A/N: Hello and welcome back to another chapter in this story.

As allways, HowInMadeHowie helped me with the finer details in this chapter.

In the first draft of this chapter, i made a giant blunder because i forgot that the canon timeline does not work anymore here. But thankfully, HowinMadeHowie did find it soon enough and helped me correcting it.

Now, off with you and have fun reading this chapter. Until next time

Having sorted the papers he had brought with him beforehand, Ted looked up to the members of the Wizengamot and looked over every face he could see. He noticed some angry sneers towards him, having the audacity to be a lawyer to a pureblood as a Muggle-born. That he was hated by arrival was not a surprise for him, as the older witches and wizards still believed that someone like him did not belong in these halls.

Dumbledore opened the second trial for the day. "Sirius Black, you are brought before us under following charges: aiding Voldemort as a Death Eater, killing Peter Pettigrew and muggles as well as the breach of the statute of secrecy. Now I know that these charges are over 12 years old, Mr. Black, but we need to follow the procedure. So, how do you plead on these charges?"

Sirius, looking sternly up to Fudge in his chair, before his eyes wandered over the rest of the Wizengamot, he nodded towards Ted, who answered for him. "My client pleads not guilty, Chief Warlock. He also agreed to answer your questions under Veritaserum on his own accord, so if the Auror would please administer the dose."

Ted stepped aside as the Auror walked over to Sirius, with the vial in his hand. This surprised almost every member of the Wizengamot, except Dumbledore and Amelia, who knew that Sirius would pull a stunt like this.

Sirius opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out, so it would be easier for the Auror to give him the three drops necessary for the potion to work. As soon as Sirius had swallowed the potion, his eyes glazed over and looked empty, showing that the potion took effect, something that the Auror told the scriber to write that down.

After that was done, Amelia stepped closer to Sirius and asked him about his alliances during the war. "Were you a Death Eater?"

Sirius's monotone voice could be heard in the chamber. "No, I was never a follower of Voldemort." That Sirius used his name only showed that he was not afraid of him.

Amelia continued with her questions."Who suggested that Peter Pettigrew should be the secret keeper for the Potter's?"

"It was my idea. I had thought that I would be the obvious choice and then the Death Eaters would try to hunt me down, while the real secret keeper, Peter, would be ignored. We did not know that he was the spy that we have thought was under us the whole time." Even when Veritaserum should suppress the emotions shown while speaking, everyone could hear his sadness and anger for what had happened.

Amelia then asked him about what had happened on November 2nd, 1981 from his point of view.

Sirius then recounted everything that the rest of the Wizengamot already had heard from Pettigrew.

Amelia looked at her notes, seeing that she had asked him everything that was necessary to clear him. "That is all from me, so the only thing left is you being an unregistered Animagus as well having owned a flying motorcycle. But seeing as you were in Azkaban for 12 years, I recommend those charges to be dropped. Honored members, I recommend judging Sirius Black for not guilty as well as paying him restitution for his time in Azkaban without a trial."

Ted watched the Auror giving Sirius the antidote for the Veritaserum and soon saw Sirius grinning his signature smile. Both men knew that Sirius would walk out these halls as a free man.

Dumbledore nodded and then addressed the Wizengamot. "Thank you, Madam Bones, I agree with you. Everyone in favor?"

Two thirds of the chamber lifted their wands, while the other third sat quietly in their seats and withheld their vote. After the scribe had written everything down, Dumbledore used his gavel again and spoke with a loud voice. "Sirius Black, you are found not guilty of the charges presented. But seeing that you were in Azkaban for 12 years in close proximity to Dementors, I recommend that before he will be released into society, that he will go through therapy with a mind healer in St. Mungo's, as well being examined by a healer that he has no lingering damage because of his stay in Azkaban. As for the restitution, I recommend that the Ministry pays Mr. Black 500 Galleons for every year he was in Azkaban. Everyone against it?"

After a second round of votes that were two thirds in favor, Dumbledore looked back at Sirius. "Mr. Black, you will be held in St. Mungo's until the healers release you with a clean slate of health. You will also be paid 6000 Galleons of restitution for your unjustified stay in Azkaban. Hereby, this session is adjourned." After a final use of his gavel, Dumbledore stood up and moved towards the center of the chamber, to shake the hands of Sirius.

Sirius stood up once he was released from the chains holding him to the chair, still smiling. When Dumbledore came up to him, Sirius shook the offered hand. Dumbledore smiled, but when he spoke Dumbledore could hear that he wanted to apologize. "I am so sorry Sirius, I should have fought more for your freedom 12 years ago, but you were already in Azkaban before I could intervene. And when I demanded a trial for you, I was told that it would not be necessary, as there was enough evidence to put you into Azkaban either way. I hope you can forgive me."

Sirius still smiled, even as Amelia ordered an Auror to bring him to St. Mungo's. "Albus, this is now all water under the bridge. For a long time, I believed I had killed Peter, and that I deserved this punishment for what had happened. I am just happy that this nightmare is finally over. Now if you apologize, I need to be in St. Mungo's per your order." He then turned towards Amelia, with his smile still on his lips.

The next day, the Hogwarts students received the newest issue of the Daily Prophet, either through their subscription or from other students who let them read it too. The reason why everyone wanted to read it was the story on the front page:

SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT!

TRUE CULPRIT CAUGHT!

Yesterday, the Wizengamot met for a pair of trials for a crime over 12 years old. We mean the death of James and Lily Potter by You-Know-Who, and finally we have the true traitor in Azkaban. For all those years, we all believed that Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters and led You-Know-Who to their cottage in Godric's Hollow. After the supposed killing of Peter Pettigrew, eyewitnesses were telling that Pettigrew was blaming Black for the betrayal, before he died by a spell from Black.

But now, the truth was finally revealed. As it turned out, it was Pettigrew who had betrayed the Potters and blamed Black for the crime after You-Know-Who was defeated by the Boy-Who-Lived.

After Pettigrew had faked his own death, he hid himself as a rat, as it was revealed that he was an unregistered Animagus.

After the Wizengamot session Pettigrew was found guilty and sent to Azkaban, while Black was cleared and is now a free man again.

We will see that we can interview Black, and getting more information from him.

Hermione set the paper aside, looking over to Harry, who looked up and saw that Sarina was flying towards him with a small envelope in her claws, when he noticed something small flying just behind her.

While Sarina landed in front of him and held her leg out, the other small owl just let another letter land in front of Harry before flying over to Ron and circling above his head. As it was hooting with an energy normally not associated with its size, everyone at the Gryffindor table who was nearby looked at the small owl. Ron was a bit annoyed when he looked straight up from his breakfast. "What the hell does this pocket sized owl want?"

Harry removed the letter from Sarina but decided to open the letter from the small owl first. Inside this envelope was another envelope next to the letter itself, which he read as it had his name on it.

Hello Harry,

I do not know if you heard, but I am your godfather Sirius Black. Right now, the Daily Prophet surely is printing tomorrow's issue about my trial. Right now I'm in St. Mungo's undergoing some therapy and treatment. It is nice here, but that is not the reason why I'm writing to you. I asked my cousin, Nymphadora Tonks (Please, don't let her see that I wrote her complete name) if she could buy a new pet for your friend who lost his rat because of what happened. And I told her that she should buy one that has more character than that stupid rat. I do not know what she would choose, but she is a bit of a prankster when she is not working (She's an Auror, in case you were wondering), so it surely is something to chuckle about. Maybe you can write back to me with what your friend had gotten?

Kind Regards

Sirius Black, Head of the Most Ancient and Most honored house of Black.

Harry folded this letter back up and looked at the other envelope, seeing that it was addressed to Ron. Harry handed it over, making Ron look at him strangely. "It is addressed to you, so I won't read it. But the letter this envelope came with explained that a small owl should be a present from Sirius for you to replace Scabbers. I do not know if it has a name already, but it seems to know that you are his owner now." Harry shrugged simply to say, 'it's your problem now.'

Ron grabbed the letter and opened it, his eyes only betraying a bit of anger as he thought it was a stupid present. The owl was much too small to do anything that a normal owl would do. While he read the letter, the small owl landed on his head and hooted even louder. "Ah, shut up bird, I'mI trying to read here. Ginny, can you give him something so he keeps quiet?"

While this was happening, Harry opened the letter Sarina had brought to him, while giving her some bacon from the table.

Dear Harry

I am writing to you to inform you that we were contacted by Sirius. He is thanking us for raising you when you were just a child, and wants to invite us to the Quidditch World Cup, which will be held in England this year.

I talked with Doctor Halsey about it, she said that this should not be a problem, as you should be back from the visit by our friends by then.

As for the visit there, you will be picked up in Kear Morhen, so we can have some time together before you go. This way, you will see your honorary sister for the first time.

Speaking of which, the pregnancy is hindering me in my daily routine, but thanks to Dobby that is not a problem. It seems that he also is anticipating the baby, as he has already prepared a safe room for me and her while she grows up. But I am afraid that he is overworking himself without noticing it, so I am asking myself if we should get another House-elf to help him. Maybe a female elf, so they could start a family? Future generations in this castle would thank us. Can you help us by asking Daphne how we can find one that is not bound by someone?

Hope you have a good time.

Love

Yen

Harry folded the letter back up, somehow nervous about what would happen this summer. Callie calmed him down, telling him that nothing bad can happen, as they had planned for everything. Harry smiled when he looked at her avatar in his glasses, when he noticed that Daphne was coming over to them.

Hermione also noticed that Daphne was coming over to them and waved at her. "Hey Daphne, how are you, Glad those Dementors are now gone, right?"

Daphne nodded, sitting next to Hermione to talk with her a bit, much to Ron's displeasure.

To prevent Ron lashing out again, Harry tried to distract him by asking what was written in the letter.

Ron, successfully distracted, told Harry about the contents of the letter. "It's from someone called Tonks telling me that she was tasked by Black to buy me a new pet. It seems that she found that small owl that is still circling above my head and found it funny how energetic it is, as she was tasked, and she quoted Black, 'to find a pet with more personality than a rat'." Looking up, Ron noticed that the small owl was no longer flying above his head, but rather sitting on it and hooting happily as if it found a nest for itself. Harry looked back at the small owl and recognized it as a Eurasian Scops owl, one of the smallest breeds of owls that exists in Europe.

Ron, who just wanted to grab the owl and look at it angrily, was approached by Ginny, who took the small owl from his head and looked at it admirably. "It is soooo cute. Does it have a name yet?" Ron scowled at his gushing sister who was now fawning over his new owl.

Ron glared down at the letter and shook his head, now thinking about a name when he would be stuck with that owl. But his sister was faster than him. "Then we can call him Pigwidgeon, as it is small and simple looking. How do you like the name, little owl?" Ginny smiled as she stroked the owl's head.

The now named Pigwidgeon was hooted happily, while Sarina was looking over the small owl with a curious look, head on her side.

Meanwhile, Ron was getting angry, as now his owl had a name that he could not pronounce, so he will shorten it to Pig for the future. The whole incident with the small owl hooting and now flying around Ron's head again caused the students near to them to laugh out loud, which seemed to please the small owl even more.

Dean couldn't resist joking at Ron's expense, "Hey Ron, did you hit your head?" Ron looked at him confused. Dean explained, "In cartoons whenever someone hits their head or something they start seeing birds flying over their head." The muggle borns who heard this burst out laughing at Dean's muggle reference.

In St. Mungos, Sirius was sitting up on his bed and read over the Daily Prophet, now glad that Amelia had insisted a small detachment of Aurors would stay outside his room and keep watch so he could rest without being harrassed by the reporters wanting to ask him questions. That Ted's daughter was one of the Auror's in front of his door only benefited him, as he had asked her to get a small present for the youngest Weasley boy to compensate for the loss of his rat, even if Sirius would still kill that traitor the next time Sirius saw Peter again. But Peter now in Azkaban was a punishment that Sirius himself knew was worse than being dead.

He soon heard the door open and looked towards it, placing the paper to the side, and smiled when he recognized his favorite cousin, Andromeda coming in together with Amelia. "Ah, my favorite cousin honors me with her presence. I know that you come to spring me from this new prison! I hate being confined to bed." Sirius grumbled. Seeing Andromeda wasn't buying his humor Sirius shrugged. "Worth a try. Any word from Ted?"

Andromeda smiled when she took a chair and sat down, while Amelia walked over to the enchanted window and looked outside.

"Yes, Ted had told me that Gringotts have the head of house ring for the house Black securely in the family vault since our grandfather died 5 years ago. It seemed that he even had written in his will that you will be the heir to the house until found guilty, and as you never had a trial until yesterday, the lordship was transferred onto you. Mind you, if Ted would have let me, I would have stormed the ministry when I heard that you never had a trial to begin with." Andromeda crossed her arms over her chest, the anger only mildly hidden.

Amelia turned around when she heard that, with a sad smile on her lips. "Believe me Andromeda, I would have been right behind you, wand in hand. But I am glad that your husband had kept you away, or else Sirius may not have gotten away so easily. And now, Fudge must pick up the pieces that the trial had left of his career, as I am sure that he has much to explain such as why he ignored all the signs that Sirius never had a trial. Not to mention that Crouch must explain why he just threw Sirius into prison without questioning. We will see what that will lead to in the future." Amelia also took a chair and sat down on the opposite side of the bed.

Sirius saw that Amelia was looking at him with an apologetic look in her eyes, as if she wanted to apologize for ever doubting him all those years. He just shook his head, telling her silently that he did not blame her.

The door to Sirius's room opened and Sirius recognized his Healer on record, Healer Grant, coming in with a grim look. The healer noticed that Sirius was not alone and paused . "Andromeda, I thought you were off today?"

Andromeda smiled at her co-worker, "Hello Malcoln. Sirius is my cousin, so I thought I'd visit while I have my day off."

Grant nodded and glanced over at Amelia, then back at Sirius., "I presume you trust them not to reveal what I have found?" Grant was not smiling when he said those words and that did not bode well with Sirius.

Sirius nodded, "I trust Amelia and Andy are family; It can't be that bad."

Grant sighed. "I've gone over your test results we conducted yesterday when you were admitted. While we were a bit surprised you were not as malnourished as expected, eating raw meat is not an ideal food for you, animagus or not." Grant gave Sirius a pointed look.

Sirius shrugged. "Beggars can't be choosers. I wasn't about to turn down free food."

Grant nodded and glanced back down at his clipboard. "However, the real negative effect from your long stay in Azkaban was expected but we had hoped it was just a theory." Glancing back up at Sirius he looked the man in the eye and just went with the direct approach. "I'm sorry Mr Black but it seems you are now unable to have children."

Sirius stared at the healer blankly. Although Sirius never thought of settling down and having a family, this does have a major impact in the wizarding world.

Grant continued despite the grim news. "If you had been in Azkaban for a short period, one or two years this might have been avoided, but 12 years does leave its mark on a wizard."

Sirius sighed in resignation. "I'm guessing magic can't fix this?" Grant and Andromeda shook their heads. Seeing Andromeda agree with Grant told Sirius this was no joke. In his mind he considered the implications for the house of Black. 'Perhaps this is not a total loss; I did name Harry as my heir when he was born. Though I don't look forward to telling him he'll have to pick up a second wife.' Sirius nodded, "Any other bad news, physically I mean?"

Grant shook his head. "No, I imagine you took advantage of your animagus form and did alot of running in your time out of prison. That helped get you back in shape, and you did manage to eat along the way to Scotland. We were worried you'd e needing more restorative draughts than necessary but you'll still need those along with the nutrient potions."

Sirius grimaced at the mention of potions. "Lovely, and I'm pretty sure they don't taste any better since my holiday in Azkaban."

Grant smiled apologetically. "Look at the bright side Sirius, at least you don't need as many restorative draughts as you would normally. I'll be back soon with your potions." WIth that the healer left his room to a subdued group.

Amelia broke the silence first. "I'm sorry Sirius, I should have known this was coming. It's not well known to the general public but people who have long term sentences in Azkaban do not come out the way they came in. "

Sirius waved his hand at Amelia's apology. "Meh, and the irony is I can't sue the Ministry for this otherwise I'd publicly admit House Black stays with me unless I name my heir. And I'm not about to do that, not with Lucius still around trying to get his boy to take over the family."

Andromeda heard a was about to ask Sirius if he has named a heir already but she heard a knock on the door, so she stood up and walked over to the door to open it. Outside was a new employee in St. Mungos, Healer Roberts. According to him, he is a wizard from Australia and came to England because his wife came from here. He also studied psychology in a muggle university. The director had told the healers that he would try out how that would work out, and soon Roberts was here to help Sirius next to the classic magical mind healer. "Ah, Healer Tonks and Director Bones, how nice of you two to visit Mr. Black. Sadly, I must ask you to leave, as I do have to treat my patient now, but you are both welcome to come back in two hours if you want."

Andromeda nodded and waved Sirius goodbye as she left the room. Meanwhile, Amelia lingered a little longer, her hand ghosting over Sirius's before she stood up and left the room.

Sirius sighed, now alone with his healer he could relax a bit more. Healer Roberts saw the signs and approached Sirius. "It's hard to play the part when everything is alright. I know that feeling Mr. Black. But I still suggest that you talk about your problems with someone else beside me, and I am sure that Healer Tonks and Director Bones would like to help you in any shape or form necessary. Now, please relax so we can continue where we left off last night."

Onboard the Infinity, Captain Lasky was reading over the reports from the agents he had sent to protect Black during his stay in the ministry's holding cells. It seemed that someone really had tried to get closer to Black and Pettigrew while they were there, but the Aurors were enough to make them think twice about attempting it. According to the report, it was an easy assignment, but the agents had found out more information about the Death Eaters. One agent found a list with names that were alleged to be Death Eaters in the last war but had claimed that they were under the Imperius and never wanted to do these things they had done.

Looking further down the report, Lasky soon found the part where Mr. Smith told him that Malfoy was furious that Black is now a free man. Which meant that Malfoy's son would not be the direct heir for the Black family anymore, that left him only with the money his wife has at her disposal, without the possibility of ever getting his hands on the Black family's sizable vault. But according to the reports, Malfoy already has taken the money from his wife's vault and invested in different businesses that his "friends" had. At the bottom of the report was a list of names, who were now under investigation by ONI to make sure UNSC's forces would be prepared as soon as the Death Eaters would make a move.

Lasky sat back in his chair and mulled over the conclusion in his mind. 'While we still have to remain covert, with project GUNGNIR complete we just need to get Mr. Potter up here and undergo the augmentation process. Then we can finally shove a spear into the Death Eaters' face.'

Lasky may not want to send children into combat like Halsey's SPARTAN-II program but the Covenant war proved her preparation and goals were not unfounded. Looking out at a screen that displayed Earth Lasky quietly murmured to himself. "At least it's just one teenager, not 75."

Back in Hogwarts, the weeks flew by and soon the Gryffindor had their second Quidditch match to play, and as that was also the first match where Harry could show off his Firebolt and not just the training Oliver had put them through. Somehow, they had kept it a secret that Harry had a Firebolt to begin with, as the surprised looks in the Great Hall could attest when Harry carried his broom to Gryffindor table with the rest of the team. Callie highlighted the reaction from the other seekers, and only Cedric Diggory was smiling warmly when Harry entered the Great Hall.

Cedric was the first to come over to the Gryffindor table and congratulated Harry for the magnificent broom. "I must say Harry, I am somehow wondering how this next match will play out, with you now having such a broom I think I do not need to hold back this time." Cedric smirked at his younger opponent.

"Wait, you were holding back too last year? If that is the case, this match will be one for the history books, as I can now go all out too." Harry's response to the older student's small quip caused everyone around them to laugh as well as to break the ice for the other students so they could ask Harry who bought a Firebolt.

Harry soon was approached by Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw team's new seeker, asking him if she could take a look at the Firebolt. Harry just shrugged, he did not see any problem with it, as long the broom was returned to him in the same condition. Smiling brightly at him, Chang held the broom with care and inspected every small detail before handing it back to Harry. "It really is an amazing broom. I hope that you finally have one that matches your skills. Your Nimbus held you back in the match against Slytherin last time."

Harry laughed at that, as he could see the jealousy in Malfoy's eyes across the Great Hall when he walked in. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams were on their way towards the Quidditch pitch.

In the locker room, Harry was approached by his teammates, all of them looking at him curiously. Harry noticed this and asked them if something was wrong.

Katie was the first to answer. "Well, no, not really. But somehow, we wondered if you did not notice that Chang tried to flirt with you, and you just shrugged it off. You should have seen her face after you just told her that she could ride your broom without any nervousness that her housemates have when they talk with her. I mean, she is pretty."

Harry raised an eyebrow and looked to the others. "Did she really try to flirt with me? I did not notice that. But I must agree, she has a pretty face, but I do not know her well enough to judge her character in any way. And to be honest, I have no interest in her at all. Maybe I will talk to her after she has flown the Firebolt after the match." Harry shrugged as if he didn't see the big deal.

Their youngest team mate's mature response caught the Chaser trio off guard, but Fred and George just laughed and shoulder hugged Harry with their boisterous behavior. "Well look at this George, it seems Harry will need a stick sooner than we have anticipated?"

George reacted to Fred's que and also hugged Harry with an arm over the younger wizard's shoulder. "Do you think we should charm a stick Fred?"

"Well yes, my smart brother. Maybe we can get it to attack all those girls he has no interest in?"

"That is an idea."

Harry huffed, while the girls were almost laughing on the floor. "Well, Fred and George, as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, the first thing I would do to that stick is change its targets, so it would hunt you two down and smack over your heads."

That was the trick that even Oliver was now laying on the floor laughing, and they only stopped after they were called onto the field to play.

Up in the stands, Hermione was sitting next to Neville and Hannah, while Daphne was sitting with Tracey on the other side of the pitch. Ron was also a bit away, cheering for the Gryffindor team together with Dean and Samus with all their might. Hermione soon noticed that Hannah was looking at her with a raised eyebrow, causing Hermione to change her attention to her. "What is it, Hannah? Have I got something on my face?"

Hannah laughed when she looked at Neville and rolled her eyes. "No Hermione, your face is fine. We, that is me and Neville, just begin to wonder when you would finally tell Harry how you feel." Hannah gave Hermione a knowing look.

Hermoine blushed furiously; her face now almost as red as Weasley's red hair . "What do you mean?" Hermione stammered nervously, not looking Hannah in the eye.

Neville now turned towards the blushing girl with a smirk of his own. "Please Hermione, almost everyone around us knows that you have a giant crush on Harry. To be honest, I wonder sometimes why Harry seems so oblivious to this fact. I mean you are not the only one who has a crush on him; Daphne and Susan are almost as obvious as you are." They heard a gasp from Susan, who was sitting right next to Hannah. Neville continued with his smile still on his lips. "Ginny finally understood that Harry would only see her as a friend and is now looking for other friends to hang out with."

Hermione turned towards Susan, already knowing that they would soon have to fight for Harry's affection. But Hermione was surprised when she saw Susan smile. Susan told her quietly, despite the noise of the crowd, Hermione heard her clearly. "Don't worry Hermione, I am not angry with you. That only means that we are rivals for his affection, right? That does not mean that we cannot be friends anymore. More importantly, as long as Harry is happy, not one of us will complain when he chooses a girlfriend. So how about we enjoy this match?"

Just as Hermione glanced back to the match, they all saw when Harry dived towards the ground with great speed,Cedric flying as fast as he could right behind him. Both Hermione and Susan were glued to their seats and watched Harry getting faster while he dove, and just before he hit the ground it seemed as if the broom stopped, leveling out and flew parallel to the ground, while Cedric, because he was heavier, not as much luck and touched the ground with his feet, slowing him down.

Lee Jordan's voice could be heard in the stands in surprised awe. "Would you look at that! Harry Potter just performed a perfect Wronski Feint on Diggory! Granted Diggory didn't plow into the grass but that was an amazing move!"

Harry was flying as fast as he could, before Cedric would recover from Harry's Wronski Feint and almost pummeling into the ground. Soon Harry was in reach of the goal posts where he had seen the Snitch just moments before. And there it was, just a half a meter above the ground, so Harry held his hand out and before the Snitch could react, Harry held it in his hand, a small golden sliver still in the place where it just was hovering before.

Jordan's voice boomed when he saw Harry's hand. "HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! Gryffindor wins 210-90!"

Over the cheers of the Gryffindors, people could hear Jordan commenting on this victory.

"No surprise with the formidable Firebolt in his control. Of course, it was his skill that kept him on that broom, which according to Witch Broom it is the fastest ever produced-" Jordan then was interrupted by an angry sounding Professor McGonagall

"JORDAN. You are not here to promote the Firebolt, they do this enough on their own. I warned you multiple times during the match, and now you keep doing it!" McGonagall towered at Jordan, but he grinned broadly at his head of house.

"But Professor, the match is over, so I can now tell everyone about this broom again, right?"

This sentence caused almost everyone in the stands to laugh, even having an effect on Professor McGonagall. All the while Harry was hugged by every team member, while the Hufflepuffs congratulated the Gryffindors for their victory. After everyone had calmed down, Cedric approached Harry and asked if he could now fly his Firebolt.

Harry nodded and gave Cedric the broom, but asked for his so Harry could follow him. "Just in case you run into problems. Also, I want to see how your Shooting Star flies."

Cedric laughed out loud. "Do you really think that my skill level is this low? Do not forget, I was able to follow you through the whole game, even while flying a much slower broom compared to yours. Now let's see after we exchange our brooms if you can follow me at all." Cedric's boast was a challenge Harry couldn't deny.

Just before Harry wanted to push off the ground on Cedric's broom, he noticed Hermione and Susan looking at him pleadingly, while Daphne was walking over to them with Tracey. When he lifted off, he floated towards them and asked what they wanted.

Susan was the first who got her words out. "Well, seeing that we kept our promise and told no one that you have a Firebolt, we thought we could also have a spin on it?" Susan looked up at Harry hopefully.

Harry shrugged as he didn't see why he couldn't turn down Susan's offer. "Yeah, sure. Do you want to fly by yourself, or should I fly with you behind me?"

Hermione's nervous laughter was heard over the whole field before she asked him. "And having you fly making me sick? No, I just want to hover a meter over it and see how it accelerates before braking again."

Daphne laughed and turned towards Hermione. "Speak for yourself, I would like to see up close how good Harry can fly with someone else on the broom with him after he has offered a ride on it. That will be challenging for him, but is almost assured to be a thrill of a lifetime." Looking back at Harry, she pointed towards Cedric, telling him that he should hurry up or the older boy would just fly off without Harry trying to catch up.