When Harry awoke the next morning, he saw the pouring rain, and realized he will be playing quiddich in it. Before going out to the game, Harry approached Hermione.
"Are you going to the game?" he asked her.
"I'm trying to get all my homework done," Hermione answered.
"If my glasses get wet, I won't be able to see anything," Harry explained. "Would you have any ideas to help me in this situation?"
Hermione tapped Harry's glasses with her wand and said, "Impervius!"
"There!" she said, handing them back to Harry. "They'll repel water!"
"Thank you so much!" Harry said. "I owe you big time."
The Slytherins weren't too happy about playing in the rain. They had no excuses to switch place with Hufflepuffs as none of their players were injured. The rain didn't stop the number of fouls that took place. Flint crashed into Angelina and Fred hit him on the head with his club. Montague grabbed Katie's head instead of the quaffle. That was when Harry saw the snitch. He tried to get it but was stopped by two bludgers. He dodged them at the last minute, but lost sight of the snitch. Bole hit Alicia with his club and George elbowed him in the face. Wood was hit with both bludgers. When Harry saw the snitch again, Malfoy grabbed his broom and said, "Need your blankie, Potter?"
Harry yanked his broom away from Draco, grabbed the snitch and landed in the pouring rain. He couldn't even hear the cheering crowd over the thunder and sound of raindrops. He joined the dripping wet crowd walking into school, relieved that the game was over.
"So Potter," Draco sneered once they got inside. "Did you have your blankie at the match?"
"Very funny, Draco," Harry said. "Although if I would have worn my cloak, you wouldn't have been able to tail me."
"That would be cheating," Draco said.
"This is yucky weather for a game," Harry said, changing the subject. "I was hoping for a fast game so I could get inside and get warm."
Harry walked away before Draco could say anything else to him.
On Monday, the class was happy to see Remus back. Nobody told him what happened during Friday's class.
Harry enjoyed the next Hogsmead trip. Because it was cold, he and Ron spent their time in Honeydukes and The Three Broomsticks. Harry hoped Sirius would be happy with sweets for a present as he wasn't going to any other stores.
The next day, Harry sat quietly on the Hogwarts Express. The Slyterins were still teasing him about his dad's cloak, but Harry tried to tell himself that he did the right thing and therefore, he shouldn't care what they say. He thought about how miserable he was when Sirius was on the loose in his dream, and how horrible the Hogsmead experience was with people talking about him. He thought about how horrible Azkaban is and was happy that he got Sirius out. He was still lost in thought when the train pulled into the station. He saw Sirius as soon as he got off, and practically threw himself into Sirius's arms, ignoring the stares from some bystanders.
"Blacks never display affection in public," Narcissa sniffed.
"You have your blankie, Potter," Draco sneered.
"Very funny," Harry said.
"What's going on?" Sirius asked, concerned.
"I'll tell you when we get home," Harry promised.
As soon as they got home, Harry told Sirius most of the story. He mentioned the boggart, and that Snape wanted to teach the class about werewolves as revenge. He explained that Snape felt very hurt since he goes through the trouble of making Remus's potion every month, and Remus thanked him by embarrassing him in front of the class. Finally, Harry told him that he took all the blame since it was originally his idea. Snape would not accept an apology. He wanted someone else to be embarrassed worst than he was, so Harry and Snape planned the whole scene with the cloak.
"I need to talk to Remus," Sirius said.
"Don't," Harry told him. "The full moon is coming up. Let the poor man rest."
"Fine," Sirius agreed. "I'll give him a few days after the moon, but he needs to know what you did."
Harry was delighted when Sirius gave him a firebolt for Christmas.
"I'll win every quiddich match with this!" he said, excitedly.
"You win every match anyways," Sirius told him. "After what you did for Remus, you deserve the best broom on the market."
Harry spent most of the week flying his new broom. He decided to give his Nimbus 2000 to Ron so they can fly together.
When Remus came by at the end of December, Sirius called Harry inside.
"Sirius told me what you did," Remus told Harry. "You're even more amazing than your dad."
"That's funny," Harry said. "Snape said I'm more amazing then my mum."
"I feel like sending Severus a howler," Sirius said.
"Don't," Harry told him. "Think about his feelings for a change. Here he is, making a very difficult potion every month and look how Remus thanked him for it. Do you blame him for getting angry?"
"I told him I will beat you up," Harry said. "So if you see him, tell him that I did."
"Are you going to?" Remus asked, smiling at Harry as if he welcomed the opportunity.
"Of course not," Harry said. "You're still recovering from the moon."
Harry eagerly showed off his new firebolt.
"I'm glad I made your Christmas," Sirius told him. "You're acting like a kid again."
The rest of Christmas break passed quickly and Harry reluctantly returned to school.
All the Gryffindors were excited about Harry's new broom. Ron accepted Harry's old broom so they could fly together, but he didn't hide his envy about the firebolt. Harry let Ron ride it while he rode his Nimbus. Draco came out to see the broom.
"Do you have room for your blankie up there?" he asked, scornfully.
"If you wanted a turn to ride it, you just have to ask," Harry said, tiredly. "I'm not arguing with you every time we see each other."
Draco did want a turn. Harry followed him on his Nimbus in order to make sure that Draco didn't damage the broom.
The match against Ravenclaw was exactly the same as Harry dreamed. He had an easy victory with his firebolt.
During the next Hogsmead weekend, Harry stocked up on everything available at Zonkos. He was hoping to have Ron, Fred and George join him for another prank war this summer. When they went to the shrieking shack, Harry managed not to tell Ron what really haunted it. When Draco came up with Crabbe and Goyle, Harry immediately stiffened.
"What are you doing?" Draco asked.
"We're coming up with crazy theories about what haunts this place," Harry lied. "Do you have any ideas?"
The five boys tried to outdo each other with ghost stories. Overall, it was a fun day, but Harry was starting to hate the lie he was living.