"There you are, Harry. I did it. I got the starting Seeker position."
Harry grinned broadly at Cho's beaming enthusiasm.
"That's wonderful news. I guess I'll have to attend all the matches now."
She hugged him in response. His own exhaustion and personal issues were completely forgotten in his happiness for his friend.
"Remember, you promised."
"I won't forget."
And so, Harry's tumultuous first week at Hogwarts ended on a high note. But this simplistic felicity was not meant to last. For soon, far greater trials than a jilted heart would stand in the young prodigy's path.
Chapter Eight: Troubles With Trolls – A Slytherin's Scheme
Disclaimer: If you've seen it before, it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Otherwise, it's mine. Naturally, I'm making no money off this. Am I the only one that finds these things to be extremely repetitive and pointless?
"I'm telling you, Potter, whatever that bloody dog's guarding has to be some powerful magical artifact."
Harry sighed as he listened to Draco recount his theories regarding the supposed hellhound in the restricted third floor corridor and what it might be protecting as the pair walked briskly towards the Halloween Feast. They were already late and the young prodigy had heard this tale on at least fifteen separate occasions over the course of the previous two months. The ordeal had started in the second week of term, during the Malfoy heir's initial flying lesson with the Gryffindors. Draco had swiped that pudgy duffer Neville Longbottom's prized Remembrall and taken to the air after the boy had fallen from a wild broomstick and broken his wrist, only to be followed by one Ronald Weasley. The young aristocrat had indulged in a game of tag with the redhead for several minutes, easily flying circles around his enraged counterpart before casually tossing the stolen object into the lake and rushing back to the ground. Weasley had been alone and floating stupidly in the air upon Madam Hooch's return and had netted a month's detentions for his trouble, spared from expulsion due only to the headmaster's mercy.
That incident had prompted Weasley to challenge Draco to a formal duel at breakfast the following morning. Harry had been struggling with matted hair where Cho had rolled over onto it during the night and had missed that particular meal, and so his Slytherin friend had taken a reluctant Theodore Nott as his second. Weasley had apparently nominated the timid Longbottom in response, the latter still upset over the loss of his grandmother's gift and eager for payback. Draco had snitched them out to Mister Flich well in advance, but his ego just couldn't resist the temptation to sneak out also to watch as the two Gryffindors got burned for being out of bounds at night. His plan was going smoothly until the two boys, accompanied by an exasperated Hermione Granger, ran in his direction in an attempt to escape the noose. The junior Malfoy had been forced to flee as well and the unlikely quartet ended up right in the forbidden corridor, in the massive canine's domain. Draco had been quick to notice the trap door and had been trying in vain to cajole Harry into making an excursion to steal what lay beneath ever since.
"For all you know, it's guarding the headmaster's prized sock collection. I can't believe we're having this conversation yet again. Since you're so curious, by all means rally those two thugs of yours and go investigate. Let's please concentrate on making the feast before the main course ends in the meantime. I'm positively famished."
Such sarcastic comments would have been wholly out-of-character for the dandy young Harry Potter that had stepped onto the Hogwarts Express nearly two months ago. The naïve little boy was starting to evolve after being removed from his grandmother's estate. He remained surprisingly dedicated to the workout regimen stipulated by Draco's father and his tall body was beginning to display results. He was far from chiseled, but the faintest outlines of muscle were now beginning to appear underneath his soft and effeminate form. His strength and stamina were increasing, as his exercises became easier with each passing day. His fencing form was improving drastically, and he could now easily hold his own with Draco. The constant praise that Harry received from Lucius served to irritate the nobleman's son on occasion, but it seemed to fuel his motivation to work harder. Besides, Draco seemed cognizant of the fact that Harry was a true prodigy and was more than happy to latch onto the boy in order to better his own position.
And he was changing in more ways than simply his physique. Harry's near constant association with Malfoy and his Slytherin ilk had caused him to unconsciously begin to adopt some of their mannerisms. A newfound occasionally sarcastic tongue combined with the razor wit gleamed from his Ravenclaw housemates to make this child a force to be reckoned with in any conversation, even more so than he had been before coming to Hogwarts. He still retained the larger part of his naiveté and his fixation on appearances as well as his overwhelming romantic dandyism, but the wheels of change were turning nonetheless. Harry had come to accept and embrace his fame and reveled in the constant attention that it brought him from the remainder of the student body. He was at the absolute center of his universe and he loved every single second of it. Draco snorted at the suggestion of taking Crabbe and Goyle on an adventure into the unknown.
"Those two apes might expose their armpits and kill the beast that way. You're the best and strongest wizard of our generation, Harry. Nobody questions it. You're the one person who can get past all the obstacles that the old fool has surely put in place. I'm asking for your help here."
Harry smiled indulgently at the praise, always enjoying being complimented, but his resolve remained firmly set. He chose to ignore Draco's insult towards the headmaster, having come to terms with the fact that the Malfoys were staunchly anti-Dumbledore.
"I abjectly refuse to lower myself to the level of a common criminal."
"You can be such a thick-headed Gryffindor, Potter. It's only illegal if we get caught."
"It's you who's being dense, Malfoy. The headmaster will have detection wards set up all over the place in there. He'd know in an instant. Think about what your father would say after seeing his sole heir apprehended for attempted grand larceny."
Draco averted his eyes momentarily and Harry knew that he'd won. The pale boy's father was his omnipresent weak point, and both knew exactly what would happen in the case that the younger Malfoy were to get caught making a heist on the forbidden corridor. Though he did love his son, his bloodline's reputation always came first. Lucius would disown Draco in a second should he somehow bring dishonor to the family. Draco changed the subject, though Harry somehow knew that he'd be having this argument again within a week's time.
"Speaking of father, I still can't believe he kept us all day like that. Halloween's supposed to be a holiday, for Merlin's sake. Everybody else got to spend the day lounging around the castle while we suffered through six hours of fencing practice and then three hours of magical dueling. I'm exhausted."
Harry's thoughts mirrored Draco's complaints. He had been looking forward to a nice lazy day of reclining around the fire in Ravenclaw Tower, reading and conversing with his assorted female friends. Instead he got woken up early by Lisa Turpin, who rather annoyingly alerted him to the fact that Lucius Malfoy was awaiting him in the corridor. After a hurried shower and dress, he was off for the most grueling day of training that he had experienced yet. Apparently Draco's father felt that the important art of magical combat was being ignored with their focus on swordsmanship, and so three hours of intense wand sparring followed the boys' extended workout. Once finally released, and only because Lucius had his own Samhain festival to attend, Harry had been left with just enough time to rush back to his room to do a quick toilet and dress for the traditional feast. He decided to head down to the dungeons and walk with Draco as opposed to navigating through the throngs of students walking towards the Great Hall on his own.
"…Something smells wretched. Malfoy, I do hope that you remembered to take a bath."
In accordance with his strangled words, Harry dramatically pinched his nose and fought down the wave of nausea resulting from the horrid stench that presently assaulted his senses. He and Draco were still only halfway through the mazelike dungeons of Hogwarts. The latter glanced at the young dandy with a raised eyebrow as he walked forward, only to comically cover his own face with his hands as he retched violently as he reached Harry's position. Harry covered his mouth with his royal blue cape and crept forward. Draco followed behind, peering around the corner before turning ever paler than usual with fright. The younger Malfoy rushed behind Harry, gray eyes wide with dread.
"T-t-t-troll. There's a bloody Mountain Troll inside the castle!"
Harry looked at Draco and responded in a slow drawl, unsheathing his long bamboo wand from the waistband of his robes.
"I don't suppose this is a part of the traditional festivities, then."
The stench became stronger as Draco scrabbled backwards against the dungeon corridor's damp stone wall. Harry found this situation to be quite hideous. He could hear the creature coming closer as his friend pointed shakily around the corner.
"It's coming this way. Harry, do something!"
Harry steeled himself and tiptoed along the wall, finally taking a glance around the corner himself. The troll was enormous and ugly, standing at well over twice Harry's height with lumpy gray skin and hideous crowed feet. It carried a large blunted club that the young prodigy did not particularly care to be on the business end of. Harry was completely offended at the idea that such hideous creatures actually existed. It still seemed to be wandering about aimlessly, not having noticed the pair. He looked cautiously over his shoulder at Draco.
"As the Chinese often say, 'of all the thirty-six ways to get out of trouble, the best way is simply this – leave.' Let's escape before it notices us."
Harry's grand scheme met with obvious approval, given the pale Slytherin's frenzied nodding.
"There may be some Slytherin in you after all. We'll go back to my common room."
The pair withdrew back down the corridor away from the rampaging troll. After fifty yards or so, Harry's nostrils were again ravaged by another odious stench. A second troll emerged from a passageway that led to the potions laboratories and Professor Snape's quarters. This one had a bluish tint to its skin and carried a spiked club. The second troll stank of rotting fish and mildew as opposed the pungent aroma of feces and sweaty socks that accompanied its mountain counterpart. Harry judged this one to be a River Troll. The other troll was still approaching from the direction they had just come. The two young aristocrats were hemmed in.
"Well…this certainly isn't good. Merlin, this stinks, and our situation's quite bad too."
"Such a cutting wit you possess, Potter. I certainly pray that you have another wondrous pearl of chink wisdom to save us now."
Harry closed his eyes, resigning himself to the fact that he was going to have to fight in order to save the both of them. He really wasn't a violent person by nature, but there was no help for it now. Draco was only going to be a liability here. He stood a better chance of surviving if he didn't have to worry about protecting the other boy. His voice adopted a chivalrous sort of tone, as if he were the noble knight preparing to slay the dragon.
"Don't be so alarmed. I am here, after all. I shall engage these beasts whilst you run up to the Great Hall andprocure assistance."
This was a pathetically simple stratagem, but really the only plan that the dandy could come up with on the spot.
"I'm not leaving you here. You'll get ground into paste!"
Harry grinned goofily despite the seriousness of the situation and he held his wand in front of him in an exaggerated pose. He had just learned the beginnings of proper dueling from Lucius earlier that day and would now be putting his fledgling skills to the real test far sooner than he would ever have imagined. He found himself wondering what Gilderoy Lockhart would have done in a situation like this.
"Please, I took down a Dark Lord. A few trolls are easy work for me. Now run. Stupefy!"
Harry's Stunner flew forth and hit the Mountain Troll in the stomach, sending it staggering back against the corridor wall. The spell had little noticeable effect. Harry's magical strength had been augmented by his rage in his brief encounter with the headmaster, but he had no such boost here. Attacking one troll seemed to anger both, and the young prodigy was forced to dodge a vicious swing of the River Troll's club as the other regained its bearings. His reflexes were becoming quicker due to his training with Lucius and he was able to regain the initiative through banishing the blue troll into its gray cohort with an irritated flick of his wand, sending both crashing into the wall again. Draco took advantage of the opening to make his planned escape. Both trolls were upright and fully incensed mere moments later. Harry could have fled as well, but remained due to the fear that others might suffer harm should he leave the two enraged creatures to rampage freely. Such a turn of events would see heroic prestige compromised, his celebrated name besmirched. That and he would sooner die than risk a girl being injured on his account.
"Incarcerous."
Magical ropes quickly bound the River Troll, sending it crashing back down to the stone floor with a loud thud. The other beast took a swipe at Harry's skull with its club with a speed and tenacity that caught the boy wonder off his guard. His head was spared but the club impacted with his bejeweled coronet, sending the gaudy headpiece flying down the corridor. Harry's sloppily arranged hair now streamed freely behind him. Losing his ridiculous adornment caused the faintest glimmer of the red aura to appear around his form. The dandy young wizard frowned and glared balefully at the menacing troll before screeched out his reaction.
"You ruined my coronet! I'll kill you, filthy beast! Syre Petrol! Incendio!"
Naturally, the spraying of crude oil followed by a fireball yielded less than pleasant results for the hapless troll. The creature clawed in vain at itself as its entire body was consumed in raging flames. The Mountain Troll dove onto the stone floor and rolled about helplessly in an instinctive attempt to smother the flames as the acrid stench of burning flesh joined the pair of revolting stenches that already hung in the air. Harry smirked haughtily at his victory as he levitated the discarded club and manipulated it to bludgeon the River Troll repeatedly, the latter having broken free of its restraints. The troll caught the offending object after the fourth stroke and tossed it aside, charging at Harry with a snarl. This time the young prodigy was prepared, transfiguring the stone floor into solid ice with a lazy wave of his wand. The River Troll lacked the clawed feet that its counterpart possessed and slipped immediately, falling onto the still burning Mountain Troll.
"I think it's about time to end this conflict, with elegance worthy of one such as myself."
Harry waved his wand with several complicated motions, causing enormous vines to burst from the walls, floor and ceiling of the dungeon battleground. They were over six inches thick and as strong as solid steel, coiling around the two trolls and lifting them several inches off the ground. Both creatures struggled without effect, choking and rasping as the vines wrapped around their necks. One both were completely immobilized, Harry motioned with his wand again, causing hundreds of perfect red roses to blossom on the vines. Their magically enhanced fragrance wafted throughout the entire corridor, overpowering the foul odors spread by the trolls. Harry inhaled the sweet aroma before smiling at the helpless beasts.
"Ah, beauty always emerges triumphant. But be warned, the sweetest roses often bear the sharpest thorns."
Harry jabbed with his wand one final time. Extremely sharp thorns grew outward from the vines, piercing the resistant hides of the two beasts with minor difficulty. Green became splotched with crimson as the two creatures' blood spilled over the vines and dripped onto the floor. The trolls howled in anguish, but received little sympathy from their captor. After all, Harry thought, such hideous beings had no right to stand in the presence of his beauty and grace, defiling the grounds upon which countless sweet young maidens lived and studied under his protection. And they had destroyed his coronet.
"And not as much as a stain on my robes. A perfect victory if ever there was one."
Harry took a step back into the corridor, taking a moment to admire his handiwork. He could hear voices and footsteps approaching. The trolls were now ceasing their resistance, be it either from loss of blood or a sense of futility. Harry thought his transfigured flowers to be the most gorgeous and fragrant that he had ever seen. His anger had so enhanced the potency of his magic, bearing the sweetest of fruit. He was filled with the desire to fill the entire dingy castle with these rose blossoms. He summoned his broken coronet and examined it momentarily. Several of the gemstones were cracked and scratched. Even if he were to repair it somehow, it would never regain its former luster.
"Mister Potter!"
Harry occupied himself with meticulously cutting roses from the vine with his wand upon hearing Professor McGonagall's voice. He would never condescend to do such things himself on most occasions, but decided to take several dozen of these perfect flowers with him to give out as presents. He unintentionally kept the professors waiting as he worked as several Slytherin students trying to get back to their common room gaped at the defeated trolls, Malfoy right out in front. Once he was finished, he conjured a damp cloth to hold them in and transfigured his broken coronet into a gaudy turquoise hat to wear back to Ravenclaw Tower. Its rim extended nearly eighteen inches outward from the top, and a distinctive large peacock feather protruded from the back. Harry affixed it onto his head and turned to the waiting crowd with a generous bow.
"My apologies for the delay, professor, but I've already taken care of your troll problem."
The headmaster was present as well, regarding the situation with a guarded expression. He was looking directly at the blood pooled on the stone floor beneath the trolls. Given his general naiveté, Harry failed to understand why the old man was disappointed with him but felt rather hollow inside all of a sudden nonetheless, as if letting Dumbledore down were some sort of mortal sin. Professors Snape, Flitwick and Quirrell were observing as well, and even the greasy Potions Master seemed visibly impressed with the boy's spellwork, though his eyes betrayed that the unspoken praise was most reluctant.
"That would indeed appear to be the case, my boy. Mister Malfoy has already apprised us of the circumstances. Thirty points to Ravenclaw for remaining calm in a crisis situation as well as risking life and limb in order to protect a classmate."
The headmaster regained his jovial demeanor as he spoke, giving Harry the idea that perhaps the old man had not been upset with him after all. His own ill temper also dissipated, and he readjusted his hat and met Dumbledore's twinkling eyes.
"I'm sorry about the mess, sir. I guess I got a little carried away."
Dumbledore only nodded serenely, as his deputy took it upon herself to reply.
"Do not be apologetic, Potter. Not a soul here or anywhere else would have had you placing your own life in greater jeopardy for the sole sake of protecting a pair of rampaging trolls. Please return to your dormitory. I shall instruct the House Elves to prepare a meal and have it brought to Ravenclaw Tower, seeing as you have unfortunately missed out on the feast."
Harry flashed a saccharine grin and departed with a nod; stopping to offer a rose to every shaken Slytherin girl he passed during the trek out of the dungeons. Most accepted with blushing smiles, testament to the boy's ability to charm even the coldest of hearts. The red rose traditionally held romantic implications. Harry was aware of this fact, though he had no such motives driving his own actions. It was merely his own way of spreading a little cheer. He had considered giving one to Snape. The man's awful black wardrobe was in desperate need of some color. He didn't bother to notice Quirrell watching him with an unreadable expression as he pranced out of sight, blue cape swishing behind him.
The return journey to Ravenclaw Tower passed without further incident. Most of the students were securely in their dormitories, with only Prefects out patrolling the corridors in groups of three. The trio of his own housemates that he came across didn't contain Penny, so he didn't make an effort to pursue them in order to make conversation. He instead turned to the portrait of the old wandered that marked the entrance to his common room.
"You've been out fighting trolls, according to the grapevine. Too much bravado can prove fatal, child."
Harry smiled and retorted with equal amusement.
"Oh, you can just go and take some hemlock, Archimedes. Academia."
The living portrait of the great Greek thinker tutted with an indulgent smile, making sure to get in the last word as he moved to allow Harry access. The young dandy had always been a bit curious as to why the painting spoke fluent English. Perhaps the spirit within was able to keep learning after the body's demise.
"That was Socrates, you dissolute little rake. Now begone, your admirers await."
Harry laughed, playfully swatting at the animated face with his transfigured hat as he strolled into the common room. The common room was packed with students, all chatting vigorously about the evening's events. Harry put his hat back on and stepped into the crowd.
"They way you all are going on, one would think there was some sort of monster running loose in the school."
Several heads turned to regard Harry, who stood there with a ridiculous hat atop his head and not so much as a scratch on his body or a spot on his robes. He certainly did not look like a person that had just done battle with a pair of trolls. Su Li stared at him with raised eyebrows.
"Malfoy told us all that you were fighting the troll. It certainly doesn't appear that you've been involved in a combat."
"It's always proper to judge by appearances, Su. But in this instance, said method isn't really so accurate. Draco and I were ambushed by two trolls down in the dungeons, but I defeated them without much effort. Now enough talk about those disgusting things. I've brought something back for you. Here you are, a beautiful rose for a pretty lady."
Harry drew one of his roses out of the cloth bundle in his hands and gave it to Su. The small Chinese girl looked at the flower for a moment before taking it with a gentle smile and grasping his hand with hers.
"It is beautiful. You really are too charming for your own good sometimes, Harry."
"Nonsense, Su. There's no such thing. I don't see Cho or Penny anywhere."
Roger Davies, a third year Chaser on the house Quidditch team, replied from where he sat around a table with several of his teammates. Harry didn't like the boy at all, as he had recently taken to looking at Cho in a way that displeased the young prodigy. Harry tended to guard his veritable monopoly over her affection very jealously, and didn't like it when other filthy males tried to befriend her. He felt them to be unworthy of a sweet person such as her.
"Chang and Clearwater went out looking for you, mate. They hoped you'd gotten away and come back here, and then left to find you once they saw that you hadn't. Nice hat, by the way. The peacock feather suits you."
Several of Davies' friends snickered at his sarcastic tone, but dared not join in. Harry didn't get on very well with the house Quidditch players in general. They were all male aside from Cho, which counted as an immediate strike against them. The broom jocks observed his somewhat effeminate and aristocratic mannerisms with distaste and were visibly jealous due to the fact that he more or less held the attention of most girls in Ravenclaw and elsewhere. All were aware of the power he wielded, though, both with his wand and in connections, and never tested him beyond the occasional backhanded jibe. Common knowledge around Hogwarts by this point was that Harry Potter was under the protection of the chairwizard of both the Board of Governors and the entirety of the dreaded Slytherin House, and was a favorite of several of the professors, and also that he was by far the most powerful young sorcerer of the age. The few who disliked him were powerless against him, and were therefore very careful not to provoke his wrath openly. Harry sneered back at the Quidditch player and casually flicked a rose into his lap.
"Why thank you, Davies. My sense of fashion is indeed beyond reproach. Now ground that over your body so you might not stink like mud and sweat so much, pig. Your odor is every bit as foul as that troll stench back in the dungeons."
Most of the girls in the common room giggled and pinched their noses mockingly. Davies and several of his friends bristled with anger and humiliation, but dared not push the issue. Harry was about to plop down onto a sofa between Su and Padma Patil when a familiar voice sang out from behind him.
"Harry James Potter, I sincerely hope you didn't just insinuate that all Quidditch players are smelly and have the brain power of Mountain Trolls."
Harry rolled his head backwards to look into Cho's amused black eyes. She too had changed dramatically over the past several months. Gone was the shy little girl who would never speak her mind in a crowded room for fear of being verbally spat on. Pretty and intelligent, soft-spoken and a brilliant Quidditch player, she was now becoming quite universally admired within Ravenclaw House. She was standing directly behind him, and his oversized turquoise hat slipped from his head and fell into hers, obscuring the lower half of her face.
"Of course not, Cho. I was only referring to male broom jockeys such as those apes."
She quirked a smile, taking the hat off of her head and placing it back onto his. The angle was completely crooked, but he allowed it to remain that way.
"You had us really scared, you know. Quirrell came into the Great Hall screaming about a troll in the dungeons, and then Malfoy comes along five seconds later ranting about there being two and that you were embroiled in a fight with both of them. Penny and I got to see how badly you beat them, but you really should have just left it to the teachers."
Harry would have snapped at most people for having the audacity to lecture him. He was special in his reckoning, and the rules that governed everybody else did not really apply to him. Instead of being angry, however, his fancy was touched by the fact that she obviously cared so much for his well-being. He crowed wordlessly at Roger Davies through his shining emerald eyes, as the Quidditch jock was quite disgruntled with the sight of Cho fawning over Harry.
"I'll remember that next time. But I'm fine, really. Those trolls were nothing."
"A package came for you during the feast, handsome. We placed it on the bed for you."
Harry glanced over to Penny, and the two shared a significant look. He had sulked for a week or so over her rejection of his rather clumsy and thoughtless advances, but eventually came to miss her and make an effort to patch things up. He had eventually asked her to procure a catalog from Quality Quidditch Supplies while on a Hogsmeade visit, intending to buy Cho a new broomstick to replace her outmoded Comet Two-Sixty. She had offered him advice on which model was the best, being something of a Quidditch buff herself despite the fact that she didn't play. In his usual fashion, however, he just sent a letter ordering them to send him the absolute best broom available and charge the bill to the Potter family account at Gringotts. The Diagon Alley shop responded with a note stating that they would be sending an experimental model broom dubbed the "Firebolt," one that was designed for professional use and not due for any sort of release for another two years. Harry gloated inwardly at the thought of the clout that his name carried. Not even Draco's father could have gotten that sort of preferential treatment.
"Excellent, right on schedule. It's a shame the feast was interrupted, though. I was rather banking on a public viewing."
"I wasn't aware that you had ordered anything…"
Harry grinned at Cho's suspicious tone and strolled towards his private quarters located at the far end of the common room. Cho followed behind as Penny kept a handle on those curious housemates aiming on getting a view of whatever Harry had been going on about. Her pretty eyes widened a bit upon seeing the shape of the parcel. A more astute judge would have deduced that she had already guessed who the item was intended for, but naive Harry took her chiding literally.
"You told me that you hated flying. Besides, you're not supposed to have a broomstick."
Harry pouted for a second and flipped his hair before smiling.
"I didn't buy it for myself, so I'm quite safe. Go ahead then, open it."
She unwrapped the broomstick and took a long look at it, as Harry quickly summoned the invoice and hid it in his robes. The price was of no whatsoever concern to the young dandy, but it would have certainly been an issue for her. It had been very expensive, on the order of almost four thousand Galleons. Harry glanced over at his friend and noticed that she was nearly in shock. She finally spoke up after about a minute.
"Harry, this is an international standard level broom. This model isn't due for release for close to two years, even to professional teams. It must have cost you an absolute fortune. I can't accept it. It's simply too much."
Harry frowned deeply and withdrew the invoice from his robes, burning it to ashes with a quick stab of his bamboo wand.
"It's remarkably poor taste to comment on the price of a gift, you know. At any rate, I've just torched the receipt, so I suppose you're left with no alternative but to keep it. Please don't worry about the cost, but I'm going to take it as a personal insult if you reject it again."
He watched as she nodded and placed her new broomstick on top of the room's large mahogany table almost reverently, as if allowing the slightest scratch on its surface were some sort of crime. Harry then staggered back onto the bed as Cho threw herself into him and buried her face into his neck. He could feel her warm tears on his skin as they dripped down onto the fabric of his dress robes. He couldn't understand why she was crying.
"You're…always so good to me. I don't deserve somebody like you."
He just held her and allowed himself to slowly caress her silky black hair with the full length of his fingers. He began to notice things about her that he hadn't before, such as the fact that her skin was almost impossibly smooth and smelled like an odd yet positively intoxicating mixture of espresso and papaya. Her eyes were bottomless liquid pools of pure molten obsidian, twin lakes that he could almost drown in. And then she leaned up and slid her lips over his. It was a very short and chaste kiss, but Harry didn't quite know what to make of it, especially that distinct jolt of electricity that shot through his system on contact. Cho Chang's lips tasted strongly of kiwi. The eleven year old wizard was too young by far to really understand such matters beyond his own foolish fancies. He did not sleep well that night, being too absorbed in his own musings.
Harry James Potter hated being outside. He absolutely despised it, especially in conditions the likes of which marred Ravenclaw's first match of the Quidditch season. It was now the end of November, and the young dandy would be making his long awaited return to his grandmother's estate for the Yule Holidays in a few short weeks. Despite the snow falling vigorously outside the castle, virtually the entire school turned up to see the match. Harry was bundled up in his thick winter robes, a black shroud that he would not have possessed had Narcissa Malfoy not seen fit to send him a set in the post two weeks prior. He would much prefer to be inside, curled around the fire in the Ravenclaw common room with aLockhart book. However, he had promised Cho that he would come and watch her play, and so here he was.
He stood right on the far edge of the Ravenclaw section, at the border of the Slytherin zone of the bleachers. Draco and his friends sat to the left side of the young wizard, and Penny to his direct right. Harry himself sat under a huge yellow parasol emblazoned with pink and green butterflies that moved about on the fabric. He was certainly not going to allow the snow to ruin his hair, which was arranged carefully and topped with his turquoise peacock feather hat. The oversized umbrella made it difficult for those standing directly behind Harry to see, but the young prodigy certainly couldn't have cared less about such a mundane concept as that.
He felt a familiar warmth as Penny took his hand. He was now distinctly confused about his feeling for the pretty Prefect. He certainly cared about her as a friend and potentially much more, but was starting to think about a certain Seeker in a similar fashion also. That one little kiss on Halloween night had altered his thoughts on Cho significantly. She had been a good friend and almost a little sister of sorts despite being a year older for those first few months at Hogwarts. Now he couldn't help but wonder about perhaps seeing her as something else. Penny could make his very soul burn out of sheer desire and need with a single touch, but something about Cho made his insides tingle with an inner lightning.
"…and Chang! Now this pretty new face is flying on an experimental model broomstick, which my sources have confirmed to be a personal gift from the enigmatic Harry Potter. Seems like love is in the air…"
Harry snapped out of his musing at hearing Cho's last name through Lee Jordan's magically magnified voice. He had missed the introductions for both teams due to his daydreaming, not that he cared. He was present to support his friend. The outcome of the match itself was irrelevant. He tuned out the irritating Gryffindor commentator as the boy continued lauding Cho's broomstick. Harry felt a hard thump on his left shoulder and turned around with a glare. He found said glare matched by one Marcus Flint, Quidditch Captain for Slytherin. The large Chaser was obviously displeased that Harry had practically handed the cup to Ravenclaw with his recent purchase. Malfoy was muttering in a similar vein to Harry's side.
"Can't believe you bought her a bloody international standard broom."
"I'm quite sure your father will buy you a nice broom too next year."
Harry then ignored Malfoy's tirade and glanced over to where Cho was floating in the air waiting for the match to start. Lined up opposite her was a rather well-built Hufflepuff boy that he vaguely recalled seeing in the corridors on a few occasions. The yellow robed Seeker had a slight flush in his cheeks as he watched Cho intently. Harry had to fight down the urge to hex him clean off of his broomstick. He exhaled sharply as Penny ruffled his hair.
"You look you're about to strangle somebody, handsome."
Harry blurted out his motives without thinking. Penny only seemed amused by his attitude.
"I don't like that Hufflepuff Seeker. He keeps staring at Cho."
"His name's Cedric Diggory. He's in the year below me. Anyway, Cho's growing into a very pretty girl. Blokes are naturally going to start fancying her. It's only going to get much worse as she gets older."
Harry crossed his arms and huffed, sitting down on the plush cushion that he had transfigured for his personal use before coming down to the pitch. That was not what he wanted to hear. One girl that he care for was completely out of his reach and the other now had filthy boys like Roger Davies and Cedric Diggory swarming all over her. He briefly entertained the idea of asking Malfoy Senior to teach him a castration hex sometime over the holidays.
"I'm not going to let any of those pigs touch her. They'll defile her."
Harry had spoken those sentences under his break, though nobody would have paid him any mind regardless. The match was now starting. Davies scored a goal on his first touch of the Quaffle to put Ravenclaw up by ten. Harry felt something buzzing by his ear, but ignored it in favor of watching Cho. Or trying to, at least. She was currently leading Diggory on a feint, but her Firebolt make her seem like little more than a blue blur with a slight hint of black. Harry hoped that she would cause the great oaf Diggory to dive bomb or something. Cedric pulled out in time, much to the young dandy's chagrin, but Ravenclaw had scored another pair of goals.
"And Diggory takes a Bludger right to the head! That had to hurt!"
Harry smirked victoriously at the Hufflepuff's torment. Whatever was buzzing him was right on his ear now. He absentmindedly swatted at it with his hand, as a little golden blur passed through his field of vision and back behind his head. Cho meanwhile stopped nearby and was watching him with an amused smile, since the Golden Snitch seemed to be nowhere in sight. Harry took his hat into his hands, determined to make the thing pay the price should it pester him again.
"Shoo, bloody insect!"
The second time the intruding creature brushed his ear, Harry slapped it with his gaudy hat. It staggered, and Harry saw that it was a little winged golden ball. He walloped it again with his hat and watched with a scowl as the annoying bugger flew back down into the air above the playing field. Cho zipped by on her broomstick and grabbed it mere seconds later to win the match. She winked conspiratorially at him and smiled. Harry felt another smack to his shoulder. This time it was a bit painful. Flint had his arms crossed and his teeth bared. He looked every bit like an angry troll.
"Well, that was a rather lopsided affair."
Draco was shaking his head at the dismal effort put forth by the Hufflepuffs. Ravenclaw had won the match by a score of one hundred and ninety to zero. Harry's housemates were noisily celebrating, and the young dandy wished that he could be anywhere else. He hated loud noise. He decided to go down and congratulate Cho and then return to the castle. He turned to leave, and met Professor Quirrell's eye as the turbaned stutterer surveyed the crowd. Harry again felt that sharp pain in his forehead that seemed to follow every time the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor glanced his way during the course of his parody of a class. The shock was much more pronounced this time, and Harry thought he could see a certain hint of malice within the craven teacher's eyes. A sudden vision of hateful red eyes glaring pure death into his soul caused the young aristocrat to stagger and fall backward into Malfoy.
"Sorry, Draco. Just slipped, is all."
Draco nodded and made nothing of it. Harry shook his head to clear the malevolent image from his mind.
"You don't look so hot, handsome."
Harry turned to Penny with a slight grimace, meeting the Prefect's concerned face.
"It's nothing to worry about. I'm going back to the castle. The cold is unbearable."
Harry walked down from the stands and made his way back to the castle alone. Those pitiless red eyes would come to haunt him at night even several years into the future.
(End Chapter Eight)
Author's Note: It's been almost two months, I know. I was originally planning to scrap this story, but a recent outpouring of support for it had prompted me to continue. I hope this update was satisfactory for you folks, because I wasn't pleased with it. It feels like I've just sort of lost the magic behind Harry's character in this work. I also felt that it dragged near the end a bit, and I probably won't do any more Quidditch matches in any sort of detail. The pairing is still very much in the air. I may introduce a seventh year Tonks into the story in the next few chapters as well, as Harry becomes curious about the possibility of having Metamorphmagus abilities. Next chapter will have Harry leaving for the holidays, which will probably take two full updates because of a myriad of things I want to do over Yule.
Read and review, as usual. The more feedback I get, the less likely there will be this kind of delay on the next update.
