The Dark Phoenix

Harry had slept in longer than he intended. He wanted to meet with the team this morning and go over the plays they intended to use the next day. Harry made his way down the steps to the common room only to find Ron making his way up.

"About time, I thought you were going to sleep all day," said Ron giving Harry a strange look.

"It's not that late. I doubt the team has had breakfast yet," Harry said with more hope than sureness. Then catching Ron's look, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that Fred and George have been gloating the past fifteen minutes. They won't say what it is until you come down to the common room. And no, the team hasn't had breakfast yet."

Harry was relieved he hadn't truly overslept and also thankful he wouldn't have to hear comments about the captain being late. He and Ron made their way to a table with Fred, George, Hermione and Ginny. Harry had to agree that Fred and George were looking very smug this morning.

"What's so important you had to wait on me?"

"The tables have turned. Seems everyone forgot to meet Cheryl Silvertone after the dance except for me and George."

"Here you go ladies." George handed Hermione and Ginny each a new Music disc. Fred handed Harry and Ron one each as well.

"Oh my gosh! Is this the new song?" asked Ginny.

"'Call My Name'?" asked Hermione with surprise.

"One and the same. We had a nice chat with Cheryl after the dance."

"She said we were both quite handsome but had trouble telling us apart. Haven't the slightest idea why," said George grinning.

"Was most interested in knowing more about the joke shop we intend to open after we finish here at Hogwarts. Keen on the jokes herself."

"Wanted to know if we were taking on investors," grinned George even more broadly. But he suddenly changed the topic after seeing looks of shock from Ron and Ginny. "Anyway, got those to ya." He motioned to the music discs. "The team is still meeting back here in the common room after breakfast, right Harry? See you later then." Fred and George both left for the Great Hall.

"Mum and dad will be so disappointed."

"I know," said Ron sadly.

It was too much. Harry had decided to tell them who Fred and George's first investor was - himself. Just as Harry opened his mouth, a bleary-eyed Colin Creevey stumbled through the portrait hole. Bloodshot eyes and smiling he was carrying a large stack of envelopes looking very pleased with himself.

"There you are. Excellent. Got your pictures."

"Colin Creevey, have you been out of the dorms all night?" asked Hermione sternly.

"By the time I realized it was after hours I decided to spend the night printing pictures. I didn’t want to risk detention or costing Gryffindor points. Besides, I think you'll agree the pictures are worth it." Colin handed out envelopes from the large stack he had. Harry noticed his was thicker than the rest. But Ron stood there holding onto his envelope while everyone else started opening theirs.

"It's okay Ron. I got it," said Hermione.
"Oh, okay. Thanks." The tip of Ron's ears turned pink.

Harry knew Ron had very little money. And what little he did have he usually spent at Honeydukes. Harry thumbed through the wizarding photos of himself dancing with Ginny, Cho, the girls from the team and many others. His eyes bulged as he pulled out an eight by ten of himself and Hermione turning slowly to music now unheard, glittering golden flames and silver-blue moonlight illuminating them.

"How did –," Harry started.

"I didn't know –," Hermione stuttered looking just as confused as Harry. "Where did all the gold colored lights come from?"

"Dumbledore did it. Everyone saw," said Ron flatly.

"Nice picture don't you think?" interjected Ginny waving a picture of herself and Harry dancing.

"Yes, it is," Harry said politely and turned to Colin. "Ah, how much do I owe you Colin?"

"Not a single bronze knut. Dumbledore paid for yours and Hermione's. Actually he ordered five. The two for you guys, one for Cheryl Silvertone and two for himself. And he insisted on paying me five sickles," Colin beamed. "Later guys. I've got more deliveries to make and then I'll catch up on some sleep. I want to be rested enough to take pictures at the game tomorrow. Go Gryffindor!" Colin left with his stack of envelopes still smiling, stumbling and bumping into things as he went.

On their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, they were met with smiling faces and hellos, from fellow students. Some were humming Silver and Lovefire's new song. Ron was eating up the attention and puffed up with each "Hi Ron" from pretty and giggling girls. Harry nudged Ron.

"Don't bump up against anything sharp. You're liable to pop."

"Whaaat. I'm not the only one getting unexpected attention. We all are, including Hermione and Ginny," Ron said defensively sitting down at a table. "What's up anyway?"

"Isn't it obvious Ron. It's our implied association with Silver and Lovefire," said Hermione. "It'll blow over as quickly as it came. – Right Harry?"

"Probably," Harry said with assurance. Though he did hope it wouldn't be like his own experiences of a surge in popularity followed by fearful despising avoidance.

"It is kind of nice Hermione. I've had several boys say hi to me this morning I'm sure didn't know I existed before yesterday."

"Yes, it is, isn't it." Hermione hid a smile by quickly drinking a glass of milk while Harry raised an eyebrow and Ron looked indignant.

The urge to break off their experiment, their test of real love, welled up in Harry again. 'We need to talk,' Harry thought to himself.

"Hermione we –." But Harry was cut off as an owl carrying an envelope landed beside Hermione. She quickly untied it and read.

"Oh my. You guys need to read this."

Hermione Granger,

I thought I should let you know right away. I have just been asked by the Ministry to not mention, hint, or infer, that you were saved by 'The Breath of Life' nor that you have had anything to do with the writing of my new song. Saying the song is about Merlin and Nimue is quite acceptable. I'm sure you will agree this is all ridiculous, but I wasn't exactly "asked" if you know what I mean. Such a shame too. It looks like 'Call My Name' is going to be my best song yet. You should all receive some credit for it. Give my regards to Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George.

Thanks for the inspiration

Cheryl Silvertone

Shocked silence followed everyone reading Cheryl's letter. Finally Hermione spoke.

"Be sure to tell Fred and George at the team meeting later." Harry, Ron, and Ginny nodded in agreement.

Harry never realized how much pressure Oliver must have felt being captain until he had the position himself. It was so much more than just doing the job of his own position. He found himself watching much more intently, what was happening in the game than his usual razor focused attention at finding the Golden Snitch. It occurred to him that Keeper was really the ideal position to be captain. Keeping an eye on the game was part of being Keeper. Harry was lucky that he was captain of such a seasoned team. They worked well together and needed very little input from him. Except for Ron, he was having a horrible case of first game jitters. Harry found himself feigning several dives for the Snitch that took him close enough to yell encouragement to Ron. The Slytherin Captain kept screaming at Malfoy.

"Stop following Potter all over the Pitch and find that Snitch or you'll have more than extra practice to answer for."

The score was now fifteen to thirty six. The Slytherin's were doubling the score on them and Ron was the reason. 'What he really needs is some confidence,' Harry thought. 'This is no good. I've got to find the Snitch.' He and Malfoy saw it about the same time hovering near the stands, but Harry was closer and it was as good as his. However, he wasn't going to take any chances and gave it everything his Firebolt had. Plummeting at a high rate of acceleration toward the crowd below he knew he had plenty of time to pull out of his dive. People's faces were becoming clearer and growing rapidly in the background. Some screams and yells were erupting below him as the rest of the crowd gasped.

Colin Creevey saw the perfect opportunity to take a fantastic picture of Harry zooming toward the crowd, capturing the Snitch and winning the game. He raised his camera taking careful aim, waiting for just – the – right – moment.

Harry reached out to clasp his hand around the fluttering Snitch as a bright flash from the crowd washed away his world – and his vision. He was blind! Sheer panic engulfed him. His instinctive reaction was to pull up away from the crowd just as something hit him hard, spinning him around the axis of his broom.

'Oh my God, which way is up?!'

In times of panic the mind can shift into overdrive, making time seem to slowdown, and for Harry this was no exception. He knew that if he plowed into the crowd at this speed someone could be killed, including himself. And he had no idea what had hit him except maybe a Bludger. 'Panic' was against him and he knew it.

'I need to get a grip. My emotions are ruling my thoughts. I need to see. I must know which way is up. Must – reach out…'

Images started to form, not from his eyes but within his mind. Silhouettes of shapes darker and lighter started to take form. The dark and light were slowly rotating around him. 'Focus,' he thought. 'Reach out.' He started to see outlines of shapes in the darker part and a round whitish object in the lighter part. 'The round light colored orb must be the sun. That way's got to be up.' Harry pulled or pushed toward it as he spun around his broom as he tried to slow the roll. The outlined silhouettes became less contrasted as he could just make out something to his left falling toward the crowd. It looked like someone on a broom. 'Must be Malfoy. He was probably blatching me but now he's out of control. No time to reach for my wand, must remember what Dumbledore tried to teach me.'

The falling object slowed and gently tumbled into the crowd as Harry's peripheral vision began to clear. He had managed to pull out of his uncontrolled dive and was hovering about a dozen meters above the stands. The bright blue spot in his vision was shrinking to a dot and he could now see Malfoy tangled up in the crowd lifting his head up and looking into the eyes of a disappointed and disgusted Professor Snape. It was a priceless moment and Harry started to laugh just as he heard Hermione scream.

"Harry! Look out!"

Harry caught sight of Hermione, with solid grey eyes, pulling out her wand and pointing it toward him. His head jerked forward slightly, numbness grew and swept over him leaving nothing but darkness. The last thing he remembered was the sensation of cool air blowing in his face.

"I have no Idea what ya think to accomplish. He's unconscious, has a concussion an dunna even know you're hear. Nevatheless, you can take ten minutes before I run the lot of ya out." Madam Pomfrey went back to her office leaving the entire Gryffindor team staring awkwardly at Harry lying in a hospital bed.

"I don’t care if he knows or not. I just wanted to see him for myself. Besides, he looks a lot better without blood running out of his nose."

"Come on Powers."

"Yeah David." The group shifted uneasily.

"You have to admit he does look like he's wearing a turban with all those bandages," said Mandy searching for something to say.

"I still can't figure out how Malfoy landed like a feather in the crowd. Weird I tell ya, but the look on Snape's face was worth a Sickle."

"No doubt in my mind Malfoy was blatching him. Was probably hoping either to keep him from getting the Snitch or jar it loose," said Katie. A murmur of agreement sounded.

"Too bad he got away without even a scratch. Claimed he was blinded by Colin's camera flash the same as Harry must have been. Finest piece of flying I've seen - the way Harry handled coming out of that dive spinning around like that," George finished saying with a nod. Everyone agreed.

Everyone immediately became silent as Harry moaned. Ron and Hermione moved closer on either side of Harry's bed.

"Hey mate. Looks like you're going to spend another night in the Hospital Wing. Thought you'd have been tired of the place after this summer."

"Did – did – we?" Harry asked weakly.

"Did we win? You bet we did, thanks to you. We had to pry the Snitch out of your hand. Madam Hooch had to perform a repairing spell 'cause you broke one of its wings holding on to it so tight. Half the staff had their wands out after Malfoy tumbled into the crowd. You never had a chance to hit the ground with all those levitating spells going out at the same time. Hermione's included. The Bludger clipped you good though. Had us worried there for a bit.

"Aw'right everyone out. If ya want yer captain to heal up he needs his rest. Out with ya." Madam Pomfrey ushered them out and stopped at the foot of Harry's bed with folded arms. "An' you Mr. Potter. Are ya going to get some sleep or do I have to cast a sleeping spell on ya?" Harry weakly raised a finger. "Good, an' I'll be checking…."

A dark figure deftly crept up the steps of the Gryffindor boy's dormitory stepping into the shadows outside the fifth year's door and listened. Finally, a decision was made and the figure entered the room quickly scanning around in the dim light looking for something that it found, a trunk with the initials H.P. The trunk was opened and something silvery, almost liquid looking, was taken out and put on. The person beneath immediately disappeared as the trunk seemingly closed itself - followed by the door of the room doing much the same thing.

A hand stroked Harry's cheek though he was fast asleep. Fingers toyed with a few locks of his hair that poked from beneath the bandages around his head. She spoke in a very light whisper.

"You always seem to be in harm's way Harry. I worry about you so. I wish – I want there to be so much more between us. And it's not just because you saved my life. I think you're the most handsome boy in school. If only…," Someone cleared their throat. Ginny jerked her head in the direction of the hallway. She could have swore the door to the hospital wing had been closed. It made her nervous, she didn't want to be caught out of the dorm after hours and cost Gryffindor points. She didn't see anyone but decided it was time to make her way stealthily back to the girl's dorm. Quickly she gave Harry a light kiss on the cheek and left making sure the door was closed on her way out.

Just before midnight, Madam Pomfrey checked in on her patients. One had the flu, slightly dehydrated, and would be released in the morning. Another had an accident in potions class earlier in the day leaving them with a case of scaly hives and blue feathers for hair. She glanced at Harry who was sleeping peacefully enough but went back and took a second look. Harry's hand on his chest had an extra set of fingers. Madam Pomfrey had seen a lot of strange things before and didn’t become alarmed easily. Yes, there were extra fingers. In fact, an extra hand on top of Harry's that wasn't connected to anything she could see. Closer inspection revealed an indention on the left side of Harry's bed as though someone were laying there beside him. This hand resting on top Harry's was familiar to her – something she had seen during the summer. It reminded her of … 'Miss Granger?' she asked herself. She pulled out her wand and hesitated. After some thought she conjured a puff of air that blew back enough of the invisibility cloak to expose Hermione's sleeping face, her chin resting on Harry's shoulder. Madam Pomfrey smiled at her own accurate guess and thought to herself, 'Normally I wouldna tolerate such a thing, but they've been through so much.' She turned and left them there sleeping peacefully. She hummed a few bars of 'Call My Name' as she strolled to her quarters at the back of the office and instructed her alarm clock to wake her early.

Harry found himself in a dark graveyard. Death Eaters were casting curses from all sides. Harry lunged between two large tombstones narrowly dodging a green light.

'Fancy meeting you here Potter.'

Harry felt a sudden blow to the side of his head. He fell to the ground looking up at a hooded Death Eater holding a bloody Quidditch club. Harry couldn't move. The Death Eater lowered his hood revealing Malfoy's sneering face.

'Thanks for the soft landing at the Quidditch match Potter.' Another Death Eater stepped up beside Malfoy and lowered his hood.

'Ah, excellent work son,' said Mr. Malfoy. Then calling to the darkness 'Master - Potter is over here.'

Harry was helpless. How had they caught him? How did he get here? He saw a tall menacing shape forming in the darkness.

"N-n-no, no."

"Harry, it was only a dream. I'm here, I'm right here. It's okay." Hermione's voice was reassuring and comforting. Harry relaxed and quickly fell back to sleep.

"Time to get poppin' Poppy."

"You know I don’t like that."

"Yes, but you wanted to get up early and an annoying wake up usually works best," said the alarm clock.

"Oh, that's right." She got up, sleep still heavy on her eyes, and cracked open the door of her office. "It's about time I checked on my patients," she said in an even tone. Then she listened. There was a brief mumble and a thud as something hit the floor with an "Ow". The sound of footsteps ensued followed by a door opening and closing. Madam Pomfrey smiled and yawned. "Give me another hour will ya."

"Will do," said the alarm clock.

Harry didn't like the bandages wrapped around his head. He liked even less the soreness he felt every time he took a bite of his breakfast. He looked at the breakfast tray in front of him with dismay. He was hungry enough but it was disconcerting feeling a sore spot on his head whenever he flexed a jaw muscle. It just didn't seem right that his jaw should affect a spot on his head.

"Trouble eating yer breakfast Mr. Potter? Wouldn't happen to have some soreness when ya move your jaw now would ya?"

Harry nodded. "Why?" he winced just speaking.

"Your jaw muscles are some of the most powerful muscles in your body. They do wrap up around your skull. Ya've suffered sever bruising of the temporalis muscle on the left side of your head. Here let me numb that for ya." Madam Pomfrey unwrapped Harry's bandages, dipped a sponge in something that looked like grape jelly and stroked the side of his head. It felt warm at first touch but immediately went numb. Harry didn't like the numbness either but decided it was better than being sore. After all, he did want to eat his breakfast. Madam Pomfrey wrapped his head back up.

"Better? Good. Ah, back so soon Miss Granger?" Hermione stopped in her tracks but Madam Pomfrey didn't give her a chance to respond. "An' before ya ask, he'll be released this evening provided the treatment I give him today goes well. However..." She turned to Harry. "The bad news Mr. Potter is that Quidditch practice is out of the question for all this week. And I do not want to hear of you running, jumping or lifting anything more than five kilograms for the next two days. An' I believe I can count on Miss Granger here to help enforce these restrictions?"

"Will do," Hermione affirmed but noticed Harry looking downcast. "Don't look so glum Harry. Eat something," she encouraged. "You can still coach."

"From tha ground. It's possible you could have dizzy spells an' we'll take no chances of any extra bumps." Madam Pomfrey shook her head at Harry who looked even more dejected. She went back to her office carrying on as she went. "Quidditch, the most dangerous sport in our world an' from the looks of him you'd think I'd cut off his arm for a week. Tch."

"Oh Harry, don't look like that. Eat your breakfast. You'll feel better. You did catch the Snitch and win the game." She dropped her chin and gave him a pleading look with brown eyes that warmed him from the inside out and made him smile. "That's better. Oh, hi Colin." Hermione glanced from Harry to Colin. "Don't be late for any classes Colin. I'll drop back by about lunch Harry. Ron and I will take notes for you."

"I prefer your notes if you don't mind." Hermione winked at him as she left. "Hey Colin, what's the matter?" Colin looked devastated.

"I'm so sorry Harry. It's all my fault. I could have gotten you killed. I – I think I should give up photography."

"Isn't that a bit drastic? I know you didn't do it on purpose. Just don't take flash pictures at sporting events. That should be sufficient.

"No I didn't mean any harm and It's already been posted, as a new rule, that no flash devices will be allowed at a Quidditch match."

"Good enough for me. Why do you have to have a flash in the bright sunlight anyway?"

"It's what captures motion otherwise it would all be a blur. It looks like I'm never going to get another action shot at a Quidditch match."

"Why not? You're a wizard aren't you? Figure out how to make a flash-less flash or something."

"B-but how could that be done? Unless – maybe…" Colin brightened tremendously. "Thanks Harry!" Colin was gone - leaving Harry alone, smiling.