Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter or Eyeshield 21 or any of the affiliated characters. What I do own is a kick ass Ash Ketchum hat, a freezer full of fudge pops, and a collection of gold medal winning maple syrup. None of which will appear in this story.

Warnings: OC's, some OOC, Het, Slash, AU, fluff, language

The Fifteenth Tackle

"Okay mate, you have to tell us what happened," Dean said. They made it through the feast by somehow managing to keep their mouths shut until now. It was a big deal! Seamus had been the first to venture into the world of dating and sex, and now he had a story to share.

Harry, Dean, and Neville climbed onto the chubby boy's bed so the three of them were facing Seamus. It was like watching him on a stage. Seamus stood proud as he faced them, his posture tall as he smiled at them and started his opening monologue.

"Well me mam wanted to go this this church thing in town. Some type of Christmas sale. Me pa and I decided to go with, nothing else to do really. So while there, this girl approaches me and says she thinks me cute. Naturally I gave her that ole Irish charm."

Harry heard Dean snort beside him. He wasn't sure what that was about since Seamus was a friendly person. He had a lot of friends from other houses and Harry honestly couldn't think a single person who had a problem with Seamus. Even Malfoy tended not insult the Irish boy.

"So she asks if I wanted to go get a cuppa with her and I'm think 'Yeah I do'! She was hot. I mean her boobs were almost smacking me in the face they were so big. I agrees, right, why wouldn't' I? And I find out she's the Minister's niece come for a visit. She says she's 17. I told her I was 15, no point in losing her just because I'm a little young."

"You didn't!" Harry asked. He can't believe Seamus lied to the girl. Plus the girl was 17! Seamus wasn't turning 14 until March. That was four whole years!

"I did. She believed me, but then again I am physically and mentally mature for my age," Seamus boasted.

"Seamus…" Dean started. "You only think that because you claim you got pubic hair first."

Seamus laughed and waved away their taller friends comment. "Nah. I know I did. I peeked on all you in the shower to see who got what. Of course, when I realized what I was doing, I knew I was more mature than you lot. I was the only one thinking about puberty. That's a sign."

Neville and Harry were both blushing deeply at the implications that their friend had been spying on them. Honestly, what was Seamus thinking? Who goes around looking at another guy like that? Even on the quidditch team they didn't gawk at each other. It was an unspoken rule that you kept your eyes up in the showers. It was harder for Harry since he was the shortest and looking up at the other guys hurt his neck after a while, but he still did it.

"Just continue with your story," Dean said with some laughter in his voice.

"Right. We go get a drink and start talking about where we go to school. I told her I go to boarding school here in Scotland. She said she goes to a public school in Greenwich. Not that all that boring stuff matters, right? After our drinks were done she took me hand and led me behind the church and kissed me! No word of warning or nothing, she kissed me." Seamus looked so proud at the admission.

Harry blushed, Neville's got went wide in shock and Dean just chuckled. "She was the take charge type then."

"I've always liked a feisty woman," Seamus answered. "Especially the older lasses. They know what they want and they go for it unlike girls our age who doubt themselves and wait for the guy to do everything. I just happened to catch her eye and got lucky that she was the assertive type. You won't find a girl in Hogwarts like that."

"She's 17, she's not that much older. She's like a seventh year and if we looked, I bet we could find a girl that here," Dean responded.

"Yeah but a 17 year old muggle… we all know the wizarding world is in the past. Muggles are more forward thinking. So why wouldn't they be more forward thinking when it comes to relationships? Witches these days are still waiting for a strong good looking wizard to send them courting gifts. It's all about marriage and forever for them. It makes them easier to catch since you just need to whisper pretty words to them, but it gets boring."

"Stop." Neville voice was soft as the chubby boy was blushing furiously. "We were talking about Seamus' blowjob." Harry that Neville wanted to change the topic since it would no doubt go back around to him getting a girlfriend to fend of Leanne. He didn't think the chubby boy was as enthusiastic about dating as Seamus was.

Seamus grinned. "Exactly. Let's get back to the reason we're here. I'll skip all the snogging sessions and skip right to it. So, I was telling her that I had to return to school in a couple days and she got all sad. She asked if I would be willing to wait for her until next summer. She said she would be visiting her Uncle more now that she decided to attend a local college. I told her I would. Then she wanted to give me a gift, something to remember her by."

Harry felt himself getting embarrassed. It was finally the time when Seamus would talk about that. He knew what a blowjob was. He managed to pick up on it one day when Seamus was talking with Dean and the twins. Before that when he heard the word, he just pretended to know because he was too scared to ask. He didn't want his friends to make fun of him for not knowing all the things they did. They could talk about it like it was the weather but Harry still felt on the outside with sex talk. He still didn't have the talk, but he managed to piece things together by listening.

"So she gets on her knees and uses one of hands to start rubbing me crouch over my trousers. She started giggling – which was kinda annoying cause there's nothing funny 'bout me willy- and she used the other the rub my leg."

Harry could see how that might feel good. Dean liked to rub and massage his sore muscles after gruelling quidditch practice and that always felt good. Neville, although poor in class, was good at making bruise balm in their bathroom, and together it felt amazing. But he didn't think the girl had bruise balm when she was touching Seamus.

"She did that for a bit and then she took my trousers and undies off. She was all slow about it, like she was trying to be sexy. When little Shay was free she started wanking me." Seamus used one hand to mimic pumping something in front of his pelvis. Harry could figure out what that meant. He wasn't an idiot.

"Then she leaned forward and licked from the bottom near me balls all the way to the top."

Oh god. His face was burning. He couldn't believe that Seamus actually let someone touch him like that. Harry only touched his when he had to pee. He didn't get those urges that Seamus talked about. He didn't wink to his friends before closing his curtains. He didn't need those helpful magazines that Dudley hid under his mattress, to do what older boys did with them. And Seamus let her touch him with her hand and then her tongue! Her tongue! What if Seamus went to the bathroom before they started this? Did his penis taste like pee? You can only shake off so much after all. Oh Merlin! That girl was licking Seamus' pee!

He wanted Seamus to stop but at the same time he needed to hear more. What if she got sick? He needed to know that she was okay. How horrible would it to be to get a stomach illness from licking someone else's pee? He could always ask Oliver. His captain was smart and he was older so he has to have experience under his belt.

"Then she's giggling again and putting it in her mouth."

Oh no… she put the whole thing in her mouth? That would be like stuffing a whole hot dog in there. Did she choke?

"Not the whole thing. Little Shay is a fair size and she couldn't fit it all in there."

Well that was a relief. Sort of…

"She didn't do anything for a little bit, just moving her tongue as she got used to it, and then she just went crazy. She was licking and sucking and stuff like she was an animal trying to eat an ice lolly. If it didn't feel so good I would be scared that she would have eaten me dick off!"

Terrified- Harry was completely terrified. In his mind all he could see was himself back at the zoo for Dudley's birthday and a lion attacking him because of his lemon ice lolly. He couldn't even picture the awful sight of the lion lunging for his privates instead of his treat. He could feel himself shaking. How did Seamus not run away screaming? He was attacked!

"But I grabbed her hair and held on as she did her thing." Seamus was pretending to hold something as his hips moved back and forth.

He grabbed the beast! Harry was starting to look at Seamus in a new light. His friend was a brave person to just hold on and not cry bloody murder, like Harry wanted to do. He faced Voldemort but facing a man who wanted to kill you seems easy in comparison to someone sucking your penis. That was a whole new dangerous area Harry wasn't sure he wanted to explore.

"Then I came and she started choking. She was mad at me for some reason, but I was feeling so good. Anyway, I thanked her and put me pants back on and went home. I wanted to write you guys right away but I knew I had to tell you in person."

Harry was trying to process everything. His thoughts were on a bucking broom and he just couldn't get them to fly straight. Before he could ask about the girl's health, because it couldn't be good for you to drink pee, someone else spoke first.

"Does it look different now?" Neville asked. The poor boy was blushing again and looked so embarrassed but he held eye contact with Seamus when he asked.

Living with Seamus Finnigan was an experience. One of the first things you learned was that the boy had no shame. Seamus just did whatever he wanted and never regretted it. The only time he looked embarrassed was when his mother was around but that happened with most children and their parent. This time was no different

In one swift movement, Seamus dropped his pants and displayed his dick to the three boys on the bed with pride. "This here lads, this is the willy of a man," he said. He even moved his penis around so they could see it from several different angles. "Right, take yours out now."

Neville -who moments before had been so full of bravery to ask about seeing Little Shay- squeaked as he dove to hide under his bed. Harry himself was attacked by the largest wave of shyness in his entire life. He peeked over at Dean to see the taller boy standing up and undoing his belt.

"That looks like nothing special. You said she found it hard to fit in her mouth? I find that hard to believe," Dean said with a teasing tone. Harry couldn't understand what Dean was doing. Why would he say those things? From his close personal view of Seamus, they boy was sporting some decent dangly bits between his legs. His question was answered seconds later when Dean exposed himself to reveal his rather large gift…

"Oh Merlin… is it supposed to be that big?" Harry asked. He was extra glad that Dean was now standing a good distance from him. He was sure that when the taller boy turned, the size of his prick could have smacked him across the face and knocked him out.

He didn't know what got into him but seeing Dean do it made Harry feel like it was okay. If one friend did it, it was weird, but two friends doing it… well it was like a bonding thing right? So it wouldn't be that weird from him to join. Plus he wasn't a coward. Seamus challenged them, and Dean took it up. He couldn't back out now. As he kept staring at Dean's impressive dick, he pushed his own pants down. He refused to blush. Even though he felt embarrassed when all three cocks were out in the open together, he didn't turn red. The differences between them was obvious. If Seamus was a hot dog, Dean was a beater bat and Harry was a breakfast sausage.

Neither of the three said anything as they just all stood around with their pants at their ankles. Honestly, Harry didn't know what to say that wouldn't make the whole thing awkward. Right now it was a silence between comrades- comrades with their dicks out and standing in in a circle.

Seamus being who he was didn't like to keep quiet and was the first to talk. "I think it suits you Harry. It's all small and cute like you. Don't worry, you're probably a grower and not a shower."

He was a what?

"Neville are you going to get out and join?" Dean asked.

Neville let out another squeak when he peeked out from under the bed. When he saw all three of them there half naked he ducked back under. "I thought I was ready but I'm not ready!" He stated miserably from his hiding spot.

Seamus laughed. "Green like his thumb, maybe" the Irish boy joked.

"Seamus be nice," Dean chastised him.

"What? It would fit right? I mean all our willy's fit us. Mine's a proud stallion of a beast, Harry's is cute, yours is as long as you are tall. Kinda looks like a chocolate pound cake. Neville's is either green or long like a stem."

"You have a point…" Dean conceded.

"Right! Anyway, Nev get out here. This is a symbol of our friendship. Once we've all stared at and admired each other's pricks we will be friends for life. Like how girls do the bracelets, but better."

Neville climbed out from under the bed. In one quick movement he pushed his pants down, let them see for a second, then pulled them back up. "There. It's done."

"Well it wasn't green so we don't have to take you to Pomfrey," Seamus said with a whistle. "But you are hiding something special down there mate."

Harry didn't get a good look, not that he wanted one, but still. It was a brief exposure and all Harry could see was that Neville was bigger than him. Why did he have to be the smallest in everything? He felt like pouting but more importantly, he felt like they should cover their bits now.

Harry bent down to pull his pants up, satisfied with the amount of time he left his penis on display when the door opened. Ron stood in the doorway staring at the three of them with a blank look on his face. There was beat of silence as everyone took in the scene of Dean and Seamus standing with their peckers out, Harry bending over in front, Neville beet red and looking anywhere but the trio…. before the door was slammed shut and a muffled 'Bloody Hell' sounded from the other side.

That seemed to be the cue for the other two to also pull up their pants. They left it at that. No more show and tell but Harry definitely felt closer to them. He never exposed himself to Ron or Hermione like that… not that he wanted to. He was quite happy keeping it all covered up. Plus he didn't want to see Hermione's penis… or well her private parts because he knew that girls didn't have dicks. He didn't want to see ether of his two former best friends like that… ever.

So it was with a happy and still embarrassed Harry that went to bed with a smile on his face.

o.O.o

The first quidditch practice of the new year was a lot of fun. Dean had insisted that they keep Harry's new broom a secret until then. Even when they were walking to the pitch, the taller boy kept the broom hidden with an old cloak. Oliver had been asking about it, but Harry kept his mouth shut.

When it was time to take the air, Harry unwrapped the broom and proudly displayed it to this team.

"Bloody Hell!" Oliver yelled.

"Harry-kins, is that-" "What we think-" "it is?" The twins asked.

"If you think it's a Firebolt then yes, it is what you think it is."

The girls happily squealed and then the whole time was touching his new broom. Oliver even had tears running down his face from happiness. "We're going to win." He kept muttering to himself as he stood on the outside of the group rubbing his eyes.

It took Oliver five minutes to calm himself enough to try and get the team back to practising. It was another five after that before everyone finished fawning and got their heads back on practice.

"Harry, for today I just want you to focus on getting familiar with your new broom. Test it out, see what you can and can't do with it. Okay?"

"Yes Captain," Harry happily answered. He was so excited. It was going to be the first time he got to ride the broom and he was vibrating with excitement. The fastest and best broom on the market was in his hands and he was being allowed to fly free.

"The rest of us are going to work on the all red plays today. We had a bit of down time so this will be more like a review session. I'm looking to see what our bodies remember."

The team quickly took to the sky and got to work. Harry just flew. He pushed the broom to see how fast he could go. He took some steep dives, pulling up later and later. He tested the braking and how fast he could turn. The broom was just so…. wonderful. It was better than his nimbus, more agile. The pin point turning was awesome. He didn't fish tail once and it turned on a knut it was so smooth telling him that he wouldn't lose as much time in the chase on turns now.

They were so going to win the Cup this year!

The news of his Firebolt spread quickly. A spectator had seen it and then ran to tell their house. From there it was like any piece of gossip in Hogwarts, everyone knew by dinner. Everyone was either asking Harry for a ride, or jealous and whispering behind his back. He was used to that thought so he paid it no mind. Even Malfoy had stopped by to tell Harry that even a better broom wouldn't stop his fainting fits. He was also ignored.

The trouble came the next day when McGonagall asked to see him in her office.

"Mr. Potter," She started. "Miss Granger has come to me concerned that your new broom was sent by Sirius Black."

"What?" That was completely ridiculous! As if some murderer would walk into Gringotts to take out a ton of galleons to buy him a broom? What would be the point? 'Oh I'm going to give him a super awesome gift before I kill him so that I can take away all that happiness I just gave him?' Yeah right! But then Harry had been thinking that Black wasn't truly out to kill him. So if the broom was from him then maybe it was more of a 'Hey, not trying to kill you. See, look at this awesome broom and trust me'. In which case, Black was a good guy. But that still didn't explain how he could walk into the only wizarding bank and take out money with no one seeing him.

"She believes that he has cursed the broom," his Head of House continued to explain.

"But why?"

McGonagall seemed a little taken aback at his question. "As I'm sure you have heard, Sirius Black was a Death Eater. When he escaped, the Minister was worried that he escaped to find you. He was heard saying 'He's a Hogwarts' to himself days before he escaped. Minister Fudge fears that he is determined to finish his Masters plans. In this situation, we can assume that anything he sends you would be cursed to cause you harm."

Harry shook his head. "I understand that. If Sirius Black wanted me dead then I think I would be dead. He did make it into our dorm room. But, what I mean is, why does Hermione think Sirius Black sent me the broom?"

Honestly, he hadn't talked to the girl since he got back. Ron had been quick to tell her something after that first night and she didn't look him in the eye since. For her to think that Black got him the broom just because why? He didn't tell anyone where the broom came from. Partly because he didn't know who sent it, but also because no one asked. Everyone was assuming that he bought it for himself and he didn't see the point in correcting them. Why would she just jump to that conclusion?

"She thinks that you would not buy yourself something so extravagant," McGonagall explained.

"Why not? I needed a broom and it's the best one on the market. I have a large trust vault that I don't see myself emptying before I enter the working force. I can afford such a broom." Harry wanted McGonagall to believe him. If she thought for a second that his broom was cursed she would take it away and there was no way they would be able to win the cup this year. Oliver was depending on him.

"That is true Mr. Potter. Since Miss Granger came to me with her concerns I thought I should check in, just in case. Did you buy the broom for yourself?"

Damn. He was hoping she wouldn't ask that. "No, I didn't. It was a gift." Well he couldn't lie to her. "But it wasn't sent by Sirius Black. It's not cursed. In fact, I already rode it and I am perfectly fine." He hoped that would steer her away.

"I see. I'm glad to know that there is nothing wrong but would you be willing to humour an old woman? Can I just have Professor Flitwick run some quick tests on the broom?"

He really wasn't willing, but he couldn't say that. "Can I be there to watch?" He was not going to just hand over his totally awesome broom.

"I think that can be arranged. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes," She explained.

"That's fine then."

McGonagall gave him a smile before she reached into one of her desk drawers and pulled out a cookie tin. "Have a cookie Mr. Potter. There is something else I wish to discuss with you."

Cookies were delicious, so he took one with glee.

"Last semester you dropped two classes. Have you given any more thought to a possible career or what classes you would like to take?"

He hadn't been thinking about it. The future just seemed so far away. He felt like he had a lot more time to decide this type of thing. He didn't want to lie to his Professor and say he was thinking about it and he was still deciding. He respected her enough to be truthful about this. He would never be truthful about Hogsmeade though. That was one secret he was keeping until after he graduated.

"Not really no. I know that I like flying and quidditch. Can I see it as a career… I don't know. I love it. I would love to play it forever but I don't think I have the same drive to win like Oliver. I like playing because it's fun." There it was. The truth.

"You shouldn't compare yourself to Mr. Wood. Oliver Wood has known for the longest time that Quidditch was his life. Some professional players don't decide until after they graduate." Harry probably made a disbelieving face because McGonagall continued. "One example of this was a member of the 1950 Australian team. He was regular repairman that had been called to the stadium to fix some seats that had been damaged. The man, Joseph Stevenson, watched the practice and when one of chasers got hit by a bludger and knocked off their broom, Joseph, offered to sit in. He had played on his school team, but when he got on that broom and started playing they saw how talented he was and by the end of practice they offered to sign him. He had a good career."

"Really? He got signed like that?"

"Well he was talented and the Australian team at the time was suffering. It is much harder to be signed nowadays, but like I said. He was working another job before becoming a quidditch player. You don't need to pick a career right now Mr. Potter. Usually we wait until fifth year before forcing you to make such a decision," She teased him.

"Oh… but…. What about my electives?" They needed to work out this first problem.

"Have you looked over Ancient Runes or Arithmancy?"

"No."

"I see. Have you any other hobbies or interests besides Quidditch?"

Harry took a minute to think. Right now his life mainly involved sports and finding his brother. Thinking of his brother though, he had a thought. "Well… I started to learn Japanese… could that count as an elective?" It was worth a shot.

McGonagall looked surprised for a second before her face morphed into a smile. "Now that was unexpected Mr. Potter. If you are serious about this, I think we can work something out."

Harry was quick to reassure her. "Oh I am! I got workbooks that I work on when I can. Dean's parents gave me a muggle cassette player to help me learn. I can't use it here at Hogwarts, but I listened to it as much as possible over break. I even finally managed to memorize their alphabet. My writing is improving too now that I'm getting used to drawing the symbols."

McGonagall held up a hand to stop his explanation. "That does indeed sound serious." Harry nodded his head to support her words. "Since you already dedicated yourself to this pursuit, I don't see why you can't make it an elective. The Ministry does offer language OWLS. I will fill in a request form to get it approved and then we can look into getting you the necessary supplies. If you bring that cassette player with you when you bring your broom to Professor Flitwick, he has a charm that can make it work for a short time. We don't tell students about it, we don't want it abused. You can keep using the cassette to practice until we can get the some more teaching aids in."

"That's… thank you Professor." Harry didn't think such a simple thank you could convey how grateful he felt. McGonagall was helping him without even knowing it. She was a great Head of House.

"I will always help those willing to learn. Now, while we have time, go to your dorm and grab your broom and cassette player. We will get all this out of the way. I will see about getting you those supplies to learn Japanese while you are with Professor Flitwick."

Harry ran back to Gryffindor. His friends were sitting by the fire working on homework, so Harry waved to them as he rushed passed. He could see Hermione watching him but he ignored that girl. He grabbed both items and ran back out.

Flitwick was waiting for him and was kind enough to explain everything he was doing to the broom. He explained that it was just a few diagnostic tests to make sure that there were no curses. If they found evidence of any malicious magic, Flitwick would then need to take the broom for cleaning. He promised that nothing would happen to the broom and it would work just as it did before the tests. As long as there was nothing wrong with it.

When he cast the first spell, it hit the broom and fizzled out. He tried again only to get the same result. He tried a few more times before he gave up. "It seems Mr. Potter that magic doesn't work on the broom. The company may have their own protections that stop outside magic from affecting the broom. Since I can't find a fault I think you can safely use your broom Mr. Potter. Of course, I will look into just in case."

Harry didn't mind. His professor could look into whatever he wanted as long as he got to keep his broom. If Flitwick couldn't use magic on the broom then it just helped support the fact that it wasn't cursed. It was a perfectly working Firebolt. That should reassure McGonagall and Hermione.

"Now, about this muggle device I need to charm," Flitwick said, breaking him out of his triumphant thoughts.

"Oh, right here," Harry said as he took the cassette player from his pocket. "It's going to help me learn Japanese," Harry explained.

The small professor clapped his hands together in excitement at the news. "I love when students branch out to learn things not traditionally taught here. Knowledge should never be limited to what we can teach here. Students, people in general, should always be looking for what else they can learn."

"Do a lot of students pick electives that aren't offered?" Harry had wondered about this. He never heard about it until Oliver told him. Even Hermione had been surprised when he first mentioned it.

"It's usually Ravenclaws asking to do extra classes. Many of my Ravens will learn languages like you, or a different branch of magic. There are many students who have asked Madam Pomfrey about healing classes."

"The ones who learned a language, how did they do it?" If there was a magical way to learn, then it could help him speed up the process and better equip him when he went to Japan in the summer. He would focus on that but… but the healing classes sounded cool too. Maybe he could do a magic first aid or something and then he could heal minor injuries that the team gets during practices. It would be a big help.

Flitwick clapped again, happy to be asked so many questions. "It's much the same concept as your muggle device. There is a language orb that you can rent from the Ministry. It's a small blue orb that you hold in your hand. You need to take a potion first to help create a mental link between you and the orb. Then as you hold the orb, it will say words in your head and teach you. Then you repeat the word aloud. When you get the right pronunciation, it will move onto the next word. There are different comprehension levels and once you finish level three, you can take your OWL."

"That sounds awesome," Harry whispered. Speaking up, Harry continued, "So I just need to get permission from the Ministry to rent these orbs? Do I have to make the potion myself or does it come with the orbs?"

"Professor McGonagall will write to the ministry and arrange for the orb rental. The school will pay for it since you will be taking it as an elective. Professor Snape makes the potions and when you finish an orb you will bring it back to Professor McGonagall, then she will give you a new one."

"Thank you Professor. I'm going to go see Professor McGonagall now." There was so much to think about and he couldn't wait to see McGonagall about the orbs.

"No problem Mr. Potter. Run along now."

Harry thanked the Charms master one more time before he finally left. He learned so much and it all made him excited to learn Japanese.

When he got back to his Head of House, McGonagall explained the same learning technique that Flitwick told him about. She said she should be able to get the orbs from the ministry in a week and then he could start.

It was a smiling Harry that returned to the Gryffindor common room. When he walked in it was to find Dean and Seamus, but no Neville.

"Where's Neville?" He asked as he sat down near Seamus.

"Seamus thought he needed to learn to be more sensitive towards girls. So now Neville is stuck with Lavender and Parvarti," Dean explained.

"They'll teach him everything he needs to know," Seamus tacked on. "Plus he needs to get used to talking to pretty girls. This will help."

Harry just shook his head, feeling really bad for his friend. Hopefully he would survive. Pushing that all aside though, Harry quickly relayed everything he learned. He would just catch Neville up later.

o.O.o

He was picking up Japanese with incredible speed with his new orb learning system. It was great for learning to talk but it didn't focus on reading or writing, but Harry quickly solved that. He found one of the unused classrooms on the seventh floor with a chalkboard. As he learned a word, he would write the corresponding symbol down as he talked. It worked nicely as he got to hear and see the word. There was no wasted parchment since he could just erase the chalk away as he started on a new word. He saved his workbooks as practice tests and did one once a week.

McGonagall had been impressed with Harry's progress. During a check in she complimented him on his diligence, but then reminded him about his potions grade.

That was something he needed to work on.

Oliver was smart, but he knew that the smartest person in all Gryffindor was Percy. Percy knew the library better than anyone and he was often the focus of Ravenclaw jealousy if the twins were to be believed. There was a reason Percy was Headboy, because he earned it.

Harry walked towards the prefect, practising his speech one more time in his head so he wouldn't mess up. When he finally reached the boy, he took a deep breath.

"Percy, you are the smartest person I know and I was hoping you would be willing to help me. I need someone to explain potions to me and… you are… the best…"Crap. His speech was falling apart. He was forgetting words and he was mumbling. "The best at school work… and class… because you're smart… and I said that already… but you are. Smart I mean… like super smart… and…." Harry closed his mouth and decided to just shut up.

The red headed prefect had been quiet during his rambling mouth vomit. Only when Harry managed to close his mouth and stay quiet for five seconds did he speak. "Harry, are you asking me to teach you potions?"

"Yes." It was quick and simple with no unnecessary words. Harry needed to keep all his answers like that lest he scare Percy away.

"You said I am the smartest person in the school?"

With a nod of yes, Harry answered. He didn't think he should speak just then.

"Well, I am Headboy so I can't ignore a student looking for help. I do have my own responsibilities. I can't devote all my time to you. After dinner, I will talk to you and see where you need help exactly, deal?" Percy was preening. Like a proud peacock, his head was up high and Harry didn't mind. Percy did have something to be proud of. The Prefect was smart and worked hard for his position. He should be proud.

"Thank you," he said. He left without another word. He didn't want to screw this up. Percy was willing to help. He hoped this meant that he would be able to get his potions grade up and please, Professor McGonagall.

Fun Football Fact

In 1948, the Rams became the first team to have a helmet insignia. The distinctive Ram horns were hand-painted onto the helmets by the team's halfback, Fred Gehrke.