I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them sertainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
For now, the story will update every second Saturday, until I say otherwise.
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Chapter 16: The Wizards, the Witches and the School
Harry no longer rolled his eyes when hearing the whispers while they walked down to breakfast. After almost an entire week of this, it would strain his eyes too much to continue doing so. "Don't they have anything better to do?" he wondered, making no secret of his annoyance.
"Ignore them. Soon enough they'll have something else catch their attention," Ron suggested, again being reminded why fame also is not such a great thing.
"I wish I had your optimism," Harry said while they reached the great hall. Ron had a habit of being the last to get up and Harry was the one usually waiting for him, so it was no wonder the others were already sitting at the table.
Truth to be told, Hogwarts essentially was a school like many others, only that it sported numerous things that elevated it from a mundane public school. For example, the teachers were all truly memorable. Like the small Professor Flitwick teaching Charms, who was very open about his past as a master duelist, or Professor Sprout, who taught Herbology and joked that it was just due to her house colors that working with so many plants didn't give her a green thumb.
The lessons themselves also were interesting for the most part, even if they knew a lot of it already. Herbology was very different from just reading about the plants and it looked like Neville had fallen in love with the greenhouses, asking Professor Sprout if he could do some volunteer work for her in the future. Charms and Transfiguration also were interesting, even if a bit easy due to their preparations. Professor McGonagall turning into a cat however had been a nice touch, even though he knew of that kind of ability thanks to Sirius.
Astronomy had been the highlight of the week. It was the only class they had with all students of the same year together, and he thanked all that's holy it no longer was held at night. The planetarium inside the astronomy tower was highly spectacular and allowed them to do all their observations during the day and without being at the mercy of the weather. It also allowed Professor Sinistra to give some very visually impressive lessons on stars and planets and Harry couldn't help but notice a lot of the visuals came from the non-magical world.
But of course there also were some subjects that were a bust.
While Professor Rogers did his best to convey History of Magic, one couldn't help but notice that the history of the magical community was not that exciting and at times rather repetitive. Even worse was Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was pretty obvious that Professor Quirrell had not specialized in that subject and also was incredibly boring, since he obviously knew he was only contracted for one year. That, and his turban made him look simply silly.
Thank all goodness they could do the real work for Defense in these informal study groups run by the older students. Even Hermione had voiced her fear that just relying on Professor Quirrell's lessons would surely give them a failing grade.
"Still annoyed by the whispers?" Hermione greeted them, reading the first year potions book while having breakfast.
Starting Hogwarts had been sort of a torture for Hermione, as she constantly had to fight the urge to quickly raise her hand to answer a question first. She had learned it was bad sportsmanship, and giving others the chance to shine was a must. She still answered questions, only not just at the first possible second. However, it was really difficult to overcome ingrained reflexes.
"Honestly, it's stupid," Harry said, while sitting down.
"Well, we have an idea how that feels. All of us are the top gossip topic after the show the hat pulled, Luna and me especially." Ginny looked to Luna, who looked unfazed by the whispers. "I wish I had your patience with them."
"I feel it's too exhausting to be angry over something I can't change. They will lose interest in us sooner or later," Luna remarked.
"What's on the schedule today?" Ron asked while getting himself some breakfast.
"Only double Potions, the one class we didn't have yet," Neville commented, then grimaced. "We have that one together with the Slytherins."
"Oh, great..." Ron groaned, then noticed the looks he got. "Look, I'm not saying they are all evil, but you can't deny there are some that will cause us trouble."
Hermione and Harry both looked to the Slytherin table and knew what this was about. Due to to yet having to have a class together - Astronomy didn't count as it was too crowded for troublemakers - it had been minimal, but they had noticed the dark looks Malfoy and Parkinson had given not only them, but their whole group, as well as how Pansy had started to interact more with Draco. It looked like these two were planning to work together in being an annoyance to them. These two were certainly a lot alike in how they acted.
Right then the mail arrived. Hermione on the first day had protested that having a huge swarm of owls fly in while they were eating was not hygienic, until being reassured that there were enchantments in place to make sure the food stayed clean. It still was an impressive display when a hundred owls flew in and dropped the mail into front of the recipients. However, it had also been on Tuesday when he'd gotten a pointed letter reminding him his guardians would prefer it that he wrote to them about important things right away.
Something that had already become routine was Malfoy getting a delivery of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table, purely to show off he had something the others didn't. Honestly, it actually was kind of stupid and in the minds of quite a few only created the impression that Draco was a momma's boy.
To Harry's surprise, Hedwig flew in and dropped a note for him. He gave her a piece of toast as a reward, before she left again for the owlery. He then looked at the note. "Oh, Hagrid invites us for tea at three in the afternoon."
"Oh, that is really nice of him. I really should use the time to ask him how he got stretched so tall," Luna remarked before busying herself with her bacon, thus not noticing Hermione rolling her eyes.
Ron swallowed his own bacon, before remarking "Bill and Charlie warned me that while Hagrid makes a good tea, stay away from his cooking. Charlie once broke a tooth on one of Hagrid's cakes and needed to have it regrown."
It can't be THAT bad, right? Neville wondered, finding it difficult to imagine someone cooking that bad, while Harry was busy with writing a reply.
o
The Potions lab for some reason was located in the dungeons. Perhaps it was due to the many dangerous substances being stored in it that it was located underground. There was no interaction between the students from both houses, which was a bit depressing. Harry noticed Dudley giving him a small nod of acknowledgment, but otherwise he kept his distance. It looked like Dudley was seriously committed to his promise to not make trouble for Harry.
Noticeably, there already was a cauldron with a potion on the fire next to the teacher's desk, so clearly the Professor had already prepared something for a demonstration, which only helped to heighten the anticipation. Perhaps that was the intended effect as well. Everyone then waited what would happen next, whispers filling the air.
Finally, the door from the storage room opened and Professor Slughorn walked in - the man seemed to thrive on great performances. Dudley looked at the big belly and the mustache and was reminded of his father, but the Professor looked like a genuinely joyful chap while he was checking the attendance.
"Now, I welcome all of you to your very first Potions lesson at Hogwarts. From this point onward you will learn how to make brews, which can have fantastic effects, though of course we will start small. Now, first off, who of you already got at least a little exposure to potion brewing?"
Surprisingly, the only one who didn't raise his hand was Seamus Finnigan, who then looked a bit embarrassed. "Eh... my Ma never was comfortable with letting me near a cauldron."
"Oh, that's no problem, though I'm positively surprised how many of you have been exposed to it." Clearly, this made it only better for Slughorn. "But first, brewing is not easy. There are certain security precautions you always have to adhere to, or it could end in disaster!"
Slughorn made sure the last words were said as dramatic as possible, and got the intended effect when he heard several students gasp. "But don't worry. Before we brew anything, I will teach you all the basics! After all, we do not want a disaster, right?"
The following half an hour was solely spent on relaying all the safety rules they had to follow, while Slughorn ignored the cauldron next to his desk, which only helped to make everyone wonder what exactly was in that cauldron. It took until the end of Slughorn's explanations, before one student finally no longer could hold back the question.
"Sir, if I may ask, what is in that cauldron?" Kellah Miller finally asked.
"Oho! Now that is a good question!" It was pretty obvious Slughorn had only waited for that question for the dramatic effect. "Now, this is the potion we will be making today. It is a very simple one, only helps against coughing, but we are only starting out after all. One at a time come closer and take a look what it is supposed to look like."
They did as told and took note of the color and bubbling of the potion. Once they were all done, Slughorn took the word again. "Now, this one is right on page seven in your book. Please follow these instructions. Additionally, I have prepared more detailed instructions for those of you that need help." With a wave of his wand, detailed explanations appeared on the blackboard. "Don't hesitate, if you have questions!"
Thus the brewing began and Slughorn did indeed answer questions while watching them being at work and offered the occasional advice. It spoke of the sheer experience the man had, though this indeed was a very simple potion. Even the two dimwits that were always seen at Malfoy's side were able to follow the clear instructions. Speaking of Malfoy... just when Slughorn walked by his table, he spoke up.
"Sir, I think you knew my grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy?" Malfoy asked, obviously to butter up Slughorn.
"Yes," Slughorn said without looking at Malfoy, "I was sorry to hear he had died, although of course it wasn't unexpected, dragon pox at his age..." He then walked away.
No one said anything, but it was clear anyway what most thought. Malfoy had clearly tried to use connections to get preferential treatment from Slughorn, and failed spectacularly. Judging by his expression, Malfoy had imagined a different outcome from this, and now seemed to sulk while continuing with his potion in silence.
"Looks like someone did not get what they wanted," Millicent whispered to Dudley, who was working right next to her. Dudley didn't hold back a small chuckle, having witnessed too often how Draco liked to pull the family card.
"Serves him right; he's downright obnoxious. Be glad you don't have to share a dorm with him," Dudley whispered back.
"Thank all goodness. However, having to share one with Parkinson isn't much better," Millicent replied, glancing to where the girl in question was being busy with her own potion.
Thankfully, the lesson went by with no problems and no incidents of any kind - clearly Slughorn's lessons on safety did pay off. However, once all potions were bottled for evaluation and the students started to leave, Slughorn told Harry and Neville there was something else. To his surprise however, instead of just two, six students remained in the room.
"Oh, I actually only wanted to speak with the two of you," Slughorn remarked.
"They are our friends, so if they want to wait until we are done..." Harry said, finding nothing wrong with it.
"Well, all right." Slughorn knew it was no use to argue. "Harry, Neville, you sure wonder why I asked for both of you to stay behind, don't you?"
"Is is because you see something in us that you feel should be allowed to grow?" Harry asked innocently, knowing right away what this was about.
Now Slughorn looked surprised. "Oho, you are well-informed."
"My godfather told me about it." Now Harry was glad Sirius had told him of Slughorn's recruiting of those he felt would get far. Thus he was not unprepared for it. "I'm sure you see how Neville and me will be important in the future. But let me tell you right away, the six of us are a package deal. Either all of us, or none of us."
His friends looked surprised at this declaration, and felt moved that he would not be egoistic about it.
Hermione understood and saw that as her sign to speak up. "Professor, while Harry and Neville are the obvious candidates, you are perhaps overlooking the qualities of the rest of us."
"Oh, and may you tell me of these qualities, dear?" Now it seemed Slughorn was back in balance.
"Certainly. Ron here is a highly gifted chess player for his age, has already one time won the national tournament of his age group and made second place at the next one. Give it some years, and he will be a master player who rakes in fame and money with it. Then there is Luna, whose father owns the Quibbler. While that publication might look like a joke, it enjoys a wide circulation and Luna is set to help her father as an adult. Ginny here is the first female Weasley in generations and that the Sorting Hat insisted on her joining Hogwarts now should be a big hint at her potential."
Slughorn certainly was impressed, and also horrified that he had almost let this huge treasure trove slip away due to his own blindness concerning certain things. "Oh dear, this is impressive. Oh, and what about yourself?"
Hermione looked a bit uncomfortable, but decided to bite into the sour lemon now, regardless how she felt about all this. "I finished primary school with an absolute perfect score, numerous recommendations and the fact that I could have already finished it three years ago."
I can't believe I put myself into this position. The things I do for my friends, she thought after saying this, disliking the kind of cronyism this smelled of. She even felt a bit dirty after saying all this.
Slughorn looked very impressed. "Oh dear, dear, dear... Looks like I almost made a serious blunder!"
...that afternoon...
Following Hagrid's invitation from the morning, they found themselves in his cozy hut, which was located on the castle grounds. It was a bit weird that despite Hagrid having named his dog Fang, the dog was perhaps one of the nicest animals they'd ever met, considering how enthusiastically he had greeted them. Ron had told them that Charlie had once mentioned that Hagrid had a strange way of naming his pets, and this was proof.
Hagrid was offering them tea and cakes, but one look at the cakes convinced them that Charlie's account of Hagrid's cooking had to be accurate and so they decided to only accept the tea. Luna had even wondered if she should keep one of the cakes and send it to a cousin of hers, who was collecting rock samples. Hagrid took it with humor while putting away some newspapers to set up the cups, admitting his cakes were not a common taste.
"So he then reconsidered and decided to honor that the six of you are a package deal?" Hagrid asked while pouring the tea into the cups.
"He did. Man, Hermione was so passionate about it, even Luna blushed when she was telling Slughorn why we are worth it," Ron said, still having difficulties to process it properly.
"Ron! I didn't do that much, only..." Hermione clearly felt uncomfortable being in the spotlight like this.
"Oh, and I thought only Ronald is in the habit of minimizing his own contributions," Luna remarked, causing Hermione to stop trying to deny it any further.
Hermione knew when to give in, but still felt she had to add some protest. "Well, perhaps I did help a lot, but I didn't enjoy it. I feel like we are rigging the system by accepting Professor Slughorn's offer."
"Yes, he was already doing that when I went to school," Hagrid mused. "Though don't feel like you are taking something away from others. In the end it's your decisions that determine where you go."
"You see, Hermione?" Harry told his friend. "You might not like it, but at least we are not actually sabotaging others. So don't feel so guilty."
"It's really obvious you know each other for quite some time," Hagrid laughed while putting away the tea pot. "No children that knew each other for not even a week would have done this."
There was something to that. Had it not for the friendship which had grown over time, Slughorn would only have recruited Harry and Neville, not even considering the others, who probably would have simply left. Hell, even meeting on the train probably wouldn't have given them any meaningful bonds in the short time, not to speak of the big possibility that Hermione and Neville would probably have stayed strangers, not to speak of Ginny and Luna having no reason to attend. No, they suddenly again appreciated what they got.
"It must be a school record, having five Weasleys attend at the same time," Hagrid commented when looking to Ron and Ginny. "Let's hope you two are less problematic than Fred and George. Hopefully they learned their lesson after last year and that thing with the forest."
"Just out of curiosity, what did actually happen?" Ginny asked after tasteing her tea, which was really good. "No one wanted to tell us what exactly happened when they tried to enter the forest."
Ron had to agree. "Yes, Mum and Dad told us not knowing would make sure we won't try, Percy said they got what they deserved and the twins themselves didn't want to say. Guess they were embarrassed."
"Oh, with good reason!" Hagrid laughed. "Dumbledore is really a smart man when it comes to fitting punishments. I won't exactly tell you either what the age line does. Let's just say they then got a taste what it feels like to be one with nature until I came to collect them."
"Hey, Hagrid, it just hit me that you must have worked here while most of our our parents went to school, which is a bit strange, since you don't look that old," Harry remarked, seeing that Hermione didn't mind being excluded from that particular topic.
"Oh yes, I did, I simply don't look my years. You could say I know all the embarrassing things they never wanted others to know." Hagrid then remembered. "Sorry, Harry, I..."
"No, I don't mind!" Harry said quickly. "I know Uncle Sirius and Remus want to preserve their memory, and that my Dad was not exactly a saint in his school days, but I really want to learn more about them."
"Well, if you ask..." And then Hagrid started to tell them things they'd never known.
Almost an hour later, the six of them were leaving Hagrid's hut. Apart from Hermione, all of them looked astounded at some of the things their parents had done during their school time. That included Luna, which was quite a feat, and it pretty much was a given she would have some interesting questions in her next letter to her parents.
"I honestly can't believe my parents thought it a good idea to do that," Neville said, shaking his head. "They were lucky the Headmaster has such a big heart."
"What should we say?" Ron added, still trying to connect his mother to such behavior. "Considering how Mum always tells us to behave at school, some things she did during her time here make it sound strange."
"Maybe that's why they didn't tell us?" Ginny guessed.
Harry was silent. Sirius and Remus had always been tactful when it came to the school days of his parents. Hagrid had corrected some of that by revealing how exactly James Potter had not exactly been a boyscout, though Hagrid had added that over the years he'd realized the error of his ways and become a better person. After all, the Headmaster wouldn't name a troublemaker with a bad personality as Headboy. Lily Evans also had caused her share of trouble, that was for sure.
Well, in a way it also helped Harry understand his parents had a life before having him.
Hagrid had also accidentally let it slip that his father had had a mutual dislike with the now Professor Snape, hinting that perhaps it would be better to avoid the man's presence for the time being. It made Harry wonder if the man could really still be sour over things so long ago.
No way I try to find out. If the Professor gets wind of it... No, Harry really didn't want to incur the wrath of a teacher onto himself.
...September 12th...
Excitement was running high in Hogwarts, as today would be the first flying class for the first-years of two of the houses, Gryffindor and Slytherin, while the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs would have theirs the next day. Flying after all was something many children did look forward to. Those from magical families boasted with all kind of stories about their experiences with flying. That did include Malfoy, who boasted around with his flying skill and absurd stories of him narrowly escaping from people in helicopters.
"Does he even know what a helicopter is?" Hermione wondered during breakfast while watching the boy again tell his story at the Slytherin table.
"I don't think so," Harry remarked while putting sliced eggs on his buttered toast. "Remember how surprised Ron was when seeing one, and he has much more exposure to non-magical stuff. Malfoy is just using something he heard of somewhere."
"Besides, he would never talk about it, had it really happened, as he would have gotten into a heap of trouble over it. He wouldn't boast about it if his father had to pay a hefty fine," Neville added, having knowledge how something like that would have ended.
Truth to be told, after already having had flying classes before starting school, their excitement wasn't as big as it should have been. They already had learned how to fly and now either just saw it as a chance to show off, or being glad that their earlier training meant they would not make fools of themselves in front of others. Nonetheless, they didn't think it would become too exciting.
Right then it was mail call. Malfoy as usual got one of his care packages, which he again showed around with a grin. His behavior did create the question if he was gunning for ticking off as many students as possible, or if he thought his social position simply allowed him to be such a dick to others. Some at the Slytherin table seemed annoyed with his antics.
Surprisingly, Neville also got a small package delivered by a barn owl. He looked at the writing on the wrapping paper. "Hm, it's from my Gran. What could she send to me?" Unpacking it, he revealed a small glass sphere with some kind of white smoke in it. "Oh, she sent me a Remembrall."
"You don't sound enthusiastic. Also, what is a Remembrall?" Ginny asked, having never heard of those before.
"These things tell you if you have forgotten something, by turning the smoke in them red. It's pointless because they don't tell you what exactly you have forgotten, making it a guessing game. It's kind of insulting because Gran seems to think I have a generally weak memory," Neville told his friends.
"Mate, you're not forgetful, you just have trouble with stuff like memorizing complicated phrases. Take me for example, I still have a bad memory for math," Ron remarked.
"That's no secret," Hermione remarked, knowing that Ron and math would never be a big friendship.
"Hey, Longbottom, you really have such a sieve for a brain you need a Remembrall?" They had not noticed Malfoy coming over.
"Oh, bugger off, Malfoy," Harry said, not pleased at him invading what he felt was their space.
Malfoy however just gave them a nasty grin. "Just wait until flying class, then I'll show all of you. I also can't wait to see Longbottom fall onto his arse. Perhaps that Remembrall can remind you you've forgotten to stay away from brooms."
Hermione sighed while watching Draco return to his own table. "What is he gaining from antagonizing us?"
"Oh, he is securing his place in the pecking order," Luna remarked. "By beating on those he sees as beneath him, he is proving to his peers that he's one of them. Malfoy needs to show that he can be bigoted and nasty as they are."
They were again reminded how insightful Luna was.
"I would still prefer he would leave us alone," Harry said while refilling his cup. "We can only lose. If we don't react, he feels he can trample all over us. If we do fight back, he feels he has to try harder." Harry spoke from experience. His past with bullies had taught him several lessons.
"I say better fight back than make ourselves willing victims," Ron said. "There's nothing brave about allowing someone to be a jerk to you."
That was quite insightful for Ron.
Time went by and in the afternoon, it finally was time for flying classes, which was being held on the lawn next to the castle. A single paved way led to their destination, where Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, was already waiting for them with the brooms they would be using.
Looking at the brooms they were provided with, Ron frowned. "These brooms are horrible. Better be careful when you use these."
Harry, who had little eye for brooms due to short exposure, didn't see the problem. "What's wrong with these brooms?"
Now Ginny had seen it as well. "Take a closer look. These brooms are crap; worn out by years of usage and inadequate care. Even the brooms in our shed are superior to this junk."
Looking closer, Harry saw what she meant. "Kind of weird that the school isn't replacing these, considering they are an accident just waiting to happen."
"Reminds me of my old school. The equipment for physical education was 20 years old, yet they couldn't replace it, because they weren't given money for it," Hermione remarked, seeing the parallels.
"Well, what are you all waiting for?" Madam Hooch barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."
No one wanted to argue with a woman that literally had the eyes of a hawk. "Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"
"UP!" everyone shouted.
Unsurprisingly, everyone that already went through flying at the preschool got it right from the first try, even if the brooms acted a bit sluggish. Some other students got success as well, while others had mixed results. Schuster's broom looked like it had second thoughts, until a death glare made it comply. Seamus got no reaction at all, while Crabble and Goyle got bonked on the head by their broomsticks.
"Looks like while there are lots of hopefuls this year, I have my work cut out for me," Madam Hooch sighed.
Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows, correcting their grips. Harry and friends were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years. Clearly, Malfoy was self-taught and didn't know any better.
"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," Madam Hooch said. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two - one!" -trrriiiiiit-
Most of them managed to do so without much trouble, while others were quite unsteady on their brooms. Some didn't manage to take off at all, which again included Crabble and Goyle, making Madam Hooch sigh that she knew who had to be given the intensive lessons. However, her focus shifted when suddenly she heard a loud "HEY!?" and looked to the source. "Mr. Longbottom, what are you doing?!"
"This broom is not doing as I want!" Neville shouted, trying to make the broom stop while it rose higher and higher.
"Wait, I come to steady you!" Harry called and flew up to his friend, only to get a scare when Neville's broom flipped over. Thankfully, Neville had the presence of mind to hold onto the broomstick with his legs, like he had seen Luna do, and didn't fall off. However, when he was turning the broom back into its proper orientation, something fell out of his pocket.
Crap, that's Neville's Remembrall! Without thinking Harry did race after the ball and managed to catch it before it could hit the ground, turning his broom hard to not collide with the ground himself.
"Mr. Potter, I..." Madam Hooch stopped herself, then blew her whistle again to call everyone down. That included Neville and as soon as he had landed, she inspected his broom. "This broom is too worn down from usage and is beyond saving; you did nothing wrong." She then looked to the gathered students. "I need to address something and will be away for a few minutes. Nobody is to take off, am I clear?!"
Seeing that her words had the intended effect, she quickly walked to the castle for whatever she had to do, leaving the students to talk to each other.
"Woah... Without all that practice..." Neville still was a bit unsteady. "Luna, thanks for that trick with the legs to stay on the broom even if it flips over. I've seen you do it so often, I knew it would prevent me from falling."
"Oh, no problem. I feel it's important to know what to do should the world flip upside-down," Luna said, then suddenly a small blush appeared. "You did really well up there."
Ron and Ginny meanwhile looked at Harry in awe. "Mate, if I didn't know better, I would think you are training for Quidditch. That was an amazing catch!" Ron finally said, clearly blown away by such a well-executed catch.
"Eh, you really think? I just wanted to make sure Neville's Remembrall won't shatter," Harry asked.
Ginny shook her head at such modesty. "Harry, you would be an awesome seeker, you know?"
Harry still looked a little skeptical at that, but then walked over to Neville, holding up the Remembrall. "Hey, Nev, I got it back undamaged."
Neville actually laughed. "Thanks, I really owe you one. However, I wouldn't have felt sad had it shattered, as I probably otherwise would have put it into my trunk and forgot it there."
Harry held out the Remembrall for Neville to take back, but before that could happen, a hand suddenly snatched it away! It happened really fast and they were stunned for a moment, before they looked around and saw Pansy Parkinson run back to the Slytherins, the Remembrall in hand, before tossing it to Draco, who caught it.
"You thieves! Give it back right away!" Hermione hissed, horrified someone would do such a thing.
"Why should we?" Malfoy asked nastily, then looked around and saw that others from his house seemed less than impressed with him. "There's a better use for this. Parkinson!"
Draco and Pansy grabbed their brooms and quickly took off, laughing the entire time at their blatant flaunting of Madam Hooch's orders, sure in their knowledge they would have enough time until she was back. They then started to toss the Remembrall to each other, playing a game of catch with it, uncaring that it could fall and shatter.
"Ha ha, now this is our definition of fun! Well, it would be too bad for Longbottom if it falls and breaks," Pansy said nastily, before adding "Hey, Granger! If you want it back so badly, why don't you come up here and get it? Oh, right, you can't."
Hermione felt humiliated that Parkinson had singled her out and called her impotent to do anything. She then saw Ginny being down and ready to grab her broom. "No, don't do it!" she implored the other girl.
"Why not?! I have to do something!" Ginny then noticed Harry grinning. "Harry?"
"Oh, they are so distracted, they don't notice things are about to get interesting." They then saw what he meant and their anger left them. "Just enjoy the show."
"MISTER MALFOY!" "MISS PARKINSON!"
Madam Hooch had returned, together with professor McGonagall, and both looked horrified at such behavior. Both children flinched and Draco missed catching the Remembrall which Pansy had just tossed, causing it to plummet down directly onto the paved path, where it shattered into countless tiny pieces. Landing as quick as possible, they were confronted with two very ticked-off teachers.
"In all my years... such disrespect... Good thing I met the Professor just as she was walking out here already," Madam Hooch grasped for words, then looked at the shards. "What was this?"
"Eh, that was my Remembrall. They took it from me," Neville said.
"Disregarding my orders... Destroying another student's property..." Draco and Pansy paled when seeing the Professor's mood worsen, realizing they were in serious trouble.
"Rolanda, I think you have everything in hand here," Professor McGonagall said, then turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter, would you please come with me? There is an interesting offer waiting for you."
That said, Harry quickly followed Professor McGonagall into the castle.
A few minutes later however, Harry felt like he had landed in a strange sort of comedy.
Can this day get anymore weird? Harry wondered.
Professor McGonagall had pulled a Gryffindor fifth-year named Oliver Wood out of Charms class, who turned out to be the Captain of the house's Quidditch team. As it then turned out, he'd had no luck in finding a seeker for the team and the Professor told him of the feat witnessed by Professor Hooch - and herself from her office window. That in turn caused Wood to become hyper-excited.
Finally, Harry had enough of this and spoke up. "Oh no, I protest!"
That clearly caught both of them on the wrong foot and they fell silent, until McGonagall asked the important question. "Mr. Potter, why do you protest being given this important position?"
"Because not only are you trying to decide that for me without my consent, but I also protest about the way this is done. If I get this position, I want to earn it fair and square, and not just due to a fluke," Harry said, crossing his arms. "Also, you want to bend the rules just for me? Count me out if you do that, as I won't stand for that. Either it's generally allowed for first years, even if only for reserve, to do so, or not."
McGonagall was certainly impressed that Harry was standing firm about this. "Well, that actually was never a rule, just an informal guideline, I'm sure the Headmaster can..."
"What reserve team?" Wood asked, giving Harry a strange look.
"You mean, you don't have a reserve team? No one to substitute if a player can't play?" Harry asked, and seeing Wood nod, felt floored. "I can't believe it..."
Every team sports he knew had reserve players, often for all the positions in a team. Even in Quidditch that was the case, as Ron had shown him that all professional teams had a reserve team so that any unavailable players wouldn't cause them to be crippled. He knew this here was just a competition inside the school, but nonetheless it felt like a serious oversight.
"None of the house teams got them. Though now that I think about it, it also just never was considered," McGonagall remembered.
Harry sighed. "Look, I'm willing to do it. But only if first-years are actually allowed to do so, and only after I got it fair and square. Concerning the whole reserve team thing... how often was a game decided by a player becoming unavailable?"
Wood grimaced, clearly having some bad memories about such situations. "Too often... Eh, Professor, perhaps you could see the Headmaster about that together with the other Heads of House? This is starting to give me ideas."
Harry felt he'd just dodged a bullet. Besides him feeling that such preferential treatment was plain wrong, it also would have singled him out in a way he felt uncomfortable with. With all that Boy-Who-Lived stuff already floating around, he didn't want to cause more attention by getting something others couldn't get. He didn't want to make other think he was riding on his fame.
...at the evening...
It was after dinner, that Dumbledore called for the attention of the students.
"Thank you very much. I have to make several important announcements, all of them concerning the most favorite sport in this school, Quidditch." Dumbledore knew how to get attention and everyone was silent to listen to what the man had to say.
"After a discussion with the four Heads of House, we came to the conclusion, that a few rules have to be clarified and some changes to be made. For one, it was never actually forbidden for first-years to apply and play, only having a broom at school without such a position, was. Therefore for clarification, first-years are allowed to apply for their house's Quidditch team, and should they be accepted, are allowed to have their personal broom at school."
That caused lots of excited chatter, mainly among the first-years, who had already resigned themselves to the fact they could only watch the game as spectators. Now however it was a different situation. The Headmaster waited patiently, before he continued.
"Also, the lack of reserve teams has seriously distorted the competition, thus we decided that from now on, each house team also has to field a reserve team." He waited, since this caused even more excited chatter, before he continued. "Thus, this weekend, there will be tryouts for all the house teams, in which not only the reserve teams are determined, but also any still open spots in the teams are filled. However, of the first years first years only those deemed skilled enough in flying by Madam Hooch can participate."
This time the chatter was so loud, the Headmaster produced a bang with his wand. "Oh, I know you are certainly excited, as this could be the chance for many to get a chance at this beautiful game, even if only after a year or two gaining training experience. Saturday morning House Gryffindor has its turn, Saturday afternoon House Slytherin. House Ravenclaw's tryouts are Sunday morning, and those of House Hufflepuff at Sunday afternoon."
"Harry, you got a hand in this?" Hermione asked.
Harry, who up until now had stoically stayed silent about what McGonagall had wanted, nodded. "They wanted to make me seeker and bend the rules to do so. I told them: 'not that way'."
"You stood firm for the rules to be followed?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, why?" Harry then saw the look of pride she was giving him and he felt a bit uneasy. Hermione liked following the rules, so of course she would be pleased with him.
"Hey, Harrykins!" Fred called. "We know you did that."
"Yes, but what is that about a reserve team?" George added.
Harry wondered why they would even ask that question. "I found it weird why there isn't one. I mean, it's kind of unfair. Bad luck, or the opposing team doing something underhanded, and you are a player short and pretty much lost the game."
The twins grimaced. "Ouch, yeah. The final game of the previous school year was a disaster. Charlie lost Oliver when he got sick and suddenly we were stuck without having a keeper," Fred remembered.
"Yes, Slytherin got in so many points, even Charlie catching the snitch didn't help. Oliver really feels he has to make up for souring Charlie's final game," George finished, both of them now understanding the wisdom of a reserve team.
"Hey, mate, you think I should try out?" Ron asked Harry while they all got up to return to their dorms.
"While I doubt Wood's job becomes available, why not try for reserve?" Harry suggested.
Ron didn't answer, looking thoughtful while they left the hall.
At the Slytherin table meanwhile, Draco and Pansy wanted to leave as fast as possible, when Filch stopped them. "Not so fast, you two little hooligans. Thought you could sneak away, eh? First your punishment for what you two did."
Some minutes later, Draco felt like cursing while starting to clean a rather filthy boys' bathroom.
"I'll make sure you clean this bathroom properly; you won't leave until it's to my satisfaction. And that includes cleaning the insides of the toilets," Filch told Draco while watching him work. "I bet your parents spoiled you, little prince, so hopefully that teaches you some honest work."
"I wonder if all bathrooms here are this filthy..." Draco grumbled.
Filch actually chuckled. "Oh no, I picked the one where the upper year boys create the worst mess and told the elves to leave it alone for some hours so you can clean it. You wouldn't believe what the toilets in these stalls look like, not to speak of that many of these boys seem incapable of pissing in a straight line at an urinal."
Draco thanked all goodness he was wearing gloves while getting to work. How difficult is it to piss in a straight line? he wondered when seeing the mess on the floor and the walls.
Draco swallowed his curses - no need to give this sadist more ammo - and started cleaning, despite the disgust that rose within him over the stinking mess. This was even worse than the letter he got from his parents just before dinner, after the school had notified them of his misconduct. If he had expected support from them, he was proven wrong. They had essentially told him he'd been stupid and now should take his punishment like a man. The additional note from his father, that he had expected more subtlety, hadn't helped his mood.
"Oh, by the way, your little accomplice is doing the same in a girls' bathroom, watched by someone until I come to get her," Filch added.
I wonder if there is any girls' bathroom as literally crappy as this one, Draco wondered, having heard the rumor that girls kept their bathrooms cleaner.
The rumor Draco had heard was proven wrong elsewhere in the castle; girls could actually cause a mess just as disgusting as boys do, only with some differences.
Pansy for her part had to hold down the urge to curse while starting to clean the mess. She'd had no idea how filthy a girls' bathroom in a big school, which wasn't cleaned for some hours, could be . Are these older girls such pigs? she wondered.
"Oh, normally the elves make sure my bathroom stays clean ever since girls again use it as intended, but it wouldn't be much of a punishment then, does it? It must be shocking to you that we girls can be this messy and disgusting when it comes to a bathroom."
Pansy tried to tune out Myrtle. Why had Filch picked her bathroom for cleaning? Perhaps it was sheer sadism, since while the ghostly girl was downright friendly, her constant chatter was humiliating for Pansy while cleaning the mess. Pansy cursed why these older girls had the habit of throwing their used feminine hygiene articles on the floor, while tossing them into a trash bag - thankfully she was wearing gloves - being introduced in a disgusting way to pads and tampons before she herself needed them.
"I still at times like to rest inside my toilet, but nowadays I discreetly leave it through the wall when I notice a girl using it. I don't want to embarrass them after all. Make sure that my toilet is especially clean," Myrtle continued, still sounding entirely too happy.
Pansy just wanted the ghost to shut up, finally being done with picking up all the disgusting trash.
"Oh, that poor girl just an hour ago. She got sick and barfed into the toilet in the last stall. She did get to it a few seconds too late however and thus spilled quite a bit on the floor. I also think she didn't flush it..." Myrtle just then remembered.
Please put me out of my misery, Pansy prayed silently.
...morning of September 14th, Quidditch pitch...
It was ten in the morning when all the hopefuls in Gryffindor entered the Quidditch pitch, where they would be competing for a place in the team - though since Wood was set on having Harry in the only open spot of the team, that meant competing for being in the reserve team. Though the excitement had been great in general with the first-years, the only ones actually walking onto the field besides Harry himself were Ron and, surprisingly, Ginny.
As if to make up for that, the stands were filled with almost half of House Gryffindor, who were eager to watch and speculate which hopefuls will make it into the reserve team. Although it was obvious a big chunk of them also wanted to see Harry Potter try out for the team. No one really doubted he would make it, rumors had a habit of spreading fast.
Glancing to the stands, Harry saw Hermione, Luna and Neville sitting in the lowest row and waved to them, before he walked into the field with the other hopefuls, where Wood and the rest of the team were already waiting. Fred and George he already knew, but the three girls from higher years were an unknown to him.
Wood looked eager to start right away, but Madam Hooch gave him a telling look, before turning to the three first-years. "Before we start, I need to verify that all three of you know how to fly properly. We do not want any accidents, after all."
Thankfully, for all three of them it was a formality, and finally, Wood could take the word.
"Well, you all are the hopefuls. I'm Oliver Wood, the Captain and keeper of the team. The three girls to my left are the team's chasers, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson. To my right are the team's beaters, George and Fred Weasley. I know most of you are trying out for the reserve team, but first we have to test a candidate for the seeker position!"
Nice to put all the pressure on me right from the start, Harry thought while stepping forward.
From the stands, Hermione, Neville and Luna watched Wood starting to test Harry, which involved Harry having to catch golf balls - the heavens knew where Wood got these from - which the chasers dropped from a higher elevation.
"He's doing really well," Hermione remarked. Despite not being the biggest fan of the game, she could see the athletic feat behind it, as well as the reflexes needed.
"Oh, he missed that one," Luna said when seeing one golf ball fall to the ground. "But to be fair, he almost got hit by it on the head and he had to pull away."
"Isn't it a bit stupid? Harry is the only one applying for the position. Uh, and why is he the only one applying?" Neville asked, scratching his head in puzzlement.
"Wood would have to make sure Harry actually can do it, even if he is the only one," Hermione reminded Neville. "Oh, and Ron told me why he is the only one. After how great of a seeker Charlie was, everyone was too intimidated to try and be his successor."
The test didn't last much longer and Wood called Harry down.
"Well, congratulations, Harry! Still quite rough around the edges, but that's what training is for." Wood looked like he'd found a gold mine.
"I don't think I'm that good..." Harry then looked a bit insecure. "Am I that good?"
"Oh, good for someone untrained. Just wait until you get real training..." Wood then again spoke up."Now for the hopefuls for the reserve team. Let's start with my own position, the keeper."
Wood noticed there were only three applicants - there simply was less prestige in the keeper position. First was a second-year boy, and Wood couldn't help but to feel a bit uneasy with the way he was carrying himself. Second was Ron Weasley, and Wood saw that the boy was a bit nervous - understandable considering the circumstances. The third candidate was a third-year girl who looked like a breeze could blow her down, and Wood already knew from experience she wouldn't make the cut.
He looked onto his name list to call the second-year boy first. "All right. First to test is Cormac McLaggen."
While the chasers started to test McLaggen, Ginny called over Fred and George.
"Yes, sister dear?" George asked, wondering what Ginny could want.
"I know exactly what you are planning. You don't want to give Ron any support and instead want to amuse yourselves at his expense. Don't try to deny it! You don't even care that it'll cause him to not play well." Ginny knew he brothers too well, and how callous they could be.
"Oh, come on! If he can't take it..." Fred tried to excuse their behavior.
Ginny wouldn't have any of that. "So that's how you want to play it? All right, then here is what I'll do: Each time you say or do something which is causing Ron doubt himself, I'll write to Mum and tell her one of your secrets. And I know lots of those."
The twins looked horrified at the threat, knowing that their sister was dead-serious about it. They knew it would be better to keep their traps shut.
"He's not bad," Luna commented from the stands while watching Ron's turn. "Though, he is not holding as many as the boy before him."
"Oh, this will be a disappointment for Ron," Hermione said, having hoped Ron would get the position.
Up in the air meanwhile, Wood paid only little attention to the attempt of the girl, Simona Gibbins, as she clearly was being overwhelmed by his chasers. No, his mind was on the choice between Ron and McLaggen. Normally, McLaggen having caught a few more shots would haven given him the edge. However, where Ron was polite to the chasers and even congratulated them on especially good shots that he admitted were impossible for him to hold, McLaggen was the opposite.
Granted, he was only 12 years old, but Wood could smell a difficult player by now and it was pretty obvious McLaggen was shaping up to be no team player. His attitude was worrisome - while not openly defiant, he clearly was not appreciating the other players. When Katie had given him well-meant advice after a shot he'd not caught, he'd complained that it was a fluke and advice was overrated. No, his decision was made.
After everyone was back on the ground, Wood made his decision public. "I have decided. Weasley will be the reserve keeper."
"That's unfair, I held more shots!" McLaggen complained.
Wood however wanted to hear nothing of it. "Only a few more, but that's not the deciding factor. Weasley worked together with the chasers on this and listened to their advice to improve himself. You on the other hand have shown that you are not a team player, and that's an attitude not suited for a team sport."
"Wasting my talent for this..." McLaggen grumbled, while leaving.
"I can't believe it..." Ron had been unprepared for actually being chosen, having thought there would be more competition.
Wood understood Ron's surprise too well. "Well, Ron, what use is being the best, if the inability to work with the rest of the team ruins it all? Since you'll replace me in the team once I'm done with school, better prepare for serious training from yours truly."
"Y-yes, of course!" Ron still hadn't fully processed that he got chosen.
The tryouts continued, and soon the reserve positions for the chasers and beaters were filled. That left the position of reserve seeker, and unlike with the post for the team, the competition was stiff in this one, as it would not be in the shadow of Charlie Weasley's legacy. Wood's final selection was a surprise.
"I actually made it?" Like Ron, Ginny had not really expected she would be selected, in her case mainly due to her young age. She also was more inclined to a chaser position, but had chosen to apply for seeker due to the ridiculous number of applicants for chaser in the reserve team.
"Don't sell yourself short. You got the most out of all applicants. Certainly not as good as Harry, with whom it seems to be an instinct, but with training this can improve." Wood then gave everyone a downright happy look. "Since we have two complete teams, training will be much improved! We can now play actual games against each other to improve!"
Right then Hermione, Luna and Nevilla walked down the stairs from the stands, now that the tryouts were over. "Amazing, all three of you got in, despite the odds being against you." Hermione said, knowing how little the chance had been for all three of them to get accepted.
"Good thing we never asked what the odds are," Ron smarted, not taking offense at the observation.
"Eh, Ron, you never told what actual Quidditch training consists of. Any idea?" Harry asked, being in the dark about that subject.
"I didn't?" Ron wondered. Ginny also looked eager to speak up. "Then let me tell you!"
"Would we also have been like that as players?" Neville wondered when seeing Ron and Ginny enthusiastically telling Harry what Quidditch training is like, while Hermione shook her head at it.
"They show a lot of passion for what they like doing. After all we also listen to Hermione eagerly telling us about interesting things she read about," Luna remarked. "It would be wrong of us to judge them for that."
o
"How unfair of that Professor to not allow you to attend the tryouts," Pansy told Draco while they watched from the stands the hopefuls for the Slytherin reserve team walk onto the pitch this afternoon.
"Yes, I won't forget that slight," Draco grumbled while Crabble and Goyle wisely stayed silent, sensing his bad mood.
Madam Hooch had told Draco outright, that with his little stunt he could forget even trying to apply for the Syltherin team, as to her his blatant disregard for her orders proved he did not deserve a place on the reserve team. Draco of course found this to be a great injustice, but after the letter he got from his parents, he knew they were not impressed with his little stunt and would not side with him on the issue. That meant he was out of luck this year.
"Look at that," Pansy snorted, causing Draco to look up. "Why is HE trying out?"
Draco's eyes narrowed when seeing Dudley on the pitch. "He has nerves, after just one flight training lesson..." However, he looked outright baffled when Madam Hooch passed him on flying ability. "You've got to be kidding me!"
The normally silent Crabble also seemed baffled. "How did he do it?"
Interestingly, Pansy, while being in disbelief, also had a logical question. "How did he get so good? Can't be because of one flying lesson. To think about it, that lousy Granger girl also could fly without trouble."
"Strange..." Draco wondered, the gears turning in his head.
Draco was arrogant, but he was no idiot. One muggleborn being able to fly; that well could be dismissed as a fluke. However, two of them having no problems on a broom? Actually, there were a few more muggleborn students in his year he had witnessed having no trouble flying a broom, even though logically they should have had trouble. Maybe he could make it up to his father by reporting to him this strange development?
Down on the pitch meanwhile, the Captain Marcus Flint was putting the hopefuls through testing to see who was showing the most promise.
Flint was a poor student, having made only very few OWLs and the rumor was that he probably wouldn't make a single NEWT and leave Hogwarts as a failure. Not that he cared, as the only reason he did make some OWLs was, so that he could continue school and be the team captain. Being already set to continue the family trade, he and his parents felt a formal education was not needed since he wouldn't have to apply for a job. That meant he put most of his energy into Quidditch.
Not that there wasn't trouble in that field. Not a single girl had applied for the reserve team, which was no wonder. Even the first-years quickly had gotten wind of his sexist attitude and there probably wouldn't be any girls on the team until he had left school. Of course he'd gotten massive heat for this waste of talent, but getting the cup the previous two years had for now silenced his critics.
Flint came from a very bigoted family, as his attitude was witness of, but even he made some exceptions when it came to Quidditch, and right now he would be pragmatic.
"Dursley! You get to be reserve keeper!" he called, baffling the others who had hoped to get the position. "Just tell me: you never played the game, so how did you do so good?"
Dudley was a bit floored he actually got accepted. He'd only applied since it looked interesting and he'd found a liking to flying. He'd never imagined to actually be chosen. "I imagined myself as the goalie in football. It's essentially the same job and it helped me."
Flint didn't know exactly what Dudley meant, but he didn't care. "Well, no matter. Just write to your parents so that you won't have to fly one of these pieces of crap."
Dudley sighed. "That's a no-go. I know my parents, they won't pay for me buying a broom."
Flint snorted, wondering how stupid his parents had to be. But then, in his mind, this was little surprise, considering they had no magic. "Let's see what can be done about it."
Dudley looked up to the stands, seeing Daphne and Millicent waving .
Up in the stands, both girls couldn't help but be happy for their friend. "He actually did it! That was amazing!" Millicent cheered.
"You wouldn't believe that he comes from a non-magical family," Daphne remarked, then looked over her shoulder. "Of course someone else is not happy about it.
Millicent knew she meant Malfoy, hearing him rage how Dudley could get a spot, while he didn't, complaining about the injustice. "Looks like our spoiled little prince is unhappy. Wait until he realizes that it means Dudley is now under Flint's protection."
Daphne had not yet thought about that side-effect of Dudley making the reserve team. "Oh, I hope we can see it when he realizes that nugget..."
...meanwhile, in the Black home...
It was a peaceful Saturday afternoon in the Black home. Right at the moment Sirius and Diane were watching their children being busy with using some crayons to draw their imagination on some paper. It was downright fascinating to watch what things their young imagination conjured up. Both children were so busy with drawing, that they didn't even notice the doorbell.
They however did notice when a certain someone walked in. "Mark! Mark!" they both called in excitement.
"Oh, you two missed me?" Mark asked, joining the twins to see what they were drawing, even though he himself had no idea what exactly it was supposed to be.
Seeing how the children were being busy, the adults talked among themselves over a letter they got from Harry.
"Here, we got that letter from Hedwig today," Veronica said, putting the letter on the table for Sirius and Diane to read, which they then did. Reading it, especially Sirius beamed with pride when reading of the flying class and how it led to the tryouts.
Sirius chuckled. "Ohhh, this is interesting. So essentially little Malfoy Jr. got punished, while Harry and two of his friends all managed to secure team positions. Not only am I proud, but this also is delicious to read."
"Don't you know that schadenfreude is a sin?" Diane asked, though it was clear she was not serious about it, not after hearing of the impossible behavior of that Malfoy boy. "Still, for Harry to demand that he wants to get the position fair and square... Both of you raised him really well."
"I hope we did a good job. Though we of course did have help," Thomas said, giving Sirius a knowing look. "But read further."
Sirius did that and whistled. "Oh, of course! Harry does need a good broom to play properly."
"Sirius, don't think about buying the boy some kind of professional league broom. That would only single him out," Diane reminded her husband, understanding the message that would send.
That pulled Sirius out of his dreams and he realized his wife was right. Giving Harry a professional league broom would make him the target of tons of jealously. Perhaps he should instead send him a good broom - one that a normal citizen could afford? Yes, that sounded like a good idea. However, his thoughts drifted when hearing the conversation continue.
"It's kind of sad that the Weasley children will have to use their bad brooms from home. You know how they don't have the money to replace those. It's a bit unfair to them," Veronica commented.
Now there is an idea! Sirius thought. "You know, that doesn't have to be the case."
It took some moments before they understood what Sirius was implying. Thomas shook his head at the idea. "You know their parents will never agree to that. They do have their pride and would see it as charity."
"Oh, leave that to me. I know I can convince them and it won't take that long," Sirius said, leaving no doubt he was convinced of that.
Diane shook her head, having the feeling her husband was about to poke a hornets nest. "After being your wife for some years, I know I can't stop you once your mind is set on something. But knowing Molly, I sincerely hope you come out of this human and in one piece."
Sirius loved his wife, but sometimes she tended to over-exaggerate. After all, Molly Weasley would never curse him, would she? Well... thinking about it, perhaps she would if feeling his actions could endanger her children. Now that he was thinking about it, perhaps he should talk to Arthur first and both of them should approach her together. Yes... perhaps that was safer.
...September 18th...
It again was breakfast time at this Wednesday morning at Hogwarts and many were waiting for the mail call while loading their plates. Over the past several days, many of those who had made the reserve teams were getting their brooms from home by mail, even many of the older years not having brought them along due to little chance of using them. It honestly had been a bit funny to see broom-shaped packages arrive, and sometimes being dropped straight into someone's breakfast.
Today however, there didn't seem to be any brooms in the mail once the owls started to come in, something that was making Harry, Ron and Ginny nervous. There had been no word on the issue yet as well, which was quite puzzling.
"Still no brooms... And that Mum stays so silent isn't like her," Ron wondered.
"What's wore is, that Oliver set the first training for today after lessons. We would look rather stupid if we have to tell him our brooms haven't arrived yet." Harry then looked to Wood, who was sitting a bit further down the table.
"So much for a great start in the team..." Ginny groaned, looking like she wanted to drown herself in her milk.
Hermione watched the display in slight disbelief. "It's a bit embarrassing to see them bellyarching so much over this. It's not the end of the world if their brooms arrive later and they have to use school brooms for the time being."
"No one is rational if they are especially passionate about something, though perhaps we should check under their beds if some bugs that make you nervous have hidden there," Luna remarked before taking a bite of her bacon toast.
Hermione didn't blink an eye at that comment, by now being used to it. Neville on the other hand wondered where Luna was coming up with such things, and it still wasn't clear if she was actually believing in them, or not.
Perhaps it's better I don't know the answer, he thought.
Right then the big door was opened and Hagrid, who had been absent from the staff table, walked in, escorting someone who was carrying several long packages. Quite a number of students in first and second year recognized the man, some being unable to hide that they recognized him, though that for sure would create questions from the other students.
Yes, as I suspected... Remus thought, knowing that this little stunt would for sure blow their cover a little earlier, but Sirius had said it would have happened soon anyway, so better do it on their terms and make a lasting impression.
"Uncle Remus?" Harry wondered, having stood up. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I felt it would be in bad taste to not deliver these to you in person," Remus said while walking to the Gryffindor table, showing the three packages. "After all, even a good player needs a good broom for Quidditch."
"Oh no, tell me Uncle Sirius didn't..." Harry groaned, fearing that Sirius could have gone on a massive spending spree for them.
Remus had to laugh, seeing how Harry knew Sirius too well. "Oh, he wanted to, but then was convinced by his wife that it would be better to buy brooms that while good, would not make the three of you look like you got special treatment."
"How did he get Mum to agree?" Ginny wondered while watching Remus put the packages in front of them.
"He didn't tell." Remus honestly was puzzled how his friend had managed that feat. " I only know it took him three days to wear her down and convince her that it's not charity."
By now a good part of House Gryffindor had approached to watch. The Quidditch team was in the front with Wood looking especially excited at the prospect of these three new brooms, even if two of them were only used by reserve players. In his mind, each good broom meant an advantage to the team, especially due to how many in the Slytherin team could afford good personal brooms.
"Well, don't let me stop you. Open them up!" Remus encouraged them.
Ginny was the first to do so, ripping the packing paper open to reveal the broom inside. She couldn't help but squeal in delight at seeing which kind of model it was. "Oh, I can't believe it! It's a Comet 260!"
"A good broom for a seeker. Quick, agile and can fly narrow curves," Remus said. It indeed was a good broom, but nothing too extravagant, thus why Mrs. Weasley probably agreed to it.
Ron was next and once he opened his package, he also looked in awe at the broom inside. "It's a Cleansweep 10! How did Sirius know I always wanted one of those?"
Remus gave Ron an amused look. "He of course asked your father. Also, while it's not a sprinter, this is all the broom a keeper needs to defend the hoops. Quick reaction time and it basically can turn on the spot."
Seeing the brooms his friends had gotten, Harry opened his own package and looked in sheer awe at the broom, which looked to be of a somewhat higher price class than Ron's and Ginny's brooms. "It's a Nimbus 2000! Uncle Remus, you know that's not exactly a cheap broom, do you?"
"It's still quite reasonably priced and not anything like a professional broom. Padfoot simply wanted to show how much he cares for you by giving you the perfect seeker broom." Remus didn't notice the looks of the twins when hearing Sirius' nickname.
"Oh, I don't know how to thank him..." Harry's earlier gloomy mood was blown away and he couldn't wait for training this day.
"I think just having fun with the broom and being a good player should do it," Remus remarked. "Be assured that we all feel you'll play really well."
All of this caused lots of discussion at the other tables.
Some Slytherins, who had walked over to listen what was being said, returned to their table, Draco being one of them. While he was angry that Potter and his friends were given another advantage, he was thinking about the things he's heard and seen. His father had been interested to learn after his previous letter, where these mudbloods had learned to fly so well. This now added to it.
While it was no secret that Sirius Black was Potter's godfather, this confirmed he was quite actively involved in his life. He didn't know who this 'Remus' person was, but surely his father could find out. He and Black also not only knew Potter's guardians, but also the Weasleys, which also was interesting. Better, so many students from first and second year in the hall reacted to the man, there had to be a story, so he had to keep his ears open.
A small growl escaped him when also hearing a wife being mentioned in connection to Black. As far as everyone knew, Black still was a bachelor, so this came out of nowhere. Since it had made no waves, the wife could only be one without magic. It would certainly explain why Black had cut off his mother - and thus him - from the Black fortune. He would make sure to include that in the letter, as it was personal.
o
Classes were over for the day and right at the moment the Gryffindor Quidditch team, both regular and reserve, had gathered on the pitch for the very first training of the year. Oliver Wood looked like he could barely restrain his happiness at this change of fortunes, since a week ago he had been confronted with a team that was crippled by the lack of a seeker, and now he actually had two full rosters.
Granted, the two beaters on the reserve team still looked not as bulky as Fred and George, but this would come with time and the hard work of hitting the buldgers with force. This tended to give you muscles and also was the reason why only few girls every applied to that position. His reserve chasers - two girls and a boy - however looked up the task.
"Now, men...!" Wood started, only to get interrupted.
"And women!" Angelina Johnson added. Clearly this was not the first time she felt Wood was glossing over the girls on the team.
Wood blushed a little. "Well, right... Now, the previous two years had not exactly been a masterpiece for the Gryffindor team. Both years the cup was snatched away from under our noses by Slytherin."
"Last year was especially embarrassing," Angelina groaned, causing Wood to blush again, since him falling sick had been the cause of the loss, even though Charlie had assured him no one was blaming him for it.
"Now, we can make sure that nothing of that sort happens this year!" Wood looked around, seeing he got the full attention. "Training is good, but experience only comes from practical play. Since we now have two full teams, we can kill two birds with one stone besides the normal training we still do!"
"Eh, Oliver, you were serious about both teams playing against each other?" George asked, having thought Wood was joking.
"I never joke when it comes to Quidditch," Wood answered.
Now everyone got the feeling that the games of the two teams against each other would be truly grueling training, but at the same time, it certainly would get them better results than just going through the motions. Also, playing actual games against each other was perhaps the best way to prepare for the real thing.
Perhaps things did look up for the team this year.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"Halloween Surprise"
Notes:
Here the notes.
I hope you like how Slughorn did the first Potions lesson with the first-year students. I oriented myself at how he did it with sixth-year students, but knew that Slughorn would have to use a very different approach with young children. I always envisioned he would be quite approachable for the younger years. I thus also highlighted the stark difference to Snape's teaching style.
And no dice, Draco, Slughorn is like in canon not interested in you.
Now, I knew Slughorn would surely invite Harry and Neville to the Slug Club due to their families. I always felt Slughorn had been rather short-sighted in canon, not seeing the true worth of Ron, dismissing him due to being a Weasley. Therefore I worked really hard for them to sell to Slughorn why they are all worth it.
You noticed something by now...?
I always had been a bit upset how Harry essentially got his position by favoritism and knew this would not fly with THIS Harry. That opened up the chance to actually create a reserve team. Growing up in a more healthy environment and not being wide-eyed, Harry here is a lot about fair play.
What do you think of Draco's and Pansy's punishment?
Also, I BET you didn't expect Dudley making the Slytherin reserve.