I do not own anything. I'm just translating. The characters belong to the great J.K. Rowling. The story belongs to the amazing Brigi. Her e-mail: tbwtpbe [et] hotmail com

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THE BOY WITH THE PIERCING BLUE EYES

Chapter 40 – Bittersweet Happiness (part 2)

Saturday arrived quickly and the seats filled up with students and teachers despite the cold weather. Before breakfast, Harry made sure to tell his team members to watch the Ravenclaw team's every move since they were going to play against them after the Slytherin match.

He didn't sit with the roaring audience, instead leaned on the railing to watch the team's movements. He heard rumors about the two Beaters resigning to be able to study for their upcoming exams so the team had to find new members shortly before the match which is never good when it comes to teamwork. Everyone was surprised when the Creevey brothers came with the news that the members were replaced by two girls. Even more bizarre was the fact that they were from Harry's grade; Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst.

None of them really knew the girls, they only met during classes but neither of them seemed friendly. Mandy looked like Milicent from Slytherin with thick limbs while Lisa appeared to be avoiding everyone. Seamus sat next to her sometimes during their second year on Transfiguration class, but asked McGonagall to change seats because the girl was acting weird. It was like she was talking to herself though she just repeated the text from the book. Hermione had a few appreciative comments about the girl when she saw how Seamus behaved; she told them that Lisa was a member of the drama club. This came as a surprise to the boys because in their six years they haven't seen any plays.

"Just because they don't have plays doesn't mean they don't exist," Parvati Patil argued.

According to Hermione, the club existed but has been inactive for the last couple of years because there were too few members or they didn't find a good play. Though they haven't heard of it, the club seemed to come back to life and will have a play the next evening during dinner.

"And what is Lisa playing? A lizard or something?" the boys laughed referring to her thin body.

All in all, the Ravenclaw team looked unorganized so Harry didn't think they had much of a chance at winning. He couldn't understand how they could be so irresponsible when selecting the players. Mandy wasn't agile and having a girl as weak as Lisa wasn't good either. He heard their Chaser and captain talked to Eddie Charmichell, a seventh year student, but he didn't want to lose time from studying for the exams. Unless Cho pulled herself together and did a great job, the team had no chance. They Gryffindor team had a much greater chance at winning against them then with the Slytherins who could always come up with something new. Though… he wondered how he will be able to put his differences aside while playing against Cho. He suspected that the girl will be tense, but he didn't know what his own reaction will be…

"And William Stebbins, the Hufflepuff Seeker found the Snitch!" Dean Thomas yelled which finally brought Harry back to reality and he looked at the field again.

"Meanwhile, Branstone and Withby managed to score again for the winning Hufflepuff team!"

The spectators on the Hufflepuff grandstand started screaming to encourage the team. On the Ravenclaw students' face one could see disappointment but they kept cheering them on. Luna shouted shockingly loudly which actually made more people join her. Madame Hooch repeatedly reprimanded the students to cheer in a more civilized manner. While the Slytherins analyzed their tactic and made notes, the Gryffindors just smiled at the situation.

"Where are you going, Anthony?" Harry looked back when he saw his friend leaving the crowd angrily.

"I don't want to watch this anymore! It's a shame how they play! If Roger Davis saw this he would be ashamed."

"Come here…" Harry motioned for the Ravenclaw prefect to come to the railing.

"If they can beat us so easily, I think they'll have absolutely no chance against you…"

"Don't be so pessimistic. Our team isn't always in top condition. In fact, let me just tell you that at the beginning of the year I didn't think we could come this far."

"You're playing against Slytherin next weekend… Are you nervous?"

Harry sighed.

"I just wish it would be over already. Much depends on the circumstances… just…"

"AND CHO CHANG CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" Dean Thomas yelled.

"What?!" Harry and Anthony exclaimed at the same time.

Cho had the little golden ball in her hand but she didn't seem all that happy about it.

"Chang caught the Snitch, getting hundred and fifty points for her team, but they are still twenty points behind Hufflepuff who have hundred and seventy points. HUFFLEPUFF WINS!"

"Well, it's…"

"…interesting," Harry finished.

"Man, would you have thought?" Ron joined them who, as a prefect, had to accompany the first years back to the castle. "No offence, man." he turned to Anthony. "But I knew that Cho will be the only one who could save your honor…"

While the two prefects left Harry mused about how much points each house had. He knew this year's Quidditch Cup will be hard to obtain…

Dinner was spent in a weird atmosphere. The two teams ate in disappointed silence while the play went on. The Hufflepuffs were disappointed because they didn't catch the Snitch and the Ravenclaws because even though they caught it that didn't help them win. So very few of them enjoyed the play.

There were no Slytherins among the actors so they mostly laughed at them. Parvati from Gryffindor was in the play with her sister and Lavender who sang in the choir.

Sometimes, when they had to sing Professor Dareling joined and helped them from behind. The woman, while singing, smiled at her lover who despite his sour nature, felt amused while watching the play taking place in front of the teachers' table. The theme of the play wasn't clear to most of them, and a lot of students got lost at the title. The 'Sinner's dead body' was undoubtedly a sentimental piece with a lot of intrigue, forbidden love, murder and other peccadillo. Seamus and the other Gryffindor boys looked for Lisa Turpin and laughed loudly when they saw her playing a boy.

"Don't laugh at her!" Hermione reprimanded them sternly. "There are probably too few boys in the club…"

"Or they chose her because she looks like a geek boy!" Dean snorted with laughter.

"At least we know now that she has ears…" Ron whispered to Harry with a grin and the raven boy almost choked on his food. "Her hair is always so weird… "

"You're horrible, Ron!"

The following week passed by with excited anticipation. The two teams that were to play on the weekend took every opportunity to train. Harry asked for Madame Hooch's permission to go to the field before the morning classes. It was horrible to fly half-asleep and it was colder too but they went to school feeling more awake which turned out to be beneficial.

Spring always meant essays and tests not to mention a lot of homework. Almost everyone was behind schedule; missing essays, forgotten drawings for Hagrid's class. These were enough to make the atmosphere in the common room tense. Several cauldrons were filled with brewing potions which irked Hermione a lot because it was only permitted to brew in the classrooms.

Even during a Transfiguration test, Harry could only think about Quidditch tactics. McGonagall tapped his desk to make him pay attention to the questions and stop drawing. The professor was surprised to see the boy handing in the already filled out form. She quickly scanned it with her eyes then looked at her students suspiciously.

"Just Quidditch," Harry showed her the other paper on which he scribbled so the woman didn't think she was cheating.

McGonagall immediately relented and nodded for him to go ahead.

She repeatedly told them how much she wanted them to win because Professor Snape was also very optimistic. The two teams didn't play against each other since the disaster last year and they both wanted to see how much things changed.

Harry was even more determined to show what he can do on his own after what happened in the headmaster's office. He hadn't spoken to Snape or Dumbledore since. During Fencing, he deliberately asked Draco for a match just to make Remus uncomfortable. Though the Slytherin boy beat him mercilessly, since he was more sophisticated when it came to this sport, Harry was proud of himself. Hermione tried to talk sense into him, but she was fed up with his friend's grumpy character.

"And you say Snape is insufferable!" she blurted out one day. "You're much worse than him!"

The week flew by very quickly and even though they had official and unofficial trainings every day Harry still felt anxious. A hurricane-like storm had been raging outside since Wednesday evening causing several Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw players to be blown away. He believed that with that kind of weather it will be very difficult to play and it will show on the results too. His teammates were also depressed, especially the two Beaters.

They had to play the last game in pouring rain so they could have used some good whether now.

"It's depressing to look at you." They found Hermione in the boys' room as they came back from dinner.

"I was wondering where you were…" Ron said.

"This is how you want to win tomorrow?" she winked at them with some mischief in her eyes.

Her hands were hidden behind her. "The Gryffindor house needs those points!"

"That's true," Ginny sighed and plopped down on Harry's bed. "While Professor Snape was away, Honeybourne took a lot of points from us… what an unfair teacher…"

"If you are so disheartened the Slytherin will win easily…"

"In this weather?! No wonder," Ron looked out the window.

"Hermione! Don't destroy my team's spirit!" Harry snorted playfully.

"There's not much left to destroy…" she muttered.

Harry couldn't help but grin. He took a pillow from Seamus' bed and threw it at her. Hermione didn't appear to be surprised by the attack. She pulled her hands from behind revealing a pillow and started hitting the captain with it.

"Mioni, what's gotten into you?" Ron asked feeling puzzled.

The pillows soon gave up and ripped filling the room with white feathers.

Ginny hopped on the bed and started jumping on it like a silly little girl while kicking the feathers.

"Hey, that was mine!" Seamus joined the fight grabbing Neville's pillow.

"Put that down, I got this from Grandma!" his friend whined and threw a stripped pillow at him. "If it rips…"

"We'll fix it!" Hermione cried happily as she tucked a handful of feathers under Harry's shirt.

Ron just watched the mess until someone hit him with some socks.

"Who was that?"

He didn't wait for an answer as he caught Dean and fell on the bed with him to put the socks in his mouth while the boy protested laughing.

As Ginny continued screaming and jumping on Harry's bed the students in the neighboring rooms and in the common room heard them.

Will and Vera walked in curiously while munching apples.

"What the…?"

But when Will was hit with some clothes they realized something good must be going on in there…

The next morning, as Harry opened his eyes he felt his bad mood had vanished with the bad weather. He was sufficiently rested and the pillow fight the day prior gave him so much energy he felt like bursting.

Everything and everyone seemed calm; he could hear birds singing outside and the sunshine came into the room between the curtains.

He tried to sit up only to find Ginny's legs on his chest. He chuckled softly then carefully crawled out from under her legs and looked around in the room.

"This is terrible."

Everything was covered by feathers; the floor, the beds were all white. His roommates slept with their clothes and hair filled with feathers and he himself looked awful too. He was a bit clueless as to what he should do about all this, especially now that the match was that day when he noticed Hermione sleeping next to Ron cuddling close. He watched them with a smile for a while then started combing his hair. The comb got most of the feathers out but he still looked disheveled. He washed his face in a bowl of water and watched himself in the mirror as he dried off. Quietly, he took his old glasses from the nightstand and hesitated for a moment. Slowly, he put it on and opened his eyes.

The world was very blurred through the glasses he couldn't see right with. He silently eyed his reflection and tried to remember his father's face. He closed his eyes again and put them back while humming.

A little more awake, he crawled closer to Ginny and poked his arm. It was time to get ready.

At breakfast, each of them felt more relaxed than in the previous days. Already wearing their Quidditch robes, they ate their breakfast and none of them appeared to be nervous except the two Beaters. They sat dejectedly watching their pumpkin juices. As they walked to the stadium later it still seemed to not change their mood. Harry looked at Ginny questioningly, but the girl just told him to wait for the surprise.

They lined up to fly out as the Slytherins did the same at the opposite side.

Outside, the school was raging. Three houses rooted for Gryffindor since the Slytherins didn't do much to gain sympathy from others. So most of the faces were painted red and yellow and there were a lot of red flags in the air.

"I'm delighted to welcome two professional Quidditch players among our guests!" Dean Thomas started commentating. "A big round of applause for the current captain of Holyhead Harpies, Gwenog Jones and welcome back the Gryffindor's previous Keeper, Oliver Wood who's now playing with Puddlemere. Congratulations, Oliver!"

"Oliver's here!" the Gryffindor team cried out.

"Look, he's sitting there!"

"He's playing modest as always… what a hypocrite," Ron grinned.

"What do you think Jones is here for?" Andrew asked timidly.

"They must be searching for extras…" Will winked but that only made Andrew and Jack paler.

"No need to worry," Harry said. "We did well during practice! We will win! I'm sure of that!"

"Let's welcome the Gryffindor team!" Dean shouted from far away though it was amplified by a spell.

"Do everything as we agreed," Harry said one last time.

"The captain, Potter! The two Beaters… Kirke and Sloper! Weasley! And the three Chasers! Morgenster, Fawnsdale… and the youngest Weasley!"

"Captains!" Madame Hooch shouted, gesturing for Harry and Draco to come closer. "I want a clean game! If you behave the way you did last year, I'll ban you from playing!"

Harry looked at the Slytherin boy who answered with a sardonic grin.

"Shake hands!"

"Do you see who's watching, Potter?" Draco said while squeezing the Gryffindor boy's fingers.

"You mean Jones?"

"I bet he's looking for potential players… Even that hardheaded Wood came because their Chasers will leave soon…"

"Oliver's not hardheaded," Harry chided." By the way, if you're so excited about this then do your best today. Because I won't let you win today."

"We'll see, Potter…"

They both flew back to their teams to wait for the balls' release. Madame Hooch looked at them one more time before tossing the Quaffle.

"And Culverton gets the ball! He's flying between the two Gryffindor Beaters… Hegarty is free but he doesn't pass… AND VERONICA TAKES IT! Heh, no wonder… when someone plays selfishly…"

Harry saw the Snitch being released but it flew away so quickly he couldn't find it. He glanced at Hermione who nodded in response and poked Padma and Lavender to get their help.

"Andrew!"

"Jack!" they began to scream.

"If you win, I'll go on a date with you, Sloper!"

"I love you, Andrew!" a blond girl screamed with flushed face making the people around her laugh.

The two Gryffindor Beaters almost fell off their brooms when they saw the many posters, flags and screaming girls cheering for them. Andrew, to conceal his excitement, hit the Bludger hard and it flew past the Slytherin Chaser's head just inches from him and the boy dropped the Quaffle in fright.

Harry also grinned and looked back at Ron. He nodded and motioned for him to start searching for the Snitch.

"Ginny Weasley has the Quaffle, dodges the Bludgers… GOOD SAVE JACK SLOPER! Weasley goes and… TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Veronica congratulated Ginny when she saw how annoyed the Slytherin Keeper was. With Will, they made a lap in front of the teacher's grandstand.

"The Quaffle is free again! Hegarty catches, on to Culverton, back to Hegarty… UH? THAT MUST HAVE HURT!" Dean wailed when a Bludger, thanks to Jack, first hit the Chaser's broom then his nose. "Is it bleeding? No! Madame Hooch let's the game go on! WELL DONE, SLOPER!"

Meanwhile, Harry kept looking for the Snitch while keeping an eye on Malfoy. He seemed just as clueless, though he kept flying near the Hufflepuff podium.

"Will has the Quaffle, come on, man!" Dean commented. "Vera flies past the two Slytherin Chasers… and gets the ball from below! Nicely done, Gryffindor!"

The score soon went to twenty-zero, then to thirty-zero and Harr felt that the Slytherins were starting to lose their temper. Crabbe and Goyle no longer hunted for the Bludgers; instead targeted the players so it was understandable that the two smaller Gryffindors, Andrew and Jack tried to stay clear of them. With quick and tricky moves, they controlled the Bludgers further angering the two behemoths who started ignoring the balls altogether and tried to get them.

"Crabbe, Goyle! What the hell are you doing?!" Malfoy snapped. "Concentrate on the game!"

Vincent nodded like an idiot but by the time he went after the Bludgers, Sloper and Kirke had already gotten to them.

"Veronica has the Quaffle… but Keith Culverton pushes her and takes it! Watch out, Culverton, Bludger!"

The boy stopped and Will took the ball from him.

"That was underhanded, Thomas!" Snape said next to McGonagall.

"I just warned him, professor! Look!"

A Bludger almost hit the boy on his shoulder.

"Sixty-zero to Gryffindor!" Dean said happily. "It seems Ron won't have much to do today…"

"What are you doing?" Malfoy argued with his team. "Get yourselves together already!"

The three Chasers nodded angrily though each of them had injuries thanks to the Bludgers flying their way after the Gryffindor Beaters hit them. They grabbed the Quaffle and all three of them flew towards Ron. The Keeper searched for Harry with his eyes, how nodded then motioned for the two Beaters who started attacking the Chasers. One of them, who already seemed dazed, was easy to get rid of; the other two seemed to be more persistent. Though it came as a surprise to them when each was stopped by a Gryffindor Chaser.

"Ron Weasley leaves his post! RON? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

However, with his help they easily blocked the attack and since the third Slytherin Chaser was nowhere to be seen, their move was successful. Malfoy watched his team's helplessness and angrily punched the air.

"Come on!" he yelled. "Don't give up! Cowa…"

He stopped because he saw Harry flying fast towards the ground following a small shiny orb. He lunged after him immediately.

Harry noticed the Snitch and took advantage of Draco's diverted attention. He had trust in his team. However, Malfoy soon followed him, though he couldn't compete with the Firebolt so he was lagging behind. The Snitch kept running away from them until suddenly it stopped and started towards them. It flew past Harry's left ear and went towards Draco. Harry pulled his broom back in terror, afraid that Malfoy would catch it and win the game. But the Snitch just tickled the Slytherin boy's face with its wings while the blond desperately tried to catch it.

"Potter's speeding towards Malfoy!" Dean Thomas stood up.

"They're going to collide," Oliver paled as he sat next to Dumbledore. "Malfoy can't get out of his way… he can't even see him coming!"

"Shit… shit!" Draco cursed.

However, Harry kept flying towards him with one hand outstretched. To not get impaled on the other boy's broom, he swung to the left and flew sideways, so only his hand was in Malfoy's way.

"Just… a little… bit… more…" he groaned with clenched teeth.

He needed all his strength to stay in that position but his effort was successful. When Malfoy was finally able to open his bloodshot eyes, Harry's fingers curled around the Snitch. He immediately relaxed and made a circle, for a while flying upside down. Then he straightened and held up the little golden ball.

"Harry Potter got the Snitch! Two hundred forty-zero. Gryffindor wins!" Dean yelled happily and the audience started cheering.

McGonagall looked back at Snape who hung his head bitterly but congratulated her with a smile. Lamerin shouted gleefully while holding a green and a red flag in his hands.

"Are we going to the field?" he asked them.

The players slowly landed. Goyle threw his bat at the ground angrily which bounced back and almost hit Crabbe. All of them were frustrated, but Malfoy seemed to be the saddest by their defeat. The Snitch was in front of him…

Harry walked up to him, and before Madame Hooch could command then, he offered his hand.

"It was… a good match," he said modestly, though his face was flushed from happiness.

Reluctantly, Draco shook his hand however, Harry's fingers seemed to cramp and the boy looked at the blond scared.

Harry's whole body shivered, followed by a terrible feeling of tension. His throat suddenly felt dry and he had difficulty breathing. Tiny, flickering dots appeared in his vision and everything became blurry. His ears rang like he was standing at the top of a mountain where the air was thin and he felt like someone was clawing at his skin – from the inside.

"What's with you?" Draco grimaced.

The girls started screaming when Harry fell back and the lightning scar on his forehead opened up. Ron remembered all too well… at the end of summer… on the train…

"Get away!" he chased the curious students away and cursed the teachers for taking so long to get there. "You too!" he snapped at Malfoy.

However, they both stood petrified above the writhing Harry. Ron made a vague gesture toward his friend, but when the boy wriggled again, he jumped back in fright.

Harry paled while seizing on the ground and he could only guess what the reason was for his sudden collapse. But he couldn't believe…

It couldn't be Voldemort! The school was protected by spells so no one could attack the students' minds from the outside. Snape said so. Or… does that only imply to the castle walls…? The Quidditch field was… outside and far away…

"He's in me…" he croaked. "Again… Run away, Ron…!"

"What's in him? Who's in him?" Draco shouted so he could be heard over the crowd.

"Your lord and master…" an old man's voice came from Harry's moving lips.

The boy looked like a marionette doll as he stood up. They stared into his eyes mesmerized as they slowly turned to red. Ron reached for his wand with trembling hands, but when Harry's face turned into a smug grin, he froze.

"Dumbledore!" the voice shouted making everyone silent.

The teachers finally reached them, but they all stopped when they saw what happened.

"Dumbledore!" he shouted again, trembling with rage.

The headmaster faced the dark wizard with stern eyes.

"Let go of the boy, Tom."

At the mention of the name, some people seemed puzzled as they looked at each other. However, Dumbledore intentionally used that name instead of his feared alias; he didn't want to cause even more panic. He knew that would only increase his chances.

"Don't you call me by my filthy Half-Blood father's name!" he snapped. His words sounded like a hiss.

His voice faltered and his eye color started vibrating. Sometimes, Harry's emerald irises became visible as he struggled against the invader. He raised his wand with trembling hands and turned it on himself.

"Harry!" Remus shouted. "Don't do it!"

The eleven inch long holly wand slowly neared the boy's stomach.

"No!" Draco shouted suddenly, making everyone wince.

He lunged at Harry and knocked the weapon out of his hand so the boy could only struggle under him.

"Fool!" Voldemort and Harry's voice growled. The man got control one last time. "He won't be yours! You won't get him back, Dumbledore! I'll come for Bella! Damn…!"

Harry's chest rose up from the ground as the invader left him. His eyes filled with tears as his lungs begged for more air.

The teachers stood frozen behind the headmaster. The old wizard seemed to hesitate as he watched the suffering boy, but then he stood straighter and cleared his throat.

"Prefects…" he began and the whispers stopped. "Lead the students back to the common rooms. No one can leave without permission. Those who were injured during the game follow Madame Pomfrey to the Hospital Wing. Rowena, Minerva, Severus! Follow me to my office! Remus, bring the boy!" he started walking making everyone move with him. Silently, he added to himself. "We don't have much time…"