Author's Note: Whew! Sorry about taking solong toupdate. A quick apology to start, I had previously written that there would be a Yule Ball (I know, how original right?), but I switched it around to be a Halloween Ball instead. I have edited the statement out, but felt it was best to inform anyone who has been keeping up with this story. This Chapter is probably not worth the wait, but it does set up someone's return in the next chapter (no not him, he is definitely dead), hopefully even if the writing is bad this cheap plot twist will keep you tuned in. Enjoy.
Jeremy

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Harry Potter or any characters or places in this story, they belong to JK Rowling. I am making no money from this story.

Chapter 18 Quidditch

"You did what?" exclaimed Hermione the following morning. A few passing first years were startled by her outburst. Ron shot them a withering glare and they hurries on their way. "Harry are you insane? It could have been a trap. You could have been hurt, or kidnapped. What were you thinking?"

They were seated in a corner of the common room before breakfast, and Harry had just informed his friends of last night's events. Sun was shining in through the windows high above the grounds of Hogwarts. A light mist lay on the dewy grasses below. But in the common room the fire glowed warm.

"Actually Hermione I think the question of my sanity was already covered by The Prophet last year," Harry replied in an sullenly. "First off, nothing did happen to me. And secondly, I did consider the fact that it was a trap, which is why I stayed out of sight, and watched and waited before I did anything. If there had been time to get help I would have, but they would have disappeared into the forest long before I could have found someone."

Hermione wouldn't be mollified so easily though. "That's not the point Harry, and you know it," she returned heatedly.

"Then what is the point. I stopped them from completing a spell that would have destroyed part of the forest and pitted the centaurs against us. And I knew that it was a risk before I went after them. It was well worth it too if you ask me, and even Dumbledore wasn't upset with me for following them," he retorted with a matching fire in his voice.

She shook her head sadly and cast her eyes dolefully upon him. "Oh Harry. I didn't mean that stopping them was wrong. I just, it's just that you…. you know that we just don't want anything to happen to you. It could just have easily been a dangerous curse that last one used, and then what would have happened. I'm sorry, I only wish we had been there to help you," she finished despondently.

Harry observed that when she mentioned a more dangerous curse that her hand reflexively moved to her chest, the place where she had been struck by Dolohov at the Ministry. He also took notice of Ron's concern at her reaction to her words. "Look, I wish you had been there too. I honestly wasn't looking for trouble, and I don't want to fight about this. Plus if you had been there I'm sure they wouldn't have escaped. But I don't see how it could have been prevented, so we just have to be glad that nothing worse did happen, and hope it never comes up again."

A small chuckle passed Ron's lips, "No offense mate, but trouble usually has a way of finding you. Short of never letting you out of our sight, I doubt that something like this won't ever happen again."

Hermione was beginning to look like she might cry. "It's not funny Ron. He could have been really hurt. And I'm sorry Harry but you've been through too much already. I'm worried about what's going to happen to you."

"She's right you know. I hate to say it, but I'm a bit nervous myself. This isn't going to stop anytime soon I think, and you won't be safe until it's over Harry."

Harry nodded his head. "I know. Don't you wish now that I hadn't told you?"

"That wouldn't change the fact that you're still in danger," Hermione put in, "And I am glad that you told us. You were right to be angry last year when nobody told you what was going on. A lot would have been different if they had just been upfront with you Harry. But besides that, Ron is right, we can't always be next to you just in case something happens. There must be something we can do."

The three friends sat in quiet thought for a moment. Suddenly Harry jumped up. "Hold on, I have an idea," and with that he raced up the dormitory stairs. A minute later he returned holding a small velvet bag. "Here!" he said and emptied the contents onto the table they were seated at. Shards of glass spilled out along with an empty frame.

"Umm, I don't get it Harry. What is it?" asked Ron.

"It was something Sirius gave me last year. If I had thought before rushing off to the Ministry, it might have saved us the trip, and a lot more than that." His friends caught the look of remorse on his face. He leaned in conspiratorially as he continued. "It was one of a pair of mirrors that he and my father used while they were in school. They were charmed so they could speak to each other, no matter where they were. He said that they used them a lot when they were in detention," he whispered with a weak grin. "Anyway, if we can find the charm, I think that it might solve the problem."

"Harry that's a great idea!" Hermione exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure I've seen this charm before. I'd have to double check, but I think it should be easy enough. What happened to this one though, how did it get broken?" Harry cast a sidelong look at the fire, but did not answer her question. Seeing his discomfort she continued, "Well, I can look it up this afternoon if you like, but we'll need some more mirrors to use."

"Reparo," said Harry, as he pointed his wand at the glass on the table. Immediately the mirror was fixed and set anew in it's frame. "Well, there's one. I can order some more from Dervish & Banges after class this morning. Anyway, we had better get going, or we won't have time for breakfast before class." Harry stood up, looking forsaken.

Ron and Hermione knew that his loss still lay heavy on his heart at times. Usually if the conversation turned to anything that reminded him of his godfather he would get a sad, lost air about him. Mostly though he was used to the pain, and would return to normal after a few minutes. They hoisted up their packs and left for the Great Hall, giving him the time to recover.

At breakfast the conversation turned to talk of the Halloween Ball, and Quidditch, and classes. They had found some seats with Ginny, Neville, and the Creevey brothers. Slowly the sorrow left Harry's face, but his eyes seemed to be searching for something.

Finally they settled, and Neville noticed where he was staring. "Everything alright Harry?"

"Err, yeah Neville, I was just thinking," he replied, but said no more. Hermione took the chance to fill in the others in Harry's silence, but was constantly watching for a response in Harry's face.

"Wow Harry," said Colin, "Four wizards at once, that's amazing!" he finished with a gleam of the old admiration in his eyes.

"Are you alright though Harry?" asked Ginny.

"What? Oh yeah Gin, I'm fine. Thanks for the support by the way Colin. I was just wondering what Dumbledore is doing about them. I didn't expect to see them here, I thought that they would at least have been suspended from the school." Harry continued to gaze at the Slytherins.

"Yeah, well leave it to those snakes to worm their way out of it. At least Malfoy can't threaten anyone with his father anymore," chortled Ron. "Still, we'd better be really careful around them. If they know it was you that stopped them last night Harry, then they aren't going to let it slide if they can help it.

Just as Ron was speaking Malfoy looked up from his friends and sneered malevolently at Harry. "Yeah, maybe you're right Ron. But I doubt Malfoy's got the guts to do anything if he thinks Dumbledore is suspicious. I'm going to speak with Dumbledore to find out what is happening though." With that Harry got up from the table to find Dumbledore.

"Ron is going with you Harry," said Hermione flatly. Ron looked a little disgruntled at her presumption, but was quickly quelled when she continued. "Remember what we talked about before. I'll go with Neville, and meet you in class."

It was Tuesday morning and Harry, with Ron, entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom just in time. They had not managed to find Dumbledore, not even in his study, a fact which had Harry thoroughly annoyed. They took their seats next to Hermione as Charlie gave them a faint smile. The classes he had been teaching focused on dueling techniques and defensive spells, but also on ways to protect yourself from dark wizards, by means of detection and escape. They had covered the use of disapparition, port keys, and other means of travel, and were now moving on to dark arts detectors such as sneakoscopes, and a Foe Glass; and protection wards that could prevent people from finding you, or let you know if someone was entering your property.

Most of the students in Harry's class had been members of the DA, and were doing exceptionally well in the dueling portion of the class, a fact which hadn't been overlooked by Professor Weasley at all. He had spent an entire week of classes discussing what they had done in their secret meetings. Harry received a lot of praise from his classmates, and was generally recognized as the reason that they had done so well on their O.W.L. exams.

This week however Harry, like many other students, was preoccupied with the upcoming Quidditch season. Tryouts had been scheduled for all houses to fill the open slots on their respective teams. Gryffindor was slotted for the pitch on Friday, leaving Harry and Ron with three days to prepare, and avoid the attention of all the prospective players. That task was proving exceedingly difficult, as Gryffindors from all years kept popping up trying to convince the Co-Captains to pick them. Some had even gone as far as following them around between classes, and a few bordered on ridiculous; including a third year girl who despite his evasion, had stormed after Harry into his dorm room, only to be chased out by a very red-faced Ron.

With only two positions to fill, Friday couldn't come fast enough. Most of the planning was left to Ron, as Harry was already splitting most of his time between studying, extra lessons, and the DA. All of this was compounded by the steady burning in his scar. The pressure in his head was becoming a constant, and painful with anticipation. He had mentioned it during his previous Occlumency lesson, but Professor Dumbledore said that they would soon begin working on more than just theory, and that would hopefully put an end to the influx of emotions and visions. Until then he would just need to try to relax and clear his mind before bed.

So it was that on a blustery Friday afternoon, that a bleary eyed Harry walked beside Ron toward the pitch before dinner. His head may have been throbbing, but he was keen on getting in the air today and seeing who the new members would be. They retrieved the crate of balls from the shed and set off on their brooms to loosen up. As a crowd of Gryffindors started to build up on the pitch below the Co-Captains returned to the ground to meet with the team first. Katie Bell was there, huddled with Sloper and Kirke, the team's Beaters. After exchanging greetings, Ron gave them the game plan and sent them off to warm up while he and Harry spoke with the potential recruits.

Ginny Weasley's red hair was easily distinguished in the crowd of about twenty. Both Harry and Ron had told her that she didn't need to try out because she had been on the team the previous year, but she said she would rather earn the position over anyone else trying out. It was a large turnout for only two positions, but hopefully that would translate into a few good choices.

Ron took charge again as the two captains addressed the group of potential chasers. "Listen up now! If you're not here to try out for chaser, you can leave now, as we only have those two spots to fill," he paused but no one moved. "Right then, you're going to warm up first with three laps around the pitch. After that we're going to put you through a few drills, and then pair you off to scrimmage with our current chaser Katie. The results will be posted in the common room on Sunday. Now if there are no questions let's get to it." With that the group mounted their brooms and set off around the field.

After running a few of the drills Harry sat on his broom a little above the action in order to evaluate the pairs of chasers playing with Katie. His view gave him an overall view of their flying performance and teamwork, while Ron at the hoops got a feel for their shooting prowess.

Ginny did as well as they expected, and was the most refined candidate there. She had the practice and confidence from the previous season to give her an edge. Slightly faster, if somewhat less controlled, was Natalie MacDonald, the third year girl who had chased Harry into his Dorm. Once she had the quaffle she did fine, but had trouble catching a pass and handling her broom at the same time. Overall she was good Harry thought. Unfortunately, Dennis Creevey had a little less speed, and a lot less control, and that was before the passing. Much like his first trip across the lake, it was only a matter of time before he fell. Fortunately Harry was flying a bit closer just in case, and managed to steady him before he took a complete dive.

There were a few others who gave worthy performances, including Seamus, who flew pretty well and only missed a few shots. After the hopefuls were dismissed Harry and Ron sent the team on to dinner before they started to discuss who they wanted to play. There was little room for argument though and soon they were showered and heading to the Great Hall. They wanted to discuss their choices with the rest of the team before announcing the results, so anyone who asked if they made the team was turned away. The meal was far from peaceful though, with the whole of Gryffindor House wanting to know who their new players were.

Harry made a quick escape when one of the Hufflepuffs dropped their plate and everyone was looking in the direction of the commotion. While the practice had been great for clearing his mind, the pleading all through his meal had brought back the ache in his head doubly strong, and he had had enough. He knew that if he were to return to the common room it would be more of the same, so instead he headed off to the library, where he could find quiet solitude. He figured that while he was there he may be able to get in some extra research. One of the benefits he had been granted this year with his studies of Occlumency and Advanced Defense was access to the Restricted Section of the library. He had only used it so far for assigned studies, but he was eager to do some research of his own. It sort of fit in with his new agenda of studying more. Harry didn't really know what it is he wanted to find, but he had a feeling that just looking through the books he would find many useful things, and maybe more.

Three hours. Three hours, he had spent sitting at this table, flipping through book after book, scroll after scroll. Most were informative, if a little boring. Still, he had thought that he might have come across something more useful than The Uses of Snake Venom and Other Toxins In Poisons. He was certain he wouldn't be able to poison Voldemort, and even if he could, it was unlikely that Voldemort wouldn't know the cure. He was tracing the scar on his throbbing head with his finger when it occurred to him what he was trying to find. He wanted to know how to kill Voldemort. "Good Luck," he laughed morosely to himself, closing the book and his eyes as well. Really, he wasn't even sure Voldemort could be killed. Perhaps Dumbledore had a plan, but he certainly hadn't shared it with Harry yet. Inwardly he rolled his eyes, knowing were this line of thought would lead him. He kept telling himself that he did trust the Headmaster, but occasionally a thought would slip in, and he knew that it was from the loss of faith in an old friend. It just caused him rub his scar even harder. He was distracted by the feeling of being watched again.

"Does it help?" came the familiar voice.

Opening his eyes he looked up. "Sometimes. So….ahh, what are you doing here so late?"

"Looking for you actually," replied Ginny.

"Aghh, not you too? I really can't do this with you, not now." Harry groaned, pulling a hand over his eyes.

Ginny laughed, "What are you talking about? You've been gone since dinner, Hermione has us searching the castle for you. What did you think I meant?"

"Oh, sorry," Harry said, clearly relieved, "I thought you wanted to know about Quidditch. My head is killing me, and all those people just kept asking. I needed some quiet. Probably should have told one of you though."

"Yeah well, it's not that I wouldn't want to know, but I can wait. And Hermione is pretty upset because we couldn't find you, and we don't have those mirrors yet, but she'll be fine. You look like you've got just a bit more going on than Quidditch. Is everything alright?" Ginny asked as she shuffled through some of the titles that Harry had scattered on the desk. "Pretty heavy reading here Harry."

He had propped his chin on his hand now and watched as she spoke and rifled through his studies. "I just have a lot on my mind I guess. With all the extra lessons and DA, and then we haven't heard any news about Voldemort. I know he's up to something, and it will probably blind side us as usual. And then the Occlumency isn't working, it's just….aghh, it doesn't matter. We should probably be getting back. Sorry about that," he said as he started returning the books.

"Sorry for what? I know you must be frustrated, but there's nothing you can do now. At least nothing you'll find in Dissecting The Mind: A Guide To Obliviation." she laughed. "You have to relax. I know what you need. Come on."

Twenty minutes later they were sitting in the common room with Ron, Neville, and Hermione after a successful chocolate raid on the kitchens. Dean, Seamus, and even Katie joined them near the fire as they shared the spoils. Harry listened to the light conversation and laughing as Ginny rubbed slow circles on his back. They were so close to him right now, and still so distant. Staring into the fire he felt a small twinge in his scar, but ignored it. His head may hurt, but he could hold out for now, and try to hold onto his friends.