Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters, locations, plots or ideas from the novels. However, I do own my original characters, plots, locations and ideas, ext.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

Chapter 9

Nero Vs. Gryffindor

The rest of the week at school was less eventful leading up to the Quidditch Match of Nero Vs. Gryffindor if you discount the Gryffindor's attempts at taking out Nero team members, which was more something Slytherin's might have done if they were worried about a match. However, it just showed everyone the Gryffindor's had no honour when it came to sports, and had no sportsmanship spirit.

However, the Nero's didn't let that concern them too much as the Gryffindor's attempts were pathetic at best, and everyone wondered why they even bothered.

Harry had a small accident a few days after the incident with Voldemort. Ginny had gotten a good look at his mark and worriedly demanded an explanation about it. So he told her everything he could, and was thankful what Dumbledore had said about it calmed her down. He was actually getting used to it, and it wasn't so bad, at least it looked nice.

However, at this moment Harry and Ginny were sitting with the rest of the team in the Nero changing rooms watching Professor Lupin as he grinned and floated down a huge box in front of them.

"Just a present for my team," he commented with a smirk before hurrying out of the changing room leaving the players confused.

Emily got up and opened the box looking in she gasped before looking at the others with a huge grin.

"We're gonna look great!"

**

The stadium was a wave of excited noise and chaos as they waited for the much-anticipated match between Nero and Gryffindor. The stands were full to breaking point as all five houses looked out over the large green field with three huge and high white hoops at each end of the stadium.

"Welcome Hogwarts!" the voice of Lee Jordon of Gryffindor: the commentator boomed throughout the stadium. "Let's bring out the teams!" he said excitedly to a huge roar of approval from the crowd. "First we have Gryffindor with Bell," as he said the names one by one they shot out into the air to circle the pitch. "Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Finnegan, Wood, and Neville Longbottom!" he finished off as the team made a few circles of the pitch before landing where Madam Hooch stood in the middle of the pitch to start the game.

"Two new players this game!" continued Lee. "We have Seamus Finnegan and Ronald Weasley as beaters as the Weasley twins are no longer Gryffindor's, which is a shame and a great loss, but let's hope these two can do the team proud."

"Next up!" he boomed in his commentators' style. "We have the Nero team, which has four new players and are claiming they're going to win, which is doubtful even if they do have the twins."

"JORDON!" interrupted McGonagall from next to him angrily.

"S-sorry professor!" he replied sheepishly. "Ok, for Nero we have, Weasley!" and Ginny burst out into the sky a white streak, and as he called the other names they to followed suit. "Colton, Bowen, Weasley, Weasley, Tuffy, and Harry Potter!" the Nero's and Slytherin's all cheered here with some Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's drowning out the Gryffindor's boos and hisses.

The Nero's streaked around the pitch twice together falling into formation they took another lap before they hovered nearer to the ground facing the Gryffindor team as their mouths dropped open when they saw the new brooms.

The foxes wore a new white uniform of combats, and long sleeved top. Their names printed in silver on their backs, and the Nero coat of arms on the front. They looked spectacular, and decidedly non-magical-world.

They watched their crimson robed opponents with amused smirks as they hovered. Longbottom's face was priceless.

"Oh my god!" Lee declared in shock. "Ladies and Gentlemen. I don't know how they did it but the Foxes are all riding Guststar Zero's. The fastest broom in the world!" Lee then went off into a rant about the broom while the Nero's landed smoothly in front of the pissed off Gryffindor team.

"How did you losers get those!" demanded Ron jealously. "None of you could afford one."

"Ha, not us!" laughed the twins.

"Nor me," giggled Ginny.

"Not me either," smirked Emily with a shrug.

"Nope, it was me!" interrupted Harry with a smug grin getting wide eyes from the Gryffindor team. "What do you think only pureblooded wizards can be filthy rich. It just gives Ronald another reason to hate me, but hey I can live with that."

"Your going down Potter!" he spat angrily.

"Bring it, Weasley!" he replied with a smirk.

"Ok enough of this," interrupted Hooch in annoyance. However, her eyes held a hint of amusement as they lay on the Nero teams new brooms. "We have a match to begin."

Therefore, the match went underway when Madam Hooch launched the balls. Ginny swooped in straight of the mark and grabbed the qwuffle, streaking towards Oliver Wood at the Gryffindor hoops. The large keeper watched the fast streaking first year with trepidation but she passed at the last second to Kelly, and as Oliver turned to her, she let the scarlet ball drop where Emily was waiting and caught it, launching upwards she tossed the ball back to Ginny and she hit it straight through the left hoop.

The crowd roared and booed in great numbers as Oliver retrieved the qwuffle and passed it to Katie Bell who went towards the Nero side of the pitch her fellow chasers flanking her.

Harry zoned out of the rest of the match here, as he needed to pay attention to what he was doing as he dodged a bludger hit by Ron and smirked as Fred smacked it right back and Ron was almost dislodged from his broom.

Harry looked away searching for the snitch, and watching Neville out of the corner of his eyes. The fat Boy-Who-Lived was not paying much attention to him as he searched out for the snitch himself. Harry grinned suddenly as he got a cunning idea and shot off towards the other end of the pitch, not too fast but fast enough to gain a shadow in Longbottom.

Harry then shot down faster with a slight twist on his decent and moving faster. He looked behind to see Longbottom right on his tail looking smug and victorious. However, Harry steepened his dive suddenly, and he was glad Neville managed to keep up. They could hear Lee's commentary about how Harry had seen the stitch. Then Harry pulled up to the left nearing the Slytherin side of the stands the wind blasting through his ears as he blast towards the stands before pulling up and back at the last second.

Harry reared out of harm but the huge crunch sound and mass of gasps told him Neville was not very lucky. He looked back at the stands and down as the Slytherin's and Nero's cheered to see Longbottom's broom in pieces and the Boy-Who-Lived unmoving in the floor. However, the match continued as some people rushed out to check on the Gryffindor seeker.

"And Harry Potter has just pulled a sidewinder faint on Neville Longbottom, and I don't think he's getting up after that!" said Lee sadly over the noise from the crowd.

Harry pulled back up a few more meters avoiding an angrily directed bludgers by Seamus Finnegan, and slowly circling the pitch like a bird of prey hunting the snitch. The score now 90 – 20 Nero in the lead. However, Harry had plenty of time to just let the points get higher as he drifted about lazily. He spotted someone levitating Longbottom out of the stadium.

Fred flew up at that moment with a smug smirk on his lips.

"That was awesome, Harry," he complimented. "You have as much time as you want now. I can't believe he actually thought he was keeping up with you because of his own skill."

"I know," he agreed smugly. "He actually thought he could keep up if I was chasing the snitch," he added shaking his head in mock disappointment.

Fred just laughed as he went back to the match trying to get his brother Ron with a bludger for the simple heck of it. Harry was watching the match as it continued with the Gryffindor's becoming more and more violent and desperate and the Nero's had to up the violence in retaliation to keep going strong.

It had been another fifteen minutes when something felt wrong with Harry's broom as it suddenly lurched forward and Harry Had to hold on tight to keep on his broom as it came to a halt. It then bucked and rocked trying to buck him off and he was having trouble staying on as it rocked side to side, back and forth.

He could feel a foreign magic interfering with his broom. He held on tight as he tried his hardest to trace the trail of magic. The best he got was it coming from the teachers stand. His right wrist suddenly tingled and he knew straightaway what it meant just as he was flung from his broom, but kept a float when he watched his broom fall he felt that same foreign magic trying but failing to interfere with his flight magic as the crowd watched in confusion, when suddenly he felt the magic cease.

Harry reached down and his broom flew back up and into his hand and he slid back on fast as he saw the snitch the crowd went wild as he shot after it before Voldemort could interfere again. He blast down towards the ground, reaching out as a bludger suddenly smashed into his outstretched arm snapping it clean. He grit his teeth in pain as he flew off his broom and reached out with his left arm and took the snitch just as he crashed into the ground skidding and bouncing painfully to a stop. He finished on his back in a lot of pain.

The crowed went quiet as his vision blurred. He smiled lightly as he felt the fluttering wings between his fingers. He raised his left arm with a smile and heard as his team were declared the winners and the stadium erupted into cheers.

His team all charged down and began frantically checking him over, but the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was Ginny's worried face hovering over him, and it warmed his heart to know she cares so much.

**

Harry awoke later groggily in the hospital wing to one of the strangest sights he ever had seen in the wizarding world. He was surrounded by a group of Nero Housemates and they were glaring to his right. He looked over curiously to see a group of Gryffindor's surrounding Longbottom's bed glaring right back. Professor McGonagall stood with them looking annoyed, and as Harry looked back at his group, he saw Professor Lupin was standing with them, smiling.

"Ah, Harry you're awake," said Lupin suddenly with a soft smile.

"Harry!" chimed Ginny excitedly as she noticed to. "We won… you caught the snitch. The score ended up being two hundred and sixty to fifty."

"Awesome!" he replied croakily. "But what the hell happened to get me back here?"

"Weasley hit you with a bludger," said Emily. "Not that it stopped you, eh?"

He chuckled nervously but grinned widely.

"I guess not, but why are you all here?"

"Making sure those pesky Gryffindor's don't attack you," said Fred as he came into view.

"Though there is no need for that," interrupted Madam Pomfree as she pushed her way through to Harry. "Nobody will be attacked in my hospital wing," she added as she checked Harry over. "Here drink this," she said forcing a potion down his throat.

"Yuk," he moaned wrinkling up his face in disgust.

"Well Mr. Potter you are free to leave," she commanded. "And take this, riffraff with you," she added gesturing the other Nero's before pushing her way through and heading to the Gryffindor's looking annoyed still.

"All right, party time," yelled out George Weasley to some eager cheers from everyone else.

Harry chuckled as he climbed out of bed testing his body. He felt good considering he had broken his arm and fallen off his broom not long ago.

They all left the hospital wing in high spirits. Ginny was holding onto Harry's right arm carefully as if to make sure he doesn't get hurt again and talking adamantly about the match, and the goals she scored, and how awesome his catch was even though he had no competition for it at the time. It was a short trip to their tower and once they entered the common room, it suddenly exploded into cheers as the team had finally arrived.

The house had proclaimed plenty of drinks and cakes for the party and reliving the match with vigour as they congratulated Harry on taking out Longbottom early on and showing him how useless, he truly is on a broom. It was amazing the amount of praise the team received from the house, something that Harry was not used to since he had never gotten any praise before he came to Hogwarts, but he liked the feeling of being appreciated, and cared for as other house members asked about his well being after his accident on the pitch.

The party lasted several hours before they all steadily drifted to their dorms and to bed and sleep as exhaustion had settled on most. It had been a long exciting day and it had to end sometime.

The next day was interesting with the way the Gryffindor's were unusually subdued over their humiliating defeat. However, the Slytherin's were nice enough to remind the Gryffindor's every chance they had got. Neville Longbottom was a prime target of ridicule as he was up and about by lunchtime that day, though he had a slight limp.

Harry had a weird suspicion Professor Quirrell was working with Voldemort somehow that lunch because every time he looked towards the teachers table and his eyes drifted over the stuttering professor his fox tattoo came to life and tingled slightly. He had also seen something similar happening to Longbottom's scar, but the Boy-Who-Lived was always looking at Snape when it happened as if it was his doing. Sure if Harry were to guess the evilest teacher in school he would think of Snape first, but then he would think of Quirrell who is definitely up to something.

The rest of the school term swam by smoothly, and the more he saw Quirrell the more his fox mark tingled and awoke. He often smiled when it happen because Voldemort had given him some kind of early warning system.

Harry had been doing a bit of research on the dark mark, and other marks like it trying to find out what it is supposed to do. From what he has found out, the mark is used for calling each other. You just pulse magic through one and it burns the ones you are calling, and in theory, they would come to your call. He wondered whether he could figure out how it is made so he could potentially use it himself, though he didn't like the thought of it burning so hoped it could be altered to go cold instead to just cool the arm. He could see other potential uses; maybe it could be changed so it could be used to send short messages.

He had also began his search for books on animagi but none of the books he found in the library told him how to become one, they only talked about them. Harry figured all of the proper books were in the forbidden section and doubted any teacher would give him permission to look in that section unless he gave them a good reason why.

Harry put his name down for leaving Hogwarts during the Christmas holiday's with Ginny and the twins. They had told Harry that Mr. Weasley had tried to reconcile things with Mrs. Weasley but she was being worse than ever about the way he acted, and that three of their children were a disgrace in Nero House, which drove him over the edge to the point he had actually cut her off from any of his hard earned money.

Harry felt a bit guilty that he was partially responsible for the falling apart of a family, but Ginny always made him feel better about it. Mr. Weasley had of course agreed to meet up with them at Diagon Alley, though he was not told why, but he had been staying at the Leaky Cauldron anyway, and expected all three would be reluctant to return to their mother.

It was the day they were due to leave for the holiday when Harry was just checking he had everything packed he found a book on his bed wrapped in a blue silk cloth.

Curious and confused he opened it to find and animagi book he had never seen before with a white card on it with a short note, which he quickly read?

Harry,

It has come to my attention you have been searching for this book.

I must ask that you be careful while using it, as it can be dangerous, but I am sure you are both talented and smart enough to not hurt yourselves or let anyone you don't trust one hundred percent know of it.

From a Friend

Harry was surprised and confused not knowing who would have gotten him this book, but he was not going to complain. He might find out eventually so he re-wrapped the book and hid it at the bottom of his trunk before shrinking it down and placing it in his pocket for easy travel.

Shaking his head clear he grinned and left his dorm room and into the common room meeting with Ginny and the twins who also had shrunk their trunks as they were not travelling by the train and did not want to dragged their trunks around with them.

To Be Continued…

A\N: I'm not very happy with this chapter as I'm no good with describing sporting events. It feels more like a filler chapter than anything else, so I hope the next chapter shall be better.

Please read my new story, Villains and Heroes, see my profile.