Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw
The following morning, Harry felt more like he was going through the motions than actually taking an active part in his defense training. Moody and Amelia certainly seemed to notice although neither said anything about it. By the time they all entered the chamber, Harry felt uneasy. This was getting harder with every day they spent here, the more information that everyone learned... Harry was beginning to feel very overwhelmed.
It looked like the end of Ron and Hermione's friendship.
The Granger and Weasley parents looked unimpressed.
Each was so angry with the other that Harry couldn't see how they'd ever make up.
Harry shrugged. He was used to their arguments by now. It hadn't really let up after that year. They were always bickering.
Ron was enraged that Hermione... Ron look for Scabbers under all the boys' beds.
The adults in the chamber all sighed, actively having to remind themselves that they were children.
Hermione, meanwhile, maintained fiercely that Ron... there since Christmas,
Winky, who was visiting Barty, made a humph sort of sounds. "The Hogwarts elves bes doing a good job of cleaning the castle."
and that Ron... Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie.
"I wonder why," George laughed.
Personally, Harry was sure that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers... she lost her temper with Harry too.
"It seemed logical to me," Harry said. "Crookshanks had been after Scabbers for months."
"Okay, side with Ron, I knew you would!"... I've got a lot of work to do!"
"I wasn't trying to take sides," Harry said with a sigh. "I was constantly stuck in the middle."
Ron had taken the loss... he probably didn't feel a thing. "
Everyone laughed at Fred's attempt at comfort. George smiled softly. He missed his twin.
"Fred!" ... "Remember, Harry?"
"Best thing he ever did," Harry said, grinning at the memory of Goyle getting bitten.
"Yeah, that's true,"... what's the point of moaning?"
George snorted. That was so like Fred. He was all about action. Constantly moving. Always doing something.
In a last-ditch attempt ... they set off for the Quidditch field together.
Sirius smiled, feeling immensely proud of his godson.
Madam Hooch... Firebolt as everyone else had been.
"I thought Madam Hooch helped with the tests?" Sirius asked. "Surely she's already seen it up close?"
"She did help," Flitwick said, "but it was mostly me running the tests. She mostly just made recommendations for what to check for."
She took it in her hands... a very fine old broom it was too. . . "
"That was your dad's old broom," Sirius said with a smirk. "It's probably still in the family vault."
She continued in this vein... "I'll sit over here with Weasley. . . "
Everyone laughed. It was nice to hear something positive for once. This was what school was supposed to be like.
She and Ron left the field... made a full recovery,
Percy rolled his eyes. He could imagine Oliver complaining about that for hours - if they'd been talking at the time.
then said, "On the other hand... and kicked off from the ground.
Everyone eagerly listened, almost holding their breath to hear just how good it felt to ride the Firebolt.
It was better than he'd ever dreamed... rising thirty, forty, fifty feet into the air again -
"WOW!" Sirius said while Mrs Weasley looked a little peaky.
"Harry, I'm letting the Snitch out!"... within ten seconds had caught it tightly in his hand.
Everyone cheered.
The team cheered madly... and caught it again.
"I knew you had an unfair advantage on that broom!" Draco complained.
It was the best practice ever... George Weasley pointed out, was a first.
"No criticism?" Percy couldn't believe it.
Oliver blushed.
"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow!"... wishing it were stronger.
"You did exceptionally well," Remus said softly. He didn't like to see how Harry undervalued his success.
"The Dementors won't turn up again, Oliver. Dumbledore'd go ballistic," said Fred confidently.
Albus nodded in agreement.
"Well, let's hope not,"... Madam Hooch had fallen asleep in her seat.
"Some protection that is," Kingsley muttered to his younger self.
"Here you go,"... watching him.
"You're a good friend, Harry," Sirius said, giving the young man a squeeze on the shoulder. To be so willing to share even when he had so little that he called his own.
Night had fallen before Madam Hooch... a pair of eyes, gleaming out of the darkness.
Sirius sat forward. Was he there?
Harry stopped dead... was Crookshanks.
Several people let out sighs of relief that Harry hadn't seen the grim again. Even if it was just Sirius. Thinking you saw the grim was dangerous enough.
"Get out of here!"... vanished with one swish of his long ginger tail.
"Were you really going to throw a stone at him?" Hermione asked, afronted.
Ron shrugged but then blushed scarlet when Luna glared at him. He wasn't sure why he cared that the other girl thought he was mean to animals, but he did.
"See?"... probably washing down Scabbers with a couple of birds now. . . . "
"Well, he is a cat," young George said.
Harry didn't say anything... nor did he look left or right until they had reached the well lit entrance hall.
"I don't blame you, mate. That would have terrified me," Ron said.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
Harry went down to breakfast... Firebolt deserved a sort of guard of honor.
The Slytherins in the chamber all shook their heads, actively ignoring the fact that they'd probably have done the exact same thing if their roles were reversed.
As Harry entered the Great Hall... Slytherin team were all looking thunderstruck.
"The team were furious with me," Draco admitted. "They thought we should have taken our chances at the beginning of the year."
"Did you see his face?"... asked if she could actually hold the Firebolt.
Percy's hands tightened on the arms of his chair. Oliver noticed the gesture, wondering what that was about.
"Now, now, Penny, no sabotage!"... "Ten Galleons on the outcome of the match!"
Mrs Weasley looked scandalised.
Penelope put the Firebolt down again... And he bustled off to join her in a piece of toast.
"It's bad enough you gambled on the match," Mrs Weasley said, "but you didn't even have the funds for it!"
She thought Percy had more sense than that.
"Sure you can manage... in case you get too near a Dementor. "
"I was surprised you knew what a parachute was," Harry said with a laugh.
Crabbe and Goyle sniggered... "Then it could catch the Snitch for you. "
Sirius knew he shouldn't laugh. But as far as comebacks went that was pretty good. He met Severus's eye and noticed he looked like he was restraining a smirk.
The Gryffindor team laughed loudly... Harry's broom really was a Firebolt.
Draco sighed. That was exactly what had happened.
At a quarter to eleven... Professor Lupin was in the crowd, watching.
"If it wasn't a full moon, I imagine I would have been," Remus said.
"You know what we've got to do,"... practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!"
"Shortest pre-match speech ever," George said.
They walked out onto the field to tumultuous applause... she was extremely pretty.
Several people wolf whistled. Harry grimaced. He'd gotten over that crush pretty quickly, after the mess in fifth year.
She smiled at Harry... he didn't think had anything to do with nerves.
"You shouldn't be thinking about girls!" Oliver said crossly. "You had a snitch to think about."
"Wood, Davies, shake hands,"... national teams at this year's World Championship -"
"Still didn't win though did we?" Ron muttered. He'd been disappointed by how badly all the national teams had done. He would have loved to see England play at the world cup.
"Jordan, would you mind telling us... the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and -"
Everyone laughed.
"Jordan!"... Cho Chang was tailing him closely.
"That's a mistake," Sirius said. "If you're on the superior broom, she needs to find the snitch before you do."
She was undoubtedly a very good flier... Cho fell behind.
Sirius grinned as his point was proven.
Just as Katie succeeded in scoring the first goal of the match... he was ten feet away -
Everyone leaned forward eagerly.
Then a Bludger, hit by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters... the Snitch had vanished.
Several people groaned.
There was a great "Ooooooh"... who was forced to roll right over in midair to avoid it.
The Gryffindors in the chamber cheered.
"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero... GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"
Lee smirked. He'd been a little excited about the firebolt.
Ravenclaw was pulling back... the Snitch was circling the Gryffindor goal post. . .
"Come on, Harry," Sirius cheered. He couldn't wait until he could watch Harry play for real.
Harry accelerated... "KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!"
Several people laughed at that.
Harry turned and caught sight of Cho... She'd decided to mark him rather than search for the Snitch herself.
Sirius laughed. That definitely wouldn't work if Harry was playing on a broom so much better than her own.
All right, then... the field at the Ravenclaw end.
The Gryffindors were cheering so loud they could barely hear the book.
He accelerated... hooded Dementors, were looking up at him.
Albus frowned. Surely, they wouldn't come back.
He didn't stop to think... erupted from the end of his wand.
"Was that corporal?" Remus asked in bewilderment.
He knew it had shot directly at the Dementors... close his fingers over the small, struggling Snitch.
Everyone cheered. Even Malfoy gave a polite clap. Young Draco was a lot more exuberant in his cheer however. "That was amazing!"
Madam Hooch's whistle sounded... hear the roars of the Gryffindors in the crowd.
"Well done, Harry!" Sirius said, patting him on the back.
"That's my boy!"... he had been engulfed by the cheering crowd.
"Anyone would think you'd won the cup," Remus said with a grin.
"Yes!" .... "That was quite some Patronus," said a voice in Harry's ear.
Remus smiled.
Harry turned around... "I didn't feel a thing!"
Albus blinked at that.
"That would be because... Mr. Malfoy quite a fright," said Lupin.
Narcissa sighed. She remembered receiving a letter from the school about this. They'd had to go in for a parent teacher conference. The whole thing had been highly embarrassing.
Harry stared... fifty points from Slytherin!
"That's nothing compared to what you'd have taken from your own house if the roles were reversed," Remus said, shaking his head.
I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore... "Party! Gryffindor common room, now!"
Sirius smiled. He couldn't even bring himself to be annoyed with Narcissa's boy. He was just too happy for Harry. Finally something had gone right for him.
"Right,"... well into the night.
Minerva sighed. She really should have told them to quieten down sooner, but she felt they deserved a little bit of fun.
Fred and George Weasley disappeared ... Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," Fred muttered in Harry's ear.
Minerva tutted.
Only one person wasn't joining in the festivities... Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles.
Mrs Granger sighed. "Hermione, either join your friends and have a little fun or go read in your dorm room. You can't study in the middle of a party."
That was a recipe for disaster. She wouldn't learn anything, probably just get angry with the noise. Her daughter clearly needed to lighten up.
Harry broke away from the table... "Of course I did," said Hermione in a strangely high-pitched voice, not looking up.
Her parents sighed. Perhaps they should have had more children. Then Hermione would know how to interact with her peers. She hadn't even bothered to look at him.
Narcissa struggled to keep her expression mild. If there was one thing she hated, it was bad manners. And it was definitely rude not to look at someone when they spoke to you.
"And I'm very glad we won... four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" said Hermione, now sounding slightly hysterical.
Minerva sighed. She should never have agreed to let Miss Granger take so many subjects.
"Anyway. . . "... He used to really like them -"
"But Mr Weasley isn't your only friend," Claudius said. "Harry clearly wanted you there."
Hermione frowned. She hadn't considered that.
Hermione burst into tears... "Can't you give her a break?" Harry asked Ron quietly.
Hermione gaped at the book. She hadn't realised that Harry tried to talk to Ron for her.
"No," said Ron flatly... She's still acting like Scabbers has gone on vacation or something. "
Claudius sighed. "Let's discuss this. The way I see it, there are three people in this argument. Ron, who feels his pet has been killed by Hermione's pet and who feels that Hermione doesn't care how that makes Ron feel."
Hermione frowned. "But I did care!"
"Did you tell him that?" Claudius asked.
Hermione hesitated. "No."
"Then how would he know?"
"I guess he wouldn't."
"We have to talk to one another if we are going to resolve our differences. You can't just hope that they'll disappear," Claudius told the girl gently.
"Then we have Hermione, who is under a lot of pressure with school work and feels like Crookshanks is just behaving like cats do. And lastly, we have Harry, who yet again seems to be stuck in the middle."
Everyone nodded.
"But here's the thing," Claudius said sternly, "Ron, you were wrong. Hermione did care about your feelings and if you'd talked to her instead of being - well," the mind healer hesitated, "the way the book is portraying your behaviour, it looks a lot like bullying. I'm not saying that was your intention but it certainly looks that way in the book. If you'd talked to her, perhaps you might have resolved things much quicker and you would have realised that Hermione really did care."
"I'm not a bully," Ron said, his temper rising.
"I didn't say that you are," Claudius said firmly. "But sometimes our actions have consequences that we don't expect. You certainly seemed to be trying to hurt Hermione's feelings. The most important thing when we do something like this is that we recognise it and accept responsibility for it. You were hot headed and you let your emotions control your response. You put your feelings before your friendship." Claudius paused before turning to Hermione. "But Hermione, you were also wrong. You were obviously very stressed with school work but that doesn't excuse the fact that you didn't talk to Ron and tell him you were sorry that Scabbers was gone. Even if you didn't know Crookshanks killed him, the fact Ron thought it should have been enough to at least warrant an apology. Crookshanks had attacked Scabbers repeatedly. It was a reasonable assumption to make."
Hermione frowned.
"What's more, if you were struggling with your school work to the extent you seem to be in this book, you really should have discussed it with your head of house. Allowances could have been made, she may have been able to give you some advice on where to focus your attention, how to best use your time. Your teachers are a resource, there for you to exploit. It is literally their job to support and encourage your education, you need to learn to ask for help when you need it. School work, while important, should not take over your time so much that you completely isolate yourself from your friends. How were you ever going to fix things with Ron if you weren't willing to look up from your books. Never mind the fact that you were also rude to Harry. He was talking to you and you didn't even look at him. Harry had done nothing wrong. He didn't deserve that."
The teachers were nodding in agreement and Hermione reluctantly accepted that the mind healer might be right.
"Lastly, Harry, well done for trying to find the middle ground. That isn't an easy thing to do. I'm sorry that yet again you seem to be caught up in something that isn't your problem. Especially when you had enough concerns of your own to worry about."
Both Ron and Hermione looked a little guilty at that.
The Gryffindor party ended only when Professor McGonagall... almost instantly drifting off to sleep. . .
Sirius smiled. It had been a good day. He wished Harry had more of those days. Even if it had ended poorly because of Ron and Hermione.
He had a very strange dream... ahead he could hear galloping.
Everyone gaped at that dream. Had Harry been dreaming of his animagus form? It wasn't completely unheard of, when you'd been meditating on it. But without even trying?
Then he turned a corner... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Sirius sat bolt upright suddenly on edge.
Harry woke as suddenly... Harry thought he heard the dormitory door slam.
Everyone looked about nervously. What had just happened?
At last finding the divide in his curtains... a look of utmost terror on his face.
Mrs Weasley looked white. Why hadn't she been informed about this?
"Black! Sirius Black! With a knife!"... Slashed the curtains! Woke me up!"
Molly glared at Sirius.
"You sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?"... It was deserted.
"How did he get in?" Bill asked.
"Are you sure you weren't dreaming... "Excellent, are we carrying on?" said Fred Weasley brightly.
A couple of the children giggled.
"Everyone back upstairs!"... had a nightmare -"
Percy frowned. He should have believed him.
"I'm telling you -"... Percy, I expected better of you!"
The twins chuckled. It was nice seeing Percy in trouble for once instead of them.
"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" ... gotten through the portrait hole?"
"You immediately thought he was being ridiculous?" Remus asked. "And you wonder why these kids don't tell you anything."
Minerva sighed. Yes, she'd made many mistakes. It really wasn't fun having them all pointed out to her though.
"Ask him!"... Read 'em off a little piece of paper!"
Remus very nearly said I told you so.
Professor McGonagall pulled herself back... left them lying around?"
Neville looked down, feeling highly ashamed.
There was utter silence... raised his hand slowly into the air.
Augusta sighed. She'd been informed about this and her reaction hadn't been the best.