p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"span lang="EN-US"Chapter 8. can't it be just a normal year?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Hogwarts quidditch pitch, October 16supth/sup 1993/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The weeks after the most unusual start of term passed peacefully, even unusually so. With no basilisks or trolls, or possessed professors, the students, first time in three years, felt… normal. Even the professors, including a certain dungeon dweller, seemed more relaxed, what with Remus Lupin, the defense teacher, being supplied the purest Wolfsbane potion possible as needed, thanks to a certain elf overlooking the brewing and certain royal phoenix donating a talon. With teachers being their normal selves at last, it goes without saying that lessons improved tenfold; even History of magic turned from naptime to interesting lectures, for now professor Bins was rarely seen in his classroom, replaced by more knowledgeable and lively ghosts and portraits. this, along with more free time due to more productive work in class, meant better results in other activities too, including Quidditch. Now, the teams were training almost as professionals, even Slytherins started playing by the rules. This was how, after countless hours of practice, two school teams, supposedly having hated each other in the past, found themselves at the pitch, one overly rainy Saturday morning./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The day was not suitable for outdoor activities at all, what with raining cats and dogs, with almost zero visibility. In previous years, playing in such a weather would be impossible, leading to downright cancellation of the match. That day though, having trained in different conditions, alternating between blinding sun at the field and artificial storms in the room of requirement (thanks to Sirius and Alexa, everyone was granted the privilege of braving the worlwind at least once) Gryffindor and Hufflepuff players entered the pitch with confidence no one believed them having. The captains shook hands with no rivalry, a sight not seen at Hogwarts for no one remembered how long, and the game started. And what a game it was, with everyone riding the same Nimbus 2000s due to a generous donation by anonymous benefactor and newly updated rules stating everyone's equality, wearing robes with elven impervious and warming charm, and stricter penalties ranging from forced timeout to outright elimination for the remainder of the season. What could possibly go wrong?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Of course something did, by damn Potter luck…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"An hour into exchanging goals back and forth, both seekers spotted the snitch. Unfortunately, that same moment a strong gust of wind sent it hurtling straight between the Weasley twins who, busy thrusting the bludger between themselves to protect the chasers, didn't notice the golden ball. Harry was flying neck to neck with Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff seeker, and trying to catch the snitch circling over the beaters' heads was too risky for his liking. "give way!" – he tried to make the redheads lower a bit, for the illusive little flier to rise higher. Unfortunately, due to wind howling in everyone's ears and rain pounding on impervious helmets, nothing could be heard further than a few metres. "I say give waaaay!" the snitch shot upwards again, leaving them no choice but to break the defense formation. The weasleys, thanks for their new brooms being faster than previous old Cleansweeps, but cannonball-sized bludger could not change its trajectory as easily. For a moment it seemed like second year all over again: while not cursed, the iron ball frightened Harry, making him lean to the side, then crashed into Cedric, who in turn slammed into his opponent. Having lost his balance, Harry was knocked off his broom by the hufflepuff. He tried to steady himself by grabbing the broom with one hand, but the excellerated Nimbus 2000 kept flying, even without a rider. The last thing Harry saw before fainting from shock and g forces was someone (he couldn't see through the rain) transforming into a phoenix, ready to catch him in midair, and Hagrid of all people, casting slowing and cushioning charms…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"-/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Hogwarts grounds, several hours later/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""impossible! Just damn impossible!" – the boy with messy black hair, the youngest seaker in a century, couldn't believe his bad luck. "three years in a row, something happens in the first match of the season! First year someone hubxes my broom, second – an elf tries to save my life by cursing a bludger, and now this stupid rain! If it isn't enough, we lost for Merlins sake! Now the Gryffindors will eat me alive. If it continues like this, I quit."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Sirius Black couldn't believe his ears. Even having never met James Potter, he had read enough history books to learn a thing or two. if Harry, son of the rumored best quidditch player of his time, speaks of quitting the team, a disaster will befall the Gryffindor house for sure. Determined to prevent whatever could happen, he spoke strictly but calmly:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""what did I hear about quitting? Your dad would not approve if you stop playing because of some stupid rain…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""my dad would approve of anything, if it helps me stay safe!" – Harry had enough. Everyone was telling him to act like his father, without letting him know anything else. Unfortunately, Sirius wasn't able to help with this, but how to reveal this without uncovering his true identity? Finally, after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, he decided to wing it: "sorry about the outburst, but it could really be the thing James would do. You know, he was alittle reckless, typical Gryffindor. Even if something kept happening for six years, he would have bought a new broom and continued playing for his seventh." It was true enough not to araise suspitions, but convincing enough to placate the irate teenager. Harry just sighed in desperation:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""maybe you're right. It's just… every year, at the first ever match of the season, something happens. Last year, a house elf, Dobby, tried to save my life by charming the bludger to target me throughout the game. When it broke my hand, our previous defense teacher vanished the bones while trying to heal it. and two years before, one of the professors, defense again, jinxed my broomstick in the middle of Gryffindor vs Slytherin game. Now, the first match of the season comes, and I just fall off by some accident, which could be avoided if I kept my balance better. God, couldn't it be just a normal year, just once, without me attracting that damn Potter luck?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"To say Sirius was shocked would be an understatement. It seemed that Hogwarts in his time of study had undergone a transformation from a medieval castle to modern school worth the funding it received, in mere twenty or even less years. Well, with Alexa around, this would change for sure, very quickly. But wait, jinxed broomsticks? Tampering with bludgers? And if his memory served him right, the detailed history books mentioned trolls, possessed professors, basilisks, dementers and many other dangers. Did this little boy kill the troll at 11? And a basilisk at 12? Would he, if Sirius was still on the run and Petigrue alive, had fallen from his broom, this same day, after seeing a bunch of dementers searching for Azkaban escapee? Would he and two other teens, using a time turner, free him and a hippogriff while risking being maimed by an out of control werewolf? Maybe he would, but no chance in hell it will happen. Never mind that the most of Sirius' personality was the stunt flier Marcus Longhurst, a part of him that was really Sirius made him responsible for the boy. No matter what, he will make this year, and if everything goes well, all his time at Hogwarts, as normal as possible./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Hogwarts quidditch pitch, October 16supth/sup 1993/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The weeks after the most unusual start of term passed peacefully, even unusually so. With no basilisks or trolls, or possessed professors, the students, first time in three years, felt… normal. Even the professors, including a certain dungeon dweller, seemed more relaxed, what with Remus Lupin, the defense teacher, being supplied the purest Wolfsbane potion possible as needed, thanks to a certain elf overlooking the brewing and certain royal phoenix donating a talon. With teachers being their normal selves at last, it goes without saying that lessons improved tenfold; even History of magic turned from naptime to interesting lectures, for now professor Bins was rarely seen in his classroom, replaced by more knowledgeable and lively ghosts and portraits. this, along with more free time due to more productive work in class, meant better results in other activities too, including Quidditch. Now, the teams were training almost as professionals, even Slytherins started playing by the rules. This was how, after countless hours of practice, two school teams, supposedly having hated each other in the past, found themselves at the pitch, one overly rainy Saturday morning./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The day was not suitable for outdoor activities at all, what with raining cats and dogs, with almost zero visibility. In previous years, playing in such a weather would be impossible, leading to downright cancellation of the match. That day though, having trained in different conditions, alternating between blinding sun at the field and artificial storms in the room of requirement (thanks to Sirius and Alexa, everyone was granted the privilege of braving the worlwind at least once) Gryffindor and Hufflepuff players entered the pitch with confidence no one believed them having. The captains shook hands with no rivalry, a sight not seen at Hogwarts for no one remembered how long, and the game started. And what a game it was, with everyone riding the same Nimbus 2000s due to a generous donation by anonymous benefactor and newly updated rules stating everyone's equality, wearing robes with elven impervious and warming charm, and stricter penalties ranging from forced timeout to outright elimination for the remainder of the season. What could possibly go wrong?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Of course something did, by damn Potter luck…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"An hour into exchanging goals back and forth, both seekers spotted the snitch. Unfortunately, that same moment a strong gust of wind sent it hurtling straight between the Weasley twins who, busy thrusting the bludger between themselves to protect the chasers, didn't notice the golden ball. Harry was flying neck to neck with Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff seeker, and trying to catch the snitch circling over the beaters' heads was too risky for his liking. "give way!" – he tried to make the redheads lower a bit, for the illusive little flier to rise higher. Unfortunately, due to wind howling in everyone's ears and rain pounding on impervious helmets, nothing could be heard further than a few metres. "I say give waaaay!" the snitch shot upwards again, leaving them no choice but to break the defense formation. The weasleys, thanks for their new brooms being faster than previous old Cleansweeps, but cannonball-sized bludger could not change its trajectory as easily. For a moment it seemed like second year all over again: while not cursed, the iron ball frightened Harry, making him lean to the side, then crashed into Cedric, who in turn slammed into his opponent. Having lost his balance, Harry was knocked off his broom by the hufflepuff. He tried to steady himself by grabbing the broom with one hand, but the excellerated Nimbus 2000 kept flying, even without a rider. The last thing Harry saw before fainting from shock and g forces was someone (he couldn't see through the rain) transforming into a phoenix, ready to catch him in midair, and Hagrid of all people, casting slowing and cushioning charms…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"-/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Hogwarts grounds, several hours later/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""impossible! Just damn impossible!" – the boy with messy black hair, the youngest seaker in a century, couldn't believe his bad luck. "three years in a row, something happens in the first match of the season! First year someone hubxes my broom, second – an elf tries to save my life by cursing a bludger, and now this stupid rain! If it isn't enough, we lost for Merlins sake! Now the Gryffindors will eat me alive. If it continues like this, I quit."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Sirius Black couldn't believe his ears. Even having never met James Potter, he had read enough history books to learn a thing or two. if Harry, son of the rumored best quidditch player of his time, speaks of quitting the team, a disaster will befall the Gryffindor house for sure. Determined to prevent whatever could happen, he spoke strictly but calmly:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""what did I hear about quitting? Your dad would not approve if you stop playing because of some stupid rain…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""my dad would approve of anything, if it helps me stay safe!" – Harry had enough. Everyone was telling him to act like his father, without letting him know anything else. Unfortunately, Sirius wasn't able to help with this, but how to reveal this without uncovering his true identity? Finally, after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, he decided to wing it: "sorry about the outburst, but it could really be the thing James would do. You know, he was alittle reckless, typical Gryffindor. Even if something kept happening for six years, he would have bought a new broom and continued playing for his seventh." It was true enough not to araise suspitions, but convincing enough to placate the irate teenager. Harry just sighed in desperation:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""maybe you're right. It's just… every year, at the first ever match of the season, something happens. Last year, a house elf, Dobby, tried to save my life by charming the bludger to target me throughout the game. When it broke my hand, our previous defense teacher vanished the bones while trying to heal it. and two years before, one of the professors, defense again, jinxed my broomstick in the middle of Gryffindor vs Slytherin game. Now, the first match of the season comes, and I just fall off by some accident, which could be avoided if I kept my balance better. God, couldn't it be just a normal year, just once, without me attracting that damn Potter luck?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"To say Sirius was shocked would be an understatement. It seemed that Hogwarts in his time of study had undergone a transformation from a medieval castle to modern school worth the funding it received, in mere twenty or even less years. Well, with Alexa around, this would change for sure, very quickly. But wait, jinxed broomsticks? Tampering with bludgers? And if his memory served him right, the detailed history books mentioned trolls, possessed professors, basilisks, dementers and many other dangers. Did this little boy kill the troll at 11? And a basilisk at 12? Would he, if Sirius was still on the run and Petigrue alive, had fallen from his broom, this same day, after seeing a bunch of dementers searching for Azkaban escapee? Would he and two other teens, using a time turner, free him and a hippogriff while risking being maimed by an out of control werewolf? Maybe he would, but no chance in hell it will happen. Never mind that the most of Sirius' personality was the stunt flier Marcus Longhurst, a part of him that was really Sirius made him responsible for the boy. No matter what, he will make this year, and if everything goes well, all his time at Hogwarts, as normal as possible./span/p