Like Godfather, Like Godson
Chapter 43
Friday, April 25
Harry waited in the bathroom, frozen out of fear until Snape returned ten minutes later. He closed the door behind him and shooed away a wailing Myrtle, who dived into a toilet, leaving a ringing silence behind her.
"I didn't mean for it to happen," said Harry at once. "Malfoy used the Cruciatus on me."
"Don't lie to me!" hissed Snape through gritted teeth, taking a step towards Harry.
"I'm telling you the truth!" said Harry forcefully. "You can check his wand," he added, searching desperately for some support to his claim.
But Snape ignored this. "Be as it may, Potter. You decided to use Dark Magic to retaliate instead of going to a teacher for aid."
"He used an Unforgivable Curse on me," said Harry again. He could not believe Malfoy would get away from this scot-free.
"And yet—" said Snape, looking at Harry with disdain, "—you were not the one on the floor bleeding to death. If I had not been passing by the corridor, you would have likely murdered a student."
Harry felt horrible at the cold realization. "I didn't know what that spell did."
"Apparently I underestimated you, Potter," he said quietly. "Who would have thought you knew such Dark Magic? Was it that mutt, Black, that has been teaching you—"
"Don't you blame this on Sirius!" shouted Harry, his anger returning.
"I wouldn't put it past him," said Snape simply before enunciating each word, "Who-taught-you-that-spell?"
"I — read about it somewhere."
"Where?"
"It was — a library book," Harry invented wildly. "I can't remember what it was call—"
"Liar," said Snape. Harry's throat went dry. He knew what Snape was going to do and he had never been able to prevent it…
The bathroom seemed to shimmer before his eyes; he struggled to block out all thought, but try as he might, the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion-Making swam hazily to the forefront of his mind.
And then he was staring at Snape's black eyes again, hoping against hope that he had not seen what he feared, but —
"Bring me your schoolbag," said Snape softly, "and all of your schoolbooks. All of them. Bring them to me here. Now!"
There was no point arguing. Harry left the bathroom immediately. Once in the corridor, he broke into a run toward Gryffindor Tower. People gaped at him, drenched in water and blood, but he answered none of the questions fired at him as he ran past.
Harry could not let Snape find out about the Prince's Potions' book.. He could not.
oOo
With a momentary whim of an idea, Harry hid the Half-Blood Prince's copy inside the Room of Requirement and used Ron's copy of Advanced Potion-Making instead to somehow fool Snape. He was wrong, however. Snape needed only to look into his eyes to deduce the truth, and the fact that Harry had lied didn't sit well with him. So he frog-marched Harry to Professor McGonagall's empty office.
Snape ordered Harry to wait there before he went to summon McGonagall. He had never been more anxious in his life as he waited for what was sure to be his punishment.
When Snape arrived again with a frowning Professor McGonagall, Harry felt like disappearing into thin air; he wanted to be anywhere but here.
McGonagall's eyes widened as she saw Harry's damp, bloody robes. "Potter, what has happened?"
If possible, Harry felt worse at her misplaced concern. He braced himself when Snape opened his mouth. "There is no need to be concerned about Potter, Minerva. He wasn't the victim."
The unjustness of this statement still stung and Harry looked up at Snape. "But Malfoy attacked me first with the Cruciatus."
"What?" McGonagall turned pale as she made to hurry towards him, but Snape put his hand out to stop her.
"Enough, Minerva," said Snape, turning towards Harry with a deprecating look. "Potter isn't as blameless as he looks. He severely injured Draco using Dark Magic, and if I hadn't been passing through the corridor, Hogwarts would have been facing the death of another student within two short years."
He went on to explain how he had found Malfoy in the bathroom, and any hope Harry had had of having McGonagall's support quickly flew out the window as her expression became stonier by the second.
She looked at him sternly. "Tell me, Potter, why in Merlin's name would you use such a Dark spell on your fellow student? Despite your circumstances, you should have left the scene immediately and summoned a teacher."
McGonagall harrumphed. "Duelling in school! You are fortunate Dumbledore isn't here. He would be most ashamed of what you have done."
Harry looked down at his soiled shoes and felt the stinging words wash over him.
She addressed Snape next, "And why would that foolish boy use an Unforgivable on Hogwarts grounds? Does he wish to join his father in Azkaban?"
Snape replied quietly, "We do not want word to get out about Draco's ah… misuse."
Harry looked up in alarm when McGonagall nodded. "Yes, yes, I quite agree."
"What?" Harry said loudly. "But Professor—"
"Unless you wish for the entire Wizarding World to know their 'Chosen One' attempted and very nearly succeeded in killing a student, you will remain quiet about this Potter," said Snape through gritted teeth.
That shut him up.
McGonagall, who had been frowning at both of them, added, "Both you and Mr. Malfoy will face detention for such unbecoming behaviour. I will write to both your parents this evening and I expect you to be present for your detention every weekend till the end of term at five o'clock sharp."
"Unnecessary, Minerva," said Snape silkily. "I will ensure they are punished appropriately."
"No, thank you, Severus," said McGonagall tartly. "I will take care of this as Potter belongs in my house. As Deputy Headmistress, I only want confirmation from you that you will not let this matter slide from Mr. Malfoy. No matter Potter's actions, Malfoy is on dangerous waters too, for using an Unforgivable Curse."
Harry was grateful that he would only be in detention with Professor McGonagall. Anything was better than doing detention with Snape.
The latter stared at Harry with a bitter expression, likely thinking of some way to get McGonagall to hand over the responsibility of his detention to himself. But her determined expression held and Snape conceded with a nod.
He left the office without another word and Professor McGonagall turned to Harry with an austere expression. "Do not assume being under the Fidelius would mean that I won't be able to write to your godfather. I will find some way to contact him and report this incident."
Harry nodded, looking at his feet, his stomach churning at the thought of Sirius having to hear about this.
McGonagall's expression softened slightly. "Are you sure you're alright, Potter? Is there any lingering effect of the curse?"
Harry shrugged. "I'm fine."
It was the truth. Harry knew the curse Malfoy had used on him was nothing like the one he had experienced two years ago under Voldemort's wand.
McGonagall's visage of concern didn't falter. "I expect you to go to Madam Pomfrey at once for a Calming Draught. I will know if you haven't followed my orders."
oOo
"I won't say 'I told you so,'" said Hermione, an hour later in the common room.
"Leave it, Hermione," said Ron angrily.
Harry had just finished telling Ron, Hermione, and Ginny what had happened, not that there seemed to have been much need. The news had travelled very fast: Apparently Moaning Myrtle had taken it upon herself to pop up in every bathroom in the castle to tell the story; Malfoy had already been visited in the hospital wing by Pansy Parkinson, who had lost no time in vilifying Harry far and wide. Even his friends had no idea that it was Malfoy who had started the duel or that he had used the Cruciatus on Harry.
Ron and Ginny were fuming on Harry's behalf, saying that Malfoy deserved what he got. Hermione had been concerned for Harry too, but after half an hour, when it became apparent Harry wasn't suffering too much from the Cruciatus, she was of the attitude that Harry should never have used a spell from the Prince's book in the first place.
"I told you there was something wrong with that Prince person," Hermione said. "And I was right, wasn't I?"
"No, I don't think you were," said Harry stubbornly.
"Harry," said Hermione, "how can you still stick up for that book when that spell —"
"Will you stop harping on about the book!" snapped Harry. "The Prince only copied it out! It's not like he was advising anyone to use it! For all we know, he was making a note of something that had been used against him!"
"I don't believe this," said Hermione. "You're actually defending —"
"I'm not defending what I did!" said Harry quickly. "I wish I hadn't done it. You know I wouldn't've used a spell like that, not even on Malfoy, but you can't blame the Prince, he hadn't written 'try this out, it's really good' — he was just making notes for himself, wasn't he, not for anyone else…"
"Are you telling me," said Hermione, "that you're going to go back —?"
"And get the book? Yeah, I am," said Harry forcefully. "Listen, without the Prince I'd never have won the Felix Felicis. I'd never have known how to save Ron from poisoning, I'd never have —"
"— got a reputation for Potions brilliance you don't deserve," said Hermione nastily.
"Give it a rest, Hermione!" said Ginny, and Harry looked at her gratefully. "Have you lost the memo like everyone else in this school that Malfoy used the Cruciatus on Harry? You should be glad Harry had something good up his sleeve!"
"Well, of course, I know what Malfoy did was unforgivable!" said Hermione, clearly stung, and she turned towards Harry again. "But you can't say that Sectumsempra spell was good, Harry. It's because you used that spell that Malfoy is escaping Azkaban. If you hadn't used an equally Dark piece of magic, he would have definitely been punished appropriately. I bet that's why McGonagall and Snape let both of your actions slide with only detentions."
Furious that she was right, Harry stood up and headed to his dormitory. He heard Ron and Ginny standing up for him to Hermione, but that only made him feel worse.
He dressed into his pyjamas and got into his bed, ignoring his rumbling stomach. He hadn't had dinner at all. He had no appetite and he didn't fancy people staring at and talking about him. He took out the two-way mirror from inside his trunk and shut the curtains around his four-poster bed.
He wanted nothing more than to talk to Sirius, but the idea that Sirius might either be disappointed in Harry or wholeheartedly agree that he was right for using the Sectumsempra (he wouldn't put it past Sirius) left Harry undecided and reluctant to speak to him.
So he simply stared at the mirror, wondering for the hundredth time why he hadn't used a simple Stunning Spell instead of that blasted curse.
He was so surprised when the person he most wanted to see appeared in the mirror at that moment.
Sirius laughed on seeing him. "Were you going to call for me?"
Words failed him as the dread of dealing with this now made him sick to the stomach. He nodded dumbly.
The happiness in Sirius' face disappeared and a frown marred his face. "What's happened?"
After an internal struggle that lasted for too long, Harry went into the day's incident, leaving out nothing.
Sirius' eyes had widened in shock and anger when he told him about Malfoy's Cruciatus, but after Harry narrated his using Sectumsempra, his expression sobered and by the end of it, Sirius remained unusually quiet.
"—and McGonagall said I would have to do detention with her every weekend till the end of term," finished Harry.
"Better her than Snape." He spat out the last word before looking at Harry worriedly. "Are you alright? Did you go to the Hospital Wing?"
Harry replied with the same two words he had said to McGonagall, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny so far in the past two hours.
"I'm fine."
Sirius nodded slowly, not saying a word.
Harry waited for the anger on his behalf or the reprimand or something, but when all Sirius said was absolutely nothing, Harry became frustrated. "Say something!"
Sirius spoke after a whole minute of silence, looking very contemplative. "Obviously, I don't like the fact that you used an unknown spell on Malfoy, but that little whelp isn't blameless either," said Sirius. "And we know he is a Death Eater, so if anything I'm glad you saved your skin."
Sirius shook his head. "But—"
Harry had already seen the 'but' approaching from miles away.
"—you shouldn't have had to use a spell whose purpose you had no idea of," said Sirius. "I thought I taught you enough jinxes and curses during the summer."
"I tried to use the Ferrifors to defend myself from the Cruciatus," explained Harry. "But it didn't work."
"Have you been practicing it at all?" asked Sirius.
"I have!" exclaimed Harry in frustration. "It's just too difficult. I'm doing everything right and still nothing happens."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," consoled Sirius. "It's definitely not an easy spell." His eyebrows knitted together. "Where is this Half-Blood Prince's book now?"
"I hid it in the Room of Requirement, you know, where we hosted our DA meetings last year."
"Do you plan to get it back?"
The question was asked with simple curiosity and Harry's first instinct was to say 'Yes' wholeheartedly like he had said to Hermione. But the doubt creeping into him after Hermione's words made him answer honestly.
"I—I don't know," he said. "It's not like the book was advocating the use of that spell. And besides, it's been really helpful with my Potions."
Sirius' mute response only made Harry question his own reasoning.
"What do you think?" asked Harry quietly.
"It's your decision, Harry," said Sirius, shrugging. "If you think the book is worth the trouble, it's up to you. As long as you've learnt your lesson to never use an unknown spell on someone again."
"I won't," said Harry quickly.
The matter was dropped after that, and after five minutes, Harry was bidding goodnight to Sirius, who said, "Remember what I told you at St. Mungo's, Harry. We might be gits sometimes, but that doesn't change who you are to me."
Harry was in more cheerful spirits after he had talked to Sirius, who had also suggested that they should go on a vacation again this summer after Remus and Tonks' wedding.
He was already longing for the impending holidays.
oOo
When Sirius pocketed his mirror, he felt a sigh escape his lips.
Was this what it meant to have your own mistakes thrown back at you?
He couldn't find it in himself to be angry with Harry. On the contrary, he sympathised with him. It sounded remarkably like something he would have done and reprimanding Harry for that felt like hypocrisy to him.
Sure, his blood boiled at the thought of that nasty cousin of his using the Cruciatus on Harry.
But the boy could have died if Snivellus hadn't been around. Even if Harry's mistake was an accident, he could be in worse trouble than detention with McGonagall. Sirius grimaced at the idea that Harry would have unwittingly killed a student, very much similar to himself when he was sixteen.
Snape would probably be gloating that he was just like his godfather – the thought set his teeth on edge. God, he needed a drink.
oOo
Saturday, May 3
The day of the final Quidditch match arrived to Harry's immense relief. Although a lot of his school mates had been eyeing him warily the past week after the incident with Malfoy, Harry really hoped the win against Ravenclaw today would distract them sufficiently.
Harry arrived for breakfast to find the entire team already present among the sea of red and gold clad Gryffindors, who cheered on his arrival, and Harry beamed while taking note of his teammates.
Demelza and Katie were discussing their Chaser tactics; Ginny sat a few spaces away beside Dean, chatting away. Ritchie Coote was hogging down his eggs out of nerves while Jimmy Peakes looked pale and queasy.
Ron looked even worse in comparison and Harry took a seat beside him. "Morning."
Ron grunted in reply and Hermione looked up from the newspaper at him. "You might want to eat something."
Harry pushed Ron's plate of food towards him, he himself eating only toast. When Ron stubbornly refused to touch his food, Hermione shook her head exasperatedly and went back to her paper.
Ron leaned towards Harry's ear, lowering his voice. "You don't think I could have another go of the Felix, do you?"
Hermione looked up sharply. "Don't you dare indulge him, Harry!"
"Come on! Would I?" said Harry disbelievingly.
Ron huffed. "Some friend you are."
"Just remember how you felt during our first match," said Harry. "And our training last night was the best this entire year. You'll do fine."
Ron lapsed into non-committal grunts again and Harry watched Seamus and Neville trying to charm the faces of second and third years into the Gryffindor colours.
Harry pushed away his half-finished breakfast, his nerves getting the better of him, when he noticed other Gryffindors making banners and pinning red and gold rosettes to their uniforms, of which Lavender was not one. She had stopped confronting Ron after their break-up, but she was still sore about it and thus the lack of house pride. Harry couldn't help but notice Hermione seemed more decked out than usual with her bushy hair tied up with ribbons of the same colours and a Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck.
Even the students from the other houses were taking sides – most of Hufflepuff supporting Gryffindor and the Slytherins rooting for the Ravenclaws.
He felt very jittery and stood up, hoping to walk it out. All of the eyes around their table turned towards him and he felt momentarily panicked before remembering that he was the Captain.
"Gryffindor team to the changing rooms," he announced, and a lot of cheers and boos ensued from the neighbouring house tables as his teammates rose up from the seats, clutching their broomsticks.
They strode outside to the grounds, commenting on the good weather conditions. The sky was bright with a smattering of fluffy, white clouds and hardly any breeze.
They headed to the changing rooms to get into their Quidditch robes. The stands were filling up, as the sound of chattering and footsteps surrounded them. Madam Hooch checked in on them ten minutes before the start of the game.
Harry's team gathered around him and he looked at each and every one of them, excitement and anxiety bubbling inside him. "We've been training hard this year and it all comes down to this. If we play like we did yesterday, I have no doubt that we'll have the Quidditch Cup in the bag."
A round of cheers later they walked onto the pitch to deafening applause from the stands. Madam Hooch stood waiting beside the Ravenclaws' captain, Cho Chang.
"Captains, shake hands!"
It was a very civil show of hand-shaking on both Harry and Cho's part, the latter even giving him a small smile.
"Mount your brooms!"
Madam Hooch released the Quaffle and then blew the whistle, signalling the start of the game.
"Weasley takes the Quaffle and is headed to the goalpost—but oh! Corner's well-aimed Bludger has loosened Weasley's grip. Clearly, there's no love lost between these ex-lovers."
The Slytherins jeered and laughed at the comment and Harry groaned as he realized Zacharias Smith was the commentator for today's match. He would have taken Luna over him any day.
He circled the pitch lazily, keeping his eyes peeled for the Snitch, while also keeping his eye on the match. They needed to score three-hundred points more than Ravenclaw to win the season. And Harry's important job today would be to make sure Cho did not get to the Snitch before that. She was just a few feet behind him, clearly employing her signature tactic of keeping close to the opponent Seeker, simultaneously scanning the grounds.
"— and Benson is heading to the goalpost. Is the third time a charm for Keeper Weasley? Nope! Benson scores again! Ravenclaw: 30-10."
Ron was looking back murderously at the commentator's podium as Harry flew past him and shouted, "Don't listen to that babbling idiot. Keep your head in the game!"
Ron took Harry's word as he saved the next two goals from Benson and Connaught.
A Bludger flew past Harry and he swerved to avoid collision. He glanced behind himself to see Cho doing the same.
"Potter manages to avoid colliding with Corner's Bludger. Such a shame. Chang is keeping close to Potter's tail. Now I see why Corner hit that bludger," said Smith derisively.
The students in the stands jeered and Coote swung his bat against the Bludger aiming right at Corner. Ginny flew past Coote and yelled, "You're aiming for the wrong person!"
Harry laughed and the game progressed with Demelza and Katie scoring two goals each leaving Gryffindor at 50-30 when the game started to become slightly brutal.
Michael Corner hit a Bludger very ferociously at Demelza when she was in possession of the Quaffle. In a split-second, she had managed to avoid the Bludger but her broom had taken the brunt of the hit. She span away uncontrollably before descending very fast to the ground; Harry and Coote had to rush to catch her before she fell.
A timeout was called and Ginny and Katie were having a shouting match with the Ravenclaws, demanding a penalty from Madam Hooch.
Demelza, while unhurt, was now short of a broomstick and Harry suggested using the school brooms.
"No way! They're slower than a flobberworm! Harry, you should play your reserve instead of me," said Demelza reluctantly.
"But you're not hurt! And I have an idea," said Harry and quickly ran up to Ginny, who was still having words with her ex-boyfriend, Michael Corner. As Harry got closer, it was clear they were arguing about things more than Quidditch.
"Ginny!" yelled Harry and skidded to a halt beside her. "I need you to do me a favour. Could you ask Dean to lend his broom to Demelza?"
"Sure," said Ginny brusquely and she left immediately. A couple of minutes later, Demelza was holding Dean's Comet and the team was off again with more vigour than earlier.
It was the longest match that Harry had ever played, and that was saying something. He had seen the Snitch twice during the game and he had to distract Cho by either feinting or signalling Peakes and Coote to target her with their Bludgers to shake off her concentration. After almost two hours, Gryffindor had scored 300-160.
It was finally time for him to find the Snitch. His teammates were already growing tired and it would be beneficial to end the game as soon as possible. He looked around again for any sign of the Snitch. When he looked behind him as he had been doing for quite a while to keep an eye on Cho, he realized that she was making a U-turn and racing in the opposite direction away from him.
His stomach plummeted as he quickly followed her and tried to look beyond her for any sign of the Snitch.
"Chang is racing across the pitch with Potter miles behind. That Firebolt is giving him an unfair edge – he makes up to her speed. The two Seekers are neck and neck—"
Harry was certain once he got closer that Cho was feinting but he did not lose his momentum.
"Does anyone see the Snitch?" wondered Smith aloud as Cho pulled out of the breakneck speed with which both of them had been hurtling along.
Harry kept flying fast using the speed he had gained to quickly scan the pitch for any sign of a glint of gold…
And there, just ahead of him, fluttering high above the Ravenclaw stands was the Golden Snitch!
Heart pumping with adrenaline, he leaned forwards, urging his Firebolt to go faster.
"Potter doesn't seem to have realized Chang was feinting," said Smith laughing along with the crowd in the stands. "And Connaught is heading to the goalpost. He scores!"
Harry was close now and the Snitch was zooming straight up. He pulled up his Firebolt in a steep curve and shot upwards. The wind was roaring in his ears and the sounds muffled as he kept his eyes on the prize.
He leaned close towards his Firebolt and stretched out his hand. He could feel Cho brushing just close to his broom's tail having caught up with him. And with one swift movement he caught the Snitch with one hand and pulled out of the ascent with the other.
He was so far above in the clouds that he could hardly see the people in the stands. He flew lower with the Snitch clasped in his hand.
Katie was the first to spot him as she put her hands up in victory and yelled, "Harry's caught the Snitch!"
Madam Hooch sounded the whistle signalling the end of the game.
It seemed Zacharias Smith was very slow on the uptake as the stands erupted only about ten seconds later and his teammates cheered and clapped and hugged him mid-air.
It was a very happy moment when Harry held the Cup again for the second time in his life, his first time as the Captain. The Gryffindors had all clambered down from the stands and hoisted the entire team on their shoulders, the Cup being passed around for everyone to see and hold. The Gryffindor team was in very high spirits as they headed to the changing rooms. Peakes and Coote were holding the Cup together singing merrily. Dean ran up to Ginny and kissed her passionately. Ron, whose happy mood was on the verge of dissolving at the sight, was caught off-guard when Hermione came up to him and kissed him on the cheek. "You were brilliant, Ron!"
Ron went bright red and stuttered, "T-Thanks."
Harry turned away smirking when Demelza, who had been looking at them, said, "Don't I get a kiss from anybody?"
Taking her up on her offer, because Harry had to admit he felt left out too, he went up to her and kissed her cheek. "You played really well today."
She smiled and touched the spot where he had kissed her, then shook her head. "You're such a gentleman, Harry."
"Victory party in the common room!" announced Dean and everyone cheered.
oOo
A/N: Thank you so much for your alerts, faves and reviews. I hope this chapter meets up to your expectations.
Thank you to evadnekapaneos for your keen eye and meticulous attention to detail in beta'ing this chapter.
