that this was close to the truth and for some reason he did not want to tell Ron that he brought it for himself. Ron's attention however returned back to the game.
"You should take it off for the game" Ron said returning his attention to his Quidditch robes. Harry's arms moved up towards the necklace to remove it as Ron had suggested when he stopped. 'Why should I' Harry thought 'it hasn't bothered me before'.
"It will be ok" Harry said leaving the necklace with the jade pendent around his neck and continued to dress in his Quidditch robes. Once everyone was dressed Ron had them gather up for the captains' pre-match speech.
"Ok everyone, this is our first match as a team" Ron said. Harry had to admit Ron was sounding more confident now then the look on his face at breakfast had lead Harry to believe. "I know that if we play this game using the skills and talent that you have all shown me during training, we will win. Let's show them what we can do" Harry was astounded. Ron's speech, though short, was great and by the look on the rest of the teams faces Harry could tell that they too were impressed. With the feeling of confidence high within the team they moved towards the door ready to enter the pitch to start the match. A new voice called the names of each member of the team onto the pitch to commence the game. Lee, the previous commentator, had finished school last term and he was replaced by a third year Ravenclaw girl that Harry did not know. The team proceeded onto the pitch and faced the considerably larger Slytherin team members. Ron and Malfoy faced each other with looks of obvious determination for victory on their face. Madam Hooch requested the captains shake hands before the start of the match and both faces changed to looks of revulsion at the thought of having to touch in any way. Reluctantly they shook hands and Harry could tell that the battle had already begun. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and fourteen players kicked off the ground and took position. Hooch released the quaffle and the game commenced. It was a dirty game right from the start. Malfoy had been training his team in how to play rough. Though the players on Harry's team were small and fast they were often attacked by two larger chasers from either side and were squeezed until they released the quaffle. The Slytherin beaters, Crabbe and Goyle, were targeting Ron and Harry. Harry could understand the tactic Malfoy had chosen as taking out the keeper and seeker would effectively ensure that the Slytherins' won. Harry took his usual position above the match to watch for the snitch and Malfoy had decided to mark him copying his every move, remaining at his side. Harry's search for the little gold snitch was made difficult due to the weather. The day was over cast with threatening dark grey clouds in the sky which rumbling continuously with the occasional burst of sheet lighting. The only good thing was that the rain seemed to hold off, though it was almost as dark as night. After the first ten minutes of the game it was clear that the Slytherin tactics were working. Gryffindor was 20 points down even with some excellent saves by Ron and Malfoy taunted Harry relentlessly. The rest of Harry's team seemed to be taking a beating, literally. Even from Harry's height above the rest of the players he noted that many of his team were bleeding and Ginny had a black eye. Penalty shots had been awarded on a number of occasions for the injuries though the shots taken had resulted in few points and Harry could hear the displeasure in the crowd and Madam Hooch's voice for the excessive rough play, but Harry knew the rules like anyone. The only way to stop the game was to find the snitch and he knew that if he wanted to keep his team out of the Hospital wing he would have to do it soon. A Slytherin chaser had the quaffle and was making their way up the pitch to the Gryffindor goal. 'Stop it Ron' Harry thought 'stop it'. Ron made a spectacular save and passed it to a Gryffindor chaser to take back up the field. As Harry applauded his best friends' efforts he noticed to late the bludger that was heading towards Ron from behind. By the time Harry called to Ron to look out it was too late. The bludger struck Ron in the back of the head and Ron slid off his broom and fell to the ground. Luckily someone reduced the speed of Ron's decent in the last moments and he landed gently. Harry was angry. He looked at Malfoy whose face showed a look of triumph. Harry wanted to lash out.
"I know you planned this" Harry yelled at Malfoy.
"What are you going to do about it" Malfoy taunted. The whistle blew below. The penalty shoot that had been awarded had not been successful and play was restarted, Gryffindor now short a keeper. Harry was tempted to attack Malfoy and was just about to when the sky flashed with light and Harry saw it, the snitch. It was hovering in the middle of the pitch just above the chasers. Harry lunged past Malfoy who swerved initially thinking that it was an attack and then he realised what was going on. Malfoy turned his broom quickly and he and Harry raced toward their goal. Malfoy managed to move into position on Harry's left and try though he might Harry could not pull away. It was then that he heard it.
"Harry look out" It was Hermione's voice. It sounded as though she was right beside him. An image flashed through his mind. He realised that he was looking at himself and Malfoy as if from below and a bludger was heading straight for him on his right. Though he did not know how, he knew that it was true, and he realised that a bludger would hit him in only seconds if he did not move. 'But I can't let Malfoy win!' Harry thought to himself. Keeping his eye on the snitch the whole time Harry rolled his broom 180 degrees so that he was literally riding it upside down. Harry felt the bludger pass him just above his knee caps and he stretched out his hand to collect the snitch. Relief swept over him as the little ball fluttered in his hand and he heard the whistle blow signifying the end of the match and Gryffindors victory. The crowd erupted with applause and calls of jubilation as Harry made his way down to the ground in the centre of the pitch. Gryffindor had won the game one hundred and seventy to sixty. It was only once he was on the ground that he realised that Malfoy had not reached for the snitch as well and he wondered way. He looked around and saw Malfoy on his back struggling to breathe while Goyle helped him to his feet and Crabbe looked on with a guilty expression. Harry's happiness heightened as he realised that the bludger he had avoided had struck Malfoy right in the side throwing him off his broom to the ground. 'I'm going to win the game Malfoy' Harry thought happily answering Malfoy's earlier statement to himself. The crowd rushed onto the pitch to congratulate the Gryffindor team and Hermione ran towards Harry catching him in a firm embrace.
"Well done Harry" she said and reached up to plant a kiss on his cheek. Just before her lips arrived at their intended destination Harry heard someone calling his name and he automatically turn his head to find the owner of the voice. It was quiet by accident that their lips meet and both Harry and Hermione were taken completely by surprise. However it was not the kiss alone that caused this. When their lips meet it was as if a door opened in his mind and he was flooded with images and feeling that he knew were not his own. The images moved so quickly from one to the other that when he thought about it later he could not remember a single one. As suddenly as it had begun it stoped. Hermione moved way and as their lips parted the door closed. For a moment Harry felt a sense of loss. People were patting him on the back and saying congratulation to him and for a moment Harry didn't know why. He felt confused. It was only when he felt something squirming in his hand and looked down finding the snitch there that he remembered he had just won the first Quidditch match of the season. Hermione had a strange look on her face as she pulled completely away from him and he as about to ask what was wrong when the other members of his team caught him from behind in a team embrace. Even Ron was brought over on a stretcher to be with the team though his comments made little sense. The bludger had apparently hit him quite hard in the back of the head and he seemed to slip in and out of the conversation. Harry didn't think it was too bad until Ron started calling him Ginny. The team decided to carry their captain to the hospital wing, Hermione accompanying them, and when they arrived they found the Slytherin team gathered around their moaning captain. As usual Malfoy was milking his injury for as much sympathy as he could get and his team mates and constant female companion, Pansy Parkinson, were gathered around him with looks of concern on their faces. Madam Pomfrey finished up with Malfoy informing his team mates that he would be fine and that he could return with them to the common room before checking on Ron. Ron's condition on the other hand was more serious and Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping him in the hospital wing for the rest of the evening. The rest of the teams' injuries were minor and Madam Pomfrey even allowed Hermione to assist with Ginny's black eye at Hermione's request. Once all injuries had been attended to the team farewelled Ron and proceeded to the common room. Harry walked next to Hermione wanting to talk to her about what had happened on the pitch but was unable to do so as the rest of the team did not allow him any privacy to discuss what he felt was a delicate subject. The common room exploded when the team preceded though the port hole and the Gryffindor house seemed determined to celebrate the victory to its fullest. Try though Harry might he did not seem to be able to break away from the crowd to speak to Hermione. Hermione's expression remained as strange as it had been on the pitch and she looked as though she was deep in thought while she moved away from the group.
"How did you know about the bludger Harry?" Dean asked him while passing him a bottle of butterbeer. Everyone seemed to stop in mid-conversation to hear Harry's explanation.
"I heard it" Harry lied. Honestly he did not know what to tell them as he was not sure himself how he had managed to see the bludger coming for him.
"Did you see the look on Malfoy's face when it hit him in the side and he fell off his broom?" Seamus said followed by what Harry could only assume was an impersonation of Malfoy when it happened as Seamus's face contorted into an expression of pain mingled with shock. The entire Gryffindor house laughed appreciatively and applauded Seamus's efforts. By the time Harry was finally able to move away from the group that had surrounded him requesting that he retell the story of his victory over a dozen times, even though they had all been there to see it, Harry was unable to find Hermione.
"Have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked Ginny.
"I think she went to bed a few minutes ago" Ginny replied. Harry felt disappoint as he had really wanted to talk to her. 'She didn't even say good night' Harry thought to himself.
"Oh, ok, well I think I will head off to bed to. Goodnight"
"Night Harry" Ginny replied happily. Harry proceeded up to his bed and even though he had just won his first Quidditch match of the year somehow he felt empty.
"Is something wrong master?" Sherman asked as Harry climbed into bed. Hermione had apparently left him on Harry's bed before going to bed herself as she had held him for the match.
"No, I'm fine" Harry lied.
"You are a terrible liar" Sherman said seeing right though Harry. Harry replied with a look that told Sherman to drop the subject which Sherman did and he curled up at the end of Harry's bed and promptly went to sleep. This left Harry feeling worst then before and he found himself falling asleep hours after he had gone to bed as his mind attempted to figure what had happened on the pitch when he and Hermione had kissed and why he felt so empty now while everyone else was celebrating.