Chapter 10: Duels and Discussions

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As far as Harry was concerned, he was glad to get out of the Potions classroom. He really didn't get a whole lot of fuzzy feelings down there. While the subject fascinated him, he couldn't help but wish a different professor taught it. One that didn't seem like they were going to eat him if he made a small mistake. Though in all honesty, he could understand what a small mistake could lead to after seeing Neville land in the hospital wing just for putting the porcupine quills in before taking the cauldron off the fire. Of course, messing up would have been an easy thing to do if you hadn't read the instructions, and that meant you had to come to class with the instructions read since there wasn't time to pore over them deeply while you made the potion. Harry didn't know why, but he made a vow to work on making potions one of his best subjects. Now that he had books all his own, he would be able to write in them and mark them the way he wanted, and he intended to do just that—especially when it came to Potions.

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The second week of classes went by easier than the first week, if only for the fact that he actually had half a clue where he was going. Minerva had rewarded him with 10 behavior points for making it through the first week of school without getting into trouble and just handling it all so well. As a result, Harry found himself thanking Merlin that Potions was only once a week and that that was the only class the Gryffindor first years had with the Slytherins. It made his life blessedly less chaotic without having to worry about Malfoy.

While Harry was glad for the simple things—like being away from Malfoy—Ron found himself getting more and more irritated that Hermione seemed to know everything. Ron would often complain about her, but Harry let it all roll off him like it was nothing. He was realizing that his redheaded friend liked to complain a lot, and it really was just complaints. He didn't expect anything to be done about it, and he always had something new to complain about. Harry also had his hands full trying to keep Neville from feeling worthless. Harry wasn't top of his classes, but Neville was at the bottom of everything except Herbology.

Things got even more complicated when it was announced that flying lessons would start the second week of school. Harry was having mixed feelings at this news; he wanted to learn to fly, but he was scared he'd make an idiot out of himself. To make matters even worse, Gryffindor first years were scheduled to have these lessons with the Slytherin first years. If there was one boy Harry hated more than Dudley Dursley, it was Draco Malfoy. In light of that event, Harry found that the last thing he wanted to do was make an idiot out of himself in front of Malfoy and end up breaking his neck.

His nerves weren't anything compared to Neville's, however, and Harry could understand why. Neville had a hard time staying upright with both feet on the ground. Harry didn't want to think about the many possible dangers of making the boy fly through the air on an enchanted stick of wood with twigs.

Hermione's nerves were something nobody knew how to deal with, since she was always the confident know-it-all. Flying wasn't something you could learn in a book, though, and as a result, Hermione looked just as panicked as Neville. As usual, nobody cared and her random facts fell on deaf ears while everyone worried about themselves. Of course, several children from magical families—like Ron—already knew how to fly and were just excited.

Things brightened for Harry when his was one of the only brooms to shoot into his hand at the first attempt. However, they took a steep dive when Neville's broom decided to act on its own and finally dump him from high in the air.

Harry and Ron rushed over to kneel by their friend, but the entire class was right behind them. Madam Hooch had to, quite literally, shove students out of the way in order to get to Neville so that she could assess the damage. She declared it a broken wrist and told everyone that she would be taking him to the hospital wing and also that nobody was to touch their brooms until she got back on threat of expulsion.

Everyone was headed back to the field where class had started chatting animatedly about Neville when Malfoy stooped down and picked something up out of the grass: Neville's Remembrall. When Harry saw it, he stepped right up to Malfoy. He had been bullied all of his life, but he wasn't going to let it continue to be that way. This was a new life for him, and Harry had vowed to stand up and defend himself and his friends. He had never had any friends before, and now that he did, he was going to make sure they could depend on him for support.

When Malfoy took off on his broom out of Harry's reach, he had to think things through a little. Madam Hooch had told them not to fly until she returned or that they would be expelled. He had also never flown in his life, and Malfoy had been flying all of his. Malfoy's taunts reminded him so much of Dudley that Harry grabbed his own broom after just a few seconds. His next obstacle came in the form of Hermione grabbing hold of him and telling him that he couldn't possibly go after Malfoy because he didn't know how to fly, and they weren't supposed to until Madam Hooch got back. Her telling him what to do just sparked that anger even more, so he yanked out of her grasp and took off on his broom after Malfoy.

As it turned out, Malfoy was just a good bluffer. As soon as Harry showed up in front of him, Malfoy's smug look disappeared. He refused to give up without a small kind of victory, though, so threw the little glass ball as hard as he could. Determined not to let his friend's Remembrall be broken, Harry dove after it and was able to catch it just in time to pull out of the dive without crashing into the ground below.

The first thing Harry saw when he turned around with the Remembrall clutched high in his fist was his fellow Gryffindors cheering. The second thing he saw was Minerva storming toward him looking ready to kill.

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Minerva had been in the entrance hall when Rolanda had walked by with Neville Longbottom. She didn't have a class at this time, so Rolanda had asked her to watch the first years for a moment since they still had their brooms and hadn't learned to use them yet. Minerva agreed, knowing that they probably couldn't be trusted to stay out of trouble if unsupervised with brooms. Sure enough, as soon as Minerva got to the field where Rolanda had been teaching them, she could see two small figures in the air. Hurrying forward, she made no effort to hide her anger.

Minerva had just made out the white blonde hair of Draco Malfoy and the messy black hair of Harry Potter when the blonde threw something with all of his might. Minerva felt her heart stop as she watched Harry dive after the falling object and thought she was going to pass out when she saw him barely pull out of the dive in time to keep from breaking his neck.

It only took her half a second to catch her breath, and then she resumed her journey toward the first years. She was so flooded with emotion that she could barely tell which way was up. She found herself absolutely horrified that Harry could have gotten seriously hurt seeing as he had never flown before, and even the most advanced flyers would have a hard time pulling out of a dive like that. She was also angry that Harry and Draco had broken Rolanda's rule about not flying until she returned. At the same time, however, she felt great pride that he had been able to pull off such a dive without any training. He truly was a natural. He was a natural that could help Gryffindor win the House Cup for the first year in a very long time. She hadn't seen any talent that good since Charlie Weasley, and even he couldn't have pulled off that dive.

She could barely form words, let alone a complete sentence, when she stormed over to collect Harry from the crowd. Without any explanation, she told the boy to follow her and then made her way back through the castle. She knew it was kind of unfair to only drag Harry off when she had seen Draco in the air as well, but right now her only concern was Harry. She would see Rolanda around later, and would tell her about Draco's part in this stunt then. For now, she just had to push her way through her stampede of emotions as she got her heart to stop racing.

She didn't say a word as she walked Harry through the corridors of the castle. She could sense his fear and dread, but she honestly didn't trust herself to speak. She already knew that she may very well regret this, but it was too great of an opportunity to pass up. Therefore, she didn't hesitate as she marched to Filius's classroom and asked for Wood. When the burly 5th year appeared looking as confused as Potter standing beside her, most of her emotion had bled into excitement, and she lost no time explaining what she had just seen and that Harry would make a perfect Seeker for Gryffindor's Quidditch team. She decided that this was so astounding that, just this once, she would forget any thought of punishment. She did, after all, have a soft spot for the boy. Add in the fact that this could be her ticket to beating Slytherin and that Harry had been trying to save something for a friend, and she simply didn't have the heart to scold him. She did, however, issue a warning to him to make sure to practice hard.

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"Are you serious?" Ron had a chicken leg halfway to his mouth, and he was staring at his best friend as if he had just sprouted a tail. "First years don't make the house team. Blimey, they aren't even allowed their own brooms."

Harry could just shrug as he brought a bite of steak and kidney pie to his mouth. Neville was still in the hospital wing, so it was just the two friends together at dinner, and Harry had just told Ron the news about making Seeker. "Miner— Professor McGonagall says that I'm the youngest Quidditch player in a century." Harry was still getting used to using the names correctly, since even at school he sometimes called Minerva and Albus by their first names. Often, actually, since the only time he didn't was when they were in class or in a student-teacher position.

"She must have been really impressed." Ron now spoke through a mouth full of chicken, since he seemed to remember that ten minutes ago he had been convinced he would starve to death.

"Harry, you shouldn't have done it." Harry jumped about a foot in the air and nearly fell off the bench when he heard a voice beside him. Hermione had joined them without their knowledge and was now, as usual, offering her opinion on the subject.

"Don't you ever shut up?" Ron moaned, glaring at the girl.

"For your information, Ronald, I wasn't even talking to you." Hermione spoke in a very huffy voice, and refused to look at Ron. Instead, she focused her attention on Harry. "I know you got named Seeker, but Madam Hooch said we weren't supposed to fly. You could have gotten into lots of trouble and could have broken your neck."

Harry was about to reply when an even more annoying voice drawled out behind him. "You better listen to your girlfriend, Potter; you don't want to shame your new guardian by getting kicked out of school." Ron thought that Hermione was the most annoying person on earth, but Harry would listen to her jabber all day as long as he never had to hear—or see—Malfoy. "Dumbledore's golden boy chucked out of school because he thinks he's more special than he really is."

"Shove off, Malfoy." Harry spoke through clenched teeth and gripped his fork so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"If you think you're so good, Potter, why not face me in a wizard's duel?" This statement made Hermione gasp and Ron spin around in his seat.

"What—" Harry started, but before he could continue, Ron cut him off.

"When and where?"

"Ron, dueling isn't allowed," Hermione chastised, but Ron just ignored her.

"I'll be in the trophy room at midnight." Draco's sneer grew as he then walked away.

"Ron, I don't even know what—" Harry didn't get to finish, however, because Harry's owl—Hedwig—flew over to him carrying a small note. Opening it, he saw Albus's curly writing asking to meet with him after dinner. It was signed "Albus," so Harry knew it wasn't a meeting with the headmaster, but there was just something about it that made him feel a bit uneasy.

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When Harry got to Albus's office, he found Albus and Minerva discussing something quite heatedly. Without really thinking about it, Harry stopped outside the door and just listened quietly instead of letting his presence be known immediately. It wasn't that he wanted to eavesdrop; he just didn't like interrupting.

"Albus, I don't see why you are so upset about this." Neither of them was yelling, but by the tone of Minerva's voice, it was clearly an argument.

"I am not upset, Minerva; I am concerned about Harry. Someone tried to steal the sorcerer's stone out of Gringotts, and even if we don't know the whereabouts of Lord Voldemort, I don't feel comfortable with him becoming reckless. Even if it was just flying unsupervised, we don't know where it will take him. He's a curious boy that knows nothing about his past. Yes, that is because I kept it from him, but I didn't intend to keep it all from him. The Dursleys didn't do as I asked."

"That is not the boy's fault, Albus." Minerva sounded slightly exasperated.

"I know that, Minerva." Despite how frustrated Minerva sounded, Albus seemed to be remaining calm. "It's not just that, though. He is a curious boy, and I'm worried about approving reckless behavior like this. On top of that, however, you have bent the rules to allow him to be on the Quidditch team." This felt like a slap in the face to Harry. Albus didn't want him on the Quidditch team? "This is a dangerous sport; that's why first years are not allowed on the House teams."

"You didn't see him, Albus; he has true talent!" Minerva sounded desperate but absolutely pleased.

"That may be, but that doesn't change the fact that he's eleven and doesn't need to be worried about this insane sport." Albus's voice was beginning to take on an irritated tone. "He still has to get used to the school and everything that goes with it. That right there is the main reason first years aren't on the House teams. Harry already has more on his plate with finding out that he's famous and will therefore never have a normal childhood. We should be giving him every opportunity he can have to be normal. Putting him above the rules and making him a Seeker is not treating him normal, Minerva. I don't care how much talent the boy has."

As Harry listened to this, he completely forgot he wasn't supposed to be there. He was grateful that Albus wanted him to feel normal. He really didn't like all of the stares and whispers he got just by walking down the hall. At the same time, though, it scared him that Albus might take him off the Quidditch team. Not many people knew about this yet, but it would still be a big blow to him.

"You can't just pull him from the team. I've already told him and Wood that he could play." Obviously, Minerva shared Harry's opinion on this matter.

"I won't pull him, Minerva." Albus's tone was kind, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "I just want to tell the boy that he can't simply do whatever pops into his head. We are currently his guardians and are working on becoming his parents. We have to set guidelines for him to follow, guidelines that keep him safe. I know that you want the best team you can get. I, however, want you to think about Harry's safety. Ever since you were in school, you've been obsessed with Gryffindor beating Slytherin. So much, in fact, that it seems you would sometimes go to extreme measures just to make it happen."

Harry was confused at this turn in the conversation; did Minerva seriously care all that much? Why?

"What I urge you to remember is why you have that obsession," Albus continued in a calm voice. Harry couldn't see him, but he could picture the old man gazing at the young—in comparison—woman with that knowing look. "When that other Chaser rammed into you, knocking you off your broom, you were seriously hurt. You left that game with a serious concussion and several broken ribs. You were 17 at the time and much bigger and more experienced than Harry is right now. I understand your desire to see Slytherin crushed after that nasty play, but you shouldn't compromise Harry's safety for it. You are not the only one that has gotten hurt in Quidditch, even just here at Hogwarts. You brought up Oliver Wood, and you have to remember that he took a Bludger to the head his first game and was unconscious for an entire week. Fred and George Weasley are fantastic Beaters, but even they let those things get through now and then."

Harry heard Minerva sigh, and found his own mind reeling. People could get seriously hurt during this game and that was without broom malfunctions. To make it even more shocking was the image he now had of Minerva playing as a Chaser. Of course, he had a hard time imagining her in school at all; she may only be half as old as Albus, but to him, she was still old.

"I know, Albus; I haven't forgotten." Minerva's fight seemed to have left her, and she spoke calmly.

"Alright, Harry, I think it's time you join this conversation properly." Harry jumped at being addressed directly. He was still outside the door and had kind of forgotten what he was doing here in the first place. Albus had brought him back to earth, however, and now he was more than a little embarrassed. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but that couldn't really be changed now. Instead, he opened the door to see a very surprised Minerva and an amused Albus.

"How long have you been out there, Harry?" Harry felt a blush creep into his cheeks at Minerva's strict tone and looked at his feet.

"A while," he admitted shyly. "I didn't want to interrupt, and I didn't mean to stay out there so long."

"Next time just announce your presence, Harry." Minerva spoke crisply, and Harry could just nod.

"I'm really sorry about this afternoon." Harry now looked right at Dumbledore, and the older wizard just nodded. "I wasn't trying to get praise; I just get so annoyed with people that act like bullies, and that's all Malfoy is. Then Hermione started bossing me around, and I just took off." Harry knew he was babbling and making excuses. It wasn't Hermione's fault. It wasn't even Draco's fault—well, not entirely, anyway. He had chosen to go after Draco, though; Hermione had just tried to talk some sense into him.

"Harry," Dumbledore spoke quietly but never broke eye contact with Harry as he spoke, "I would like you to tell me what happened this afternoon. I know that you were flying when Madam Hooch told you not to and that you made a remarkable catch. What I don't know is why."

Harry sighed as he thought about how to explain everything. "Neville received a Remembrall from his grandmother, and it was on him when we were flying this afternoon. When he fell, it must have fallen out of his pocket because suddenly Malfoy picked it up and started going off insulting Neville and saying he was going to hide the Remembrall. As I said before, Malfoy is just a big bully, and I couldn't let him just pick on my new friends, even if they aren't around to hear him. I told him to give it back, and Malfoy got on his broom and told me to come get it. Hermione tried to stop me, and I got even more annoyed at being ordered around by kids my own age that I just took off after Malfoy. He lost confidence when he realized I could fly, and he threw the Remembrall and I dove to catch it. I just didn't want Neville's Remembrall to get broken. His grandmother is always frustrated as it is, and he really tries hard." Harry sighed and looked over at Minerva who was watching Albus.

"I understand you wanting to defend your friends, Harry, and even stand up to bullies. You've been bullied your entire life, and you don't want to go back to that." Albus was watching Harry intently, and Harry just drank in every word he spoke. "You don't have to, though. You are strong here and very independent. I know the only reason you were bullied by your cousin was because they ganged up on you, and you weren't allowed to fight back without getting in trouble. Now you won't get in trouble for defending yourself, but you don't need to break rules to do it."

"Yes sir." If Harry didn't know any better, he would have guessed that Dumbledore knew about the duel that Malfoy had challenged him to that night. Ron had explained a little about what was going on, and Harry had found himself wondering if this was a good idea or not.

"Now, Minerva already told you that you would be on the Quidditch team, so I won't contradict her. However, I will take 5 behavior points, and I want you to write me a one foot essay on why the rules are in place."

Harry could just nod as he watched Minerva and Albus; that seemed pretty fair all things considered. "I'll get right on it, sir."

"I'm sure you will, Harry. Why don't you give it to me on Monday night when we do our family bonding?" Albus had a small twinkle in his eye again and smiled over at Minerva. Then, he relaxed in his chair and pulled out his tin of sweets. "Have a lemon drop before you go, Harry. Of course, you're welcome to stay as long as you like."

"Thank you, sir." Harry took the offered lemon drop and looked over at Minerva. "Did you really play Quidditch when you were at school?"

Minerva just smiled and then told Harry about her days at Hogwarts. Not surprisingly, she had been Prefect and Head Girl. She had also gotten top marks in school, and on top of it all, she had played Quidditch. Albus offered his memories of Minerva growing up, and the three of them talked for quite a while.

Soon it got close to curfew, though, and Harry knew that he should be headed to Gryffindor Tower. With a quick goodbye to Albus and Minerva, Harry left with a handful of lemon drops. A lot of things had happened today, and Harry was glad to be able to talk things over with someone that actually cared. Now that he was away from the Dursleys, he found that lots of people cared. Ron and Neville were his first real friends and saw him as a type of leader. They honestly cared if he was upset and were legitimately happy when something good happened to him. He also had Albus and Minerva to look after him and listen when he needed it. In a strange way, he also kind of had Hermione. Ron thought she was the most annoying thing on the planet, but she had really tried to keep him out of trouble this afternoon when he went flying after Draco, even if her reasons were probably related to Gryffindor possibly suffering for his choice.

Yes, Harry thought, he had lots of people that cared. He had no reason to prove himself and no reason to feel inadequate. He hadn't been sure about the duel thing earlier, but now he knew for sure that he wasn't going. He didn't care if Malfoy thought he was a coward; it was Malfoy that hid behind two big thugs he called friends. Harry didn't need to lower himself to his level. In fact, Harry decided that he was just going to pretend that Malfoy didn't exist. He only had two classes with the Slytherins, and each of them were only once a week. One of them kept him extremely busy, seeing as he was supposed to focus on the potion, and the other one—well, Malfoy had no material to taunt him with now that Harry knew he was a natural at flying. No, he was definitely not going to let Malfoy annoy him anymore—or, at the very least, get a reaction out of him.

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Author's Note: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter up. I've been working with some serious writer's block. Coming up is "Monday's With Minerva" so I do have future ideas. Don't worry about that. I also wasn't able to get this chapter to my editor until Saturday night and she can't expect to be able to get it done instantly. I will hopefully update each Saturday. Anyways, for those of you who celebrate it, happy MLK day. It's the reason I have the chance to write since schools have the day off.

As for Minerva, those of you that are curious, I got the information about her playing Quidditch from Harry Potter Wiki. It didn't say she was a chaser though, and didn't say how she got fouled, so I made that part up.

~Lily