The Difference One Choice Makes
29th April 1992
"AND MALLORY'S CAUGHT THE SNITCH, HE BEATS POTTER FOR SPEED AND CATCHES THE SNITCH, RAVENCLAW WIN 280 TO 170!" shouted Lee Jordan to roars and cheers around the Quidditch Stadium most of which came from the Ravenclaws.
As the Sixth Year Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain and Seeker Callum Mallory shot towards his teammates clutching the golden snitch in his hand, Harry smacked the handle of his broom in frustration blaming himself for not spotting the snitch sooner.
"RAVENCLAW WIN THE QUIDDITCH CUP, RAVENCLAW ARE THE CHAMPIONS!" shouted Lee enthusiastically though not as enthusiastic as he would have been if Gryffindor had won the cup.
As the Ravenclaw's flew over to the tower to receive the Quidditch Cup from Dumbledore and their Head Of House Professor Flitwick Harry flew over to where his teammates were hovering above the centre of the pitch with slightly dejected looks on their faces.
Remembering the good sportsmanship expected of them, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team applauded their opponents for their success.
After several minutes Harry and the others flew back down to the ground to go back to the changing rooms.
Once down on the ground, Harry felt Katie Bell clap a hand on his shoulder even though she was just a bit shorter than him.
"Don't beat yourself up Harry… we'll do better next year" said Katie in a softer tone of voice than she had ever used on Harry having felt jealous of how he got onto the team in the first place for most of the school year.
Harry sent her a small nod and smile as they carried on walking though he still felt disappointed with himself for not winning the match and the Cup for Gryffindor.
"Come on Harry… you keep playing the way your playing, Gryffindor won't be needing a new Seeker until after you leave school" said Katie kindly.
Harry turned to face her.
"You played really good as well" said Harry with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
The nervousness only increased when Katie gave him a quick hug before they followed their teammates back to the changing rooms.
Fifteen minutes later…
Though he was feeling a bit better about what had happened, Harry still felt slightly dejected at his failure to catch the snitch and win the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor which would have been a legendary achievement for Gryffindor and Harry, especially as a First Year. He made his way out of the changing rooms dressed in a pair of jeans and a light blue shirt with his Nimbus 2000 in one hand not noticing exactly where he was going.
Before he knew it, he crashed into something soft but surprisingly heavy that knocked him to the floor.
Before Harry could even comprehend what had just knocked him to the floor he heard a deep but soft voice calling out to him.
"I'm sorry Harry, I should've been more careful" said the voice before Harry felt himself get hoisted to his feet.
Harry looked up at the 63-year-old Gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid who had limbs more than three times as large as a normal man and stood at nearly twelve feet tall, with long shaggy black hair and a matching beard dressed in a large leather and fur overcoat over a waistcoat, shirt, trousers and thick dragonhide boots.
"It's okay… I wasn't looking where I was going" said Harry as he dusted himself off.
Looking up at him Harry finally realised that Hagrid had referred to him by his name despite the fact that they had never interacted with each other before.
"How do you know my name?" said Harry in slight shock.
Hagrid chuckled and gently clapped him on the shoulder which surprised Harry that a man of that size could touch him so gently.
"You look just like your Father, except your eyes, I expect you got those from your Mother… known your Parents for many years I have" said Hagrid softly.
Harry was in shock and awe that his Parents had not mentioned much about the Hogwarts Gamekeeper including Hagrid's claims that they had known each other for years.
"How do you know them?" said Harry curiously.
Hagrid straightened up.
"How do I know them… I spent years chasing your Father and his Friends out of Forbidden Forest when they were students… and like them, I stood with Dumbledore against You-Know-Who, I even went to their wedding at Potter Manor, had a bit too much to drink and broke a table actually" said Hagrid with his voice trailing off into embarrassment with that last line.
Harry slowly nodded his head.
"You said you knew my Dad well when he was in school… did you know my mother when she was at school?" said Harry curiously.
Hagrid sighed.
"Sadly no… I'd seen her around Hogwarts and heard the other Professor's praise her abilities greatly… but I didn't really know her, not until she joined the Ord-" said Hagrid before he cut himself off suddenly.
Taking a quick second to compose himself.
"Not until she joined the fight against You-Know-Who" said Hagrid hoping that Harry would not notice how he had almost said "Order Of The Phoenix" out loud to an 11-year-old boy.
Before a curious Harry could question what Hagrid had stopped himself from saying he felt Hagrid's hand on his shoulder once again.
"I know you Gryffindor lost it in the end Harry, but you played really well today, you should be proud of yourself… a First-Year playing on the Quidditch Team is some feat, and hey, there's always a chance to win it next year" said Hagrid proudly.
Harry looking up at the large man nodded with a warm smile on his face as the disappointment he was feeling following Gryffindor's loss started to fade.
"Harry!" called out the familiar voice of his mother who was making her way towards him with James and Euphemia.
Harry turned to them as James nodded his head to Hagrid.
"Hagrid" said James politely with a small smile while Narcissa only sent the large man a polite nod.
"Mr Potter… Mrs Potter" said Hagrid politely bowing his head to them out of the significant amount of respect he held for the elder Potter's.
He looked down at Harry for a moment before turning back to the other Potter's.
"Well I best be off, lots to do today… goodbye" said Hagrid clapping his hand on Harry's shoulder one last time.
With that, he walked away from the Potter's leaving them to walk away on their own presumably to go and seek out Edward so they could spend the short amount of time together that James and Narcissa with all three of their children before they had to return home.
9th June 1992
"This is hopeless… how on earth do they expect us to pass History Of Magic?" moaned Ron throwing his feeble notes for History Of Magic down on the table.
He was sat around one of the tables in the library with the rest of the Gryffindor First Years as they had all chosen to study together for their upcoming end-of-year exams.
"I wish we could just ignore History Of Magic… what use is that subject if it's just a ghost who's been dead for 200 years droning on about wars and rebellions no one even remembers anymore?" groaned Joshua Sloper.
Ron nodded in agreement as did Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas.
"You have to pass all of the exams if you want to come back next year" said Hermione who was sat a little further down the table in between Janet Spinnet and Ellen Morrison.
Ron let out a groan which caused the elderly Librarian Madam Pince to tell them to be quiet or they would be thrown out of the library.
Harry picked up some of his notes for History Of Magic and scrunched his forehead in frustration.
"Not sweating over exams already are you Little Brother?" said Edward amusedly as he walked behind Harry jokingly messing up his hair before walking over to where Cassiopeia Malfoy was sat at another table with some of their friends.
"Shut up Edward" retorted Harry before returning his attention to his History Of Magic revision.
After a few minutes of their revision, Lavender dropped her own notes on the table and leaned back on her chair with a bored look on her face.
"I'm with you Boys… I wish we didn't have to take this stupid History Of Magic exam" moaned Lavender in an overly bored tone.
"Well study for something else then" said Parvati Patil in a slightly frustrated voice at her best friends words.
Lavender leaned forwards and picked up some notes to study for the Charms exam instead.
The First Years carried on studying for the next hour or so before finally leaving the library to go down to the Great Hall for lunch.
12th June 1992
Professor Mcgonagall used her wand to levitate stacks of parchment sheets to each desk for students to take one each.
"You will have forty-five minutes to complete your written exam, the exam will consist of twenty questions testing your knowledge on what you have learned this year… after your written exam is complete I will call each of you into the next room one at a time for your practical exam" said Professor Mcgonagall as each student received their test sheet.
Harry picked up his test sheet looking at the twenty questions which covered the entirety of what they had learned in Transfiguration for the year.
Once every student had their test sheet and had gotten themselves ready to start their exam, Professor Mcgonagall walked back towards her desk and sat down.
"Your exam starts now" said Professor Mcgonagall pointing her wand at the small hourglass on her desk which started to drain sand from the top portion to the bottom portion.
There were shuffling noises around the classroom as the exam started.
Harry looked down at his test sheet.
TRANSFIGURATION – WRITTEN EXAMINATION – FIRST YEAR
1) Describe the Transfiguration Alphabet.
2) Define the Transformation Formula and explain how it applies to Transfiguration.
3) List and identify the five variables of the Transformation Formula.
Harry dipped his quill into his ink and started to write his answer to the first question doing his best to recall the revision he did on the Transfiguration Alphabet.
Seventy-five minutes later…
Harry made his way into the small room for his Transfiguration Practical shutting the door behind him where he found Professor Mcgonagall stood behind a desk which contained a small number of objects which he would be required to transfigure for his exam.
As he made his way over to the desk Professor Mcgonagall straightened up.
"No need to be nervous Mr Potter, it's just a small test today which will cover four spells… you can have up to five attempts on each spell, do you understand the nature of this exam or would you like a further explanation?" said Professor Mcgonagall softly.
"I understand Professor" said Harry politely.
Professor Mcgonagall nodded.
"Very well then… if you could start with turning this matchstick into a needle please?" said Professor Mcgonagall.
Harry nodded and drew his wand trying to picture a shiny silver needle in his mind as he prepared to cast his spell.
Though Transfiguration was not one of Harry's strongest subjects he felt that he did well on the practical exam even if it took him two or three attempts to do each spell.
After turning his matchstick into a needle, he had to turn it back into a matchstick using the "Flintifors" spell, turn a small white mouse into a shiny gold snuffbox and finally turn a small wooden block into a small bird using the "Avifors" spell which resulted in the appearance of a small brown robin which took flight for a few moments bringing his exam to an end after nearly ten minutes.
Once he was done Harry put his wand back in his robes as Professor Mcgonagall returned the objects on the desk to normal for the next student to take their exam.
"You can go now Mr Potter, and send Mr Sloper in for his exam please" said Professor Mcgonagall.
After that Harry left the room feeling relieved that the first of his end-of-year exams was over.
One hour later…
The 59-year-old squat Herbology Professor and Head of Hufflepuff House Pomona Sprout who always dressed in brown robes and a matching hat, that were usually covered in layers of dirt and dust explained that their Herbology exam consisted of one practical exam where they would have to identify and label several types of plants and fungi.
Like with their Transfiguration exam, each student was called into one of the smaller greenhouses one at a time in alphabetical order by the Herbology Professor.
After Sally-Anne Perks walked out of the greenhouse wiping traces of dust and dirt off of her robes, Harry heard Professor Sprout call his name and he made his way into the greenhouse.
Once inside he saw at least a dozen potted plants, leaves and plant stalks spread out on three desks along with a dozen labels that needed to be matched to each specimen correctly.
"Alright Mr Potter… you have up to twenty minutes to match each label to each plant, once you feel you have finished I will mark your answers and then you can go" said Professor Sprout.
Harry nodded and made his way over to the benches quickly identifying some of the specimens as Devils Snare, Dittany, Wormwood and Bouncing Bulbs.
Harry took nearly fifteen minutes carefully identifying each specimen and labelling them to the best of his knowledge.
Once he was finished he told Professor Sprout that he was done.
"Go and stand by the door Mr Potter while I mark your work" said Professor Sprout making her way towards the bench with a roll of parchment in her hand.
Harry stood patiently by the door as Professor Sprout carefully inspected each of his specimens scribbling on the roll of parchment as she did so.
Once she was done after a few minutes she told Harry that he was free to go.
13th June 1992
Jennifer looked at some of the questions on her Charms written exam as Professor Flitwick started their forty-five-minute long written Charms exam.
CHARMS – WRITTEN EXAMINATION – FIRST YEAR
1a) State the incantation and describe the effects of the Unlocking Charm.
1b) Describe the wand movement required for the Unlocking Charm.
2a) State the incantation and describe the effects of the Locking Spell.
2b) Describe the wand movement required for the Locking Spell.
3a) State the incantation and describe one use of the Levitation Charm.
3b) Describe the wand movement required for the Levitation Charm.
Jennifer put her head down and started to work on her written exam making sure to answer each question with a short but detailed paragraph with the intention of scoring a top grade for the exam.
Once the written exam was over and all of the students were waiting outside to be called in for their practical exam, Jennifer was the first of the class to be called inside by Professor Flitwick for the exam.
By the end of her exam ten minutes later Jennifer felt confident that she had got an Outstanding grade in Charms as well as a good chance of a top-four spot in the class rankings after performing all ten of the required spells without difficulty.
After leaving the Charms classroom Jennifer headed off to the library intending to get some more studying in for her History Of Magic exam due to take place tomorrow.
Later that night…
"The sheets in front of you contain fifteen coordinates… you are to search these coordinates and note down whatever you find at these coordinates, I won't tell you what sort of things you are searching for, that will be up to you to figure out for yourselves" said the 30-year-old, dark-skinned medium length black haired Astronomy Professor Aurora Sinistra from her position in the centre of the platform on the Astronomy Tower.
Hermione was one of many of the First Years stood around the edge of the platform watching their Professor with her brass telescope already set up behind her.
"Write your answers on the exam sheet in the space provided… you have forty-five minutes, you may begin" said Professor Sinistra.
Hermione eagerly turned around and started aligning her telescope with the first set of coordinates.
After a few minutes, her telescope was focused on the first set of coordinates and Hermione made quick work of writing her answer down below the coordinates.
1) Planet of Mars, and its orbiting Moon known as Phobos.
Feeling confident that she had noted down everything of worth from those constellations, Hermione looked down at the coordinates provided for question two and began to adjust her telescope to view the next coordinates.
14th June 1992
As Neville made his way back into their DADA classroom, he felt a weight on his shoulder to do really well on his exam knowing of his Auror Father's affinity for Defensive Magic.
Earlier on in the lesson, Neville felt he had achieved a decent enough score in the written exam set by the Auror turned Professor which tested them on the dark creatures they had learned about like vampires and hags as well as some of the spells he had taught them.
As the classroom door closed behind him Neville caught sight of Professor Keaton stood at the opposite end of the classroom with his wand drawn.
"Disarming Charm Mr Longbottom" said Professor Keaton sharply.
Neville jumped slightly.
"Disarming Charm Mr Longbottom" repeated Professor Keaton.
Neville quickly drew his wand.
"Expelliarmus" raising his wand towards Professor Keaton.
The DADA Professor sighed as the red Disarming Charm flew past his right hitting one of the chairs knocking it backwards slightly.
"Trip Jinx" said Professor Keaton.
"Flipendo!" shouted Neville.
His aim was much better this time as Professor Keaton silently blocked the trip jinx deflecting it back at Neville who jumped out of the way.
"Curse of the Bogies" said Professor Keaton.
As Professor Keaton called out the spells, Neville tried his hardest to cast them with mixed results, being able to cast most of them but he struggled with others.
"You can go now Mr Longbottom" said Professor Keaton opening the door behind Neville with his wand.
Later that afternoon…
Jennifer and the rest of their Ravenclaw-Slytherin class were surprised when they walked into their History Of Magic classroom to find a short, squat, balding elderly man around 90 years of age dressed in old fashioned wizard robes waiting for them instead of Professor Binns.
As the class filtered into the classroom the Man cleared his throat.
"Find your seats please" squeaked the Man.
Jennifer sat down in one of the seats near the front which was her assigned seat finding ink, parchment, a quill and an exam sheet on her table ready for her use.
"My name is Professor Tofty, I will be supervising and marking your History Of Magic written examination instead of Professor Binns" said Professor Tofty.
Once all of the students had taken their seats and gotten themselves ready to start the exam Professor Tofty cleared his throat.
"You will have one hour to complete your exam… you may begin" said Professor Tofty.
The sounds of quills scratching signalled the start of the exam as Professor Tofty used an enchanted hourglass to keep track of how long the students had before the exam was finished.
23rd June 1992
"Another year has gone!" said Dumbledore as he got to his feet from his position at the head table.
Harry and Neville looked up at him from their places at the Gryffindor table where they were all sat for the Leaving Feast where the winners of the House Cup would be announced before the students would return home on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow.
As it was when they arrived at Hogwarts, the House tables were lined with food catering to all varieties and tastes though for the moment it was mostly eaten since the students had finished their main courses before Dumbledore would make his announcements with the deserts being served after the announcements.
As the noise of excited chatter in the Great Hall died down in anticipation of Dumbledore's speech, students noticed that the banners hanging from the ceiling were black instead of sporting the colours of the House that won the House Cup meaning that they were going to be surprised by who won the House Cup.
"Before I announce the winning House… I would like to say a hearty farewell and good luck to all of our departing students, may you find success and happiness in your futures, and should any of you find yourselves in need of guidance… do not hesitate to send an owl to either myself or your Head Of House" said Dumbledore proudly which resulted in more cheers from the students as well as applause from the staff table.
Dumbledore waited for the cheers to quieten down before clearing his throat.
"And now for the scores for the House Cup… in fourth place, Slytherin with 343 points" said Dumbledore to light applause which was drowned out by groans from the Slytherin table.
"In third place… Hufflepuff with 396 points" said Dumbledore.
There were disappointed looks on the Hufflepuffs but more applause than there had been for the Slytherins.
"In second place… with 438 points…" said Dumbledore.
There was a tense silence around the great hall as they awaited Dumbledore's next words which would reveal who won the House Cup.
"Ravenclaw" said Dumbledore finally breaking the tension.
Applause broke out from three of the House tables while cheers broke out from the Gryffindor table having won the House Cup for the first time in years.
"Which means Gryffindor win the House Cup with 448 points!" Dumbledore called out over the cheers from the Gryffindor table before clapping his hands together changing the black banners hanging from the ceiling to red bearing the Gryffindor crest.
It took a good few minutes before the Gryffindor's calmed down enough from their House Cup win which also delighted Professor Mcgonagall having triumphed in the House Cup even though Gryffindor could not get a Quidditch Cup to go with it.
24th June 1992
"I wrote to my Dad the other day… he said he could get us some tickets to go and see the Holyhead Harpies in two weeks, they're an all-female Quidditch team… and you can come and stay for a week" said Janet as the Hogwarts Express thundered across the countryside on their way back to Kings Cross.
Hermione who was sat across from her might not have been too keen on Quidditch. But the thought of experiencing more of the Magical World by going to a professional Quidditch match was intriguing.
She and Janet were sharing their compartment on the train with Eileen and Rose Snape who were equally as excited as Hermione at the thought of attending a Quidditch match having both been invited by Janet as well.
Though the two girls could have avoided taking the Hogwarts Express back to London since they lived in Hogsmeade, they had wanted to take the train on a return journey for once while they were at Hogwarts with Lily Snape agreeing to their request.
Hermione nodded her head hoping that her Parent's would allow her to spend a few days with the Spinnets and hopefully attend a Quidditch match with her friends.
"I'll have to ask my Parent's first… but I reckon they'll be okay with it" said Hermione nervously.
"We can pick you up from the Leaky Cauldron Hermione" said Janet.
She turned to the Snape Twins.
"I'm sure my Parent's would be okay if you guys wanted to come and stay for a few days around the time of the match" said Janet.
"Sure" said Eileen.
"It beats spending all summer at home or looking around Hogsmeade" said Rose eagerly.
With that, the four girls began eagerly discussing their potential plans for the summer holidays as the train thundered along on its journey.
30th June 1992
As the Potter's were sat around the table enjoying their breakfast when a single barn owl flew through the open window of the dining room carrying two envelopes in its beak. Both envelopes were dropped in between Harry and Edward who were sat side by side with Euphemia sat next to Edward while James and Narcissa were sat opposite their children with expectant looks on their faces.
"Thanks" said Harry as Edward handed Harry's envelope to him.
Edward opened his envelope first pulling a folded up letter out and unfolding it which revealed it to be his end-of-year exam results.
Edward Henry Potter
Defence Against The Dark Arts – Outstanding
Charms – Outstanding
Transfiguration – Outstanding
Herbology – Exceeds Expectations
Potions – Exceeds Expectations
History Of Magic – Acceptable
Astronomy – Exceeds Expectations
Aritrhmancy – Exceeds Expectations
Ancient Runes – Exceeds Expectations
"How did you do Edward?" said Narcissa.
"All good" said Edward reaching across the table to hand his results sheet to his Mother.
Narcissa took the sheet from her eldest Son and read through it with a smile on her face.
"Getting better each year… my big boy has a great future ahead of him" said Narcissa proudly before handing the sheet to James who read it and turned to Edward with a proud look on his face.
"Well done Edward… how did you do Harry?" said James turning to face Harry.
As Edward thanked his Parents Harry finally opened his envelope pulling his results sheet out.
Harrison James Potter
Defence Against The Dark Arts – Outstanding
Charms – Exceeds Expectations
Transfiguration – Acceptable
Herbology – Exceeds Expectations
Potions – Exceeds Expectations
History Of Magic – Acceptable
Astronomy – Acceptable
"I… I did alright" said Harry holding out his sheet for Narcissa.
She took it from him and started to read through it.
"Harry… these results are really good" said Narcissa softly.
She handed the sheet to James who nodded in agreement.
"And add being the youngest Seeker in over a century on top of that… you did really well" said James proudly.
Hearing those words from his parents made Harry smile before he returned to his breakfast.
Later that afternoon…
Harry was laid on his bed resting against the headboard reading a book as there was a knock at his door.
He looked up from his book to see Narcissa stood in the doorway dressed in some muggle jeans and a blouse with her hair tied in a ponytail obviously planning to take a trip into muggle London which she started to do with Andromeda a few years ago.
"I'm taking your Brother and Sister to do some shopping in muggle London" said Narcissa.
"What about Dad?" said Harry curiously.
"He's been called into work… come on" said Narcissa.
Harry put his book on his bedside table and got up walking towards the door.
As he was about to walk out of the door Narcissa stopped him.
"Have you had any more of those nightmares?" said Narcissa really hoping that the nightmares of Dorea's death had subsided for good.
Looking up at her Harry shook his head.
Narcissa felt a great sense of relief inside her body before she wrapped her arms around her Son.
Harry returned her hug as she kissed his forehead.
"My sweet little boy, making both his Parent's proud" said Narcissa softly.
After nearly a minute Harry let go of her and followed her down the hallway ready for an afternoon's shopping in London.