The Difference One Choice Makes
24th November 1995
"Pay attention Ron… if you can't keep focused then you won't improve!" Angelina Johnson called out to Ron as he dove down to retrieve the Quaffle which Katie had hurled through his unguarded left hoop.
As he dove down towards the ground, the chants of "Weasley is our King!" coming from the small group of Slytherin's in the stands watching their practice session grew louder with laughter accompanying the words.
Returning up to his position in front of his goalposts, Ron threw the Quaffle to Harry who caught it before quickly passing it to Alicia who sent a wicked curling shot towards Ron's right hoop.
Speeding towards the hoop, Ron just about managed to get there in time to tip the Quaffle onto the side of the hoop saving the shot even though he would consider it a lucky save.
"Again!" Angelina called out as Katie shot down to retrieve it before throwing it up towards Angelina.
Not giving Ron any time to adjust his position, she threw the Quaffle towards his middle hoop, beating her hand on her broom handle in frustration as the Quaffle soared through his outstretched hands through the hoop.
"Come on Ron, pay attention!" shouted Angelina.
Scowling, Ron made no attempt to retrieve the Quaffle and shot down towards the ground, clearly having had enough and giving up.
"Get back up here Ron!" shouted Angelina as the Slytherin's roared with laughter and stomped their feet.
Ron ignored her call for him to come back as well as ignoring all other calls to come back, flying towards the player's entrance to make his way back towards the changing rooms.
Angelina shot after him, landing near him before dragging him through the player's entrance out of sight as Fred and George flew over to them.
"He's making a right pig's ear of this" said George with frustration, looking down at where Angelina had dragged Ron out of their sight.
"We'll get flattened by Hufflepuff at this rate" said Fred in equal frustration.
"At least our match against Hufflepuff is three months away, plenty of time for him to improve" said Harry with a hint of hopefulness in his voice.
Glancing around his teammates, the looks on their faces made it clear that they were doubting his words just as he was doubting them himself.
Glancing down at the Slytherin's who were pointing up at them as they guffawed with laughter, George scowled and pelted the single Bludger they were training with straight at the crowd making them scream and scatter to avoid being hit.
"If only he didn't let that stupid song get to him so much… he would be fine" said Alicia with frustration and a hint of pity in her words.
"Do you think Mcgonagall would let us get away with hexing them for it?" said Fred darkly, looking down to where the Slytherin's were now moving along the stands to sit somewhere else.
"Of course not" said George in an equally dark tone as they just hovered in position waiting for Angelina to return either with Ron or without him.
Meanwhile…
"I'm serious… go and find yourself a new Keeper, one who won't let you down so much" said Ron bitterly.
He was slouched back against one of the wooden beams making up the stadium wall with a scowl on his face while Angelina was stood opposite him with her arms folded and a stern look on her face.
Most of the time she counted herself lucky that she and Alicia did not listen to their respective boyfriends Fred and George who would sometimes tell them just to accept Ron's resignation if he wants to quit the team that bad.
But she knew that Ron did have the potential to be a good Keeper. If only she could get it out of him.
"Why did you try out for the team then?" said Angelina sternly.
"Because I thought I could play well… Charlie, Fred and George always made me play as Keeper over the summer whenever they had to practice Quidditch, I was alright at it back then, only now I can see that I'm not as good as I thought I was" said Ron flatly, looking down at the floor with a defeated look on his face.
"Then why are you giving up now… you've been on this team for two months and only had one match, which we won in case you forgot" said Angelina flatly.
Ron scowled and kicked a patch of grass in front of him.
"Because I'm hopeless… and you'll be better off with a different Keeper" said Ron angrily.
"Are you a quitter Ron?" said Angelina straightening up.
Ron looked up at her, showing Angelina a small spark of fire in his eyes which is exactly what she wanted to see.
"I didn't think so… now pick your broom up and get back out there, we need you" said Angelina fiercely.
"No you don't" mumbled Ron.
Angelina stepped closer to him, invading his personal space causing him to back up slightly.
"Yes we do… so get back on your broom and get back up there to keep practising" said Angelina fiercely.
Ron pushed past her walking back towards the player's entrance.
"Fine… but if we lose the Quidditch Cup because of me being a lousy Keeper then I'm never playing Quidditch again" said Ron bitterly.
Watching him mount his broom and take off to continue practising, Angelina breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that she was able to get him to snap out of his bad mood.
31st December 1995
"It was nice of your mum and dad to invite me and my parents tonight… given that I was only introduced to them after we got back to Kings Cross the other week" said Katie softly.
Wanting to look pretty for her boyfriend and his family, Katie had donned a red ballgown, a few pieces of jewellery and some makeup to go with Harry's dark blue dress robes for the party.
When arriving at the party nearly three hours ago, Katie had been surprised to find that it was quite informal and relaxed rather than a strictly formal ball which part of had been expecting it to be from the moment she and her parents were invited to the party.
Her parents had been thrilled to hear of her relationship with Harry and quite enthusiastic when meeting him at Kings Cross, insisting that Katie invite him over for dinner one night either during the Christmas holidays or during the summer.
Of course, Harry had also written to his parents about Katie, both of whom were overjoyed that he had finally gotten himself a girlfriend with Narcissa adding a comment about remembering Katie as well as saying that she was a good girl for Harry to date.
When Harry finally introduced her to his father and properly introduced her to his mother on the platform after they had returned from Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays a week and a half ago, the Potter's took a great liking to her with James remarking that he knew Harry would be drawn to a girl who liked Quidditch as much as he did.
Before leaving the platform that day, James and Narcissa had sought Katie's parents out to invite them to their New Years Eve party.
As they passed a large painting on their small tour of the house, Harry pulled her into his side and kissed her.
"My dad's been dying to meet you ever since he found out we were together… same with my mum, well… she wanted to meet you again" said Harry.
Katie took his hand and started to sway to imaginary music.
"Your parents are lovely people Harry" said Katie softly.
"Yours are too" said Harry, slowly joining in her dancing.
As he watched her sway to imaginary music, Harry could not take his eyes off of her.
Noticing this Katie smiled and twirled herself close to him so her back was flush up against his chest looking up at him.
"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?" said Harry softly.
Katie smirked and shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"Once or twice" said Katie softly.
Harry pressed his lips to hers before turning her around to face him.
"And if I wanted to say it again?" said Harry teasingly.
Katie smirked and leaned up to his ear.
"I'd say it would be encouraged" whispered Katie cheekily.
Harry chuckled and looked her up and down.
"I always liked seeing you in a Quidditch uniform on your broom, you look like you are having the time of your life every time you're on a Quidditch pitch… but tonight, dressed like this, you really are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on" said Harry softly.
Katie's cheeks turned a little bit red closely matching her dress before she pulled him in for a kiss.
"You're a real charmer Harry Potter… a real charmer" said Katie softly before giving him another kiss.
After another minute of just relishing the feeling of being so close to each other, Katie took his arm and started to lead him back towards the stairs.
"Your grandmother is quite a character… not as difficult as you made her out to be though, even if she is quite invasive" said Katie, with a hint of teasing in her voice as a memory from over two weeks ago, resurfaced in her mind.
16th December 1995
"I hope your mum and dad like me… well your mum seemed to like me enough when she was teaching here… but that was before you and I started seeing each other" said Katie with a slight hint of nervousness in her voice as she rested her head on Harry's shoulder.
The two were sat on one of the benches in the courtyard, dressed in warm coats, gloves, scarves and hats to keep them warm from the light snow falling around them.
"They'll love you Katie" said Harry softly.
"They better do… now that you just said they will" said Katie jokingly.
Harry traced his hand on her arm.
"Just wait until you meet my grandmother" said Harry.
Katie tilted her head up to look at him.
"Oh… and what is she like then?" said Katie curiously.
Harry sighed.
"She can be difficult… she's an old fashioned pure-blood socialite, let's just say you don't want to get on her bad side" said Harry warily.
"Way to get me excited to meet your family Harry" said Katie sarcastically.
Harry pressed his forehead against hers.
"She'll likely want me to introduce you to her properly when you first meet her… and she always calls me Harrison even when I'd rather she just stuck to Harry, she'll probably call you Ms Bell rather than Katie whenever you speak to her as well" said Harry softly.
Katie shrugged her shoulders.
"My parents will want you around for dinner whenever they get the chance… and dad will probably go full protective father guarding his only daughter mode on you" said Katie before closing her eyes for a moment as she kept her head on his shoulder.
Moving his arm carefully and slowly, Harry scooped up a handful of the snow from the bench before swinging his arm around to gently throw it at her chin and neck.
Snapping her eyes open, Katie turned to him with a competitive fire burning in her eyes.
"You are so dead Harrison Potter" said Katie before scooping up some snow in her own hand and returning the favour.
Laughing, the two then jumped up off of the bench throwing handfuls of snow at each other like a couple of young schoolchildren.
Snapping herself out of the memory, Katie squeezed his hand tightly.
"You were right about her calling me Ms Bell… and subjecting me to quite a few questions, but other than that your grandmother is all right" said Katie softly.
Approaching the open doors to the ballroom where the party was still raging three hours in, they were able to make out the dancing figures of some of the other guests including Andromeda and Ted, Sirius and Amelia, Nymphadora and Bill Weasley as well as Cassiopeia and Edward, all of whom Harry had introduced Katie to in turn.
Also occupying the ballroom were several of Edward's, Harry's and Euphemia's friends who had also been invited to the party including the Longbottoms, Weasley's, Hermione, Janet Spinnet, her sister Mary-Anne and their parents among others.
As they walked back into the ballroom, Harry pulled Katie into him, placing his hands on her hips.
"Only an hour or so until midnight now" said Harry teasingly.
Katie smirked and placed her hands on his arms.
"You can count down the minutes and seconds then" said Katie teasingly before taking his hands and pulling him towards the large crowd of dancers.
14th February 1996
"It looks like your sister had a good time today" said Katie teasingly as she and Harry walked back into the courtyard, having returned from their Valentines Day celebrations in Hogsmeade.
"What do you mean?" said Harry warily.
"See for yourself… you do have eyes after all" said Katie with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Following her gaze, Harry suddenly felt shocked and slightly protective when he saw two people sharing a kiss on one of the benches in the courtyard, both of whom he recognised.
Euphemia and a tall, thin blonde-haired fourth-year named Zacharias Smith who he recognised from playing as Chaser for the Hufflepuff team.
Frozen in place, Harry was only snapped out of his trance when Katie gave his hand a firm squeeze.
"Looks like your little sister has her first boyfriend" said Katie teasingly.
Harry turned back to her.
"It just surprises me that she's going out with someone as obnoxious as Smith… she detests people who see themselves as superior to everyone else" said Harry with mild distaste in his mouth.
"You sound jealous… he's not bad looking" said Katie teasingly.
Harry chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her against his front.
"He's not you though" said Harry jokingly which made Katie laugh.
Giving her a kiss, Harry glanced back at Euphemia who, having heard Katie laugh was looking at them with an embarrassed but stern look on her face.
"I wonder what would make him wet his pants even more… me warning him about making sure she is treated right... or Head Boy and Tri-Wizard winner Edward Potter doing it instead?" said Harry amusedly as Euphemia sent him a glare before walking back into the castle with Zacharias Smith.
"Don't be so mean" said Katie jokingly.
Harry smirked and twirled her around once.
"Just an older brother looking out for his little sister" said Harry amusedly.
He gave her a kiss before taking her hand and leading her towards the castle doors.
"Although… it might be fun to watch him squirm if she brings him home to meet mum and dad" said Harry amusedly.
As they approached the castle doors Katie squeezed his hand getting his attention back onto her.
"How is your brother?" said Katie softly.
Harry sighed.
"Throwing himself into his studies and his duty as Head Boy, he really fell for Myranda… and she broke his heart" said Harry with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
Katie sighed.
"A part of me wanted to feel sorry for her for being told who she will be spending the rest of her life with… but you can't leave your boyfriend in the dark about it for months, only to tell him when he is overjoyed at celebrating his victory in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, that's just plain wrong and selfish on her part" said Katie flatly.
Harry smiled and pulled her into his side.
"You might call me a charmer and a sweetheart Katie Bell… but you are one of the most understanding and kindest people I have ever known" said Harry softly.
"So sweet" said Katie teasingly before she pulled him down for another kiss.
21st February 1996
While Harry and the rest of his teammates had thought Ron had been showing some improvement in their practice sessions, all of that improvement would end up being undone when they played against Hufflepuff on a slightly chilly February morning.
As Harry devoted his focus on searching for the Snitch, the lack of cheers and celebrating from the Hufflepuff's in the stands told him that Hufflepuff had yet to score a single goal.
This lasted all of two minutes, with Harry taking the cheers from the Hufflepuff's to mean that Ron had finally conceded a goal.
"Weasley cannot save a thing, he cannot block a single ring, that's why we all sing, Weasley is our king… Weasley was born in a bin, he always lets the Quaffle in, Weasley will make sure we win, Weasley is our king!"
Turning to look down at the stands upon hearing the familiar sound of the Slytherin's chanting their song even though they were not playing in this match.
"Come on Ron" muttered Harry, watching Zacharias Smith zooming towards Ron with the Quaffle under his arm.
Harry groaned when he saw Smith throw the Quaffle through Ron's right hoop which would have proved to be an easy save for a confident and competent Keeper, with the Hufflepuff's and Slytherin's celebrating like they had just won the Quidditch Cup.
Catching sight of Angelina who shot towards him to retrieve the Quaffle, Harry saw that she looked extremely displeased with Ron, knowing that he should have saved such an easy shot.
Returning to his search for the Snitch, Harry could not bring himself to watch as the Hufflepuff's scored goal after goal with the only breaks in their scoring patterns coming when the Gryffindor's had shots and scored goals of their own.
Knowing that catching the Snitch might be the only way to secure a victory for Gryffindor, Harry doubled his efforts to find the glittering golden ball as well as keeping an eye on the seventh-year Hufflepuff Captain and Seeker Cedric Diggory, looking for any signs that he might have spotted the Snitch himself.
Fortunately for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and their supporters in the stands, the torturous match only lasted for twenty minutes with the one-hundred and fifty points Harry had earned for Gryffindor by catching the Snitch giving them a narrow victory in the match with the final score being 190-140.
Though they had won the match, the entire Gryffindor team left the pitch looking very dejected with the match as a whole, with Ron walking several feet away from the rest of his teammates, no doubt wondering if Angelina will finally give in and let him quit the team.
Fifteen minutes later…
Before the two of them went back up to the castle together, Katie emerged from the female changing rooms telling Harry that she could hear Angelina crying in the shower about how they are going to lose the Quidditch Cup because of her team decisions with Alicia trying her hardest to comfort her best friend.
"Shall we wait for her… just to let her know that she's not failing us?" said Harry curiously.
Katie managed a sad smile and shook her head.
"No… let's leave her be for now, Lis will make sure she's alright" said Katie softly.
"If you think that's for the best" said Harry softly, glancing at the entrance to the female changing rooms.
Katie took his hand.
"If you want to reassure her that she's doing a good job… tell her later tonight when she's had some time to calm down and cheer up" said Katie softly.
Trusting his girlfriend in her judgement, Harry squeezed her hand before leading her back towards the path back up to the castle.
24th February 1996
"All right… another one then… who created the Cheering Charm?" said Katie, glancing in between Harry and a copy of "Achievements in Charming" by Elliot Smethwyck.
The two were laid outside on the grass of the Hogwarts grounds underneath a large willow tree that was being occupied by a few green twig-like bowtruckles, with Katie spending the last hour helping Harry revise for his Owl exams which were only three months away.
"Felix Summerbee" said Harry testily.
Katie glanced down at the book before managing a small smile.
"Correct" said Katie, leaning into his side to relax against him.
Abandoning the studying for a moment, Katie dropped the book and took one of his hands with both of hers, squeezing it tightly.
"Given that I've been helping you study for the last hour… perhaps you could do something for me in return?" said Katie, twisting herself around to look into his eyes with a slightly pleading look in her eyes.
Giving her a slow kiss, Harry squeezed her hands in return.
"I know that look all too well… you want something from me" said Harry curiously.
Katie smirked and pressed herself into his side.
"Could you show me the Patronus Charm… like the one you did in your third year?" said Katie softly.
Harry smiled, pulling his wand out and bringing the memory of the midnight kiss he and Katie shared together at Potter Manor into the front of his mind.
"Expecto Patronum" said Harry, with clear articulation as he twirled his wand in a circular motion pointing at the air in front of them.
The powerful happy emotions of the memory coursing through his veins caused the white mist of the incorporeal form of his Patronus to morph into a large silvery-white German Shepherd, which playfully bounced and ran around on the grass in front of them for several seconds before disappearing.
"That was… incredible" said Katie in shock and awe.
Harry, who was equally as shocked as her, slowly lowered his wand.
"It was just an incorporeal form the last time I cast it… I've never managed to produce a corporeal form before" said Harry, slowly coming down from the shock.
Katie glanced up at him with her eyebrow raised.
"You need a powerful memory right… something with a lot of emotion?" said Katie curiously.
Harry nodded.
"So what memory did you use… or is it private?" said Katie.
Harry gulped.
"New Year's Eve… midnight" said Harry, taking a few deep breaths to prevent the pure emotion of his chosen memory from taking over his senses.
Knowing what memory he had chosen, Katie turned slightly pink, feeling the powerful emotions from that specific memory for herself.
"Can you teach me?" said Katie softly.
Harry pulled her into his side, giving her a kiss before putting his wand away.
"I'd be glad to… take your wand out" said Harry.
Harry spent the next fifteen minutes carefully explaining the basics of the spell and the need for a very emotionally powerful memory to fuel her Patronus Charm.
Just as he had done in his third year, Katie's first few attempts to cast the spell only resulted in a few seconds of white mist which disappointed her.
"You have to use every bit of focus you have… let your emotions fuel you, let it fill you up" said Harry supportively.
"I'm trying" said Katie, with slight frustration etched into her words.
Harry sighed and pressed a kiss to her forehead as she moved away from him slightly.
"Keep trying, I know you can do it" said Harry supportively.
Glancing at him, Katie smiled and took his encouragement, using it as her strength.
"Expecto Patronum!" said Katie loudly and clearly, twirling her wand focusing all of her emotion into her chosen memory which like Harry's, was the kiss they shared on New Year's Eve.
Inside she was jumping for joy when a large gust of silvery-white mist erupted from her wand, slowly taking the shape of a tigress that stalked around them as she kept the focus of her spell up.
She was so full of proud and happy emotions that she did not hear Harry cast his own Patronus Charm, letting his silvery-white German Shepherd join her tigress which allowed the two Patronuses to walk side by side, together in magic as Harry and Katie were in real life.
A few more seconds passed before Harry and Katie finally let their Patronuses fade into the air, turning to each other as they put their wands away.
"See… I knew you could do it" said Harry proudly.
Katie took his hand and squeezed it.
"With what happened in your third year… it's a good thing someone taught you how to defend yourself against the dementors" said Katie softly.
Harry sighed, refusing to let the memory of Dorea Potter's death come back to the surface of his mind which was further helped when he felt Katie pull him closer to her as if she was trying to protect him.
"If you ever want to talk Harry… about anything, you can come to me okay, I'll always be here to listen if you need me" said Katie softly.
Allowing himself to be taken into her comforting presence, Harry wrapped his arms around her, kissing her softly and tracing his hands on her shoulders and arms.
When they finally broke apart, Katie, without breaking eye contact with Harry, reached behind her and picked up the copy of "Achievements in Charming" by Elliot Smethwyck holding it up in front of him with one hand.
"Come on… another half an hour of Charms and then we'll take a little stroll, a walk around the lake maybe" said Katie softly.
Harry smirked and laid down on his side before pulling her down to lie on her side opposite him.
"Yes Professor Bell" said Harry teasingly, making Katie turn slightly pink with mild embarrassment at his chosen name for her.