Hogwarts
Harry was getting a good idea why his team mates called Oliver Wood a maniac. When the entire school wanted to hide in the castle away from the rain, Oliver booked team practices. For two nights out of every week, the Gryffindor team went out in torrential rainfall to practice. When Harry groaned about it, the twins told him to shut it, saying that if Oliver heard him, he would make them work double. As it was, he had already made their life hell two nights a week for the last two months.
The first match of the season was coming up and Harry was getting excited for it. As was tradition, the first match of the season would be Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw. Harry was in a bind as to who he would choose to support between them. Meanwhile, Slytherin was not going to get his support but he was not heartless enough to taunt them. He decided that he would be neutral to them unless they tried to turn boos and jeers towards him when he was playing against them. If they did, there would be no stopping then. Besides as it was tradition, Gryffindor versus Slytherin was always the most charged up match of the season. The adrenaline was always high, the excitement beyond comprehension.
Before his first match was Halloween. Sirius had asked him if he wanted to visit Godric's Hollow. Harry had to regretfully refuse because there would be classes during the day. He did not want to show off as if he was being given some preferential treatment by being allowed to leave classes when others were attending them.
As it was, he was already putting on a power show almost on a daily basis in the Great Hall. Whenever he came downstairs, half the Gryffindor house was behind him. Many of the claws joined them on the Fifth floor where the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower was situated. It had become such a common sight now that it no longer caused any excitement among the students. Many of the teachers still smirked at the sight, except Severus Snape who seemed to have a sneer as his default expression.
They met Daphne several times. They told Neville about what they had discovered with the Cerberus in addition to what Lord Black was doing to the wizarding world.
In the two weeks since she assumed office, Amelia was after Fudge and his cohorts. They could not send Fudge to Azkaban for financial crimes, but they sure could fine him. They could collect the amount by seizing his assets. With the amount that the ministry was looking at, it was clear that Fudge would not have a knut left after the Ministry was done with him.
There had also been a revolting bit of news published in The Daily Prophet sometime during the last week. It had been another nail in the coffin for Fudge.
"Ministry Witch found in possession of Class- B Non tradeables
In a raid conducted by the Aurors in the office of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, Dolores Jane Umbridge, she was found in possession of Class- B non-tradeable artefacts in the form of a handful of blood quills. She was arrested promptly. The quills were sent to the unspeakables to be examined. They have concluded that at least 10 wizards had been forced to use them.
Here I would like to remind our readers that a Blood Quill is classified as a dark object. It is banned for use by ordinary witches and wizards. Its only legitimate use is for the Goblins at Gringotts. Anyone found in possession of a blood quill can be sent to Azkaban for a year in the minimum security wing. The punishment of incarceration in Azkaban is one year for a single use of it i.e. if a person forces another to use a blood quill, they would be liable for incarceration to Azkaban for at least a year. We can safely assume that Madam Umbridge is looking at a number of years in Azkaban under the care of the Dementors.
She will be presented before the Wizengamot in a week's time when a few other matters have been scheduled to be heard..."
You like the whip?
It had been a week since Filch had manhandled Ernie. Harry felt that it was time that they avenged the insults done to him.
Ernie had heard Filch complaining that he was not allowed to use whips. They were planning to use exactly that. True it sounded cruel but if Filch could dream of using it on students, the students could definitely use it on him. There were a few problems with this line of thought however. It was a given that it would require magic to be cast. Magic required wands. Wands would leave a trail to follow which would be easy for Dumbledore to do. They needed a way to cover their tracks. They had learned that lesson last time when Dumbledore had caught them in the prank. They were not going to make the same mistake twice.
Reluctantly, Harry had asked a marauder for help. He asked Sirius about how they could conceal their magical signature.
Sirius said, "In a day or two, I will have a contraption ready for you that will conceal your magical signatures. You also need to learn 'deleterius' which could erase a wand's memory of the recent spells cast. so, if someone had it in their minds to check your wand through priori incantatem, they would get nothing".
Harry and Neville were looking for ways to learn 'Deleterius' while Padfoot had sent them silver rings which looked like nothing more than silver bands. With one tap of a wand, they would activate and conceal their magical signatures. Harry had requested that Sirius not let Moony know about those rings or the werewolf would surely interfere.
For the deletrius spell, they tried to manipulate Professor Flitwick. Harry had asked him what the deleterius charm did. When the tiny professor wanted to know why he was asking, Harry had given a made up story saying that he had heard about the term from some senior year and was curious about it.
Flitwick, adopting the air of a Professor, had started to explain the term to them, "Deleterius is a charm often used by Aurors and Officials of the ministry. It is used to erase a wand's memory i.e. to erase the list of spells which it has cast recently. A few more sophisticated wizards like Dumbledore can get it undone but that is a complex magic. Generally it is not taught to anyone except law-enforcement authorities. If you are interested in the incantation and the wand-movement, I am sorry but I am not the wizard you want to ask that question".
Harry and Neville had been disappointed when Flitwick refused to teach the charm to them and decided that they would have to learn it by themselves. That night, they conducted a raid in the restricted section of the library. Thanks to their recon a few nights ago, they knew where the charms shelves in the restricted section of the library were. They found the required book with little trouble. The only troubling bit for them was to ensure that it was not laced with any alert charms or anything else, to alert others that someone unauthorized was touching those books. It turned out that there was no such safeguard for that book.
After a two hour careful study of it in an unused room under the invisibility cloak, they found the charm and learned the wand movement. Neville, the always smart guy had written down everything about the charm before they returned the book to its shelf.
It took them only an hour before they were able to perform the charm. It was pretty simple. Anyone could learn it so it was clear that the only way to keep it away from others was to keep its knowledge secluded somewhere that one would not wander to.
The next thing on their to-do list was a custom job of getting a whip charmed to act with a spell. For this, they remembered that Sirius had told them that Ambrosius Flume would help them should they need it. With a quick trip to Honeydukes, Mr. Flume sent them to Zonko's who could do the custom job that they wanted.
When they had made all the preparations, they entered Filch's office by stealth. They stood under the Invisibility Cloak waiting patiently for the caretaker. The moment he opened the door, the whip was activated followed by a silencing charm from Neville. For a whole minute, Filch kept hopping from place to place trying to escape the whip. Even then, he had got 10 lashes irrespective of the fact that they would not leave lasting marks on his back.
The caretaker's limping and grimacing the next day was enough to convince Ernie that they had avenged him. It was distasteful but the caretaker would have done the same or worse to a student if he was given the chance. Perhaps with that lashing, he would remember the lesson before he thought about doing the same to a student again.
Next up was taking care of the Slytherins who had attacked the caretaker with the dung-bombs in the first place. Harry had a good idea of who they were. A quick consult with Daphne confirmed it. They could not resist bragging about how they got Ernie into trouble when they got back to their common room. Of course, the dung-bombs and framing Ernie were not the only reasons for getting at the Slytherins. There was also the upcoming Quidditch match. According to the twins, it was a tradition, if not a moral imperative, to intimidate, prank and disable as many quidditch players as they could before the match. The Snakes certainly would.
But before the match could happen, was Halloween.
Duelling Classes
Duelling classes were getting interesting. They had learned the Knockback jinx and the Smokescreen spell in the previous weeks when they were supposed to be practicing spells out of the book which Flitwick had given them.
The spells were simple yet effective. They would be highly useful in a duel. True to their word, they had not told anyone that they were being coached in duelling by Professor Flitwick. Not even Daphne knew about it. They had done it intentionally because Flitwick had told them if a third person found out about it, he would cease training them.
Since they had started training, they had noticed the difference between themselves and others. They were still miles behind the Charms Professor yet they were getting better than their classmates. Their wand-work was getting better. The spells that they had learned, they could cast them very effectively. In fact, they were better than many second year students already. They would only continue to improve with time and practice.
Flitwick only duelled with them occasionally. For most of their practice, he put them with dummies. The dummies were perfect for practice. That way, the Charms Professor could make corrections if he observed that they were doing anything wrong.
When he duelled with them, he was always able to defeat both of them. They were getting better at dodging but they were still nowhere near the level they needed to be to defeat him. That would be a long road. It would take a lot of training and talent.
Flitwick himself was thinking of new things to include in their training now that they were near perfecting all the spells contained in the book he had loaned to them. His reputation in the ring had been because he could combine charms and transfigurations in the duel. His flexibility and ingenuity had always surprised his opponents. He had never taught duelling to students, certainly not to first year students. But he knew that they knew enough transfiguration to use it effectively in a duel.
Puff versus Claw
It was Saturday October 26. The day dawned crisp and clear. This was the day of the first Quidditch match of the season. Harry was excited because this would be the first time he saw the game played at school. This was his chance to see what the players of two of the other teams were like and see how they stacked up against the professional teams he had seen over the past few years.
Even though the houses of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were generally on good terms, there was some banter in the great hall at breakfast. Slytherin had dominated the house Quidditch tournament last year so nobody really gave Gryffindor much of a chance in their upcoming match against them. The snakes, thinking themselves to be the dominant ones, didn't bother to go to extra lengths to harass the lions before the match. Sure there was some rivalry between them but it was nearly non-existent this year. May be if Gryffindor succeeded in crushing them thoroughly, there would be some excitement the next year.
On the morning of the match, everyone was sitting at their own tables because it was an unspoken rule that students chose to sit at their house tables on the day of the match.
Harry was sitting with the Quidditch team. Oliver was assessing the players on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, marking those he thought could be a threat to Gryffindor in the next term when they played against them.
Harry did not know the players on the other teams but Oliver was giving a running commentary to him so that he would get to know each of them by their names. They started with Hufflepuff since they were sitting adjacent to the Gryffindors.
The team captain was a seventh year, Tamsin Appleby. He was one of the chasers. According to Wood, he was a fine player who could fake out even the most determined of keepers. The other two chasers were Cadwallader and Linda Chaddesley. They were 3rd and 4th year students who were fine in the field. Their beaters were 3rd year Luke Cholderton and 7th year Gwendoline Jones (rumored to be scouted by the Holyhead Harpies). Despite their small size, they could hit the Bludger very hard and true. Their keeper, James Tintwistle, was another fifth year who had retained the position for the last 2 years. Their Seeker was Cedric Diggory who was held in high esteem by them. Even Oliver admitted that he was perhaps the best seeker at the school at the moment.
The Ravenclaws likewise had talent scattered throughout the team. The only players Harry identified were Roger Davies and Cho Chang. Roger was a chaser in his 3rd year. Cho was their seeker. She was a very pretty Asian girl in her second year at Hogwarts and had made the team just this year. Harry had sometimes seen her with Cedric Diggory out in the grounds. Wood introduced the players to him one by one. Their captain was the keeper, a 7th year student named Andre Egwu. He played as a reserved player until the last year. The beaters were 6th year Robert Hillard and Eliza Taylor, a 7th year. The other two chasers were 4th year student Marcus Green and a 6th year Lucas Wildsmith.
As they were watching the other teams, Harry asked Oliver, "Who do you think will win the match?"
Oliver gave his professional opinion, "I do not know Harry. I think that it will be a close match. Both teams have some new additions this year. It will be quite interesting to see how it will play out. I assume that the team which has the best seeker will win because most of the time, the game is tilted by the seeker".
Harry shrugged, "Then Hufflepuff has as good as won the match already".
Angelina asked him, "What makes you think so?"
Harry leaned in close. He said conspiratorially, "I do not know if you all know it or not but I have seen the Ravenclaw seeker making googly eyes at Cedric Diggory".
There were looks of disbelief and surprise followed by smirks and giggles.
The twins, ever the entrepreneurs, turned to their house-mates, "If you are speaking the truth, we may as well make a pretty galleon out of it. How many of you are willing to bet on Ravenclaw, that Cho Chang will take the Snitch from Cedric Diggory?"
No one was a taker for their bet but they were not disheartened. They went to find other takers for the bet. By the end of the day, they were sure to have parted some of the students from their galleons. When they were all moving out to the grounds to see the match, Ernie came up to him, "Harry, who are you supporting?"
Harry could have said Hufflepuff but Lisa and Michael chose that moment to ask the same question. Harry was in a fix as to who to support. At last, choosing wisely he decided to support no one telling them that he had friends on both sides. That he would rejoice every time a goal was scored and he would groan in disappointment for whoever lost the match.
There had been no rain for the last two days so the weather was clear, the ground was hard. It was a perfect day for a Quidditch match. The twins' friend, Lee Jordon, provided commentary for the match.
"Welcome to the first match of the season. As is customary, this is the match between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. There are some new faces on both teams as some of our Quidditch players graduated last year and there were some changes because new talent made a great showing at try-outs.
Here come the Ravenclaws: Agwu, Robert Hillard, Eliza Taylor, Marcus Green, Lucas Wildsmith, Roger Davies and Cho Chang".
After a few moments, he announced the arrival of the badgers, "Here comes the Hufflepuffs flying in a straight line towards the Quidditch pitch. Appleby, Cadwallader, Chaddesley, Cholderton, Jones, Tintwistle and Diggory". He took a moment before he started speaking again, "I can see Madam Hooch coming to the field with the crate".
Madam Hooch flew to the center of the field lugging the crate. She barked instructions at the teams, "I want a clean game with no cheating". She beckoned the captains forward, "Captains shake hands". After a warm handshake she kicked open the crate. The balls flew upwards while the teams took off and flew to their positions. When the keepers reached their goal posts, she gave a mighty blast on her whistle and hurled the Quaffle into the air.
Lee launched into the commentary, "And they are off! The teams are really fighting it out there for possession of the Quaffle. Appleby comes up with it. Some brilliant flying there. He's dodging everything they can throw at him. The Ravenclaws are finding it difficult to stop him. He dodges a Bludger, two chasers. He feints to the right hoop. Egwu fell for it. It's a goal! 10-0 for Hufflepuff".
Harry was watching the game being played and was thoroughly excited. For him, the bright red ball was nothing but a distraction. What he was watching was the Seekers, Cedric and Cho. He wanted to see how they performed. It was imperative for him to see their performances so that he could know what he was pitted against. So far both of them were flying around keeping an eye out for the golden ball. He returned to the commentary.
"Green is charging down the pitch with the Quaffle, dodges a Bludger. Ouch! Chaddesley collides with him. That's a foul. Yes, there's Madam Hooch. That's the whistle. Penalty to Ravenclaw for Blatching. Chaddesley takes it. He is going for the middle hoop. No, he feinted... went for the right! That's a goal. It's all tied up at ten all".
Harry noticed Cedric flying to one side with Cho in hot pursuit. Harry tried to see if Cedric had spotted the snitch but it was not there. Cedric was feinting for Cho. Just then a Bludger came out of nowhere whacking him in the ribs. It made him wince. Harry felt scared that Cedric would fall off his broom but the Hufflepuff managed to hang on to his broom.
"Diggory takes a Bludger to the ribs from Jones. He didn't see that one coming, folks. He is wincing but He seems to be OK! Cadwallader has the Quaffle. The chasers are in the hawkshead attacking formation. They are passing the Quaffle between them! Agwu has a hard time trying to keep his eye on the Quaffle! It's Appleby, Chaddesly, Cadwallader. Again to Appleby who has thrown the quaffle through the hoops. Agwu comes out of nowhere to make the save! There's some confusion. Madam Hooch has blown her whistle. The captains are discussing it with her. That's a penalty to Hufflepuff for Flacking. Appleby takes it. With a powerful throw, the Quaffle is clean through the hoops. that is 20-10 for Hufflepuff!".
Harry wanted to ask Oliver's opinion on the game but he was so immersed in it that he did not hear Harry calling him 5 times. Harry turned back to watch the game.
In the next 20 minutes, the game went evenly between both teams. The score was 60 to 50 when Cedric started climbing sharply. Cho was behind him but she was slow in spotting the snitch. Cedric was about to close his hands around the snitch when it started to descend. Doing a barrel roll, Cedric closed his fingers around the ball. The stadium exploded in cheers for the Hufflepuffs. Hufflepuff had won 210 to 50.
Horror Halloween
The day of Halloween started gloomily for him. Every year it was a day when he was sad. Nothing could cheer him up. He had spent those years in Black Castle away from Wizarding Britain. To mourn James and Lily Potter, Samhain (the wizarding equivalent of Halloween) was not celebrated with all the pomp and grandeur for which the House of Black had been famous in the previous years.
Harry knew the traditions and celebrations associated with it though. Cassiopeia had ensured that he knew of his traditions. As it was, he and Neville had made some preparations for celebrating Samhain in their own private celebration before the feast. Harry had no intention of attending the feast but he could not risk being missed by taking his meal in the kitchens. He would be singled out by Dumbledore who would find him. As it was, he never wanted to talk about it to anyone except his friends.
When he got up in the morning, he was not in a mood to reply to anyone's questions or to make small talk. He got ready as soon as he could manage while Neville waited for him. When they were ready, they came down before any others could join him. He did not even smile for a moment. It looked like someone had taken away his energy to smile or to work.
They sat at the Gryffindor Table for breakfast when it was their turn to sit at the Ravenclaw table. all of his friends were sitting there waiting for the duo. When Harry made no move to go over to the Ravenclaw table, Isobel McDougall came over to their table.
She slipped into the chair beside him. She said jovially, "Good Morning Harry".
He off-handedly replied, "Good Morning Isobel".
It was such a cold reply that she was puzzled. She asked Neville, "Did someone whack him on the head that he is so downcast?"
Neville quietly replied, "Today is Halloween".
She began to ask but stopped herself when she realized what he meant. Instead she said sympathetically to him, "I am sorry, Harry. I should have realized. Do you want to talk about it?"
He shook his head, 'No, I will be fine Isobel. Thanks for asking though".
They had Herbology with the Puffs first thing that day followed by Transfiguration with the Claws, lastly Charms with the puffs. When the owl post came in, Hedwig brought him a letter from Sirius.
"Pup, I know you are not leaving the castle today but I thought that maybe you could come to the edge of the Forbidden Forest before the feast is to start? I and Moony have arranged for Samhain celebrations. You can bring all the friends who were with you that day. I will await you eagerly".
Harry showed it to Neville, "Sirius wants to meet".
Neville shrugged, "It is your choice. I am following whatever you decide, mate".
Harry scribbled a letter to Sirius then sent Hedwig away. He had a suspicion that Sirius was already in Hogsmeade and he would get the letter in time. As it was, the marauder spent most of his days in the village whenever he was free. Lord Black also never worked on this day. He spent the day mourning everyone he had lost. The old wizard had buried too many of his family to be cheerful on this day.
Classes were as normal as usual but Harry's heart was not in it. The first period was Herbology where Professor Sprout was teaching them about Dittany.
They all gathered around the plant which had a dark green stem with leaves of the same colour. She started teaching them about it, "This is Dittany alternatively known as Burning Bush, a non-sentient plant. Its distinct characteristic is that it sometimes releases inflammable vapours. It is used in healing, potion making and as wand-cores. It is a powerful healing herb. It can sometimes be eaten raw to cure shallow wounds. It is a healing herb, a restorative.
When mixed with silver, it can be used to cure werewolf bites by preventing the victim from bleeding to death but cannot cure them of lycanthropy. Now I want you all to form groups and study the plant. Your assignment is 2 feet of parchment on Dittany and its uses for next week".
Transfiguration
McGonagall had set them a test. This time, Isobel took the seat beside him. Professor McGonagall wanted them to write an essay on changing matchstick to needle and do the practical portion. It was a cakewalk really. As they were each done with it, McGonagall sent them out of the classroom. Harry had done with his part. He was sitting outside the class on a window, looking out of it, when Isobel joined him.
She did not say anything for a few minutes but quietly watched him before asking him, "Care to join me in the library?"
Harry had nothing else planned until the celebration in the evening so he shrugged, "Sure".
They walked towards the library. Isobel asked him, "How many members are in your family?"
Harry looked at her sceptically, to see if she was making fun of him but she was serious (no pun). He replayed her words again in his mind, then understood what she was asking, "I have a grand-father, a god-father, an uncle, a grand-mother, a brother, and a little sister".
She asked in surprise, "How?"
For the first time that day, Harry gave a reluctant smile, "Sorry Isobel but I do not give away secrets that easily. If you really want to know, you will have to work for it".
She grinned broadly, "I love challenges".
He asked her, "How many members are in your family?"
She started telling him enthusiastically, "I belong to the McDougal clan in Scotland. My grand-father is one of the Elders of the Wizengamot. He sired four children, three sons and 1 daughter. My father Alexander McDougal is the eldest of them. He owns a business in one of the alleys adjacent to Diagon Alley. My uncle Lucas owns a bakery in Godric's Hollow. Uncle Harris breeds Crups here in Scotland. My Aunt Isla is married to Lord Fawley. My father has three children- me, my brothers Lewis and Mason. Uncle Lucas has a son Alfie. Uncle Harris has a son Brodie. Aunt Isla has two children, Liam and Annis".
"It must have been great to grow up in such a big family", Harry said, "I can't even imagine how big your family tree would be".
She snorted, "Big? It is actually small when you compare it to others like the Weasleys. They always had at least 4 children in every generation except for the patriarch now who lost 4 of his siblings when he was young or this place would have been over-run by them".
Harry thought for a moment, "I guess you are correct in your opinion. Even the House of Black had many branches before the first war. Now it stands on the brink of extinction along with House Potter and Longbottom".
"Say Harry, It's okay if you really don't feel like doing anything, but would you like to celebrate Samhain this evening with me?", she asked shyly.
Harry felt bad to refuse, "Sorry Isobel but my god-father is coming over for celebrations today. I will be joining him. I would be delighted if you could join us for those celebrations".
She nodded, "I will be there, Harry".
The bell rang at that moment. They parted ways to go to their next classes. Harry kept watching her go. She seemed to be just another ordinary witch. He did not know why he had invited her to the celebrations. Perhaps it was because she actually showed interest in getting to know him, sharing in his grief that made him amenable towards her.
Bitter spat
Flitwick was teaching them the levitation charm that day. He had told them to form pairs for practice. Since everyone could pair up as they wished, Harry chose Ernie to sit with. Neville sat with Hannah Abbott.
The Professor came into the class. After taking his seat, he banished feathers to each student. He started speaking in his squeaky voice, "We have finished the unlocking charm in the last class. I am reasonably sure that you all can do it if needed. Today we will start the levitation charm. The wand movement is a swish and flick. the incantation is, "WinGardium LeviOsa.". Remember to pronounce the incantation correctly or you may end up with a buffalo on your chest like poor Baruffio who said's' instead of 'f'. He found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest".
He made them pronounce the incantation properly before he let them practiced the wand movement. After he was satisfied, he allowed them to practice the spell.
Harry had no trouble with it. Neither did Neville. Hermione, as usual, was the fastest to do it after them. They were too fast for her liking. What she did not know was that they had already learned a great deal before coming to school.
Susan who was sitting with Justin was close to accomplishing the charm before Hermione succeeded. She usually did her best just after Harry and Neville. Others were similarly in different stages of accomplishing their tasks.
Seamus who was sitting with Dean had set his quill on fire. Flitwick doused it with aguamenti. He set Seamus to do lines for exploding the quill when he was supposed to be levitating it. It was a normal class until Harry heard Hermione trying to teach Ron.
"You are doing it wrong. You will take someone's eye out that way. The pronunciation is Wingardium LeviOsa, not LeviosAaa", Hermione was saying.
"If you think you are so smart, why don't you show me how it's done?", Ronald challenged her. Hermione did it. The smirk that was on her lips did not bode well to Harry. Harry had noticed things like this happening all the time but paid no heed to it. Those two were fighting most of the time. Today, he was not in a mood to listen to them bickering.
As they were leaving the classroom, Ron came over to them, "She is such an insufferable know-it-all. I really don't know how anyone puts up with her condescending attitude. It's no wonder she hasn't got any friends".
Harry could see that Hermione was right behind Ron. When she heard him bad-mouthing her, she shoved him out of the way and charged off to the Tower.
Harry regretfully observed, "I think she heard you, Ron. I would agree that sometimes she is condescending in her behaviour toward others but shooting your mouth off like that is going to get you into a lot of trouble. I will thank you to refrain from running other people down in my hearing".
Samhain
Neville let their friends know where and when to join them for the celebration. They did not have to be told twice. Sirius had made the necessary preparations for the celebration. When they reached, he had a roaring fire going with stones lying in piles and blankets spread on the ground for them to sit on. The only thing lacking was that there were no decorations. They were just inside the border of the Forbidden Forest within cover of the trees so no one could see them.
To Harry's amazement, he noticed Dumbledore was there with them, sipping pumpkin juice. He was laughing at something Remus had just said. Even Hagrid was invited. He was there sitting with a tankard in his lap, talking to a wizard Harry did not recognize. Sirius hugged Harry tightly when he saw him, and then greeted his other friends. Sirius then went on to introduce the other wizard Harry had not recognized as Abeforth Dumbledore. He was brother of the Headmaster. The only family resemblance Harry noticed was that they shared the same brilliant blue eyes. Remus gave Harry a wide smile which was always sufficient to tell him that the werewolf was fine, enjoying things as they were.
Once they all sat down, Sirius stood, "I know many of you are not acquainted with the celebration of Samhain. It is the day when the veil between the two astral planes is so thin that the dead can walk among us. This day we celebrate our dead, honour them. There are stacks of stones in front of us. I want you to pick up stones, write the names of loved ones who have passed away, one for each stone. When you are done, cast the stones into the fire. Inhale some of the smoke from the fire as you do. Finally, write your own name on a stone and cast it into the fire. When the bonfire has died, you may either pick up the stone with your name on it or leave it here. They say that the burn pattern on the stone with your name can tell how the next year will be for you, but it requires a seer to read them. I don't think we will get a seer here".
Isobel sat beside Harry. To his amazement, she had picked up only one stone. She wrote a name and dropped it in the fire. Harry wrote Charlus, Dorea, James, Lily and Cassiopeia's names on the stones and dropped them into the middle of the fire. He did not even know the name of his muggle grand-parents! After taking a whiff of the fire, he wrote his name on a stone then dropped it into the middle of the fire. He had already decided that he would not be picking up the stone. He would brave whatever came his way. When they were sitting sipping butterbeers, eating refreshments, Fairies came out of nowhere. They started dancing around the fire. Harry noticed that almost all the ghosts of the castle were there around the fire, mingling with each other. A few even stopped to have a very animated chat with the Marauders.
Isobel observed, "I saw you toss a lot of names into the fire. Too much grief?"
Harry nodded. Then he said, "I saw you drop only one".
She nodded, "Yes, my grandmother. She died of Dragonpox when I was 6. She doted on me. She always said that I was her splitting image".
He murmured, "I have not even seen anyone from my parents' family. My grand-parents all died some time before I was born. My parents died when I was fifteen months old. I grew up well loved but I do miss my parents at times".
She told him simply, "Just because someone had to die, it does not mean that they left us, Harry. They are always there in our hearts. Look inside yourself. You will find them there".
Sirius chose that moment to come over, "Godson, would you not introduce me to this charming young lady?"
Harry looked embarrassed at this breach of etiquette, "God-father, this is Isobel McDougal. Isobel, this is my god-father, Sirius Black".
Sirius performed a courtly bow to her. He asked, "Exactly what do you see in him?"
She was confused, "What do you mean?"
Sirius spoke slowly as if explaining something to a child, "I mean he is runty looking, has a scar, a bird's nest for hair. Exactly what made you want to sit beside him?"
She snorted, "Maybe that's just the kind of guy I like, Mr. Black".
"Call me Sirius please, Mr. Black sounds too heavy on my poor ears".
Remus saw that Sirius was making trouble. He came over to drag him away, "Come along Sirius. The adults are talking over there. Leave these children be".
The celebration did not go long after that because the feast was waiting for them.
Dumbledore had already disappeared sometime while they were talking. They returned to the Great Hall to sate their hunger. None of them had bothered to pick up the stone with their name on it.
Troll in the Dungeons
The elves had outdone themselves. The feast was so extravagant that Harry could not even have imagined that so many kinds of dishes actually existed. Everything was available to him under the roof of Black Castle but generally the fare at the table was kept fairly simple. It was never more than two or three dishes because that was all anyone ate. This however, there was no word to describe it.
The feast was well underway before he realized that Hermione was not among the gathered students. He knew that she generally sat beside Parvati but there was no sign of her there today. He hollered for Parvati, "Parvati, where is Hermione?"
Parvati looked around her to make sure that the said girl was not present. When she realized that she was indeed nowhere around them, she turned to him, "I had heard her crying in the Girls' washroom on the second floor after charms class. I have not seen her since. Ron's comment was too cruel".
Harry nodded. Ron had no filter on his mouth. He tended to say whatever was on his mind. It was a quality worthy of one sorted into the house of the brave but at times, it was actually an embarrassment. He turned to Neville, "Mate, we need to go find her. As soon as we are done here, we will go and look for her with the map".
Neville nodded. Of course he would follow Harry to the end of the world if he wanted. They were not just friends but god-brothers. Neville would never let Harry go anywhere without him.
Meanwhile, Harry was taking Ron to task, "Look what you have done, Ron. You will apologize to her for your words. It does not cost us anything to be kind to others".
Ron did not say anything. He was feeling bad for having said those words by now. His mother had not raised him and his siblings like that. If his mother knew about it, things would end up badly for him.
Before they could decide on any further course of action, the double doors opened. Quirrell came running in. He was panting and was exhausted. The sweat on his face said that there was some trouble. He fell down somewhere in the middle of the Great Hall while shouting, "Troll! Troll in the Dungeons! Thought you ought to know". Then he collapsed.
His words caused a pandemonium in the Great Hall with the students starting to run around in panic, shrieking and shouting.
Dumbledore roared above the din they were making, "Calm down, everyone". His words had a calming effect. Immediately everyone froze in their places. Harry could see the Headmaster's eyes glowing with power.
He calmly ordered, "Prefects, take the students to your Houses. Slytherin prefects take your students up the north tower where the old dormitories are available. Teachers, follow me to the dungeons".
Percy was beckoning the Gryffindor students to him. He started herding them out of the Great Hall up the stairs.
Harry turned to the duo of Neville and Ron, "Guys, Hermione does not know about the troll. We need to go find her and tell her about it. We will break off from the rest of the group when we are on the second floor. Then we can go to find her". They both nodded. On the second floor, the trio who had been walking at the back of the Gryffindor students dropped back and hid around a corner.
While hiding, waiting for the other students to clear the second floor corridor, they saw Severus Snape walking up the stairs toward the third floor. Harry asked the other two, "Didn't Dumbledore asked the teachers to follow him to the dungeons where the troll is?"
Neville replied, "Yes, he did. But we cannot go after him now. We need to find Hermione first".
Suddenly, Harry's nose wrinkled up in disgust as he caught a whiff of a rank odor in the air like meat gone bad. He asked the other two, 'Do you two smell that?"
Ron replied, "Yes, like rotten meat. Where is it coming from?"
Just then they heard a low rumbling sound and saw a gigantic shadow on one of the walls of the castle. The Troll was not down in the dungeons. It was right there on that floor! It was enough to make them quiver in fear. They momentarily forgot that they were looking for Hermione, not the troll. They followed it. They saw it entering a washroom. The key was in the door!
Hiding themselves in the shadows, making absolutely no sound, they slowly trudged forwards towards the door. When they realized that the troll was fully inside, Harry quickly locked the door.
He turned looking smug at having captured the troll but the horror etched on Neville's face was enough to make him go weak in the knees. "What is wrong, mate?", he nervously asked.
"Harry, you idiot! We were looking for Hermione. You just locked the troll in the girls' bathroom with her!", he bellowed.
Harry silently cursed himself. They were gormless idiots indeed. They had lost sight of their target. He got tied up in heroics! They needed a plan to follow.
Harry turned to Neville, "Mate, I am going to get Hermione out of there. I want you to go find anyone who can help us. We need help. Do anything you have to but get help in time. Cause the cannon bang on the great staircase. It will attract other's attention".
Neville asked him, "Are you sure? I can be of some help here, mate. I am more handy with a wand than Ron".
Harry shook his head, "It is his fault that she is in there in the first place. Now hurry up. We don't have much time".
Neville took off at a dead run. Harry carefully turned the key in the lock while keeping his wand ready. When he opened the door, he took in a scene of chaos and destruction.
The floor was flooded, covered with shards of shattered porcelain from the broken fixtures, bits of splintered wood strewn here and there, ragged bits of the broken stalls hanging from the walls. The smell of rotting meat was overwhelming. Worst of all, Hermione was crouched in a corner hiding beneath a stone basin which was half gone. It would not have withstood another mighty blow.
Harry shouted, "Hermione! Run! He is going to kill you!"
Hermione did not move, perhaps frozen with fear. The troll however, hearing Harry yelling, hesitated mid-swing. Harry knew that he had to act fast if he was going to save Hermione's life. He fired off three cannon blasts with his wand in rapid succession. That got the troll's attention. It turned around slowly, probing with its dull eyes, looking for the source of the noise. When it spotted Harry and Ron, it lumbered in their general direction, dragging its massive club behind it.
At first, Harry thought, "Great! It's not going to smash Hermione into pulp". Then as the troll got closer, he thought, "Uh oh! It's coming straight at us!"
Ron raised his wand and roared, "WingArdium LeviOsa!"
The troll's club was out of his hand levitating in the air in a moment. Harry thought there could be nothing better than its own club to knock it out. Perhaps Ron was of the same mind but as he dropped the club, the troll had moved. They were without anything to stop it now.
Harry tried the tripping hex, a stunner, a bludgeoner in rapid succession, but they fizzled against its magic resistant skin. His other spells were equally ineffective. All he could do was keep the troll's attention, dodge and wait for help to arrive. Ron took Hermione out from under the broken stone basin. Harry was finally cornered with the wall to his back. With nowhere to go, he had a moment of thought where he laughed at himself that his life was going to end at the hands of a dumb troll. In desperation, he stuck his wand right up the troll's snout and fired off another stunner. The effect was immediate. The troll's eyes went wide and he bellowed in rage and pain. The creature pulled back both fists to pummel Harry into paste when with a mighty roar and an even mightier sweep of his arm, Hagrid knocked the troll aside.
With the troll occupied, Harry scrambled for the door. The troll scrambled back to its feet and lunged for Hagrid. The half-giant was ready for it. As the troll charged him, Hagrid got a hold of its arm and side-stepped. The troll flipped and landed on its back. It got back to its feet again and this time, lumbered up to the half-giant, flexing its massive fingers. Harry could see that the troll seemed to have the advantage when it came to size and weight, but Hagrid definitely had the edge when it came to skill and brains. For a moment, Harry was concerned that the half-giant was going to get seriously hurt, but then he realized that Hagrid was grinning. He was having fun. Again and again, the two figures collided. Again and again, the troll wound up on its back ore eating wall.
The troll stumbled back to its feet yet again. It staggered toward Hagrid as the half-giant egged him on, "C'mon Lud. Ya've still got sumtin in ya".
When the troll got close enough, Hagrid batted its outstretched arms aside then with a left jab to the belly and a right cross to the jaw, the troll went down like a felled tree. Hagrid stood up straight, shook out his fists and said, "Don know what Lud thought 'e was up to, wandrin 'round the castle like that'. Too bad 'e's too stupid to ever tell me". Then he turned to Harry, "Ya alri' 'Arry?".
Before Harry could answer, Professor McGonagall shrieked, "What is happening here?" She stood in the doorway with Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell right behind her. Her mouth formed the thinnest of thin lines. Professor Quirrell looked like he was going to pass out. Professor Snape had his wand at the ready, his face fixed in its perpetual sneer and, Harry noticed, limping.
Harry looked at his legs out of curiosity. He observed that the lower part of his robes had been mangled. There was a wound on his leg which he hastily covered when he found Harry looking.
Professor McGonagall was shouting at them, "What are you all doing here? You were ordered to go to your dormitories. And this is a girl's bathroom!", she added as an afterthought.
Hermione said in a very feeble voice, "They were here to save me, Professor. I did not know about the troll. I was in the bathroom when it attacked. I froze in fear. If Harry and Ron had not arrived when they did, I would not be alive at this moment. Ron levitated its club away then got me out of there while Harry kept it busy. They put their lives on the line, fighting that creature until Hagrid arrived and saved the day".
McGonagall turned to Hagrid, "Thank you Hagrid. If you had not acted promptly, we might have lost these students".
Hagrid blushed a bit, "Is alri' Professor, it's me job isn't it? If you'll all excuse me, I'll be getting Lud 'ere back to the forbidden forest.". They all stood aside as Hagrid, with the war club over one shoulder and the troll over the other shoulder, carefully walked by and down the main stairs to the main doors.
She then turned to Harry, "Mr. Potter-Black, what happened here?"
Harry's mind was confused. Hermione Granger had just lied to a teacher for them. She could have told McGonagall that they had locked the door from outside but she had not. She took the blame on herself. Right now, he had to answer McGonagall's question.
He started speaking cautiously, "Professor, I heard from Parvati at the feast that Hermione was here in the bathroom. That she had been crying the whole day. Neville, Ron and I decided to find her after we had our dinner. We wanted to be sure that she had taken dinner. Before that could happen however, the troll entered the castle. We went to find her to alert her about the situation. We saw the troll entering the girl's bathroom. I asked Neville to fetch help. Ron and I kept it distracted until Hagrid came and beat him".
She pursed her mouth in a thin line for a moment before she started speaking, "You are lucky to have evaded a mountain troll for so long. That was quick thinking to send Mr. Longbottom to fetch help. Five points to each of you for your nerve and dumb luck".
She then turned to Hermione, "Why were you not at the feast Miss Granger?"
Hermione lied again, "I was homesick Professor. I was missing my parents".
McGonagall nodded, "If you are uninjured, then return to your Common Room. Dinner is being served there".
They walked to the seventh floor while discussing the events of the evening. Harry asked Neville, "Mate, how did you find Hagrid?"
Neville started telling it a bit too enthusiastically, "I was at the grand staircase just making the first shot when I saw Hagrid coming up the stairs. He asked me if I wanted to be put into detention for making such a racket. I just said 'Harry and Troll', and pointed to the girls' bathroom. He broke into a run. I swear I have never seen anyone move as fast as he did at that moment yelling something about 'saving Harry Potter'. On the way, I ran into Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall. The dungeon bat wanted to put me into detention, McGonagall asked me why I was not yet in my common room despite Dumbledore's orders. When I told them, she walked at such a brisk pace that I could hardly keep up with her".
Hermione walked ahead of them and reached the Common Room before them. Once inside, she turned to them, "Thank you, all of you, for saving me".
That day, Harry felt that a new friendship was being born among them. After all, death defying adventures have a way of bringing people together.
For some reason, Harry forgot to tell Lord Black about the troll incident. He didn't think that it was anything linked directly to Harry, yet.
Black Townhouse
A Hogwarts owl arrived at the Black Townhouse the evening before the Gryffindor Slytherin match. It was for Sirius. He opened the letter.
"Dear Mr. Black,
You are cordially invited to attend the Quidditch match of Slytherin versus Gryffindor. It is to take place tomorrow. It is my fondest wish that you will take some time out of your schedule for this occasion.
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"
Sirius showed the letter to Remus, "What do you make of it, Moony?"
Of course, Remus knew what it was all about. But it was crucial that Sirius did not know about it before he saw it for himself. He said to him in a neutral voice, "Perhaps Dumbledore is trying to get into your good books, Padfoot. Why don't you go and see what it is about?"
Sirius nodded, "Alright, I'll bite. And, you are coming with me".
Gryffindor versus Slytherin
The day for the match arrived. It was hard to believe that the same boy that had faced a full-grown mountain troll just two days ago could be so nervous about a game. Facing life and death was one thing, but the honour and glory of Gryffindor was at stake here and that was quite another thing. Harry's dormitory was on the top floor of the Gryffindor tower. From there, he had a pretty good view of the pitch. He had spent a few evenings, watching the pitch, through his omnioculars, watching the other teams practice. They knew what they were about. The Slytherin team tended more to size than talent. But they had dominated the competition last year and they were the team to beat. Watching them practice, Harry knew that they would play a very physical game. That did not bode well for the youngest and smallest player in a hundred years.
Harry woke up that morning to a bright, clear and cool November day. The adrenalin immediately started coursing through his body. It was a blend of nerves, excitement and anticipation. His team was good. Harry knew they were good. He had been with them during practice. Wood was a slave-driver and he knew what he was about. He had been selected as team captain in his fourth year, which was young for a team captain. That was because he had the talent, the drive and the leadership. In his second year as team captain, now he also had the experience. The beaters, Fred and George, even though they were only third years, were large for their age and practically telepathic the way they made their plays. The chasers were all girls and they had drilled passing, shooting and dodging until they could do it with their eyes closed. The only potential weak link in this team was Harry himself. Harry was determined not to let them down.
When he entered the common room, Wood saw how pale and shaky he looked. He said, "This will be your first game, Harry. I know that you're feeling it, but I'm telling you, you have nothing to worry about. We're all behind you. You have real talent. When you catch that Snitch, the Snakes won't even know what happened".
The twins gave him a pat on the back. The chasers all messed up his hair and made a fuss over him.
When he exited the Common Room the team surrounded him. They were followed by the first years, then each year in their turn. They marched to the Great Hall. Along the way, many of the Ravenclaws joined them.
When he sat for breakfast, Hermione was on one side of him with Neville on the other and Ron sitting across from him. He was playing with the food on his plate. He had no stomach to eat. Neville tried to get him to eat, but he refused.
Finally, Neville convinced him to at least drink some pumpkin juice. He said, "Mate, if you pass out from lack of food during the game, we don't have a back-up seeker".
Harry reluctantly sipped at the pumpkin juice. As soon as the cool sweetness hit his dry mouth, his appetite picked up a bit. He was able to choke down some hot cereal and another glass of pumpkin juice before he gave up breakfast as a bad job.
The team rose from the table to go out to the pitch. That was when many well-wishers came over from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. They paid a lot of attention to Harry, saying things like congratulations on making the team as a first year to he was their best hope to defeat the Snakes this year. No pressure there. Even Daphne gave him a warm smile and a high-sign when she thought that none of her house-mates were looking.
Isobel decided to come over and join him while they walked to the lockers. She looked at him and realized he was nervous, "Are you nervous, Harry?"
He nodded, "This is my first game. I do not want to let the team down. They have all worked really hard and we all want this win".
She assured him, "Harry, you sound like you're carrying the weight of the entire team on your shoulders. That just is not the case. You have one thing and one thing only to worry about. Find that little golden ball and capture it. This is your first game. Even if you do make any mistakes, you will learn from them and come back even better in your next one. Just be yourself. I am sure you will have people's heads turning with your skills".
Since they had reached the lockers, she went to sit with her house mates while Harry went in with the team.
Inside, they quickly changed into their quidditch robes. Since wands were not allowed in the game, Harry had left his wand in the care of Neville before he came into the locker room. Oliver started giving them the pre-match speech, "This is the chance we have been waiting for. This is going to be our year. The year that we will win finally. We have the team that is hard to beat. we will crush our foes".
He rambled on for some time. Every word made Harry more nervous. He was probably banking on Harry's talents a lot. The jitters just got worse. Fred however patted his shoulder, "Worry not, Harry. Oliver always gives the same speech. In fact, we have learned every word of it".
Finally it was time for them to fly out to the Quidditch pitch.
Hermione, Ron and Neville took a place in the stands with Dean and Seamus behind them. Dean had a banner which read "Potter-Black for Minister of Magic". Shortly before the game started, Hagrid came up to the stands. He made a place for himself beside the little group rumbling, "Hello yeh three! I thought I would come and watch from here. Can't see anything properly from me hut".
Lee was on the mike. "Welcome to the second match of the season. The most anticipated. On one hand are the Gryffindors- the brave of heart, the men with courage. On the other are Slytherins- the cunning, the ambitious. Most believe that this match will be a one-sided pounding on Gryffindor. But this announcer has it on good authority that Slytherin is in for a rude awakening. May the Gryffindors I mean, may the best team win".
A few seconds later, he announced the arrival of the Slytherins, "Here come the Slytherins: Flint, Warrington, Pucey, Urquhart, Bole, Bletchley and Higgs. The same old team last year which defeated Gryffindor by sheer luck".
His statement was greeted by jeers from the Slytherins. Unsurprisingly, the snakes got support from no other quarters of the school. The other three houses were pitted against them.
Lee continued, "Now here comes the Gryffindors flying in a hawkshead formation with three each in two rows with the youngest seeker in a century bringing up the rear. I give to you all the Gryffindors. Johnson, Bell, Spinet, Wood, Weasley, Weasley. Potter-Black".
In the spectator stands meant for teachers and visitors, Sirius Black gasped, "What? Harry! Is he their seeker? Merlin's beard! But he is a first year!"
Remus chuckled, "He is the youngest seeker in a century, Padfoot. The rules were bent to accommodate him".
While they were talking, madame Hooch flew out to center field with the crate of balls. She barked out, looking significantly at the Slytherins, "Alright. You all know the rules. I want to see a clean game". Then looking at Harry, "I wish you all good luck. Captains, shake hands".
Wood and Flint shook hands while menacing each other. The wincing on their faces was sufficient to tell Harry that they were trying to break each other's hands. Harry looked up at the sky. It had become overcast since dawn. Although it was cold, the snow had not yet begun to fall. Cold, yes, but visibility was perfect for spotting the snitch. This was going to be a short game.
Madame Hooch kicked open the crate. The two Bludgers and the Snitch took to the sky as the teams took up their positions. As soon as the keepers reached the goal posts, she gave a mighty blast on her whistle and hurled the Quaffle into the air.
Harry had kicked off hard to gain altitude. As soon as he took to the sky, all feelings of nervousness left him. He felt more alert and clear-headed than he had for days. The game plan for him was to stay high and out of the way of the Bludgers until he spotted the Snitch. Higgs was right on his tail. Not too smart, Harry thought, he was nearly half the other guys size and on a much better broom. Higgs had no chance at all of catching the Snitch by following him around. If this was the Slytherins' tactic, they had already given the game away.
Lee started the play by play, "And they are off! Angelina comes up with the Quaffle! She's leading the charge. That girl gets better every year but she still won't go out with me".
"Jordon", Professor McGonagall admonished him.
"Sorry Professor. It's Angelina with the Quaffle flying towards the Slytherin goalpost. She dodges a Bludger, a chaser. She takes her shot. And Bletchley saves it. Alicia in possession of the Quaffle. She's flying like an arrow straight towards the goal posts. A Bludger from Urquhart forces her to drop the Quaffle. Picked up by Pucey. He dodges a Weasley Bludger. He chucks the ball towards the hoop". Suddenly he bellowed, "Come on Wood! Save it!", then continued, "Yes! Wood saved it. Bell in possession of the Quaffle flying to the Slytherin goal. Pass to Angelina. She's wide open! That's a goal! 10-0 for Gryffindor".
The stadium erupted in cheers, whistles, stomping and applause. Of course, the Slytherins booed and hissed, but they were well drowned out by the rest of the crowd. Meanwhile, Harry had spotted the Snitch while leading Higgs a merry chase around the other side of the pitch. He didn't try to catch it just yet because Higgs didn't seem to have a clue and Wood hadn't signalled the play yet.
Suddenly he saw a flash of gold on the edge of his vision. He took off after it. He had spotted the snitch again. Higgs was still on his tail. A Bludger collided with his broom almost throwing him off. He remained on the broom by holding on to the handle. Higgs had to pull-up hard to keep from colliding with him. In the confusion, they both lost sight of the Snitch. Gryffindor was awarded a penalty shot. Angelina took the shot. She converted it into a goal. The crowd went wild again as Lee announced, "It's 20-0 for Gryffindor!".
Soon thereafter, Flint collided with Harry for which Gryffindor was awarded a penalty and Alicia took it but it was saved. The twins decided that Flint deserved some payback for nearly knocking Harry off of his broom. The next time he got possession of the Quaffle, they took the double beater stance and blasted the Bludger at him. The over-powered black ball hit him square in the chest, breaking some ribs and knocking him clean off of his broom. There was no penalty called on the play because although it was a dirty trick, there were no rules against hitting the guy in possession of the Quaffle with a Bludger. There was no time out either because they had put the captain out of commission. With the Snakes short a chaser, the Lions scored again easily.
At a score of 30-0 for Gryffindor, Harry thought it was a good time to make his move. Then everything started going wrong. His broom started vibrating, going out of control and tried to buck him off. He knew well how to fly and he held on tight, trying to bring the unruly thing back under control. There was only one reason that a Nimbus 2000 would act like this, someone was jinxing it. He had no attention to spare to look for the perpetrator. It was all he could do to stay on the broom as it vibrated, bucked and climbed higher, away from the game.
It was Fred and George that noticed he was in trouble first. They flew under Harry, ready to catch him while the rest of the team tried to play on with no Beaters.
In the confusion, Flint managed to get back on his broom and score 4 goals.
Sirius was furious with the broom acting like that. He stood up with his wand out, ready to cast 'Arresto momentum' before Moony stopped his hand, "No Padfoot, you could end up harming him. We will cast only if he is unseated from his broom".
His friends were equally worried. Hagrid was watching through his binoculars. He said worriedly, "Looks like somebody hexed his broom".
Hermione borrowed the binoculars. She looked through them to find that Snape was muttering an enchantment. She turned to Neville and Ron, "It looks like Snape is jinxing his broom".
Neville asked her, "Do you have any idea what to do?"
Before Hermione could answer, Harry regained control of the broom. What they did not notice was that when Sirius abruptly stood up, he had caused a few of the other teachers to fall down. Whatever or whoever was interfering with Harry's broom, the effect stopped. As a result, Harry was able to climb back on his broom.
With Harry out of trouble, the twins got back into the game. When they saw the scoreboard, they were furious that nobody had called a time-out. The Bludgers flew fast and furious, wrecking havoc on the larger, less nimble Slytherin players, especially Flint. There would be some Slytherins in the infirmary after this game.
It took 10 more minutes for the score to climb to 60-40 for Gryffindor. Harry spotted the golden ball again. It was flying near the Gryffindor goal. He caught Higgs napping and went blazing off toward the Gryffindor end. Urquhart blasted a Bludger at his head. Just as it looked like the Bludger would break Harry's nose, he did a barrel roll. The Bludger hit Higgs instead. He was knocked off course by the impact.
Lee announced, "Higgs takes a Bludger from his own beater! Potter-Black is in hot pursuit of the Snitch. It is going in a steep dive. Potter- Black follows it while dodging another Bludger. I can't believe it! He's going faster! The snitch is almost level with the ground. Higgs is back in it but he has some ground to make up and it looks like Potter-Black is not giving him that chance! Higgs is pulling up, folks. Looks like he's afraid of getting plowed. Potter-Black pulls up at the last second! He's standing on his broom! He has tumbled from his broom!"
Harry saw that the Snitch was so close to the ground that there was no way to catch it from his broom and stay mounted. He swung down with his mouth wide open as time seemed to slow. In the split second that he lost sight of the Snitch, he felt something scooped up by his open mouth. He tumbled across the field to land back on his feet. He spit the golden ball out into his hand and held it up for the crowd and especially for Madame Hooch to see.
Time sped back up to normal as the stadium erupted in cheers. Lee was shouting into the mic, "That's it! Harry has the Snitch! It's all over folks! Gryffindor beats Slytherin 210 to 40!"
Flint was arguing with Madam Hooch, "He did not catch the snitch. He nearly swallowed it". But she was having none of it.
The team mobbed him, thumping him on the back. Oliver kept jumping up and down in excitement yelling, "That's my boy! That's my boy!"
After the team was done expressing their joy, His friends came up to him. They group hugged him. He knew they had been worried about him. He had had a real scare once or twice in the air.
As they were leaving the pitch, Harry ran into the Marauders who were just coming down from the stands. They immediately hugged him and did not let him go for a few minutes. Finally Sirius extricated himself. He said to him, "I was so worried Pup. Are you alright?"
Harry smiled, "I am fine, Padfoot. I was scared a little though".
A Marauder's Birthday
It was Sirius's birthday the day after the match. Harry had no idea about what to give him as a gift. For all his life, most of his shopping had been done for him by Moony or Arcturus. He had always been a tag-along. Now he was to choose a suitable gift for an adult wizard. He had absolutely no idea about what to get.
He had asked Neville too. The other boy didn't have any ideas about a perfect gift for Sirius either. He had the same problem; he never had to buy a gift for an adult wizard before this day. Whenever it was Moony's birthday, Harry could give him a gift hamper of chocolates and be done with it. But Sirius was not so fond of chocolates.
Finally, Harry had asked Professor Dumbledore about it when the headmaster had sent for him and Neville to talk about the troll incident the next day.
When they entered, the head-master had a Pensieve on his desk. He was emptying some of his memories into it. He beckoned them into chairs, then with a motion of his hand, asked them to wait. After he had added the memory, he turned to them, "How are you Harry, Neville?"
Harry chose to answer, "We are in fine health, Headmaster, thank you. What is it you are doing with that Pensieve?"
He waved off the question, "A little of this and that. I am just trying to document something while I still have the time because I fear the next few years are going to be incredibly busy. Now, I have called you here so that you can tell me about what happened on the day of the feast. Would you tell me what happened?"
Neville recounted the version of the story that they had told McGonagall. They had decided that they would stick to that version of the story because if Hermione did not want to tell, it was not their secret to give away.
After they were done, Harry asked the headmaster, "Professor, I have heard that the wards around Hogwarts should keep creatures such as a troll away from the castle. How did one enter then?"
Dumbledore took a few moments before he started to answer their question, "The wards certainly can keep trolls out but not if someone had brought one in. I suspect that someone in the castle let it in as a practical joke".
Harry frowned, "It could have killed Hermione if we had not reached her in time. That is not a joke".
Dumbledore sighed, "That is right. It was not a joke. That is why I have called you here. Since you were the first to see it, can you make a guess as to what it was doing in the castle?"
Harry thought hard for a while. An answer eventually started to form at the back of his mind but it was not the one he was going to give Dumbledore. He gave one completely harmless answer instead, "Professor, I suspect someone brought it in to create chaos, pandemonium in the castle. I cannot see any other reason for doing so".
Dumbledore looked disappointed for a moment but hid it well, "Very well, you both can go now".
Harry decided to ask him the question which had been bothering him, "Headmaster, can you tell me what would be the ideal gift for a wizard like my god-father? His birthday is coming. I have no idea what to get for him".
Dumbledore smiled genially, "It varies from person to person but I have found that a bottle of Rosmerta's oak matured mead often makes for the best gift for me".
Harry stood, "Thank you for the suggestion, Headmaster. We will be taking your leave now".
Later that evening, the duo snuck out of the castle. They headed to The Three Broomsticks. Rosmerta was not about to sell mead to two firsties from Hogwarts till Harry convinced her that it was really meant to be a gift for Sirius. Rosmerta even gift-wrapped it nicely for them then handed it to them. Harry and Neville splitt the bill between them. Harry called his personal elf, Kreacher. He ordered the elf to decorate the Townhouse tastefully that night of 2nd November.
He had floo called Remus to discuss the birthday. Remus had reluctantly agreed that he and Neville could sneak out of the castle once everyone was asleep in their dormitories. Kreacher and Travistor could get them out of there by side-along apparition to the Townhouse. And return them the same way before they were missed.
Shortly before mid-night, the post-victory party was winding down. There were only a couple of stragglers left in the common room. Harry and Neville came out of the Common Room. As the portrait of the fat lady swung shut, she said, "First years out after Curfew? You had better not let Filch catch you".
Harry made a shushing motion with his finger to his lips, then whispered, "Don't worry. I have a cunning plan".
She yawned widely and said, "Suit yourself. I'm going back to sleep". Then putting action to words, promptly dozed off.
Harry and Neville quietly made their way to an unused classroom nearby. Travistor and Kreacher were waiting for them there. Travistor never served anyone except Arcturus. it was implied that he was only there under the old wizard's orders. Holding the doorknob with one hand while applying pressure to the middle of the door with the palm of his other hand Harry closed the door without any squeak, thump or click. He carefully twisted the doorknob until all the tension was off of the springs then took the pressure off the middle of the door until it settled into position.
Neville asked him, "Mate, where did you learn to do that?"
Harry responded, "I may have read a spy novel or two, when Remus wasn't looking".
Once they were in position, the elves disappeared with a low pop with taking the two boys with them.
The Townhouse had been beautifully decorated with streamers having been hung from the walls, the portraits decorated with ribbons and balloons, their occupants expressing their displeasure at being treated that way. There was an enormous cake in the meeting room topped with figures of a shaggy dog, a stag, a doe and a werewolf. Not surprisingly, it was a chocolate cake, which Remus perhaps had ordered more in keeping with his own taste than Sirius's. Lord Black was sitting in a chair in the meeting room looking amused at the preparations made right under Sirius's nose.
Remus took the two kids upstairs. They entered Sirius's room stealthily. When they were around his bed, Remus let loose a cannon blast from his wand.
Before he was even properly awake, Sirius rolled from his bed, wand in hand and crouched down behind his bed, looking for the source of the blast. Even after ten years in Azkaban, he had not forgotten his Auror training.
They started singing "Happy Birthday to you.", before he could curse anyone of them.
Sirius looked at Neville and Harry, "Did you two sneak out of the castle at this hour? How did you get here? Did you break into a Professor's office to use the floo?"
Harry chuckled, "No. We used our elves to apparate out of there".
Sirius grumbled, "Elves? We never even thought of doing that, despite having every opportunity to do so".
Remus guffawed, "Of course we didn't. We had enough brains among us to get what we wanted done. We never had to bring in any outside talent".
The celebration was great. They all enjoyed to their heart's content. By about four AM, Even the most hard-core among them had to admit that he had enough. Kreacher and Travistor took the boys directly to their dormitories. After a long day of Quidditch and partying, Harry thought nothing had ever looked so welcoming or inviting to him as that four-poster bed. The elves had hardly left the room before the snores were rising from the beds which had been empty only a minute ago.