Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter or Oh My Goddess.
The gossip around the tables at dinner that evening revolved around the strange sense of unease that everybody in the castle had felt during lunch. None of the students knew what had caused it and the staff refused to talk about it. Harry listened to the theories that were being discussed around the Gryffindor table while he sawed at a loaf of bread. He turned as he heard a polite cough a short distance behind him. Twisting around on the bench, he saw Draco and his two hangers-on standing a respectful distance from the table.
"Hi there! It looks like your hand is OK." Harry said as he stood to greet the Malfoy heir.
"Yes, it didn't take long, though it felt like forever." Draco said as he moved a step closer. "Now that I'm well again I'd like to resume our discussions."
"Sure," Harry said with a glance to Neville, who nodded, "same time and place?"
"That will be fine," Draco replied with a slight drawl, "hopefully this time we won't be delayed by broken bones."
Harry grinned. "Let's hope. See you later, Malfoy."
Draco nodded and walked back to the Slytherin table. Harry sat down again and went back to cutting slices of bread. Hermione looked up from her soup and glanced at where Draco had gone.
"What discussions have you been having with Malfoy, Harry?" Hermione asked diffidently.
"He's trying to persuade me that magic should be left to Purebloods only. I'm trying to convince him that the non-magical world has a lot to offer the magical world." Harry replied as he reached for the butter.
Hermione looked intrigued. "Really? How are you doing with that?"
Harry laughed briefly. "So far we've only had the one time to talk, as that broom broke his hand before we could meet again. So I guess we're both trying to figure each other out."
Hermione nodded, glancing at Neville. "Um, is there a chance I could come? I used to be part of my school's debating team."
Harry paused, and then looked at Neville with a raised eyebrow. Neville looked thoughtful.
"Well, we could use some help to get our points across," Neville said after some consideration, "but Malfoy's not that tolerant of anybody who isn't a Pureblood. He only talks to Harry because he's the heir to the Potter family. He'd probably ignore everything you had to say purely because your Muggleborn."
Harry noticed that Hermione was looking downcast, and quickly jumped in on the end of Neville's explanation. "Look, we'd appreciate the help. I don't really know how to get my point across and Neville has little experience in the non-magical world. Maybe you could help me get some notes put together?"
Hermione brightened up at that, while Ron just looked confused. "What's the point? It isn't like Malfoy is going to change his mind," he asked.
Harry regarded the red-head. "Well, he might. I won't know if I don't try, will I?"
Ron shook his head. "Just look at his father. He was one of the top Death Eaters, and has tried to push through anti-Muggle laws in the Wizengamot several times."
Harry looked to Neville again, who just nodded. "That's true, but Draco isn't his father. We at least owe him the courtesy of hearing him out and trying to show him the good side of the Muggle world." Neville replied.
"Why don't you help us as well, Ron? You might have some ideas that we would miss." Harry asked.
Ron looked a little surprised, then puzzled. "Well, OK. Just so long as I don't have to talk to Malfoy myself. I just don't know what I can do to help."
"Don't worry, we won't force you two together," Harry said with a smile, "and don't worry if you can't think of anything at first. This will be a matter of learning as we go."
After the "broom incident" life at Hogwarts settled into a comfortable routine. Harry found himself in a regular pattern of classes, Quidditch training, homework, socialising with his friends and talking about the future of magical society with Draco. Even Professor Snape seemed to have stopped his harassment of Harry, the worst behaviour being the occasional dirty look during class. This change in behaviour was noticed by many, and was the topic of some lengthy discussion that ultimately came up with no firm conclusions. Harry knew from his letters from home that Sirius and Aunty Bell had met with the Potions Professor, but he could get no more details beyond that. He decided that whatever had happened at the meeting, the result was a welcome drop in the level of hostility.
Hagrid had written to Harry to extend an invitation to his hut for tea. Harry went along with Ron, Neville and Hermione to discover that the Keeper of the Keys was very talkative and friendly, even if his baking skills left a lot to be desired. As Hagrid was willing to tell stories about what the parents of Harry, Neville and Ron had done when they were at Hogwarts, the students made a point of visiting the half-giant at least once a week.
Harry's discussions with Draco quickly evolved into lengthy debates that saw both boys putting considerable effort into researching their arguments. Hermione rapidly became engrossed in her research into the culture of Britain's magical society while Ron often offered insights into magical/muggle relations that he had heard from his father. Neville quickly established himself as an umpire for the debates, keeping the atmosphere calm and polite. Harry felt that he was unlikely to persuade Draco around to his point of view, but he was learning so much about the new society he had entered that he was never reluctant to go to another meeting.
Working with his friends on the debates extended into collaborating on homework assignments. At first Ron was thoroughly disinterested in the work, and was far more keen on playing Wizard Chess. Harry indulged him a bit, and discovered that Ron was actually very good at the game. Eventually, though, Harry decided to bring Ron back to reality.
"Ron, let me tell you about my Aunty Skuld," Harry began one evening after Ron asked for another game.
"OK," Ron said warily.
"When she was a teenager, she dropped out of school to join her sisters in Japan. My Aunty Bell had gone to Japan on an exchange program and Aunty Skuld wanted to be with her," Harry said.
"Right," Ron replied.
"The problem was that when she arrived in England, she still hadn't finished her schooling," Harry went on, "and she had to catch up several years of work very rapidly."
Neville looked up from an essay he was writing. "Where was she going to school before she went to Japan?"
"The Norwegian Magical Academy. They couldn't go to Durmstrang because they weren't purebloods." Harry answered, before he looked back to Ron. "The thing is that when she was catching up on all the missed work, she was doing little else other than attend class. From morning to evening she'd only have time for short breaks from working, and that was on weekends as well."
Ron looked horrified at the idea of losing his weekends.
Harry continued, "So you can see that it is a good idea to get your work done without putting it off for too long. Because sometimes a little work now saves a lot of work later. Let's get our homework done then play chess, that way we get it out of the way and we won't have to worry about it."
Ron reluctantly agreed and settled down next to Harry and Neville to work on his Charms essay. Harry found that while Ron and Neville both had a hard time explaining himself in essays, their understanding of the material was usually pretty good. Harry found himself thankful that his previous school had taught him how to write essays, as it helped him guide Ron and Neville in their own writing.
Time seemed to pass quickly under the new routine, which meant that Harry was surprised to find that Halloween had arrived. Halloween had not been a very big event in Hinckley, with most celebrations being private affairs for friends and family. Harry's own family had marked the occasion with small parties and Halloween decorations, but there had been no "trick or treating" or widespread celebration that Harry had ever noticed.
The morning of Halloween had seen the first year Gryffindors attending another Charms lesson. There was some excitement in the classroom, as Professor Flitwick had started the lesson by announcing that it was time to learn the levitation charm.
"Now remember," Professor Flitwick said as he concluded his explanation, "pronunciation is key. It is Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, with a nice long 'gar' in the first word. And don't forget to swish and flick!"
As the students started to try and levitate their feathers, Harry thought back to his previous magical lessons. Harry remembered levitating objects with Aunty Bell during his magic lessons at home, but he had not used a wand or words for that. He concentrated on trying to "feel" his magic the way that Aunty Bell had helped him with, moving his wand and saying the words quietly with closed eyes. After two attempts he felt something similar to his lessons with Aunty Bell and opened his eyes to see his feather floating a good foot off the desk.
Harry looked around and saw that Seamus had managed to set fire to his feather and was busy beating it out. Ron was at the next desk over with Hermione and seemed to be having no luck at all.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" the frustrated red-head cried, waving his arm wildly. The feather refused to budge, and Ron just looked annoyed.
"You're saying it wrong," Hermione snapped, "you need to emphasise the 'gar' in Wingardium."
"Well if you're so good, why don't you do it?" Ron retorted.
Harry leant over and put a hand on Ron's arm just as Hermione seemed to be drawing breath to reply.
"Calm down, Ron. You can't force this, so let's start again from the beginning, OK?" Harry said gently, earning an irritated glance from Ron. The other boy just nodded, and relaxed his arms a bit.
"Put your wand down for the moment and just close your eyes. Take ten deep breaths, count them off. Relax your muscles and think of something else for a minute." Harry went on. Ron looked at Harry curiously, but followed the instructions. Soon Ron looked a lot more relaxed.
"OK, pick up your wand and let's try it from scratch. Practice the swish and flick first, don't say the words, just try the wand movements. Don't put too much effort in, small movements will do." Harry said, trying to remember how Aunty Bell and Aunty Urd had coached him through difficult lessons.
Ron practiced his wand movement a few times, with Harry placing a hand on his shoulder whenever the movements got too large.
"OK, that looks good. Now let's try that with the words - and remember that pronunciation is important, it is wing-GAR-dee-um LEV-ee-OH-suh." Harry said, making sure to emphasise the syllables of the spell.
Ron tried again, and managed to float the feather a few inches off the desk.
"That's got it. Just practice that a few times, and remember to keep calm and don't force it. I have a hard time casting anything when I'm frustrated, so I have to calm down when I'm practicing something tricky." Harry finished as he straightened up and looked back to his own desk.
"Thanks, Harry." Ron said as he looked at his feather.
Harry caught Hermione's eye, as the girl had been watching the impromptu tutoring session closely. He nodded briefly before he turned back to the lesson.
Once the class had finished, Harry told Neville to take Ron back to the Gryffindor Common Room for a game of Wizard Chess before the next class started. Neville looked at Harry strangely at the request, but saw that Harry was eyeing off Hermione who was still packing her belongings away.
"OK, Harry, I'll get Ron to relax," Neville said as he went over to Ron and lead the boy off. Harry sighed as he went up to Hermione and handed the girl one of her textbooks.
"Oh, thanks Harry. Did you want something?" Hermione said as she looked up. Harry nodded.
"Yes, I wanted to have a quick chat before the next class." Harry replied as the two started to leave the classroom.
"What about?" Hermione asked curiously as they reached the door.
Harry sighed again. "Look, I know you were just trying to help Ron back there," he began. Hermione bristled before he could get any further.
"Do you have a problem with me helping people in class?" Hermione asked acidly.
Harry just looked at her steadily until the girl shifted uncomfortably. "No," he said at length, "but you need to be careful when you give advice. Ron was frustrated back there and I could tell that your tone was just annoying him even more. If I hadn't got him to calm down then things could have gotten very nasty back there."
"So, what, I'm just supposed to let him find his own way?" Hermione replied in a sarcastic tone.
"No," Harry said as tactfully as he could as the two resumed walking, "but you need to be a bit more diplomatic about it. The way you were acting back there was just a little too bossy for somebody like Ron."
Hermione looked hurt. "You think I'm just a know-it-all, don't you," she said in a sad tone. Harry shook his head vigorously.
"No, I don't," he said quickly, "I know from what we've done for my debates with Draco that you like helping people, particularly with studying. But teaching others is difficult and there are times when you need to be very careful in how you handle somebody's feelings."
Hermione looked at him curiously. "How do you know this anyway?"
Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Well, part of it is from watching some of the teachers at my old school deal with angry kids in class. Some of them would just shout, and always had trouble in their classrooms. But there were a few who would do what I did back there - calm the kids down, get them to relax and then start over again slowly. My Aunt once pointed those teachers out as being better at getting people to learn."
Hermione nodded. "I think I see your point," she said after a minute or two of reflection, "I've never really taught anybody before."
Harry smiled at her. "Just remember that you're trying to help somebody learn, rather than tell them what to do," he said, remembering something that Aunty Bell had once told him, "especially when we're all about the same age."
"Fine," Hermione huffed, "now when does our next class start?"
"We've still got plenty of time," Harry said has he opened the door to an empty classroom, "how about we talk about our old schools while we wait?"
Dinner that evening saw the Great Hall festooned with more Halloween decorations than Harry had ever seen before in his life. While he appreciated the effort, he thought the thousands of bats swooping around was a bit over the top.
Harry was listening to Hermione and Neville discuss some aspect of their Herbology textbook when Professor Quirrell ran into the hall shouting something about a troll in the dungeons. The feast came to a rapid end as the Headmaster called for all students to return to their dormitories.
As the students were herded towards their respective dormitories, Harry glanced at Ron.
"How did a troll get inside the castle? I thought this place was supposed to be secure."
Ron shrugged as they reached a set of stairs. "No idea. Maybe it found an old entrance that hadn't been sealed up properly. They're really strong so it could have forced something open."
"Will we be safe in the dormitory?" Hermione asked, looking around nervously.
"Sure," Ron replied, "Percy said that the doors to the dorms are charmed to be unbreakable."
Harry thought that the whole incident was very odd. He decided that he would write to his family about later.
Later that evening, Dumbledore frowned as he contemplated the reports he had received. The troll had been found and removed from the castle, but it had been up on the third floor rather than the dungeons. Furthermore he had a report from Professor Snape to the effect that he had found Professor Quirrell approaching the secure room on the third floor.
It did not make any sense. Quirrell had no obvious ties to Voldemort, so unless he had been an unmarked follower there was no reason for the man to be doing the Dark Lord's bidding. Furthermore, releasing a troll into the castle and trying to use it as a distraction while he went after the Stone seemed to be an extremely clumsy plan from somebody of Riddle's demonstrated tactical ability.
Dumbledore decided that while it was unlikely that Quirrell was working for Voldemort, the man's actions required more scrutiny. He resolved to discuss the matter with Severus in the morning.
For Harry, the weeks following Halloween were full of Quidditch. His first game was coming up, and as a result Oliver Wood had decided to go full bore with the training regimen. The Gryffindor Team found itself being woken up early most days for pre-breakfast Quidditch drills, followed by after-dinner training sessions that came perilously close to violating curfew. Harry found the training to be exhausting but also extremely useful, as he learned a lot about how to be a Seeker in a team. While he was restricted to catching the Snitch, there was nothing in the rules that prevented him from flying to distract the opposition if he had the opportunity. Wood had originally wanted Harry to stay up and out of the way, worried about having the Slytherin Beaters target a 1st Year Seeker, but Harry's demonstrated skill with the broom had seen a change in tactics.
Learning to coordinate his actions with those of the rest of the team was difficult, but Harry recalled several games of his Quidditch "board game" during which Remus had used his Seeker model to completely bamboozle Sirius and allow for a few extra goals. With those memories firmly in mind, Harry was able to come up with a style that seemed to work with the rest of the team. The Weasley twins quickly caught on to Harry's approach and adjusted their own plays to suit, resulting in plays which had Harry flying to disguise the Bludgers from the view of the opposition.
When the day of the game finally dawned, Harry found that he had little appetite at breakfast. It took Hermione and Neville between them to get him to eat anything. As Harry was nervously pushing scraps of bacon around his plate, he was interrupted by the arrival of Hedwig. Taking her place on Harry's shoulder, she held out her leg to reveal a letter. Harry took the letter and gave Hedwig a scrap of bacon from his plate, which she devoured gleefully before flying off to the owlery. Harry watched his pet fly off as he absently opened the letter.
"What is it?" Neville asked as he saw Harry's face relax a bit.
"It's from Aunty Bell," Harry said with some warmth, "she wanted me to know that she will be attending today's game with my godfather and his friend."
Ron looked up from his toast. "Who's your godfather?"
Harry put the letter away and returned to his breakfast before he answered. "Sirius Black. He bought me my broom as well."
Hermione looked over curiously. "Is a godparent something special in the magical world?"
Harry tuned out the conversation as Neville explained just what a magical godparent's role and responsibilities were. He had not mentioned the words of encouragement that his Aunty Bell had included in the letter. Somehow just reading them had improved his mood a lot.
Belldandy looked around the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch with interest as Sirius and Remus cast warming charms around their seats. "I had no idea that Hogwarts had a ground like this," she marvelled.
Sirius chuckled as he put his wand away. "This was all built with money donated by former students who were all big Quidditch fans. There are bigger Quidditch pitches around but this is the largest of any school in Europe."
Remus nodded as he eyed the crowd carefully. "I never played, but even the most studious Ravenclaws take time out to watch these games."
"Well it is a very exciting sport," Belldandy said brightly as she looked in the direction of the Gryffindor team rooms, "I've certainly enjoyed the games I've been to."
Sirius nodded as he held up a cup for Remus to pour tea into. "Why didn't Keiichi come today? We could have got him here in spite of him being a muggle."
Belldandy shook her head gently as she accepted the cup of tea from Sirius. "He doesn't like watching a game like this when he knows he cannot compete. I think he'll be happier looking after the children today. He does enjoy every moment he can spend with them."
"The game will be starting soon," Remus noted as he put his thermos of tea away, "do you think the game will be anything like the ones played when we were here?"
Sirius snorted gently as he watched his tea cool. "With Snivellous in charge of Slytherin, I imagine the snakes will be cheating just as much now as they did in our day. Which is one reason why I wanted to come along today."
"Ah, yes, your new position on the Hogwarts Board of Governors," Remus said with a broad smile, "I take it that you will be looking to raise some standards of behaviour?"
"Too right," Sirius replied as he glared in the general direction of the Hogwarts Potions Master, "this school has a code of conduct and I won't tolerate a bunch of snakes trampling it underfoot."
"Even though you ignored it at whim when pulling your pranks?" Belldandy asked innocently, causing both men to shift uneasily. "Never mind, here come the players."
"...and I want a good, clean game." Madam Hooch finished, looking directly at the Slytherin Team who all looked a bit bored. The Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, just glared at the Gryffindors as if he wanted to duel them rather than play Quidditch. Harry glanced at Oliver Wood, who rolled his eyes.
Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and both teams quickly rose into the air. Harry quickly flew up to a position that was generally considered to be the best place for a Seeker to start the game, as it offered a good view of the entire field of play while remaining close enough to the area that would see the most action with the Quaffle. From here he would be able to assist his fellow team mates while keeping an eye out for the Snitch.
Harry could hear Lee Jordan's commentary in the background, punctuated by frequent interjections from Professor McGonagall. Angelina Johnson had taken the Quaffle and had started to weave her way up the pitch. Harry saw the Slytherin beaters start to manoeuvre to set themselves up to send a bludger at the Gryffindor Chasers. After a quick look around for the Snitch, he dove down to try and run interference.
Swooping past the eye-line of the closest Slytherin Beater made him miss the Bludger completely, raising howls of anger from the Slytherin stands. Harry pulled up tightly to regain height, dodging the other Bludger in the process. As he returned to a good Seeker position, he noticed that Gryffindor had managed to score the first goal of the game.
Harry settled in to a search pattern that had been described in one of Wood's books on Quidditch tactics as he scanned the area for the Snitch. He saw the Weasley twins start to set up for one of their "disguised Bludger" plays that the team had developed when suddenly his broom started to buck like a wild horse.
Belldandy was thoroughly enjoying the high speed sport being play in front of her, but there was little that could take her attention away from watching her adopted son. Sirius and Remus were also watching Harry closely, but were also careful to observe the rest of the game.
"Hah, I knew it. Blatant foul there by that Slytherin Beater while Hooch was looking the other way," Remus growled as he lowered his omnioculars. Sirius grunted in acknowledgement, his own pair focused on the Slytherin Seeker.
"That one has been watching Harry more than he's been looking around for the Snitch," he muttered, "he's either going to try and steal the Snitch after Harry spots it or he's waiting for a chance to have a go at him."
Remus focused his attention on the player in question. "Probably looking for a steal, though how he expects to do it on that broom is beyond me. There's too much attention on the Seeker for the snakes to try anything obvious."
Belldandy suddenly gasped lightly, attracting the attention of her companions. "What is it, Belldandy?" Remus asked.
"Harry's broom - there's something wrong with it!" the young woman cried as she lowered her omnioculars to point.
Sirius and Remus quickly directed their attention to Harry and saw the boy trying hard to stay on as his broom bucked and jerked erratically. "Bloody hell, that looks like somebody is casting a Jinx on it! Who the bloody hell-" Sirius half-shouted.
Remus rapidly cast his eyes around the crowds, looking for anybody with their wand out. He saw nobody casting at Harry until he looked at the Slytherin stands.
"There! Snape has his wand out and is casting at Harry!" Remus snarled as he reached for his wand.
"No, stop! That's a counter-curse! Leave him alone!" Belldandy said quickly as she drew her wand from a wrist-holster. "I will take care of this."
Sirius and Remus started at the young woman in amazement as she went through a series of wand movements faster than the eye could follow while muttering under her breath. As she finished, a thin beam of silvery energy raced from her wand to Harry, enveloping the boy and his broom with a shield that quickly became invisible to the naked eye. The effect was instantaneous, as Harry's flight smoothed out immediately.
"There, that ought to keep him protected for the rest of the game," Belldandy said with satisfaction as her companions just blinked in shock, "any luck spotting who was casting the Jinx?"
Harry was breathing raggedly as his broom stopped trying to throw him off. Holding on had taken everything he had, and he was only now able to look around at the game in progress. The game had gone in during his difficulties, with Gryffindor slightly ahead on goals. The Weasley twins seemed to be preparing for another coordinated Bludger attack when Harry saw a flash of gold. The Snitch had finally made its appearance.
Harry started to race for the Snitch as quickly as he could, remembering to try and steer for where the Snitch would be rather than directly at it. This was hard as the Snitch would change direction at random, forcing Harry to make quick course corrections. Dodging a bludger that one of the Slytherin Beaters had sent in his direction, Harry was closing in on the Snitch when he noticed one of the Slytherin players approaching rapidly. Realising that it was the Slytherin Captain flying in to block him from the Snitch, Harry pulled into a barrel roll. Marcus Flint careened underneath Harry, having been caught out by the manoeuvre, leaving Harry to quickly resume his chase of the Snitch. The Snitch seemed to be able to sense Harry's approach, as it managed to jump out of Harry's reach the first few times he tried to catch it, but he finally caught it just as Angelina Johnson scored another goal.
Madam Hooch blew her whistle to mark the end of the game, and Harry quickly flew down to join his team mates.
"Well done! That was an excellent game all round!" Wood cried as the team gathered.
"Well, apart from Harry's broom trying to kill him," one of the Weasley twins said.
"Yes, I was a bit surprised when it tried to throw him off at over a hundred feet up," the other twin continued.
"Was this part of the plan or did you just add it to keep us on our toes?" the first twin finished.
Oliver looked at Harry with surprise. "I didn't see anything but I was watching for the Quaffle and Bludgers. Did something happen, Harry?"
Harry nodded as he looked at his broom. "It started bucking around in the middle of the game, and I could only just hang on to it. Luckily it stopped pretty quickly."
Alicia Spinnet, one of the other Chasers, looked at the broom carefully with a puzzled expression. "It's a brand new broom so the enchantments should be OK. Maybe we should ask Hooch to look over it for you."
"Good idea," Angelina said, "now let's go celebrate our win!"
Even as a party started in the Gryffindor common room, Albus Dumbledore found himself hosting Sirius Black in his office for another tense meeting.
And now he's on the Board of Governors. When it rains, it pours. Albus thought sourly as his guests made themselves comfortable. He cast a wary glance at Harry's adoptive mother, mindful of what had happened the last time she had been in this office. The presence of Belldandy Morisato was the principal reason for the absence of Professor Snape, for all that the Potions Master had played a significant role in the day's events.
"I'll be blunt, Headmaster," Sirius began, "there's something hideously wrong when any student has a Jinx Curse cast at their broom when they are flying. The fact that it happened to Harry, the 'Boy-Who-Lived,' just makes it seem very suspicious."
"I am aware of that," Dumbledore said carefully, "and I will be launching a thorough investigation to determine who it was that attacked Mr Potter in this way."
"Which won't get very far unless you're willing to check the wand of everybody who was at the game today," Remus interjected smoothly, "which we all know won't happen. So you're stuck looking at likely suspects, which would include every student who has a Death Eater in the family."
"Surely you cannot believe that any of the students would be capable of trying to kill Harry?" Dumbledore asked, shocked at the implications.
"I can easily believe it, and don't call me Shirley." Remus replied, knowing full well that the reference to muggle culture would fly right over Albus' head. "Sirius and I both saw examples of freshly graduated students taking the Dark Mark and indulging in horrific crimes just weeks after the NEWT exams back when we were students here. How many of the seventh years here have Death Eaters in the family?"
"There's no need to drag up unpleasant parts of the past," Albus blustered, "I think it is more likely that an adult was the culprit. The Jinx Curse is not taught here for obvious reasons, and the only books that include it are in the Restricted Section of the Library."
"So, assuming that none of the students with access to the Restricted Section is to blame," Sirius retorted, "you're now just looking at the staff and visiting family members? Such a small group to look at."
"I will investigate this thoroughly," Dumbledore said firmly, "you have my word on that."
"I'm sure you will," Belldandy replied in a pleasant tone, "but your ability to inquire will be limited. Would it not be best to notify the DMLE?"
"I think that would be going too far at this stage," Albus blurted out, "for all we know this was just a prank."
"Pretty extreme for a prank," Remus mused, "even the Marauders did not go so far as to risk anybody's life."
"Oh, really?" Albus remarked, glaring at Sirius, "perhaps your memory is slipping because I recall one occasion that almost went tragically wrong."
Sirius looked pained. "That event was never intended to go as far as it did. It was a case of verbal teasing that went badly wrong. This event could not possibly be anything other than malicious."
Belldandy stood up, prompting the others to follow suit. "I believe we have discussed this enough. We will defer to your judgement for the moment, Headmaster."
"Thank you," Dumbledore said with some relief.
"But, please remember one thing," Belldandy said as she turned towards the door, "we expect that you will notify us if anything else of this nature happens to Harry. And if he comes to harm due to the deliberate actions of anybody at this school..."
Belldandy turned back to the Headmaster and fixed him with a glare. Fawkes suddenly found the floor extremely interesting and fixed his gaze on it.
"I will be coming back to make my displeasure known in person. I will also bring the DMLE in to investigate it fully. Good day, Headmaster."
Author's notes: Yes, another long break between updates. Sorry about that. Thanks to everyone at Caer Azkaban who helped with this.
In the original book, Harry was told to fly high and stay out of the way during his first Quidditch game. This is a pretty good tactic for a player who is younger and smaller than every other player, not to mention inexperienced and not fully confident. This Harry has at least some background knowledge of Quidditch and is a lot more confident in himself, hence the greater participation in the game.
Next time: A Very Special Harry Potter Christmas. Sponsored by the makers of Butterbeer.