Friday morning's sucked for one blark haired teenager more than others. He awoke to the raucous sounds of his roommates talking loudly. Harry couldn't quite make out what they were saying, just that they were loud.
Harry glared across the room towards the shadow-like figures that were jumping all around the room. Harry groaned and sat up thrusting open his curtains.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" He yelled across the room. It was common courtesy for the past five years that they keep a level of quiet in the morning as all five boys preferred to sleep late.
Ron and Seamus who were jumping around loudly. "Sorry Harry." Seamus apologized as he froze on his bed.
Harry slammed back down onto his bed in disgust. "What time is it?" He grumbled with his eyes closed.
"Just past nine." Ron answered a bit timidly. They had been getting better over the last week, at least he and Harry could have a conversation without pissing each other off.
Harry rolled over and buried his head into his pillow and screamed. "Fine!" He shouted as he rolled back over.
"What time did you get in last night?" Dean who had just walked out of the shower asked.
"Seven-forty five." Harry said with a heavy voice.
"Oh, that sucks." Seamus commented.
"You have no idea, today is a full day, for me at least. Quidditch Try-outs, and Dueling Club presentation later." Harry realized that he shouldn't have said the last part as it was supposed to be a surprise. He tried to cover his face after he said it.
"What do you mean Dueling club?"
"Dueling club presentation?"
"What's dueling club?"
"What presentation?" Came for the four responses of his roommates.
They proceed to rapid fire questions at him and as the questions and the volume grew as did Harry's headache.
"SHUT IT! All of you are way too loud!" Harry was furious. "Be in the Old Dining Hall at 730 tonight and you'll find out. Now please LEAVE ME ALONE!" Harry shouted.
Over the next hour or so Harry got ready and dressed for Quidditch practice which started at Eleven. Harry trudged down to the Great Hall hoping that he could catch Daphne before she went to her classes.
As he entered the Great Hall he caught Daphne and Hermione standing to leave at that moment. Harry quickly jogged over to the two of them.
"Hey Harry!" Daphne said as she smiled brightly at her boyfriend.
"Hey, Daphne. Hey Hermoine, how are you mornings?" Harry asked with barely any voice and enthusiasm.
"Not bad, Harry why do you look like death?" Hermione asked noting her best friends appearance.
Harry sighed and his shoulders dropped, "I slept for like an hour after getting off at seven…" He turned to Daphne, "Hey Daph can you do me a HUGE favor?" He almost begged.
Daphne was worried for him, he didn't look well. "Sure, but that doesn't mean I'll do it." She said with a bit of cheek hoping to make him smile.
Harry smirked, "Can you get me a pepper-up potion to take after dinner?"
Hermione and Daphne both narrowed their eyes at him, "Why?" Daphne asked with a glare.
"Look, I don't have time to-"
"HARRY!" Both girls voices filled the entire Hall.
Harry winced and covered his ears with his hands. "Alright, alright. I am supposed to do a presentation for the dueling club tonight and with an hour of sleep and a likely three hour Quidditch Try-out, I am going to be dead later." Harry said with an exhausted sighed.
Both girls eyed him for another few seconds before Daphne spoke up, "Harry, you need to take better care of yourself."
"Daph, I know." She put her hand on his chin and gently raised his head so she could look into his eyes.
"I'll do this one time only, but you have to realize that Pepper-up is very addictive and if you take it too often its effects will diminish over time." Daphne said seriously. "Hey." She said softly when he didn't respond. His eyes were almost glazed over she could see the pain and hurt that he carried every day. It was now front and center, his barriers were almost completely down much like that first day she met him at Greengrass Manor. "Take it easy at the Try-outs."
Hermione watched the two of them closely. Daphne had quickly replaced Ron in her friend circle and was much happier about it. While Harry seemed to really benefit from having the blonde around. Daphne was much better for taking care of Harry than she would ever be. Sure Hermione cared deeply about Harry and would do anything to protect him, but he needed love. Love that she couldn't give him fully.
Harry turned a fake smile, "I'll try. Ginny'll keep me check, right?" He said loudly over Daphne shoulder to the redhead that was eating a few seats away. She nodded confidently while chewing.
Daphne frowned, "Just try and stay on your broom ok?" She joked as she gave him a loose hug before Hermione tugged her out of the Great Hall.
"That was one time!" Harry exclaimed as he walked over taking Hermione's seat next to Ginny. He quickly made a plate of mash and bacon. He eye'd Ginny as she was being particularly quiet this morning. "What's up?" He asked after finishing a bite of bacon.
Ginny was on the verge of nervous wreak, "Nothing… I mean it's… No… Nothing!" She stammer as her head hit the table.
Harry reached an arm around her shoulder and patted her lightly hoping that would help ease her nerves about the try-outs of which he figured was the root of the problem. "You'll do great. Of the people coming out your the best hands down."
Ginny's face never left the table, "But I don't even have a broom Harry. Everyone even Ron has a broom. Sure I'll be able to use a cleansweap but… I mean for fucks sakes Cormac has a Firebolt. A FUCKING FIREBOLT!" She turned her head to the side to look at Harry.
"You don't need a great broom to be great. Better brooms don't make people better, they only make good people better. Daphne told me that." He smiled brightly at her. "Gin, your going to finish eating then we are going to walk down the pitch and change."
"I think im just going to stay here." Ginny sulked. "That way I don't embarrass myself in front of the whole house."
Harry turned her head to face his, "Ginny Weasley!" He said somewhat loudly. "You're going to come to this tryout and your going to do you best. That's the only thing you can do. What if Ron makes the team because you don't tryout?"
Ginny shuttered which caused Harry to smile. She narrowed her eyes and was slightly scared, "That won't happen right? I mean there's loads people better than Ron?" Ginny was honestly more terrified of Ron making the team. Sure her brother was great at reading plays and knew tons of Quidditch knowledge but he wasn't the best of flyers.
Harry went back to eating, "You won't know unless you tryout." Harry teased.
Ginny grunted and at angrily for another few minutes before clattering her silverware down on the table. When she turned to face Harry he was standing behind her in the aisleway holding out his hand smiling. "Ready?"
Ginny gumbled something that he couldn't hear and took his hand and the two of them left the Great Hall around 10:50.
They would arrive at the locker room at 11:00 where a large crowd of Gryffindors was waiting. Angelina was tapping her foot nervously and she appeared annoyed.
"They changed the locks on me!" She shouted as Harry was about fifty feet away.
"Yeah, I asked McGonagall to do that." Harry said with force as he waded through the crowd of people. Ginny stopped to join the crowd.
Harry turned to face the group which contained about twenty or so people includings: Alicia, Angelina, Katie, Fred and George, Seamus, Dean, Ron, Ginny, Lavender, Parvati, Cormac, Lee Jordan, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Demelza Robins and Jimmy Peaks.
"Alright listen up, I am going to say this once. My name is Harry Potter and I am your Quidditch Captain this year. I understand that some of you were under the impression that it would Angelina." He gestured toward her and she bow slightly. "However due to the awesome fact that she is Head Girl she offered that privilege to me. If any of you have a problem with that choice of logic state it now."
Harry didn't really wait for a response he just plugged along. "Perfect, today we are going to be trying out mainly for Keeper and few reserve positions, a Beater, two Chasers and Seeker. All decisions will be made with consultation with Angelina and myself. I will go to remind those that even returning members will be asked to try-out while I think it very unlikely that they will not be selected, I am hopeful that if someone were to say, outshine our number one goal scorer in the past ten years." He gestured towards Angelina. "That they would do so today. Now you'll have about fifteen minutes to change and then another twenty minutes to warm up. After that I will start with Drills. Any questions?" Harry said in one really long breath.
Dean raised his hand, "Are you going to breathe?" which caused everyone to laugh loudly, including Harry.
"Merlin, I hope that I don't have to talk anymore." Harry joked loudly. He turned around and unlocked the door behind him and stepped to the side to allow everyone into the large locker room.
Angelina waited outside as everyone else entered. She walked over to him as he had a far away stare. She punched him a bit hard in the shoulder, "Knew was right picking you instead of Katie."
"Yeah yeah get in there, Just because your Head Girl doesn't mean you get punch me." Harry laughed shoeing her inside.
She took a few steps and then looked over her shoulder, "No, but being better than you does!" She stuck her tongue out and quickly turned back around.
Harry smiled, "It's good to be back." He said loudly as he walked into the locker room to change.
After about thirty minutes Harry emerged from the locker room changed into his workout attire and holding his Thunderbolt. He'd only had a few chances to ride it, and was greatly looking forward to testing it out.
As if everyone was watching the whole group gathered around Harry as he walked to the center of the pitch holding the Trunk of Balls. Angelina landed next to him and the two of them stood to face the team.
"I am going to have everyone split into the three groups, All those trying out for Chasers are going with Angelina."
"Follow me." She commanded as Dean, Demelza, Dennis, and Lavender all followed. Parvati had been there just to support her best friend.
Harry continued, "Those that are trying out for Beater follow the twins." He pointed them towards the opposite side of the pitch. Lee, Jimmy and surprisingly Cormac followed behind them. Harry quirked an eye at the fact that Cormac had changed his mind to try out for Beater instead. He shook his head, "Everyone else with me."
That left Ron, Ginny, Collin, and Seamus trying out for Keeper. Alicia and Katie followed the group as well as Harry would need his chasers to test the Keepers.
The group gather under the goals on the opposite side as Angelina and the others. "Ok, so here's how this is going to work. Each Keeper is going to have three tests. Each test will consist of 10 shots and the Keeper that has the most number of saves wins. Of course Angelina and I have reserved the right to pick someone that has less but only if a good enough reason is provided. Questions?" Harry's voice was beginning to go hoarse.
Everyone nodded, "Seamus you're up first by virtue of alphabetical order."
The Irishman smiled and mounted his broom to head to the hoops. Harry pointed his wand at his throat casting a nonvocal Soranosis "First test is One on One. Both Katie and Alicia will take 5 shots from varying angles. There will be a brief break after the first 5 shots. Got it?"
Seamus nodded and yelled back, "BRING IT!" And so Harry's Quidditch try-outs began.
It took a little over an hour to get through the four Keepers. Ron being the last one to finish the Two on One's. Harry was very proud of his chasers, Katie and Alicia. They were brilliant. They easily made over 50% of their shots. Of the thirty shots on each Keeper the results were.
Seamus Finnagan - 12
Collin Creevey - 13
Ron Weasley - 15
Ginny Weasley - 17
It was as clear as it could get that Ginny was the best choice however they were not done with drills and such. Harry gathered the four of them around as he released Alicia and Katie to go work with the others.
"Good job everyone. How do you feel?" Harry asked once everyone was on the ground.
"Tired."
"Dead."
"Beat up."
"Exhausted." Came the four replys which caused Harry to smile remembering the first week of practices of his first year.
"Good, now unfortunately due to time constraints we only have the pitch for another hour or so and we have to run the full team drills. Seamus and Colin, I am going to have to ask you to sit out the last drill. I hope you don't take it personal."
Seamus frowned for a second before nodding, "Its ok Harry, I understand."
Colin sulked, "It was a long shot but thanks for letting me try anyway."
Harry's heart went out to Colin, he was just too small still. "Its ok, maybe next year. Angelina and Alicia are both graduating." Harry tried to sound as encouraging as possible.
Colin nodded with a faint smile before heading off the stands to watch the rest of the drills.
"Ok Ron, Ginny listen up. You both are on the team. It was no shock that you both would be here." He said trying to make them both relax a bit. "You've both been playing for years at the Burrow. I know you both care about each other but that ends right now." Ron and Ginny were silent and just stared at each other for a minute as Harry waited patiently.
"Only one of you gets to start, you each will get fifteen minutes in front of the goals. The one with the best performance gets the spot. Got it?"
"YES SIR" Came the resounding response from the two youngest Weasleys.
"Perfect Ginny's up first. Ron keep warm you'll be going in when I blow my whistle." Ginny had already kicked off and headed towards the hoops.
Ron floated off to the side watching the chasers and hoping to gain an advantage.
Harry called over Angelina, Alicia and Katie. "So listen up, it's between Ron and Ginny." He said it calmly.
"Like it would be anyone else…?" Angelina posed with a smirk.
"Yeah yeah, listen up. Ginny's good, I mean real good."
Katie eyed him carefully, "You want us to take it easy?"
Harry shook his head, "No I want you and Angelina plus one of the new chasers to shoot vs Ginny." he said nodding towards Katie who was two years ago top goal scored, out shooting Angelina by two goals. "I want you two to play like it's the championship game. Make her work for it."
Alicia responded, "Won't that be giving advantage to Ron?"
Harry shook his head again, "No, I've known them both for a long time. Ginny will rise to meet your level of play. If we play at a high level, so will she. Where as Ron will be the same regardless."
The three of them nodded and flew back towards Dean and Demelza. Who were the other two chasers that would tested into the rotations.
Harry blew his whistle once he reached the center of the pitch and could see the entire play develop.
Ginny started off really rocky, she missed her first five goals. However as she flew she grew more and more confident. She even started ordering Alicia and Dean who to be guarding and where to move. After about 10 minutes she was almost unstoppable. Katie and Angelina were testing some of their new moves they had worked on over the summer. Even Angelina's patented double pump wasn't working.
After the fifteen minutes Ginny had allowed 11 goals. Which was very impressive, considering she blocked 36.
Ron was next and at the whistle blow the chasers and Keepers switched effortlessly. Ginny flew over to float next to Harry.
They sat in silence for a minute before Harry blew his whistle again, signaling the start of the last drill.
Ron was unsurprisingly not as good as Ginny. He could hardly block any of the one on ones that Katie or Alicia challenged. Even the One on Two's he was barely managing a 50% save rate. He showed almost no leadership and even the two gimmies that Angelina gave him were out of his reach. By the end of the fifteen minutes it was clear to everyone present that Ginny was the best choice.
Afterwards Harry gathered Fred, George, Alicia, Angelina and Katie. "So tell me something good." Harry was tired, while he did not participate in the drills himself he was responsible for fetching the Quaffle during the first set of drills and throwing it back to Alicia and Katie.
Angelina spoke up first, "Looks like Dean's gonna be on the Reserves and a good replacement next year for Alicia or myself."
Alicia spoke next, "I also think you should keep Demezla, she was fantastic while a bit small once she gets a growth spurt she'll be just as good as any of us."
Katie and Harry both nodded having seen similar when she flew versus Ron.
George spoke next, "Cormac's great he'd likely be a great starter if We."
"Weren't uhh.. Us." Fred finished. Which caused the group to giggle.
Harry nodded, "Well it's no surprise that Ginny out flew everyone."
"She was fantastic, did you see how she was commanding us where to be" Alicia was smiling happily. She never smiled unless they were winning. It was just part of the darker skinned girls nature.
"Never would have thought…" Fred started.
"...Ginny would out fly Ron." George finished.
"So proud we are."
"Yes proud, our lil sister bested Ronniekins."
"Wait till Charlie hears this."
"Wait till mom hears this!" Fred and George were talking so fast that it was hard for anyone to keep up with them. However they were all laughing. After about ten minutes of everyone talking about the other recruits and pointing out strengths and weaknesses for each Harry walked back towards the large group.
"Thank you everyone for coming out today." He said while clapping. "We have come to final decisions. Dean and Demelza will fly as reserve Chasers in case Angelina, Alicia or Katie get hurt." He said happily while clapping still.
Dean and Demelza both stepped forward and blushed slightly. They both walked behind the rest of the team getting hugs from the three chasers as they did.
"Next I would like to congratulate Cormac for making reserve Beater." He said, trying to force emotion into his voice. He really didn't like Cormac, but what could he do. The twins talked him up so much about how gifted he was with a bat.
Cormac smiled and waved while everyone clapped for him. "Thank you thank you." He said while bowing slightly. He got two strong high fives from the twins as he stood next to them.
"I would also like to welcome our new Keeper, Ginny Wealsey." He said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. The whole group erupted into a whoops and hollers and fierce clapping. Except for one, Ron was glaring hard at Harry and very quiet.
Ginny however blushed red as her hair as she was hugged by almost everyone and eventually was pushed over to Harry who gave her a soft hug. "See, told you." He whispered in her ear.
"Finally I'd like to also welcome Denis Creevey as reserve Seeker in case the expected happens and I am unable to play." Harry joked while everyone laughed. The sad part of it was those that knew Harry knew that he wasn't kidding. There was a very real chance that he would have to miss games due to one reason or another.
"Thank you all for coming out and before everyone leaves I would like to remind you. Tonight in the Old dining Hall there will be the first meeting of the Dueling Club that was abandoned about twenty years ago." Angelina said seeing that Harry's voice was gone.
Many ears perked up and people began talking animatedly about the idea of a dueling club as they all walked up towards the castle. Most of the team walked back into the locker room to shower while the new members waited outside with Harry.
Harry was slumped over, she shoulders heavy and his body was listing slightly. Dean walked over to him, "Harry you good?"
Harry shot up his eyes wide open and his body alert. "Yeah, Brilliant even. Just need a bit of a kip thats all." Harry looked around at the five of them. "Congrats at making the team, the plan is to have three practices a week. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. If you have conflicts with that schedule fix them. You're welcome to pick whatever open Locker is free and make sure to fill out the uniform sheet to make sure McGonagall can order the correct sizes."
Cormac raised his hand to which Harry nodded, "Are we allowed to store our brooms here or is it easier to just use the school storage?"
Harry nodded in understanding, "We have our own broom closet here, Only myself and Angelina have Keys into the locker room. Although any teacher can get you access so I guess it's up to you. Personally I keep mine in my dorm unless I know there's a game coming up." Harry shrugged. "Up to you. Any other questions?"
A few shakes of the head and they all headed into the locker room. Ginny walked next to Harry, "Thanks." she said a bit softly as they made it into the loud Gryffindor Locker room.
"For what? You were the one that did all the flying." He poked her knowing what she was thanking him for.
She punched him lightly on the shoulder, "Prat!" They both giggled as she walked up to the locker next to his. "Mind if I take this one?"
Harry looked at her seriously for a minute, "Didn't know you liked number eight."
Ginny shrugged, "I'll make my own luck with it, but I wanted the one next to you. Since I wouldn't be here without you." She said honestly for the first time.
Harry's heart jumped a few beats and her warm smile made him relax just a bit, "Gin…" He said softly. "You…"
"Harry just stop your going to make us both cry." Ginny saw the tear starting to form in his eye. "I know that you would have done the same for anyone."
"But you're not just anyone Gin." Harry said honestly for the first time.
Ginny nodded while wiping a small tear from her left eye, "I know, I just wanted to thank you." She smiled as Harry took her into a gentle embrace.
"You always have a place here Gin." He said holding her.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist and she gently rested her head against his chest. There was a slight warmth that they both felt, but nothing like the heat when Harry and Daphne hugged. It was more like the last time he and Hermione hugged, comforting but not sexual in anyway.
After a few moments they both pulled away and looked around to make sure no one was watching them, and then proceeded to change back into their school clothes.
Just before five Harry and Ginny walked back up to the castle to eat Dinner. They had been gone for almost six hours by the time they had showered, dressed and talked with the rest of the team about strategies and what not. They both walked into the Great Hall and headed towards the Gryffindor table taking up an empty section of the table close to the head table.
Ginny got a bright smile from Minerva as word must have gotten around to the fact that she made the team because she waved giddily towards Ginny. "McGonagall knows…" Ginny said through the corner of her mouth.
"Of course she knows Gin. News at Hogwarts spreads faster than fiendfyre." Harry joked as they both sat down. Harry landed heavily onto the bench, his head hitting the table. "Now if you excuse me I'm going to take a nap."
Ginny giggled but sat down next to him making sure to leave a space for his eventual Girlfriend to arrive.
About an hour later Harry awoke to the sound of clattering plates. He shot upright, the loud hum of the Great Hall was disorienting to wake up to. As he looked around and his eyes began to adjust he noticed that everything was a bit blurry and he couldn't really make out shapes.
The next thing he noticed was the smell of cinnamon and cherry, which made him relax and a soft smile appeared on his face. He knew that Daphne was nearby, he could pick her scent out of almost anything at this point. His world shifted slightly as someone put his glasses back on his head. He turned to his right and saw Daphne smirking at him.
"Hello Sleepy head!" She said playfully drawing laughs for the large group that had sat around him including, Neville, Daphne, Hermione, Tracy, Ginny and Luna.
Harry shook his head, "How long was I out?" He asked turning to Ginny who had finished eating a while ago.
"Almost two hours." She giggled.
Harry turned back to Daphne, "You let me sleep in the Great Hall for two hours?!"
Hermione answered, "We tried to wake you several times but everytime you would roll over to the other side of your face and mumble." She was trying not to laugh while she spoke. While everyone else was busting up with laughter.
"Sweetie you looked so peaceful. Tracy here wanted to dump cold water on your head." Daphne answered.
Harry smiled warmly to new word of endearment from Daphne. "HEY! I wasn't the one to poke his nose with a crisp!" Tracy exclaimed to Ginny who acted innocent.
"Don't drag me into this! Harry you know I would never…" Ginny said playfully.
"Uh huh, sure Gin." Harry said groggily. He turned back to Daphne, "Thank you for letting me sleep."
Daphne rested her head on his shoulder and he kissed it gently. "Your welcome, beside I was serious you looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you." She said warmly.
Harry stomach growled so loud that people at the Hufflepuff table looked over. "Well I should probably eat…" His face a bit red.
"I made you a plate an hour ago…" Daphne said pulling the plate that was in the center of the table covered in a warming top.
Harry quickly reached for it and removed the top. A cloud of steam wafted over his face and the smell of roasted pork excited his taste buds. He devoured his dinner in about ten minutes eating at the same rate that Ron usually ate. Although Harry was nowhere near as messy or rude during the process.
After he was finished eating the plate Daphne had prepared he devoured another sandwich along with several rolls and other carbohydrates. As he took his last bite he relaxed slightly and rested his head back on the table. Food had been great, but he was still lacking sleep.
Daphne sighed with a smile as she rubbed Harry's back for a few minutes. His eyes were closed and a small smile appeared on his lips.
Ten minutes later Daphne looked at her watch and saw that it was almost time for them to head to the Old Dining Hall. She with much trepidation nudged Harry's shoulder a few times.
"Harry… Harry time to get up." She said softly.
He grumbled in response which drew laughter from Hermione and Ginny. Slowly he raised his head off the table and looked drearily at Daphne. "What time is it?" He said very monotone.
"7:15" Daphne responded. Harry's eyes opened wide for a second before returning to a semblance of normal.
"Ok, yeah." He said trying to right himself. He checked over his arms and legs, patted down his chest before sighing heavily. "Time to go to work." He said with a smirk as he slowly pulled his right leg out from under the table and straddled the bench.
Daphne squared up with him, "You know you don't have to do this, I am sure they'll understand."
"I'm sure Cedric could take over for you." Hermione chorused.
Harry rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms above his head, "No, I am fine just a little tired that nap did wonders. Daph do you have that…." He got a little nervous. He didn't like having to ask her to abuse her position with Pomfrey.
Daphne was twinkling a small vial of red liquid in front of him. "Yes, now remember. This was a one time thing because I care about you." She scolded lightly.
"Yes Daph, I understand. Today was just a badly scheduled day. Besides You'll all enjoy it when I kick Mad-eye to the ground." He was grinning now he'd been excited about it since he and Ginny left the pitch.
Daphne handed him to vial and he downed it with a wince, and seconds later he looked much more relaxed and less heavy… "Man that stuff taste like shit."
"Harry!" Hermione scolded.
"It's true though!" Harry responded which elicited laughs from Ginny and Tracy.
Soon the group of them filed out of the Great Hall with Daphne and Harry holding hands as they walked. The walk was about ten minutes and they saw many students heading that way and Harry was excited.
As they rounded the corner he was greeted with the sight of Tonks and Cedric standing in front of the large double doors holding a packet of flyers. "Wotcha Harry!" He was greeted before he could really even process.
"Heya Aurors Tonks and Cedric." He returned with a smile.
Hermione and Cedric locked eyes for a half a second before both blushing slightly and shifting their eyes anywhere but to each other.
"Moody's been waiting for ya, you should go on it." Tonks handed Daphne and flyer.
Hermione walked timidly over to Cedric, "Hey Cedric…"
"Ms. Gran… Hermione." He stumbled over his words. He handed her a flyer while she smiled at him. "Please enjoy the show." He leaned in so his face was right next to her ear. "I'll be on the left hand side." His face grew a bit red but he pulled away a few seconds later after he heard a giggle from behind the brunette.
Hermione nodded dumbly and was pushed inside by Ginny and Tracy both sporting huge grins.
The Old Dining Hall was about half the size as the Great Hall and was normally filled with two large viking style dinner tables. The marble floor was a deep purple as the walls actuated the dark color of the room with their black marbling. In the center of the room was a large light grey circle with two red lines opposite each other. Across the room Moody, Flitwick, McGonagall and Dumbledore were wall talking in a circle.
Harry lead them over to the large set of stands on the left hand side of the room that would be used for competitors. These seats were charmed with cushioning and heating or cooling charms at the occupants desire.
Harry sat down on the far side of the first row knowing that he'd be participating tonight. Daphne and the others sat next to him and were all marveling at the runework that had gone into the safeguards of the dueling stage.
Ten minutes later Moody walked up to Harry, "You ready Potter?"
Harry turned quickly to face the seasoned Auror, "You mean to kick your ass again, hell yeah" He stood up with gusto.
Moody laughed, "I admire your spunk kid, but change of plans. Your gonna be going vs Fillius tonight." He put his arm around Harry's shoulder as he walked Harry over to the group of other adults.
Harry frowned slightly, "Too scared to face me again?" Harry ribbed.
"Potter you'll get what's coming to you. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody laughed loudly which conveniently quieted the room.
Dumbledore stepped forward. "It is with great pleasure that I am able to stand before you today to reopen one of this school's oldest clubs. The Hogwarts Dueling Club was started in early 400's and has produced countless champions across nearly two millenia. What is a Dueling club you may ask?" He said with a twinkle in his eye as he looked over the almost seventy students that gathered before him ranging from nervous first year Gryffindors to hungry seventh year Ravenclaws.
"This Club of which I myself was a member over a hundred years ago is designed to allow students an avenue by which to test their wits and prowess against other students. To showcase knowledge and ingenuity in a variety of ways. To grow ones affinity for magic and allow those a safe and fun escape from their studies."
Harry smiled, while he had interesting feelings towards the Headmaster in regards to his life and the choices he's made for him. The man truly was an educator and loved his students.
Flitwick took over for the headmaster, "I, Professor Flitwick will be the administrator for this club along with Auror Moody. We will meet every Friday from seven until curfew. There will be two aspects of this club, the casual more friendly side which will consist of some of the older students mentoring and offering assistance to those that want it. Whether that be with wand work or spell focus, a much less hands on approach." He narrowed his eyes for a moment and looked over the crowd assembled in front of him. "While most of you are here for the Dueling Competitions."
There was now a soft murmur spreading between the student body. "Long Standing has Hogwarts sent representatives to the World Dueling Conference in Paris." Dumbledore continued. "This tradition will begin again this year after a nearly twenty year absence."
"Hogwarts will send two champions from each year starting at third year to Paris." Flitwick continued. "As such most of this year will be determining the individual champions. Through a series of duels each participant will be given the opportunity to showcase their skills and come April we will send the ten best students with a chance to show their skills against the rest of the magical world."
By now the room was talking in an outright roar. Students were excited and talking animatedly with their friends while others were scared and some on the verge of crying. "NOW!" Dumbledore's magically amplified voice boomed. "I must tell you that because this is a school and we can not endorse the hurting of students there are several rules that must be adhered too…"
Dumbldore went over the rules for dueling according to the ICW outlining the kind of curses and spells that were not allowed. While drawing blood and breaking bones was frowned upon anyone fifth year above was allowed to use them as it was considered part of the universal educational curriculum.
"Now, tonight we have a special treat for you all as a sort of a promise for what we can expect to see from the best of us." Dumbledore said happily. "Our own Professor Flitwick, five time reigning Hogwarts Dueling Champion. Sixteen time under 35 world dueling Finalist and eight time world dueling Champion is going to demonstrate what kind of magic you can expect to see." Dumbledore turned to Harry. "You ready?"
Harry's stomach dropped for a second before he stepped forward. "Yeah…"
The room began to buzz again with noise as Harry took off his black Hogwarts robe. He had come prepared and was wearing his Tri-wizard robes that Daphne and Aurora had mended over the summer. His red loose fitting shirt fell comfortably across his midsection and his long athletic pants fell loosely against his trainers.
The two wizards stepped into the arena as the Professors exitted. Dumbledore activated some runes with a wave of his wand. A soft humming could be heard as the wards took place and after a few seconds of blurry vision the crowd could see Harry and Professor Flitwick standing opposite each other behind the red lines.
Daphne began to play nervously with the hem of her school skirt. She also began to chew her bottom lip while fidgeting nervously in her seat. Hermione and Tracy both watched their blonde friend grow increasingly more nervous over the course of the last five minutes.
"Daph, he's going to be fine. Flitwick wont hurt him." Tracy tried to calm her best friend.
"Professor Flitwick is a teacher he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize hurting a student." Hermione echoed. She hoped that she was right about the diminutive Charms Professor.
Daphne heard her friends attempts to calm her down however she banished both of their thoughts because this was Harry, her Harry. He was exhausted, he had no more than three hours of sleep. His magical core was still recovering from being cracked. Her vision remained locked on the back of his head.
"Mr Potter." Flitwick addressed from across the large hundred foot wide dueling platform.
"Professor." Harry bowed in response to the Professors slight bow.
Dumbledore's voice echoed through the wards, "This is to be a duel following the Class B ICW Dueling rules as established in the late 1700's. First Wizard to either lose their wand or be removed from the arena will be declared the loser. This Duel has a thirty minute time limit after which the duel will be called a draw." The Professor beamed expectantly at Harry as he said this.
Since his experience in repairing the young man's core and his personality changes from living with the Greengrass's, the Headmaster has acquired a new outlook on the boy. His fear that the Dursleys were the only source of family and love he had in keeping Voldemort at bay was shattered when he learned of how they treated him.
Once the Greengrass's came into the picture and he saw the boy September 1st; he looked more healthy and more happy than he'd ever been. Even after his stay at the Weasleys he wasn't this happy. Maybe the headmaster had been wrong and his new family would be able to provide the same kind of love to fuel Lily Potter's magic and keep her son safe.
The air in the Old Dining room was completely still, no sound could be heard except for a very fast and light tapping on marble. Dumbledore was drawn from his thoughts seconds later. "Duelists Ready!"
Harry leaned backwards putting his left foot forward he arched his back and held his right hand above his head with his ward pointing down. His left hand palm down pointing towards the ground a slight shimmer coming from his wrist. Once in position he took a deep breath and began to focus his magic from his core to his extremities.
Daphne sat now incredibly nervous her foot tapping quickly on the floor. Hermione reached over and rested her hand gently on her leg to calm Daphne's nerves. Daphne jumped almost a foot off her seat. While she didn't make a sound because she covered her mouth she glared at Hermione.
"Begin." Dumbledore said calmly as he moved backwards from the wards.
Daphne was amazed at what happened in the span of five seconds. No less than ten spells were fired in rapid succession from both duelists. No sound could be heard beside the swishing of fabric and the shuffling of feet.
Harry and Flitwick had launched into a series of chained spells, it looked as though they had done this before because they each launched the same spells in the same order and at the same time.
As the spells hurtled toward each other some collided, others exploded in puffs of smoke or steam. While a few of the untouched spells careened towards their targets, Harry was about to be hit by a piercing hex, when he stepped into it allowing it pass effortlessly over his shoulder. His wand flicked upwards and his left hand passed across his body. The result was the creation of two iron bricks that were both banished towards his opponent.
Dumbledore smiled at the boy's use of non-verbal conjuration and wandless banishment reminded him of another gifted student he had seventeen years ago. James Potter was on his way to being a Transfigurations Master. His prowess and speed at conjuring was unmatched, even the Headmaster was unable to do some of the things that James did and nowhere near as fast. However here was his son merely 15 and he was chaining spells as fast as Filius and conjuring metallic objects with ease.
The two bricks split into several smaller pieces as they screamed towards the half-goblin. Filius was able to put up a solid physical shield to block most of the debris that was coming towards him, however one of the smaller pieces was able to draw first blood.
Flitwick flinched slightly at the pain, he used the anger as a fuel for his next chain of spells. His wand was a blur to those that were paying attention and nigh invisible to those that weren't. Spell after spell after spell was fired in a wide array. As he was casting he was strafing slowly to the right as to try and create some distance. His duels with Potter in the past had usually been very quick or very long. As both duelist prefered to tired out their opponents rather than trying to win by brute force.
Daphne hid her face as she watched the second series of spells hurtle towards her boyfriend, only a few of them she could recognize, most of them a blur by any sense of the word.
Harry thinking quickly raised his left arm, 'Aegis.' He called out and the shimmer of light on his wrist flared to life creating a six inch duelers shield. Harry then pressed hard on his left foot and launched himself three feet to the right as he raised his shield to block the Leg-Locker that would have hit him in the shoulder. He took the stinging Hex to the lower chest having recognized it. One of the things about dueling is knowing when to take a spell and when to block a spell or when to avoid a spell. Each outcome has its merits and its advantages as well as disadvantages.
Harry cringed slightly at the stinging in his abs as his return volley was one that he'd been hoping to try out since his discovery of his Animagus form. "Glacciel Fluctos" Came his second spoken spell during the entire duel.
A wave of cold pulsed outwards and covered the entire dueling area in a thin coat of snow. While the rest of the rooms occupants felt an almost forty degree temperature drop. Which for this late summer night was quite nice. Hermione noted that the strength of the spell needed to pass through the wards and the degree at which the temperature had dropped out here, the drop in the arena had to be almost one hundred degrees.
Filius smirked as his opponent had new tricks in his arsenal since the last time they dueled. Not only had his chains become completely non-verbal, but he'd also began to incorporate transfigurations into his dueling alongside environmental spells.
While the cold was not particularly bothering the Professor his body would begin to feel the effects of the cold and he would lose precious reaction time. Something that Filius was quite reliant on being that he was almost half the size of most people and this twice as hard to hit. Combined with his above average reflexes he was quite the evasive duelist.
After his chilling ice nova Harry bombarded Flitwick with a strong yet draining chain of bludgeoning, explosive, piercing and stunning charms.
The Professor was however prepared as his mages shield flared to life in the blink of an eye. The blinding golden light reflected brightly across the snow creating a huge glare. The first spell clashed violently into his magical barrier and dissipated helplessly, however the Bombarda was deflected into the ground creating a small rift in the shield along with a massive cloud of snow and mist.
This was fortunate for Harry as Flitwick lost sight of the piercing jinx in his attempt to avoid the stunning charm that would certainly have ended the duel. Harry heard a grumble from behind his cloud of smoke and smirked slightly.
His enjoyment was short lived, not being able to see your opponent makes it very difficult for you to see if he's casting or regrouping. Harry saw a massive spread of spells in a huge wave appeared in his line of sight much too close for him to dodge. He raised his duelers shield and deflected one, lifted his leg to avoid another however was hit square in the chest by a Repulsio Curse which launched him fifteen feet backwards into wards.
Those outside the arena could only make out shadowy figures moving if they were on the correct side of the arena. Daphne however had remained focused on the tall shadowy figure that was dueling in front of her. She had been trying to follow along with the spells naming them off in her head as they appeared. She was torn from her worry as suddenly Harry's body was thrown quickly into the wards.
There was an arching of magic from where his back connected with wards and loud gutteral.
"UGGGHHH"
Daphne jumped to her feet as did Hermione and they both gasped loudly. However quicker than either of them could speak Harry curled his legs into the wards and pressed off against them launching himself halfway across the duelers arena.
One of the more interesting facts about ICW Dueling rules is that as long as you don't hit the ground your not disqualified, while hitting the wards is incredibly painful and usually spells the end of a duelist. Those with particularly quick reflexes can use the wards as a Wall and redirect themselves back onto the dueling platform. If they are still conscious after their impact. The wards after are meant to protect the observers and judges not the duelist.
The Majority of the school was now on their feet as Harry jumped nearly forty feet across the platform spouting out a series of jinxes and curses towards the Professor who had dispelled some of the clouds.
When Harry was able to take stock of his opponent, he found that he was favoring his right leg quite heavily and his left eye was closed. As he reached the crown of his jump he tucked his head down and leaned forward hopefully rolling under the curses that certainly would be aimed at him.
The resulting flip plunged him straight down and he landed hard on his left foot and right knee. He felt a snap and his left foot gave way. He glanced over at Filius and saw that he was having trouble dispelling the Jelly-leg Jinx that had hit him. Harry taking this opportunity cast a very quick Numbing Charm on his ankle and proceed to conjure up some vampire bats. Harry by all right should be exhausted and spent beyond his core's ability. However, he found that while his body was aching and his muscles sore, his magic was just fine.
The five bats flew in a zigzag motion towards his opponent as Harry began to move towards the side of the arena hoping to use the bats to distract Flitwick.
As Flitwick dispelled the 3rd year charm with a disgruntled hurmph he turned to find Harry. His eyes flicked up to notice the small swarm of bats flying quickly towards him. "Moving up in the world I see Harry!" He shouted happily as he sent five stinging hexes at the bats. All of which fell with deadly accuracy. "Whats say we take this up a notch?" He was practically giddy with his tone.
Harry couldn't decide if he was excited or terrified. During last year, Harry had never once beaten the Professor, he'd never even come close. The fact that he was doing this well was amazing considering the past 48 hours.
By now the snow had cleared and they were reaching the 20 minute time mark. With only ten minutes left Harry was hoping that he'd be able to last till a Draw.
Harry focused on Flitwick who was standing about sixty feet away, Mage's shield glimmering in front of him and wand fixed on Harry.
Daphne noticed for the first time a small Hummingbird Tattoo on the Professors left leg that had been revealed when Harry hit him with the piercing hex. She tugged on Hermione's pant leg.
"Look! He's got one Too!" She was still standing from when Harry jumped off the wards.
Hermione strained her eyes to see the Runic Tattoo that was fluttering slightly around the professors leg. "I wonder what his does…" Hermione said in a low voice that no one but Daphne would be able to hear.
Daphne had been worried about keeping her secret Runic Tattoo from Harry and especially from her mother as she would overreact in the worst of ways. She was however very curious to test it more and find out if her calculations as to its effects were correct.
Flitwick quickly tapped his Tattoo with his wand and spoke a phrase that no one seemed to hear. This motion was not noticed by many as it was very subtle on the small Professor. Albus however took great care in the actions of his Charms Professor.
"So, old friend you finally found someone worthy of your true prowess." Albus said as a big smile grew on his face. While Dumbledore was a stronger wizard than Flitwick, he'd only stand a 3/10 chance of actually beating him in a duel. The few times they had spared over the last fifty years the only times Albus had managed to win was by completely overpowering the half-Goblin with his much stronger magical core.
Even fewer times had Filius ever felt the need to activate his Runic Tattoo that was bestowed to him by Ragnok the Goblin King of Gringotts. So when the small blue and yellow Hummingbird sprung to life off the Professor skin the entire audience gasped. With a bit of flare a spectral hummingbird arise from the Professor and flashed brightly.
With in seconds Filius began strafing around the arena while Harry tried to follow him with his wand. He was lightning fast as he sprinted across the platform. After a few steps he jumped landing on the wards horizontally. To Everyone's shock he continued running up the wards and onto the ceiling all the while launching small piercing hexs towards Harry.
Almost too stunned to move Harry quickly strafed counter clockwise to Flitwick making it that much harder for him to aim curses. If the targets move in the same direction it's actually very easy to lead your target by just matching their speed. If they are moving in the opposite direction as you it much more difficult to aim curses and other pinpoint spells as the spell will drift as it flies towards them. Along with the ease of just slowing down the target is much harder to hit, however the downside is that if a spell if targeted well it's usually very impactful.
The piercing hexes pelted the area around Harry as he began rapid firing Stinging Hexs, while not as potent as Piercing Hexes, they are much less taxing to cast also much harder to dodge as they are so small. Harry was trying to aim for Flitwicks weakened left foot hoping that if he caused enough pain the nerves would overload and he'd no longer be able to stand.
Harry had forgotten something, something that was about to prove critical. As he tried to stop himself from running right into a bludgeoning hex his left ankle that had been numbed, snapped.
The pain overload that was sent through his central nervous system was so great that the Numbing charm broke at the same moment. Harry's body lurched forward and his head slammed into the ground
The sound that came from his mouth was so blood curdling that nearly everyone winced and those that were not forced to look away saw that his entire ankle was separated from his leg.
Dumbledore jumped quickly towards the wards and in seconds brought down the section in front of him. He noticed that McGonagall had already left the Hall likely to fetch Poppy.
Daphne stood motionless her jaw hanging out and her hand slowly shaking as she was bringing it to cover her mouth.
The entirety of the student body was silent as there was a stillness in the air over the room. Dumbledore and Flitwick both quickly approached Harry.
Daphne remained frozen, her heart beating ten thousand times a second but her muscles wouldn't move, her breath was caught in her lungs and wouldn't release.
Hermione gently tapped her on the shoulder to no avail. "Daphne." Hermione tried in a small weak voice. She had seen Harry go through much worse especially during the Tournament.
Daphne finally was able to shake her head clear of fear and without registering her two brown haired friends jumped over the weak railing and ran over to the group of Professors encircling her boyfriend.
When she got there Harry was laying on his back with his right knee propped up and his hands gripping the ground fiercely. Clearly they hadn't administered any pain relief.
"HARRY!" Daphne shouted as her feet came to a skidding halt over him.
"Hey… Daph…" Harry said as his face was scrunched and twisted with pain.
When Daphne looked down at his foot, she saw that his entire foot was separated and hanging by a thin layer of skin. She visibly gagged and willed herself not to throw up. "You ok?" She recovered quickly trying to force down her throwup.
"Nooo…." Harry groaned out as he laid his head back down on the ground.
"Mr Potter here will need to be taken to the infirmary, as soon as…." Dumbledore was saying with a mild frown.
"WHERE IS HE?! I swear Mr. Potter this is a new Record. Two times in two weeks. One of these times your going to hurt yourself and I won't be able to fix you." Madam Pomfrey shouted as she entered the hall. Several of the students began to giggle as a lighter mood descended over the student body.
"Good to see you too Madam Pomfrey, you know how much I cherish our time together." Harry's sarcastic tone seeping through his words as he winced again.
Daphne crouched down and grabbed one of his hands. "What were you thinking? Jumping off the wards like that!"
Harry tried to smile, "I was trying to win… OWWWW!" Harry's eyes shut quickly and his head snapped back.
"Looks like the nerves are still attached. Mr. Potter You have a date with Skele-gro tonight but otherwise should be good as new." The Matron had put his leg in another Aquarius Orb like she had with Daphne's hand at the beginning of the year.
Daphne stood as the matron levitated him off the ground and began to lead him out of the Dueling Hall. Daphne followed alongside holding his hand quietly the entire way to the Hospital Wing.
Dumbledore and Flitwick both watched him leave, "That boy has amazing spirit." Flitwick commended. "That was so much fun! Oh Albus I do hope I'll get another chance like that before I turn 150." He was incredibly excited.
As Harry was passing by the students he raised his hand and got Pomfrey's attention. "Can you hold on a second Madam?"
The Matron glared at him before stepping aside and nodded at him. "Listen up!" Harry yelled as loudly as he could. "Please listen to the Headmaster and the other Professors. I may be hurt, but I'll be here every week, If you got the guts, the brains, the courage or the cunning. I hope to see you next week."
To that the entirety of the student body cheered. Daphne smiled at him with her back to the crowd. "Couldn't resist could you?" She teased playfully.
"Gotta use my fame for something." He wiggled his eyebrows, "Besides, I don't want to scare people off, I may have lost the duel, but I had loads of fun doing it."
"Be that as it may, Mr Potter, you have once again proven reckless and in my care." Poppy bristled. "Never did like dueling or Quidditch…" She mumbled to herself as she smirked. She would have to ask Minerva for her memory of the duel. She noticed Filius's active Hummingbird Tattoo and peaked her curiosity.
After Harry, Daphne and Pomfrey left, Dumbledore and Flitwick moved towards the students. "While that was an amazing display from our two duelist. That is but one extreme and I shutter to say that it unlikely that will be everyone's experiences. This Club is designed to help test your reflexes, knowledge of spells, strengthen your magical core, and most of all be exciting and fun." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he spoke.
Filius stepped forward. "We will begin by having sign ups and starting next friday, each student will begin with a series of Placement Duels, five to be exact. Based on how well you perform in your duels a score will be generated then students will be placed into brackets of similar dueling ability."
Students began talking quietly as Filius took a break still slightly winded. Alastor took over, "In addition to the singles Qualifier we will hold a monthly Doubles night in which pairs can sign up and come March the top two pairs will also be attending the World Dueling Conference in Paris." Alastor grinned and eyed the group carefully. "Just because you do well here at Hogwarts, does not mean that you will do well at Worlds. I've seen some of the most battle hardened witches and wizards get beat by fifteen year olds because of one word." He paused dramatically. "Arrogance!" He laughed as several of the student jumped.
"Now now, Alastor please. Let's not scare them away." Dumbledore smiled at his friend. "You are free to go for the night. Signups will be posted in each of your Common Rooms. If you have questions or concerns please talk to your Heads of House." Dumbledore's voice boomed across the loud noise.
An Hour later Harry was lying in his hospital bed talking quietly with Daphne. It was just about curfew and she would have to return back to the Slytherin Common Room soon. Harry reached out and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. "Thanks for staying with me Daph."
Daphne blushed slightly, "It's no biggie, it's not everyday your boyfriend duels an eight time world champion and almost wins." She teased him. "How did you move so fast?"
"Spell chaining, I'll teach you and everyone else in a few weeks." Harry hopefully had hidden his intention just enough that she might make a fool out of herself when he realized what he meant.
"The way you moved your wand and the amount… Wait what?!" Daphne stopped mid sentence for a second before she continued, "Are you saying?"
Harry nodded, "Here it comes…" He smirked.
"Your going to tutor us in Defense?" She asked hopefully.
"Yeah, you girls will have to plan it and get the word out, but after the first match with Hufflepuff I want to have our first real meeting." Harry winced slightly as he shifted his leg because it was getting numb.
"Of course of course. Hermione and I have already kinda started making a list of people we'd want to invite." Daphne said quickly as she leaned over and kissed him several times.
"Ok you two, lights out." Came the Matrons call from a few curtains down. "Ms. Greengrass you can visit in the morning." She said as she wandered over to his bed.
Harry looked downcast, he was hoping that he'd be leaving tonight. "I take it, that I have yet another stay in your everloving care?" Harry smiled.
"Oh Mr. Potter lay off the charm. You knew you weren't leaving tonight, don't even try." She scolded him. Harry cringed slightly while Daphne tried to stifle her giggle.
"Good night Harry." She leaned in pecked him lightly on the lips. She heard a slight groan from him and smiled.
"Night Daph." He whispered as she began to pull away. He tugged lightly on her fingers before she seperated. Daphne walked out of the infirmary while sending a few wanting looks back at him.
As she stepped into the corridor she was shocked to find someone waiting for her. While she expected Tracy and would have understood Hermione, she was not expecting Ginny to be leaning up against the wall reading a paperback novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
"Ms. Weasley?" Daphne called getting the red heads attention.
"Ms. Greengrass." Ginny said putting her book down. Her voice was a light happy tone. "How is he?"
"He has a badly broken ankle, but otherwise he'll be out in the morning. You can probably still go say goodnight?" She asked as she gestured over her shoulder.
"Nah, that's something his girlfriend would do." She smiled at the blonde who was smiling back a bit flush. "Besides, I wanted to check in on you." Ginny yawned.
Daphne motioned her towards the corridor and they both started walking, "I am…" She sighed heavily. "I am fine." She wasn't sure if she was telling Ginny that or she was talking to herself.
"Is that a question or a statement." Ginny asked with a giggle.
Daphne turned towards her, "I don't know?" She giggled back. The two girls stopped and laughed heavily for a few seconds before continuing to walk towards the Slytherin Common Room.
"Harry seems much better when you are around." Ginny admitted after several moments of silence.
Daphne got a warm feeling in her chest. She knew that the redhead was right, she could measure the change in Harry's attitude and behavior when she walked in the room. It was almost night and day.
"I also know that his Detentions are wearing on him. He's had what three this week?" Ginny asked knowingly.
"Four actually, and I fail to see your point…" Daphne was confused but her trust in the sly Gryffindor had grown since the start of the year.
"I am saying that you should check his right hand next time you see him, and before you say anything. You didn't hear this from me." Ginny had been working hard over the past month to help build a new facade for herself. One that was confident and intimidating. She had even begun to employ some rudimentary Occlumency in order to help establish this new persona.
"What do you mean check his right hand…" Daphne asked scared to know the answer.
"She's making him use a Blood Quill. " Ginny said sharply trying to hold in her rage and desire to burn the pink bitch to the floor.
"A BLOOD QUILL!" Daphne's voice echoed through the entire floor.
Ginny recoiled a few steps at the sheer volume the smaller woman produced. "Yeah… He asked me and Hermione not to tell you, but we both decided that you needed to know. He said that he was going to tell you but given how today went…"
Daphne nodded in understanding her rage was by no means quelled. She took several calming breaths in order to save herself another trip to the Hospital Wing for accidental magic. "I see… You're sure its a Blood Quill?"
"Yeah, 'I mustn't tell Lies." Ginny said angrily.
Daphne stopped for a second staring at the ground. "Well, that bitch is dead. I'll kill her." She shrugged her shoulders and a small smile began to form on her face.
"Daphne, you can't do anything yet." Ginny said trying to keep Daphne's anger in check. "We will come up with a strategy to deal with Umbitch." Referring to them, Tracy and Hermione. "In the meantime, come up with a way to ask him about it?" Ginny suggested uselessly. She knew Daphne had already come up with a plan.
Daphne's eyes twinkled for a split second before a solemn expression appeared on her face. "Thank Ginny. I know others asked at dinner. How'd try-outs go?" Daphne asked as they rounded the corner towards the Dorms.
Ginny yawned, "Good, I made Keeper." She was really excited but you wouldn't really tell if you looked at her. She was so tired and stressed about Umbridge that it was hard to show positive emotions for her right now.
"Ginny that's great, I am sure you'll be amazing." Daphne was excited for her new friend.
"Yeah we'll see, practices start monday." Ginny's smile faded. "But thats Mondays problem…"
Daphne eyed her for a moment, "And just what is tonight's problem?"
"Ronald…" She said emotionlessly.