Wow two updates in one day after I said this was going on hiatus. I really impress myself sometimes. I can't take credit for the last part of this chapter, so shoutout to PyraDragneel for suggesting this in a review. Enjoy!

Harry's POV

While the game ended on a high note, the euphoria didn't last long. Several of the Slytherins, excluding Malfoy who had begun behaving like a normal human being, began chanting taunts at Ron for his performance during the match. Natsu instantly leapt up to defend him but his friends held him back from confronting them. He snarled but with a glare from Erza he settled down, still scowling but other than that doing nothing. Without a second thought, George and I tackled them so they could stop. Ron was suffering from enough stress and nerves as is, he didn't need insults and jeers on top of that.

"Impedimenta!" Madam Hooch yelled and George was blasted onto the ground by the spell. "What do you think you're doing?" If it weren't for the chasers on the team, Fred would have joined in on the fight too. "I've never seen behavior like it —back up to the castle, both of you, and straight to your Head of House's office!" Madam Hooch continued her rant and we obeyed. With one glance back we saw several of the Fairy Tail mages shaking their heads and I grit my teeth. They shouldn't be this surprised, we worked a lot differently than their seemingly perfect school.

Needless to say, McGonagall was not happy to see us. "Explain yourselves!"

"We were provoked," I replied, still shaking with anger from what had occurred.

"Provoked you? They'd just lost hadn't they?" She seemed to ignore the fact that the Ginger Newts she normally kept in a tin were now littering the floor. "Of course they wanted to provoke you! But what on earth they can have said that justified what you two were doing—"

"He insulted my parents and Harry's mother!" George protested but that didn't deter their Head of House from continuing on her lecture.

"But instead of leaving it to Madam Hooch to sort out" and the rant continued until she was interrupted with a hem-hem that everyone had come to dread.

"May I help?" Umbridge asked and if McGonagall were one of the cartoons I had seen on muggle television, steam would be coming out of her head.

"Help? What do you mean 'help?'" Umbridge replied with something about wanting more authority which made the transfiguration professor even more irate. Umbridge stayed silent for a little bit before saying that the punishment was her business and rummaged around for something in her bag.

"Educational decree number twenty-five," she began but McGonagall interrupted with "not another one!" I internally agreed with her outburst. She continued to rattle off what the decree said and then she ended with her conclusion that Fred, George, and I should not be allowed to play Quidditch again. At her words my heart went cold.

"Ever again?" I echoed and she gave me that disgusting smile.

Angelina and the others were aghast and they decided to go to sleep which didn't seem to be that bad of an idea. I noticed all the exchange students sitting in a corner and casting sympathetic glances my way. They were murmuring to each other before Lucy got up and came over to where Hermione and I were sitting.

"That's awful about what happened," she said and I stared up at her dully. There was no way she could understand what I was going through. "All of us have been through something that made us feel like we would never be ourselves again." And then I snapped.

"Don't talk like you know what I'm going through! Your school seems so perfect that I doubt anything like has happened there!" Immediately some of the others were by her side.

"Don't talk to her like that," Natsu snarled and Lucy shook her head.

"It's ok, let it go," she soothed and he calmed down, but not by much.

"She has a point though. Just because we've never been hurt by Fairy Tail doesn't mean we haven't gone through things that made it feel like our worlds were going to end," Evelyn said. I ignored her and turned back to Hermione.

"Have you seen Ron?" On cue, the door opened and he came storming through looking like he had just walked through a frozen wasteland.

"You look frozen! Come and sit down," Hermione commanded and he trudged over to us with no complaints. When we had filled him on what had happened he only seemed to sink into the couch more and said "this is the worst I've ever felt in my life."

"Join the club," I said bitterly and Hermione smiled which made me want to ask her if she was crazy.

"I can think of one thing that might cheer you both up. Hagrid's back."

The next morning I went up to the Fairy Tail mages to apologize for what I had said last night. "What?" Natsu growled and several of them rolled their eyes.

"Cool it Flame Brain," Gray barked before turning to me. "What's up?"

"I wanted to apologize for last night. I wasn't thinking straight." They were quiet for a moment before Erza gave me a warm smile.

"It's understandable. You were upset and you let your emotions run away with you. Thank you for apologizing." I nodded and went back to sit with Ron and Hermione.

Later that afternoon we had gone outside to clear our heads when we heard 'oohs' and 'ahs' from the Quidditch pitch. Despite my unwillingness to go there and bring back memories of the exhilaration I had while flying and how I wouldn't experience that for the rest of the school year, we trudged over anyway. Glyphs were glistening around the stands that said something none of us could understand but what had our attention was the explosions and laughter and flashes of light from the center of it. All of the exchange students were fighting with each other and while it looked serious they were laughing and cracking jokes.

"Their magic is incredible," Hermione breathed. Even though we had seen it before, it was still impressive. It looked like Natsu was fighting Sting and Rogue which seemed to be crazy since it was a two on one fight but it looked like Natsu was holding his own.

"This brings back memories doesn't it?" Natsu called while he threw a sphere of fire at them.

"Except this time we can fight as friends," Sting replied while a flash of light streaked towards Natsu.

Erza looked like she was fighting a cat that had a human form and Gajeel. "Lily step it up!" the Slytherin student yelled.

"That's his cat?" Ron asked, completely astounded as to what he had just heard. I was in the same boat. The fact that an animal could turn into a human form was mind-blowing. Lucy and Juvia were fighting each other while Levy and Freed were looking at books? Gray and Evelyn were fighting each other while Natsu would cast glances at his sister every so often. But of course, nothing lasts forever.

"What is going on here?" Umbridge asked and everyone groaned.