Not surprisingly, talk of the Vanishing Cabinet incident surpassed talk of even the upcoming Quidditch match that week – the vast majority of Hogwarts' population hadn't even known the school had a Vanishing Cabinet, and now everyone was eager to find out exactly what they were and what they did. Hogwarts had rarely seen so many students flocking to the library outside of exam time, and once they had, the conversations and rumors grew even more. The biggest mystery was what had happened to the Cabinet – the wreckage, of course, had been cleared away, but nobody seemed to know where it had gone. The only story everyone seemed to agree on was that Filch had failed yet again to expel Peeves from the school despite that his latest prank could have easily killed someone if Lisa hadn't shouted in time. No, despite the caretaker's best efforts, the castle's resident poltergeist was seen writing rude words on chalkboards and pelting first-years with inkwells just days later, his pranks back to their usual irritating but ultimately harmless status.
On the second Saturday in November, the students put aside their theories about the Cabinet and hurried down to the Quidditch pitch, hoping for good seats for the opening match of the season – Gryffindor hadn't opened against Slytherin since Harry's second year, and the rivalry always made for a good contest. Fourteen blurs of scarlet and emerald raced onto the field and took their positions to the cheers of the crowd, and Madam Hooch signaled for Harry and Bletchley to shake hands.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to today's game." Harry, who had just flown into position to await Madam Hooch's whistle, turned to the commentator's box and groaned. Lee Jordan, of course, was no longer a Hogwarts student, which meant that the position he'd so long held was now vacant, and it seemed that the first applicant was someone Harry thoroughly disliked: Zacharias Smith, the Hufflepuff Seeker. Smith had made several less-than-complimentary remarks at the first D.A. meeting the previous year, and he had seemingly perfected the art of talking down his nose to people.
"In the lineup for Gryffindor today, we have Chasers Bell, Robins, and Ginny Weasley, Beaters Coote and Peakes, Keeper Ron Weasley, and Seeker and Captain Harry Potter. Many might question some of Potter's choices, especially with regards to the Keeper position – backup Keeper Cormac McLaggen is clearly the superior talent, but apparently being the brother of the captain's girlfriend gets you extra points." Boos rang through the Gryffindor stands at Smith's announcement, and Harry vowed to hex the skinny blond boy the first chance he got. Ron had out-flown McLaggen at the trials – not by much, but he had – and McLaggen's pompous attitude and inability to perform as a member of a team instead of a self-centered individual meant that he had about as much chance of making the starting squad as Filch had of suddenly liking the students – in other words, none whatsoever. Harry hadn't missed the subtle dig at Ginny, either, and that was where Smith had really gone too far – unlike her brother's unfortunate tendency to doubt himself, Ginny was unquestionably one of the most talented Quidditch players in the whole school and would have earned her spot without a second thought from Harry even if he hadn't known her at all.
"Taking the field for Slytherin are Chasers Black, Urquhart, and Vaisey, Beaters Crabbe and Goyle, Seeker Harper, and Keeper and Captain Bletchley. Make of their roster what you will." This time it was the Slytherins' turn to jeer at Smith, and if Harry were being totally honest, he felt like joining in. If Smith's goal had been to make everyone hate him before the match had even begun, he'd succeeded wholeheartedly. As if sensing the discord ringing throughout the stands, Madam Hooch gave a shrill blast on her whistle and tossed the Quaffle skyward, setting the game in motion.
"And the Quaffle is immediately taken by Draco Black of Slytherin…"
The match was just like any other featuring Gryffindor and Slytherin – fast and furious. The Chaser trios were reasonably well matched, Gryffindor perhaps having a slight edge. The scarlet-clad players did take several hard hits from Bludgers, though – Peakes and Coote did their best, but there was nothing they could do about the fact that Crabbe and Goyle were easily twice their size, if not larger, and therefore had more brute strength to begin with. Harry himself was almost unseated by one of the vicious black balls, but he managed to get out of the way just in time.
"Black scores, and it's sixty-forty in favor of Slytherin. Keeper Weasley tosses the Quaffle to Bell, and play continues…"
The game continued in this manner for well over an hour, and slowly but surely, Slytherin began to drive up the score as Ron's resolve began to falter. The redheaded Keeper had made half a dozen truly excellent saves, but enough goals had gotten by that Harry could tell he was beginning to doubt himself.
"And I do believe that Harper has spotted the Snitch," Smith drawled. Harry whipped around in time to see Harper streaking towards the Slytherin goalposts, a small fleck of gold visible near the right hoop. Harry wasted no time in flattening himself to the handle of his broom and rocketing forward like a javelin. The Snitch rounded the goalpost, now more towards the center hoop, but Harper was still far closer. Ginny tossed the Quaffle through the right hoop then, but Slytherin was still ahead by thirty points.
"Come on!" Harry urged his broom. "Faster!" He ducked as a Bludger narrowly missed him, then stifled an elated shout when he realized said Bludger was headed directly towards Harper. The Slytherin Seeker was forced to swerve wildly in order to avoid it, and Harry jumped on the chance and sped forward, closing his hand over the Snitch as quickly as he could. He turned around in time to see Peakes grinning madly at him and his friends jumping and shouting in the stands.
"And Gryffindor wins, two hundred to eighty," Smith said, his sour expression reminiscent of one who'd swallowed a lemon. The Gryffindor team sank back to the ground amidst high-fives and hugs, ready for a celebration, while the Slytherins huffed and made a beeline for their locker room, the close loss obviously smarting.
"Party in the common room!" someone shouted as the jubilant Gryffindors began making their way back to the castle. The team members laughed and promised to arrive as soon as they could.
"Are we waiting for Draco?" Ginny asked as she packed away her Quidditch things and straightened her jumper.
"If he and Hermione aren't already otherwise occupied," Harry said, wiggling his eyebrows. Ginny burst into laughter and smacked his arm.
"Stop making fun of your brother, you arse. It's certainly not a bad thing if he's in love."
"No, it's not," Harry agreed with a chuckle. "Shall we?" He offered his arm to Ginny, and the two hurried out of the locker room. Draco and Hermione were waiting for them just outside the entrance to the Quidditch pitch, Draco's hand resting against the small of Hermione's back in a gesture that was obvious to their companions but virtually unnoticeable to anyone else.
"I do believe there's a party waiting for us," Hermione said with a grin as she stepped forward to hug each of them in turn.
"There's one for us, too," Draco said. "A pity party."
"Oh, stop it," Hermione scolded, rolling her eyes. "You played very well; it's not your fault that your Seeker couldn't stomach the thought of getting hit by a Bludger."
"He couldn't pull a Harry, you mean," Draco said with a laugh. "Or a you, come to think of it." In the past, Harry and Hermione had both received nasty hits from Bludgers while in pursuit of the Snitch, and on both occasions they'd persevered and won the game for Gryffindor.
"It's that reckless Gryffindor bravery," Harry said teasingly. "We Lions are too stubborn to even think of leaving the Snitch behind, so we always win."
"Keep telling yourself that," Draco retorted, though his tone was light as well. The four friends continued their banter all the way up to the castle, where Draco bid them goodbye in the entrance hall and left the Gryffindors to continue up to their tower common room.
The party was in full swing when they climbed through the portrait hole, and they hurried to grab food and drink before it was all gone – in addition to their 'reckless bravery', as Harry had put it, Gryffindors definitely liked to eat. The three friends nearly lost their appetites, however, when they spotted Ron, who was standing in the middle of the room snogging Lavender Brown as if his life depended on it. Lavender was participating with equal enthusiasm, and it was far more than any of them had ever wanted to see.
"Ugh, get a room!" Ginny called loudly. Ron tore his mouth from Lavender's with a loud smacking noise and glared at his sister.
"Like I haven't seen you doing the same thing," he retorted. "C'mon, Lav – let's go find somewhere private, shall we?" Lavender giggled and laced her fingers with Ron's before following him out of the portrait hole, making sure to send Hermione a vindictive glare before the portrait swung shut.
"What was that about?" Ginny asked in bewilderment.
"Lavender probably thinks she's getting back at me for saying that my relationship with Draco meant far more than all of her slagging around," Hermione replied, not looking fussed in the slightest. Harry whistled lowly.
"You said that, Maya?"
"Of course I did," Hermione snapped. "Parvati asked about our Potions class on the first day back – you know, since she's not taking it anymore – and I told her about it. Lavender started making rude comments when I mentioned Slughorn had shown us Amortentia, and I told her off."
"She does seem rather difficult, doesn't she?" Ginny agreed. "I do hope my dear brother knows what he's getting into – Merlin knows he's been desperate for a snog for ages now, but this really isn't the best way for him to go about it." The trio decided to drop that line of conversation for the time being, found themselves empty seats near the fire, and tucked in to their snacks.
"By the way, Fleur owled me the other day to say she's definitely joining us for Christmas," Ginny said conversationally.
"Wait, what?" Harry asked. "Fleur, as in Fleur Delacour, from Beauxbatons? Not that it isn't great to hear from her, but why?"
"Because she's dating my brother?" Ginny said slowly, as if this were obvious. When Harry and Hermione merely gaped at her, she muttered, "Must not have told you that."
"Er, no," Harry said, still looking nonplussed.
"Fleur's dating Bill – my eldest brother, you remember him from the World Cup? Fleur got a job at Gringotts after she left Beauxbatons – wanted to improve her English – and Bill transferred to the London branch last year so he could better help the Order," Ginny explained. "They hit it off almost immediately and have been seeing each other for just over six months now."
"Six months?" Hermione repeated. "And you didn't tell us?"
"Hey, we were a bit preoccupied with other things this summer!" Ginny defended. "And then I guess what with Quidditch, O.W.L. year, and all that, I just forgot."
"Ok, I'll give you the preoccupied over the summer excuse, but the rest is kind of lame, Gin," Harry said, grinning cheekily at her. Ginny reached over and punched his arm in response.
"Merlin, woman!" Harry yelped. "Twice in one day? That's abuse."
"Oh, stop it, you big baby," Ginny said, blowing him a kiss.
"Play nice, you two," Hermione chided, eliciting a fresh wave of laughter from her friends. "I'm glad they're together – it sounds like they're very happy, and they must be at least somewhat serious if Bill's bringing her 'round for Christmas."
"I think they are," Ginny said happily. "I had a hard time warming up to Fleur at first – she was so standoffish, you know? – but we write regularly now, and she's not bad at all. Now if we could just give Lupin and Tonks a push in the right direction…" She wiggled her eyebrows much as Harry had done back in the locker room.
"Lupin and Tonks?" Harry repeated. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. Tonks won't ever admit it, but just watch how she acts around him – she's mad for him, and the few times I've seen them together, I'd wager that Lupin's at least marginally interested as well."
"The Order's turning into one big love fest," Harry quipped, shaking his head. Ginny shrugged.
"Better that than being stuck with the Death Eaters," she said, and they all shuddered.
"Didn't need to think about that, Gin," Harry muttered. Ginny snorted.
"You're welcome, love. You're welcome."
Now that the opening Quidditch match was out of the way, the students' focus turned to the fast-approaching holidays. The first week of December, the castle took on its usual decorations, including enchanted garlands glittering on the banisters, everlasting icicles, and the standard dozen Christmas trees in the Great Hall. The D.A. threw Tracey a birthday party that weekend, as she had just turned seventeen, and Professor Flitwick taught them several holiday-related charms in class. Everyone was eagerly anticipating the holidays, and the Hogwarts Express carried loads of good cheer as it journeyed back to London on the last day of term.
Harry, Hermione, and Draco returned to Surrey for Christmas, Dumbledore having determined that their safe house was indeed still that – Bob Granger had been staying with Sirius during his recovery period, and so it was only natural that they all remained at the Potter-Black house for the holidays. Christmas Day, however, was spent at Grimmauld Place, where they enjoyed a mountain of food courtesy of Molly Weasley, as well as the company of their friends and family. Gifts were exchanged, carols were sung, and everyone agreed that the holiday was one of the best days they'd had in a long while. The Surrey contingent spent that night at Grimmauld Place, as did the Weasleys, and the teenagers were enjoying some relaxation time in the girls' room before bed when Ginny suddenly sat bolt upright, her eyes wide.
"Gin?" Fred asked, as he was the first to notice her expression.
"I've got it," she whispered.
"Got what?" Ron asked. His question was distorted by a mouthful of Cauldron Cake.
"I need to talk to Harry, Draco, and Hermione," Ginny said quickly. "Alone." The three she'd named immediately looked interested, while Ron began to protest.
"Ron, just shut up, please," Ginny said. "We were having such a nice night; don't ruin it. And I only need them for five minutes, but this is really important. I promise you can all come back as soon as I'm done." Ron was still reluctant to leave, but he knew better than to argue with the girl who produced the best Bat-Bogey Hex in all of Hogwarts, and he and the twins eventually left the room.
"Alright, spill," Draco demanded as soon as Fred had shut the door. "What did you mean?"
"I've got it," Ginny repeated, her brown eyes sparkling with excitement. "I think I've figured out what the Gryffindor-Slytherin line in the prophecy means."
"What?" Harry gasped. "How? What do you think it means?"
"I've been thinking about it ever since you told me what Dumbledore showed you in the Pensieve," Ginny said quickly. "And after spending such a wonderful day with everyone I care about, I believe it even more. The one thing Voldemort doesn't understand – 'the enemy's ignorance' – is what drove your mum's actions that Halloween. It's what Merope Gaunt tried to imitate but couldn't, it's we feel for each other, and it's what we all felt in abundance today." Ginny clapped her hands and laughed.
"It's love, Harry. The enemy's ignorance is love."
A/N: And there you have it - the Gryffindor/Slytherin ring clue is a mystery no more! Major kudos to xxSecretShadowsxx for figuring it out beforehand! Now, what they'll do about it remains to be seen - I have a feeling you're all going to hate me by the end of the next chapter...whoops.
Thank you all, as always, for the follows/faves/reviews, & for reading! You're the best.
JKR owns all things Potter, I just play. Please R&R, & enjoy! :)