Author's Note: Haha! I must be on a writing spree or something. So, here's one more chapter before I leave tomorrow morning. I plan on spending the 11 hour car ride up to Montreal with a notebook and pen, continuing the next chapter. We're getting close to the end and I'm looking forward to finishing this fic. Thanks for the wonderful reviews everyone and once again, thank you Nitya for being one helluva beta. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pack! =P
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
THE CUP AND THE CROWN
When Krum left, Harry was a lot happier. The only thing he wasn't happy about was that Viktor Krum and Hermione had apparently repaired their friendship. At least she didn't talk about him very often, and Harry was very pleased to hear that she wouldn't be sending him any letters.
"I wouldn't want to bother him while he's out tracking vampires," she had said.
Harry's focus shifted to Quidditch as May arrived. Slytherin would take on Hufflepuff in the coming week, and then the Quidditch final between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw would take place the week after. Harry began to make Quidditch practices longer in order to help his team perfect every move they possibly had.
"We've got to be prepared," Harry said. "We can't underestimate Ravenclaw. They aren't pushovers like the Hufflepuffs. They don't lose their confidence. And while they may not be as fast as the Slytherins, they're smarter. They don't trade brains for brawn like Slytherin does. Plus, they have motivation on their side. They could win the Quidditch Cup this year…something they haven't done in a long time. If we want the Cup, we have to stop them."
"We will," Alex McGuire said with a smile. "We'll be ready."
Harry nodded, and then laughed. "I just realized how much I sounded like Oliver Wood right then."
"He would be proud," Katie quipped, standing behind Hunter.
"I certainly hope so," Harry said with a grin. "Alright, practice is over. See you all tomorrow."
Ron stepped up beside him. "I'll be very interested to see the outcome of the Hufflepuff/Slytherin match. Slytherin's going to rip them apart."
"I sort of feel sorry for them," Harry said as they headed back towards the locker room.
"There's nothing we can do though. Slytherin's bigger and faster," Ron said.
"But if they score enough points, they'll be back in the hunt for the Quidditch Cup," Harry told him.
Ron opened the locker room door. "We'll adjust our plans if we have to after the match. But one thing is still for certain: we have to beat Ravenclaw."
Harry nodded. "We have to beat Ravenclaw," he repeated and followed Ron and the rest of his team inside the locker room.
*****
That Saturday came quickly. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Quidditch team marched down to the stadium to watch Hufflepuff take on Slytherin. That morning, Harry had stopped the Hufflepuff captain, John Warren, before he entered the Great Hall for breakfast.
"I just wanted to wish you luck," Harry said, "and to never give in. You lot are smarter than them-don't let them intimidate you."
Warren nodded. "Thanks, Potter."
But when Colin Creevey announced them onto the pitch, Warren looked nervous. He looked like he knew that he was about to be flattened.
"And here comes the Slytherin team!" Colin yelled as three-fourths of the crowd booed in response.
"Hogwarts just loves Slytherin house," Ron said with a grin before joining in with the booing.
"So, Captain," Hermione murmured as fourteen players met in the middle of the field, "what is your biggest fear about this match?"
"That Slytherin scores more than twelve times," Harry said, watching as the players mounted their brooms.
"Do you think Hufflepuff can hold them to that?" she asked.
He frowned. "We'll see."
"The Quaffle is released and the match begins!" Colin said excitedly. "It's immediately taken by the Slytherin captain, Graham Montague. This is his final Quidditch match, as it is for Slytherin's Keeper, Miles Bletchley, and Hufflepuff's Keeper and Beater, John Warren and Henry Vance. Montague passes to Julius Blitz, who rolls around Hufflepuff Rachel Knowles. No matter the outcome of this match today, Hufflepuff will end the season with a losing record after being demolished by both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor."
Harry scowled. "Nice one, Colin, rub it in. They'll just get themselves down."
"Blitz passes to Malcolm Rich who…PUTS IT IN! Slytherin takes the lead ten to nothing!"
Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Quidditch team groaned. "Let the onslaught begin," Ron muttered.
A minute later, Montague tossed another one in. Then, when Warren passed the Quaffle to Zacharias Smith, it was immediately stolen by Blitz, who scored.
Harry grimaced. "I'm starting to think that this will be a Slytherin shutout."
"Is that bad?" Hermione asked.
"Not if Warren actually starts saving those shots-COME ON, WARREN!" Harry yelled to no avail as Montague plowed another goal in.
"Look, he's already starting to beat himself up," Ron said, gesturing as Warren kicked the air.
Slytherin continued to torment Hufflepuff, one shot right after the other. Every time they scored, Harry only grew more frustrated. "Come on Hufflepuff! Don't let them add insult to injury!"
Slytherin scored again. "Hufflepuff looks so…defeated," Hermione murmured. "The score is only one-hundred to zero. If Summerby catches the Snitch, Hufflepuff could still win."
Harry sighed. "Summerby has never caught the Snitch in a match," he said. "Not even in the match they won last year against us."
Another Slytherin goal.
"Come on you brainless bastards, let them have a goal! It won't kill you!" Ron yelled.
Another goal.
"Well, there's your twelve goals," Hermione said.
Harry groaned and shut his eyes tightly. "Don't give up, Hufflepuff, don't give up."
Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't give up," she repeated, and then she repeated it louder. "Don't give up!" And then she repeated it even louder. "Don't give up!" She repeated it even louder still. "DON'T GIVE UP!"
A slow grin spread across Harry's face as he joined her. "DON'T GIVE UP!"
Then Ron joined them. "DON'T GIVE UP!"
And then the rest of the Quidditch team joined them. "DON'T GIVE UP!"
And then all of their friends joined them. "DON'T GIVE UP!"
And then the rest of the Gryffindors joined them. "DON'T GIVE UP!"
And then the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws joined them. "DON'T GIVE UP!"
"Rich with the Quaffle-"
"DON'T GIVE UP!"
"Passes to Blitz-"
"DON'T GIVE UP!"
"Blitz heads on towards the goal-"
"DON'T GIVE UP!"
"He shoots-"
"DON'T GIVE UP!"
"And it's saved by Warren!"
The crowd cheered. John Warren looked down at the Quaffle in awe before he grinned and tossed it to Bonnie French. The chanting continued, faster now.
"DON'T GIVE UP! DON'T GIVE UP! DON'T GIVE UP!"
"French flies right towards Slytherin Beater Vincent Crabbe. Montague is on her-she rolls to avoid them both. Oh! She drops the Quaffle-but it is immediately picked up by Knowles, who passes it to Smith. Smith flies hard. Blitz and Rich are tracking him. Goyle prepares to send a Bludger-here it comes…Smith ducks! Only Bletchley left now-SCORE! HUFFLEPUFF SCORES!"
The crowd screamed itself hoarse.
"YEAH!" Harry yelled.
"About bloody time!" Ron called.
And to everyone's surprise, Hufflepuff scored twice more. However, Slytherin scored thrice more.
"Wait…" Harry murmured, squinting. "There's the Snitch."
Malfoy and Summerby had also seen it too. They both took off after it.
"Summerby can't match Malfoy for speed," Ron said. "But I have to admit, I never expected them to score three times."
Harry nodded and watched as Malfoy streaked ahead of Summerby easily and caught the Snitch.
"The match is over!" Colin yelled. "Slytherin wins three-hundred to thirty."
"Now Slytherin is in the hunt for the Quidditch Cup," Ron said. "If we don't score enough points, we're screwed." He turned to leave the stadium with everyone else.
"Harry," Hermione said, "whatever you do next week, make sure you demolish Ravenclaw."
He raised his eyebrow. "I thought you didn't care about Quidditch?"
"I don't," she said with a grin. "I just don't want anyone else to place their hands on the Quidditch Cup."
He laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they started to walk out. "Okay, Hermione, okay."
*****
"So basically, at the present time, Slytherin is two-hundred points ahead of us," Harry said in the locker room Monday evening.
"And Ravenclaw is only seventy behind us," Ron added.
"We've got to at least score sixty points before I can catch the Snitch," Harry told them.
"You better make sure Chang doesn't pull another one of those tricks on you, Harry," Andrew Kirke said.
"But if she tries the Bludger ploy again, we'll make sure we stop it," McGuire said.
Harry nodded as he touched his stomach slightly. "I would appreciate that." He turned to Katie and Ginny. "Now, what exactly did you two learn when you worked with them for the exhibition?"
"That their team has very few holes we can work with," Katie said. "Cho Chang keeps her team tight."
"We really didn't discuss her other players," Ginny said. "All we discussed was Will Bancroft because he was the only Ravenclaw playing on your side."
"I see," Harry murmured. "So you didn't talk much about the other Beater and the two Chasers at all?"
"Well, Chang did mention that Noah Bradley is her best Chaser, but that's about all," Katie replied, frowning.
"Well," Harry said, "let's just get out there and practice, shall we? I'm sure we'll be able to handle whatever they throw at us."
They each filed out of the locker room and onto the pitch. Harry opened the ball crate and tossed the Quaffle to Ginny.
"Would you like us to run through our maneuvers?" she asked.
"Yeah, go ahead. Andrew and Alex, I want you two all over this pitch, trying to knock each other off your brooms, got it?" said Harry.
"Sure thing," McGuire said with a grin.
"Just don't kill me, Alex," Kirke said as they mounted their brooms and took off.
Harry released the Bludgers and grabbed the Snitch. Pocketing it, he turned back to watch Ron and the Chasers in the air. Then he joined them on his Firebolt. As he watched their mistake-free practice, he grinned. They would be fine on Saturday, absolutely fine.
*****
As the week went on, the Slytherins decided that the best way to win the Quidditch Cup was to attempt to injure or provoke the Gryffindor team enough to have them banned from playing on Saturday.
"Oi! Weasley!" a Slytherin fifth year boy yelled as Harry, Ron, and Hermione were walking to class on Wednesday. Ron turned-"Catch!" And suddenly a huge glob of slime shot out from the boy's wand and hit Ron right in the face.
Ron wiped the slime off. "Why you little-" He went to charge at the boy, but was held back by Harry and Hermione.
"Geroff me!" Ron roared.
"Calm down!" Hermione ordered before looking at the boy. "You! I know who you are, Mr. Westmore. When I inform Professor Snape of your detention, I'll be sure to ask if it can be served with Filch!"
He smirked. "Detention with Filch is nothing, Granger. Your threat is meaningless."
"We'll see," Hermione shot back and tugged on Ron's arm before glancing at Harry. "Let's go."
The three of them turned around and continued on as someone behind them shouted, "Don't get hit by a Bludger Saturday, Potter, and tell your sister not to fall off her broom, Weasley!"
"Ignore them," Hermione said, but her face was as red as Harry and Ron's. "Just ignore them."
On Thursday, Hunter and Dylan stomped into the common room wearing scowls on their faces.
"What happened?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione overheard Ally ask them.
"That stupid Slytherin, Mathias Underwood, put a bug down Hunter's shirt," Dylan replied angrily, "so I hexed him."
Ally cringed. "Then what happened?"
"And then I punched him," Hunter said.
She cringed again. "And then?"
"McGonagall gave all three of us detention," Dylan said.
"But she said I could still play Saturday," Hunter added with a small satisfied grin.
Harry and Ron looked at each other before both giving a sigh of relief.
On Friday, on the way back from the bathroom, Harry found himself surrounded by four burly seventh year Slytherin boys.
"Where you headed, Potty?" asked one of them, snickering.
"Nowhere special," Harry replied, eyeing each of the boys.
"Well good. You won't mind us taking you somewhere then, would you?" the boy asked as the other three guffawed.
"You know, if it were any other day, I wouldn't, but today just isn't a good day," Harry said.
"And why not?" asked another one of the boys, cracking his knuckles.
"Because I have preparations to make this evening," said Harry.
"I thought you said you weren't going anywhere?" said the first boy.
"I'm not-yet," Harry replied.
"Then come with us, Potty. We'll have some fun," he said, grinning.
"That's okay."
The grin faded. "Well then, I guess we'll just do it here," he said and suddenly, all four boys whipped out their wands and pointed them at Harry.
Harry remained completely calm. "So, you plan on hexing me into oblivion, do you? Very well," he murmured and took out his own wand.
"You're going to look like a puddle of goo when we're done with you," the boy said.
"Excellent," Harry replied snidely. "I've always wanted to look like that."
"Furnunculus!" the boy shouted.
Harry ducked and watched the curse fly right above his head and hit the boy's companion.
"ARGH!" the other boy shouted as his face began to sprout boils.
"Impedimenta!" shouted another boy.
"Protego!" Harry roared, blocking the curse. Then he backed it up by sending the Jelly-Legs Jinx at the boy.
"Relashio!" yelled another boy, causing Harry to duck again.
In return, Harry muttered, "Rictusempra!" and sent the boy into a fit of giggles. He stood up. "Enough of this…Expelliarmus!" All four of the boys' wands flew from their hands. "Accio!" Harry shouted and brought all four of them to him. He glared at them. "Now, go back to the Slytherin common room and explain to your friends how you were all defeated in a four on one fight. I'm sure you'll be quite the heroes."
He turned and stalked away, talking their wands with him. When he got far enough away from them, he held up each wand and murmured, "Wingardium Leviosa."
He walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts in a very grumpy mood. About five minutes into class, Hermione slid him a piece of paper.
What's wrong?
He inked up his quill and scribbled back a message to her.
I'll tell you later.
She nodded and returned to listening to Professor Lupin. Harry, however, did not. He was far too distracted and when the bell rang, he actually jumped. When they exited the classroom, Hermione rounded on him immediately.
"What happened?"
He frowned. "A little run in with some Slytherin friends, that's all. Nothing I couldn't handle. Maybe they'll think twice before any of them try to gang up on me again."
"Gang up on you? How many were there?" Hermione asked, alarmed.
"Only four."
"Four!" She looked positively horrified.
Even Ron looked alarmed. "You fought off four Slytherin blokes?"
"We took on full-grown Death Eaters last June. Four stupid Slytherins weren't much," Harry said as he headed off for Gryffindor Tower.
Hermione shook her head and followed him, as did Ron. "I'm just happy you weren't hurt-or caught."
A gentle smile came over his features. He appreciated her concern. "I'm fine, Hermione, really."
She sighed. "I'll just be happy once all this Quidditch nonsense is over."
He grinned. "The other day you were telling me that you didn't want anyone else to put their hands on the Quidditch Cup."
"Yes, well, that was before all of the violence broke out," Hermione said. "I'd still like you to win though."
Harry and Ron both laughed. "I think we got it, Hermione," Ron said. "Get the Cup, but don't get hurt."
"We'll see what we can do," Harry said with a wink.
*****
Harry pulled on his Quidditch robes late in the morning the following day. Everyone else around him was silent as they also pulled on their robes. When they finished, he turned around and grabbed his broom before finding that he had nothing to say as they were all looking at him expectantly.
He gave them a small smile. "Er-there's only one thing that I want you to remember to do," he said. "Just have fun."
They smiled at him as they grabbed their brooms and marched out. Harry followed along behind them. It was a bright sunny day. Perfect really. Harry could hear the crowd in the stadium, already cheering as they stepped onto the pitch; Colin was introducing them.
"And here comes the Gryffindors-Bell, Farrell, Weasley, Kirke, McGuire, Weasley, AND POTTER! Today they will fight to remain the Quidditch Cup champions."
The crowd both cheered and booed. Harry could only grin as he walked towards the middle of the pitch.
"And walking onto the pitch now are the Ravenclaws-Bradley, Chambers, Hazelwood, Bancroft, Emerson, Reid, AND CHANG!"
Harry watched as seven blue-clad figures walked towards them, each of them with a serious expression on their face. When they arrived, Madam Hooch stepped forward and said, "Captains, shake hands."
Harry stepped up and held out his hand for Cho. With a small smile, she took his hand and shook it. "Good luck, Captain."
"You too," Harry replied.
"Mount your brooms, please," Madam Hooch said, grabbing her whistle before undoing the lock on the ball crate. She let the two Bludgers go first before blowing her whistle and tossing up the Quaffle.
"And the match begins!" Colin announced. "Jack Chambers grabs it first for Ravenclaw. He passes it to Stella Hazelwood-whoa! Gryffindor Andrew Kirke already sends a Bludger! Is this the first sign of what's to be the theme of this match? Hazelwood drops the Quaffle, but it's picked up by Noah Bradley and Beater Will Bancroft smacks a Bludger at Gryffindor Chaser Ginny Weasley, who is trying to hunt Bradley down. Weasley dodges the Bludger-Katie Bell takes up the pursuit instead."
Harry flew around the pitch and watched as Bradley came closer and closer to the Gryffindor goal. Bradley launched-
"SAVED! Ron Weasley saves it!" Colin shouted. "He passes it to his sister, Ginny Weasley, and play continues. Weasley ducks under Hazelwood, avoids a Bludger sent by Emerson, and passes it to Hunter Farrell, Gryffindor's young first year Chaser. He swoops around Bradley and passes it to Bell-this is her last match, as is it for Ravenclaw's captain, Cho Chang. Bell gets past Chambers-only Keeper Reid to go! She goes for it-SCORE! Gryffindor takes the lead!"
Harry flew around the Gryffindor goal, celebrating along with Ron. The crowd was roaring.
"Reid passes the Quaffle to Chambers-here comes McGuire with a Bludger-OUCH! Chambers gets smacked in the side and drops the Quaffle-picked up by Weasley-she shoots-OH! It's saved by Reid!"
"That's okay, Ginny!" Harry yelled as she flew past him.
"Reid passes it once again to Chambers-I guess that Bludger didn't affect him that much. He passes to Bradley, who dodges Farrell. Bradley passes to Hazelwood-who passes it back. Bell goes in for the steal-fails! Bradley loops up-quick pass to Chambers-SCORE! Jack Chambers gets it past Weasley! The match is tied ten to ten!"
Harry frowned. He hoped that somehow they would be able to score fifty more points so that he could catch the Snitch and end the match, thus making them the Quidditch Cup champions once again.
"Bell with the Quaffle now as Weasley passes it back-she passes to Farrell, who immediately passes to Ginny Weasley. Another Bludger coming in, sent by Bancroft-Weasley dodges it easily. She passes it back to Farrell, who…WOW! He just barrel rolled over both Hazelwood and Chambers! He takes aim-SCORE! Hunter Farrell scores for Gryffindor!"
Harry saw both Katie and Ginny give him a high five as they took off again.
"Ravenclaw looks to be picking up the pace with their passing. Reid to Hazelwood-Hazelwood to Bradley-Bradley ducks a Bludger, then passes to Chambers-Chambers back to Hazelwood-Hazelwood fires-NO! Weasley snags it before it goes through!"
Harry could see Ron smirking as he threw it back to Katie.
"Bell with the Quaffle now-here comes a Bludger-she gets it away to Weasley just as she gets rammed in the thigh. That's going to leave a mark! Weasley could pass here to Farrell, but no, she doesn't. She's going to take it alone! Weasley against Reid…SHE SCORES! Thirty to ten, Gryffindor as Reid passes it to Chambers. Kirke sends a Bludger his way-blocked by Bancroft. Chambers passes it to Hazelwood, who twists past Bell. Stella Hazelwood with the Quaffle…she passes it to Bradley-Weasley's left hoop is open-Bradley takes advantage! RAVENCLAW SCORES! Gryffindor's lead drops to ten."
Harry groaned. He knew then that it was pretty much up to him to win the match for them. It would be next to impossible for Gryffindor to get a big lead. Ravenclaw was nearly equal to them.
"Farrell with the Quaffle now…quick pass to Bell. Chambers and Bradley are coming from opposite directions to get her. She should pass to Weasley. Bell...dives! She dives to avoid the Ravenclaw Chasers and they barely turn in time to avoid each other. Excellent move by Bell! Now she passes to Weasley, who passes to Farrell. He's definitely got some speed-he flies right past Hazelwood. Can Reid stop him? NO! FARRELL SCORES!"
From there goals were scored back and forth between the two teams. Ravenclaw scored, then Gryffindor scored, then Ravenclaw scored again…Harry was getting extremely anxious when the score hit 60 to 40. If he found and caught the Snitch now, Gryffindor would be the champions. Ravenclaw though, had some other ideas apparently as Cho suddenly dived towards the ground.
"Chang dives! Has she seen the Snitch? Potter's in pursuit…"
Harry flew as fast as he could. He couldn't see anything though. Why was Cho diving? Harry was nearly there-he'd find out why. Suddenly, Cho came out of the dive and flew upward. Harry blinked. He had just been duped and he was about to hit the ground.
With a growl, he jumped up and landed his feet on the seat of his broom, pulling upward hard. The Firebolt responded and soon he leveled out. He landed back on his broom and flew upward while Colin yelled over and over, "CHANG FEINTED POTTER! CHANG FEINTED POTTER!"
He could hear the Slytherins laughing at him as he passed. He flew around to the other side of the pitch, where he heard one voice above all the rest.
"Go Harry!"
He looked over and grinned at Hermione before giving her a wink and continuing on.
"GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" Colin shouted. "The score is now seventy to forty."
Harry turned his attention back on the match. Katie, Ginny, and Hunter were celebrating. Smiling, Harry began his search again with a renewed vigor. He flew past the Ravenclaw stands and saw Joaquin Crow standing there, cheering with the rest of the Ravenclaws. As he went around over to the Slytherin side again he saw Mara Frost prowling around.
"Chambers passes to Hazelwood-SCORE! Weasley almost had it, but it slipped through his fingers! That makes the score seventy to fifty!"
Then Harry saw it; about a half a meter below Ron's heel, was the Golden Snitch. He looked over to see where Cho was at. She was closer, so he'd have to be careful. Or she could see it and beat him to it.
He flew halfway up the pitch, glancing back and forth between her and the Snitch. Then, as he edged closer, he flew flat on the handle, accelerating as fast as he could. Cho looked alarmed and then saw the Snitch too. She went after it.
"Potter and Chang have sighted the Snitch. This could be the match right here!"
Harry soared as fast as the Firebolt would let him. He noticed vaguely that McGuire had moved into a position to help him if he needed it. He focused on the Snitch, saw it flutter off to the left, and adjusted. Cho had to take a wider arc to adjust.
"Come on!" he growled, getting closer and closer. Soon they were neck and neck. Harry pulled his right hand off the broom, reaching out-Cho was doing the same thing. He felt himself begin to pass Cho. He reached out farther…and felt his hand enclose around the Snitch.
"YES!" he shouted, slowing down and throwing his hands into the air in triumph.
Madam Hooch blew the whistle and he heard Colin yell excitedly, "POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH! POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS TWO-HUNDRED TWENTY TO FIFTY!"
The other six members of the Quidditch team flew over and practically tackled Harry in midair as Colin continued to cheer.
"GRYFFINDOR WINS THE CUP! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE CUP!"
The team, huddled together, floated down on their brooms slowly, laughing and yelling, while the rest of the Gryffindors stormed the pitch to celebrate with them. Before he knew it, Harry had landed safely on the ground and was being hugged by Hermione.
"Congratulations!" she cried. "You did it!"
Ron came over and hugged them both. "That was the best match ever!"
"Here comes the Cup!" Hermione said as the students parted in order to make room for Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.
They stopped before Harry, Ron, and the rest of the team. "It is my great pleasure," Professor Dumbledore said, "to present this year's Quidditch Cup to Gryffindor!"
The crowd cheered as Dumbledore handed the silver Quidditch Cup to Harry. Beaming, he held it up high over his head as the Gryffindors roared in approval. He turned suddenly and called, "Katie!"
She stepped forward, her smile bright. "Yes?"
"Here," he said, handing her the Cup, "as it is your last year."
Her smile faded as a lone tear fell. "Thanks Harry. This really means a lot to me." She took the Cup from him and held it high. Harry had never seen her any happier.
"That was very sweet of you," Hermione whispered in his ear.
He grinned at her. "It was the least I could do."
As Katie held the Cup up high, the Gryffindors took up the chant of their house name while hoisting all seven players up onto their shoulders before marching back to the castle in triumph.
*****
Gryffindor's euphoria hadn't settled by Monday. They were still celebrating wherever they went. Harry and Ron were given pats on the back in the morning at breakfast, on their way to classes, and during lunch. Monday evening at dinner, however, they finally settled down when Dumbledore got up to make an announcement.
"In December I told each and every one of you that I had three events planned for this year, the first two of which were the Yule Ball and the boys versus girls exhibition Quidditch match. Now the time has come for the third event I mentioned-a dueling contest, which will be held at the end of May. That gives you all a couple of weeks to brush up on your spells, charms, curses, and jinxes. You may sign up for the contest two days before the contest is to be held. I hope that many of you will choose to participate.
"There will be three winners-one from the first through third year category, one from the fourth and fifth year category, and finally, one from the sixth and seventh year category. Each winner will win this," he said, holding up a gold crown with an emerald, sapphire, ruby, and a black diamond encrusted into it.
"Bloody hell," Ron whispered, staring at the crown.
"I look forward to seeing who our best duelists are," Dumbledore said with a smile and put the crown away. "Now, you may tuck in."
The Great Hall erupted in a dim roar of chatter as all of the students discussed Dumbledore's announcement.
"I'm in," Ron said as he dished up some casserole for himself. "What about you, Harry?"
"It sounds like fun," Harry replied.
"Then I'm really going to have to brush up on my spells if I'm going to stand a chance against you, mate," Ron said with a grin.
The next thing Harry knew, he had Colin and Dennis Creevey standing on either side of him. "Hiya Harry!" Colin said. "What did you think of that announcement? I think it's great! Dumbledore's certainly got an idea. Say, d'you think we could have a D.A. meeting before the contest so that you could teach us as much as you can to help us?"
"Er-"
Colin continued to ramble on. "I learned a lot off of you last year but I know that you've got to know so much more! I mean, you are Harry Potter, after all. So what d'you say, Harry? What d'you say?"
"Well-"
"It would be so much fun and then all of us would be prepared for the contest!"
"Colin-"
"Yes, Harry?"
"Let me get back to you on that."
His face fell. "Okay. Sure, Harry." He slumped away, along with his younger brother.
Ron had a look of admiration on his face. "You broke Colin Creevey's spirit. Nicely done."
"Ron!" Hermione chided.
"What? He's bloody annoying," Ron said.
"You're bloody annoying," Hermione muttered back.
*****
One week later, Harry had succumbed to the pressure of several D.A. members and was standing in Professor Lupin's classroom, watching everyone as they practiced the new spells he had just taught them. It was the first D.A. meeting since Sinead Cassidy's death in January. Harry was not surprised to see that Sinead's little sister, Siobhan, was not in attendance.
"Okay!" Harry yelled after blowing his whistle. "I just have one more little trick to show you before we leave. If you don't want to suffer from humiliation at the dueling contest, I would suggest learning a Shield Charm. There's one that I've learned that has served me quite well. Ready? Repeat after me-protego."
"Protego," the group repeated.
"Good. Go ahead and try it now," Harry said and began to walk around the classroom again, watching as people shot curses at each other while their partner blocked them.
"Neat! Thanks for the tip, Harry!" shouted a third year Ravenclaw.
He grinned as he walked up to the front of the classroom where Professor Lupin stood. "This will make the contest more interesting."
"Yes, it certainly will," Lupin agreed. "I will look forward to watching your pupils in action."
"Are you judging?" Harry asked.
"On the floor…well, that's what Dumbledore has told me. Apparently the entire staff is judging; however, Dumbledore is still looking for a judge for what he calls the 'main event' stage. I thought that he would do it himself, but I guess not," Lupin said.
"I guess we'll see what happens," said Harry.
Lupin nodded and glanced at his watch. "Curfew is coming up quickly. You may want to tell them to go or risk being caught and serving detention."
"Filch wouldn't be able to catch them all," Harry said, grinning, but he blew his whistle anyway, ending the meeting. After wishing everyone luck in the contest, Harry, Ron, and Hermione left too.
They chatted as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower. They were so distracted that they walked straight through Nearly Headless Nick.
"Oops! Sorry, Nick," Harry said.
"Yes, we're terribly sorry," Hermione said. "How have you been?"
"I have been better," Nick said mournfully.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Besides from the obvious," Ron muttered and then yelped when Hermione stepped on his foot.
"It's nothing to worry you three about," Nick replied. "It's just that I'm worried."
"Worried about what?" Ron asked.
"The school," Nick said. "I heard something the other night that disturbed me."
"What?" Harry asked.
"Someone laughing and murmuring, 'It's time, it's time.' I tried to find out who the person was, but by the time I was able to see who it was, they were gone."
"Where was this at?" Hermione asked.
"The Owlery," Nick replied.
"What time of night was this?" Harry asked.
"Well, ghosts don't exactly have the best sense of timing, but I'd like to say it was around three o'clock in the morning," Nick told them.
"Three o'clock," Harry repeated. "Nick, can you tell us what the voice sounded like?"
"Not really. It seemed rather muffled," Nick said. "I don't know. Perhaps this person was just sleepwalking and I have nothing to worry about-yes, that is more than likely the answer."
Harry frowned. "Perhaps. Well-erm-it's past curfew and we need to get back to the common room."
"I understand completely. I wouldn't want you to get a detention," Nick said, smiling slightly.
"No-good-bye, Nick," Harry said, and they left after Ron and Hermione gave their farewells too.
"Sleepwalking," Ron muttered. "That sounds definitely dodgy."
"We'll have to keep our eyes and ears open," Harry said. "I think our murderer is close to striking again."
*****
The following week found Harry and Ron eyeing the line in the entrance hall to sign up for the dueling contest. It was quite long.
"I knew we should have dropped by between classes instead of waiting for lunch," Harry said.
"Well, we can always come back at dinner," Ron said.
"Then the line will be even longer," Harry said, frowning.
"Or you two could sign up after our next class," Hermione chimed in.
They both turned to look at her. "What do you mean, 'you two?' Aren't you going to participate too?" Ron asked.
"Oh, I don't think so," Hermione said.
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"It just doesn't interest me," she said.
Ron gave her a shrewd look. "Right. You just don't want to get your arse kicked."
She gave him a particularly cold glare. "That is not the reason at all. I'd much rather watch you and Harry, that's all."
"But you don't want to take us on?" Ron asked. "Come on, Hermione-you're the smartest witch in our year. No one can match your skill."
She looked highly pleased at the compliment, but nevertheless she shook her head. "You're wrong about that. Harry can."
Ron rolled his eyes. "That's why we need you. You're the only one who can take on Harry."
"I'm not that good," Harry muttered, extremely embarrassed.
"You can kick a Death Eater's arse in a duel, mate," Ron retorted. "You are that good." He turned back to Hermione. "So please, for the sake of everyone else, will you participate?"
She laughed. "Well, when you put it that way, Ron, I'd be delighted to."
Ron grinned. "Good, you take care of Harry and then hopefully someone will beat you so that I can go on to win."
"So selfless," Hermione muttered as they finished off their lunch.
After their last class, they walked back to the entrance hall and waited in line to sign up. When it was Harry's turn, he stepped forward and grabbed a quill before signing his name onto a lengthy scroll of parchment. It was apparent that the dueling contest would be an all-day event, just due to the amount of people who wanted to participate. He set the quill down and stepped away before joining Ron and Hermione in the Great Hall.
Two days later, everyone in Gryffindor Tower was up bright and early, already excited about the contest that was to take place that day. When Harry entered the common room, he saw two second year boys practicing. Glancing the other way, he saw Ginny and-to his surprise-Neville talking. Hermione was sitting on a sofa next to Ally, obviously giving the first year some advice. Harry waited until Ally got up and left before approaching her.
"Good morning," he said, sitting down next to her. "Ready for today?"
"I've been running random spells and curses in my head since last night," Hermione told him with a smile. "So no, I'm not."
"I think you are," Harry said. "You know how to think quickly on your feet, and that's all you need."
"I wish I had your confidence," she said.
He slipped an arm around her. "You do."
He felt a powerful urge at that moment to lean over and kiss her, to brush his lips against hers to ease her nerves. He resisted the urge, however. He couldn't kiss her, especially not in front of everyone in the common room.
Instead, he pulled his arm back. "So, when is this thing supposed to start?"
"Right after breakfast," Hermione replied and looked at her watch. "Where's Ron?"
"Er-he was getting dressed when I decided to come down. He and Seamus were discussing if turning someone into a chicken would be cheating," Harry told her.
"They had better get down here. Breakfast starts in ten minutes and you know how Ron hates to be late for a meal," she said with a wry smile.
"He'll be down here," he assured her.
Sure enough, Ron walked down the stairs and into the common room not too long after, accompanied by Seamus and Dean. They were laughing about something when Harry and Hermione got up.
"Come on," Harry said, "we've got to get down to the Great Hall or else your breakfast will get cold, Weasley."
"Can't have that," Ron said with a grin, leading the way out of the common room. "I'm looking forward to this contest. It should be really good."
They reached the Great Hall in time for breakfast. Harry looked up at the head table and noticed that Dumbledore was talking to Crow. Most of the staff members were chatting with someone else. Even Mara Frost was talking to Kingsley, although it looked like they were trying to figure something out.
Breakfast was devoured quickly and soon, Dumbledore stood up to address the student body. "Today will be a most interesting day. Before we can begin, however, I need you all to vacate the Hall so that it may be set up. In the meantime, I would like everyone who is participating to check in outside and receive their number."
They all got up and headed towards the doors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked out to hear Argus Filch shouting, "First, second, and third years report to Professor Sinestra! Fourth and fifth years to Professor Vector and sixth and seventh years are to report to me!"
Both Harry and Ron groaned. "Just our luck," Harry muttered.
They got in line and waited until they made it to Filch's table, where he checked off their names. "Potter, you're in Group Two-Weasley, Group Three, and Granger is in Group Four." He handed them each a sheet of parchment with a number on it and a pin. They then stepped back into the Great Hall while attaching the parchment to their robes.
"We're in different groups," Ron said sadly.
"That's not really surprising, is it?" Hermione said. "Just think of it this way, Ron-neither of us have to face Harry right away."
"That's true."
Harry rolled his eyes. "What is it with you two being intimidated by me?"
"We shouldn't?" Ron asked. "We shouldn't be intimidated by somebody who's taken on You-Know-Who and lived to tell about it?"
He frowned. "Your point?"
Before Ron could answer, however, Dumbledore stood up on top of a stage. "Before I explain the rules, I would like to introduce our main event judge. I am pleased to announce that one of our fine Aurors, Joaquin Crow, will be on the main stage. Thank you, Mr. Crow," Dumbledore said before giving him a slight bow. "The rest of the staff, myself included, will be on the floor conducting matches.
"The rules are quite simple. You must get your opponent's wand. Their wand must be in your hand. When that happens, the judge will proclaim you the winner and you will hand your opponent's wand back, where they will then leave the Great Hall until the quarterfinals."
"Sounds like a lot of disarming and summoning to me," Ron whispered to Harry.
"You have all been separated into four groups per age group," Dumbledore continued. "In a moment, you will all be divided into the appropriate group and then we shall begin."
They waited a moment, and then sparks flew up into the air before forming into words to tell the contestants where to go. Harry saw his and waved good-bye to Ron and Hermione.
"Good luck!" he told them.
He walked over and saw that his floor judge was Professor Sprout. She had a clipboard out and was reading it over. Elsewhere, Harry heard matches begin.
"Alright," Professor Sprout said. "There are sixteen people to a group. We're doing four matches at a time. The first is Platt versus O'Connell, then Upton verses Turpin, Potter verses Boot, and Maisley versus Saunders."
Harry stepped over to the third row, where he was met by Terry Boot. He gave him a slight nod in greeting before waiting for Professor Sprout's next instructions.
"Now, find some room. Face your opponent, salute, and then bow. Begin when I say so," she said.
Harry stepped back away from Terry before taking out his wand and saluting him. Terry did the same thing and then bowed, as did Harry.
"Begin!" Professor Sprout said.
Terry began quickly. "Locomotor Mortis!"
Harry grunted as his legs sprang together. "Impedimenta!" he yelled. When he had Terry frozen, he waved his wand at his legs, releasing himself from the curse.
Terry came back to life quickly. "Tarant-"
"Confundo," Harry said, cutting him off, but he felt his legs twitch slightly.
Terry staggered slightly, dazed. He looked at Harry blankly. "What am I doing here?"
Harry smirked. "You're participating in a dueling contest and I've just Confunded you."
"Oh."
"Accio wand!" Harry muttered and Terry's wand jumped from his hand and landed neatly in Harry's.
"Match three concluded," Professor Sprout said. "Potter is victorious. Boot, you have been eliminated."
"Huh?"
"Please leave the Great Hall," she said.
"Oh. Okay."
Harry waved his wand at his legs which had continued to spasm. It ceased immediately. He then walked over to the wall and awaited his next match. It came against seventh year Hufflepuff Jason Saunders. It took a little more effort, but he defeated the older boy and then went up against Ravenclaw Lisa Turpin. She was just as hard, but he also defeated her. Then he was in his group's final against the Head Boy, Eddie Carmichael.
He stepped forward, his wand ready. He saluted Carmichael and bowed before waiting for Professor Sprout's signal.
"Begin," she announced.
"Incarcerous!" Carmichael shouted as thick ropes shot out from the tip of his wand and wrapped themselves around Harry's body.
This certainly didn't start off well, Harry murmured, adjusting his wand and pointing it at the ropes that bound him. "Diffindo!"
Carmichael attacked him again, this time using the Jelly-Legs Jinx. Harry toppled over and landed on his stomach. Harry took aim at Carmichael and performed a Trip Jinx on him, causing Carmichael to fall too.
Harry waved his wand at his legs, murmuring, "Finite," before jumping up again.
"Densaugeo!" Carmichael roared, but Harry was ready.
"Protego!" He flicked his wand. "Expelliarmus!" Carmichael's wand went flying. He ran to grab it. "Impedimenta!" Harry murmured and then flicked his wand again before saying, "Accio wand."
"Potter defeats Carmichael and moves on to the quarterfinals," Professor Sprout announced. "Well done, Potter."
Harry thanked her and left, searching out either Ron or Hermione. He found Ron first.
"I can't believe it!" Ron said. "Neville just got me!"
"Did he really?" Harry asked. "He certainly has improved!"
Ron sulked. "Yeah. I guess I won't be taking you on, mate."
"It's okay. Where's Hermione?"
They searched around until they found her in a fierce duel with none other than Cho Chang. Harry winced as Hermione and Cho's spells ricocheted off of each other and sent them backwards.
"Alright!" Ron said, grinning. "The witches' equivalent to a catfight."
"So who did you beat?" Harry asked him as Hermione jumped up and blasted Cho with a Freezing Charm.
"Justin and Parvati," Ron replied. "I took a lot of pleasure out of creaming Justin."
"I'm sure you did," Harry said as he watched Hermione closely. He wanted her to win terribly.
"Accio!" she shouted and Cho's wand flew right to her hand.
Eventually, all of the matches were finished and the quarterfinal matches began. To Harry's great annoyance, he found out that he had to go up against Malfoy. Both quarterfinal matches per group was held up on the main stage and judged by both Crow and Dumbledore. Harry would have Hermione and Neville right behind him as he battled Malfoy.
Soon the time came for Harry, Malfoy, Hermione, and Neville. They climbed onto the stage, Harry and Malfoy taking the opposite end on Hermione and Neville. All four of them saluted each other and then bowed.
"Begin," Crow said simply.
Malfoy attacked immediately, but Harry was ready. When Malfoy used a Blasting Curse, Harry blocked it. When Malfoy tried to hex him, he dodged out of the way.
Then, with a smirk, Harry murmured, "Scourgify!"
The entire Hall erupted in laughter as Malfoy started to spit out soap bubbles. "ARGH!" he growled. "Stupe-"
"Silencio!" Harry shouted, rending his foe speechless. "That's the way I like you Malfoy-silent."
Malfoy waved his wand and sent something that felt hot to Harry's skin as he dodged it.
"Hey Malfoy-freeze!" Harry said, waving his wand before shouting, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Trapped in the Full Body-Bind, Malfoy fell over, unable to move.
Harry walked over and squatted down next to him. "I'll take this," he said and grabbed Malfoy's wand.
"Potter wins," Crow announced and then turned his attention back to Hermione and Neville, as did Harry.
"Expelliarmus!" Hermione shouted, besting Neville at last. She collected his wand.
"Granger wins," Crow said, smiling.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other before leaving the stage. Ron ran up to them and grinned. "You two get to battle it out in the final! Wicked!"
For a brief second as they sat down, Harry toyed with the idea of just letting Hermione win. That thought was dashed, however, when he realized that Hermione would know and would be very angry at him for doing such a thing.
Harry waited and watched while the first through third year champion was crowned, followed by the fourth and fifth year champion. Then it was his and Hermione's turn to duel. He got up and approached the stage before noticing that it was the first time in the competition that he had felt nervous. He glanced at Hermione, who gave him a slight smile.
On the stage, they saluted and bowed to each other. They got into their stances and waited for Crow.
"Begin," he said, and the duel was on.
For several moments, nothing happened. Both Harry and Hermione were waiting for the other to strike. Finally, Harry gave in. He tried to hit her with the Twitchy Ears Hex, but she successfully blocked it before trying to hit him with the Babbling Curse.
He grinned at her. She knew that he wouldn't try a harmful spell on her, just as he knew that she wouldn't try one on him. He tried another jinx on her and when she blocked it, he immediately followed up by yelling, "Rictusempra!" She doubled over and started laughing.
"Locomotor Mortis!" she gasped between giggles and once again Harry found his legs locked together.
"Tarantallegra!" he shouted and her legs forced her into some crazy dance.
As he began to hop towards her, she yelled, "Impedimenta!" She waved her wand and immediately stopped laughing and dancing. Then she pointed her wand at Harry.
As he came out of his freeze, he hit her with a Trip Jinx. She fell flat on the floor as she shouted, "Accio glasses!"
Instantly, Harry went nearly blind as his glasses flew from his face. All he could see were colors and movement. He pointed his wand in the direction Hermione last was. "Stupefy!"
"Protego!" he heard Hermione say before muttering an incantation Harry wasn't familiar with. Suddenly his eyes began to water terribly.
He sent a Freezing Charm at her and then shouted, "Accio glasses!" When he felt them land in the palm of his hand, he put them back on and then murmured, "Finite," to make his eyes stop watering.
Hermione stood before him. Apparently his Freezing Charm had missed. She got him with a quick jinx, but he was back up and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" But just as he was about to use the Summoning Charm on her wand, Peeves burst into the Great Hall.
"Attack! Attack!" he cried. "Another student has been murmured!"
Everyone jumped up, alarmed. Harry dropped his wand in surprise. Both Dumbledore and Crow jumped down from the stage.
"Where?" Dumbledore demanded.
"A broom closet!" Peeves said. "I was going in there to get a mop to spread some mud over the walls when I saw him!"
Crow looked around. "Where are Kingsley and Mara?"
"I had them out patrolling," came Percy's reply from the crowd. "We must find them."
Dumbledore then asked, "Can you take me to the broom closet?"
Peeves nodded. Dumbledore turned around at the crowd. "Everyone please stay here!" He glanced over at Harry and Hermione. "Miss Granger, congratulations."
Everyone turned back to look at Hermione, who was standing there with both hers and Harry's wands in her hand. She looked down at them, horrified, as Professor Dumbledore, Crow, and Percy left the Great Hall. "Oh, Harry, I'm sorry! I was just picking it up to give it back to you!"
Harry shook his head. "That doesn't matter anymore," he murmured. Then, one by one, they all sat down and waited for Professor Dumbledore to return.
He did, a half an hour later, accompanied by Percy and Crow, along with Kingsley and Frost, who they apparently found along the way. Dumbledore looked extremely sad as he walked through the crowd. Then, he slowly kneeled down next to Blaise Zabini and murmured something to him.
Zabini jumped up, his eyes filling with tears, and his words echoed around the Great Hall. "No! No! Not Rocco! Please not Rocco! Not my little brother!"
"I'm very sorry," Dumbledore said. "Come, my boy." He wrapped a fatherly arm around Zabini's shoulders. "Everyone, if you would please return to your common rooms. Do not stray." Then both he and Zabini left.
"Oh God," Hermione whispered as she and Harry got up. "His little brother."
Ron joined them. "I don't get it," he said to them. "The murderer kills Muggle-borns. Zabini's not a Muggle-born."
"I know," Harry murmured as the students filed out quietly. "I don't either."