Chapter 10: The Beginning

Harry

Harry's lungs ached, the burning sensation filling his chest as he bent over, hands on his knees. His glasses fogged, catching his heaving breaths in the cool morning air.

"C'mon, Harry! Hurry up! Death Eaters won't let you catch your breath!"

He raised himself up and groaned, wiping his sweaty hair off his face. He glanced up in the tree, spotting a family of birds chirping happily in their warm nest. Probably laughing at my misery. He sucked in one more deep breath before lifting his legs once more to finish his final lap.

Left, right. Left, right. He was moving on sheer willpower at this point, not feeling the impact as his sneakers hit the dirt. He could see Percy waiting ahead, what seemed like miles ahead with how all his senses screamed at him to stop. He stumbled on a stick, sending dirt tumbling into the wake of the black water.

On,

And on,

And on.

Until he finally reached Percy, collapsing into the dirt on his back, arms and legs spread out wide, his breaths coming rapidly in an attempt to force more oxygen into his lungs.

"Deep breaths, Harry. In through the nose, out through the mouth."

Percy's voice cut through the haze in his mind from somewhere off to the side. He tried to comply, focusing on keeping his mouth shut for the inhale, but it felt like he wasn't getting enough oxygen and his breaths soon dissolved into rapid huffs again.

"I know it's hard, but it's better. Trust me."

It took him a minute… okay, more than a minute, to get his breathing back under control and somewhat normal. Percy forced him to stand up and hold his hands on top of his head, claiming it will help him get more oxygen, give his lungs more room to fill up. Harry didn't know about all that, but he trusted Percy's judgment on this subject, so he believed him.

He breathed in again and again, the cool morning air almost burning his nostrils, but it almost felt good. He eventually got into a state where he could form a sentence, albeit a weak one.

"How- how did you do that so f- fast?"

Percy chuckled, his lopsided smirk accompanying the noise. "I'm in a bit better shape than you." Harry gave him his best 'ya think?' expression, the amusement not quite reaching his eyes. It was Harry's first day of 'training' with Percy, and he honestly was a little disappointed. He thought they'd be doing magical training, but noooo.

Percy made Harry wake up at the crack of dawn just to go running around the Black Lake while the sun rose over the horizon… on the weekend, no less. He didn't know how any of that applied to his situation, but he did what Percy asked, anyway. He figured Percy must have a reason for torture.

"How ya feelin?" Harry just narrowed his eyes at him in his best imitation of a glare that he could muster at the moment… a hearty laugh was not the desired response. "I thought you did pretty well." Percy said after containing his mirth. "Most people wouldn't make one lap around the lake, much less two." He gained a thoughtful expression for a moment. "I'm sure that sport you play, uhh… what is it?"

"Quidditch."

"Quidditch! I'm sure that helps a good deal."

"Uh, yeah, I think." Harry replied weakly, still working to return to normal breathing habits. He and Percy walked towards the edge of the lake, Percy taking a seat on a large rock embedded in the dirt.

"Percy, what does this have to do with…this?" He waved his hands around in the air for emphasis.

"What's this?" He mockingly mimicked Harry's hand waving, exaggerating the movements a bit more than necessary. Rolling his eyes, Harry wiped the condensation from inside his glasses with his sweaty shirt, only succeeding in smearing the spectacles.

"You know…the war." He had lowered his voice, worried someone might hear them… possibly someone who enjoyed wandering around the woods at ungodly hours.

"Harry, there's nobody around." Percy stated dryly. "Don't start getting too paranoid." He adjusted his positioning on the rock, wincing in the process, a quiet groan escaping his lips.

"So… any reason?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He held up his pointer finger. "Well, for one, a healthy body gives your magical core more room to grow. And for two," a second finger joined the first, "there's more to being a good fighter than just throwing around powerful spells."

"I'm a better fighter than you think!" Harry was quick to defend himself. He was tired of everyone assuming he had to be protected, be babied. Can't they see what he'd been through already? Not that he enjoyed bragging, but at some point it needs to be recognized.

"Never said you weren't." Percy explained. "In fact, from what I've heard and what I've seen, you're exceptionally powerful for your age." Harry never liked to stroke his ego, but to hear someone else say it did feel good every once in a while.

"But, that doesn't matter much when you're facing off against three wizards with decades of experience on you. You gotta have at least some tricks up your sleeve." Harry just raised his eyebrows above his glasses, an expectant look on his face, waiting for Percy to elaborate.

"I'm gonna teach you how to fight without your wand!" Percy declared excitedly, as if he had been looking forward to this day for a long time. Harry had never learned how to fight without magic. Sure, he saw Dudley throw a punch or two in his boxing days, but it never appealed to him. Dudley had a preference for having fun at Harry's expense in his younger years, but ever since he got his wand, Dudley was terrified whenever he took it out of his pocket.

"How's that going to help me? How would I even get close enough anyway?"

Percy's face fell, Harry not sharing in his excitement. "That's a fair point, actually." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm gonna teach you anyway, but it's not going to be easy. It's not the most ideal method of combating a magical foe, I admit. But, if you ever lose your wand, it sure as Hades is better than accepting your fate." Harry was starting to see his point, albeit reluctantly.

"Think about it, Harry. You wizards love to boycott manual labor and look down upon physical combat… it's the last thing they would expect. Plus, it will help with dodging spells." Percy looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing towards the lake.

"I guess that makes sense." Harry admitted.

"You're going to have to be resourceful to survive, Harry. Keep an advantage in your back pocket, it might save your life."

"But, why the running?" Harry asked, already dreading more of it. "Can't we just go straight to the punching?"

Percy let loose a laugh, tilting his head back slightly. "I wish it worked that way." He said, his laugh dying out. "You'd get real tired, real fast. It would be pointless unless you train your body first."

"Hey, I'm in pretty good shape. You said so yourself!" Harry quickly pointed out.

"I did say that." Percy relented. "But Quidditch is a lot different than dodging spells and throwing punches… different than fighting for your life..." A brief silence fell between the two as Percy considered his next words. "You lose in quidditch, it sucks, sure. But you wake up the next day and continue on with your life. You lose in war… you don't wake up, it's over." Harry's breathing returned to normal as he took in the gravity of Percy's words.

Percy broke the silence shortly after it began, clapping his hand on Harry's shoulder and rising from his makeshift seat. "Alright Harry, that's enough. Good work today. Go take a shower before breakfast, you smell like the pegasus stable." Percy made a show of wrinkling his nose and waving his hand in front of his face.

"Yeah, yeah. I wonder why." Harry laced his words with as much sarcasm as he could as he threw Percy's hand off his shoulder. He stalked up the hill, listening to Percy's laughter fade as he got closer and closer to a warm shower and a delicious breakfast.

He paused when he knew that Percy was out of sight. Slowly bringing his nose down towards the crook of his shoulder, he took a small sniff. He paused briefly, smelling nothing, before shrugging and continuing on towards the castle. He just hoped nobody happened to be looking out their window at the wrong time.


"Huh? Uh, wha-? Wha' time isit?"

"It's breakfast time Ron. Better get up or you're gonna miss out." He was already snoring before his head smacked into the pillow once more, clearly not in any state of mind to register the words that came out of Harry's mouth. Harry had just finished in the washroom after his morning workout. The common room was still deserted when he had returned, to his surprise. He thought at least somebody would be awake, but he had only been met by the sound of the Fat Lady shutting behind him.

It was nice to avoid the questions for the time being. Although he was sure he'd have to answer plenty during breakfast, Hermione and all. He must have been in there much longer than he anticipated, as he exited to the dorm with only his best friend snoozing, oblivious to the world. Everyone must have already made their way down to the Great Hall.

He was famished after his little run around the lake, and he knew for a fact that Ron would be hungry when he eventually woke up. Harry wasn't keen on starving himself for much longer though, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Crouching down, Harry grabbed a fistful of pillow from the floor next to Ron's bed, and raising the pillow above his head, brought the soft bundle down onto his friend's drooling face. The hollow thump! echoed lowly through the room as an indent shaped slightly like Ron's face was left in the fluffy fabric.

Ron jerked awake at the contact, flailing wildly and letting out a childish scream as he rolled over and tumbled to the floor opposite Harry. Harry could hear his erratic breathing accompanying a distinct shuffling noise where he assumed his friend to be. A pale hand quickly reached into his view to blindly fumble for his wand before finding the stick of wood with a vice grip.

A head of red hair popped up on the other side of the mattress, eyes wide and wand pointed directly at Harry, shaking with adrenaline. When Ron finally realized who it was, he slowly lowered his wand and narrowed his eyes.

"Oi, mate! What was that for?"

"You were snoring." Harry shrugged. "It's time to get up and you ignored me the first time."

"Why so early?" He whined. "And why like that?"

"'Cause I'm starving, and we're late for breakfast." At the mention of the morning meal, Ron's stomach let out a gurgle.

"Well why didn't you say so!" He jumped up excitedly. "Let's bloody get down there." He started for the entrance of the dorm before Harry cleared his throat to stop him in his enthusiastic tracks.

"You still have your pajamas on, Ron."

His eyes widened and he looked sheepishly down towards his legs. "Oh, I do, don't I." He chuckled, embarrassed. "Well, I'll just meet you in the common room then, yeah?"

Harry nodded in acceptance of Ron's idea as he backed out the door and proceeded down the stairs to the common room. It was empty, save for one person sitting in the armchair near the fireplace, everyone else already having left for breakfast. Harry made his way over to Hermione, her face buried in a book, oblivious to his approach. The bookworm startled as he tapped her on the shoulder, letting out a small yelp. She audibly slammed her book closed as she whirled on him.

"Where have you been? We're late for breakfast!" She scolded him. "And Ronald isn't even here."

"He's getting dressed." Harry explained. Hermione just sighed and shook her head, slowly rising from her chair, stretching her hands above her head, releasing the remaining traces of drowsiness from her body. Ron emerged from the staircase a few moments later. Hermione immediately rounded on him.

"There you are, Ronald! You really shouldn't sleep in so much." She continued before Ron could plead his case, waving him off with her hand. "Let's just go to breakfast." Harry shrugged at Ron's flabbergasted expression before following her out of the portrait hole.


"I can't bloody wait for these pancakes!"

"Language, Ronald!" His red-haired friend just shrugged, uncaring, keeping his eyes glued to the spot he knew his food of choice would pop into existence.

"Besides, don't you know that all of this food is made with slave labor!" She shifted her gaze back and forth between her two male friends, expecting a reaction that never came. "Did you hear me? Slave Labor… they don't get paid for their work! It's ridiculous!"

"'Mione," Ron had to finish swallowing a bit of fluffy pancake lathered in syrup before he could make his point. "They've never been paid, it's just how it is."

"Well it's awful! To take advantage of such innocent creatures…"

"In fact, if you asked every house elf, the majority would tell you they enjoy their work and prefer not to be paid." Ron had put his utensils down at this point. "That's how it's been for centuries. Not every house elf is Dobby, and they're definitely not all innocent… just look at Kreacher, evil little bugger."

"Kreacher is just misunderstood!"

"Sure, 'Mione. He just takes care of his old master's petrified heads, muttering about blood traitors and such! Who all happen to be dark wizards, not to mention, followers of you-know-who… Voldemort… all of them." He shuddered as the name crossed his lips, but Harry was proud of his friend for overcoming his fear of the name with only minor convincing from Harry's gaze. "Well, except for Snuffles, Harry… he was an exception."

It was hard to remember that Ron could be so knowledgeable about the Wizarding World. He wasn't particularly impressive in many other areas of the mind, it was easy to overlook his vast knowledge of how wizarding society worked. Especially compared to Harry and Hermione, who were both well behind the eight ball in that particular category. The muggle world doesn't have an academic subject on magical society, as it turns out.

Hermione looked like she wanted to continue what was possibly the most intelligent discussion the two had ever had, but Ron decided he had enough of a break from those delicious pancakes. "...nevermind…" She slowly let out the breath she had taken in preparation for her next point. "So, how was training, Harry?"

"Yeah, howasit, Hawwy?" Hermione shot a look at Ron and his mouthful of food before turning her expectant gaze on Harry.

Harry adjusted the glasses framing his face before replying. "It was, uh…. It was a lot of running." They must have not been expecting that to come out of his mouth. Ron paused, a load of pancake halfway to his mouth, adding onto Hermione's puzzled look as their eyes were transfixed in his direction.

"Wha' 'oes running haf todo wif' anyfing?"

"Finish chewing your food, Ronald." Hermione scolded him, almost robotically. Ron's jaw flexed a few more times before an exaggerated swallow ran down his throat.

"What's running got to do with anything?" Ron was a lot more clear in his questioning this time around, his attention focused solely on Harry, awaiting his response.

"I'm sure Professor Jackson has a solid reason… right, Harry?"

"Uh, yeah." Harry started, running Percy's reasoning through his head in an attempt to most accurately convey the check points. "He said that keeping your body in good shape allows your magical core more room to grow… and it makes it easier to dodge spells." Harry explained.

Hermione gave a small nod, a contemplative look on her face, seemingly accepting the facts. Ron… not so quick to accept the Professor's rationale. "Mate, you're in bloody good shape already! What more does that bloke want?"

"That's what I thought at first." Harry admitted. "Then I couldn't feel my legs."

"Harry, how much did he make you run?" Hermione questioned.

"I don't know." Harry shrugged. "I think I made it around the lake twice, but I can't remember for sure."

"You can't remember for sure? How does that work?"

"I don't know Hermione, I just…" he sighed. "My memory gets fuzzy after the first lap."

"You probably weren't getting enough oxygen to your brain." Hermione explained before immediately adopting a concerned look. "That's almost two miles, Harry. He can't push you that hard that early."

"Blimey, that's a lot of running, mate. He shouldn't be making you do that if he can't do it himself!" Ron put in his two cents.

"But, he did do it… didn't even break a sweat either. Finished in like, I don't know, ten minutes!" Harry exclaimed, hoping his friends would understand.

"Ten minutes is mighty fast, Harry."

"Well maybe not ten minutes, but it was fast, Hermione. A lot faster than me."

"I guess he's probably been doing it for a while." Hermione reasoned, trying to work it out in her head.

"Oh, ya think, 'Mione?" She gave Ron her best shut up look. "This bloke is insane if he expects you to do that." Ron seemed to have some relatively strong feelings about the subject, really unnecessary physical exertion that didn't have to do with Quidditch. Harry almost agreed with him, running that much seemed pointless at the time and immediately afterwards. Still, he was willing to give Percy the benefit of the doubt for the time being. He seemed to know what he was talking about, more than Harry at least.

"Though it may seem extreme to us… Professor Jackson does have a point, Ronald. Having a healthy body can be important to magical growth. Read it in a book once."

"'Course you did, 'Mione." Ron teased her good naturedly, a small smile playing on his face. "I just think it's unnecessary, look at what Harry's already done without Jackson… already one of the most powerful wizards i've seen, and only fifteen, eh? I mean, how many wizards have you seen kill a basilisk, huh? A basilisk. Not to mention the dementors… or the triwizard cup…"

"We get your point, Ron." Harry cut him off, slightly uncomfortable with him listing off all his 'accomplishments'.

"Sorry, mate. It's just, you've been doing bloody well so far, I don't think you need his help. What has he done to prove himself? I mean, have you actually seen him do anything, honestly?" Ron argued.

"Well… no, actually." Harry never thought he would see the day that Hermione would agree with Ron out loud, for the castle to hear. But it just happened, in front of his very eyes. He would never have believed it if he wasn't wearing his glasses - he'd be inclined to think they were two people posing as his friends. "But, Dumbledore vouched for him, that has to mean something, right?" She questioned. "What do you have against Professor Jackson anyway? He hasn't done anything to us."

"He reminds me of Lockhart." Ron answered simply. "Looks good, but nothing is real."

"Why would you think that?" Hermione countered. Harry was tempted to tune out another one of their famous squabbles, except this subject piqued his curiosity… unlike the first four hundred times. "He has been nothing but nice to us."

"Why do you have to defend him? Lockhart was nice at first too…"

"Oh, come off it, Ronald." Hermione huffed, her frustration evident.

"There's loads of similarities, you even fancied Lockhart too!" Ron shot back with venom.

"You know wh- ugh!" Hermione's frustration was beginning to boil over. "Why bring up my love life? What does it matter to you anyway?"

"Because, it's just-"

"Because what, Ronald?!"

"It's just… you know what, never mind." Ron relented, releasing a sigh and leaning back in his seat, looking anywhere but his brown-haired friend.

"Seriously, Ron. Why does it matter?" Hermione persisted in her questioning.

"Forget I said anything, 'Mione."

"I would love to forget what you say if I could, believe me. But…why does my love life matter to you?" Hermione pushed. It was starting to get difficult to determine where Ron's hair ended, and his face began. He pulled at the collar of his shirt before swallowing hard and looking down at the table. It was a minute before he said anything, and Harry swore he saw one bead of sweat travel down his nose and splash onto the wood of the table.

"We've, uh, been here for a good bit, yeah." He finally managed to get out. "I'm late to meet Fred and George."

"You didn't mention that before."

"Yeah, it's um, about a thing, uh, for the joke shop." Ron continued while rising from his seat.

"You're a prefect, Ron. You have to set a good example. Where are you meeting anyway?" Hermione continued to pester him before he could run away, apparently oblivious to the awkward situation the three found themselves in.

"The, uh, library… I think." Ron supplied weakly, doing his best to answer her questions.

"The Library? You… in the library." Hermione had to repeat herself, not truly believing the words that were spoken in the last few seconds.

"That's what I said, init?" Ron had gotten to his feet by now amidst Hermione's hounding. He gave a short wave as he scurried out of the hall, leaving behind a half eaten pancake smothered in syrup. Harry just kept his eyes on the pancake that must have weighed much more than a pancake had any right to, judging by what seemed to be a gallon of syrup settled on the plate.

Hermione had paused, frozen with her palms facing up next to her shoulders in the universal "I don't know" gesture, eyes fixed on Ron's former seat on the bench. Harry began to methodically drum his fingers on the table, slowing their pace as Hermione shifted her head towards him. His fingers stopped their movement as their eyes locked.

"What was that?" Hermione asked him. Harry was pretty sure he knew what Ron's problem was, he could notice the signs. But apparently, Hermione couldn't fathom the idea and just completely blocked it out of her possible explanations. Harry wasn't going to be the one to educate her.

"I dunno." Was the best he could come up with, not convincing enough for the brown haired bookworm. Her eyes narrowed at him as her hands finally relaxed and dropped onto the table in front of her.

"You know something." She stated, matter-of-factly. The air around Harry began to feel warm and suddenly he wasn't comfortable in his own clothes.

"D-did you get started on that potions work?" He made a weak attempt to weasel his way into another topic, she was having none of it. Her eyes adopted a dangerous glint as she leaned in closer to him. The room seemed to shrink and it was suddenly hard to swallow.

"Harry…"

Harry forced a gulp to slide down his throat. He was able to break his gaze away from his friend for a second, catching a glimpse of Katie Bell, a chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team. That formed an excuse in his head that was good enough to get him out of the hall. He found himself on his feet before he knew what he was doing, his plate clattering on the table as his leg made contact with the wood in his haste.

"I have to go to practice… for quidditch." He explained.

"I thought that was at two in the afternoon?"

"It is."

"Harry, it's ten in the morning." Hermione deadpanned, seeing clearly through his excuse, unsurprisingly.

"I, uh, have to stretch… don't want any injuries, especially with all that running I did." It was a lousy excuse. He knew it, and Hermione knew it, judging by the look on her face. He glanced over to see Katie on her way out of the Great Hall. "Better catch up to Katie. Bye, Hermione!" He said his goodbye and dashed away from the intimidating brunette, chasing the back of his quidditch teammate. He could feel holes being burned into his back as he moved…

"Katie! Hold up!" He called out. He caught up to her and she gave him a friendly smile when she noticed who had called her name.

"Heya, Harry." She greeted him. "What's goin' on?"

"Can I walk with you for a minute?"

"Gonna tell me you fancy me, Harry? Got a crush on your chaser?" She teased him with a sideways smirk, the Weasley twins having rubbed off on her a little over the years as teammates.

"No, it's just… honestly, I need an excuse to get away."

"So, you're just using me? I'm wounded, Harry." She feigned hurt, her expression morphing into something akin to a sad puppy.

"No no, Katie, it's not that, it's ju-" Harry quickly tried to backtrack, only to get cut off by a laugh from the Gryffindor chaser.

"Relax, Harry. Just pulling your leg." She said after her laughter subsided. "I'll always help a friend. C'mon now." She gestured towards the large doors with her head. They moved through the boundary, entering the entryway of the castle. There was a good amount of students milling about, enjoying their weekend free of classes.

"I'm headed to the library, gonna just get my homework out of the way. Wanna tag along?" Harry didn't really see any reason to decline the invitation, he wasn't doing anything. Maybe he would even just finish his work now too, Hermione would be so proud if she knew that thought crossed his mind. Besides, if Hermione was going to look for him, the library probably wouldn't be her first stop… certainly wouldn't be Ron's, either. So, he agreed to go with Katie, and they made their way through the stone hallways, chatting about whatever came to mind. Mostly about quidditch.


"So Angelina would always correct him when he liked to give those pre-game speeches. I remember she would say, 'Wood, last time I checked, I wasn't a 'lad'.' Pretty sure that was almost every game, too."

"I don't think he ever corrected himself, did he?"

"'Course not. Angelina was always tough on Wood as the captain, thought he was too intense. We'll see what kind of captain she becomes, now that it's her go at the job."

"It seems like Wood never left. I know she wants to win the cup, but it would be nice to get a water break here and there." Harry said as they reached the entrance to the library.

"Don't let Angelina hear you say that." Katie laughed. "You'd be running laps till nightfall. I thought we'd find you dead after you missed the tryouts."

"Did enough running this morning, thank you." He replied. "And I couldn't hear for three days after."

"My lips are sealed, Harry." Katie faked zippering her mouth closed and pretended to throw the key to the other side of the library as she sat down and leaned back in a chair. The library was scarcely populated this early on a saturday, which allowed them to find an empty table in a nice corner of the room. "Wait, you were running this morning?"

"Oh yeah, jolly old me, running around the lake at seven this morning."

"Seven A.M?!" Katie exclaimed, only to get sushed by Madam Pince from the reception desk. She slunk deeper into her chair, a sheepish look on her face.

"I was almost wishing for an Oliver Wood workout, honestly." Harry continued, lowering his voice to just above a whisper.

"Why in the bloody hell would you even be running at seven in the morning, anyway?" Katie inquired, her expression indicating what she thought of that idea. Harry cursed inwardly, he had been wanting to keep his upcoming extracurricular activity under wraps. He saw no sense in lying to Katie now though, since the cat was already out of the bag, and he did trust her, at a rudimentary level at least.

He just didn't have to tell her every single detail though. "Uh, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck as Katie eyed him suspiciously. "Just getting some extra training in before the season."

"Pfft. Way too early for me, but good for you, Harry. More training would do you good, maybe you could even be a pro."

"Eh, I'm not sure about that, Katie." Harry admitted. School quidditch was one thing, but the best players in the world? He wasn't so sure. "I'm not good enough for that."

"Oh, c'mon Harry." She rolled her eyes. "You're one of the best fliers I've seen, and I know others who would say the same. It's like you were born in the air!"

Harry could feel his cheeks begin to heat up. He was never one for receiving praise, didn't really believe he deserved it. Maybe his dear aunt and uncle had something to do with that particular character trait. "Katie, I don't-"

"Merlin, Harry!" She interrupted what was another protest stemming from his mouth, before getting shushed once again. "Just take the compliment, trust me. Alicia and Angelina agree with me. You just need to pack a little more muscle on that frame and you're good to go."

"I-." Katie eyed him dangerously, a menacing glint in her brown eyes boring through any protests he had cooked up. He sighed in response. "Thanks, Katie." She immediately let her face drop into an easy smile.

"Anytime. You have to believe in yourself a little more, Harry." She brought her bag up from under the table, and Harry suddenly remembered she had come here to do homework. He had been distracting her from the original purpose of this venture. "Besides, it'd be cool to tell people I'm friends with a professional quidditch player."

Katie removed a large schoolbook from her bag, going to place it on the table. She opened her mouth to say something before flinching as she lost her grip on the book, causing the book to smack loudly against the table, echoing through the library. Harry flinched at the unexpected noise and he watched the few others in the room follow suit. Katie hurriedly buried her face in her hands as another loud sush came from the librarian.

"Guess those chaser skills don't apply to textbooks." Harry joked with a small smirk on his face. Katie offered him a fierce glare from between her fingers as she grumbled something under her breath that Harry couldn't make out. He thought it was safe to assume it wasn't wishing him a long and prosperous life. He searched for another topic to rid Katie of her embarrassment, when his eyes fell onto the textbook she had taken out.

"DADA work, huh?" That seemed to do the trick, as her hands finally left her face in preference of opening the book.

"If you count reading as work." Katie huffed, opening the book to the needed page. "I've got to do it now, puts me to sleep at night." She said as she leaned back and pinched the bridge of her nose before letting loose a long sigh. "Merlin, and I thought Lockhart was the worst."

Harry just made a noise of agreement that got his point across well enough. He rose from the table, figuring he had distracted Katie enough for the time being. "I'll leave you to your reading then. See you at practice."

Katie rolled her eyes as he stood. "Gee, thanks. Can't wait to read my textbook." Her deadpan delivery could only make Harry chuckle as he walked away from his teammate and the library, intent on spending some time relaxing before he was inevitably worked to exhaustion by Angelina's practice in a few hours. Maybe he should write a letter to Sirius. That will waste some time, and he hadn't talked to his godfather in a good while. Hopefully Ron wasn't back in their room, he was a good friend but Harry would enjoy some peace and quiet at this particular moment… he hardly ever got any.

Two o'clock eventually rolled around and Harry found himself in the quidditch locker room preparing for their afternoon practice. He had a nice and relaxing afternoon… well, as relaxing as it could get considering the circumstances. His letter to 'Snuffles' was away with a Hedwig, just an update on the year so far. He did love Hedwig, her snow white feathers were always a welcome sight gliding into the Great Hall against the many shades of common brown feathers. Hopefully she got all the exercise she needed with the freedom he allowed her, he hoped his constant companion was happy. Come to think of it, he didn't think he'd ever seen another snowy owl in the wizarding world. Did he have a one-of-a-kind owl? Who knows, it wasn't really important anyway.

He secured his gloves and made for the exit of the room towards the pitch, grabbing his firebolt on the way. It just always felt right in his hand whenever he wrapped his fingers around the magic wood, always instilled in him a sense of excitement and anticipation to get off the ground. His strides finally reached grass and his mood instantly improved. He joined the rest of the team that were grouped up at the base of the goalposts. Harry was happy to see Ron there, who had narrowly won a competitive battle for the keeper position at tryouts, taking over for Oliver Wood, who had graduated the previous year.

His red-headed friend had joined his twin brothers and Ginny - who had made the team as a reserve - chatting about who knows what. They all turned towards him as he joined the small group, two smiles and two mischievous smirks greeted him.

"Harrykins! Nice of you-"

"- to join us." The twins' unique speech patterns always unnerved him a little.

"Haven't seen you since breakfast, mate. Where ya been?"

"Just wanted some alone time to relax." Harry answered his best friend's inquiry.

"He needed a break from your incessant blabbering."

"Sod off, Gin." Ron shot back at his younger sister. "Been spending too much time with 'Mione, you have."

Harry enjoyed his alone time, but it was nice to be back among friends all the same. The Weasley bickering always amused him, Ginny was especially capable of throwing out a zinger or two. The family of red-heads always had this uncanny ability to elevate his mood. It was a calm day on the quidditch pitch, the wind and elements having decided to cooperate for the time being. Harry could hear the slight rustle of the leaves on the trees as a small gust of wind tousled his hair, it was peaceful. In fact, Angelina must not be here yet, it was too…

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, OVER HERE!"

…quiet.

They all gathered in a group around the dark skinned girl, awaiting their instructions for their practice session.

"Positional drills to start, so group up by position. Beaters, over here." She pointed to her left as the twins and two reserves moved to follow her prompt.

"Yes, ma'am, right away, ma'am." The twins said in unison with an accompanying flourish. Angelina refused to rise to the twins' bait and just rolled her eyes, ignoring their exaggerated comment entirely.

"Chasers! Over here with the keepers." She pointed to the opposite side. "I want you working with those two, don't go easy on 'em." She pointed a finger at Ron and the reserve keeper, to exaggerate her instructions. Harry saw Ron swallow heavily. Angelina took another breath for more instructions, before pausing and taking another look at the group consisting of chasers and keepers. "Where's Katie?"

Her question was answered with murmuring and awkward looks between teammates, accompanied by shuffling in the grass, nobody speaking up on Katie's behalf. "Nobody knows where Katie is?" She swept her gaze across the team, waiting for an answer. Harry had, of course, seen Katie in the library earlier, but she could be anywhere by now.

It's a good thing Katie decided to make her presence known by sprinting across the field from the locker room, her brown hair and red cloak flailing behind her. She finally made it, stopping next to Harry after what felt like ages, bent over and huffing from exertion.

He tapped her on the shoulder, momentarily stopping her huffing and puffing as she glanced at him. "Stand up straight, hands on your head, it's better." Katie gave him an odd look, but took his advice either way, straightening her back. Her breathing immediately became less labored and the red tint began to drain from her face.

Angelina allowed Katie to catch her breath before questioning her tardiness, something that came completely out of left field for the chaser. She took a deep breath in before answering. "I, uhh… fellasleepinthelibrary." Katie gave her excuse too quickly for Harry to understand the garbled words, and nobody else did either, judging from the looks she was receiving.

Katie flushed red, Harry was sure it wasn't from exertion this time. "I fell asleep in the library, okay!" Katie finally admitted. Her admission was met with snickers around the team, the loudest coming from the Weasley twins, which she answered with a glare.

Angelina just shook her head. "Fell alse- never mind. You know what, let's just start practice." She said and kicked into the air. Harry followed suit, picking up Katie's grumbling about Umbridge and stupid books as he flew away.

Despite Angelina's hard exterior, Harry always enjoyed being in the air, it was freeing, soaring away into the clouds. He, along with Ginny; who was the reserve seeker, completed their warm up drills as they did every practice. They happened to finish early that practice, and began to float in place, observing the rest of the positional drills. They mainly kept an eye on the chasers shooting on the keepers, mostly to track Ron's progress. He ended up doing relatively well, saving a total of sixteen out of twenty quaffles their chasers tossed at him.

Harry had to admit that he didn't do too bad, considering Gryffindor had the best trio of chasers in the school.

"What d'ya reckon Percy is doing here?" Ginny questioned from her spot hovering beside Harry. He shot her a questioning look, unsure of what she was talking about - there was no Percy on the team. She nodded her head towards the bleachers surrounding the pitch, red hair flowing in the slight breeze. Harry spun to follow her gaze, looking over his left shoulder.

Through a squint, he was able to make out a certain raven-haired Professor leaning back, lounging in a spot about halfway up the bleachers, arms spread out to the side along the back of the seat. He was sitting next to another individual, though Harry couldn't see exactly who it was at the moment.

"Honestly, I have no idea." He shrugged, looking back towards Ginny. Harry watched Ron save one last shot before Angelina called a break for some water.

"A water break? Angelina must be going soft." Harry muttered to Ginny as they descended to the grass. Harry hopped off his broom, settling to a walking pace, eager for some water. The two seekers were the last to join the group, and Harry couldn't help but begin to theorize exactly why Percy was at their practice - and who was with him?

The rest of practice went smoothly, Harry was happy for the distraction. He was able to forget every messed up thing that made up his life in the moment and just focus on flying, doing something that he loved. Just put everything in the back of his mind for a few hours with the wind whipping through his hair as he sped around the pitch at speeds only his firebolt could manage.

For those few hours in the air, his shoulders felt immensely lighter.

He even forgot Percy was there… until he called out for him after practice. The team was walking off the pitch, towards the locker room when Percy decided to make his presence known. Harry was walking with Ginny towards the back of the group, discussing various seeker things, along with overall quidditch theories and strategies. They were having a nice, easy conversation, nothing about the war, the order, anything related to that mess.

"HARRY!" The American Professor's booming voice echoed across the pitch. The whole group stopped in their tracks, turning around towards the noise. Whispers broke out in the group when they realized the origin of his shouted name.

"How do you know Professor Jackson, Harry?" Katie whispered from behind him. He spared her a single glance before Ginny lightly smacked him on the arm and he realized he had been standing there for an awkwardly long amount of time with everyone looking at him expectantly.

He slowly began the walk towards the Professor and his companion. He could feel the eyes of his teammates on his back as he got closer and closer. The Professor's gaze brought back the reality of his situation, he could no longer hide reality behind flying and chasing a golden snitch through the air. By the time he was able to discern the pink hair of Tonks standing next to Percy, his shoulders began to slump, suddenly feeling twenty pounds heavier once again, feet heavy with each step.

He took a deep breath to steady his breathing as he reached the pair. Percy must have read on Harry's face the growing anxiety bubbling to the surface in his chest, for he placed a hand on his shoulder. Percy's calming presence washed over him and he found himself breathing ever the easier.

"Wotcher, Harry." Tonks greeted him. It had been awhile since he saw the eccentric witch.

"We need to tell you something, Harry." Percy said, releasing his shoulder. "We should talk in my - well, Hagrid's - hut."

He turned to lead them away, only to stop with his nose wrinkled. "On second thought, why don't you come down after you cleaned up."

"Sorry, Harry. You sorta smell a little bit." Tonks added.

"Gee, thanks guys." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Free hygiene advice from Percy and Tonksy, anytime you need." Percy mocked a bow in his direction.

"You used that joke this morning, didn't you?" Harry pointed out, his jest regarding Harry's stench ringing a bell in his memory.

"Oh no!" Tonks' hands flew towards her mouth. "Reusing jokes? You must be running low."

"Puh-lease." Percy sassed. "Some jokes are just so good they're begging to be used twice."

"Whatever, Perce." Her words conveyed annoyance, but her smirk betrayed her amusement. "C'mon, let's wait for him in the hut. There's no rush, Harry… take your time." She grasped Percy's elbow and winked at Harry before leading Percy away from the quidditch pitch.

Harry fought to keep the blush from rising on his face, making his way towards the locker room to clean up. Thankfully, the rest of his teammates had already vacated the area. He took his time getting undressed, making sure to put his broom safely away and his practice clothes away neatly in his locker. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he strode to the showers to clean the sweat off his body.

The water ran hotter than normal, running over his head, down his neck and back. He hung his head under the running water, resting his hand on the side of the shower. He took a few moments to contemplate all the responsibility that fell on his shoulders. His friends, family, everyone in Hogwarts Castle was counting on him… even if they didn't know it. He was able to put those thoughts out of his mind for the duration of quidditch practice, but the arrival of Percy sent those lovely thoughts roaring back into the front of his brain. It was overwhelming, when he thought of all of it. Regardless of his personal feelings, it was something he had to do. So, he steeled himself and shut off the running water, the cool air immediately hitting his skin and sending shivers down his spine.

He quickly dried off, re-wrapping the towel around his waist once again and heading out to the main locker room to get his clothes back on for the rest of the day. He stopped in front of his locker, about to drop his towel before a voice stopped him.

"Hey, Harry?" Katie's voice made him jump a foot in the air, hand shooting down to make sure his towel stayed exactly where it was.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Katie quickly backpedaled and spun around, running out of the locker room as quick as she came. Harry gave his heart a few beats to settle down, before he quickly clothed himself and exited the locker room. Katie was waiting for him when he left, face still burning in embarrassment. He fought to keep the rising blush from his own cheeks as their eyes met.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I didn't realize."

"It's alright, Katie. It's not your fault. What did you want?" Harry just wanted to move on from this particular incident.

"Oh. I was just wondering how you knew Professor Jackson." Harry had to be careful how he answered her question. He hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

"Well, I just know him from outside of Hogwarts, I guess." Harry finally settled with.

"Was that his girlfriend that was with him?"

"I'm not really sure, actually. I've seen them together quite a bit, but I've never asked or anything."

"Oh, I was just wondering… maybe you could, I don't know, introduce me sometime…" Katie finished awkwardly, wringing her hands together.

"I mean, I suppose I could do that. But, he's a Professor, Katie."

"I know that." She said quickly. "He just seems like a good person to know, I guess."

"I really don't know too much about the bloke." He admitted, much to Katie's surprise.

"Really? It seemed like you two knew each other well." Harry hadn't really thought much of it since their first talk in his hut, but in reality, he didn't know anything about Percy, save the basics. He would really have to push the man for some information. If he was going to put his own life, and the lives of countless others, in Percy's hands, he needed to know more about who he was.

"Maybe I can introduce you after the next quidditch game, or something." He felt bad for Katie, her face had fallen after the revelation that Harry and the Professor were not as close as she thought. Her face brightened again at the possibility, however, as the first quidditch game was not far down the road.

"Really? Thanks, Harry. You're the best." She smiled and turned away, to where Harry had no idea. He threw on the jacket he had been wearing earlier, and made his way towards the main doors. Hopefully he had given Tonks enough time to do whatever it was she had planned. If not, well, Harry didn't want to think about it.

He fastened the jacket around his shoulders, hopefully it would protect him from the cold enough. He took a deep breath and strode through the giant double doors that marked the entrance to Hogwarts, charting a path towards the gamekeeper's hut.

.