Chapter 13: The game of wizards
"Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting."
-George Orwell-
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As the wheel of time turned and the Earth entered the month of November, the weather turned very cold. The high mountains around the school became icy grey. The Forbidden Forest overnight turned from grim, green, and foreboding into a brilliant palette of yellows and reds and oranges almost overnight—and one night, about a week later, it turned from its brilliant display of color to grim, grey, and foreboding. The lake grew so cold that one could not touch its water without feeling like an icy knife had been plunged into their skin.
Every morning the students would wake to find frost covering the ground of Hogwarts. Some mornings it lay so heavy and was so cold, it was possible to snap off a thin ice-straw with a blade of grass inside of it. Most mornings Hagrid was seen wearing a giant moleskin coat, rabbit fur gloves, and beaver skin boots that were so large the first years could have used them for potato-sack races had they been so inclined, as he went about defrosting the brooms.
Gryffindors piled more logs on their fires. Ravenclaws went around with their wands in their hands and warming spells on their lips. The Slytherins put down comforters on their beds and were inclined to sleep late. But down in their little burrow-holes, the Hufflepuffs were quite warm.
On the first Thursday, in the Tower of Turmoil the High Lords of Chaos were debating how to properly usher in the Quidditch season which would start at the end of the week with the traditional season-opening Gryffindor/Slytherin game.
"…what do you think?" Justin finished his presentation.
Harry frowned slightly. Justin had only specified the Slytherin team, but it would be easy enough to adapt to get the Gryffindors as well—probably, they did have girls on their team and the Slytherins didn't, but that wasn't really an issue for Justin's idea. His real problem with it was that just didn't seem that funny or clever, but Cedric had a thoughtful look so maybe it was worth pursuing. He deliberately turned to Allie.
"You're the only Slytherin here," he said, unnecessarily stating something that everyone knew. Six weeks of cleaning the Tower and doing the work for their first prank had made for a harried learning experience in how to be 'First Lord', and only the fact that he was able to observe Thrace Capper acting as Quidditch Captain had allowed him—and thus the Chaos Lords as a whole—any chance of success.
Tonks collaborated with Allie on potions and trusted Padma to help her, under supervision, but while she was cheerful enough and willing to help when they struggled, Harry also knew that he and the other first years were painfully behind her. A couple of the pranks she had thought up of they wouldn't have had a chance of pulling off, but had been written down for future use. Cedric was also helpful, and unlike Tonks he was enough closer to their level, but he was more reserved and tended to sit back and watch when they were brainstorming. He was closest to Tonks and Harry, probably because they were both on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. The twins, and Justin and Ernie, had settled into their own little competing blocks that could be surprising harsh at times, which, from the look on Parvati's face, they could be getting close to.
Allie tended to sit a bit apart from the others. Aside from their collaborative work on potions she seldom had anything to do with Tonks; more because they didn't have much else in common than anything else, Harry thought. She and Padma had been spending a lot of free time together as the Ravenclaw desperately tried to help the Slytherin's flagging Transfiguration and Charms grades. But even there Harry suspected her and the twins' friendship hadn't changed much from what they had had before he and Allie had met.
That had created problems for Harry because while Justin and Ernie were both more or less accepting of a Slytherin in their midst (unlike Ron who had stopped speaking to him before the Troll Incident and still avoided him whenever Allie was around), neither, and especially Ernie, didn't care for how he deferred to her.
Taking note of Thrace occasionally using player's positions when teaching them a new play or getting their perspective of a play they were trying, he'd started adding a person's house or a specific talent. He was pretty sure Tonks knew what he was doing and why, and he did know that Allie did. That didn't matter all that much, Tonks knew she was out at the end of the year and just wanted to have some fun, while Allie had no desire at all to be in charge. But he wondered how long it would be before Justin and Ernie called him on it.
Allie shrugged in response to his question. "I don't really care, so long as it gets repeated on the Gryffindor team as well."
Harry nodded. She had told him that she didn't follow Quidditch, and had been indifferent to the proposed prank to start the Quidditch season. He started to turn away, but she smirked at Justin and deliberately added, "Fair play, and all that."
His dorm-mate bristled at being called on the perceived lapse given the Hufflepuff credo, but didn't otherwise respond to it.
"Parvati?" Harry asked, turning to the only Gryffindor.
"No," Parvati said flatly.
Justin turned to her. "Are you—"
"No," she repeated, crossing her arms.
"I can't think of any other way of targeting just the players, can any of you?" Justin asked challengingly.
Cedric might have preferred to sit back, but he was also a moderating influence that Harry was extremely grateful for because he leaned forward and defused the impending argument with a simple observation. "Only if we can get them while they're in the locker rooms." Cedric paused and looked at Harry.
Recognizing his cue, Harry jumped back in. "You have to admit, it'd be easier to get them while they're in there, Justin."
"Yeah, but the rest of it won't work," Justin said.
"So we'll just have to come up with something else," Harry told him. He turned to Allie, "Can you get us in?"
"No," Allie said.
Cedric turned in his seat to look at her. "I thought you said that your estimate a couple weeks ago was too conservative, that you'd have the passes ready in the next few days?"
"I was wrong," she said flatly. "I thought it was a straightforward enchantment on the house badges since only the team Captains have their own badges. Now I'm not sure, and I don't have access to a locker-room to double check. Also, the blanks I'd prefer to use are on back-order."
"What's a blank?" Justin asked.
"Something that doesn't have any magic in it but that can be enchanted," Ernie said. "Usually it refers to something that there are a lot of, and that are expected to have identical enchantments on."
"Oh, mass-produced stuff. Like the House badges before we put the runes on them?"
"Exactly," Ernie said, "though in that case I think it'd be more appropriate to call them blanks before the Hogwarts charms and wards and stuff were put on them."
"Are you sure there has to be something?" Tonks asked. "I don't think I ever tried getting in before I was on the team. Maybe the locker rooms are open to everyone in the house."
"I've tried the door of the Slytherin side without getting it to budge, so it isn't simply a matter of House membership. There has to be something that recognizes team membership and I don't know what that is. I know it exists, I can account for it, but I can't quantify it, which means when I make a pass I'm duplicating a lot of extraneous stuff as well."
"How many do you have completed?" Harry asked.
"Three," Allie said. "One for each house except Hufflepuff. But I can't guarantee that they'll actually work, Harry."
"Three people may be doable," Harry said.
Allie shook her head. "They're effectively team badges, Harry. Each has to be tied to one person. The bearers effectively becomes a member of that quidditch team, but that doesn't mean that the bearers can violate the wizard/witch barrier.
"What about Polyjuice?" Padma asked.
"Polyjuice?" Harry asked.
"It's a potion," Cedric said. "I don't recall the potion being discussed until second year."
"It was used as an example of a potion that requires the addition of a body part—bit of hair, a fingernail, something like that—to become effective," Padma told him. "I looked it up."
"For those of us who aren't Hermione, what does it do?" Parvati asked. Her sister glowered at her.
"It lets the drinker assume the appearance of one person for one hour per dose," Tonks spoke up. "The recipe is complicated, but straightforward—"
"And it takes a month to brew," Allie finished.
"But we don't really need it do we?" Harry asked, "after all, we have Tonks."
"Why do I suddenly feel nervous?" the seventh-year asked.
"What are you thinking of?" Cedric asked. "Tonks can't go in the guy's side locker rooms, and how would we keep someone from noticing a copy of a person walking around? Even in Hogwarts duplicating yourself isn't an everyday occurrence."
"We'd have to find a way to keep people from noticing anyway if we used poly-whatever," Padma said.
"We're over-thinking this," Justin said.
Everyone stopped and looked at him.
"Go on," Harry said.
"The locker rooms don't have two exterior entrances," Justin said. "They have one, and then an entry room with two doors that split to the different sides. Just like the last room. Look," he gestured to the sketch of the Hufflepuff locker room they had been using for a reference, indicating the tiered-room with the model of the pitch, "See how it has one door leading from each half of the locker room and then it has the pitch-side entrance?
"If the only barriers are on the front and rear doors, then whoever has the badge just needs to get people into the entrance room at a time when the locker rooms are otherwise empty."
"We don't know if that's the case, Justin," Cedric said. "As far as I know nobody from one House has been inside another House's team locker room, or, for that matter, that anyone not on the team has been in one. For all we know there could be a ward or something to alert the teachers if someone from another House wandered into our team's locker room."
"We can test that ourselves," Harry said. "I can try letting Ernie and Justin in to show them around, and if that works and nothing happens I can try showing Allie. If nothing happens then we know the badge is only needed to get past the outer doors."
"And if something does happen?" Cedric asked.
"Then he was showing us around," Ernie said with a shrug. "Everyone knows that he's friends with us, and with Allie."
"Except that Allie is a girl," Tonks said.
"Oh," Ernie said as Harry grimaced. Then he went on and voiced what Harry had only thought, "Yeah, I forgot about that. Sorry."
"No problem," Allie said dryly. "I think Ernie's on to something. Still, we should probably test it. Tonks?"
"Not much choice, is there?" the older teen asked. "I'll sneak you in. If anyone shows up I'll just say that I was checking to see if there was a ward or something that would keep the Weasley twins out."
"You think that's enough?" Cedric asked.
"I'm a Slytherin, remember? We don't do anything for just one reason," Allie said. "The Slytherins don't let girls play on their team. I can tell Professor Sprout I was thinking of transferring houses next year so that I could try out and that I wanted a look at one of the locker rooms first. She'll eat up the whole discrimination thing and it'll tweak Professor Snape's nose which isn't a bad thing. Hopefully they'd be too distracted to remember that brooms make me ill."
"They do?" Harry asked.
"You should have seen her at our first broom lessons," Parvati said. "She looked sick just standing by them, and when Neville took off early and then crashed…" she snickered.
"That's because I know better than you about what charms go into a broom to make it flight-capable," Allie said.
"What if Professor Sprout makes Snape open up the team?" Padma asked.
"Nothing requires the Captains to pick girls and they're the ones who make the final call on players," Tonks said slowly. "The Head of House, or Headmaster, can ban someone from playing, but they can't force anyone on the Captains."
"And I overheard Flint, he's the captain, discussing strategy," Allie told the seventh year. "He plans to foul heavily and knock the other team out of the game…literally. He figures if they're down enough players he can eat the penalty points and then milk it for a really high score. That way even if he only wins once he'll have racked up enough points to win the Quidditch cup. Even if I liked the game I wouldn't play with someone with a strategy like that."
"So Justin and Ernie and I test Hufflepuff for non-team members," Harry said, "And then Tonks and Allie for the cross-house thing. That should tell us if this'll even work and how quickly someone will respond to their being a member of a different house in a locker room."
"What about the others?" Justin asked.
"What do you mean?" Cedric asked.
"Well, let's say this works. You can use your position on the team to let all of us into the Hufflepuff locker-room. And let's say that Allie's badges work. No offense, but until they do—"
Allie waved it away.
"Right, but if they work it'll only take one, maybe two if they require a girl to let in the other girls, person to let in the rest of us. So I guess my question is how do we keep anyone from the Gryffindor or Slytherin teams from walking in while we're in mid-prank?" Justin asked. "If the badges work and Tonks and Ced—or whoever has them—can let us in, then Tonks doesn't really need to do her person-impression, right?"
"Well," Tonks said. "I was thinking that I could appear to be one of the Gryff Chasers to see that the inside was clear." She grimaced, "of course, if someone saw and put one and one together and wound up with two Alicia Spinnets walking around…"
"Look," Ernie said pragmatically. "Let's keep this simple. If we have the…locker-room passes, I suppose, and they can let us in, then there is no need to replace someone to get us in. We test that first. If it does then that's that."
"Fair enough," Harry said. "Keep going, Ernie."
"Well…" the Hufflepuff scratched his head. "Assuming the passes do work there is the question of when we do it. If we do it Tonks' way we'll need to do something with the real Alicia Spinnet or whoever Tonks replaces, and do something so that what she remembers and what everyone else remembers matches up."
"I won't be a party to anything that involves memory modification," Allie said flatly. "If you want to drug one of the Chasers with a sleeping potion, or spike the punch at the Gryffs next party with a potion that has them hallucinating little pink elephants, fine. But no memory-mods."
"I was just pointing out that it was impractical," Ernie said, taken aback by the Slytherin's vehemence.
He wasn't the only one. Parvati and Padma had obviously heard Allie's views on the topic before, but Harry and the older students were all taken aback by the outburst.
"So I was thinking," Ernie said cautiously, not taking his eyes off of Allie, "Either we sneak out of the castle at night when everyone is asleep, or we do it during the day. In the second case, as Tonks pointed out, the best time would probably be when the team is at practice, as it is really the only time we can be sure we won't be walked in on, or chance walking in one somebody."
"Day," Parvati said. "I don't much care for sneaking out of the castle at night."
Several of the others nodded in agreement.
"We may need a distraction to keep people from noticing us," Parvati continued.
"We can stick Peeves on that if nothing else," her sister shrugged it off.
"There are a lot of 'ifs' with this plan," Allie noted. "If the badges work. If the locker-rooms will allow people not on a team in. If the locker-rooms will allow people from other houses in. If we can get into the locker-rooms without being noticed."
"Do you have a better idea?" Justin asked.
Allie frowned at him. "No."
It was a plan, Harry thought. Not a great one, and Allie had a point, but it was a plan.
They just needed one thing.
"So, if Justin's idea is out, what do we do for a prank?" he asked.
He looked around the room expectantly.
"Well," Cedric said, "I've found this hair-coloring stuff. You work this powder into your hair when showering and your hair changes colors as soon as your hair dries. It's temporary, the effects last about two days. The shower heads in the locker rooms screw off. I was thinking we could just put the powder in them and then thread them back on. If we do it before or during the morning/afternoon practice sessions the day before the game…"
"They'll both have it," Tonks said. "Those practices are scheduled too closely together for either side to notice what happened to the other."
And now they had a prank to go with the plan…
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Despite the amount of time that schoolwork, quidditch training, and hanging out in the Tower of Turmoil plotting Operation Quidditch Quip, Harry still found time to spend with Ron and Hermione.
This was no small thing. Harry quickly discovered that Ron had an encyclopedic memory where anything remotely involving Quidditch was concerned. As much help as it was for him—after swearing both to silence about the truth of his having to 'help Filch around the castle'—to prepare, the boys had almost as much fun watching it drive Hermione to distraction. To her way of thinking Ron had proven that he had the mind necessary to be a superior student, if only he would apply himself.
But as funny as Harry had found it when Hermione had gone after Ron, he was left with the uncomfortable feeling that she was tracking all of her year-mates' grades. No sooner had she finished with Ron than she had turned on him, and let him know that the dip his grades had taken over the previous few weeks had not escaped notice. It had taken him and Ron no small effort, and frequently mentioning the 'extra work' that Professor Sprout had assigned him, but in the end they managed to convince her not to go to Professor Sprout about 'easing his workload'.
And so for a few hours three nights a week, Harry met up with Hermione, and often Ron, in the library where she would help them with charms and transfiguration homework. She wouldn't tell him, or Ron, the answers or let them copy from her, but by asking her to check what they had written they ended up with the right answers anyway.
One time they met up at the same time as Padma and Allie and Harry suggested that they work together. It was an experience that had ended with Ron arguing with Allie, while Hermione, Padma and Allie got into a shouting match that lasted until Madam Pince kicked them all out of the library.
It was after this that Harry had brought a fuming Hermione and equally angry Ron to an unused classroom and shown both how to light a candle without a wand. Ron struggled with what he called 'impossibly hard wandless magic', but Hermione had proved herself equal to the task, even once, she had told him a week later, managing to absent-mindedly light a candle one evening as the setting sun robbed her of natural lighting.
There were problems, of course. Harry had thought that having friends was great, and it was. But after not having any growing up at #4, the amount of work a friendship took—let alone nearly a dozen of them—came as a complete surprise.. Ron, for example, flatly refused to have anything to do with Allie; and despite Parvati telling Harry about Hermione on Halloween, the two Gryffindor girls didn't really have any interests in common. Unlike Ron, Hermione didn't seem to despise Allie, although she admitted only reluctantly that 'that Slytherin girl' would make 'an acceptable potions tutor'.
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Minerva McGonagall entered the staff lounge followed closely by Severus Snape, his robes billowing behind him. He closed the door, then swept across the room towards his customary seat.
"Ahh, Severus, so you were able to make it after all," Albus said. "Your last missive said it was most unlikely."
Severus turned to address him as he crossed the room, when he did a very un-Severus thing. He stumbled.
Albus quickly stood as the Potion Master caught himself, then slowly sank into the large, black leather chair he favored.
"Severus?" Albus asked.
"Some particularly…clever student," Severus said waving the concern away, "a derivative of a tripping jinx…comes and goes." He gave a particularly menacing smile. "I foresee the rendering of fresh squid in the near future. And possibly horned toads as well, perhaps slugs…"
"Whatever do you do with all the potion ingredients you have students in your detentions prepare?" Filius asked.
Severus glanced at him. "They go into the medicinal drafts that our resident medi-witch insists on pouring down the imbeciles' throats. I would have them brew the potions for detentions but it would be much too difficult for half and I wouldn't want to be blamed for poisoning anyone unfortunate to be dosed with a draught produced by the rest."
"Severus," Albus chided.
Severus glowered at him but didn't say anything more.
"We were nearly done," Minerva said tightly.
A great stickler for punctuality, well, so was Severus and he was late, Albus told himself.
"Perhaps, Severus, if you would care to enlighten us as to the progress of your own classes?" Minerva asked. Albus winced, why she would occasionally bait Severus like this he didn't know, but it never ended well.
"They are continuing apace," Severus said coldly.
Albus blinked, that was it?
Apparently Severus picked up on the surprise because he sneered at the other teachers.
"What more do you wish me to say? Must I repeat myself? Ms. Blackthorn has successfully kept Mr. Longbottom from blowing up any more cauldrons, but is otherwise wasted in a first-year potions class. Mr. Longbottom, should not be allowed anywhere within fifty feet of a cauldron. Mr. Potter, of course, believes he knows everything and thus doesn't actually have to do any work. Ms. Granger is an insufferable know-it-all, and lately Ms. Patil, the Ravenclaw one, seems intent on competing for which is the most insufferable know-it-all."
"I wouldn't call it that," Filius spoke up, "though I have noticed that both are pushing themselves much harder than they have in past classes."
"It could be that they have simply needed some time to adjust to the course-work," Pomona said.
"Nearly two and a half months to adjust?" Severus questioned. "No. They are competing. I just know it. And I am almost certain, but do not yet have proof, that Potter has put them up to it."
"Really, Severus?" Pomona asked sharply. "You seem to think Harry is responsible for every bit of mischief that's happened in the last two months!"
Severus ignored her and continued in a dust-dry voice, "Mr. d'Aiglemort has successfully turned every potion he has attempted thus far this year into a poison. And given the inexplicable drops in my stocks of certain ingredients, someone is experimenting with proscribed potions. Should any student appear with unexplained giddiness and rose-smelling flatulence, please inform them that they have seven hours from the time they first imbibed to see Madam Pomfrey or face a lifetime of incompetence, incontinence, and impotence."
"And you are only just bringing this to our attention, Severus?" Minerva asked.
"My potion stocks are always being pilfered, Minerva," Severus said. "Just be thankful that no bezoars are disappearing this time…so far. Why someone would voluntarily dose themselves with poisons I have no idea, though I can think of a fair number that I would voluntarily dose—"
"Severus, that's enough," Albus said mildly. Yes, Severus' concerns about the possibility of the potions being made were real, but the same ingredients could have been used to make more a dozen different common potions when combined with the contents of the average student's personal supplies, none of which had any deleterious effects. "Have you been keeping an eye on Ms. Thorne?"
Severus glowered at him. "Of course I have been 'keeping an eye' on Ms. Blackthorn. She has not deprived any more of her fellow students of their sight, if that is what you mean. In fact, she has isolated herself quite effectively from the rest of Slytherin."
"Indeed?" Albus asked. "Given her family I would have thought young Mister Malfoy would have been quick to proclaim his friendship."
"Indeed his was," Severus said. "And if every first, second and third words out of his mouth hadn't been respectively 'my father thinks' or 'my father says', she might very well have taken him up on it. As it is, she has taken to spending large periods of time outside of the Slytherin common room. Much of it seems to be spent with Ms. Patil of Ravenclaw in a desperate attempt to bring her other class-work up to an Acceptable level. Her wand-work leaves as much to be desired as Mr. Longbottom's brewing skills. However, not all of her time can be accounted for."
"Have you tried tracking charms?" Albus asked.
"Oh yes," Severus said. "Did you know that she frequently takes salt-water baths and scrubs regularly with loadstones? Her personal security is amazing. She may not have the wand-skills to perform successful counter-spells, and she knows it otherwise we would never have needed her…charming presence, but her knowledge of classical counter-magic is extensive. The Weasley twins have taught her to be careful of her food and drink, and unlike some persons she even understands the importance of properly disposing of loose hairs and fingernail clippings."
Albus frowned and stroked his beard. Harry was making friends across the houses, which was good, but one Alice Hawthorne/Allison Boxthorn/Elissa Blackthorn running around his school unsupervised was not. "Redouble your efforts, Severus. I will release to you the portraits and statues to help you track her movements, and her movements only."
"Albus, do you really think that is necessary?"
"Yes, Filius, I do," Albus replied.
The diminutive charms instructor frowned at him. "I admit her casting skills leave a great deal to be desired, but her grasp of theory is excellent, well advanced of her year-mates. Whatever problems she may have had in the past I've seen no sign of them now."
"There are other issues, Filius," Albus said. "All of you know the very real power the Thorne family wields. A person with her Talent at the head of that family would be bad enough, especially should Voldemort return. Having one such as her at his bidding, and a fully trained witch as well, could well make him unstoppable."
Stark silence greeted this.
Finally, Minerva looked up at him and said in an uncharacteristically hesitant voice said, "I've seen no sign that she…sympathizes with You-Know-Who or his followers."
"Would you have seen such signs were they there, Minerva?" Albus asked gently.
"Many of them were able to fool a great many people," Severus sneered.
"That assumes, of course, that He does return," Filius said. He quickly continued before Albus could respond. "It also assumes that He does not kill her out of hand. You-Know-Who is not one to tolerate a rival, Severus."
"The man is not a fool, Filius, nor is he so wasteful to kill a potential ally out of hand. He will attempt to elicit her aid first, and kill her only if she proves untrustworthy or uncontrollable. In this Albus is correct, having her on his side is more than bad enough, the idea of her being a fully trained witch as well is…terrifying."
"Some would say he was terrifying already," Minerva said.
"Then they are fools," Severus said, "because the truth of the Dark Lord's potential was so much worse than the horrors he inflicted upon the world last time."
"Severus, please," Albus sighed. Sometimes these staff meetings felt like he was a professor again, trying to control his fifth-year Gryffindor-Slytherin Double Transfiguration class. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as the Wizengamot.
It was a good sign, or at least he hoped it was, that she hadn't made friends with the children of the other Death Eaters. But then, as Severus had pointed out, nobody had suspected Black or Rookwood of following him either. The one had been a close friend of the Potters and an important member of the Order, while the other was a brilliant researcher in the Department of Mysteries.
At the same time her relative lack of friendships was…worrying. Tom Riddle had been a brilliant young mind that had gone without apparent friends for several years. Her relationship with Padma Patil seemed to concentrate solely on improving her grades, especially in Transfiguration and Charms. She had also been spending much less time with Harry, had even stopped regularly eating at the Hufflepuff table. That should have made him feel relieved, that it didn't was…worrying, and if Albus had been just a touch more paranoid he would have suspected her of arranging the entire incident at the zoo just to get into Hogwarts, but that was impossible.
Wasn't it?
Albus frowned in sudden thought. The vanished glass in the snake display had all the magical characteristics of a burst of accidental magic. The attempt to thwart his tracking charms on Harry was consistent with her behavior so far in Hogwarts. Chirag, of course, was one of the leaders in muggle/magical real estate business which made her connection to him logical. Minerva, unfortunately, seemed to have had a point where the Dursleys were concerned, and under those circumstances, a young man attaching himself to the first person to explain about his heritage was…understandable.
It really came back to the zoo. He couldn't see a reason for her being there aside from the same reason any other person would visit the zoo. That Harry had been there was purely coincidence. It had to be. Whatever her magics might be, Ms. Thorne was not capable of sending one muggle on vacation and bewitching another (and in doing so, managed to avoid triggering any of the wards for a magical attack against the Dursleys) to run over the leg of the very woman he had watching them. Especially Mrs. Figg. The old lady was not on the floo and didn't use Owls. Their method of communication was entirely secure. Identifying her from outside simply wasn't possible, and less than five people knew who she was, where she was, and why she was there.
Three times already the doorway to the Forbidden Corridor had been breached. The most recent by Severus on Halloween. The second had been late at night just after a magical surge in the Great Hall. Argus had reported chasing students down several corridors, including one that led to the Forbidden Corridor which was also where the person or persons had successfully eluded the caretaker. The third, actually the first to occur, they knew even less about.
He had carefully searched the Great Hall the morning of the second breach, but aside from some chalk dust and the faint odor of ritual magic, had found little. Only after the Weasley twins had pranked the staff had he gone back and found the trace magic of keyed runes and switching spells. There were only a handful of people in the castle with any practical knowledge of ritual magic, but only one who had also been repeatedly pranked by the Weasley twins.
It was a brilliant move, a series of small distractions to keep away the Prefect patrols while the distraction for the staff was set up. Then the magic surge in the Great Hall that had brought almost the entire staff racing down in the middle of the night, leaving the path to the Stone free except for the traps and one Argus Filch.
"Headmaster?"
"A moment, Minerva," he said, taken aback by the sudden clarity of thought.
She had to have had help. Enlisted students to set up her prank/distraction in the same way she had used Harry to get into the school. The first time his own preparations must have caught her off guard. The third, again a distraction, this time using poor Quirrell, only prevented by Severus. Help would have been needed to arrange the initial meeting between her and Harry. More help would have been required to supply the troll as she certainly would not have had any opportunity to have left the castle. Someone had clearly been thinking ahead because the meeting with Harry had happened well before the attempted break in at Gringotts.
He briefly wondered what her price had been. Not the Stone itself, she had access to far more permanent methods of extending her life, methods not dependant upon continued access to an artifact such as the Stone. But really it didn't matter. What mattered was whether or not she had any confederates in Hogwarts and for that tracking her movements had become vitally important.
A brief tremor in the wards alerted him to an owl from the Ministry of Magic that had just flown through his office window.
He looked up at his professors, noting that Severus had left sometime while he was contemplating Ms. Thorne. He dimly recalled the Head of Slytherin saying that there really was a potion that he could not leave alone for long before taking his leave.
"Thank you all for coming," he said, standing. "We'll meet again next week, but until that time I would ask that you all keep an eye on Ms. Thorne, not so close that she notices, but a close one all the same."
If any of his professors were put out by his ending the weekly staff meeting short they didn't show it.
"Pomona," he continued, "if you could continue to keep an eye on Harry? I know you make yourself available to all of your badgers, but perhaps if you would let him know personally that you are available if he needs to talk?"
"Of course, Albus," the dumpy Herbology professor said.
"Filius, Minerva, if you could keep an eye on Mr. Dempsey and Ms. Lewis? It isn't my policy to interfere in matters of the heart, but that particular relationship seems headed for a rather spectacular self-destruction, and it is their N.E.W.T. year after all."
They nodded. Minerva's short, tight, while Filius' was more of a wary bob.
"Excellent," he said. "In that case I think we can—"
The door flew open and Severus Snape swept into the staff lounge, his robes billowing behind him. The Professors, already leaving, stopped as he made his appearance.
"Is there a problem, Severus?" Albus asked in concern as the Potion Master swept towards his customary chair.
Severus turned to address him as he crossed the room, when he did a very un-Severus thing. He stumbled…again.
Albust watched as the Potion Master caught himself, then slowly sank into the large, black leather chair he favored.
"Severus?" he repeated.
"Some particularly…clever student," Severus said waving the concern away, "a derivative of a tripping jinx…comes and goes." He gave a particularly menacing smile. "I foresee the rendering of fresh squid in the near future."
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The first Saturday of the month was a cold day. The kind with no wind so the cold seeped into one's bones instead of being driven in by slashing wind. It lent a crystal-like quality to the air, giving the fourteen players clustered near the center of the pitch a kind of razor-like sharpness as Harry watched through borrowed binoculars. The seats were raised high in the air, but Cedric had warned him that the action could be hard to follow sometimes.
The rest of the team was out as well. They had complicated books filled with plays that they could tap and modify as needed with quick whispered words, and large note pads with dictat-o-quills. Learning how to scout other teams, to note down their plays, their strengths, and their weaknesses, would come later, Thrace had told him. For now she just wanted him to see a real game of Quidditch and to keep an eye on the Seekers, and had sent along Cedric to help explain things to him.
Madam Hooch, who refereed the inter-House Quidditch games as well as taught flying and broommanship—set a chest on the ground. She pushed a button and the straps holding down the bludgers snapped free and the two heavy spheres rocketed into the air.
"Are the game bludgers special too?" he asked.
"How do you mean?" Cedric asked.
"They aren't attacking people," Harry said.
"Oh," Cedric said. "Yeah, game bludgers don't do that until the quaffle is released. The ones we use for practice aren't supposed to either, but that charm usually only lasts a year or two. Something about how the bludgers are constructed, I think."
"What are the teams like?" Harry asked, shifting his binoculars to the players.
"The Weasley twins are der finest set ah Beaters Hogwarts has seen inna good long while," Hagrid said from his other side. "And Oliver Wood is der best Keepers in der school."
Cedric had looked askance at the groundskeeper when he had settled in next to Harry. For his part, Harry felt obligated to invite who had invited him to afternoon tea on Fridays and had been grateful when each had discovered the other was a fellow Enthusiast of the Game of Warlocks.
Now Cedric just said. "Huxley, the Eagles reserve—" each House team took its name from its House mascot, but, Harry had quickly learned, only the die-hard fans referred to the teams as anything other than their House, "—was pretty good against the Serpents (officially the Slytherin mascot was a snake, not a serpent, but its team was officially named the Serpents which contradicted the rule that the House teams took their names from the House mascot) last year. It'll be interesting to watch him Keep against Wood next year. The Lions' Seeker is brand-new though, and their Chaser line-up is untested. Spinnet was a reserve last year and Katie Bell is new to the team this year."
Madam Hooch released the snitch and it went off into the air.
"That was a ruddy good prank this morning," Hagrid said.
Harry focused his binoculars on the Gryffindor Keeper's scarlet and gold hair. "Do you think so?" he asked.
That they were resorting to dying hair had bothered him. The Weasley twins had already used it, and they had used it on Professor Snape. He hadn't been able to come up with a better idea, however, so had let it go.
"Showed spirit," Hagrid said. "Love of the game. Gettin' only der players couldn' have been easy. Those letters, wishin' each team a good season and all that, those were real classy."
The letters had been a compromise between Cedric's wish to remain anonymous, and Tonks' desire to leave notes claiming responsibility inside each of the locker rooms. Padma had suggested the compromise of waiting until the morning of the game, and then sending each team a letter, and now it seemed, at least in Hagrid's opinion, that the letters had been even more successful than the prank itself.
Madam Hooch must have finished talking to the teams, because fifteen brooms rose into the air. She flung the quaffle up as she gave a long blast of her whistle.
"And the quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson…"
\|/\|/\|/
The Tuesday afternoon after the Gryffindor/Slytherin game, Harry was hurrying across the Entrance Hall when Ron stopped him.
"Do you have a moment?" the Gryffindor asked.
Harry did not have a moment. His last class of the day was in History of Magic, and not only was he lethargic from the class, but it was on the opposite side of the school from the Quidditch Pitch. With less than two weeks to go before the first Hufflepuff game against Ravenclaw, Thrace had taken to booking the Quidditch whenever she could bully the team into being together even if it meant making things difficult for some members. It was even harder for Harry because of his need to be discreet about his presence on the team which, Parvati had told him, the school gossip network still hadn't gotten wind of.
Instead of telling Ron all of this he simply nodded his head and allowed himself to be led into the side room they had waited in before being Sorted, and was, apparently, only ever used for that purpose. Hermione was already waiting there.
"So what's the problem?" Harry asked.
"Ron, tell him what you told me," Hermione instructed.
"Hermione got her hands on one of the library copies of Quidditch Through the Ages," Ron said.
Harry looked at her. To the best of his knowledge the only time Madam Pince ever saw them was during the summer, though nobody he'd talked to had admitted to ever seeing a Hogwarts' copy of the book…at least, not until now. Hermione studiously avoided looking at him.
"The thing is, we were outside the other day and he took the book from us, said that it was against the rules to have a library book outside."
"It was nonsense, of course," Hermione said quickly. "Professor Snape blatantly favors his House and was looking for a reason to take points."
"Okay," Harry said. "So he took points."
"And the book," Ron repeated. "But I went back yesterday, to try and get him to give the book back, and he had his robes up and I could see a large and nasty-looking bite on his leg. Then I remembered what you told me on Halloween, how you thought he was heading towards the third corridor, and Hermione—"
"I told him about running into you that night, and how we ended up in the Forbidden Corridor," Hermione said.
"Right," Ron said. "And you remember when we went to Hagrid's for tea that first Friday after classes? You told me that one of Gringotts' vaults was robbed the day you went there."
"And?" Harry asked carefully, for he was pretty sure he had not told Ron about what Hagrid had said about being on business for Dumbledore.
"And," Hermione took a deep breath. "What if Hagrid had been sent there to empty that vault? I checked a back-issue of the Daily Prophet and the article said that the vault, a high-security vault, had been emptied earlier that day. Given its age it'd be logical that Hogwarts would have some kind of place to store precious things that couldn't be left in the open, relics of the founders or magical artifacts or something. If he did, I'm almost certain it was brought here to protect it from whoever broke into Gringotts. And if that's what happened then the logical place for it would be behind additional protections."
"Such as a giant three-headed dog in the third-floor corridor on the left-hand side," Harry finished. "And you think Snape is after it, whatever it is."
"Yes," Hermione said flatly. "What do you think?"
It made a frightening amount of sense. Cedric had seen Snape go in, but had been forced to leave before he saw the Professor come out. It was also possible that the same idea that had occurred to Harry and also occurred to Snape and he had gone to protect it. The problem with that idea was that Harry couldn't think of anyone else who seemed like a likely choice for criminal mastermind.
"Okay," Harry said. "Hagrid told us in Diagon Alley that he was there on Dumbledore's orders to retrieve something from the same vault that was reported broken into, so I think Hermione's probably right about it being here. As for Snape…I just don't know. What if he had thought that the troll was a distraction and had gone up to guard it, but didn't know about the dog?"
"I suppose," Hermione said. "Each of the Professors could have contributed to its defense, which is what I would have done if I were Dumbledore and needed to keep something extra safe. I also wouldn't have let them know what the other teachers are providing.
"That wizard with the fake leg and arm who sits at the head table is Professor Kettleburn. He teaches Care of Magical Creatures, a third-year elective. He could have provided the dog, though my understanding is that he's partial to animals that are highly venomous or spit fire."
"Oh come on," Ron said. "It has to be Snape. Who else would it be? P-P-Professor Q-Quirrell?"
Hermione snorted and Harry had to chuckle at the accuracy of Ron's impression.
"No, I agree that Snape is the most likely person," Harry said. "I'll even say that I can't think of anyone else. But unless we know for sure, and have some way of proving it, the teachers aren't going to believe us. Are they?"
Well, Professor Sprout might, but without something more even she wouldn't be able to do anything without alerting Snape.
Hermione looked crestfallen, but Ron nodded grimly.
"So what do we do?" the other boy asked Harry.
"For now I suppose we just have to keep our eyes open," Harry said.
\|/\|/\|/
"Most of you have been on this team for a while so you know I'm not one for speechifying," Thrace said. "Since this is my last season, however, I figure I'm entitled."
There were chuckles from a couple of the others, but Harry was watching raptly.
"We've got a good team this year. A solid group of beaters, a dependable keeper, and a surprising new talent at seaker."
"Oi, what am I, chopped liver?" Tonks asked.
"And we have Tonks who's prepared to get them called on Tomplaring."
Tomplaring was either for using an inappropriate conveyance (carpets, rugs, and vacuum cleaners were all popular fouls), or having too many players in the air, Harry wasn't sure which but considering it was Tonks it could well be both. Or maybe Tomplaring was impersonating a person on another team?
"Just so long as it isn't Scruppeling," Cedric said.
Unlike Tomplaring, Harry recognized Scruppeling as the general-purpose foul for unsportswizardlike conduct. It was used only when another penalty wasn't suitable, but unless a team had seriously annoyed the referee it was almost as rarely heard as the one involving tar, feathers, and avian-based attraction charms…or, for that matter, the one for going after the opposing keeper with a broadsword.
Thrace looked around the room as though daring anyone else to add a comment. "Right then," she said firmly. "I want a good clean game. That said, I want us to seize control and keep it. Chasers, quarter the quaffle. Mort, Casper, bracket those bludgers and don't let them go. Fred, remember the new techniques we've developed for getting the quaffle back into play. Harry, I want you to stay above the action and keep an eye out for the snitch. I want you to have a good solid game under your robes before you try anything fancy. Understood?"
"Yes," Harry said.
"Any questions? No? Outstanding," Thrace said. "Let's go."
The rest of the team, with Harry in the center to hold off the surprise a little longer, followed her out the team doors onto the pitch. The stands burst into applause and Harry felt his face heat at all of the people staring down at him.
"You're all right, aren't you?" Cedric asked.
"Fine," Harry managed. "Just, uh…does it seem warm to you?"
"It's mid-November," Cedric said dryly. "I'd hardly consider it warm." He paused and looked around the pitch. "Although now that you mention it, the crowd does seem a bit more enthusiastic than I remember from last year's." He cleared his throat, "nothing to worry about, Harry. That's just nerves. You'll settle down once you get in the air. We all do on our first game…" he paused, as though remembering something, "except for Wood."
"Oliver Wood? The Gryffindor Captain and Keeper?"
Cedric nodded. "He had been in the youth league—we both were—but he had been in the reserves and I never saw him play until my first year. I'll never forget it, it was the first Hogwarts game I ever saw, you see? He caught a bludger to the head about five minutes in, woke up a week later in the hospital wing. Don't worry, Harry, Hogwarts—
"Has a fine medi-witch!" they both finished together.
\|/\|/\|/
Harry used a combination figure-8/racetrack holding pattern that Cedric had taught him as he flew up and down the length of the pitch from well above most of the action. This particular pattern allowed him to survey the pitch from all directions once every circuit and a half, and by allowing him a choice at every leg—straight up the side or across at the angle—prevented the opposing Seeker from marking him at a distance.
The opposing Seeker, a tallish sixth-year boy with dark hair and the bristly beginnings of a mustache, had started with a spiral-search, starting low near the ground in the center of the pitch and increasing his altitude as he flew wider and wider circles. This had continued until Mort had sent one-too-many bludgers at him, and now he was settled down a little below Harry into a racetrack of his own with a sideways loop out and over the center of the pitch on the straightaways that could be left unfinished to reverse his direction.
The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was apparently the official announcer of Hogwarts because he was calling the action for this game as well, though with much less of the outbursts that had been a part of the first game.
"Capper's really pulled a fast one on us this year. Ravenclaw was obviously expecting a rebuilding team this year as Hufflepuff trains up replacements for next year. Instead Diggory's back as Chaser, a post he gave up two years ago to play Seeker, and paired with Capper and Tonks, present one of the most experience Chaser squads in the school. In fact her entire lineup has been shuffled, and the person responsible is no less than Harry Potter.
"Ladies and Germs—"
"Jordan!"
"—I have personally checked the records, and no first year has suited up for a Hogwarts game in a century, and the last who actually started a game graduated before our esteemed Headmaster entered school.
"So the quaffle's taken by Capper side toss to Tonks who over-the-shoulder's it to-no, it's a bump pass off Diggory's shaft back to Capper as Michelson nearly takes a bludger to the face from Montgomery and the game's on in earnest. Capper ducks under Buchner and then flips it to Tonks. Capper-Tonks-Capper who heaves it up—I'm not sure where she's going with this, no friendly chasers there and a bludger coming at her—Capper barrel-rolls around the bludger and pulls up into a cobra-head-break just in front of Danvers who has to dive to avoid the collision. The quaffle drops neatly back into Cappers' arms and she flips it to Diggory as he flies by.
"Diggory, Diggory taking up the pitch with Buchner in pursuit, throws—blocked! Blocked by Ravenclaw Keeper Laveran. Michelson fields the return outside of the scoring zone as Tonks has to scramble to avoid a bludger sent her way by Moneta. And now it's Michelson up the field. Michelson to Buchner—intercepted by Diggory, Diggory who rolls to avoid a bludger, then dives under a chaser, a nice play up off the pitch, almost flying in the grass—Diggory crosses into the scoring area almost flying up Keeper Laveran's robes and—SCORE!
"The score is ten-zero Badgers and now comes Ravenclaw's answer as Michelson takes the quaffle again."
Hufflepuff cheers filled the stadium, joined by a fair number of Gryffindors who appreciated a well-played game of Quidditch. The Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw game was usually well-enjoyed contest between the Ravenclaw's technical expertise and Hufflepuff's sportsmanship, without the bitter rivalry of the season opener or the desperate struggles that dominated the games of the later part of the quidditch season. Only the Slytherins booed loudly, and that was more because the Gryffindors had cheered than the actual game being played.
"Budge up there, can yeh move a bit?"
"Hagrid!" Ron said as he, Hermione, and Parvati squeezed over for the groundskeeper. The three Gyrffindor friends of Harry Potter had been invited by Justin to watch the game from the Hufflepuff section to the somewhat askance looks from his housemates—the common room was one thing, but Quidditch stands were sacrosanct—but who had been too polite to say anything.
Padma had also been invited despite being in Ravenclaw, but she had declined before any of Justin's housemates needed to see Madam Pomfrey for complications of holding their tongues. Likewise Allie was missing, an absence that had nearly resulted in an argument between Ron and Justin when the latter had told the Gryffindor he was going to invite her.
"Ah bin watchin' from me hut," Hagrid said, patting a pair of binoculars that Ron doubted he could have even lifted, much less used.
"It's not the same as being in the crowd," Ron said, recalling a Cannons game he had once watched from a field while listening to the distant roars from the stadium.
"No, it isn'," Hagrid agreed. "No sign of the snitch yet, eh?"
"No."
"Well he's keepin' outta trouble," Hagrid said. "That's somethin'."
Up above Harry lazily reversed his direction and continued his search for the snitch. Thrace had been adamant about him not taking any risks. His inclusion had thrown Ravenclaw into disorder from the way their entire lineup had been shuffled, but Gryffindor and Slytherin would adapt to it. It was imperative that he reserve his more active participation for those games, and instead concentrate on finding the snitch and keeping away from the injury-prone flight patterns dominated by the bludgers.
So instead of being in the thick of action he had contented himself with doing a few loops when Cedric scored. Once a bludger had come his way and Harry had been forced to dodge it before Casper Adams showed up and sent it after Renault while the opposing beater was trying to attack Tonks.
"Ravenclaw in possession, Buchner passes to Michelson and blocks Capper. Michelson with the quaffle, dodges two bludgers, two Beaters, and Diggory and—wait a moment, was that the snitch?"
Kipling, the Ravenclaw Seeker, was already diving for a streak of gold past the lead Ravenclaw Chaser's right ear. Harry rolled his broom until he was nearly upside down and then pulled 'up'. He had discovered during practice that by keeping the broom on the outside of the turn, not only could he turn more sharply at faster speeds, but that the momentum helped hold him on the broom so that he could have an arm free to catch the snitch. At the higher speeds his broom was capable of, he was less confident of his ability to fly one-handed while in a normal turn.
The older boy was inside Harry's turn, his slower speed allowing him to cut the turn even more sharply, but Harry was going so fast that they were neck and neck by the time they leveled out and Harry was forced to slow less he whip right past the little golden sphere. The Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing, and Harry was only vaguely aware of Jordan calling out his name.
Kipling braked suddenly and Harry glanced back only to nearly run into the backsides of the other two Ravenclaw Chasers as they dropped into a side-by-side formation right in front of him. Harry jerked his broom to the right to swoop around them, but they angled right as well to avoid Tonks, then started up at the same time as him. He dove sharply and was at last able to edge around them, but the snitch had been lost and then something that felt similar to Dudley with a cricket bat hit him in the side.
"Harry!" Thrace called as Harry pulled his broom skyward with his right hand while cradling his ribs with his left hand. She hand-signaled to Hooch who blew her whistle.
"I'm fine!" Harry gasped.
"Are you sure?" Thrace asked him. She gave him a worried look, "I can have Ced take over and—"
"I'm fine," Harry repeated. "Really. It just…took me by surprise. Nothing's broken. It doesn't even hurt that badly." This wasn't entirely truthful. Nothing felt broken or cracked, but it did hurt a great deal. "I'll be fine."
Thrace gave him a look that suggested she didn't entirely believe him. "Fine, but you have to let me know if it becomes a problem."
"Sure," Harry said.
"And you're getting checked out by Madam Pomfrey after the match, and if she says anything is broken you really will be cleaning the castle for the rest of the year because you'll be off the team, understood?"
Harry couldn't tell if she was being serious or not, so he nodded mutely.
Thrace flew back towards the other chasers and waved to Madam Hooch who blew her whistle and the game was on again.
He did a couple of careful loops around the pitch to get back into the feel of things, and had just made the first turn into a snake-search pattern when his broom gave an awful lurch that ended with his stomach in his throat. Harry swallowed back the sudden nausea and tightened his grip on the Cleansweep. He'd never felt anything like that before.
It happened again. Harry pushed his broomstick's handle down. Thrace had been very clear on what to do if something ever went wrong in the air. Get the ground as quickly and safely as possible and sort it out there where there wasn't a chance of falling hundreds of feet. The Cleansweep lurched upwards a dozen feet or more, as though trying to buck him off. Which was, of course, impossible—mustangs might suddenly decide to buck their riders off, not enchanted broomsticks. The broomstick made a sudden sharp left jag and Harry realized that in the space of about three seconds he had completely lost control of the broom. He couldn't turn it. He couldn't make it dive. All he could do was hang on while it went zooming off across the pitch in a rapid zigzag while making violent swishing movements.
"Ravenclaw possession, M-formation, Moneta and Renault leading, bludger attack from the rear by Mortimer Montgomery and Casper Adams and the Ravenclaw beaters turn as the Chasers pass them. Buchner now, Buchner with the quaffle into a Hawkshead formation passes to Michelson—score!"
Harry could hear cheers from below, even from the Hufflepuff section for what must have been one of the technically challenging but perfectly executed plays that Thrace said the Ravenclaws were known for. He would have liked to have seen it, but his broom hadn't given him that option. It was no longer even allowing him the semblance of control as it carried him away from the game and higher into the air.
Staring through his binoculars, Hagrid muttered, "Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing. If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom…"
"Is that possible?" Justin asked.
Ernie shook his head. "Not that I've ever heard of. You, Ron?"
"No," Ron said, holding his hand up to shield his eyes from the sun as he watched Harry. He wasn't the only one. A shout had gone up from somewhere below them and now people were starting to stand up and point out Harry's wildly flying broom. "Could the Slytherins have done something if they'd gotten a hold of it, Hagrid?" he asked, thinking of one Slytherin in particular.
"Can't have," Hagrid said, shaking his head. "Can't nothin' interfere with a broomstick except power Dark magic. No kid could do that to a Cleansweep 6."
"Besides, Harry kept the broom in our dorm," Ernie said. "The Slytherins couldn't have gotten…" he paused and looked at Justin who had turned suddenly pale.
"What?" Hermione asked. When Ernie didn't reply she grabbed his robes. "You thought of something, what is it?"
"Ron may have a point…I'll explain later," Ernie managed in a hoarse voice.
Padma grabbed Hagrid's binoculars. They were so heavy she had trouble lifting them, and so large that she had to hold up one eyepiece and use it as a spotting scope, but people on the other side of the stadium were large and clear as she swept it over the crowd until she came to the Professor's Box and felt her blood congeal.
On his broom Harry was beginning to seriously contemplate letting go of the broomstick. While he hadn't heart Professor Hooch's whistle, the quidditch teams seemed to have suspended the game. But twice now when they had maneuvered below him to catch him if he fell, the stick had flown violently away from them. The second time the broom had violently attacked the Ravenclaw weak-side Chaser and succeeded in knocking him from his broom. The rescue attempt had been delayed due to the need to rescue the other falling boy.
They were starting to gather again. He wouldn't have much time. Whatever was controlling his broom was too good at what it did to allow them to get fully prepared. With this last thought Harry let go of his Cleansweep…
\|/\|/\|/
"He jumped," Thrace said. "That insane little fool jumped! What could he be thinking…is he even thinking?" She cast a restraining spell to slow the falling seeker and missed. More spells came from the two beaters who had also carried their wands, but while they actually connected and slowed Harry, they didn't slow him much. Ideally they would have been around Harry's path and weaved a web of magic to catch him in, but his jump had taken them by surprise.
Cedric, who had been waiting above them, went into a sharp dive with the Ravenclaw Seeker. They had been marking Harry from above for just this moment and both dived after the falling student.
Thrace saw them coming and waved, the Hufflepuff Team falling back. The Ravenclaws, with a little extra time to get into position, were setting up a second try and catching Harry. She wanted to shout at them, to tear off after Cedric, but both were foolish. The first would only distract the other team and Ced was in better position and training for the type of insane maneuver they were going to attempt. No, she acknowledged sullenly, she was out of it. She'd made her play to rescue her teammate, it had failed, and now all she could do was wait.
She sighed angrily and looked around. Harry's broom, now that its rider was falling towards a grisly end, had stopped its made bucking and weaving and was hanging still in the air.
"Mort, Casper," she turned to Casper Adams and Mortimer Montgomery who really were as fine a pair of beaters as any, she thought. "Go after Harry's broom and…escort it back down. Use conjured puffs of wind. Don't use any magic on it, and for Merlin's sake, don't either of you touch it."
"On it," Casper said with an unusually serious look on his face.
"We've got it, Skipper," his partner added.
Thrace turned and stared down at her falling Seeker and wondered what was taking the Headmaster so long.
\|/\|/\|/
The air rippled below Harry as the six Ravenclaws weaved together a veritable web of magic, like one of the old-time nets that firemen use to carry for people in high buildings to jump into that he had seen briefly one time on the telly before Dudley had noticed him watching and complained.
The center was clearly the strongest as the outer portions were still hazy and indistinct. Unfortunately it was off-center. Unless he missed his guess, Harry was going to land right on the weaker portion of the magical net, and while the other students were firming it up, it didn't look like they were going to be fast enough. He wondered briefly why they didn't just move the thing, but the logical answer was that they probably couldn't.
A blur of gold caught his eye.
He looked up to find the snitch buzzing along right in front of his nose.
Harry reached out to grab it, but it was just beyond his reach. Forgetting the impending disaster for a moment he tried to lunge for it, but without anything to push off of he didn't get very far. He lunged again, this time coiling his body first and then flinging out his arms and upper body. That moved him a little. He did it again and this time his fingers closed around the small golden ball.
"Oof!" Harry grunted as something exploded into his stomach. A bludger went off in search of another target as he reflexively curled around the injury, only to slam back-first into the web of magic. It didn't hurt quite as much as he anticipated hitting the ground would…and it hurt quite a bit more because he doubted that he'd feel much of anything after the impact with the ground.
He became aware of the figures above him. The receding figures above him. The net hadn't held. The wind tore at his robes, spinning him, and suddenly he was unable to see.
"Urk!"
\|/\|/\|/
Cedric tried to tighten his grip with his knees, but the grip was already as tight as he could make it. His broomstick was pointed straight-down in a vertical dive, but he was lying back with his head in the bristles. It was the only position that had a flight geometry that would allow him to catch Harry, had him in a position where he actually could catch Harry, and in which he'd be able quickly change his direction of travel when he did catch Harry…if he caught Harry.
The entire situation was very strange. He'd have thought Dumbledore or one of the other Professors would have stepped in by now, but instead they seemed content on letting him and the others try to save Harry. And that didn't even begin to explain what had happened to Harry's broom. He had never heard of a broom going berserk like that before. Being transfigured into a watermelon, yes, or even charmed into a portkey once, back before the anti-portkey-charming-charm was developed specifically for International competition referee brooms. But for a broom to just suddenly flip out and try to throw off its rider?
That took some serious magic. Dark magic. Considerably darker and more powerful than anything he was familiar with…although, maybe if the spells were layered on over time and then activated all at once instead of just a single curse maybe…
He pushed the thought aside. He needed to concentrate on catching Harry who had just taken a bludger to the stomach before blowing through the Ravenclaw's attempts to create a magical safety net. It had been a clever bit of magic, he conceded, but they probably would have had more success with levitating charms or, perhaps, a summoning spell.
"Ready?" Kipling asked.
Cedric nodded once, and they drew level with Harry who was now struggling with his robes. He reached out, and simultaneously the two boys latched onto a convenient handful of robes. Cedric kick-snapped his broom level, grabbed the handle as it came up, and tried to pull skyward.
There was a ripping sound as Harry's robes began to give way.
Rudy nodded to him and Cedric released his handful of robe to grasp a flailing foot. The other boy let go and for a moment Harry dangled beneath him before Kipling was able to grab a hand.
The ground was rushing up but they were slowing and then a bludger made a reappearance. Kipling was knocked off balance and fell. For a moment Cedric was holding both boys up, then they hit the ground in a tangle of arms, legs, and broomsticks.
Everything turned grass-green and sky blue. Something was jammed into his hip, and there was something small and feathery tickling his ribs.
He looked up as something big and white, like a sick swan, was coming towards him. Then everything turned black.