This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.
I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.
Ron fumed in silence after their confrontation with Umbridge, refusing to speak to either Harry or Hermione, and it was only after sitting down for tea with Hagrid and helping him run some errands in the forest that Ron was able to regain the ability to open his mouth without swearing. He nevertheless didn't forget about what had happened and even as he loosened up Harry could tell he was determined to get his revenge.
The DA reacted in much the same way upon hearing the news.
"No way! They can't do that!" Ernie McMillan shouted indignantly.
"That's bullshit!" Agreed Lee.
"They've been reading our letters since the start of term!" Cried Alicia, looking sick.
This led to a rather interesting sequence of events, one that Professor Umbridge certainly hadn't prepared for. Fred and George, though having originally heeded Hermione's warning about not messing with Umbridge, saw this as the perfect excuse to go back on their word. And they did it in style.
The next day Fred and George could be found in the Gryffindor Common Room, surrounded by other Gryffindor students they'd drafted in to help, copying entire pages out of various library books onto blank sheets of paper. The day after the two of them trekked into the forest and recruited themselves an army of Pidgey to deliver them.
The outrage and dismay of the Ministry officials at the front gate was immortalised on Colin's camera as literally hundreds of tiny Pidgey swooped down upon them, insisting that their letters be accepted by the three men at the gate.
It was fitting justice. Harry could only hope it made them pause before trying to go rifling through anybody else's mail.
This, of course, sparked the next in the line of events that would come to dominate the Hogwarts gossip over the next few weeks. As Hermione had warned them Umbridge was fully aware of just who was behind the prank on the Ministry workers and assigned each of the Weasley twins a week of detention with her.
Nobody knew what exactly Fred and George did during this time, the twins were remaining tight lipped with smug looks on their faces, but by the time the combined two weeks of detention were up it was Umbridge that was looking the worse for wear.
Not that everything was smooth sailing for the anti-Umbridge factions in the school. As the pranks started to become common place the Inquisitorial Squad began fighting back, taking more points and assigning more detentions than ever before. Nott in particular seemed to be on the war path, taking more points from Harry personally than Harry was aware he'd ever lost in his life.
All in all the aftershock of Umbridge's mockery of Ron was that the Inquisitorial Squad and the Weasley twins found themselves in a state of all out war and school had broken down into chaos.
And of course Umbridge's reaction to chaos was to try and assume further control. That is how it came to be that the now traditional Pokémon Battling competition on Valentine's Day was cancelled.
"Oh, man," Ron groaned as he read the notice pinned up in the Gryffindor Common Room. "This sucks."
"It's hardly surprising though," Hermione commented, taking a seat in one of the many squashy armchairs in the room. "Professor Umbridge doesn't want us battling at all. It would have been very unusual if she'd let the competition go ahead."
"Besides, we get enough practice anyway," Harry reminded him. The DA was still going strong, stronger than ever even as everyone became aware of the net that was closing in around them at Hogwarts. It may not have been Harry's intention to train them to combat the Ministry but more and more these days that was what it was about. Voldemort was an abstract problem. The threat of the Ministry was very real and was represented in the form of Delores Jane Umbridge.
Harry was jolted from his thoughts by the arrival of Parvati and Lavender, both looking glum.
"Have you heard the news?" Lavender asked.
"Yeah, we just read," Ron said, pointing to the noticeboard. Lavender shook her head.
"It's not just that," she told him. "It's the entire Valentine's Day schedule. All those classes that the teachers would give are cancelled too. I heard she tried to cancel the Hogsmeade visit too but Dumbledore put his foot down."
"That wouldn't have gone down well," Harry commented wryly. Lavender shook her head.
"It is good to know Dumbledore still has some influence," she said. "Sometimes it feels as though he's not even here." Sometimes Harry agreed with her. Professor Dumbledore, though he sat at the staff table during meals and continued to be a steadying presence for the students to look up to, had been almost entirely silent since term began. Harry had to wonder just how much trouble he was having keeping the Ministry at bay.
Harry shook his head, trying to turn his mind to brighter topics. "Well, at least we still have Hogsmeade," he said in a light and hopefully positive voice. "Are you guys doing anything? You and Dean must have plans, right Parvati?" Parvati let out a sob, covering her face with her hand, and rushed out of her seat and up the stairs to the girls dormitories.
Harry was stunned.
"What did I say?" He asked, completely taken aback. Ron, too, didn't look like he had a clue as to what had just happened. Hermione and Lavender, on the other hand, did. Lavender sighed.
"It's not you, Harry," she told him comfortingly, patting him on the shoulder. "It's Dean. He and Parvati have been having problems recently. They were supposed to go out together this weekend but… anyway, I probably shouldn't tell."
"Blimey," Ron said. "I had no idea. Are you sure? Dean hasn't said anything." Lavender's expression grew hostile very quickly.
"I think I know my friends better than you do, Ronald," she snapped, Ron leaning back in surprise. "And I wouldn't be so nippy about it. It's your sister that's the problem, Weasley, so shut your mouth, if you know what's good for you." Ron was speechless under the verbal assault and he could only hold his hands up defensively and wait for Lavender to stop, which she did. She stood up.
"I'm going to go check on Parvati," Lavender said crossly. "I'll see you later Hermione, Harry." And she left, stalking over to the staircase and out of sight.
"Bloody hell," Ron swore. Notably he held back until after Lavender disappeared from view. "What the hell was that?" Hermione sighed.
"Lavender's a bit protective of Parvati at the moment," she admitted. "They are really close friends."
"And what's that got to do with me?" Ron asked, looking bewildered.
"Well," Hermione said cautiously, biting her lip. "It's as Lavender said, isn't it. She's not really mad at you, she's mad at Ginny."
"Why?"
Hermione sighed. "She thinks Ginny is making a move on Dean," Hermione told him in a voice that clearly conveyed just how little she wanted to discuss this. "She thinks that Ginny is trying to get with Dean and ruin his relationship with Parvati."
"But that's ridiculous," Ron told her. "Ginny wouldn't do that. Ginny doesn't even like Dean." Hermione didn't look quite so sure.
"She is spending quite a lot of time with him at DA meetings," she said simply, deliberately not pointing any fingers.
"Meaning?" Ron challenged.
"Meaning you can understand why Lavender thinks that she might," Hermione said. "Dean and Parvati are having real problems that just so happen to coincide with Ginny and Dean getting more friendly. I doubt it's a coincidence."
"Wait, wait, are you seriously accusing my sister of…" Ron trailed off, outraged.
"Yeah, Hermione, that's a bit cold," Harry agreed. He knew Ginny quite well now, what with Quidditch practice and regular DA meetings, not to mention the multiple summers they'd spent in the same household.
Hermione, however, was shaking her head.
"No, no, you misunderstand," she assured them. "I'm not accusing Ginny of anything. I'm just saying that I think Dean might have a little thing for her, just enough to make him question his relationship with Parvati. It doesn't help that Ginny broke up with Michael." That was news to Harry.
"They broke up?" He asked. Hermione nodded.
"A few weeks ago, and for the exact same reason," Hermione told him. "Michael was getting jealous of the way Ginny seemed to like spending time with Dean and Ginny just got tired of it and dumped him. I'm not saying she dumped him for Dean, we all know Ginny doesn't stand for petty jealousy, but you've got to admit to someone else it does look suspicious."
"Yeah, but it's not like Dean would ever like Ginny," Ron said as though the idea was ludicrous. "She's my little sister."
"She's only a year younger than him," Hermione reminded him.
"Yeah, but," Ron said, shaking his head. "Look, even if Dean liked Ginny it's not like he'd do anything about it. He'd know I would clobber him if he tried anything. I know Dean's not you-smart but give the guy some credit."
Yet Harry wondered if that were really true. Did Dean know this or did he perhaps suspect that he was good enough friends with Ron that he'd be okay with it? Harry knew Ron well enough that he wouldn't actually clobber Dean but if Dean thought he was just going to act normal he'd be in for a real surprise.
Even so, Harry pondered the idea that Ginny and Dean might like each other. Dean certainly was struggling in his relationship with Parvati, admitting that the two of them had gone 'on a break' while they tried to sort things out. And although he was clearly taking the situation better than Parvati he hardly looked like a guy who had things going his way.
On the other hand Ginny couldn't be happier, though Harry had to admit his perspective was skewed by the fact he mostly saw her doing the two things she loved more than anything else; battling in the DA and playing Quidditch.
In Quidditch in particular Ginny was really proving herself to be completely without any form of restraint. Her tryout had been promising, although there had obviously been massive room for improvement, and she and Haunter had risen to the task of trying to fill the void that Fred and George's absence left in the team, getting the occasional hint from Fred and George themselves.
If only the same could be said about Andrew Kirke. While Ginny rose to new heights with each and every practice, getting more in sync with the three Chasers and even with Harry and Talonflame, Kirke had not improved one iota since being picked. If anything he was getting worse. His Gligar, though trying his best, was a lightweight and struggled to even keep up with the rest of the team, let alone do anything to help them. Harry personally thought that any one of the Pokémon possessed by the other six trainers in the team could have done a more convincing job.
Given everything he'd witnessed Harry wondered if it wouldn't be better replacing him, even if the match was only a week away. In his mind he had already considered asking Dean to take the role with his newly evolved Glalie or Seamus with his Hawlucha. He knew Angelina was probably having similar thoughts but she seemed reluctant to pull the trigger and so come the morning of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match Andrew Kirke remained in the team.
"Nervous?" Harry asked over breakfast, the Gryffindor team gathered together in an effort to bolster morale in their two new recruits. It seemed to make little difference.
"A bit," Ginny admitted though she seemed rather at ease, her posture and attitude not befitting someone preparing to perform in front of the school for the first time.
By contrast Kirke didn't even answer. Harry wondered if he'd heard him or if he was just so paralysed with fear that he couldn't respond.
"Don't be," Angelina said brusquely, directing her words almost exclusively at Ginny. The dark skinned girl had taken quite a liking to the youngest Weasley. "We're going to win." She said it with such finality Harry couldn't doubt it.
Half an hour later they'd risen from the Gryffindor table, cheered out by their house mates, and made their way all the way down to the Quidditch pitch where they slipped into the Gryffindor changing room and started to get themselves suited up for the match. Harry, getting changed next to Ron, threw him a sideways look.
"How're you?" It was easy to forget that this was only Ron's second game. He shrugged.
"Alright, I guess," he replied. "I'm not the newbie here. Plus I've got Machoke, what could go wrong?" Even as he said this he glanced over to where Kirke sat on his bench, already changed and staring blankly at his feet. He looked as though he was going to be sick.
"You think he'll manage?" Ron asked an undertone, looking back at Harry. "I wouldn't be surprised if he keeled over before we even get out. Do you reckon he's up for it?" Harry doubted it.
"Doesn't matter," he said, in lieu of answering. "He's what we've got and he will be until the game is over. All we have to do is make sure we win."
"Which pretty much comes down to you," Ron told him. "No pressure."
Five minutes later they were ready and with a short, to the point, speech Angelina led them out into the sunlight of the Quidditch pitch. It was late February now and though still cold much easier to handle than the dark days of January.
The Hufflepuffs were already out waiting for them, dressed in their traditional yellow and black. They were an unassuming lot, as most of Hufflepuff house generally were, and their more reserved nature and sense of fair play meant there was often very little heat to their games. In all honesty Harry found the prospect of playing them rather dull.
That hadn't been the case two years ago. On that horrible stormy day in early November of his third year, a day he would remember vividly for the terrible injury suffered by his then Fletchinder, Harry had faced off against a Hufflepuff team with drive and focus and undeniable talent in their Seeker and Captain Cedric Diggory.
A timid second year stood in his place today, the boy not anywhere near as imposing a prospect to face, and Harry felt a sense of despair at the thought that there were probably few who had wanted the vacant Seeker position. Cedric had brought such pride to Hufflepuff House, few would dare try and take his place.
As Madam Hooch instructed them to their positions and to release their Pokémon Harry followed almost mechanically. The whole situation felt somewhat surreal, the sights and the sounds not quite reaching him as though his head were submerged in a pool of water. Even the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle blowing seemed dulled.
"And we're off!" Lee Jordan's voice warbled as though through a poorly tuned radio. "Now we've got some changes going on here, Gryffindor of course forced to switch out their usual beaters due to… well, better keep quiet on that." Harry could hear the derision in Lee's tone. "But don't worry we're keeping up our Weasley quota and we've also got, eh… Kirke?" There was a pause. Harry imagined Lee was looking to McGonagall for confirmation.
"Yeah, Kirke," he said after a moment, far more confident. "Other than that it's the same old Gryffindor team we've been so used to seeing, the trio of Chasers - Angelina, Alicia and Katie - the new star Keeper Ron Weasley, and of course star Seeker Harry Potter." A small cheer went up in the stands, with the Slytherins responding with some boos.
"And we have a change in the Hufflepuff team, too," Lee announced. "Wesley has been pulled after the match against Ravenclaw, poor bloke, and now we have second year Billy Root as Seeker. I'm afraid that Pidgey will have a hard time against Talonflame."
Harry's head jerked up. Sure enough across the field fluttered a Pidgey, so tiny Harry had to squint against the sunlight to see it, but it was there. It kept its place, determined before young Billy Root.
Harry felt sick. He turned away, looking down at the grass below for comfort and using a hand to steady himself against the skeleton of the balloon. Breath in, breath out. Breath in, breath out…
The game down below was not going well.
"Lopunny, to Hitmontop," Lee was saying, his voice already beginning to lose some of its lustre. "Back to Lopunny who makes a move… nope, forced back. I tell you, this Hufflepuff defence sure is organised. I can't believe we haven't had a shot yet."
To the casual viewer this wasn't particularly fun to watch. To Harry, a seasoned veteran, he could appreciate just what Hufflepuff were doing. Gryffindor were known for their Chasers, the three Pokémon a seamless team, fast and deadly. Hufflepuff were working as hard as they could to stop them. Each of the three Chasers were doing their all to stay between the attackers and the goal posts and their Beaters were doing the same. Time and time again the three Gryffindor Chasers were forced to turn back, not losing possession of the Quaffle but not doing anything with it either.
It was already telling the difference Fred and George made.
"And Hitmonlee with some trickery, Hypno doing well to stay in front. No way through there- What is this?! Haunter with Confuse Ray! Opening here for Gryffindor, Hitmonlee to Lopunny, great turn, Lopunny back to Hitmonlee, he's going to shoot!" The whole stadium held their breath.
"Goal! Ten zero to Gryffindor!" Lee yelled, ecstatic. "Those Chasers can't be held back for long! Great work from new Beater Ginny and her tricky Haunter! Hufflepuff with possession for the first time in this match."
The game changed remarkably. With Hufflepuff on the attack everything was moving as Hufflepuff threw themselves forward, committing bodies as the Chasers attacked and the Beaters, Grumpig and Sableye, backed them up.
"In goes Hypno, blocked by Lopunny but Meditite is first to the loose Quaffle. They try and go around but Hitmonlee is there. Now Mr Mime, sends it to Hypno, blocked… well, not really blocked, it hits Gligar, not sure he knew much about that, but Gryffindor have the Quaffle! Hitmontop sends it forward and the Keeper comes! Lopunny's going to get there first! Lopunny does! Sets up Hitmonlee! Open goal! Twenty to zero Gryffindor!"
And in one possession Gryffindor were shown the flaws of Hufflepuff's system. They could set up and use their more experienced Beaters to hold Gryffindor at arms length but they needed to score in order to allow them to do so. When Gryffindor got the chance to run there was no stopping them.
No-one could say the Hufflepuffs were stupid. Their reaction to conceding that quick goal was immediate and the next time they came up the field they did so with much more composure. They were going to take their time and make sure that when they took their shot they were going to score.
It made for a very slow game.
"Meditite, sends it to Mr Mime. Hitmonlee had a pop there but Mr Mime controls and sends it to Hypno. Lopunny discouraged by Sableye and wait a moment! The Snitch!" Harry's eyes widened in shock, his body sluggish and his mind more so as he felt like he was moving through treacle as he looked up to where the Snitch floated into view.
Fortunately Talonflame was faster. Harry had barely reacted before a whoosh of air dispersing sounded next to him and Talonflame soared majestically forward. Harry was reduced to a spectator as he watched his Pokémon zero in on the Snitch ring, far and away outpacing the fiercely flapping Pidgey, taking hold of the ring and turning back to Harry.
In the end it was really no contest.
"Talonflame gets the Snitch! Gryffindor win! Final score one hundred and eighty to twenty!" Lee Jordan shouted and the stadium erupted in applause. Harry didn't feel any of it. He was barely conscious of Talonflame alighting next to him, or his hand pulling on the lever to lower them to the ground. His focus, all that he had left in him, was left watching the disappointed Pidgey across the pitch. Winning didn't feel quite as brilliant as usual.
A/N: Sorry I've been away for so long. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I'll be updating regularly again so expect the next chapter up soon. See you then.