Chapter Twelve

Quidditch, Keepers, and Kisses

Since Tabitha was in the hospital wing, Harry didn't have Occlumency lessons that night. He and Ron worked on a plan for Quidditch tryouts, which they were both secretly worried about. Harry wanted the best team they could possibly have, but he wanted Ron to stay on it. If someone tried out for Keeper who could actually keep the other team from scoring ...he tried not to think about it.

He brought up Tabitha's switching houses, but Ron shrugged it off. "Sure, it's strange, Harry, but it happens sometimes. I mean, you were nearly put into Slytherin, and Hermione was nearly in Ravenclaw. Maybe the Sorting Hat made a mistake with Tabitha."

Harry sighed. He'd have to bring this up with Hermione; maybe she, like Harry, would think Tabitha's switching houses was strange.

He wanted to go to bed early, but they had Astronomy lessons at midnight. Afterwards, Harry dragged himself to bed, leaving Hermione and Ron alone in the common room. He didn't bother trying to clear his mind, but he woke up the next morning without having had any dreams or visions.

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked down to Care of Magical Creatures together. On the way, they talked about Tabitha.

"That is weird, Harry."

"It happens, though," Ron said. "I think my dad said someone in his year switched houses."

"But it's very rare, isn't it?" Hermione said. "What would make someone switch houses?"

"Do you think she decided herself? Or do you think Snape threw her out? Can that happen?" Harry wondered. "She and Snape seem to hate each other as much as he and I do. Imagine if I'd ended up in Slytherin?"

"Harry, if you were in Slytherin, Snape wouldn't waste that power over you; he'd expel you in a second," Ron laughed.

"Maybe that's it," Hermione said. "Maybe Snape wanted to expel Tabitha for something, but Dumbledore decided to give her a second chance in another house."

"Fred and George did say she was a troublemaker," Ron said.

Harry nodded. "Hagrid told me she didn't have many friends. In fact, he said your brothers were her only friends, really, especially Ch—"

"Oh, look what Hagrid's got!" Hermione interrupted, pointing to a Quaffle-sized, working model of a snorting red dragon sitting in Hagrid's huge palm. They dropped their discussion of Tabitha and gathered around Hagrid with the rest of the class. Hagrid led a rather good lesson on Chinese Fireballs, complete with Harry was impressed with Hagrid's thoroughness, though it was obvious that he'd had a lot of help from Charlie Weasley.

It was unusual to get homework in Care of Magical Creatures, but all they were assigned was a seven-inch essay summing up everything they'd learned that day. "Yeh'll turn those in ter Professor Weasley on Monday," Hagrid told everyone at the end of the lesson.

"Professor Weasley," Ron snorted. Charlie shot him a threatening look.

As everyone else trudged up to the castle for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hung back to ask Hagrid and Charlie about the dragons. Harry was itching to ask more about Tabitha, but he decided to wait.

"What's this?" Charlie asked. "Don't you three have class with Remus Lupin right now?"

"When is the dragon coming?" Hermione asked bluntly.

Both Charlie and Hagrid looked taken aback. "What makes you think we're bringing a dragon to class?" Charlie asked.

"Why else would Hagrid need an assistant?" Hermione said. Hagrid blushed under his bushy beard. "Besides, Harry overheard you talking about a dra—" Harry discreetly stepped on her foot. "I mean, we overheard some things at Grimmauld Place, and we're studying dragons so thoroughly ..."

Charlie looked at Hagrid before saying carefully, "I—we—can't say much right now. But you'll find out soon enough. When we're sure about what we're doing." He lowered his voice. "This is very dangerous business, do you understand? More people than you realize are risking their necks, so don't go meddling into this. Like I said, you'll find out everything soon enough."

"He could have told us more," Ron fumed as they walked up to the castle. "We're nearly of age, and look at everything we've done—well, everything Harry's done that we've helped with."

"He said we'll know soon enough," Hermione said.

Harry and Ron looked at her with surprise.

"How can you be so patient?" Harry said.

"You didn't let me finish," Hermione continued. "Charlie said we'll know soon enough, but that doesn't mean we can't investigate further."

Just as long as we don't get anyone else killed, Harry thought.

Lupin was waiting patiently outside his classroom. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were last to arrive to Defense Against the Dark Arts again. "I thought for a minute you weren't going to bother coming," he joked. He looked much better than he had over the summer. His face was a little fuller and he wasn't as pale as usual, though Harry noticed faint worry lines around his eyes. He pulled Harry aside as Ron and Hermione went to their seats, closing the door behind him so they were alone in the hallway. "Harry, I just want to tell you that what happened Tuesday night ...it wasn't your fault."

Harry nodded. "I know. It was an accident."

Lupin gave him a quick smile. "Are you doing all right?" he asked. "I know how hard it can be to lose someone you're close to. I lost your parents, remember, and I lost Sirius twice. I'll be here through the weekend if you need to talk, but any other time, you can find me at Grimmauld Place, okay? The Floo Network seems safe right now, but we can't make much of a habit of using it." Lupin squeezed Harry's shoulder sadly before opening the door to class.

He continued Tabitha's lesson on half-human creatures. It appeared that he was going to breeze over the section on werewolves, until Draco Malfoy said nastily, "Oh, Professor, I think you missed part of the chapter!"

Lupin merely looked up from his book for a brief moment. "I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, did I?"

"Yes, sir," Malfoy said, faking an innocent smile. "I'd like to learn more about werewolves."

Lupin didn't appear at all flustered. "Well, Mr. Malfoy, as werewolves are creatures that really should be studied in the second and third years, I would be holding your class back to discuss them in full right now." He smiled at Malfoy. "But if you are really so interested, you should read up on them after class, or I suggest you ask Professor Snape about them. He fancies himself an expert. Or, if you like, I can give you a private lesson one night next week. I think we're expecting the full moon next Thursday?" Everyone in class except the Slytherins chuckled. Malfoy sent Lupin a burning look.

Class ended without Lupin assigning any homework. "Don't get too used to it," he warned. "Professor McNoira plans on giving you plenty of homework when she returns."

"What kind of Defense Against the Dark Arts expert gets knocked out by a fire-crab?" Pansy Parkinson shrieked loudly as the Slytherins left, shooting a mean look towards Harry.

Lunch and afternoon classes passed by quickly—too quickly, Harry thought. Before he knew it, it was time for Quidditch tryouts.

He and Ron descended to the Quidditch pitch. A lot of people were already there—among them, Katie Bell, Ginny Weasley, Dennis Creevey (a third-year whose brother Colin idolized Harry), Vicky Frobisher and Geoffrey Hooper (both of whom had tried out for Keeper last year and performed better than Ron, but were rejected by former captain Angelina Johnson for several reasons), Andrew Kirke, Jack Sloper, their friend Ben Duncan, Natalie MacDonald (a third-year), several fourth-years that Harry didn't recognize, and a handful of second years. First-years were technically not allowed on House Quidditch teams. Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch had made an exception in Harry's case—in his first year, he had inadvertently proven himself an excellent Seeker while sticking up for Neville during a Flying lesson.

Harry and Ron waited several minutes, allowing a few more third-years to arrive. Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall arrived just after them, to Harry's surprise. "We're only here in case you need help, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said stiffly.

There were twenty students there, including Ron and Harry. They separated everyone into groups based on the positions they were trying out for. Katie Bell, Ginny Weasley, Ben Duncan, Dennis Creevey, and a few second-, third-, and fourth-year girls were trying out for Chaser. Vicky Frobisher, Geoffrey Hooper, Natalie MacDonald, Ron, and a third-year were trying out for Keeper. Andrew Kirke, Jack Sloper, a second-year boy, and two fourth-years were trying out for Beater. That left Harry and, to his surprise, a small, mousy second-year girl trying for Seeker.

Ron looked at Harry with a nervous, weak grin on his face. "Ready, mate?"

Harry sighed. "I guess so. All right," he said loudly to the eager Quidditch players. "I guess we'll split into teams and play that way. Katie, Dennis, and er, you—" Harry pointed to a timid-looking third-year girl. "Chasers for Team One. Natalie, you play Keeper. Sloper, Beater." He pointed to the second-year standing by Kirke. "You, Beater. And, er," Harry looked at the second-year girl trying out for Seeker. "You can play Seeker," he said.

"Thanks!" she squeaked, skipping towards the rest of Team One.

"All right, and Team Two ..." Harry looked over at Ron.

"For, er, Team Two ...Ginny, Ben, and Kathleen—" one of the two fourth-year girls trying out for Chaser—"you play Chaser. You"—he pointed to the third-year standing by him and the other Keepers—"play Keeper. You two fourth-years, play Beater. And Harry, you'll play Seeker."

That left one second-year girl and one fourth-year girl waiting to try out for Chaser; Vicky, Geoffrey, and Ron to try out for Keeper; and Andrew Kirke trying out for Beater.

Harry looked at them, trying to think how they could try out the remaining group. "All right," he said finally. "We'll play for a short while with these two teams, then we can substitute Chasers, and we'll have to change Keepers quite a few times ..."

"I don't want to be Keeper anymore," Geoffrey Hooper whined. "I want to try for Beater this year!"

"Why didn't you bloody say something then?" Ron snapped.

"Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall warned.

Ron's cheeks reddened a bit. "All right, then, Hooper, stand with Kirke. We'll be a team like this; I'll play Chaser for now."

Ron kept score while the first two teams began to play. They were playing to sixty points; if Harry or Stella (the mousy second-year) caught the Snitch, the match would continue to sixty points and the Snitch would be released again.

Harry caught the Snitch three times before his team reached sixty points (fifty of those points were scored by Ginny Weasley). Katie Bell would have scored many more points, but the third-year playing Keeper on Harry's team—Francis O'Brien—was amazing. Much better than Ron—but Harry tried not to think about that. Between catching the Snitch, Harry kept a close eye on all the players. Natalie MacDonald had no chance of becoming Keeper, as she dodged the Quaffle every time it came near her (Harry did not hold this against Ginny, who was an excellent flyer and could have scored as many points with a competent Keeper). Dennis Creevey and the other third-year playing Chaser on Katie's team were not aggressive enough. They flew half-heartedly when Harry's team had the Quaffle, and on the occasions that Katie threw it to them, they immediately tried to throw it back to her (it was usually intercepted by Ginny).

Jack Sloper had gotten even worse as a Beater. He nearly knocked himself out with his own club, and he very nearly hit Katie with a Bludger several times. To Harry's surprise, the tall, gangly second-year (Danny Flanagan) playing Beater with Sloper was rather good. Stella was a lousy Seeker; she hadn't caught the Snitch once, nor did she seem too interested in it, even when it flew right by her face. She merely sat on her broomstick, staring dreamily at the clouds.

"She's Luna Lovegood's sister," Ginny told Harry quietly. "I think she just came because she wanted to meet you."

On Harry's team, only Ginny seemed to be a worthwhile Chaser. Kathleen Bennet was all right, but Ben Duncan was awful. He dropped the Quaffle every time it was thrown to him. The two fourth-years playing Beater were quite decent—both much better flyers than Kirke and Sloper, and they could hit the Bludgers with decent force.

Harry and Ron rearranged the teams. Katie, Ginny, and Kathleen were made Chasers. Danny Flanagan and Jamie Doyle (one of the fourth-years from Harry's team) were made Beaters, while Francis O'Brien played Keeper. They took a short break before taking on Ron's team.

Geoffrey Hooper was an excellent flyer—Angelina had said as much last year when he tried out for Keeper. But she was right about something else; he loved to whine. Every time he missed hitting a Bludger, he whined that the sun (which had nearly set at this point) was in his eyes. Vicky Frobisher complained every five minutes that she had a club meeting to attend before dinner, and she would be very upset if Quidditch tryouts made her miss it. Angelina had rejected her last year because she wouldn't make Quidditch a top priority. The two girls playing Chaser with Ron weren't all bad—they both scored twice; unfortunately, they put the Quaffle through the wrong hoops and scored for the other team. Ron was surprisingly good as Chaser. He was a deft flyer, and was much better handling the Quaffle here than he was when he played Keeper. Stella played Seeker for their team and continued to ignore the Snitch.

Harry's team won again. Ginny and Katie made an excellent team. Harry was very glad that he'd be able to play Quidditch with Ginny—she took over for him as Seeker last year after Umbridge banned him, so Harry never actually played with her.

Harry and Ron stood away from the Quidditch hopefuls for a few minutes. Vicky Frobisher tapped her foot impatiently a few feet away. "Danny Flanagan and Jamie Doyle are quite good," Ron said.

"Well, they're no Fred and George, but they're better than anyone else here," Harry added. "I think they're best for Beater." Ron nodded in agreement.

"And you're Seeker, no doubt about that," Ron said. "Honestly, that girl ...she reminds me of ..."

"Luna Lovegood?" Harry replied with a grin. "Ginny says it's her sister, Stella."

"That explains it," Ron muttered. "Now, for Chaser, we're keeping Katie, obviously ..."

"And Ginny," Harry said firmly. "She's even better than Angelina was."

"Definitely," Ron agreed. "I had no idea she was so good. I guess I sort of knew, after I saw her flying last year, but it was still a bit of a surprise. And I guess that Kathleen girl is all right ..."

Harry hesitated. "Er, Ron ...that third year, Francis ...he was a bloody good Keeper ..."

Ron sighed. "I know. I noticed. I—I didn't want to say anything, but I know ...I know Gryffindor's got to win the Quidditch Cup ..."

"Ron," Harry said. "I say we keep Francis. But not Kathleen."

"Then who are we going to have as a third Chaser?"

"You."

Ron's eyes opened wide. "Me?"

"Ron, you were great! You flew better than ever before. You, Ginny, and Katie would make the perfect Chasers together."

Ron grinned. "I do like scoring goals," he said.

"Then that's it!" Harry and Ron approached Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall. "We've got a team," Harry said.

"Oh?" Professor McGonagall said with a slight smile.

"Katie, Ginny, Ron, Danny, Francis, Jamie—" Harry began.

"—and Harry," Ron finished.

With a look of surprise, Professor McGonagall said, "So does this mean that Mr. Weasley is now a Chaser?" Harry and Ron nodded. "Well, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. I think I may just be keeping the Quidditch Cup in my office for another year," she said with a smile.

Harry and Ron broke the news to everyone. Vicky Frobisher looked relieved; she rushed off to her club as soon as she found out that she didn't make the team. Sloper, Kirke, and Ben Duncan looked angry. Most of the girls who didn't make it looked devastated. Harry had a feeling that he and Ron would not be popular around the common room for a while.

Danny, Francis and Jamie looked thrilled. "We'll see you at practice!" they shouted to Harry and Ron as they skipped up to dinner. Katie grinned at the co-captains. "Good choices," she said. "They'll keep the team going well after we all leave." One of her friends had met her down at the pitch, and they left for dinner as well.

Harry noticed Hermione standing on the edge of the pitch, grinning. "Did you see tryouts?" Ron called to her. "I'm Chaser now!"

"Oh, excellent, excellent," she said quickly. "Listen, I looked up the twelve uses of dragon's blood today ..."

Ron groaned. "Let's wait 'til after dinner, shall we?" he said. "I'm starving." He threw his arm around Hermione's shoulder. "Come on, Harry, let's eat!"

"Just a minute," Ginny said, grabbed Harry's hand. Ron and Hermione didn't notice that Harry wasn't with them. Harry hung back with Ginny. They were alone on the darkening pitch. "I'm really glad we're teammates this year, Harry," Ginny said quietly.

"Me, too," Harry said, his heart racing. They were standing so close ... Harry brushed a stray piece of hair from Ginny's face. "Hair's a bit messy from practice," he said stupidly. He felt his cheeks flame red.

"Yours, too," Ginny giggled. As Harry absently ran his hand through his untidy black hair, Ginny leaned forward and kissed him.

Harry looked at her in surprise. Her cheeks were bright red. "Sorry," she said quickly. "It's just ... well, I had that silly crush on you my first year, and then you were just a friend, but this summer—"

Harry came to his senses before she finished her sentence. He kissed her right back.