Hari spent the majority of his time over the following days ducking out of sight every time he saw Lockhart nearby. He spent his Defence lessons hiding behind his pile of books, ignoring his pompous speeches in favour of playing tic tac toe and hangman with Ron and Draco. Colin Creevey was also proving to be impossible to avoid, appearing out of nowhere with greetings of, “Alright, Harry?”

Even more so, Ron’s wand was causing disasters at every turn. He had somehow managed to send sparks shooting out of his wand during Charms, hitting Professor Flitwick between the eyes and causing him to topple over off his high stool with a squeak.

Regardless, Hari’s spirits went up significantly as the weekend came and brought with it Quidditch tryouts. Being second years now, they were finally eligible for being on the team and were looking forward to being able to finally try out. As there was only the Seeker position up for grabs that year, Hari and Draco were constantly neck and neck for the role. Ron, who always fancied being the Keeper more than anything else, was not trying out this season.

On Saturday morning, the sky was a bright blue with hardly any clouds in the sky, casting the school with warm light. After a quick breakfast, Hari and Draco hurried to grab their brooms from their dormitory and made their way down to the Quidditch pitch.

There was a good turnout for the try outs. Students from most year groups were standing around with their broomsticks, waiting for the try outs to start. Hari and Draco went over to join Seamus and Dean and saw Hermione and Ron joining other Gryffindors on the stands to watch. Hari even saw Percy watching. Once everyone had arrived, Oliver Wood, the captain and Keeper, addressed the group.

“Welcome to this year’s Quidditch tryouts, folks. After last year’s performance, we are determined to return to our former glory days, so I expect only the very best,” he said, pacing back and forth. He was a tall and broad shouldered boy with short brown hair and a look that was constantly determined. Hari spotted Fred and George, who were the Beaters, snickering behind Wood’s back.

The tryouts took a good couple of hours. Wood released the golden snitch and had his other teammates doing a practice match, subbing in everyone in pairs to try to catch the snitch first. He went through a series of eliminations, sending people off the field that failed to catch the snitch on time. As time went on, Hari felt increasingly nervous, feeling he surely had no match compared to the others that managed to catch the Snitch. Finally, Draco and Hari were the last two left to catch the snitch.

Before taking to the air, Hari and Draco exchanged challenging looks and then swung onto their respective brooms. Hari kicked off into the air, immediately feeling all his worries fade away, as if he left them on the ground behind him. The wind whipped his face as he flew a few practice circles, grinning. He watched Wood release the Snitch once again and began circling the air in search of a flash of gold while he half watched the rest of the team running through drills together.

Draco was taking a similar approach, eyes narrowed as he floated around the pitch in search of the Snitch. His white blond hair shone in the afternoon’s sun as he flew through the air in the opposite direction from Hari.

Finally, after a good few minutes of searching the sky aimlessly, Hari caught sight of something gold whizzing near one of the goals on the opposite side of the stadium. Leaning forward on his broom, Hari sped up, darting straight towards the Snitch. Across from him, Hari saw Draco doing the same, both of them pursuing the tiny golden object.

They were flying side by side, both of them reaching their arms out to catch the snitch first. Hari leaned forward even more on his broom and in a last burst of speed, he sped up just ahead of Draco. The next second, Hari felt his hand closing around the Snitch in a wild dive, pulling his broom up at the very last second.

Hari was distantly aware of the small burst of cheers coming from the stands as he landed back on the ground, breathless and clutching onto the fluttering Snitch. The rest of the Gryffindors landed after him and Hari saw Wood jogging over to him, eyebrows raised high and grinning. He grabbed Hari on the shoulder, shaking him slightly and said triumphantly, “I definitely think we’ve found our new Seeker!”

Hari was jostled back and forth with slaps on the back and shouts of congratulations from the rest of his new teammates. He was distantly aware of Draco walking away towards the stand, half dragging his broomstick behind him. Too caught up in thanking Wood, Hari didn’t manage to get away to check on Draco. His triumph at being made Seeker was shadowed somewhat by his friend’s reaction, but he put on a smile and let the Gryffindor players talk his ear off.

Ron and Hermione jogged down to meet Hari as the team finally dispersed, both grinning widely. Ron slapped Hari heartily on the back and said, “Brilliant catch, mate! That was wicked!” Hari ducked his head, cheeks warm. Hermione gave him a short hug.

As they started walking back to the castle together, Ron going on about how amazing the tryouts looked from where they had been sitting in the stands, Hari realised he didn’t know where Draco was. He could have sworn he headed to the stands like most of the others that didn’t capture the snitch, but he was nowhere to be found. Hari was still worrying about Draco’s whereabouts by the time they reached the great hall for dinner and Draco still wasn’t around.

“I’m going to go get changed into proper clothes. I’ll meet you guys back here in a few minutes,” Hari said, gesturing to his Quidditch gear. They waved goodbye and Hari half sprinted back up to Gryffindor tower.

Draco was sitting in their dormitory when Hari finally made it, breathless and sweaty. He was curled up on his bed with his Potions textbook propped open on his knees and didn’t look up when Hari entered.

“There you are! I was wondering where you went!” Hari breathed out, going over to his trunk and pulling out some clothes. Draco merely hummed in reply, keeping his eyes on his textbook. Hari pulled off his Quidditch jersey and turned to Draco, who was motionless. “Are you okay?” he asked tentatively, moving over towards Draco’s bed.

Draco jolted up, plastering on a smile. “Of course I’m okay,” he said too quickly. He snapped his book shut and began looking for his bag to put it away. “Congrats on getting Seeker, mate. I’m happy for you.” He moved jerkily as he shoved the book inside the bag.

“Are you sure? You don’t look—”

“I’m fine, Hari.” Draco cut him off, dropping his bag on the ground with an audible thud. “I’m going to—library.” Before Hari could reply, Draco darted out of the room, shutting the door behind him with a slam.

Hari could only stand, slack jawed and shirtless after the blond’s abrupt departure.

¤¤¤

“He’s obviously jealous, Hari,” Hermione insisted after Hari told them what happened once he got to dinner a little while later.

“So how do you suppose I fix that, Hermione? Insist that Wood give him the Seeker position instead?” Hari snapped, brandishing his fork and causing crumbs to fly everywhere.

“He’s got a point, Hermione. Not much Hari can do,” Ron added, mouth full of mashed potatoes.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “You boys are so stupid sometimes,” she said, “Honestly, Hari. Just talk to him. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually. He’s just upset now because he wanted to be a Seeker as well.”

“I already told you, Hermione. He just ignored me and tried to brush it off when I tried to speak to him earlier. He doesn’t want to talk to me.” He lifted his fork again and stabbed his food sharply, pouting as he took a bite. He had lost his appetite entirely.

“Like I said, he’ll come around eventually. Just give him time.”

Hari sighed, dropping his fork onto his plate and resting his elbow on the table, leaning his cheek against his hand. “I just hate him ignoring me, you know?” he said quietly, “He’s been my best friend since we were 6. I feel awful that it upset him that he didn’t get the position…”

Ron patted Hari gently on the back, abandoning his food for once and fixing Hari with a sympathetic frown. “Hari, Hermione’s right. This is Draco we’re talking about.” He draped his arm over Hari’s shoulder. “He might be a dramatic git sometimes, but he’s not going anywhere. I don’t think Draco even knows how to avoid you that long. So just wait a little bit and then I’m sure you guys will be back to your usual married couple selves.” Hari shot Ron a scowl but let him squeeze his shoulders. “You know we’re right.”

A throat cleared behind them and Hari and Ron turned around in their seats. Minerva was standing over them, looking down at them over her spectacles. “I do apologise for breaking up this touching moment, but I am here to inform you both of your detentions tomorrow evening.”

Ron removed his arm from around Hari and asked tentatively, “What are we doing, Professor?”

“You will be cleaning the trophies with Filch,” she said, eyeing Ron. “And—where is Draco?” She looked up and down the table, eyebrows furrowed and then turned to Hari.

“I think he’s in the library…” Hari replied to the floor, feeling his gut twist horribly. “What will I have to be doing for detention?” he added, desperately hoping for a subject change.

“Professor Lockhart has asked for you specifically. He would like you to help him answer fanmail.”

Hari grimaced. “Really? Can’t I just clean trophies with Ron?”

Hari saw Minerva’s lips twitch in the corners. “No, Hari, you may not. As I said, Lockhart has requested you specifically,” she instructed, raising her eyebrows. “I shall go and find Draco in the library and inform him of his own duties. Carry on.” She nodded brusquely and then strided out of the Hall.

Hari slouched in his seat, feeling even worse than he had a few minutes ago. Ron, looking similarly put out, groaned irritably. “Filch’ll have me there all night!” he cried, “And no magic! It’ll take ages to clean all of those bloody trophies!”

“I’d give cleaning every trophy in this school a try. Lockhart will have me there all night talking about himself and all his ‘successes.’”

Hermione said nothing, continuing to eat her food silently. Hari knew she figured this was suitable punishment for their actions and saw no problem with either punishment. Hari, having lost his appetite before he even got to dinner, got up from the table and made his way silently back to Gryffindor tower by himself.

¤¤¤

The next morning, Hari had his first ever Quidditch practice bright and early. He woke up before the rest of his roommates, got dressed in his new Quidditch robes and made his way down to breakfast. Not many others were at breakfast yet, only a few people dotted here and there with their friends. Hari sat with the other Gryffindor teammates for breakfast and then the 7 of them made their way down to the pitch together.

Hari took up the rear, watching the other players interacting. Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson were the three Chasers, currently complaining about how early their practice was that day. Fred and George, meanwhile, were yawning as they walked, unusually quiet for them as they followed behind the girls. Wood marched in the front, leading them down the lawn towards the pitch with a confident smile. He kept going on about the perfect conditions for their practice, oblivious to the fact that no one was really listening to him.

They grabbed their broomsticks from the broom shed and everyone went into the changing rooms so that Wood could give them a speech about the plans for their training and how they could win the cup that year for once. Once more, as Wood paced the floor and drew up elaborate plans on a chalkboard, the rest of the team zoned him out, tired as they were. Hari did his best to listen, wanting to be sure about how their team ran, but found it incredibly difficult to do so after a few minutes. Fred was fast asleep with his head on Angelina’s shoulder while Alicia nodded off against the wall behind her and Katie looked out the window longingly.

At last, after almost an hour of sitting through Wood droning on about strategies and drills and plans, Hari and the rest of the team jerked up from their half-conscious states as Wood clapped his hands together and said, “So!” George hit his head on the wall as he sprang up from his nap. “Is that all clear? Any questions?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a question,” George said, raising his hand half-heartedly, “Why couldn’t you tell us all this at yesterday’s practice when we were actually awake?”

Wood’s eye twitched angrily, his jaw tight.

“Now, listen here, you lot,” said Wood, glaring at the group, “We should have won last year, we’re easily the best team at Hogwarts, but without a proper Seeker, we never stood a chance regardless. Now, we have a new Seeker who seems to be pretty damn good already, so we’ve got to work extra hard to make sure last year’s… events don’t happen again.”

Hari shifted in his seat, feeling the intense pressure already. Now that he was the new Seeker, which was the only way for a match to end and often the deciding factor for winning, Hari had an enormous weight of responsibility on him. What had he signed up for?

Wood regained his composure and put on a brave and determined smile, rolling his shoulders back. He was clearly still tortured by last year’s defeat.

“So, this year, we must train even harder… Right, let’s get out there and put our plans into practice!”

They had spent so long in the changing rooms that when they came outside onto the field finally, the sun was high in the sky and there was a small audience of Gryffindors watching from the stands. Hari caught sight of Ron and Hermione nearby. His gut twisted painfully again as Draco was still not around…

“Aren’t you lot finished yet?” Ron called as they stepped out onto the field.

Hari shook his head. “Haven’t even begun yet,” he replied, wandering over to steal a bit of toast from Ron’s hand. “I think Wood’s one of those people that doesn’t know when to quit.”

Waving goodbye to his friends, Hari jogged over to the rest of the team, mounted his broomstick and pushed off into the air. It was an enormous relief to be back in the sky again, feeling the cool breeze rushing past him as he flew through to air. The wind woke him up instantly, refreshing him better than anything else could and he did a quick circle around the pitch to warm himself up.

“What’s that clicking sound?” Wood asked a couple minutes later. There was indeed a strange clicking sound coming from the stands, which turned out to be Colin Creevey taking photos of Hari once again. Hari resisted the urge to groan. “Why’s that kid taking photos? He could be spying on our practice to steal our ideas!” Wood accused, narrowing his eyes at Colin as he continued to take photographs happily.

“Ignore him, Wood. That’s just some first year Gryffindor that keeps following me around taking photos,” Hari told Wood, flying over to him.

Fred, who was hovering nearby, practising swinging his Beater’s bat in the air, chuckled and came closer. “Yeah, don’t mind the firstie, Wood. He’s just got a crush on Hari,” he said, winking at Hari and flying away. Hari felt his cheeks heat up and flew away again.

While Wood put the Chasers through shooting drills with himself and the twins practised hitting a football back and forth with their bats, Hari practised diving and sprinting by himself. He didn’t mind working alone, keeping mostly to himself as he whizzed around the pitch and weaved in between players and the towering goal hoops. His dark hair, already perpetually disordered, was sticking up from the wind going through it.

They had only been flying for twenty minutes when there was a commotion down below. Wood swore loudly and suddenly landed, the rest of the team following suit. Walking onto the field was the Slytherin Quidditch team. The captain of the team, Marcus Flint was leading his players onto the team with a smug smile on his face, telling the players to start getting ready for practice.

Wood marched over to him, scowling. “What do you think you’re doing, Flint? We’ve already booked the field for practice!” he hissed, “We’ve got to train our new Seeker!”

Flint sneered, tilting his head and glancing at Harry standing just behind Wood. “Plenty of room for all of us, Wood.”

“But I booked it! I booked the field!” Wood practically shrieked, red in the face from shouting. This only proved to egg Flint on, his cruel smile widening.

“We’ve got to train our own new Seeker, Wood. It’s only fair.”

Wood spluttered, gaping. “You—you’ve got a new Seeker, too?” said Wood, distracted. “Where?”

From behind the six tall and leering figures of the other Slytherin players came a familiar boy from Hari’s year. Blaise Zabini was a tall and thin boy with tapered short hair and dark bronze skin, looking slightly bored as he stepped in front of the group.

“Aren’t you that Zabini kid whose mum has had like 8 rich husbands?” Fred asked, sidling up beside Harry and looking curiously at Blaise.

Blaise huffed, jaw tight. “Only three, actually,” he replied coldly, “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk about my family like that, asshole.”

“Funny you should mention Blaise’s family,” said Flint, pushing Blaise to the side. “Let me show you the generous gift his stepfather made to the Slytherin team.”

All seven of them held out their broomsticks. Slick, black and freshly polished with fine gold lettering that read Nimbus Two Thousand and One, the broomsticks gleamed in comparison to the rest of the Gryffindors’ brooms. Even Hari’s Nimbus Two Thousand that he got for his eleventh birthday faded in comparison.

“Very latest model, only out last month,” continued Flint haughtily, “Far better than your measly Cleansweeps.” He eyed Fred and George’s Cleansweep Fives clutched defensively in their hands. He looked at something behind the Gryffindors’ shoulders and added, “Oh, look. An invasion.”

Ron, Hermione and Draco were striding across the field together to see what was going on. Hari felt his heart skip at the sight of Draco with them, but felt it slowly drop as the blond avoided his eyes.

“What’s going on?” Ron asked Hari. “What’re the Slytherins doing here?”

“We’ve got a new Seeker as well, Weasley,” remarked Flint, half shoving Blaise forward. “We were just showing off our new brooms courtesy of Zabini’s stepfather.” He held out his broomstick once again and Ron gaped, wide eyed, at the broomstick. At Ron’s face, Flint said, “Jealous, are we? You Gryffindors will stand no chance against these.”

“At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way onto the team,” said Hermione sharply. “They got in on pure talent.”

Blaise frowned, looking offended and opened his mouth to reply before Flint cut across him once again.

“Don’t pretend you understand, you filthy little Mudblood,” he spat.

At once, there was an explosion of noise in response. Hari sputtered angrily and Flint had to dive out of the way of Fred and George leaping at him. Even a few of the Slytherins looked outraged, scowling at their fellow teammates.

“How dare you!” snarled Draco, shaking with anger.

“You’ll pay for that one, asshole!” yelled Ron, plunging his hand into his pocket and pulling out his wand furiously, his face a violent shade of red.

A deafening bang erupted through the shouts and with a bright flash from Ron’s wand out the wrong end, Ron was thrown backwards several feet. He landed heavily on the grass, looking sickly. The Gryffindors and a couple nosy Slytherins rushed over to Ron.

“Ron! Ron, are you okay?” shrieked Hermione, rushing over.

Ron did not answer. With a loud belch, several thick and slippery slugs plopped out of his mouth and onto the grass. He heaved once again, on his hands and knees, and coughed up a few more slugs as the Slytherins laughed and Flint continued to fight off the Weasley twins. Nobody seemed to want to touch Ron as he continued to sick up slimy slugs onto the grass.

“Right, let’s get him up,” ordered Draco, pushing through the crowd and taking one of Ron’s arms. “We’re taking him to Hagrid’s. He's the closest.” Hari nodded and took Ron’s other arm, helping him to his feet as another slug dribbled out of his open mouth. With Hermione following them anxiously behind, Hari and Draco carefully dragged Ron through the staring crowd and towards the hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.