So, if you haven't already guessed, I am not J.K. Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter, so the few quotations from the books are all hers, not mine.

CHAPTER 5

Quidditch was the next major event in the school calendar. Everyone was abuzz with Quidditch talk weeks before the first match (Gryffindor versus Slytherin). As with everything secret at Hogwarts, word seemed to have got out that Harry Potter was the new Gryffindor seeker, the youngest player in a century.

At breakfast, Harry didn't eat much, despite us all trying to convince him. Luckily though, Ron could have eaten enough breakfast for the whole school, so ate Harry's for him. After half an hour of hopeless coaxing, Oliver Wood (the Gryffindor Quidditch captain) came by our table, saying the team were going down to the changing rooms. We wished Harry good luck, grabbed a few last pieces of toast each, and went down to the pitch ourselves. Better to get there early with good seats and time to set up banners, instead of rushing at the last minute.

It was around fifteen minutes before many other people started coming in hoards, and another fifteen more before play commenced. Ron had previously explained the rules to Hermione, and recapped my sparse knowledge while he was at it. The atmosphere was incredible, with people from all four houses cheering ecstatically - before the match had even begun! Of course, Gryffindor and Slytherin were loudest, but the other two put up a good fight.

When the players flew onto the pitch, everyone went crazy. I scanned their ranks for Harry, and spotted him just as he noticed our magnificent 'Potter for President' banner, the writing flashing different colours after Hermione's outstanding charm work.

Play began quickly, and the quaffle was thrown into the air by Madame Hooch, just as the two bludgers and the snitch were released. Lee Jordan (the Weasley Twins' friend) commentated as Gryffindor got the quaffle, and scored their first goals. Harry was flying around above the main area of play, obviously trying to keep out of the way.

Play continued for a while, both sides scoring, but Gryffindor always staying a few points ahead. The current points were 60 - 40 to Gryffindor, and nothing much had happened. No one had seen the snitch, and the goals were becoming fewer and farther between.

Then, there was a flash of gold, and Harry soared across the pitch on his Nimbus 2000 (he'd gotten it a few days earlier for making the team.) The Slytherin seeker was in quick pursuit. However, the chase soon stopped, as Pucey, the Slytherin captain, flew brutally into Harry, causing the Gryffindor seeker to spin out. In the midst of the ensuing chaos, the snitch had disappeared, and Harry had returned to hovering above the action.

A few more points were scored by both teams, but not much else ensued until, suddenly, Harry's broom began shaking and bucking uncontrollably. It took the rest of the spectators a while to realise, but when they did, everyone immediately panicked.

Ron shouted at me over the din of the crowd, "Can't you do something?"

I replied with, "Spells and defence are not my speciality! I can work with creatures, but not bucking brooms!"

"But the transfiguration with the troll!" He protested.

"That was one spell, Ron, one spell!"

During the conversation, I kept my binoculars trained on Harry, desperate to make sure he was still on his broom. Hermione, however, had her binoculars trained elsewhere: the teacher's stand. She suddenly cried, "Its Snape! He's jinxing the broom!" before thrusting her binoculars at Ron and running off.

I instantly found Professor Snape in the crowd, and saw what she meant. Snape had his eyes focused unblinkingly at Harry, and he also appeared to be muttering something. Those were not good signs.

I then looked back at Harry, desperately praying for his safety. I was distracted though, when a burst of flames appeared at the teacher's stand. Hermione had done her job. Harry instantly regained control of the broom, and continued playing.

The game ended mere seconds later though, as Harry immediately took off after something, and landed quickly. He then appeared to be sick, but instead coughed up the snitch, which he had almost swallowed. It was a win for Gryffindor!

Not long later, we were sat in Hagrid's hut, drinking strong cups of tea, and eating tea some rather inedible rock cakes. Ron, Hermione and I were arguing about why Harry's broom had acted oddly. Ron insisted it was Snape, with Hermione backing him up about the curse. "I know a curse when I see one," she confirmed. However, Hagrid wouldn't take a word of it, still arguing that it wasn't Snape. He seemed to know something we didn't.

Harry suddenly interjected into the conversation, "He tried to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. He's trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

Hagrid nearly dropped the teapot in shock.

"How on earth do yeh know about Fluffy?" he questioned.

"You called a Cerberus," I said, flabbergasted. "Fluffy?"

Hagrid didn't see the point I was trying to make. He explained how he'd bought him off some Greek man from a pub the year before, lending him to Dumbledore to guard... something. He cut himself off before he could explain what was being protected. Harry picked up on the fact, but learned nothing more when Hagrid said it was top secret.

He did tell accidentally tell us something though, "You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel -"

"Aha!" exclaimed Harry. "So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

Hagrid couldn't deny we'd won this argument.