I apologise for the delay in uploading this chapter. I rewrote it a few times because I wasn't happy with some initial ideas. Then my dad had a heart attack last week and we rushed him to the hospital. Obviously, dad's health fell higher on the priority scale than a fanfiction chapter. Fortunately he's back home now and is recovering from surgery.

DEMENTOR DISAPPEARANCE!

Some really strange and unexpected events have unfolded. Every single dementor stationed at Hogwarts has mysteriously disappeared! According to Auror Sirius Black who witnessed the event, every single dementor inexplicably abandoned their post. Black revealed that the dementors congregated near the Forbidden Forest, before a black portal opened up and the dementors flooded in.

Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge was left furious when his personal dementor guard also disappeared. There are even reports that the few dementors guarding Azkaban, have also vanished without a trace. Now the big question is, with the mass exodus of dementors, is Hogwarts exposed? Will this make things easier for Fenrir Greyback to wreak havoc on the school? Is this the work of Dark Wizards? Could someone be following in the footsteps of You-Know-Who?

Headmaster Dumbledore has recent been made aware of the situation and has insisted that he has the matter under control. With the disappearance, the DMLE has pushed for an increase in their budget, especially since Aurors will be needed to guard Azkaban and Hogwarts. The last thing the Wizarding World needs is a prison break from Azkaban. Head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones insisted that the Auror budget be increased. According to some reports, some members tried to insist that the move was not at all necessary, as the Wizarding World was at peace. However, Madam Bones countered with the suggestion that the dementors' absence could embolden the Azkaban prisoners to try to escape.

Harry put down his copy of the Daily Prophet and emitted a low whistle. He mused, "Man! Bianca really wasn't messing around. But then again, do you really want to get on the bad side of the God of the Underworld."

Ron slurped his porridge, "You've got to be absolutely barmy."

A few minutes later, Hermione flopped down next to Ron and across from Harry. She sighed. "There we go! I went and apologised to all of the rat and mouse owners for Crookshanks' antics. During the Christmas break, I'll probably head home and spend some more time with him. Hopefully by next term, I could be trusted to bring him back."

Just then, the twins slid in on either side of Harry, "Oi Harrykins! We've got another strategy meeting after breakfast. Prefect Natty wanted us to deliver the message. Big Head Boy Percy said that he was busy elsewhere, but will join in later."

Harry nodded, "Great! How are preparations getting along?"

George replied, "The seniors are brushing up on their spells. We two have scouted hiding spots around the castle on the way to Gryffindor Tower. Obviously, we can't have all Firsties, Second-Years and Third-Years holed up in the Common Room. You'll be picked off like Cornish Pixies."

Harry stroked his chin and nodded thoughtfully, "Great idea. I think we should have five students in the Common Room guarding the flag."

The days passed and soon it was time for the first game of Capture the Flag. As the Gryffindors and Slytherins gathered in the Great Hall, Dumbledore announced that the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws will be with him and the other professors in the Great Hall. The portraits and ghosts would give the audience updates, and Peeves was forbidden from interfering. Additionally, the participating students were not allowed to ask the portraits and ghosts about the location of their opponents.

Once again, Dumbledore re-iterated the rules before sending them on their way. With some input from Dean and HEAVY supervision from Hermione, the Weasley twins set up several traps. Mackenzie, Ginny and three First-Year students were chosen to guard the flag, the rest of the First, Second and Third Years were scattered around the castle.

Harry found a small cubby hole near a set of stairs. This was probably the closest hiding place that he could find. He stuck to the shadows and began the waiting game. After Dumbledore sent out a loud cannon blast to start the game, Harry pressed his body close to the wall and slowly took out his wand.

Five minutes in, a paper plane came floating down and stopped in front of him. Harry picked it up and read, "Hey Potter, I have good news, bad news and more good news. The good news is that I've found the Slytherins. I'm okay, so I was able to send this without them noticing. The bad news is that I think nearly the entire house is coming and they're all grouped together. The other good news is that their own flag is probably exposed and we can bring it back. However, you lot will have to defend like hell. Jenkins is tailing them and his last message suggests that the path they're taking will see them hit every trap.

Cheers, Natsai 'Natty' Onai"

Harry grinned, knowing that the traps would thin the herd. Then he and the others could pick off the rest. It wasn't long before Harry heard arguing voices from the stairs. He recognised one of the voices as that of Fifth-Year student, Sebastian Sallow, the other was the familiar 'dulcet' tones of Draco Malfoy.

Sallow was arguing, "Malfoy, I don't like this one bit. There are less than 20 of us left in the game. I still think that some of us should go back and defend the flag."

Malfoy snapped back, "Come on Sallow, they're just brainless Gryffindors. We're Slytherins, the most superior house in Hogwarts. Those idiots won't even know where the flag is, even if it was staring them in the face."

Then Harry heard Daphne Greengrass speak up, "Malfoy, you're not giving them much credit. I'm 100% sure that those traps that nearly took out our entire house, is the twins' idea. I'm still trying to get the flour out of my hair!"

Finally, Harry spotted the group, who emerged with their backs to him. He counted at least 17 people and all of them looked bedraggled. Malfoy was limping as he clutched his groin area. A whimpering Goyle was shaking a suspiciously red hand. Everyone also had bare feet, and Sallow's hat was smouldering. Then an idea struck Harry and he took off his rings. Harry quickly penned a note that read, "No hard feelings?"

He tied the note to an arrow and shot it so that it thudded right next to Daphne. She jumped and turned in his direction, firing a few spells, but he had already blended into the shadows. Several other Slytherins also fired a few spells in his general direction, but they all missed. Finally, she turned back and saw the note. No sooner had she opened it, she curiously said, "No hard feelings?"

Right on cue, Harry fired a bunch of stunners with his wand, downing Daphne, Malfoy and eight others. The Slytherins began to sprint away and were soon picked off by the rest of the hidden Gryffindors. To his credit, Sebastian Sallow put up a decent fight, knocking out six Gryffindors before he was downed.

Two minutes later, pounding footsteps could be heard and Harry got back into a battle stance. The footsteps were faint at first, but became louder and soon whooping voices were heard. Harry recognised Angelina Johnson's voice and sure enough, she came sprinting down the stairs with half a dozen Gryffindors behind her. Harry sprinted alongside his Quidditch teammate as she ran with a forest green flag in her grasp.

They wormed their way past the stunned Slytherins and burst into the Common Room. Once Angelina was safely in, the green flag turned red and a cherub from a nearby portrait nodded at her and left the frame. A minute latest, Dumbledore's voice echoed, "Well done! The winner of the inaugural game of Capture The Flag, is Gryffindor! Amazingly, team Gryffindor have managed to take out every member from team Slytherin. This puts Gryffindor at 750 points to Slytherin's 400 points. However, with Miss Angelina Johnson successfully bringing the flag back to her house Common Room, Gryffindor wins another 150 points, making the score 900-400."

Soon, the remaining Gryffindors including Harry, swarmed Angelina. Together, they hoisted her on their shoulders and began jumping around boisterously.

As they were celebrating, Harry felt someone brush close to him and tap his shoulder. He turned around and saw Mackenzie beckoning him to follow her. He followed her up to his dorm room when she reached up and took off one of her earrings. She explained, "I've been thinking. It's better if you keep one of the earring daggers. You can possibly hide it under your pillow while you sleep. Otherwise you can wear it for the day."

He raised an eyebrow, "You sure? I have other weapons, like my bow and arrows, and the sword as well."

She argued back, "The dagger will be quicker. I know that you usually keep your wand in your trunk at night. You do the same for your rings. The daggers will be closer, trust me on this."

He deflated, "Okay fine. I'll take it. Could you…?"

She smiled and carefully pierced his right earlobe and inserted the earring. Mackenzie explained, "Okay it took me a day to figure this out, but the dangling mini-dagger can be detached from the main earring and later returned to normal size. Here, I'll show you."

Very soon, Halloween arrived and after breakfast, a few classes and lunch, Harry went to Godric's Hollow with Sirius and Remus. Mackenzie also joined them because she wanted to know about her Uncle James and Aunt Lily. After sometime, they returned to the castle in time for the Halloween feast.

The cousins had a good time at the feast, though Harry couldn't help noticing that Malfoy and his group were huddled together. Before long, the feast was over and the Gryffindors made their way back to their dorms. Suddenly, multiple screams echoed through the castle, causing them to stiffen. Percy Weasley snapped into action, "Onai, Jenkins, stay with the group. I'll go check out what's going on."

He bustled off hurriedly and hollered, "Let me through, please! Excuse me, I'm Head Boy! Where's Professor Dumbledore?"

Mackenzie huddled closer to Harry and he wrapped a protective arm around her. Ginny squeaked, "What's going on?"

Everyone else were looking around in confusion. Minutes later, a white-faced Percy was back, with Headmaster Dumbledore following him. The Headmaster announced, "Students, I'm afraid that I have bad news. Sometime during our Halloween revelries, Fenrir Greyback managed to briefly infiltrate the castle. It seems that he attempted to unsuccessfully enter the Hufflepuff Common Room. We are unsure if he is taking refuge in any other house's Common Rooms. So I'm afraid that all students will be sleeping in the Great Hall tonight."

The speechless Gryffindors were led back to the Great Hall. Over there, they met the freaked out Hufflepuffs, as well as confused Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Dumbledore explained the situation to everyone and with a wave of his wand, vanished all the tables. With another wave, the floor was covered with hundreds of sleeping bags lined up neatly.

Dumbledore spoke up, "Good night students. Sleep well. The prefects will stand guard over the entrances to the hall, and the Head Boy and Girl are in charge. Auror Black, the faculty and I, will be personally inspecting each and every room in the castle."

After he and the other adults left, Harry made a bee-line for Susan, Justin, Penny, Diego, Chiara and Hannah. He quietly asked, "You all alright?"

Penny shakily nodded, "Y-yeah… Hannah was the first on the scene and she f-found large gashes on the barrels where the entrance to our Common Room is located."

Justin murmured, "Thank goodness that none of us were in the Common Rooms."

Hannah shuddered, "Yeah, we got lucky that none of us got turned into werewolves. I heard from my dad who's in the Wizengamot, that there were talks of a bill being proposed that would severely restrict the rights of werewolves. If every one of us got bitten, an entire generation of students would be pariahs in the Wizarding World."

Susan made a face, "Yeah trust me. I'm ashamed to say it, but Wizarding Britain is hugely discriminatory. My aunt knows the person who is proposing this bill. Her name is Dolores Umbridge, and she's a real nasty piece of work. On the outside, she tries to put up this sweet honeyed façade, but she is hugely bigoted."

By then, Ron, Hermione and Neville had joined them. Ron muttered darkly, "Yeah, I heard horror stories from dad about her. She thinks she can get away with stuff, because she's the Senior Under-Secretary for the Minister of Magic."

Hermione tilted her head curiously, "But she is a person of authority-"

Susan let out a snort, "Hermione… That is actually a very naïve thought. I remember when I was eight years old, Aunt Amelia came home in a frightful temper. Apparently, Umbridge wanted to pass a law that would result in Muggleborns and Half-Bloods being denied the right to learn magic. Auntie and several allies barely managed to get it struck down."

Hermione's outraged response was cut off by Percy shouting, "Lights are going out now! I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

They all settled down as the candles were blown out. The entire hall was dark, save for the faint glow emitting from the occasional ghost that floated about. The enchanted ceiling looked like a night sky, with millions of stars dotting it. Harry lay on his back and murmured, "Wow, this feels like I'm out camping. Now if only we had tents, campfires and s'mores."

Next to him, Susan whispered, "What are s'mores?"

He whispered back, "I'll tell you tomorrow. Good night Susan."

She snuggled back into her sleeping bag, "Night Harry."

Making sure that no one was looking, Harry carefully took off the dagger from his ear, enlarged it and snuck it under his pillow before falling asleep. He did wake up a few times, as he was a light sleeper, a trait that he and the Hunters shared. Especially since they often slept out in the wild where they could be attacked by a wild animal or a monster. Around three in the morning, Harry's eyes snapped open and heard voices. A few seconds later, he recognised the voices belonging to Professor Dumbledore and Percy Weasley.

Percy whispered, "Any sign of him, Professor?"

"No. All well here?"

"Everything under control, sir."

"Excellent. I believe that it would be prudent to alter the protection to the House Common Rooms. The Fat Lady caught wind of the situation and is now refusing to guard the Gryffindor Common Room for fear of her own life."

Then, Harry heard the door of the hall creak open again, and more footsteps.

He heard Snape speak, "Headmaster? The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either."

"What about the Astronomy Tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?"

"All searched . . ."

"Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Greyback to linger."

"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" asked Snape.

Dumbledore replied, "Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next."

The next day, everyone was carefully escorted back to their respective Common Rooms. Instead of the Fat Lady's portrait, a different one greeted them. It was of a knight sitting astride a fat gray pony and the knight's name was Sir Cadogan.

Nobody was very happy about this. Sir Cadogan spent half his time challenging people to duels, and the rest thinking up ridiculously complicated passwords, which he changed at least twice a day. The other houses also had different guardians.

"He's a complete lunatic," said Seamus Finnigan angrily to Percy. "Can't we get anyone else?"

"None of the other pictures wanted the job," said Percy wearily.

A day later, Dumbledore caught up with Harry, "Mr. Potter. I would just like to let you know that I have spoken to Miss Nightshade. She and your other sisters have taken residence in the Forbidden Forest. Miss Nightshade explained that your mother is still on Mount Olympus, carrying out her duties, so she is unavailable."

Harry shrugged, "Oh well… I suppose Mother can't escape her duties. Professor, can I go and see Zoe and my sisters?"

The older wizard paused and stroked his beard, "Normally, I would have agreed. However, given the recent events, it is better to be safe than sorry. Already we are taking great risks in allowing the students to Hogsmeade."

Harry swallowed a brief bout of annoyance and nodded, "I understand, Professor. Hopefully we will be able to catch Greyback."

No sooner had he and the headmaster parted ways, a frantic-looking Ginny came rushing over to him. She babbled, "Harry! Too far! Danger! Forest! Mackenzie after them!"

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, "Whoa! Ginny! Calm down! What's the matter?"

She took a deep breath, "It's Beatrice. Lately, she's been hanging out with the likes of Merula Snyde and Ismelda Murk. She's even changed her look to a weird style."

Harry snorted, "I guess Beatrice is entering her emo goth phase."

Ginny continued, "Yeah well, As far as I'm aware, Murk keeps blowing her off. She's setting a whole bunch of different tasks for Beatrice to complete on her own and each are tougher and more daring than the last. But now Murk's gone too far! She dared Beatrice to take a bunch of Firsties to explore the entirety of the Forbidden Forest! Said that it was some kind of initiation ceremony. Mackenzie and I were nearby and overheard them. Now Mackenzie's gone to tail them so that they're not in over their heads! She also asked me to get you."

Alarm bells rang in Harry's head. He took off his dagger earring, enlarged it and pressed it into her hand, "Okay, take this and meet me by the edge of the Forest. Make sure that no one sees you with the dagger. I'll fetch some reinforcements."

With a nod, she tucked it in her robes and scurried off. Meanwhile, he went to fetch Ron, Hermione, Neville and Katie. The other four were pretty panicked when they heard the news, but steeled their nerves. In five minutes, they met up with Ginny on the edge of the forest.

Taking a deep breath, they entered the forest with their respective weapons drawn. Ron had his spear, Harry and Katie had their bow and arrows, Hermione had a pair of knives, Neville was wielding a short sword and Ginny had Harry's borrowed dagger. As they walked, Harry asked, "Ginny? How many students are we talking about?"

She thought about it, "U-ummm I think there were six of them, not including Beatrice and Mackenzie."

Just then, Harry paused and crouched along with Katie. The two of them examined the ground before nodding at each other. Harry looked to the left, "I can see multiple footprints heading towards the left. That's a good thing because it takes them far away from Acromantula territory. Come on!"

Two minutes later, they all froze as multiple screams echoed in the direction that they were heading. That was soon followed by the sound of multiple spells firing. The group broke into a run and soon came upon a worrying scene.

Around six students, spread across all four houses were cowering in front of a tree. Beatrice Haywood had just been knocked down with a few bleeding bruises on her face and arms. However, Mackenzie was still on her feet and she planted herself in front of the terrified kids. Her wand was in one hand and her dagger was in the other hand.

As for their opponents, there were around four girls who looked to be in their late teens. They had pale skin, flaming hair, glowing red eyes and a Celestial Bronze leg and a donkey leg each. Off to the side, there were two suspicious piles of dust.

They joined the fray as the creatures shrieked in rage. Ron yelled, "What the bloody hell are they? Some kind of weird vampires?"

Harry hollered back, "Something like that! Explain later! Kill them now."

One creature, who Harry recognised as an empousa, stepped forward, "Come on boys… Surely you don't want to kill us? We'll make it worth your while. All we need, is just one little kiss."

As they shape-shifted into beautiful teenage girls, Ron and Neville's grips wavered. Then, they spun around to point their weapons at him, Hermione, Ginny and Mackenzie. Harry groaned to himself, "Should have seen this coming. Gamiménos Charmspeak."

Ron charged at them with his spear, but Hermione thought fast. She yelled, "Protego" and Ron's spear bounced off a magical barrier. Not allowing them time to recover, she stunned the two boys. Meanwhile, Harry shook off the desire to obey the empousai, let loose an arrow and killed one of them. He snarled, "Your tricks won't work on us! Clear off!"

The remaining empousai charged, and after a fierce battle, all of them were nothing but piles of dust. Harry turned to Mackenzie and the group, and she grinned at him, "Thanks for showing up, Harry!"

By then, Beatrice had been revived and she also looked frightened out of her mind. Harry beckoned to Beatrice and the kids to come over. Beatrice limped over and he spotted a nasty gash. They all huddled together, with Harry and the rescue party surrounding them with their weapons drawn.

The journey back was a bit uneventful, until they accidentally stumbled upon a Myrmeke nest. While carrying Beatrice piggyback-style, Harry signalled for them to be very quiet and they all tiptoed away very carefully. Finally, they reached the end of the Forbidden Forest and were back on school grounds.

Once they reached safely, all weapons were taken care of. Harry passed Beatrice to Ron before whirling around and glaring at the kids. They all shrank in fear under the fierce gaze of his green and silver eyes. He ran a hand over his face, "What… were… you thinking?! The headmaster said that the Forbidden Forest was off limits for a good reason! Look, I get that when someone forbids you from doing something, that makes it all the more alluring. However, you all could have been killed. If we hadn't followed you."

Then he focused on Beatrice, "And you… Look, I'm not going to question who you run with in your friend circle. That's your business. I know that you hate it when Penny mother-hens you, so you rebelled. However, that does not give you the right to go trotting off on some half-baked sense of adventure. And dragging these kids with you? What if you got killed, or even worse, got them all killed?"

She protested, "But Ismelda said that this was a test to finally be able to hang out with her and her friends."

Hermione deadpanned, "Do you really expect us to believe that? You all heard the warning about Fenrir Greyback. What if he got you and kidnapped or killed you?"

Everyone paled at the thought and were silent. Then, one timid Hufflepuff stammered, "W-w-what was that thing? A vampire? I thought they were supposed to be pale and didn't l-like sunlight!"

Harry promptly lied, "I guess there are different kinds of vampires. Okay listen, not a word about what happened in the Forbidden Forest. With Greyback lurking around, you probably start a panic. Got it?"

Everyone nodded vigorously and kept quiet. Just then, Percy Weasley spotted all of them, "Oi! What are all of you doing near Hagrid's hut? As far as I'm aware, he doesn't have a class."

Harry exchanged looks with Katie and his friends before coming to an agreement. He glanced at the bashful First-Years and Beatrice, "Sorry folks, you're going to have to face the music."

He turned to Percy, "We caught these Firsties trying to explore the Forbidden Forest. Luckily, Ginny and Mackenzie were able to fetch us and rescue them before any nasty surprises."

Percy nodded stiffly, "I'll take care of them from here. You all are off the hook because you went to rescue the students. However, I do not want this kind of stunt to happen again. Alright you lot, that will be 20 points from each of you. Ginny, get Haywood to Madam Pomfrey. The rest of you, back in the Common Room."

Some days later on Saturday, Sirius dropped by, "Hey kiddo. Sorry about the Nimbus. Was a good broom and it guided you to two back-to-back titles. Obviously, James would have wanted you to keep the streak alive, and I know just the broom."

He took Harry by the hand and half-dragged him to Diagon Alley. To be more specific, to Quality Quidditch Supplies. Harry made a beeline for the Nimbus 2000, but Sirius grabbed the back of his collar. He grinned, "Uh uh uh! The Nimbus is nice, but I think it's time for an upgrade."

He dragged him over to a specific exhibit and Harry's eyes widened. He gasped, "Noooo! You're kidding! You're kidding, right? Uncle Sirius, can we really afford it?"

Sirius grinned, "Oh yes! I'm deadly Sirius!"

Harry groaned at the pun, "That's not funny Padfoot."

Sirius cleared his throat, "Erm well… jokes aside, you deserve the Firebolt. Only the best for you. And we can afford it, because the Black family are rather well off. Even your dad was pretty well off. The Potters and the Blacks may not be the richest, but we had enough to live comfortable lives. So why shouldn't I splurge some galleons on my godson."

Harry let out a fond sigh and said, "Okay, you win. I kind of wanted to prove that I didn't need the fastest broom just to win."

Sirius pat his back, "I get it. Really, I do. Your father was just as stubborn about his broom. He had a Cleansweep Six, which was rather worn out, but James insisted that it was still good enough. Took three years and the broomstick hitting one of the stands, to convince him to upgrade to a Comet 220."

A few minutes later, Harry was the proud owner of a Firebolt. Of course, he wrapped it up and brought it back to the castle. After he deposited the broom, he grinned to himself, knowing that Malfoy and other seekers would not know what hit them. Just before he and Sirius parted ways, the older wizard called back, "Oh, by the way, Moony wants you to stop by his office. Said that it was important."

Harry made his way to the DADA office and knocked on the door. Hearing Remus' call to enter, he opened the door and slipped inside. Once inside the room, he winced a little as Lupin looked a lot more haggard than usual. Harry asked, "Rough night, Uncle Moony?"

He smiled wanly, "Quite… Sirius tried his best to keep me company, but it wasn't enough. Now, the reason why you're here is because I wanted to teach you a rather useful spell. Initially, I planned to teach this to you to protect yourself from the Dementors. Knowing the life you lead, and if your Boggart was any indication, you would have been a feast for them. Of course, their mass exodus has made that point redundant. However, there is another useful trick that this charm boasts of."

He raised his wand and chanted, "Expecto Patronum!"

A silvery white shape, burst forth from his wand and stood at attention. He spoke, "Tell Sirius Black not to be alarmed, this is just a demonstration for Harry."

The blob, that looked suspiciously like a wolf, bounded away and Remus turned back to Harry. He lectured, "As you can see, we can use it to send messages to one another. It's quicker than using an owl, though one drawback is the range. Now, this will not be easy, as many have struggled to cast a Patronus. This spell is well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level, or O.W.L. The trick is to focus on your happiest memory. Because it is a kind of positive force. A projection of the very things that the dementor feeds upon — hope, happiness, the desire to survive — but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it. "

Harry asked, "Does a Patronus always look like that?"

He shook his head fondly, "No, each one is unique to the wizard or witch who conjures it."

Harry cast his mind about for a happy memory. There were a fair number to choose from. Finally, he settled on the time when he killed the mighty Python and the proud look on his mother's face."

He concentrated on that memory and chanted, "Expecto Patronum!"

Suddenly, a large silvery form erupted from his wand before it dissipated. Harry was ecstatic, "Did you see that, Uncle Moony?!"

He smiled warmly, "Very good effort! Now, keep practicing and try to get it to create a solid form. We'll keep this up for the next hour and then you can go back to your dorm."

A week passed, which included Hufflepuff barely getting beaten by Slytherin in Quidditch. However, Hufflepuff managed to bounce back against Ravenclaw in Capture the Flag, which was a close affair as well. Christmas also flew by without too much hassle. It seemed that Fenrir Greyback was keeping unusually quiet for the moment.

Soon, the time for Gryffindor's match against Ravenclaw was approaching. Alicia had a spare broom, which he borrowed for practice. Though he did assure Oliver that his own broom situation was under control.

The day of the match soon dawned and Harry woke up with excitement bubbling in his stomach. He took his Firebolt, still wrapped up and trooped down the stairs of the Boy's dorms with it. Katie spotted him and teased, "Well? Are you so secretive that you're going to fly it while it's still wrapped up?"

He blew her a raspberry, "Nah, I wanted to keep it a secret as long as possible. I'll unwrap it in the locker rooms. Can't have the identity leaking out until the last minute."

At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the locker rooms. The weather couldn't have been more different from their match against Slytherin. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there would be no visibility problems this time, and Harry, though nervous, was starting to feel the excitement only a Quidditch match could bring. They could hear the rest of the school moving into the stadium beyond. Harry took off his black school robes, checked that his wand was still in its holster and his weapons were secure.

He laid out the broom and every one of his teammate gathered around him. Oliver Wood put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot expectantly, "Well Potter? Out with it! I'm dying to see who your Nimbus 2000's successor is."

Harry grinned at them and tore off the paper with a flourish. Everyone's eyes bugged out and Oliver whispered, "A Firebolt… a bloody Firebolt! How the hell did you manage to get your hands on one?"

Harry grinned, "Sirius took me to Quality Quidditch Supplies the other day. Honestly, I was perfectly happy with another Nimbus 2000, but he wasn't having it. In his words, 'Only the best for my godson'."

Fred and George tried to shoot him twin puppy-dog eyes, "Harrykins? My sweet Harrykins! After we beat the snot out of the Ravens, can we please, pretty please, have a go on the Firebolt?"

Harry had been treated to better puppy dog eyes from the younger Aphrodite kids, so he didn't break. He pretended to think about it, "Umm…. Sorry chaps, Ron's my best mate, he gets first dibs. But I'll put you two on the list. I'm only disappointed that we didn't face Slytherin today. Would have loved to see Malfoy eat my dust."

Katie patted his back in mock sympathy, "There's always next year. Now come on, I want to count the number of dropped jaws."

As they walked to the entrance, Harry deliberately stuck to the back of the group. Over their heads, they could hear Lee Jordan and Murphy McNully chattering animatedly in the commentary booth. They heard Jordan say, "Okay folks! A little Snidget told me that Potter has a broom at last, but he's rather tight-lipped on the identity. Any bets on which broom he's bought? Granger and Ron Weasley probably know him best, so what do they say? Right! Granger's logic suggests that Potter's bought another Nimbus 2000, because that's what he's used to. OOO! Looks like Malfoy wants a piece of that action, and he has bet 10 galleons that Potter's bought a Nimbus 2001, the clearly superior broom. Hey! His words, not mine! Justin from Hufflepuff thinks he's going for a Comet 260. Oh boy! Ron Weasley's got a daring one! He's bet 20 galleons that Potter's probably gone for the Firebolt."

Harry shared a look with the twins, "Well… Looks like Ron's about to be a very rich boy."

Finally, Jordan announced the Ravenclaw team and they all flew out one by one. Then he announced, "And now… We have the Gryffindor team! First up, captain and Keeper, Oliver Wood! Then we have the famous Flying Foxes, Angelina Johnson! Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell! The Twin Terrors of the skies! Fred and George Weasley! There's a Galleon coming your way, if you can successfully tell them apart! And now, we have the Seeker who has never failed to catch the Snitch! Harry Potter! Wait… Is that a freaking Firebolt!?"