Disclaimer: not mine of course.
Chapter 9Harry was still wondering about what animal to turn into the next night as he, Hermione, Ron and Claire made their way to the great hall.
"I think I might be a cat." Hermione mused, twirling her wand between her fingers.
"I want to be a greyhound." Ron said. "Could you imagine how fast I could go?"
"What are you going to be, Harry?" Hermione asked as they entered the great hall. It had scattered groups of teenagers all chatting excitedly about the class.
"I don't know yet."
"Claire, what about you?"
"A cat" Claire shrugged. "Something simple"
Malfoy and Zabini came and joined them at that moment.
"-Salamander I reckon." Zabini said, not really noticing the Gryffindor's standing around.
"Nah. Amphibians can only get you so far." Malfoy replied, slipping a casual arm around Hermione. "I'm going for the eagle. What about you, Potter?"
"I don't know" Harry said once again. McGonagall entered the hall and everyone fell quiet.
"Well. Thank you all for arriving on time" she said loudly as more supervising staff filed into the hall. "The first thing you need to know is that becoming an animagus does not happen over night. You need extreme practice before you can even attempt to transform yourself.
'The process will take about six months and only then will the smartest and strongest be able to attempt the transformation." She looked pointedly to where Harry and Hermione were standing. "For the more common or slow learners it could take up to four years. And some of you might never be able to transform at all. All right. The first thing we are going to do is split you into groups of what you would like to be. Amphibians in the far left corner." Blaise shrugged and wandered over to the designated place with several other Slytherins and a few Hufflepuffs and one Gryffindor; Neville. "Domestic animals such as cats and dogs in the far right corner." Ron, Hermione and Claire went to this group along with Lavender and several more Hufflepuffs. "Birds or other flying creatures down on the left of the stage." Malfoy, Theodore Nott, one Hufflepuff and every single Ravenclaw went to this spot. "And wild animals in the right corner." Seamus, Dean, two Slytherin girls and the last Hufflepuff ended up here.
There was a little group left waiting in the centre of the hall including Harry, Parvati, Pansy Parkinson and Crabbe. McGonagall smiled and came down to this group first while other teachers branched off to speak to the separate groups.
"You must be the ones who can't decide. Well we'll fix that. What's your favourite animal?"
"Cat" Pansy said at once.
"Snake" Crabbe muttered.
"Tiger" that was Parvati.
Harry stayed deliberately quiet while McGonagall questioned the other three and sent them off to separate groups. Finally she turned to Harry.
"Well, Potter. Why can't you decide?"
"I need to think of something that will work at my advantage" Harry muttered, a list of animals running frantically through his mind. McGonagall raised an eyebrow and Harry sighed. "I can't just pick any old animal. The rest of the students are doing this for fun but if I'm going to transform then I need to change to something that will help me beat Voldemort."
"Well said." Dumbledore appeared behind Harry. "You have the power to beat him so I suggest you choose something fast. Preferably a land animal."
Harry thought for a moment. What animals were fast? A horse? No, that's too big. Maybe a race dog like Ron? No. Harry wanted something with power. Then it hit him.
"Cheetah"
"Excellent." McGonagall led Harry over to the small group who were listening to an introduction of wild beasts.
When the meeting was finally over Harry went back to the Gryffindor tower with a book on animal transformations tucked under his arm. Hermione was walking beside him babbling excitedly about how she would hopefully be able to transform at the end of six months. Harry secretly reckoned he could do it before then.
For the next two weeks Harry tuckered down and got right into his schoolwork, after have missed about a month of it. In the two Animagi lessons they'd had, Harry and Hermione had shot up to take the lead. Harry had also managed to keep his participation in the English vs. French Quidditch game a complete secret.
It was early on the Saturday morning of the game that Harry woke with butterflies in his stomach. He hadn't felt this nervous about Quidditch since the second grade. He got quietly out of bed and grabbed his broom. Dumbledore had asked him to wait in the entrance hall before the other students woke.
Dumbledore was already waiting for him.
"We'll be apparating today, Harry," he said as they walked swiftly towards the castle gates in the crisp morning air.
"Where about is it?"
"In France. Here" Dumbledore handed Harry a picture of the stadium he would be playing at. Harry nodded and turned sharply on the spot.
Seconds later he was standing in the centre of a massive Quidditch pitch. He could hear voices outside and he and Dumbledore walked towards them.
The English team was standing outside their change rooms signing autographs.
"Harry!" Oliver said, pushing through the crowd towards him.
"Hi, Oliver. When does the game start?"
"In about twenty minutes. We only just got here. Quick, get in the change rooms before they see you."
Harry, Dumbledore and Oliver hurried into the changing rooms. The rest of the team shortly joined them.
"I'll see you after the game, Harry" Dumbledore said as Ruby thrust a pair of red and white Quidditch robes into Harry's hands.
"Right." Jay said nervously, moving his broom from one shoulder to another. "The weathers perfect. Though maybe the sun might be a bit bright. Harry there's nothing to worry about, just play your best."
"I'm not worried" Harry said quietly, sitting down to tie his laces. Overhead they could hear the crowd filling up the stands.
For the next ten minutes Harry sat quietly, listening to the crowd cheering and chanting above. The rest of the team were trying to relax their nerves in their own way.
Suddenly Jay glanced down at his watch and his face became taunt.
"It's time to go," he muttered. The teamed stood, shouldered their brooms and filed out onto the pitch.
The stands erupted. Harry glanced around at them. Half the crowd was dressed in red and white, waving English flags wildly. The other half was wearing red, white and blue.
"And here comes the English team! They've got a new seeker this year… Harry Potter!"
The crowd screamed even louder as the English team stopped in front of the French.
"Make it clean" the referee said sharply as Jay shook hands with French caption. "Mount up!"
Harry got on his broom as the whistle blew and he shot off from the ground and began soaring around the pitch. The French seeker was doing the same in the opposite direction.
Harry watched the game for a moment before he began concentrating so hard on getting the snitch that he didn't even pay attention to the commentary. He soared around and around, looking in every direction for the snitch but at the same time watching the French seeker in case he saw it first.
Then he saw it; hovering a foot from the ground in the centre of the pitch. Without hesitation he dived. The French seeker dived as well and seconds later they're neck in neck, arms out, scrabbling for the snitch.
The game above stopped as both teams turned to watch.
The two seekers were plummeting at an incredible rate towards the hard earth. Then Harry felt it. The snitch was in his hand, beating its tiny wings against his fist. He braked and pulled his broom up to soar back to the sky, hand held high. The French seeker hit the ground with a sickening crunch but Harry didn't notice. All he could think about was the tiny ball in his hand.
The English team, led by Jay, came zooming over and slammed into him in a joyful hug.
"Welcome to the team, Harry!" Jay said. Harry noticed he was crying as he let the commentary back in his ears.
"ENGLAND HAS WON, TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY TO ONE HUNDRED AND TEN! POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH ON HIS FIRST GAME! THIS MEANS ENGLAND HAS MADE IT TO THE NEXT ROUND AGAINST POLLAND!"
Harry was signing autographs for an hour before Dumbledore pulled him away so they could go back to school.
"Well done, Harry" Dumbledore said as they walked back to the school. It was almost lunchtime and Harry was still trying to get it around his head that he was now part of an international Quidditch team and they had just won the first game of the season. The next game was scheduled for some time before Christmas.
"Where have you been, Harry?" Ron, Dean, Seamus and Neville were sitting by the lake when Harry found them after depositing his broom in the tower.
"With Dumbledore" Harry replied, stretching out on the grass and savouring the last of the warm weather. Winter was fast approaching and the snow was supposed to be heavier than ever.
At the mention of Dumbledore, the four boys looked at Harry curiously.
"Doing what with Dumbledore?" Ron asked in a whisper. Harry shrugged as if it didn't matter.
"Just sorting out a few things about… Abu Kahim. I can't tell you though."
"Oh" was all Ron replied.
"So" Harry started after a comfortable silence "what have you guys been doing?"
"Uh…" Neville, Dean and Seamus sat up and gave Ron a quizzical and humorous look.
"Tell him, Ron" Seamus threatened although he was smiling.
"Tell me what?"
"Well…"
"Spit it out, Ron"
"I'm dating Lavender again."
"Is that all?" Harry lay back with a sigh. He though Ron might have done something dangerous.
"Yeah well… she came up to me this morning and told me she couldn't stop thinking about me and she asked me out again so I said yes."
"And this isn't another one of your jealous attempts to get Hermione and Malfoy to break up?"
"Of course not! I'm well over Hermione. I told you that."
"Just making sure…"
For the next few weeks Harry went around with high spirits. Not just high but soaring. He was part of an international Quidditch team (though for some reason he still wouldn't tell anybody), he was soon to be spending a week at Oakenshire and his Animagi skills were increasing so rapidly that McGonagall was holding him back to avoid suspicion with Tweed whom Harry continued to torment despite her warnings that she would kick him out of class the moment she could prove it was him.
When the morning of Harry's departure to Oakenshire finally arrived Harry found he couldn't sleep a single wink so he rose from his bed only just as the sun was coming up and went to sit in the common room.
Claire, for some odd reason, was sitting near the dead fire, watching the first flicker of snow falling beyond the window.
"Morning" she said quietly as Harry sat beside her.
"What's up?" he asked, stretching an arm across the sofa behind her and waving his hand so a fire sprung to life in the grate. Claire smiled softly as he did this. She always enjoyed watching him use magic.
"Nothing really. I just have a bad feeling about today" she unconsciously rubbed the shoulder where her dark mark was. Harry frowned. The last time Claire had said she had felt uneasy; Harry had been kidnapped by fifty death eaters and dragged into the forest for a weekend with Voldemort. Of course this had been when he'd gotten the cease-fire but it could have gone terribly wrong.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Harry asked after a while. "It might make you feel better."
Claire nodded and they set of for a walk around the lake, hand in hand. Apparently it did make Claire feel better because she was soon chatting happily away about the Christmas break. They were halfway back to the castle when an eerily harsh wind picked up, blowing snow into a vortex around them. Harry had barely blinked before the soft snow turned to sand and dust.
"Fucking hell!" Harry grabbed Claire and pulled her against his body. "Keep your eyes closed! Don't do magic!" he shouted, closing his own eyes as Claire clutched at his billowing robes.
"What is it?" Claire screamed back but before she could answer a sound, very much like a gong, vibrated through the wind and into their ears.
"Harry Potter…"
Harry held Claire even tighter as the wind picked up. There was a distant tinkling of glass and someone screamed. Then suddenly the wind was gone. The sand had resumed the form of snow and was now pattering down pleasantly against their bare skin.
"What was that?" Claire gasped, letting go of Harry and looking around them in amazement.
"Abu Kahim. C'mon" he grabbed her hand and together they ran back to the castle.
There were terrified students everywhere. Some were crying, others brandishing wands. But none seemed to be drained of energy. When they saw Harry enter the entrance hall every single soul fell silent. They had all heard Harry's name being called. They had heard him being summoned by the freak sand storm and here he was, standing amongst them, covered in a layer of fresh snow and, strangely enough, sand.
Harry ignored them and left Claire with a few curious Hufflepuff girls before heading off in search of Dumbledore.
The headmaster was on the fourth floor with several other members of the staff including Snape, McGonagall and Tweed.
"Harry!" Dumbledore seemed utterly relieved that he had shown up alive. Harry looked around. The windows closest to them were broken and glass was scattered across the floor. Parvati was slumped against the wall a few feet away, gasping for air.
"Is she the only one?" Harry asked, glancing at the broken windows once more. He felt the urge to fix it but he knew he couldn't use magic while Tweed was around.
"That we know of" Dumbledore replied darkly, clutching Harry by the shoulder and leading him away. "Where were you, Harry? Your covered in snow."
"I was outside with Claire."
"Is she ok?"
"Yes. We didn't use magic."
"Listen, Harry, you still have to go to Oakenshire. You can't stay here because of this."
"I was still planning to go. If you just warn the other students not to use magic when there's a freak sand storm around then they'll be fine."
"Good. I want you to depart for Oakenshire immediately. Go and get your things and meet me in my office"
Harry nodded and, with a last glance at the window, trudged back to the Gryffindor tower to collect his belongings. Fifteen minutes later he had said goodbye to his friends and was walking up the winding staircase with his trunk levitated in front of him and his broom on his shoulder.
"Lets go. I have the feeling Professor Tweed is on her way here and I want you out of the school." Dumbledore pointed at a spot between the fire and a small table where Harry knew he could apparate from. He did so and seconds later he was standing outside the drawbridge that led into Oakenshire. Dumbledore appeared several moments later looking slightly harassed.
"Silly woman" he muttered but said nothing to Harry as he led him into the snowy, fairy-tale like school.
Jui was in his office and he jumped to his feet, grinning when the two entered.
"Your early" he stated, shaking Harry's hand, then Dumbledore's.
"Yes we had a little problem and I thought it best if Harry was as far away as possible." Dumbledore replied.
"I understand."
"I'll have to leave now, though. I have some sick students to attend to." Dumbledore let a wiry smile play across his lips before turning to face Harry.
"Harry, when this week is up I want you to apparate straight to Grimmauld place. I'll tell Sirius to expect you at nine am on the dot."
"Uh sir?" Harry asked as Dumbledore turned to leave. "I was wondering if maybe I could drop by the pit stop first to pick up my car…"
Dumbledore considered this for a moment before nodding curtly and leaving.
"Well young Harry" Jui said, swaying back on his heels and regarding Harry with a cheeky grin. "I think it's best if I show you to your room."
Harry was sharing a room with two other boys. It was a comfortably large room painted in a soft shade of beige with ochre coloured carpet. Harry deposited his broom and trunk on his bed in the corner and followed Jui as he pointed out all the places Harry would need to go during his week there.
"Harry!" Mandy came running up to him as he entered the dining hall for lunch. Her hair was bubblegum pink and she was wearing ripped t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans.
"Hey, Mandy"
"I heard about your game against France. Great game!"
"Thanks"
All of Mandy's friends, except Cyril, had left the school and had been replaced with another girl who called herself Scarlet. Scarlet was a dangerous looking girl with masses of coal black hair falling in shiny waves down her back. Her eyes were just as black and the way she walked and the dangerously seductive tone in her voice reminded Harry of an Egyptian goddess.
"She's an enchantress." Mandy explained later that night as they sat around a fire on the castle grounds with several other people. "She does magic a bit like yours- you know, wandless and all but she isn't as strong so she does this thing where she seduces her prey."
"She's a veela, do you mean?"
"No, a siren. She probably wont harm you but if she does just block your ears. The first time she did it to Cyril he almost walked off a cliff. Right old laugh that was for her…"
"Look at that!" on of the men standing on the other side of the fire pointed to the sky where several meteorites were falling across the velvety sky, leaving blazing trails of fire in their wake.
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