Chapter 19

Understanding and Forgiveness

Remus had taken the discovery of the Half-Blood Prince rather well in Harry's opinion. He sat in silence for nearly five minutes before he began pacing the room and cursing himself for not realizing it sooner. Harry suspected that it had to do with Remus not recognizing Professor Snape's handwriting or something of that sort but he hadn't been the only one. Once that was over, Harry relayed what happened in Slughorn's office which left Remus in a slightly better mood.

Apparition lessons that morning had also gone better than Harry expected. He had finally pulled off Apparition while turning on the spot. Hermione had also managed to Apparate and had nearly tackled Harry in her excitement. This earned a reprimand from Professor McGonagall and waves of jealousy from Ron (who had been standing nearby) although it was difficult for Harry to determine if it was because Hermione had Apparated or because she had hugged him.

Ron's wavering friendship was becoming extremely irritating. What was so mind boggling was that if Ron was so jealous of Harry and Hermione's rumored relationship then why was he still with Lavender? It just didn't make any sense. How could Ron actually believe Lavender's gossip over his best friends? Then again, not much of Ron's behavior has made sense this year.

Not much of anything had made sense this year. Ron was acting strange, Cho was acting strange, Malfoy was opposing Snape, Sirius was off doing Merlin knew what, Dumbledore was absent for days at a time, and, for some strange reason, the entire female population at Hogwarts thought Harry was attractive. Six months ago Harry would have thought the majority of the changes would have been impossible. Six months ago Harry never would have believed that Ron would abandon his best friends for a girlfriend he clearly wasn't too fond of.

Of course Harry had been ready to hex Ron into oblivion six month ago but that wasn't the point. The point was that Harry wasn't sure he knew who Ron was anymore. The Ron he knew valued friendship and family over rumors and publicity. They had dealt with this matter years ago. Ron knew better than to be jealous of all the attention Harry was receiving…right?

Unfortunately, Harry wasn't so sure anymore.

The D.A. meeting that night was uncomfortable to say the least. Ron was avoiding Harry and Hermione at all costs and was even being openly affectionate with Lavender during the meeting. This had annoyed quite a few members who had no problem voicing their dislike of the inappropriate behavior. After the fifth person told Ron and Lavender to knock it off or get a room, Ron and Lavender left the meeting. That was the final nail in the coffin for Harry. The Ron who had been his best friend for over five years was gone. His best friend had turned into someone he wasn't sure he wanted to know anymore.

The rest of the meeting passed without any other interruptions. However, anything was fair game after the meeting. While everyone was leaving, Harry found himself cornered by the entire Council with suggestions to suspend Ron and Lavender from future meetings. Ginny, of course, had been the one to propose the idea but what surprised Harry was that Cho had been the one to second the motion. "If Ron and Lavender think what we're learning is a waste of time then they can learn how to survive this war on their own time," said Cho. "When they decide to grow up then perhaps we'll let them return on a trial basis."

Harry let out a sigh as he sat down on the chair that appeared out of thin air. He was trapped. Whatever answer he gave was bound to anger someone. "Do you all agree to this?" he asked as he looked up at them. The Council members glanced at each other before nodding. "What about giving them a warning first?" Harry offered. "If it happens again, they're out of the D.A and won't be allowed to return."

"I'll agree to that," Hannah said with a shrug. "We never actually said that disrupting the meetings would result in expulsion from the group because we never thought it would be an issue."

"But Ron should know better," Ginny countered. "These meetings are to help us all. Everyone knows that personal matters are to be left at the door."

Harry didn't miss the look Ginny gave Cho or how uncomfortable Cho suddenly looked. "That includes your problems with your brother, Ginny," he said casually. "We all have problems and sometimes it's rather difficult to forget about. I'm not excusing Ron's behavior. I just think doing something so drastic without any sort of warning is going to cause problems. I'll talk to Ron and Lavender. If they can't keep their hands off each other then they shouldn't bother coming back."

The majority of the Council agreed. Ginny seemed to be the only one protesting but Harry figured it had more to do that she was upset with Ron than anything. With nothing else to cover, the Council departed the Room of Requirement. Harry made a point to keep some distance between himself and Ginny until she had the opportunity to calm down. After all, everyone knew the Weasley temper was a force to be reckoned with.

As everyone went their own way towards their houses, Harry felt a hand rest on his left arm and turned to see Cho trying to give him a reassuring smile. To say the gesture was a surprise would be an understatement. Harry tried to return the smile but had a feeling he wasn't successful by the downcast look appearing on Cho's face. It gave Harry hope. Perhaps their friendship was salvageable after all.

Entering the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry's hopefulness died at the sight of Ron and Lavender snogging near the fireplace. Once again it looked like they were trying to eat each other. Don't they ever give it a rest? Inhaling deeply, Harry gathered whatever courage he had and walked over to them. Waves of irritation, desperation and jealousy washed over Harry, intensifying with every step. That surprised Harry. Ron and Lavender were feeling everything they shouldn't be while kissing someone.

Harry cleared his throat loudly, causing Ron and Lavender to stop their snog-fest and turn to him with bored looks on their faces. "I just want you two to know that several people have complained about your behavior tonight so this is your only warning," said Harry sternly. "The D.A. is for those who want to practice their skills in hope to survive the war. If you two feel that is a waste of time then don't come back. If you cause another distraction like you did tonight then you will be asked to leave and banned from future meetings."

Both Ron and Lavender stared at Harry completely flabbergasted, their mouths opening and closing without words escaping. Harry had never spoken to any Gryffindor like he was now. There was no anger in his voice, just disappointment mixed with a strictness that normally appeared when a teacher was conversing with a student.

Harry didn't wait for them to come up with a reply before turning and walking to the staircase. There was no need to. Ron and Lavender needed to realize that their actions had consequences. They needed to choose what was more important. Harry couldn't afford to play favorites anymore. He had protected Ron from losing his position on the Quidditch team and nearly lost the rest of the team in the process. He wasn't going to let the D.A. break apart because two people couldn't think of anyone but themselves.

Entering his dorm room, Harry tried to shake his train of thought out of his head and concentrate on something…anything else. He really didn't like where this was taking him. He didn't like that the majority of the complications this year had to do with Ron. Why couldn't Ron see that others were hurting?

SLAM!

Harry quickly turned around to see an irate Ron glowering at him, having just slammed the door. Maybe Ron had taken the warning worse than Harry thought.

"I can't believe you would do that to me—to us," Ron hissed angrily as he approached until they were standing nose to nose (well, as close to nose to nose as they could be). "We're your friends! Did Ginny put you up to this?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "She did, didn't she?"

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He just received all the proof he needed that Ron thought of no one but himself. "Actually, the Council wanted you two out of the D.A.," Harry said firmly. "They are working hard to learn what they can to make sure everyone benefits from the D.A. Remember the D.A., Ron? The group that you and Hermione coerced me into being a part of last year?" Stepping back, Harry took a good look at Ron before shaking his head. "I don't even know who you are anymore," he said in amazement. "The Ron I knew stood by his friends and his family. He never would have abandoned us for a gossiper like Lavender."

Ron inhaled sharply. "At least she doesn't lie to me," he shot back. "When were you and Hermione going to tell me you were snogging behind my back?"

Harry let out an incredulous laugh as he flicked his wrist and grabbed hold of his wand. Without saying a word, he waved his wand and silently cast a few privacy charms so no one could overhear their conversation. "We're doing nothing of the sort!" he said as he re-holstered his wand. "Hermione and I are just friends. She's been there to help me because my best friend decided to believe rumors instead of asking for the truth."

Ron stared at Harry suspiciously and enfolded his arms across his chest. "You're just friends?" he asked.

Harry raised his arms in frustration before walking over to the window and staring out into the darkness. "If you don't believe me then there is nothing else to say," he said irritably. "I'm sick and tired of waiting for you to wake up and realize that you are destroying something that has taken five years to build! I used to trust you with my life! Now, I can't say the same." Their eyes met for a split second before Ron looked away. "You weren't there when Hermione, Remus and I worked on a way to obtain the memory from Slughorn. You weren't there when I succeeded. You weren't there when Cho threw herself on me then couldn't understand why I refused to attempt anything other than friendship with her."

"Harry, I—"

"—I don't want to hear it!" Harry interrupted as he quickly turned around and faced Ron. "Nothing you say can excuse the way you've treated Hermione and me! Weeks ago you couldn't get rid of Lavender fast enough but the moment a few rumors begin you're back snogging her and ignoring us again! Make up your mind! If you want to be with her then be with her but don't expect us to wait around for you. Hermione has her own life to live and I have a war to survive."

Ron's eyes widened in shock as he moved to the nearest bed and sat down. "So you're expecting me to choose," he concluded.

Harry let out a snort. How could Ron be so thick? "I would never dream of making you do that," he said sarcastically. "I'm simply telling you that we won't wait around for you. Hermione needs someone who'll treat her better and I need someone who'll stand by my side when I'll need them. Obviously, you're not that person—"

Ron was instantly on his feet, staring at Harry in horror. "I can't believe you're going to push aside our friendship like it was nothing—"

"—you already did, Ron," Harry said calmly. "You tossed us aside the moment you and Lavender got together and then again when the rumors started."

"BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID, ALL RIGHT!" Ron bellowed.

Harry stared at Ron in confusion. That was probably the last thing he had been expecting to hear. "Afraid of what?" asked Harry.

Ron ran his had over his face as he sat back down. "I was afraid you two didn't need me anymore," he said quietly, his gaze falling to the floor. "I was afraid of being left behind—"

"—like you did to us?" Harry interrupted dryly as he walked over to his own bed and sat down. His frustration with the entire situation was starting to make his head ache. "All of this could have been avoided if you talked to us. Instead, you trusted Lavender (who has never hidden her dislike of Hermione) over your two best friends. That's something I can't forget. Why do you think Lavender started those rumors in the first place? She was jealous you were spending more time with us! She was afraid she would lose you to Hermione!"

Ron stared at Harry completely dumbfounded. "But…Hermione and I are…just friends," he protested weakly.

Harry let out an annoyed sigh as he rubbed his forehead. If we were going any slower we would be going backwards. "People see what they want to see, Ron," he said tiredly. "People think I'm the Chosen One who's going to save them all from Voldemort. They see the-boy-who-lived, their savior. They don't see me." Harry cast one more glance at Ron before he lied down on his bed and closed his eyes. "Before this year, I thought you were one of the few that knew better than to believe what people said about me. I guess I was wrong."

"Harry—"

Harry turned on his side so his back was facing Ron. There was nothing else to say. Ron could either change his ways or realize that their friendship was on the verge of being destroyed. Even though it sounded horrible, Harry couldn't bring himself to feel bad at the possibility of losing his best friend. He just wanted the entire mess to be over with.

The following morning would be one etched into permanent memory for the majority of the Gryffindor House. It had been the morning that Ron had ended his relationship with Lavender and was jinxed beyond recognition because of it. Of course, that was after everyone's ears were ringing as a result of the angry screams from Lavender. Furniture had been destroyed and several people were taken to the Hospital Wing from being caught in the cross fire but in the end, everyone believed that Lavender Brown was completely out of her mind.

After everything had been repaired and healed, Ron managed to corner Harry and Hermione in the library. Harry remained silent as Ron tried to apologize for his behavior, insisting that he never wanted to hurt his best friends. The apology had gone on for nearly thirty minutes before Hermione told him to stop. Ron had clearly taken everything Harry said the night before to heart and felt it was necessary to reiterate what a git he had been in every way possible. Desperation and remorse poured off him in strong waves but Harry and Hermione weren't about to forgive and forget…yet.

Ron certainly had his work cut out for him.

The rest of February flew by with very little to complain about. Cho had approached Harry and apologized for her behavior, asking if it were to be possible for them to remain friends. Harry had agreed to try to mend their friendship even though he knew there would always be some tension between them, no matter how small. He still shuddered at the memory of the kiss he shared with her and what it did to him.

Apparition lessons were becoming more bearable with more people successfully Apparating and more than that managing to splinch themselves. Ron still hadn't managed to Apparate yet which frustrated him but he kept it to himself for the most part. He did have a tendency of calling Wilkie Twycross quite a few names in response to the annoying three Ds along with the majority of the sixth years. It was amazing how many insults people could come up with that began with the letter 'D'.

The arrival of March brought Ron's seventeenth birthday. There was still tension between Harry and Ron but they had settled into a temporary acceptance. Harry accepted that Ron was sincerely trying to repair their friendship and Ron accepted that their friendship may never be what it had been in the past. Quidditch practice wasn't a dreaded two hours anymore even though there was still some tension between Ron and Ginny. Apparently, Ron's new attitude was only directed towards Harry and Hermione.

Harry was up early and out of the dorm on the morning of the first like he was every Saturday morning. He had timed it perfectly so he could receive the weekly update on Sirius from Remus and hurry back to the Tower before Ron woke to wish him a happy birthday. The news was the same as last time. Sirius was fine and the mission was progressing. After so many weeks of the same information, Harry couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed. He missed Sirius and had hoped to hear that his godfather was on his way home.

It was still extremely quiet when Harry returned to the Gryffindor Tower. Students were slowly filtering down from their dorms, still half-asleep. He passed Dean and Seamus on his way up to his dorm room followed by Neville who looked like he had an extremely long night. Entering the dorm room, Harry moved directly towards Ron's bed and pulled the hangings open. Ron had his face buried in his pillow and his legs pulled up to allow the small pile of presents that were at the foot of his bed.

"Come on, Ron," Harry said cheerfully as he moved over to his trunk, pulled out a present and tossed it onto Ron's bed. "Time to get up! It's your birthday!"

Ron let out a groan and buried his face deeper into his pillow. "Too early," he said tiredly.

Harry shrugged his shoulders as he turned to leave. "I'll be downstairs then until Hermione comes down," he said nonchalantly. "We'll meet you in the Great Hall."

Ron let out another groan as pulled himself out of his pillow and slowly sat up. "All right, all right," he said as he rubbed the remaining tiredness out of his eyes. "I'm up. See?" He covered his mouth to block a wide yawn before digging into his presents. Harry's present was first which was a new pair of Quidditch Keeper's gloves that Ron desperately needed. Hermione's present was next – a broom repair kit, followed by a heavy gold watch with odd symbols around the edge and tiny moving stars instead of hands from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He received a wand holster from Bill and Fleur, a pair of dragon skin boots from Charlie and a book on possible jobs in the Ministry from Percy (which was immediately tossed aside).

The final present was a wrapped rectangular box which Harry figured was from the twins. As Ron read the small card, Harry moved back to his school trunk and pulled out his Transfiguration homework they had planned to tackle before Apparition lessons. With Hogsmeade visits canceled until further notice, there was really nothing to do other than homework and Quidditch. Hermione had protested to Quidditch so they were stuck with schoolwork.

"Want one?" Ron asked in a muffled voice.

Harry looked up to see Ron offering a Chocolate Cauldron while he happily ate his own. "Er—no thanks," he said quickly. He hadn't touched a Chocolate Cauldron since Romilda Vane had tried to give him a box that was spiked with love potion. "Fred and George gave you chocolate? That's not like them…well, unless they contain some sort of prank."

Ron shook his head and he swallowed the large amount of chocolate in his mouth before eating another one. "It's not from them," he said as he slipped out of bed and started changing clothes. "It's from a Gryffindor girl just wanting to wish me a Happy Birthday. She even said I should share them with my friends."

Harry stared at Ron with a raised eyebrow. "You're eating chocolate 'some girl' gave you?" he asked slowly. "Was there a name on the card?"

Ron nodded as he tossed a third Chocolate Cauldron in his mouth. "She's the girl that fancies you," he said offhandedly. "The one with the long black hair…"

Harry didn't like the sound of this one bit. "Romilda Vane?" he asked nervously. "You're eating Chocolate Cauldrons from Romilda Vane?" Ron didn't answer. Harry quickly reached out and was alarmed to sense absolutely nothing except for a single wave of something he couldn't describe. It was like a mixture of happiness, pleasure and contentment mixed up into one powerful wave. It wasn't natural. "Ron?" Harry asked again. "Ron, say something."

Ron slowly turned to face Harry with an unfocused look on his face but still said nothing. It was almost like Ron wasn't completely there, like something had taken a hold of him. Almost like the Imperious Curse. Taking a cautious step forward, Harry reached for the box of Chocolate Cauldrons only to have Ron quickly snatch them away and hold them protectively to his chest. "You can't have them!" Ron exclaimed frantically. "Romilda gave them to me!"

Harry groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Great. Just great. "I'm not going to eat them, Ron," he said tensely. "I just want to look at them, all right?" Ron stared at Harry suspiciously for a long moment before he slowly handed the box over. With a flick of his wrist, Harry had his wand in hand and waved it over the box while nonverbally casting Scarpin's Revelaspell. He wasn't surprised to see that they were indeed spiked with love potion just like the ones Romilda Vane had tried to give him months ago. Or perhaps the same ones.

"Give them back!" Ron snarled as he snatched the box from Harry. "You've had them long enough!"

Harry raised his hands in surrender, his mind frantically thinking of some way to fix this before Ron made a fool out of himself. "Ron, I think we should go see Madam Pomfrey," he said cautiously. "Just to make sure everything's all right. You want to be completely healthy when you see Romilda, don't you?"

Unfortunately only one word registered in Ron's mind. "Romilda," Ron said dreamily then looked positively depressed as he sat down on his bed, clutching the box of chocolates to his chest. "I don't know what to do. I…I think…I love her but she doesn't know I even exist."

Harry bit back the urge to point out the obvious. He had a feeling that Romilda Vane was simply using Ron to get to him. Harry had never suspected that Romilda was that desperate but evidently he was wrong. Focus on the matter at hand. Help Ron now, hex Romilda later. "Ron, how can you possibly love her?" he asked. "What do you know about her?"

Ron jumped to his feet. "How dare you question my love for her!" he shouted angrily. "You were the same way with Lavender!"

Okay, so much for trying to bring some logic to the situation. "I'm not questioning your—er—love, Ron," Harry insisted, his mind working quickly to think of a new tactic. Just your sanity. When nothing came to mind, Harry knew he would have to play along with the insane notion that Ron actually loved someone he didn't even know. "I was just curious. I don't know Romilda and you're my best friend so naturally I would want to know more about the new girl in your life."

Ron stared at Harry suspiciously for a long moment. "I don't believe you," he said at last. "You want her for yourself, don't you? Well you can't have her!"

Harry forced himself not to cringe at the comment. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with Romilda Vane but he wasn't about to let Ron know that in fear of Ron's retaliation in defense of Romilda's honor…fear at what he may have to do to defend himself. "I don't want Romilda, Ron," Harry said as patiently as he possibly could. "She's all yours. Now, let's go to Madam Pomfrey and then we can find you're girlfriend, all right?"

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door before it opened and Hermione poked her head in. "Happy Birthday, Ron!" she said cheerfully as she pushed the door open and stepped into the room. "Come on you two, what's taking so long? I thought you would have been downstairs ages ago."

Ron let out a snort. "Harry thinks he's too good for the love of my life," he said angrily.

"I never said that!" Harry shot back. "I said I wasn't interested in her. You were upset when you thought I would take her from you and now you're upset that I don't want to take her from you. Would you make up your bloody mind?"

Ron stalked up to Harry and glared down at him. "You're just jealous that she wants me and not 'The Chosen One'," he snarled.

"RON!" Hermione scolded. "I can't believe you said that! And who are you talking about?"

"Romilda Vane," Harry answered through his teeth while trying to bury the urge to punch Ron in the face. "Apparently, Ron has come to the realization that he's in love with her after eating some of the Chocolate Cauldrons she had given him for his birthday."

"Oh," Hermione said thoughtfully before her eyes widened. "OH! Harry, move out of the way." Harry complied as he looked over his shoulder to see her pulling her wand out. "Ron, I'm really, really sorry about this but it's for your own good." She pointed her wand at Ron and with a flash of red light, Ron collapsed to the ground, unconscious. "I swear I'm going to hex Romilda for this."

"Get in line," Harry said as he knelt down and checked Ron's pulse to find it calm and steady. "We should really take him to Madam Pomfrey to get the antidote. I swear I'm going to have a long talk with Fred and George about this. These love potions are exactly like the Imperious Curse!"

Hermione knelt down beside Harry and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, please calm down," she said. "We'll deal with Romilda and the twins later, all right?"

Harry nodded before closing his eyes and mentally calling out for Fawkes. They needed to get Ron to the hospital wing quickly and discreetly. When there was no answer, Harry reached out to the faint presence of Hogwarts and was instantly surrounded by soothing waves of magic, calming him better than any words ever could. His body instantly relaxed as his mind cleared of worries. Feeling his connection with the castle intensify, Harry tried to mentally relay what he needed.

A gasp from Hermione pulled Harry out of his thoughts as he opened his eyes to see a door appearing where solid wall had been. Thank you, my friend. Waves of acceptance brushed against him before the powerful presence pulled back. The lack of Hogwarts' calming support made Harry feel rather empty, like he was missing a piece of himself. Pushing the feeling out of his mind, Harry quickly turned to Hermione, who was still staring at the newly created door in alarm. "Hermione, find Professor McGonagall and meet us in the Hospital Wing," he said as he picked up the box of Chocolate Cauldrons and rose to his feet.

As Hermione rose to her feet, Harry waved his wand over Ron's body. Mobilicorpus. Ron's body slowly rose in the air, allowing Harry to direct it towards the door with his wand. As they drew near, the door opened on its own accord, allowing Harry to see the familiar white walls of the hospital wing. Harry spared one last glance at Hermione before he led Ron through the doorway, the door closing behind him and vanishing to leave only solid wall.

Now that he was in the hospital wing, Harry's Healer training took over. He quickly levitated Ron's body to the nearest bed and called out for Madam Pomfrey while he began running through the steps of preparing a patient for examination. He was suddenly glad that he had been having lessons with Madam Pomfrey since September. He didn't think he would be able to handle jut standing around and waiting anymore. Doing something took his mind off of worrying.

"Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed as she hurried towards him. "What happened?"

Harry turned to Madam Pomfrey, forcing himself to remain calm. "Ron's swallowed a love potion," he said. "He was completely irrational so Hermione stunned him. We didn't know what else to do." Harry handed over the box of Chocolate Cauldrons and waited as Madam Pomfrey opened the box and pulled one out. A deafening silence fell between them as Madam Pomfrey stared at the piece of chocolate.

Finally, Madam Pomfrey looked at Harry and nodded. "Very well," she said in a professional tone. "Let's get to work, Mr. Potter."

For the next ten minutes, Harry followed instruction after instruction as they extracted the potion from the chocolate and identified what particular love potion it was. They were able to confirm that the potion was indeed out of date by at least two months. Remus, Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore arrived with Hermione shortly after Harry and Madam Pomfrey started creating the proper antidote. Thankfully, they waited until the antidote was finished and Harry had administered it to Ron before asking their questions. Hermione had already an overview so Harry just had to give a few details while Madam Pomfrey revived Ron.

Ron awoke with a groan. Everyone waited as Ron's eyes slowly focused and he took everything in. As expected, Ron took one look around before pulling his pillow out from underneath his head and covered his face with it. Of course Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have any of that and quickly pried the pillow away to reveal Ron's red face.

"Back to normal, I take it," Harry said with a grin as he sat down at the foot of the bed. "No more desires to take on the world in honor of Romilda Vane?"

Ron groaned in embarrassment as he buried his face in his hands. "Can we just pretend it never happened?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said sternly. "A student has given you a banned substance. I will be speaking to Miss Vane and her parents will be contacted. I trust you still have the card that came with your gift?"

Ron nodded gloomily as he sat up. "It's on my bed," he said then looked directly at Harry. "I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean any of it."

"Good," Harry said with a nod, "because if you did then we would have a lot of problems."

By the time Apparition lessons arrived, the entire school knew that Ron had been given a love potion by Romilda Vane. Ron suddenly found himself surrounded by students who wanted to know everything about love potions. They wanted to know what it felt like, what he did while under its influence and how he broke free of its hold. Ron was surprisingly truthful about everything. Quite a few people winced at hearing that Ron had been willing to take on his best friend for someone he didn't even know.

Romilda Vane received two weeks of detention with Filch and had to write a formal apology to Ron. By the time Fred and George arrived that afternoon to hand over Ron's birthday present, no one was happy with them. Fortunately it didn't take long to convince Fred and George to remove love potions from their product list. In fact, all it took was one little threat from Harry and the twins agreed to anything he said. With as popular as Harry was at the moment, his endorsement was as good as gold but anything said against a certain company could push the company into bankruptcy.

Another significant change was that the tension between Ron and Ginny seemed to vanish, making Quidditch practice flow much smoother. The team was frantically preparing for their game against Hufflepuff. It actually was a great relief for Harry to be able to focus on nothing other than Quidditch. For one week, Harry didn't find himself worrying about Voldemort, the war, the Ministry, repairing friendships, avoiding admirers, and finishing difficult assignments. The entire Quidditch team was—for once in a long time—working as a team. Plays were being devised to include not only the Chasers but also the Beaters and Keeper. To an outsider, the plays looked like absolute chaos and before they knew it, one of the Chasers had scored.

When the morning of the game arrived, the excitement was so thick that you could taste it. The Gryffindor team left for the pitch as soon as possible to avoid all of the commotion in the Great Hall. After all, Ron was already nervous enough for the entire team. This time, however, everyone helped in distracting him until it was time to step out on the field. Ron's strategy skills had been a large contributor to the majority of the new plays created, making him an essential part of the team.

The noise of the crowd was deafening even from the changing room. In the stadium, it made thinking impossible. It was a good thing they had worked out hand signals for certain plays because Harry doubted they would be able to hear each other as it was. There was very little wind and the patchy clouds did very little to block the bright sunlight.

"Tricky conditions," McLaggen said quietly to Harry. "It could cause problems with some of the plays."

Harry nodded. McLaggen had a point. "I agree," he said then turned to Coot and Peakes. "You two fly out of the sun whenever you can. They won't be able to see you coming."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Coot and Peakes said with a salute and a grin.

Harry refrained from rolling his eyes as the team took their positions, McLaggen and Sloper standing off to the side as Gryffindor's reserve players. After shaking hands with the Hufflepuff Captain, Harry waited for a split second until Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signaling the start of the game. The Gryffindor team immediately took off and flew to their positions, Harry rising higher than the rest of his teammates. The Bludgers and Snitch were released into the air followed by the Quaffle. The Gryffindor Chasers immediately dived towards it and Mission: Ordered Chaos had begun.

It was extremely difficult for Harry to focus completely on the Snitch while the rest of field was so action packed. The Hufflepuff Beaters had apparently decided to hit the Bludgers towards people they were guaranteed to hit, namely Harry and Ron. The Gryffindor Chasers and Beaters were constantly moving, making it difficult for any of them to be hit without risking the Hufflepuff players. This tactic allowed Gryffindor to score five goals quickly before Hufflepuff even had the chance to score once.

In addition to the commotion on the field, there was the entertaining commentary from Luna Lovegood. She seemed more interested in talking about anything but Quidditch. She talked about her opinions on individual players, particularly Harry and Ginny along with the possible shapes of the clouds. It was extremely difficult to keep a straight face at some of the comments but the oncoming Bludger quickly shoved any thought of laughing out of Harry's mind as he once again swerved to avoid being hit.

The streams of sunlight proved to be more of a challenge for everyone on both teams. Players were periodically blinded by sunlight, causing them to nearly fly into each other. There was absolutely no sign of the Snitch which was rather infuriating. Gryffindor was already in the lead by seventy points. If he didn't catch the Snitch soon, this game was going to turn dirty. Anger and frustration were quickly growing in every member of the Hufflepuff team. It wouldn't be long until…

"RON!"

Harry quickly turned around to see Ron falling towards the ground. Without a second thought, Harry took off, praying he was fast enough…hoping that he wouldn't be too late. Time seemed to slow as Harry pushed his Firebolt to go faster and faster. All noise seemed to have vanished but Harry didn't care. As he drew closer, Harry could have sworn that Ron's decent slowed a bit but was too focused on breaking Ron's fall to care. He was just above Ron when he sharply dived, wrapped an arm around his friend and pulled up just before crashing into the ground.

Silence remained as Harry carefully landed and lowered Ron to the ground. His training immediately took over as he checked Ron for injuries, not even noticing the crowd that was surrounding him. Closing his eyes, Harry rested his hands on Ron's chest and reached out with his senses and his magic to find the source of Ron's injuries. There was a large amount of pain and swelling surrounding Ron's head along with a few minor injuries along his forearms.

"Harry?" Remus' concerned voice asked, breaking Harry's concentration.

Opening his eyes, Harry finally glanced around to see the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff team surrounding them along with the majority of the teaching staff. "Head injury to the back of the head," he said quietly. "He needs medical attention immediately."

Remus nodded as he rested a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'll take care of it," he said as he pulled out his wand, conjured a stretcher and levitated Ron onto it. "He'll be fine, Harry. I promise."

Harry nodded as he rose to his feet, watching as Remus quickly left with Ron floating in front of him. He let out a calming breath before turning to Madam Hooch. "May we have a timeout?" he asked evenly. She nodded and the two teens separated. Glancing at each member of the Gryffindor team, Harry knew he needed to think of something to get their minds off of what just happened. Only one thing came to mind. "Let's win this one for Ron." He turned to McLaggen who was looking extremely eager. "Play your position, McLaggen, and let the rest of us play ours."

McLaggen scowled slightly before nodding slightly. Waves of frustration poured off of him as he turned and walked over to the goal posts. Harry let out an annoyed groan as he turned to the rest of the team and nodded for them to take their positions. After signaling to Madam Hooch that they were ready to continue, Harry mounted his broom and took off, flying towards McLaggen. He really didn't want to deal with McLaggen's ego at the moment but he couldn't risk McLaggen doing something incredibly stupid.

"Cormac," Harry said firmly, earning a glare from the Gryffindor seventh year. "Look, just be careful. Avoid the Beaters and Bludgers at all costs. We can't afford to lose anyone else."

McLaggen stared at Harry for a long moment before nodding. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the game resumed. The entire atmosphere had changed. Everyone seemed to be playing with more caution, especially the Beaters. This allowed Harry to concentrate more on finding the Snitch than where the Bludgers were. He slowly circled the pitch, keeping his eyes and ears open for any sign of gold or any high pitched sound of its rapidly flapping wings. Come on, where are you?

Ginny scored another goal for Gryffindor followed by McLaggen making a one handed save. That was all Harry saw before he noticed a flash of gold by the teacher's box and took off without another thought. He could hear nothing other than the wind howling past him. Leaning forward, Harry urged his broom to go even faster. He could now see the wings of the small golden ball rapidly fluttering. He was nearly there, only a second away.

Which was enough time for the Snitch twitched to the left before taking off towards the Hufflepuff goal posts. Harry followed suit, pushing his broom to go even faster. He was gaining on it. He was nearly close enough to reach out when the Snitch shot upwards forcing Harry to quickly pull up. The game continued, the Snitch constantly jerking out of Harry's grasp the moment he was about to reach for it. It felt like a game of cat and mouse with the Snitch a split second ahead of him. Lowering his body more so he was practically lying on the broom, Harry urged his broom to go just a little faster. He needed the extra speed.

And it came. Harry shot up like a rocket, nearly flying past the Snitch before he reached out and grabbed it. Straightening himself out, Harry held up the Snitch and was immediately aware of the deafening cheers from the crowd. He looked towards the teacher's box and saw that the score was 300 to 20, Gryffindor. They had a commanding lead in first place for the Quidditch Cup. Surrounded by his team, Harry couldn't help in sharing their excitement. They had done what they set out to do.

Sometimes the simplest accomplishments could bring the biggest gratification.