Chapter 8: Gryffindor vs Slytherin
*AN* *Disclaimer* I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. The OC's belong to me! This all just for my enjoyment of writing and the hope that people out there will enjoy it!
_OO|O|OO_
Previously on HPBR:
"Harry? Harry?! Where are you? Are you alright?!" Sirius called out before limping over to Harry and falling to his knees next to him, pulling him into his arms. "Oh by the bloody Gods… are you alright? Are you hurt? Let me take a look at you."
Harry internally sighed with relief that he was alive. He was going to have to thank Cassius and Hermione for teaching him that spell… Wait…
"Hermione!" Harry then called out, springing to his feet.
"I'm fine…" he heard a meek and scared voice call out from the rubble.
Sirius was up in a moment following Harry to the sound of her voice, albeit a bit painfully.
"Harry, you know the levitation spell right? Good, two wizards are always better than one, remember that. Now cast it with me, one, two, three!
"Wingardium Leviosa!" The Godfather and Godson incanted together. Causing the rubble to float into the air, exposing an, albeit dusty but unharmed, Hermione. Huddled into the corner and shaking.
Upon seeing Harry, she burst from the corner and embraced him. Giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You came for me… you saved me…" She cried into his shoulder.
Breaking the spell, the rubble slowly drifted back to the ground.
Sirius then grunted and fell to a knee, clutching his side. "Harry, you're grounded. Don't ever scare me like that again… I don't know what you're grounded from, or even what i can ground you from. But you're still grounded."
Harry simply nodded. "I agree."
Sirius chuckled weakly, "No no no… you're not supposed to just accept your fate… you're supposed to come up with an excuse… ah, oh well… We'll make you a Marauder yet pup… taking down mountain trolls at 11… You're making us old geezers look bad."
That's when they heard a gasp from the door.
This is where the fun begins… Harry thought glumly.
_OO|O|OO_
Location: ?; Time: ?
'By the creator this is boring!' Thought a man with intricate and pristine Norse leather clothing and a horned crown, huffing outwardly as he thought this while leaning back in his chair within a great white room.
"Patience. The others will get here." Said a man concealed by a grey cloak, half as a demand, half as a request.
"Yeah, you heard him, so shut up and be quiet Snake." A woman in a lustrous dress and flowers in her hair ground out through clenched teeth, "Why is he even here All-father? He's not even one of us!" Which drew varying degrees of agreement and disagreement amongst the gathered members.
*BANG*
The multiple men and women at the table, all in Norse clothing and armor of varying degrees, turn to the grey-cloaked man who slammed his fist.
"Enough! I will not have you all bickering like children still wet behind the ears!" He called out in a commanding tone. "He still has the blood of Asgard in his veins. As do all of you! Now sit down and be quiet, the others are here."
Multiple doors opened from seemingly nowhere and revealed many different people.
Three doors of Hindu design opened, revealing a man with many heads, a blue man with four arms, and a person that was half man and half woman. The Norse Gods recognized their Hindu peers as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Another door of Indian design opened, revealing a heavier man with a jolly aura and a broad smile on his face. He was recognized as Buddha.
Another opening, this time as if a cloth covering was parted, revealing a sage old man with many pelts and Native American markings adorning his body and face. He had many names, Lakota, Gitche Manitou, Grandfather, and many more. His more common name was simply the Great Spirit.
Then, a Hellenic archway opened bearing three brothers, one at a time. First, Zeus, the Sky-Father, and King of the Gods of the Greek Pantheon. His pristine white robes matched his hair and beard, all of which crackled with electricity.
Second, came Hades, God of the Underworld. Wearing pure black robes, an unsettling void black helm, and his bident. Two mindless thralls wearing Ancient Greek armor followed close behind.
Then the last of the three, wearing salt eroded armor with the occasional barnacle here and there, and his brilliant golden trident in his hand. Poseidon, God of the seas.
That was when the last expected doors opened…
The first was an eerie stone archway… The Veil of Death. The second, is a door with a large clock on it, Father Time's door. Then lastly, what looked like a shimmering pool of water, a portal of sorts, Lady Fate.
Then the other, their current highest-ranking member on the council by the number of followers, mostly due to his efforts back in his zealous youth. He had a simple, perhaps even a bit rackety and poor-looking wooden door. Like Thor's father, Odin, he had many names, mostly due to how widespread his followers ranged in the Non-magic and Magic realms. Yahweh, Allah… or Simply God, of the Abrahamic Faiths.
His true form is imperceivable by mortal minds. Although his true form is not his preferred form, to mankind he looks like a simple, calm, normal-dressed, and friendly Judeo-Arabic man.
"Finally, we can get started then?" Thor called out from across the table, only to be hushed by a few of his fellows.
"We still must wait for the Creator." The Great Spirit advised, "Perhaps they may even show for this particular meeting, due to its importance."
A bit of agreement and trepidation spread across the room.
"The Creator has been missing for some time now, ever since we held the most prominence in both the magic and non-magic realms." Zeus pointed out, as his brothers nodded their agreement
"Aye! Let's just get this going. Darkness has been creeping deeper into our realms. If it continues as it has, untold death and destruction will be wrought on this world." Odin cautioned, making his way to the center of the room. "The Dark One and his Undying Corpse God have begun to make their move, and as Lady Fate pointed out in the last meeting, after his fall, he would only return in time. Just as she said, he is back. His wraith manifested and flowed from those vile Horcruxes he created."
Silence greeted the room, at his declaration.
"Patience…patience, I advise we wait and see." The Heavenly Buddha advised, "As we all know… the chosen one has also begun to grow and gather strength and allies."
This too brought forth a few "here here's" and agreement across the room.
In the end, all they could do is wait…
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Hogwarts Grounds, November 2nd, 1991
Harry walked along a hidden path on the grounds that Padfoot was showing him from the Marauder days, regaling his Godson with many tails of their exploits. In all honesty, Harry couldn't remember a time when he was more content and happy in his entire life. He finally fitted in, had a family member who actually cared for him and his well-being, and had a contingent of friends that he could honestly rely on. Not to mention... No more Dursleys!
The Headmaster had brought the change of guardianship papers to him this morning during brekky with Sirius in tow. It was decided that Sirius was to take immediate guardianship of Harry, as that was James and Lily's wish should the worst come to pass. The only stipulation was that Sirius receive immediate mind-healing and physical therapy sessions until he was deemed "Of good health." by the DMLE's board for the Well-Being of Current Aurors. Or the BWBCA for short, because as soon as the charges were dropped he regained his Auror and Hit-Wizard licenses and was officially under the jurisdiction of Madame Bones; who all but demanded it.
Afterward, Harry and Sirius went for a walk before the Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch match in about an hour or two. That is where they ended up currently, with Padfoot's most recent tale of how his then-pregnant mother had once hexed literally every piece of his father's clothing off of him, in order to beat him senseless for calling her fat.
"Oh you should have seen it pup..." he declared loudly amidst gut-wrenching laughter, "Prongs was running for his life completely starkers begging me to help him as his own shoes kicked him in the bum!" Which in turn caused Harry to laugh at both the story and his Dogfather's antics harder, trying desperately to wipe the tears from his eyes.
That was when a twig snapped next to them, and Sirius, faster than a blink was in front of Harry, wand out and at the ready aiming at the offending sound, "Who's there? Prongs and I were the only two who knew of this area. No use in hiding."
That was when two matching sets of red-haired identical boys walked out from the tall hedges.
"Could it really be Gred?" Twin One asked desperately
"I think it must be Forge..." Twin Two added with a sound of awe, causing Harry and Sirius to look at each other with matching confused expressions.
"And you are…?" Sirius then added tentatively, the tension and adrenaline slowing leaving him now that the intruders were just kids.
"Fred! One said.
"George!" Two said.
"At your service." They said in unison.
"Well, Fred and George, who most certainly must be Weasleys. Given your hair and the fact that you look just like your father." He began, holstering his wand in his sleeve. "That still doesn't explain how you found this place. Prongs and I transfigured this place in our 7th year. It's not on any of the official maps."
"Indeed we are Weasleys oh mighty Lord Black" They said in unison again, which puzzled the hell out of both Harry and Sirius, on how they did that so easily. Despite being twins of course. "Or should we say… Messr Padfoot of Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs!"
Sirius just looked at the twins inquisitively, until the realization hit him like a bludger. "You have the map! Don't you?!"
The twins simply smiled while Fred withdrew a folded-up paper from his robes as both of them said together, "Mischief managed." Which caused the map to unfold and reveal their location within the grounds."
"We nicked it off-" Fred started
"Filch in our second year!" Continued George
"For it was on his confiscated items shelf!" They finished with an illustrious synchronized bow.
"How are you two doing that?" Harry asked
"Doing what? They asked in unison with cheeky grins on their faces
"That!" Harry and Sirius both exclaimed, Harry amusedly and Sirius tiredly
"Trade secret."
Harry and Sirius face-faulted
_OO|O|OO_
Quidditch Stadium, Ravenclaw Stands
Harry was completely brimming with energy, to the point that even the tips of his hair were changing colors. Which Sirius eyed curiously, although not saying anything, 'thoughts for later'.
Harry watched eagerly as the rivals lined up against each other with grim determination. Apparently Gryffindor had struggled to find a seeker and eventually settled on the second year Cormac McLaggen. A braggart who had told the whole school about how amazing he was, despite being let into the team out of desperation.
He was pulled from his musings by a loud whistle, the bludgers and snitch were let out of their container. Harry's eyes locked onto the small golden object, as it shot off behind the Gryffindor goalkeeper before disappearing from view. He then turned back to the main event.
The tension was high, the opposing chasers shoving each other occasionally in anticipation of the quaffle being dropped.
Silence. Then…
The quaffle is tossed into the air by madame hooch, resulting in a mad dash by the chasers.
The crowd erupted as the game started in earnest. The Gryffindor chasers successfully having gotten one over on their Slytherin counterparts. Successfully getting a high loop goal as a result.
Sirius looked at his godson thoughtfully, as Harry was utterly enraptured by aerial the ballet of the two rival houses.
"Alright, as a former dashing chaser for Gryffindor's finest, I'm going to test you on game stuff so that you can be ready for your game next week." Sirius stated with a puffed out chest and broad smile. Briefly removing a nutrient and dementor exposure potion and taking his daily medication. "So, what do you notice between these two teams? Especially their play styles for when they play against your team eventually."
Harry nodded as he started to turn, only to get distracted by accidentally spotting the snitch, which was hiding behind one of the opposite stands. Where it eventually disappeared into the sky once more.
"Well, the Gryffindors seem to be exceptional with their teamwork, plan, and skill. It helps that they are all best friends. While the beaters are twins, which makes them deadly for their position." Sirius nodded on with a smile, encouraging Harry to keep going, "The goalkeeper seems to be calling the shots, and is actually quite good as well."
They turned back to the play, where the game was heating up. Gryffindor led 50-nil and seemed to being out flying the aggressive and physical Slytherin team.
"The Slytherin team has a similar chemistry level, however, they act more as underlings to their captain. They have a very effective, if brutal, game plan." Harry's words were punctuated by a Gryffindor chaser getting drilled by a bludger and giving up the quaffle to a waiting Slytherin who juked out the goalie with an impressive spin on his broom, scoring a goal and making the score 50-10. "They are highly physical and do well with wearing their opponents down over time. This game will most certainly be decided by the seekers. Who annoyingly have missed the snitch like five times." Harry grumbled the last part.
Sirius chuckled at his godson's frustration, "After you get the taste for quidditch, it's hard to just watch and not want to play." Sirius let out a wistful sigh, "You know, after the war I was planning to actually play professionally. Had even done well in the tryouts. Same as your father, however, his focus shifted to his family and his Lordship."
Harry's eyes grew to the size of saucers, and he looked at his godfather with awe. Before saddening a bit, knowing that Sirius has so many things taken from him by the war. "I'm sorry Sirius, I-"
They were interrupted by a Slytherin chaser getting debroomed by a well shot bludger, causing him to fall into the crowd and almost directly onto Harry and Sirius, who both were completely caught off guard, before helping the 6th year back onto his broom. Laughing as they did so.
After the chaser was back in the game, Sirius gave Harry an arm hug, before whispering to him "Don't you worry pup. I'm free, and both the gold from the ministry and the Black family businesses are getting me plenty and I have the best opportunity of them all."
Harry tilted his head in an obvious question
"To be a proper Godfather for you. To help be a part of the family that you deserve. To help you with schoolwork, give you advice about girls, and teach you how to prank! The Last one the most important respectfully." He said the last part with a wink, which earned a watery chuckle from Harry, who was already overwhelmingly happy from the admission, " I wasn't there for you when I should have been pup, and I will spend the rest of my life making up for that. Now, enough of all this heavy stuff and me being a blubbering git. We came here for Quidditch!"
After that they turned back to the game, only to realize that the score was tied at 80-80. However, a sense of excitement rose up in Harry! Mclaggen had spotted the snitch and was flying after it with Terence Higgs right on his tail! The surrounding play almost seemed to stop and watch, cheering on their prospective seekers. However…
The Weasley twins were up to something, and that had Sirius on his feet, "Oh there's a prank in the works! I can feel it!"
Harry had also made it to his feet, as had a majority of the crowd, the noise becoming deafening in response. The seekers were now neck and neck, with Higgs being the bigger and more experienced of the two seekers. That's who Harry had his money on in this match up. Then, he heard a crack in the distance, and then a bludger screaming towards the pair of seekers.
Coming from the side of Higgs, it drilled the slytherin seeker, but kept going and unfortunately hit Mclaggen too. Causing them both go off balance and lurch forward at the snitch before plummeting towards the ground.
"One of them has it!" Harry breathed out.
Everyone drew quiet as the pair landed in a mess of twisted limbs before conking each other in head, as they came to a stop. Both boys unconscious.
Everyone drew a bated breath as Madame Hooch raced to the fallen seekers. She then looked to their hands to see who had the snitch only to be caught off guard.
They had their fingers locked with the snitch stuck in the middle.
there was a shocked silence, apparently, no one, even the referee, knew what to do in a situation like this. Not knowing what to do, the Madame pulled out her wand and placed it on her neck, "The seekers of both teams have claimed the snitch and after careful inspection, both have equal claim to it" her voice loudly echoed throughout the stadium, "Thusly due to the highly irregular circumstance that has led us to this, I will take inspiration from the American Quidditch league and send this game to a shoot out!"
Silence reigned, only to be shortly replaced by pandemonium. Both boos and cheers were heard, but in the end this would protect against either side, claiming they won, and it not being left to decision. Harry actually applauded the ref for that.
The first up to shoot would be the head, Gryffindor chaser, Angelina, Harry vaguely recalled.
After she was handed the quaffle, her strategy proved effective, which saw her rush, the keeper at top speed before letting go of the quaffle as she dove for the far right hoop. Tricking the keeper into following her feint, and allowing it to just lightly tumble into the top hoop!
Cheers erupted from the crowd, as she celebrated her goal by doing a cool little trick on her broom.
" I may be wrong, so don't quote me," Sirius stated while rubbing the beard on his chin, " I think Gryffindor needs to score one more if Slytherin does not score here. To 'confirm it' so to speak."
Harry nodded, watching the Slytherin captain head up to the middle with bated breath. Flint. Harry remembered his father from the Wizengamot.
As compared to his Gryffindor, counterpart, Flint flew in slow and methodically, before mounting his broom, by standing upon it, balancing with the quaffle in hand. However, when he got to around four or five brooms distance away, he pointed the Quaffle hard towards the far left hoop. Scoring completely unimpeded.
Sirius let out a small whistle, "Now that was a pretty goal, as much as I am loathe to admit it." Causing Harry to nod agreeingly.
There were a bit more boos following that goal, however, Gryffindor was eager to get another one. They sent out their next best chaser Alicia. Who ended up just making a simple juke, before beating the keeper over his shoulder.
One of the other Slytherin chasers, who Harry didn't recognize, was up next he tried a similar trick to Alicia but was stopped by the Gryffindor captain. Which made the crowd erupt.
Now it was on the next two shots. The last Gryffindor chaser had to score in order to lock it in, then the keeper had to keep one more shot out and Gryffindor wins. Taking a similar approach to Angelina, she rocketed off the start.
This wasn't good, she was going for the same trick.
She continued on, just like the last time, before she put her hand up like she was doing the drop shot. Making the keeper commit, only to tuck it back in on the turn, shooting at the exposed right hoop. Pandemonium followed.
If Slytherin didn't score here it was all over.
Flint sent out the last chaser, a meek looking second year, who very obviously was crumbling to pressure. However, the other chaser, who Harry thought was 3rd year, flew up to the panicking 2nd year and put his arm around his shoulder, saying something to him that seemed to bolster his resolve. They gave each other a light fist bump, before the 3rd year flew back to the rest of his teammates.
"Pucey. Adrian Pucey, if I'm not mistaken." Sirius stated suddenly, "I knew his father back in my Hogwarts years. Terrence, his name was. An honorable family, the Pucey's, old as well. Very influential business investors and craftsmen well known for being straightforward, honest, and trustworthy in their dealings. Irrespective of their craft or business. It would seem to be continued with the heir. That was a right kind thing he did for his teammate."
Harry agreed wholeheartedly. It was cool to see Slytherins like Pucey, Cassius, and Evelynne. The less stereotypical arch villain types the better, because unlike certain pig-headed Gryffindors liked to believe, not all Slytherins are just "Slimy Snakes".
Harry was pulled from his musings by the whistle of Madame Hooch signaling the the chaser, Brightwater, he heard his family name was, to make for the goal. He seemed to gather his courage and make for the goal, intent on keeping hope alive.
Harry watched in awe, as Brightwater moved almost hypnotically towards the goalkeeper, which impressively seemed to be working, before he suddenly went upside and hooked towards the left hoop. He had him beat! Then, when he shot…
*ding*
The quaffle had hit the side of the ring. Making a loud noise.
Silence… then, "GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
The crowd goes wild, Harry and Sirius included. What a match!
The Gryffindors flood the field in celebration of their victory over their rival. Brightwater looks utterly defeated, and floats slowly to his teammates. Adrian immediately comforts him, while the rest are upset, especially Flint, the group shrugs it off and compliments him for the rookies smooth moves and multiple goals throughout the game. Which itself made Harry smile the most.
The Gryffindor-Slytherin match up of the century. The final score, Gryffindor 230 - Slytherin's 80. The first and only Hogwarts quidditch match to end in a shootout.
*AN* Hello all. I'm baaaaack, and honestly believing I'm ready to give this story another go. I have some really awesome ideas on how to proceed, but, I need some feedback on a few things.
1.) Harry is going to eventually inherit a few titles, however, I am unsure if I should do a HarryxMultiple or not. I've read a few fics that actually do it quite well but I've never written anything of that sort and thusly have no idea how to go about it.
2.) Should I do the aforementioned pairing, then who? I'm currently leaning towards Luna, Daphne, Hermione, or an OC during my Goblet of Fire arc. Otherwise I am sticking to a single one, and the main contenders are Luna and Hermione (maybe)
3.) I hope that this chapter wasn't too short. I played around with a more in depth quidditch game for this matchup, but it got a little tedious without Harry involved with the bewitched broom.
As always, favorite/follow and comment to your hearts' desire! my DM's are always open, thank you!
Shrocky
*Grammar/Typo Edit* But Sirius is serious? He's always been Sirius.