Ch. 11
The next day, the four new friends were walking down a lonely corridor when hushed voices came from one of the classrooms.
"How are you supposed to keep watch on all three heads!"
Violet peeked in. Horrified she silently grabbed Harry's robes and had him look. Ron and Hermione followed suit. Inside the room were Snape and Filch. Filch was bandaging what appeared to be an infected bite on Snape's leg.
"Hold still," Filch said. "This will hurt."
"Hurry it up!"
Filch applied a potion.
"Ah!"
The children moved along quickly as Snape swore loudly.
"Whoa," Ron said. "Three heads? You don't suppose he means that giant dog on the third floor do you?"
"I think that's exactly what he means," Violet confirmed.
"But what was Snape doing there?" Harry wondered.
Harry's first quidditch game came as a cold November began. Though Oliver wanted Harry's placement on the team to be kept secret, the secret got out. Harry wasn't sure which was worse, people saying he's be brilliant or others saying they'd be on the ground under him with a mattress.
Harry and Ron were grateful to have Hermione as a friend now, especially Harry. He wasn't sure how he would have gotten through his quidditch training and homework without her help.
The morning of the first game of the season game: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Feeling the pressure, Harry found it difficult to eat.
"Have a bit of toast, mate," Ron urged.
"Come on," Violet agreed.
"You need your strength," Hermione said.
"I'm not hungry."
Suddenly Snape came into the room and silently limped towards the teacher's table. Harry watched him, thinking.
"It's the only thing that makes sense," he said suddenly.
"What is?" Hermione asked, alarmed.
"I think Snape let the troll loose and then tried to get past that dog."
"Why would anyone want to go near that thing?" Ron wondered.
"Because it's guarding whatever was nearly stolen from Gringotts," Violet concluded.
"Snape wouldn't do that," Hermione gasped. "He's a teacher. He wouldn't try stealing something Dumbledore was trying to protect."
Ron opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off my Oliver Wood shouting, "Gryffindor team to the field! Violet, come on."
"Violet?"
Ron and Hermione stared at her as she stood with Harry and the rest of the team.
"You're not on the team," Hermione said.
Violet grinned broadly.
"I'm in training for next year. Oliver is letting me tag along with the team so I can learn the ropes. I've even been practicing with them."
"She's quite good too," Oliver said smiling down at her.
"Brilliant, eh?"
"Bloody brilliant!" Ron agreed.
Violet left with Harry and the team.
"Violet," Wood said as they changed into their uniforms, "see if this fits."
He tossed her a spare uniform. Violet beamed at him.
"Are you serious?"
"Well, every team should have an extra member. Just in case there's an injury."
Violet kissed him on the cheek and pulled him into a hug before quickly changing.
"Go sit with your friends," Oliver told her, smiling.
She gave Harry thumbs up before leaving.
"Nervous Harry?" Oliver asked as they went to the field.
"A little."
"I was too for my first game."
"What happened?"
"Eh… not sure really. I took a Bludger to the head ten minutes in. Woke up a week later in the hospital."
This did not calm Harry's nerves.
They entered the field to a swarm of cheering students. Harry immediately spotted Violet in her uniform and saw Hermione and Ron on each side of her. Hagrid was behind them, waving merrily at Harry and carrying a large Gryffindor banner. He smiled and waved at them. In return, they shouted in one voice, "LIONS FOR THE CUP!" Some of his nervousness retreated.
Madame Hooch was overseeing the match. She glared at the captains as if she expected them to start brawling right there on the field, which she did.
"I want a nice clean game," she said. She looked at the Slytherins as she added, "From all of you."
Wood shook the Slytherin captain's hand. It looked as though the boys were trying to break each other's hand.
"Mount your brooms. On my whistle. Three, two, one."
Harry and his teammates kicked off the ground. Harry was amazed at how well his broom flew. It was the best feeling ever!
The Quaffle was released with the Bludgers followed by the Snitch. The game was daring and exciting. Harry had trouble focusing on finding the Snitch for several minutes. Then, when the scores were tied, twenty to twenty, the unthinkable happened. Harry's broom jolted this way and that as though it were a bucking horse.
"What's wrong with Harry's broom?" Hagrid wondered aloud.
"What's he doing?" Violet cried as she watched her brother soar uncontrollably high into the air.
Hermione looked through her binoculars and saw Snape staring intently at Harry and muttering to himself.
"Snape's jinxing the broom!"
"What'll we do?"
"Leave it to me!"
Violet bolted off to the teacher's section and crawled under the seats. She began clicking her fingers. Her hand ignited with blue flames. She touched the hem of Snape's robes, extinguished her hand in a puff of silvery smoke, and ran back to her friends, knocking over poor Professor Quirrell in the process. As she fled, she heard Snape's yelp of pain and knew her plan had worked.
Harry's broom had suddenly stopped jerking and just in time. He had seen a glint of gold. Unfortunately, so did the Slytherin Seeker. They bolted for it at the same time and dove, neck in neck. The ground rushed towards them. Afraid, the Slytherin Seeker pulled up. Harry pulled up just in the nick of time, still in hot pursuit. Balancing carefully, Harry stood on the handle of his broom and reached out. He foolishly took a step forward causing his broom to flip, sending him flying.
When he righted himself he clutched his stomach.
"Looks like he's gonna be sick," Violet said.
Harry spit out a tiny round ball and Lee Jordon's voice rang through the stadium.
"HE'S GOT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS ONE HUNRED AND SEVENTY POINTS TO SIXTY!"
Violet, Ron and Hermione rushed to the field along with half the school. They were the first to reach Harry after his teammates. Harry and Violet wrapped their arms around each other. Fred and George then lifted Harry onto their shoulders.
Though happy about his first win, Harry felt uneasy about his broom's behavior and happily accepted Hagrid invitation to tea at his hut.
"Good thing Violet stopped Snape when she did," Ron said as Hagrid poured the tea. "You were about to be thrown off your broom, Harry."
"What are you talking about?"
"Snape was jinxing your broom. I had to crawl under the risers and set fire to his robes to get him to stop."
"Non-sense!" Hagrid said. "Why would Professor Snape try to kill Harry?"
"I dunno," Harry quipped. "Why was he trying to get past that three headed dog in the third corridor?"
Hagrid nearly dropped the tea pot.
"Who told you about Fluffy?"
The group stopped walking and Violet and Ron looked up at him.
"Fluffy?"
"That thing has a name?" Hermione gasped.
"Of course 'e does. 'E's mine. Lent 'im to Dumbledore to help guard the…"
"Yes?" Harry prompted.
"Shouldn't ah said tha.' No more questions! Don't ask anymore questions!"
"But Hagrid," Violet insisted, "whatever Fluffy is guarding, Snape wants to steal it!"
"Nonsense! Now listen to me, all four of you, you're meddling in things that ought not to be meddled in. What Fluffy is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamell!"
"So there's someone named Nicholas Flamel involved?" Harry prompted with a grin.
Hagrid looked furious with himself.
