(A/N) Okay here is the long awaited Chapter 11, sorry for the delay, and more than likely it may be a while before chapter 12 comes out. So I hope you enjoy this chapter.
(Disclaimer: Same as all chapters before this one)
Entering the great hall, Harry and Kyuubi were greeted with the sight of the teacher's table being empty and the gaze of every student in the hall. For the first time since entering the school Harry found himself for once not being the center of attention, since every student's gaze fell onto Kyuubi. Once they recovered there shock, Ron, Hermione, Haku, Sasuke, Gaara, and Tonks ran to Harry and Kyuubi. Once they reached the duo, the girls gave both a hug and the guys simply smiled and nodded to one another.
As the group talked amongst one another, the rest of the students were recovering from their shock at seeing the once dead nontile walking around as if it was perfectly healthy, which it was. Oliver Wood was the first to recover and walked up to Harry.
"Hey Harry, glad to see your fine and I'm extremely glad to see that Kyuubi is okay. But, how? We were all told that he died; don't get me wrong or anything! Like I said I'm happy he is alright, but how did he survive?" Oliver asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.
"Well, it's hard to explain I'll tell you later in the common room, right now I'm hungry and I'm sure Kyuubi is too."
"Well duh! Honestly Harry how hungry do would you be if you haven't eaten anything in two days!" Kyuubi said walking up to his area at the table, snatching a whole breakfast ham and tearing into it. Oliver laughed.
"Good to see he hasn't changed, so Harry you still up for the Quidditch game this weekend? I mean I can understand if you aren't…" Oliver said trailing off.
"Don't worry, I still plan on playing!" Harry said, Oliver quickly brightened up.
"Great, well I'll see you Friday afternoon; we're having a last minute practice."
Harry would have groaned, but his stomach beat him to it. Smiling in embarrassment, Harry quickly said okay and rushed to his the Gryffindor table, hoping to make up for the food he hadn't eaten.
"So what happened while Kyuubi and I were away?" Harry asked between bites.
"Well, to start, Hermione lost twenty points for Gryffindor for "reckless behavior"." Ron stated. Harry raised an eyebrow and looked at Hermione.
"I told professor McGonagall that I went to try and take care of the troll myself." She explained.
"Yeah," Ron agreed before continuing, "But, she gave you and myself ten points for assisting a house mate in need."
"And yesterday morning at breakfast, professor Dumbledore gave you and additional ten points for defeating the troll and gave Kyuubi fifty points for making the "ultimate sacrifice"." Tonks added.
Harry had to bite back a chuckle when he heard that. With Kyuubi's regenerative capabilities, he could make the "ultimate sacrifice" an infinite amount of times and not worry. Then a thought struck him, "Why did he give Kyuubi points? He wasn't really sorted into Gryffindor, he's just my familiar."
"We're not sure exactly why, but the biggest theory is that Kyuubi's action are worthy of any Gryffindor for the amount of courage he showed." Haku answered.
The rest of the day went on with little to no incident, with most of the teachers saying that they were happy to see Harry again and glad that Kyuubi was fine. Snape being his normal self took ten points from class for deceiving the school into thinking his familiar died, and an additional five points for not taking the time to study what he had missed. As the week came to a close talk about the incident during Halloween died down, and talk of the upcoming Quidditch match took hold.
Harry found himself spending all his free time participating in Oliver's last minute Quidditch practices. It was at times like these that Harry became thankful of the rigorous physical training that his mentor back home had put him through. He felt that without the training he would be too tired to even make the effort out of bed the next day. Waking up and heading to the shower in his dormitory, Harry silently prepared himself for the game that would start that afternoon.
When he went down to breakfast Oliver told him that there would be a meeting before the game and to meet in the Quidditch locker rooms. Taking his usual seat at the Gryffindor table, he silently ate his breakfast only talking when asked a question. When breakfast was finished Harry made to leave when Sasuke, Gaara, and Haku came up to him.
"Good luck today Harry." Haku said.
"We'll be cheering for you in the Gryffindor stands." Sasuke added, Harry looked at him confused.
"Why? I'm playing against your house." Harry questioned.
"Harry we're friends, practically family, the only time we won't ever be on your side is when we are competing against you. So until we are on our house's team we will always cheer for you." Sasuke replied. Harry nodded and started to walk away.
"Don't die." Came Gaara's monotone voice as he left the hall, waving bye as he disappeared from view.
Oliver's meeting turned out to be more of a prep talk, psyching up the Gryffindor players. Once he finished his speech the players went to their lockers and changed. Grabbing their brooms they headed of to the pitch, Lee's starting with greetings and (slightly biased) introductions.
"Welcome, all to the first Quidditch match of the year! Today we have the noble hose of Gryffindor, versus the dirty house of Slytherin."
"LEE!" McGonagall reprimanded.
"Sorry Professor, first up for the Gryffindors we have Keeper and Quidditch captain Oliver Wood, the beautiful Chasers Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet, the dynamic duo and Beaters Fred and George Weasley, and lastly as new Seeker for the team the one, the only, Harry Potter!"
"Lee, stop overdoing the introductions! Names and positions are all that's needed." McGonagall said staring hard at the young man.
"Yes professor, and for the coughdirtycough Slytherins we have Keeper Lance Basker, Chaser and Quidditch captain Marcus Flint, Chasers Adrian Pucey and Nathan Flat, Beaters Zeke Sollish and Ben Bimslanger, and finally Seeker Terence Higgs."
Looking around Harry saw his friends standing by the hulking form of Hagrid, seeing no sign of the familiars he figured that they were resting in the castle, none of them had shown any real sign of being interested in the game. Quickly he was brought out of his thoughts by the voice of Madam Hooch, "I want a good, clean match. From all of you. Now, Mount your brooms."
When the players mounted their brooms and were in the air, Madam Hooch released the bludgers and threw the quaffel into the air. Seconds later, the snitch was released and the game was on.
"The quaffel is in the air and Katie Bell snatches it, heading for the Slytherin goals. And Slytherin Chaser Marcus Flint move to intercept. Katie passes the quaffel to fellow Gryffindor Chaser Angelina Johnson, who passes it back to Katie. Wait! Katie tosses it to Alicia Spinnet. Spinnet shoots…SCORE ten points for Gryffindor. Slytherin now in possession of the quaffel and making a speedy line straight two the Gryffindor goals. Flint passes to Adrian, Adrian passes to Flint, Flint passes to…no wait! He feints a pass to Adrian and shoots! OH! Tough luck, what a save by Gryffindor Keeper Oliver Wood."
While the game progressed Harry was doing a few loops above the pitch looking for the snitch. Doing his best to avoid bludgers sent his way by the Slytherin beaters. Suddenly Lee's voice is heard saying, "Was that the snitch?"
Looking at where Marcus Flint had dropped the quaffel, Harry got a glimpse of gold, and judging by the Slytherin Seekers dive, so had he. Moving himself into a dive he gained up quickly to the fellow seeker. Reaching out Harry was mere moments from grabbing the snitch before being slammed into from the side. Breaking off he tried to regain control of his broom, while the majority of the crowed were booing and yelling foul.
"What a dirty move from Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint. Then again what could be expected from a no good, rotten, evil serpent?"
"LEE!"
"Yeah, yeah I know professor. Madam Hooch has called a foul on the Slytherin team. Alicia Spinnet takes the shot…SCORE!"
Once again the game proceeded on. Harry was about to continue doing laps around the pitch, when his broom gave a sudden halt, before he could register that his broom stopped; he was being jerked around like a rag doll. The action of the game drawing the attention of the crowd, no one notice as Harry was raised further into the air, the whole time his broom moving this way and that.
"OH! And Slytherin finally makes a goal! The quaffel is now back in possession of the Gryffindors, what brilliant…what's wrong with Harry?" Lee's voice was heard from the whole crowed. Soon everyone was looking up and pointing at Harry.
"Do you think it could be that his broom is out of control from the slam he received earlier?" Haku questioned.
"Nah, a 'it like that could never cause 'arry's broom to go wild like that. The only thing I'm aware of that can do that is dark magic." Hagrid said from behind them.
Snatching Hagrid's binoculars, Hermione started searching the crowed, slowly she stopped. "I knew it!"
"What? Knew what? What are you talking about?" Ron questioned.
"Here look over at the bleachers over there," Hermione said handy the binoculars to Ron, "Look closely at Snape."
Looking through the binoculars Ron mumbled, "What the bloody hell is he doing?"
"Isn't it obvious? He's jinxing the broom!" Hermione said.
The group of children looked at one another before Sasuke said, "Keep your eyes on Harry; I'll take care of Snape."
Before Hermione or Ron could say anything Sasuke was gone. "What could he possibly do? And to his head of house no less." Hermione inquired.
"Don't worry, if Sasuke says he'll take care of it, he will." Gaara stated, his eyes never leaving Harry.
Harry meanwhile, was being forced up higher and higher, the Weasley twins had tried numerous times to get him off his broom, but every time they got near him, Harry's broom would violently jerk up higher. Thus, the twins started circling below Harry, hoping to catch him if he fell.
Sasuke had finally reached the bleachers where Snape was sitting and was currently standing right beneath him. Pointing his finger at the hem of Snape's robe, Sasuke stared intently at his finger tip, which was shooting off sparks every few seconds.
"C'mon, c'mon. Work for Merlin's sake!" he muttered to himself, trying to recall what Tal had told him about using his element.
FLASHBACK
Sasuke had just finished a cruelly session of hand to hand combat training with Tal, and was currently sweating and breathing hard. Tal, who didn't even seem winded, smiled at him.
"Well Sasuke, I must say that out of the four you definitely are the best at hand to hand combat at the moment."
Sasuke looked up at Tal in confusion. "Why do you say at the moment?"
Tal smiled and replied, "Sasuke, what you and the others are learning is only basic combat, how to properly punch, block, you know that kind of stuff. However, once your element starts to develop itself more properly, you will learn to fight in a style that your element compliments."
"So which combat style is the best?"
"Hard to say really, the lightning style beats the water style, but is horrible against the earth style. Your style is best against earth and horrible against water. Earth is best against lightning and worst against water. Water is best against you, and horrible against lightning. Such is the nature of things, you understand?"
Sasuke nodded before asking, "So if I fought Harry with the fire style and he used the lightning style, who would win?"
Tal shrugged before answering, "That would be anyone's guess. But, you needn't worry about such things. Your fire element has only recently shown itself and so it will still be sometime before you can even call it at will."
"Tal…how do I call upon my element?"
"Now why would you want to know how to call upon your element…your not a pyro are you?"
Sasuke quickly shook his head and just said that he was curious.
"Well, alright first it requires concentration. Close your eyes and clear your mind of everything going on around you. Now, focus on your inner being, try to find a source of heat, it may be small and hard to find, but it is there. Once you find that power coax it to your hand and try to bring it out. Don't force it out, though, you may accidentally light something on fire"
Sasuke closed his eyes and focused as hard as he could, looking for the source of heat the Tal spoke about. After locating it he slowly worked it out and was rewarded with sparks flying out of his hand. Seeing that he only made sparks, Sasuke grew disappointed with himself. He was mentally degrading himself for not being able to produce a flame, when Tal spoke up.
"Way to go Sasuke, I couldn't even get sparks out the first time I tried drawing on my element. Most I ever got was a red hot palm covered in sweat."
Perking up at the praise, Sasuke smiled at Tal as the two called it a day.
PRESENT
Sasuke nodding his head to himself, closed his eyes and started concentrating. Soon, he was tuning out his worries, his doubts, and the world around him. No longer did he hear Lee's commentary, nor the sound of fright filled screams. There was only himself, and his inner core. Focusing hard on locating the source of heat, that was his element, he was surprised at how quickly he located it.
The inner fire of his element seemed different somewhat, like it was larger than before. Pushing his thoughts aside, he slowly coaxed the heat to the tip of his finger, and soon pushed out a baseball sized fireball. The fireball shot strait from his finger and onto Snape's robe, quickly setting it alight and causing a decently sized explosion. The sudden appearance of the fire caused a great deal of surprise from Snape and the spectators around him. Jumping to his feet, Snape knocked a number of people over in his effort to stomp out the flame. Seeing that he had succeeded in his task, Sasuke fled, leaving Snape with a mystery he would never be able to solve.
Harry, who had once again regained control of his broom, stated frantically looking for the snitch. Hoping to catch it before he lost control of his broom a second time. Down towards the bottom of the pitch, a glimpse of gold showed him the path to his target. Quickly angling his broom downward, Harry made a beeline for the snitch. Down, faster and faster he moved, his goal coming closer and closer. Reaching out his hand he snatched the snitch. Holding it in the air he yelled, "I got it!"
With that being said Gryffindor erupted in cheers and Lee Jordan's voice was nearly overshadowed as he announced the score. Gryffindor beat Slytherin 170 points to 60.
At Hagrid's Hut
While the whole of Gryffindor was celebrating its victory over Slytherin. Harry and his friends were having tea with Hagrid. Trying to figure out what had happened during the game.
"I'm telling you it's Snape!" Ron exclaimed. "We all saw him casting the spell. Had it not been for Sasuke, Harry could have died!"
"Now that's just plain rubbish, Ron." Hagrid said, he was the only one convinced of Snape's innocence. "Jus' why would Snape do somethin' like that?"
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Sasuke looked at each other. Neither of them knew if they should admit to breaking a school rule. In the end Harry made the decision.
"I found out something…he tried getting past the three-headed dog on Halloween. I know he failed because it had bit his leg. But we think he is after whatever its guarding."
Hagrid looked straight at Harry and asked him. "How do you know about Fluffy?"
"Fluffy?" Haku asked. Her and Gaara were starting to get confused, Harry and never told them about this. Even Sasuke was confused, since he had never been told of the Snape incident on Halloween.
"Look nothin' will get passed Fluffy, and even if someone did manage too there is no way the would make it to the-"
"To what?" Sasuke asked curiously.
"Look, no more questions. That's top secret stuff, that is!" Hagrid said gruffly.
"But Snape's trying to steal it!" Hermione persisted.
"And I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid answered hotly. "Now, I'm warning yeh forget all about that dog and this business wit' Snape. It's dangerous stuff yer meddlin' in. What that dog is guardin' is secret business between Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel –" Hagrid said as he led the group outside, unaware of his slip.
As the group walked away they started wandering about what they had just learned. Whatever was going on in the school was big, and had something to do with Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel. Whatever was going on, they knew they had to figure it out and soon. Time was running out and whatever that dog was guarding was too valuable to fall into the wrong hands.
(A/N: Just letting you know that next chapter will be more AU with a lot more violence and all that fun stuff that people like, so be patient, and I hope it will be worth the wait.)
P.S. Reviews are my friend, please be kind and give me more friends