Author's Notes:

Hi everyone! Thank you all so much for being so understanding! I felt so bad that I wasn't going to get this chapter completed yesterday that I felt I owed you all some notice as to why I hadn't updated yet. Just to make sure you guys didn't think I had forgotten about you! I'm feeling MUCH better today. My nose is just stuffy at this point and my throat is dry from the medication, but I should be 100% by the weekend. Which brings me to my next topic:

There will not be an update this weekend! Please be on the lookout for one around Monday or Tuesday!

I have my bachelorette party this weekend and, because I have no idea how fucked up I'll get, I don't want to promise you guys an update and not be able to deliver. But I'll let you all live vicariously through me because it's going to be a Harry Potter bachelorette to go with my Harry Potter wedding!

I know, I know, we're already married, what's going on? I'm sure you're confused. We haven't had our actual wedding yet—we signed the legal stuff to save money on my degree and bar license. We had also hoped to share an insurance plan when we got jobs but—well—that hasn't worked out well, has it?

Beer of the week: This week's beer of the week is…A CIDER! I've seen a few people comment that they wished I did ciders so I decided to do one this week! So, this week I had Woodchuck raspberry cider and it's amazing. It's one of my favorites and I can't get it here in my region in PA—I have to drive all the way to Maryland to get some. But! My best friend brought some the last time she visited and I was so hype! This cider is sweet with a natural raspberry flavor that isn't over powering. It's slightly tart to balance out the sweetness of the fruit sugar and has a lovely aftertaste and smell.

Reviews: ProfessorMarauder: I personally don't feel that Hermione lied here—she just didn't tell the whole truth. I believe that she was probably so shocked by the events that she forgot all about Smith. Thank you for the understanding for the late chapter! Midnitewanderer: I'm not a huge Cho fan and I honestly haven't decided if I'm even going to include her in my story as anything more than a background character/Diggory's girlfriend. As for Remadora—trust me, my plans will be very satisfying on that end! But give Harry a break, he has to follow guy code, right? And as for Romione/Dramione—Ron was always better at helping Hermione feel better when he wasn't the cause of her being upset. I felt this was a good chance to show that. Also thank you for the kind words about me being ill! I ate a lot of soup and garlic and I'm already on the mend. Dark Ash 7: A fair warning, this will be a Romione story. As for their fluff, I always believed that Ron was the best at comforting Hermione—when he wasn't the cause of her distress anyway—and this was a good opportunity for that character development.

Potter671: The story is "Harry Potter: Treasure Hunter" by Ryder10. Fair warning, it's not finished but it's still amazing. I'm glad you're enjoying my portrayal of Ginny! I think a lot of fics don't do her character justice and I really want to empower her. I'm so excited to get to COS. He really enjoyed everything through the Leviathans but now we're into the word of god season which, if we're honest, wasn't the best one. PunksterNL: Honestly, in my head Hermione was so shocked by the troll and everything that she completely forgot about Smith. I want to address bullying and such in my story but it probably won't be until COS. I'm glad you're enjoying how I'm developing character! But I do hate to break it to you that Harry probably won't realize his interest in Ginny for a while yet. I don't think Harry will be a bumbling, stuttering mess, but I don't think he's going to be a Sirius Black, either! But I do believe Hinny will happen well before 6th year. Smallwjl: Ah yes, one of his two major character flaws. As if I couldn't not include it! You'll have to see! I'm going to bring the horcruxes up again in a few chapters so keep an eye out!

Boothbonesrule: I post once a week. This week was a tad late due to me being sick. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the rest! Moneliza73: This is definitely going to be a Romione story in the end but that doesn't mean that Draco won't have any kind of crush on Hermione. I firmly believe that they would have gotten along well, maybe even dated a bit, if he hadn't been such an asshole in the book. But, in the end, she's going to be with Ron. Lt. ShovelHead: Ahhh I'm sorry to hear you're stuck in quarantine! You must be going nuts stuck inside. I'm glad my story helped brighten that for you! Thank you for the wonderful review!

Posting schedule: Once a week.

Thank you for reading! Please make sure to leave a review!

Chapter Forty-One: Is Snape or Is?

Sirius stepped into the living room wearing his new purple robes as he waited for James. He had to admit, he hadn't been thrilled to join the Wizengamot but their robes looked amazing on him. The purple went with his pale completion and made his dark hair stand out and a purple gleam in his grey eyes pop. He thought he looked down right sexy, if he had to say so himself. And he did have to say so himself.

James and Sirius were about to be on their way to their first Wizengamot session since their formal induction into the group. Apparently up today were some discussions involving Hogwarts and a new piece of legislation. Neither of them had heard any tale involving new werewolf regulations, making them firmly believe that Lucy had been overexaggerating the extent of his reach into their lives.

Sirius turned as he heard James' loping steps coming down the stairs. He smiled at his friend who, he thought, looked just as good in his new robes as Sirius did.

"I didn't think you'd be ready so soon," James said as he ran his fingers through his hair in a futile attempt to flatten it, "I figured you'd take another twenty minutes trying to turn your ugly mug into something presentable."

Sirius punched James lightly on the arm as James let out a roar of laughter, "You git. You know I don't have to do anything to look as handsome as I do every day. You, on the other hand, well, I hear the muggles have an operation to make you look nicer permanently. Maybe you should look into that."

"Bugger off. Come on, we'll be late."

The two men quickly made their way to the fireplace and flood to the Ministry. Because it was already after five in the evening, they found it to be relatively empty inside. They quickly made their way down the lift and to the room where the Wizengamot meets. It was quickly filling up with other members.

James and Sirius quickly took their seats—they were lucky to have ones next to each other. To James' other side was Augusta Longbottom who had taken over the family seat when her husband had passed since her son, Frank, is incapacitated. To Sirius' other side was Florian Greengrass, another member who's seat was claimed due to familiar relations.

As the meeting began, Sirius and James exchanged a nervous glance, unsure of what the evening would bring.

"Good evening," Dumbledore called to the crowd, "I would like to call this meeting of the Wizengamot to order. As a first bit of business I would like to welcome Lords Sirius Black and James Potter to the Wizengamot. The have elected to claim their family seats as the heads of their families. Welcome, Lords Black and Potter!"

There was a general round of applause as Dumbledore smiled from his place at the front of the group. Once it had quieted back down, he continued, "Now, I would like to get right to business. As we only have a few issues to address today I'm hoping we may all get to call this an early night. I'm sure none of you would be too upset if that was the case."

There was a general murmur of agreement among the Wizengamot members.

"Wonderful. Our first bit of business involves the proposed legislation from the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office limiting Wizard access to muggle fireworks. Apparently there have been several issues involving wizards placing spells on muggle fireworks causing them to blow up in the faces of muggles, severely injuring and confusing them.

"So far the Muggle Liaison Office has managed to mask these explosions as letter bombs but with the increase in occurrences it becomes necessary to limit wizarding contact with these devices.

"Mr. Arthur Weasley asked me to remind those voting this evening that we wizards do have access to wizarding fireworks, so this limitation will not cause any negative implications for law abiding witches and wizards."

Over the next hour Dumbledore read aloud the proposed law, verbatim, to the Wizengamot. Occasionally, members asked questions or asked for clarification regarding verbiage or implications and the such. Eventually the Wizengamot voted their approval of the legislation after altering some of the specific language in certain parts. Generally, everyone seemed happy with the new regulations and potential punishments for violations.

"Next on our agenda is a small discussion regarding approval for the classes that will be held at Hogwarts next school year. I know for some of you it may seem soon as your children have only been at school for two short months, but I assure you the approval is necessary for us to plan the school budget accordingly and have it approved by the board of governors.

"The professors at Hogwarts have been contemplating adding a new, higher level course option for sixth- and seventh-year students. We would like to offer something that offers some sort of challenge for the students magically. One professor has suggested an independent study program to prepare them for their chosen post-Hogwarts profession. I personally like this idea. We could implement restrictions and assign every student a supervising professor based on their chosen project. Such projects could even include shadowing someone in their profession or even interning in a department.

"I'll open the floor to general opinions on the subject before putting it to a vote."

Lucius Malfoy stood up to take the floor, "Albus, I think I'm failing to understand how this would offer a challenge or anything educational for students. What sort of projects would these students complete?"

Dumbledore smiled, "Well, as an example we have previously had students who have gone on to be curse breakers for Gringotts. These students have had the opportunity to work with Professor Lupin, our Ancient Runes professor, translating difficult runic texts and documents as well as learning how to preserve them. This opportunity proved both challenging for the student and foundational for their profession."

Lucius nodded and sat down just as Augusta stood up and asked, "How will the professors make sure that students are staying safe? For example, what if a student chooses to work on creating new potions or spells—how will the professors be able to monitor their progress in a safe capacity?"

Questions such as these went back and forth over the next hour as the Wizengamot contemplated the new, optional class idea. In the end, the group agreed to allow the class to go forward for the next year, as an elective, on a trial basis for seventh years only before adjourning for the evening.

Though James and Sirius didn't do much participating during their first session, they learned a great deal about how the Wizengamot works and how to accomplish their goals in the future.

~ID~

Harry's first quidditch match of the season was quickly approaching. He felt like he was spending all of his free time practicing for the event but that didn't seem to ease his stomach when he thought about it. Even though he had played in matches before for his little league team, they didn't seem quite the same or as daunting as his first match on the house team.

Ron had begun spending his free time helping Harry and Draco practice for their upcoming matches but there wasn't much he could do to help them prepare. Often he would simply chuck golf balls for them to chase after and catch. Other times he refereed for them as the two played against each other while searching for the snitch. As good as Draco was at playing quidditch, Harry seemed to beat him more often than not.

Despite all of this practice, Harry was feeling extremely nervous for his upcoming match. To mitigate this, when he wasn't practicing, he was reading Quidditch Through The Ages. Hermione had suggested the book to him and he was happy to say that reading it really did help him take his mind off the match. Draco had even grabbed a copy from the library as well and both boys spent a good deal of time talking about the book with one another and, occasionally, Ron.

Hermione had been helping Harry and Draco, too. She had helped them figure out times when they could do their homework and was helping them review their essays. Draco, of course, didn't need much of Hermione's help, but he appreciated the glance over all the same.

It wasn't long before Harry was faced with his first match the next day and the nerves in his stomach had yet to settle. He and his friends were sitting out in the courtyard around a jam jar containing a bright blue flame that Hermione had conjured up for the group to keep warm when they noticed Snape liming around the yard. The group drew closer to the jar to block the fire from view as he approached.

"What's that you've got there, Potter?"

Harry showed him the book and was extremely upset when it was snatched from his hands, "Library books are not to be taken outside the school. Five points from Gryffindor."

"What was that about?" Draco asked once Snape had limped from view, "And what was wrong with his leg?"

Harry shrugged, "Snape hates me because he and my dad had it out for each other when they were at school when they were kids. He's always a jerk to me. I don't know what was up with his leg, though. Odd."

Draco frowned, "I've never known Professor Snape to be so mean to a student. He's good friends with my father and he's always been kind to me."

"Lucky you," Harry said darkly as he turned back towards the fire.

"Still nervous about your first match?" Ron asked.

"A bit. You, Draco?"

Draco shrugged, "Not really. We'll win or we'll lose. Father has already told me he refuses to come. Mother might, though. Is Mr. Potter coming tomorrow?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah and Uncle Padfoot. They're both really proud that I made the team. Youngest seeker in a century since my birthday is later than yours."

"Only by a few months," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"I wouldn't worry too much, Harry," Hermione said, encouragingly, "With how well your father plays we know it's in your blood."

Later that evening Harry found himself sitting in the noisy common room with nothing to occupy his time. He had already finished his charms homework and he didn't feel like starting on potions. He set about looking around the room hoping that something would pop up to occupy his mind but nothing interesting was happening tonight. Ron and Hermione were working on Ron's charms homework; Fred and George were bent over some old-looking parchment at a table in the corner; and the other members of Harry's team were sitting with different groups of friends that he didn't recognize—he didn't want to bother them.

He found himself wishing that he had his book back, knowing that it would take his mind off of his nerves about tomorrow.

"Hey guys," Harry said to Ron and Hermione, "I'm going to see if Snape is in the staffroom and ask if he'll give my book back now."

"It's your funeral," Ron said, socked.

Harry shrugged, "I don't think he'll say no if other teachers are around. Plus, if nana is in the staffroom she might intimidate him into giving it back if he tries to refuse."

"That's on you," Hermione replied as they turned back to Ron's assignment.

Harry made his way quickly through the castle until he reached the staffroom. He stood in front of the door, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as he waited for a moment, wondering if this was really such a good idea. Then he sighed and rapped his fist against the door and waited.

Nothing happened.

He knocked again, louder this time, but no one opened the door. Harry wondered if Snape had just left the book in the office—he carefully pushed the door open, hoping that no professors were inside, and peeked inside.

His eyes were assaulted with the sight of Snapes bloody, mangled leg on display for Filch who was wrapping it in bandages. Harry could see the blood oozing down his leg and a large chunk of flesh hanging off of the bone, the muscle raw and red.

Harry's eyes widened in fright as he listened.

"Blasted thing! How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?" Snape spat at Filch.

Three heads? Harry wondered if Snape had tried to cross that cerberus on the third floor they had found the other month. Harry was sure those dogs could do the extensive damage that was done to Snape's leg easily. And after having seen how the cerberus reacted to people coming into its room he wouldn't be surprised if it attacked unprovoked, either.

As Harry was contemplating these events, Snape's head shot up, his black eyes staring at the door for a single heartbeat, "Potter!"

Harry watched as Snape tried to hide his leg not no avail as Harry paled, "I just wondered if I could have my book back."

"Get out! Out!"

Turning on his heel, Harry sprinted away before Snape could try to take away more points from Gryffindor or give him a detention. By the time he got back to Gryffindor tower, he was breathless and sweaty.

"Treacle Tart," Harry said breathlessly to the Fat Lady as he bent over double, clutching a stitch in his chest.

The portrait swung open and Harry stumbled over the threshold and to the chair he had previously occupied. He breathed for a few minutes as Ron and Hermione asked him what happened and why he was so out of breath. Once he was breathing properly again, he quickly regaled them with what he had witnessed.

"You know what this means?" Harry asked, "He tried to get passed that cerberus on the third floor at Halloween! I bet he let that troll in so he could sneak past without raising a suspicion."

Hermione's eyes were wide as she looked at Harry, "He wouldn't! I know he's not very nice but he's still a teacher. He wouldn't try to steal anything that Dumbledore is trying to keep safe."

"Honestly, Hermione, I wouldn't put it past that git. You just think that all professors are perfect or something."

Something dawned on Harry as they were discussing the events of the evening and he quickly pulled out his mirror and called Draco. Once he appeared in the glass, Harry quickly filled him in on what had happened.

Draco frowned as he took everything in before he replied, "I don't know, Harry. I'm with Hermione. Snape is a teacher—I don't think he would do anything to jeopardize that. From what I remember when he would talk with my dad is that Snape is loyal to Dumbledore to a fault. If anything, he may have been trying to add more protection to whatever's there."

"I guess we'll find out. I'm going to try to keep an eye on Snape if I can. I don't trust him."

"Good on you," Ron replied, "I don't either. He's a git."

Draco and Hermione roared in disagreement with Ron and they all argued over whether it was appropriate to call a professor a git. In the end, the consensus was that, yes, you could call a professor a git, but only if they really were one.

~ID~

Harry woke the next morning with knots in his stomach and worry in his heart as he thought about the match that was happening later that day. He found himself unable to eat any breakfast; he was worried if he tried to eat it wouldn't stay down. Both Hermione and Draco tried to convince him to eat but his stomach couldn't be swayed. Not even Seamus' weekly, accidental explosions could shake him out of his funk.

Most of the school had discovered that Harry was the new Gryffindor seeker weeks ago and many of them had mixed feelings. Many of the Gryffindors didn't believe that he was as good as Wood argued he was. Most of the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs speculated that he had made the team simply because of his and his father's fame. Wherever he went that morning he was met with an onslaught of harsh whispers from what seemed like everyone at Hogwarts. The few positive comments he received did uplift him to some degree but not nearly enough.

Overwhelmed, Harry stepped off into an empty classroom and pulled out his mirror, calling for his dad. James' face quickly appeared in the mirror, confusion on his face.

"Harry! I would have thought you'd be down in the changing rooms by now. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah," Harry said slowly, "Yeah. Just—just nervous is all."

"For your match?"

Harry nodded.

"Oh! Well, why are you nervous? You're going to do great and you've played in quidditch matches before. What makes this one so different that you're nervous?"

"Well, it's my first one on the house team and people have been talking about me all week. I guess most of the school found out that I'm the new seeker and a lot of other students think it's a load of rubbish. Wood keeps telling me to ignore them because they don't know what they're talking about but I feel like I need to prove something to everyone."

"Prove—Harry, you don't have to prove anything to anyone. If you weren't the best for the team you wouldn't be on it. Clearly Minnie saw something in you that the team needed and Wood agreed or they wouldn't have let you join up. It sounds like those people questioning your abilities are jealous or don't know you well enough. You're going to be fantastic today and I can't wait to see it! I just wish your mum were here for you, too."

"Dad! I do have a mum coming. My Uncle Moomy!"

James roared with laughter at Harry's play on words for several long minutes. He actually laughed so hard that it seemed he dropped the mirror onto the floor and Sirius picked it up, confusion and concern on his face.

"Harry, what happened to Jamie?"

"I made a really bad joke. I guess dad thought it was funny."

"What was the joke?"

"Dad said that he was sorry that my mum wasn't going to be at my game today and I told him that of course I have a mum coming, I have an Uncle Moomy coming!"

Sirius attempted to control his laughter, closing his mouth tightly as tears began streaming down his face and his chest convulsed as he gasped for breath. It didn't take long for him to devolve into a full-blown laughing fit just in time for James to finish his and carefully pry the mirror out of Sirius' hand.

"You, kid, should consider stand up comedy instead of a professional quidditch player someday."

Harry shrugged, "Eh, sounds like work. I have to go, though, it's time to start getting ready for the match. You guys will be here soon, right?"

"Yeah. We're flooing to Moony's office shortly."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement and said his goodbyes to his dad and uncle. He was feeling slightly better about the fast-approaching match against Slytherin.

~ID~

By the time the Gryffindor team were changing into robes all the stands around the pitch had filled to the brim with cheering and chattering fans. In the locker room, Wood made what Harry would realize is his regularly scheduled speech to the team. Harry realized that this was a regular occurrence based on the fact that Fred and George were mimicking Wood and finishing his sentences. This, of course, made Harry snort into his robes as Wood glared at the twins before ushering them all out and onto the pitch.

The team walked onto the field to a roar of cheers, applause, and boos from all around the stadium. Harry smiled up at his friends who he saw had made a large banner for him. He thought it looked spectacular.

The two teams made their way to the center of the field and mounted their brooms as the two captains shook hands. Madam Hooch was there waiting for them.

"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you!" she said to all of the players. She waited a beat before giving her whistle a loud blast and all fifteen brooms rose quickly into the air. They were off.

"And the quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor—what an excellent chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too—"

"Jordan!"

"Sorry, Professor!"

Harry realized that Lee Jordan was doing the commentary for the match as he began quickly circling the pitch, scanning the air for the golden snitch.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve—back to Jonson and—no, the Slytherins have taken the quaffle. Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint against the quaffle and off he goes—Flint flying like an eagle up there—he's going to sc—no, the Gryffindor's take the quaffle—that's chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and—ouch!—that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a bludger—quaffle taken by the Slytherins—that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goalposts-, but he's blocked by a second bludger—sent is way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which—nice play by the Gryffindor beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes—she's really flying—dodges a speeding bludger—the goalposts are ahead—come on, now, Angelina—keeper Bletchley dives—misses—Gryffindor scores!"

Gryffindor and a mix of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins and their supporters.

In the stands, an overly large, bearded man was making his way past the student spectators and towards where Ron, Hermione, Draco, James, Sirius, and Remus were sitting together, "Budge up there, move along."

"Hagrid!"

The six of them squeezed together to give Hagrid enough room to join them.

"'Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of omnioculors around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sigh of the snitch yet, eh?"

"Nope," said Ron, "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."

"It's still early yet," Draco added, "It'll turn up."

"He's kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid as he raised his omnioculors and peered skyward at the speck that was Harry.

"I think he's doing brilliantly," James said as his chest puffed out with pride. Sirius simply smacked his chest and deflated it with a roar of laughter.

Way above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan. Wood had wanted Harry to stay out of the way until he saw the snitch so he didn't attract the attention of the Slytherin Beaters. Wood didn't want Harry to be attacked any sooner than he needed to be and putting him into the middle of the action would give the beaters and chasers a target they didn't need to offer them.

When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings. Now he was back to staring around for the snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the twins' watches, and once a bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred came chasing after it.

"All right there, Harry?" he has time to yell as he beat the bludger furiously toward Marcus Flint.

"Slytherin in possession," Lee said, "Chaser Pucey ducks two bludgers, two Weasleys, and chaser Bell, and speeds toward the—wait a moment—was that the snitch?"

A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.

Harry saw it. in a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch—all the chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.

Harry was faster than Higgs—he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead—he put on an extra spurt of speed—

Wham! A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below—Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom had spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life.

The Gryffindors were given a penalty show due to Flint's blatant cheating while Harry tried to get back into the right headspace. It was as Harry dodged another bludger that it happened. His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split second, he thought he was going to fall. He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that.

It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off. But Nimbus Two Thousands didn't suddenly decide to buck their riders off. Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goalposts—he had half a mind to ask Wood to call a time-out—when he realized that his broom was completely out of control. He couldn't turn it or direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him.

Lee was still commentating.

The Slytherins were cheering and no one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.

"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled as he stared through his omnioculors, If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom…but he can't have…"

"What?" James snapped, panic in his voice as he directed his omnioculors towards the flying speck that was Harry, "What's he—what is his broom doing? Remus—what's happening to him?"

Remus squinted his eyes up at the speck before snatching James' omnioculors and peering through them, his face paling as he watched the broom twitch and jerk, flying higher and higher.

Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His movements had become more violent and pronounced now. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped, James calling out, as Harry's broom gave a wild jerk and he swung off of it. he was now dangling from it, holding on with one hand.

"Harry!" the three marauders shouted as they nearly leapt from the stands and onto the pitch several stories below.

James, paler than a ghost, dashed off, down the stairs, intending to find a broom and fly up to Harry and, hopefully, catch him before he fell. It was clear to James that something was wrong with the broom, Harry would never fly so dangerously at such a great height.

Sirius stood, frozen in his tracks, as he watched Harry dangling in the sky, his heart full of the fear he had felt ten years ago when he ran into the cottage at Godric's Hollow. Fear for his Godson's life heavy on his heart and mind.

"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.

"Can't have," Remus replied, "A jinx that powerful—no child could have performed that magic, not on a broom as protected as a Nimbus Two Thousand. Someone else must have done it."

Remus immediately began scanning the crowd for anyone that could have placed a jinx on Harry's broom, his eyes failing to find anyone. Hermione's eyes, however, were sharper and less blinded by beliefs and prior notions as she caught sight of Snape in the middle of the stands, his eyes fixated on Harry as he muttered under his breath nonstop.

"Snape! Look!" Hermione declared as she looked through the omnioculors.

Remus frowned and looked at Snape, too, "It certainly looks suspicious. But I trust Severus. He's probably trying to work a counter-jinx on the broom. We can't be so sure, Hermione."

"But, Professor—"

"Keep searching."

Ron and Draco pulled Hermione back as Ron whispered, "What should we do?"

"Leave it to me," Hermione said back, "Keep them distracted."

Ron and Draco nodded, determination in their eyes.

As Draco pointed out another person staring at Harry, Hermione snuck away from the group and raced down the stairs.

The crowd watched in horror as Harry's broom began reacting more and more violently to any advances to attempt to rescue him. Both Fred and George had already flown up and attempted to help Harry onto one of their brooms to no avail. James had also made an appearance on a broom and tried the same. But every time one of them flew close enough his broom jumped higher still. Undeterred, the three of them decided to circle below Harry as James twirled his wand in the air, slowing the speed of the air within their circle in case Harry fell.

Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where snape stood and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front. Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.

It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row—Snape would never know what had happened.

Remus caught sight of the commotion in the teacher's stand and watched as several professors looked away from the match as something he couldn't see happened that caused such a distraction. He frowned and looked around for Hermione and was instantly displeased to notice her disappearance.

As he looked back up at Harry, he saw that Harry was now suddenly able to clamber back onto his broom. Remus was shocked that this new control over the broom occurred only after the commotion Hermione had caused. He wasn't sure that the group of first years were right in their belief that Snape was hexing Harry's broom, but he wasn't sure they were wrong, either. Certainly Harry was only able to get back on the broom and regain control after that outburst and so many teachers were distracted. Clearly, one of them was the culprit.

Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick, James speeding after him through the air. Harry landed on all fours, coughed, and something gold fell into his hand.

"I've got the snitch!" he shouted, waiving it over his head as he turned towards James, excitement alight on his face.

After making sure that Harry was definitely ok, James made his way back over to Remus and Sirius who got him up to speed on what had happened in the stands, sharing in their speculations as to what happened.

"I don't know," Remus said, "It just seems so coincidental that Harry suddenly regained control only after Hermione distracted the professors in the stands."

"Which professors looked away from the game?" James asked.

"Uh, Severus, obviously, Quirrell, Minnie, Flitwick, Sinistra, Burbage, Kettleburn, and a few of the school governors."

"So it might not have been Snape?"

"It could have been," Sirius said darkly, "I never trusted that greasy haired git."

"Sirius, please. We're older than our petty disagreements. The question I keep coming back to is why does someone want to kill Harry?"

"He's an asshole—that's not a petty disagreement! I wouldn't put it past him to try to kill Harry out of—I don't know, spite or something." Sirius argued.

"It won't be a mystery for long," James said darkly, "Whoever it is better enjoy what's left of their life for nearly killing my son."

Remus and Sirius looked at James, concern and fear in their eyes. They had never seen their friend this angry in their life—the look in his eye screamed that he was out for blood.

~ID~

Across the quidditch pitch, Hermione, Draco, and Ron waited for Harry outside of the changing room before they all made their way across the vegetable patch and to Hagrid's hut for a cup of strong tea.

"It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "We all saw him. He was cursing your broomstick! He wouldn't take his eyes off of you."

"It certainly seemed incriminating," Draco added, "But I'm not convinced. There were other people that looked away from Harry when Hermione caused her distraction. Remus could be right—maybe Snape was trying to do a counter-curse on Harry's broom and one of the other people in that stand was the one jinxing him? We can't know for sure."

"I think Draco's right," Hagrid said, gruffly, "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

The four of them looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth.

"I found out something about him. He tried to get past that cerberus in the third floor corridor on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever is behind it."

"You three think that," Draco corrected, "I think there may be some other explanation. I think you're jumping to conclusions."

"How do you know about Fluffy?" Hagrid said as he dropped his teapot.

"Fluffy?" the four of them said, socked.

"Yeah—he's mind—bought him off a Greek chappie I met in a pub las' year—I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the—"

"Yes?" Harry said eagerly, his eyes alight with excitement. The other three were on the edges of their chairs as the watched Hagrid with rapped attention.

"Now, don't ask me anymore, that's top secret that is."

"But Snape is trying to steal it."

"Rubbish, Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Ron.

"We don't know for sure that he did," Draco reminded Ron, "It could have been anyone in that stand."

Ron rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, fed up with Draco for the moment.

"I don't know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all four of yeh—yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel—"

"So someone called Nicolas Flamel is involved!" Harry shouted triumphantly.

Hagrid shook his head as Draco looked off into the distance and mumbled to himself, "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"It shouldn't and it doesn't! Now, that's enough out of all four of yeh. Off to the castle with the lot of yeh, go!" Hagrid said as he unceremoniously showed them the door and shut it in their faces.

End Notes:

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