Author's Note: I finally got the next chapter up, so I hope it satisfies all of you who have been patiently waiting for it to come out. And Marjorie, I hope this chapter satisfies you so you'll quit bugging me about updating. *smirks* Please read, review, and enjoy. I hope it isn't too odd of a chapter.
*Chapter 7: The Quidditch Tryouts*
"Neville, I thought your Dad was an Auror," Harry said as many new first years entered the Great Hall in one long line, Professor McGonagall leading them towards the staff table.
"He was. He still is, in my mind. But for some reason, Cornelius Fudge fired him shortly after he accepted the Defense Against the Dark Arts job," Neville explained in a low whisper. Hermione's eyebrows moved upward in a questioning look.
Although Harry wanted to ask Neville another question, he could hear Professor McGonagall in the background saying, "Now when I call your name, you will put on the Sorting Hat and sit upon the stool."
"Wait a minute. The Sorting Hat didn't sing a song for this year yet." The few people around Ron that had heard him also realized this and began to look at the old hat with great interest and suspicion.
Harry looked back up to all of the first years, anxiously looking to see how many were left because his stomach was beginning to growl at him. He almost couldn't wait for the golden plates to begin magically filling up with food, all thanks to the many house elves that were probably making all of the food below them at that very moment.
Professor McGonagall had gotten halfway through the parchment list when Harry went back to paying attention. "Stugrave, Margaret" became a Ravenclaw just before "Summers, Alexander" became a Gryffindor, in which Harry cheered loudly for with the rest of his house. The Sorting soon ended, and the Sorting Hat was taken away by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, who was closely tailed by Mrs. Norris, Filch's creepy cat. Professor McGonagall then sat in her chair behind the staff table.
All eyes were suddenly looking at the long staff table when Dumbledore slowly stood from his chair. He cleaned his throat loudly before speaking. "Welcome to another, new year at Hogwarts. I hope that it shall be a wonderful and safe year for all of you. Let the feast begin!"
Several people almost cheered as the many golden plates filled with food: piles of chicken, mashed potatoes smothered in gravy, and so much more. Ron all but practically dove into the food, and Harry followed suit. Hermione at as well, but not as hasty as her male best friends. She would have been repulsed, but she was indeed very hungry after the long train ride from the King's Cross Station.
In between bites, Harry glanced along the Gryffindor table. Several of his fellow classmates sat down the row, including Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and Parvati Patil. Fred and George Weasley sat a few seats away, talking to their friend Lee Jordan. "Hi, Harry."
Not knowing who greeted him, Harry turned his head frantically until his eyes fell upon Cho. He could feel his face fluster lightly when he greeted her back. "How was your summer?" she asked.
Images of that night during the previous year in the dark cemetery flashed through Harry's mind, but he quickly blocked them. "It was alright. Yours?"
Cho hesitated, and Harry realized a little too late that maybe he shouldn't have asked the same question back. "Sorry," Harry muttered slowly.
"No, it's okay. Well, I guess I'll se you later, Harry," Cho said before she started to walk backwards toward the Ravenclaw table.
"Well, that was eventful," Hermione muttered as she finished eating. At her remark, Ron snorted loudly into his bowl of vanilla pudding. Little bubbles blossomed at the edges of the white pudding. Harry glared daggers at them both, though Hermione was also glaring at Ron for some strange reason. She opened her mouth to speak but was stopped from saying anything when all of the plates emptied of food, becoming magically clean once again. Dumbledore stood again, and the hall went quiet.
"A note to all first years and to those who have forgotten. The Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students. Quidditch will start up again this year, and the field is back to normal. The trials will be held in the second week of term. If you would like to tryout for a position, being second year or above, please contact either your house's Quidditch captain or Madam Hooch."
"Who got captain this year?" Harry asked as he turned to Fred and George.
"Katie Bell did," they replied. Harry's eyes widened in surprise.
"Why didn't Angelina get it? I thought that she would have gotten it," Ron said.
"She quit," Ginny whispered, since Angelina was sitting nearby, not listening to Dumbledore as she stared at the plate in front of her.
"What? Why?" Harry asked.
"She had an accident this summer while training. Angelina was lucky she didn't die. But when she got the letter from Dumbledore and McGonagall, she declined it," Fred explained.
Harry just sat in stunned silence before listening to Dumbledore again.
"I would also like to welcome a new member to our staff, Mr. Frank Longbottom. He will be taking up the post as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." At this news, several students applauded. Harry could see through the crowd, however, that Draco was not among them.
"Alas. It is time for us all to tuck in. Prefects, please lead the first years to your separate houses."
As all of the students began exiting the Great Hall, Hermione waved her hand above her head, Harry joining her after a few seconds. "First years, this way!" they cried together.
The Gryffindor first years followed Harry and Hermione straight up the marble staircase and through several hidden passageways before they stopped before the portrait of the Fat Lady. Harry briefly went down memory lane, remembering what it was like when he first arrived at Hogwarts. It was Percy, Ron's brother, who was the Prefect in their first year.
"Password?" the Fat Lady asked slowly.
"Butterbeer," Hermione said loudly so that all of the first years could hear. At her words, the large portrait swung open, revealing the thin passageway that lead into the Gryffindor common room. The two best friends waited patiently as the new first years went single file into the passageway.
"When did you get the password?" Harry asked Hermione as they followed the first years in, seconds before the Fat Lady's portrait closed behind them.
"Brian Abernathy wrote it down on a piece of parchment. I tried to tell you, but you weren't paying attention," Hermione answered with a small sigh.
Harry directed the boys up the spiral staircase to their dormitories, while Hermione did the same with the girls. As soon as all of the first years were up to their dormitories, Harry and Hermione faced each other at the bottom of the stairs. "Goodnight, Harry," Hermione said as she stifled a yawn.
"Night, Hermione," he replied. They both turned and walked up their separate staircases, Harry climbing the stone steps and entering his dormitory moments later.
"There you are. What took you so long?" Ron asked. Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Dean were sitting on the edge of their beds, presumably talking to each other.
"Prefect duties," Harry mumbled as he crossed over to his four-poster.
"With Hermione?" Seamus asked.
"Yes, with Hermione. Why do you ask?"
Seamus didn't answer Harry's question. Instead, he and Dean sniggered lightly.
"What?" Harry asked angrily.
"It's nothing. Forget about it, Harry," Dean mumbled as he climbed into his bed. Seamus did the same, and they were both asleep barely five minutes later.
"Do you know what they were talking about?" Harry asked Ron and Neville, a quizzical look upon his face.
Both Ron and Neville shook their heads. "Whatever it was, they were talking about it before we came up," Ron said.
"The moment we came in they stopped talking," Neville chimed in,
"I'm tired. I hope you two don't mind if I go to sleep," Ron said sarcastically. Harry agreed with him. It was nearly midnight, and he knew that he'd have to get up early the next morning to begin classes.
The lights were soon out and it wasn't long before a soft snore escaped from Neville.
Harry's mind was spinning. So much had happened in the last two days. He had spoken to Sirius, who gave Harry warnings about Voldemort. He hadn't noticed it until now that his scar had been prickling when he talked to Brian Abernathy. Dumbledore was obviously concerned, or else he wouldn't have hidden them away in the Leaky Cauldron. Not only was he despised by some students, Seamus and Dean were obviously talking about he and Hermione. The new school year was already getting off to an interesting start.
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He dreamt he had been swimming in a very dark lake. The water was very deep, and it chilled him straight to the bone when he went underneath the surface. Harry swam for what seemed to be hours, not even needing air. He found that his head was incased by a Bubble Head charm.
Finally, Harry had reached the bottom of the lake, where a small gold ring glistened under the light of his wand that was in his right hand. He reached out for it and was barely able tog rasp it in his hand when something powerful tugged him towards the water's surface. The charm around his head disappeared, allowing him to breathe normal air. Several men and women were gathered near the edge of the lake, and Harry somehow knew that he was in big trouble. That is until he finally woke up, almost falling out of his four-poster bed with a semi-loud thud.
"You alright there, mate?" Ron asked.
"I think so."
"What were you dreaming about? It didn't have anything to do with You-Know-Who, did it?" Ron asked, a hint of fear in his voice.
"No, I don't think so. I would remember that. I think I was swimming underwater, looking for something. Whatever I was looking for, I wanted it badly, and I had found it before I woke up," Harry explained slowly.
"What are you doing in here?" Ron asked suddenly. Turning his head, Harry found Hermione to be standing in the doorway.
"I came to see if you two were coming down to breakfast. We're going to be late getting our schedules from Professor McGonagall," she said softly.
"Of course we're coming! Harry and I were just talking about his dream."
"What kind of dream?" Hermione asked, clearly interested. When she noticed that Harry was still in her pajamas, her face flushed a dark red before she turned her back to the both of them.
"It's not important now. I can tell you later but right now we should get down to breakfast," Harry said as he ushered them out so he could get dressed. After stripping himself of his pajamas, Harry put on his Gryffindor cloak over his dress clothes, hooking the cloak on by the tassels. Harry met Hermione and Ron down in the common room and together they walked out of Gryffindor tower, heading down the marble staircase to enter the Great Hall.
No sooner had the three sat down at their table, Professor McGonagall passed by, handing out their class schedules. "Damnit, we've got Snape this afternoon, and we're still with the Slytherins," Ron moaned with great frustration.
"Hmm. That's odd. We usually don't have him on our first day of classes. Oh look! We've got Herbology first this morning," Hermione said as she propped her schedule up against the milk jug.
"What day do we have Arithmancy?" Harry asked. He was too busy scooping some of the scrambled eggs on to his plate to look at his schedule.
"Tomorrow and Thursday. Can you pass the sausages, Harry?" Ron asked. Reaching over the large bowl of hash browns, Harry passed it to him.
A loud rustling from above confirmed that it was time for the mail to arrive. Harry looked up, hoping to see Hedwig in the large swarm of owls that came raining down. Unfortunately, his snowy white owl was not among them. A small, brown owl brought Hermione her copy of the Daily Prophet, and as usual, Neville received a package that most likely contained items he had forgotten at home.
Harry slipped his sidebag on to his shoulder once he finished eating. The golden plate and silverware before him magically cleaned themselves.
The loud school bell echoed throughout the halls, and the students began to file out of the Great Hall. Harry watched the Slytherins head up the marble staircase, while the Ravenclaws headed towards the dungeons. He stopped walking when he saw Cho waving to him, but continued towards the front door when Hermione angrily nudged him forward.
The Gryffindors crossed the wet lawn to head towards the greenhouses. Harry glanced over towards Hagrid's hut and was deeply disappointed when the windows were still dark. Fang was tied outside in the back, barking loudly when he saw the students.
Professor Sprout met them outside of the greenhouses. "It's Greenhouse Three today!" she cried as they approached, the Hufflepuffs shortly behind. With the arrival of all of her students, Professor Sprout turned and unlocked the door, entering the greenhouse with the students behind her. As usual, Harry, Hermione, and Ron gathered around the same tray. Justin Finch Fletley from Hufflepuff soon joined them.
"Please put on your gloves," Professor Sprout chimed. "Good. Now can any of you tell me what kind of plant you have before you?"
To no one's surprise, Hermione's hand was first into the air. "Yes, Miss Granger?"
"It is the plant known as Alihotsy," Hermione said.
"Excellent. Can anyone tell me what dangerous property it has?" Professor Sprout asked.
This time, Hermione was shockingly beaten by Neville, his hand wiggling above his head in a rapid motion. "The leaves can cause hysteria, which could lead to accidental death if consumed."
"Wonderful! Thirty points to Gryffindor. In front of you, there are two Alihotsy in each tray. They are usually planted by the Forbidden Forest, but I brought them into the greenhouse today. Professor Dumbledore has asked that my classes peel all of the leaves off carefully. He is concerned that a wild beast from the forest may eat them and go on a rampage. Or worse, it could die," Professor Sprout explained.
Harry and Hermione exchanged nervous looks. "Get to it, then!" the Herbology professor cried.
For nearly an hour and a half, the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs busied themselves with peeling the leaves off of the alihotsy plants. The bell that rang out over the grounds stopped them from their work, and students from both houses quickly hurried back to their common rooms to wash up before their next class. Unfortunately, the Gryffindors had to go to Double Potions with the Slytherins, all thanks to their new schedule.
"Usually, I wouldn't trust such pathetic fifth years to concoct such a dangerous potion, but there is a select few of you that have the ability of doing it. Plus, it is possible that you may be questioned about it in your O.W.L.S. at the end of the year. I mentioned this potion on your very first day you all had my class. Can anyone tell me what potion I speak of?" Snape growled.
Hermione's hand was in the air, and Snape ignored her like he always did. "No one can answer? How unsurprising." With a quick wave of his wand, Snape made the directions to making the Draught of the Living Death appear upon the chalkboard. "Get to work," he snarled.
"That's odd. Usually he teaches the lesson to us first. He must be really busy," Hermione whispered to Harry as she waited for her water to boil in her cauldron. Harry nodded his head in reply before looking forward. His eye caught Malfoy, who was looking back at Harry with a malicious smile on his face, almost as if he knew something that Harry didn't. It was obvious that he did. Malfoy's father was a Deatheater after all.
Harry ignored him and returned to making his potion, using the powdered root of asphodel that Snape had set out for their class. Most likely it had come from the private cupboards in his office. The water inside his cauldron turned a murky yellow after adding the asphodel, and turned a dark gray once the infusion of wormwood was put in last. Harry made sure that he had followed the directions carefully before putting it into a small glass vial. He even finished before Hermione had.
"Your summer work, Potter?" Snape asked as Harry placed his vial in a holder on Snape's desk.
"Here you go, Professor," Harry muttered slowly, handing Snape his work. For once, the Potion's master didn't criticize him, and Harry was allowed to return to his seat peacefully. The class had been surprisingly good until Neville's potion suddenly exploded from the cauldron. The contents rained down upon the class.
"Detention, Longbottom. Scourgify!" Snape muttered. His wand gave of a small red glow before making the contents of Neville's potion disappear in a bright burst of orange light. The room was no longer messy, and the robes of the students were clean.
Seeing that all of the vials had been collected, Snape angrily dismissed them nearly fifteen minutes early.
"Like having us make a complicated potion wasn't enough, that bloody git assigned us this stupid essay," Ron fumed as he slumped into an armchair next to the fireplace.
"Why don't you just shut up and do your essay, Ron? Hermione said as she began to work on her own. Harry laughed as he got out a roll of parchment and a quill. Ron just stared at her with disgust.
"Harry, didn't you say we could go down to the Quidditch pitch and practice? We have about an hour before dinner."
"Sure. Just wait until I finish my essay," Harry replied, drawing out a groan of frustration from Ron.
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Harry smiled as he looped around the goal hoops, the wind howling by. Ron was flying nearby, and he had the quaffle in his arms. "Come on, Harry!" he called as he hurled the red ball into the air. Harry easily caught it, pulling out of an easy dive with his gleaming Firebolt.
Flying at top speed, Harry soared down the middle of the field, heading towards the three hoops. Ron hovered in front of the right hoop, probably trying to anticipate which goal Harry was going to try to throw the quaffle through. Making his decision, Harry threw the quaffle through the air towards the left hoop. Ron easily caught it, his Nimbus Two-Thousand and One aiding him with speed.
Nearly a half-an-hour later, Harry and Ron left the pitch and started to walk back towards the castle. When they arrived at the main doors, a shadowy figure stepped out from behind on of the large statues. "It's not very wise to be out at night, Potter. Especially since it is your first day as a Prefect." Harry turned to see Brian Abernathy, the Headboy, leaning against the stone statue by the doorway.
"W were only practicing," Ron said softly.
"Team practices don't start until next week."
"I was only helping Ron practice so that he can try out for the team next week. There isn't anything against Prefect rules in doing that, now is there?" Harry asked with a small tone in his voice. Brian didn't answer, and Harry and Ron headed inside. After placing their brooms back up in the dormitory, Harry and Ron hurried back down to the Great Hall and sat next to Hermione.
"There you are. I was beginning to wonder what was taking so long," she mumbled.
"Sorry, but we were stopped by the new Bigheadboy. You were right, Hermione. He is pretty bad," Ron replied, digging into the food once it appeared.
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The rest of the week went by surprisingly fast. Hagrid was indeed still gone, and Professor Kettleburn had reluctantly come back to take his place until he returned. He was teaching them about Jarveys, which were creatures that resembled overgrown ferrets. The only thing that was really interesting about them to Harry was that they could talk and that they lived underground.
Harry and Ron also experienced their first Arithmancy class with Hermione, which turned out to be quite difficult after they learned a brand new lesson involving numbers and the way that they had to deal with the possible characteristics of a person in the future.
Professor McGonagall was just as strict as she always was. Today, she was making them take notes on the advanced process of cross species switches and turning larger inanimate objects into animals, as well as animals into large inanimate objects. Harry's hand ached lightly as he continued to write down what she was saying, dipping his quill into his inkbottle every few seconds.
The class that everyone had been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, for some of the older students told them that Professor Longbottom taught them some interesting spells. Some even said he was almost as good as Moody was, but then again, they didn't know that it wasn't really Alastor Moody who taught them the previous year.
On the first day that they had it, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville were the first to arrive at class.
"Good afternoon," Mr. Longbottom said slowly. He hesitantly stood up from his chair behind the large wooden desk as the rest of the class came in. Harry sat with between Hermione and Ron near the front of the room.
Hermione began to pull out her old Defense Against the Dark Arts book. Mr. Longbottom quickly caught her eye, speaking with a firm voice. "You won't be needing and books during class for the first time. You might when you have to do homework, but not in class during the first term. However, during Christmas break you will have to buy one because we will be using it next term." Hermione's hand rose into the air. "A question, Miss Granger?"
"Yes, sir. What is the title of that certain book?" she asked. Ron snorted softly.
Professor Longbottom chuckled lightly at her question. "I figured that would be your question. My son and fellow colleagues have informed me that you are quite the bookworm, and that you are at the top of your class."
Hermione's face flushed red, and Harry sent her a small, mischievous grin.
"Unfortunately, Miss Granger, I can not give you the book's name so soon. But do not worry. You will have plenty of time to read it over the holidays." Several students groaned, yet Hermione's face still remained red.
"I see that Professor Moody showed you the Unforgivable Curses. They are truly something you don't want to have to experience. I myself am a victim of the Cruciatus curse, and it is pain beyond anything you could imagine," he explained.
Harry agreed deep down inside. In the graveyard on that dark night, Voldemort had tortured Harry with the Cruciatus curse, and Harry recalled it feeling like white-hot knives piercing his skin. He shuddered lightly, and Mr. Longbottom noticed.
"Potter knows what I'm talking about. I'm quite certain that it was used on him by the Dark Lord." Ron nearly fell backward out of his chair and Parvati accidentally knocked all of her books onto the floor when she dropped her bag. The room stayed quite for a few moments, in which Ron was able to re-steady himself.
"Could you please all get out your wands? This year we will be covering defensive and offensive spells. Defensive spells will be used to protect yourself and others, while the offensive spells will obviously be powerful curses and hexes that you can use to stop your foes. Please stand."
The Gryffindors left their desks and lined up in the back of the room. With a wave of his own wand, Professor Longbottom moved the desks to the sides of the room carefully so that all of the books didn't fall off on to the floor.
"The spell you will be using today is an absorbing spell. It will take the shape of whatever spell it can repel. It is mainly used to absorb and stop spells that deal with the elements of nature. I will cast a minor curse or hex upon you all, and you will use the spell to absorb my spell. Repeat the following words: Absorsus!"
"Absorsus!" the class called back.
"Good. To make the spell work, you must concentrate as hard as possible on the element or object that can repel the curse I will cast upon you. Cast the absorbing spell, and think as hard as possible."
One by one, each Gryffindor came forward and Professor Longbottom cast a hex or curse on them. Parvati was the first to falter, and her legs suddenly locked together. Professor Longbottom cast the counter curse, and her legs quickly sprang apart so she could walk normally.
"Potter."
Harry stepped forward and began to concentrate as hard as he could. "Incendio!" Professor Longbottom cried. A huge fireball burst from the tip of his wand and soared through the air towards Harry.
'A fire spell…water repels fire,' Harry thought in his mind. "Absorsus!" he cried when the fireball got closer. Harry gasped lightly as the fireball was suddenly stopped and surrounded by a purple field of magic that looked like a large sphere of water. Both quickly grew smaller before disappearing with a loud sizzling sound.
"Good, good. Well, look at the time. 30 points to Gryffindor for an excellent lesson. You may all leave," Professor Longbottom said. With another wave of his wand, the desks returned to their original places.
"That was very interesting. I can't wait to write essays in that class," Hermione breathed out with excitement as she swung her heavy bag onto her shoulder.
"He's not going to have us write essays until after holiday break," Neville said as he walked up behind them. "Just take notes on everything."
Once they got back to the common room through the portrait of the Fat Lady, Neville went to put his books away as Ginny approached them from the sofa next to the fireplace.
"Harry, what day are Quidditch tryouts for Gryffindor going to be held? I unfortunately forgot."
Harry hesitated slightly. He was surprised that Ginny would ask about Quidditch.
"It's supposed to be Monday afternoon before dinner. Why did you want to know?" Harry asked.
"Thanks!" Ginny cried before dashing out of the common room.
"What was that about?" Ron asked with a quizzical look upon his face.
Harry shook his head. "I don't know. Let's quickly put our books upstairs and get down to dinner."
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With so much food in his stomach, Harry quickly drifted off to sleep once he crawled under the sheets on his bed. He dreamt about many things. The image of Hagrid stayed solid in his mind. From where Harry was situated in his own dream, he realized that Hagrid was heading towards Hogsmeade. 'Probably toward the Three Broomsticks,' Harry thought. But in his dream, where was he at? Harry knew he was high up in the air.
Harry felt a cool breeze on his face, and he realized that he was flying up high on his Firebolt inside the Quidditch pitch. It was soon confirmed when Katie Bell soared by, followed by Ginny. Harry suddenly did a double take in surprise. Ginny!? What was she doing playing Quidditch, let alone being on a broomstick? He tried to turn his Firebolt, but it wouldn't budge. The Firebolt continued to fly forward. Suddenly, as if someone had grasped his head and turned it, Harry's face forcefully looked back down at Hogsmeade. Green light was emanating from the Three Broomstick's pub.
The Firebolt quickly left the Quidditch pitch and soared toward the small village. As he got closer, his vision blurred before blacking out. A cold, eerie laughter echoed in his head before a single voice spoke. "We will take the one who knows, for she will be crucial to the plan."
Harry quickly sat up. The intense amount of sweat caused his pajamas to cling to his body. The sun was barely beginning to rise when he climbed out of his bed and looked out the window. Remembering that he had seen Hagrid in his dream, Harry quickly looked down to his hut that was on the school grounds. To his disappointment, the lights were still off, and it looked like no one had been there for a few months. He sighed as he knelt down next to his trunk. Reaching inside, he pulled out a towel and some clean clothes. Maybe a bath in the Prefect bathroom would calm him down. As long as Moaning Myrtle wasn't there to spy on him, that is.
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Harry, Hermione, and Ron spent the whole of Saturday afternoon getting their homework done. It took quite a lot of time to finish off Snape's essay completely. They ended their night playing Wizard's chess and Exploding Snap. Crookshanks curled up in Hermione's lap as she watched her nest friends battle on the chessboard.
Luckily, Harry was able to sleep without having any dreams that woke him in the night. By time Sunday afternoon came around, he couldn't remember anything about the strange dream he had for his head was filled with too many other thoughts.
Shortly after dinner, Ron dragged Harry out once again to the Quidditch pitch for last minute practice before the tryouts that would take place the very next day. Just as they arrived outside of the locker rooms, Ginny suddenly emerged from the room within.
"What were you doing in there?" Ron asked angrily.
The young girl's face flushed. "Nothing. I was only looking for something," she whispered.
"Did you find it?" Harry asked.
"No, I didn't find hi…it," she said quickly before running up towards the castle.
"Strange," Ron muttered. "Oh well." He and Harry proceeded into the locker room to change into some Quidditch robes. Unfortunately, Ron couldn't because he wasn't a team member. Shortly after they began to practice, Hermione came out to watch them. As usual, Harry took the Quaffle and soared towards the goal hoops. Ron saved all but one.
"Hermione, you should come join us," Harry said as he flew by, pausing to hover near her.
At his suggestion, Hermione gave a small sarcastic laugh as a response. "I don't think so. Even if I had a broom, I still wouldn't. I don't like heights," she said.
"I noticed by how hard you held on at that Dueling tournament." Hermione's face flushed a few shades of crimson.
Harry grinned suddenly in an odd way. "What is it?" Hermione asked.
"Hold on," he replied.
Hermione raised her eyebrows lightly before crying out in surprise. From behind her, Ron had flown up and had been holding the Quaffle in his hand. It looked as if he was going to throw it.
"Ron, what are you doing?" Without answering Hermione's question, Ron hit the back of her seat with the Quaffle, causing Hermione to be pitched forward, falling over the railing. As if they had planned it, Harry had turned his broom and backed up so that Hermione came to land on the back of it.
"Harry, please don't," she said lightly, trying to catch her breath. Just in case her plea failed her hands quickly grabbed on to him yet again. She realized later that she had been very wise to do so.
The Firebolt flew forward and Harry instantly began to do several loops. Hermione cried out in part fear, part excitement every time. Ron followed close behind, laughing so hard he almost fell off of his broom.
"If you two ever do that again, I will curse you to the point that you won't be able to find a countercurse," Hermione said, her face still red. Ron swallowed the small lump in his throat, while Harry just smiled.
"If that happens, Hermione, you can always try to use CPR on me again," Harry said. Ron looked at the two of them with an odd look upon his face. Harry just laughed as Hermione quickly buried her bright face in a book as soon as she could pull one out of her bag.
"Password?" the portrait of the Fat Lady asked when they came up to it.
"Phoenix tears," Harry said. The portrait swung open, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron proceeded into the common room. Later, up in their dorm room, Ron quickly fell asleep. Harry, however, stayed awake several hours, staring out the window from his bed, looking up at the starry night sky.
Harry woke in the morning and hurried to the Great Hall for breakfast. Ron was there, already eating, but Hermione was nowhere to be seen. "Finally. I was wondering when you would wake up," Ron said as Harry sat down next to him and made a grab for the plate of bacon.
"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked.
Ron shrugged. "No idea. She's probably in the library going over her essay for Snape's class for the 50th time." Harry laughed lightly, almost choking on his porridge that he just got.
When it was time to go to Snape's class in the afternoon, Harry was very surprised when he sat down on his stool. The little sheet of parchment attached to his potion vial confirmed that he got a perfect grade, which was a first in this class. When Ron saw it, he dropped his own potion vial, which shattered when it hit the ground. The contents of his potion remained on the floor with the small shards of glass.
"Oh no! Quick, help me clean it up before Snape sees!" Ron cried.
"Too late, Weasley," a deep voice said. Professor Snape had come up behind the three, and the look upon his face could have frozen fire.
As Snape inched closer, Harry could see Ron begin to swallow nervously. "If you were paying attention, Weasley, you would know that you need that potion for the experiment we are going to do next week. Since you now have no potion, you will come back this afternoon to make another potion," he growled.
"Please Professor. I have Quidditch tryouts this afternoon before dinner. I beg of you, please don't make me miss it," Ron whined. His face had turned a dark shade of green.
Snape's eyes flared before suddenly calming. "You will come back here after dinner, then." Ron looked flabbergasted as they left the dungeons.
"Can you believe it? He let me off!"
"He didn't let you off, Ron. You still have to go back after supper," Hermione explained.
"Who cares! He still surprised us all by allowing me to go to Quidditch tryouts. I feel very lucky now," Ron said.
Both Harry and Hermione looked at him in an odd way. "You're going to need all of that luck, Weasley," a cold voice drawled from behind. Malfoy strolled up behind them, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
Hermione tutted loudly. "Do you feel comfortable now that you have your two big goons with you?"
Malfoy's gray eyes narrowed lightly as he glared at Hermione. "I don't need them to take on a Mudblood."
Harry's temper flared and both he and Ron pulled out their wands in a blink of an eye. This move startled Draco, causing him to step backward.
"I can't wait until our next Care of Magical Creatures class. Too bad your huge oaf friend Hagrid isn't around," Draco quickly said before stalking off with Crabbe and Goyle, laughing as they went. Ron tried to hit Malfoy with the Stupefying curse so that he'd tumble down the marble staircase, but instead it accidentally hit a Ravenclaw third year, who was promptly knocked unconscious.
"Ron!" Hermione cried.
"What? It was an accident," he replied as his ears turned pink.
"Ten points from Gryffindor," she snarled. "Ennervate!" The Ravenclaw student was suddenly roused awake.
"What the bloody hell are you doing? You can't take house points away like that!"
"Under certain circumstances I can, Ron. You just hit an innocent student with a spell, and there is to be no magic being cast in the corridors. Had you hit Malfoy, I might have turned my cheek."
"Can she really do that?" Ron asked Harry.
"Uh-huh. So can I."
Ron looked like he was going to burst with anger at Hermione but he quickly got past it ass they headed down the staircase. "Let's just go get the tryouts over with."
*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
Since there wasn't anyone trying out to be a substitute for the Seeker position in case Harry got hurt, he didn't have much to do except fly above and watch everyone else. Hermione sat below prepared to cheer Ron on when it was his turn to tryout for the Keeper position. Below Harry, Katie bell swooped back and forth, taking each person who was trying out through their job. She looked very stressed as she flew around the pitch at top speed.
"Do you think he will do well?" Hermione called out to Harry when he flew by close enough.
"Yeah, he should be fine," Harry replied.
Harry turned and looked towards the goal posts. Ron was flying up towards them. It was his turn.
Katie Bell flew forward, the Quaffle underneath her arm. Harry could see Ron begin to concentrate very hard. Within seconds, Katie had pulled the Quaffle up into her hands. Anticipating her move, Ron suddenly dove toward the middle goal post. His hands closed around the red ball just inches from going through the hoop.
"Good, Ron!" she called. He smiled as he hurled the Quaffle back. Alicia Spinnet intercepted it and immediately turned back towards the hoops. Ron was able to catch it when she tried to score, and he continued to save the Quaffle. After Katie, Alicia, and the people trying out to be Chasers tried several times to score, Ron had saved all but two goals.
"Excellent, Ron!" Harry commented as his friend came flying up next to him.
"Did you see Ginny?" Ron asked.
"Ginny? No. Why would Ginny be here?" Harry asked.
"She's trying out to be a Chaser! They need one since Angelina quit."
Harry looked down and eventually found Ron's younger sister flying amongst the others.
"I had no idea she was so good. She's the one who scored on me…twice!" Ron cried.
"Did you get it?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," Ron replied.
"Awesome!" Harry yelled as he embraced his best friend.
Hermione was not too far from them in the stands, and she began to clap when the words reached her. Harry and Ron smiled and turned to watch the others.
"Look out!" cried Fred from far below.
Harry turned just in time to catch a glimpse of a black blur before it collided into himself and Ron. Harry's breath was knocked out of him, as he was knocked off of his broom as well. Ron was still next to him, the two falling together. The ground quickly got closer, before it suddenly stopped. Harry flailed lightly before looking up. Fred and Alicia had caught Harry and Ron by their feet.
Seconds later, they were carefully placed on the ground. "That was close," George said as he landed next to his twin brother.
"Were you two practicing with a bludger?" Harry asked as he rubbed his chest slowly. He felt intense pain and burning when he touched a few of his lower ribs.
"Are you alright?" Alicia asked.
Harry winced lightly. "I don't know. I should probably go up to the hospital wing."
"Me too," Ron moaned as he coughed up some blood. Several people around groaned in disgust.
"What about the bludger?" Harry asked again.
Both Fred and George exchanged looks. Finally, Fred spoke. "We weren't practicing with one. I have no idea how it got out here."