Greetings from within the shadows to all my readers! I would like to mention now that I am aware that Quidditch has always been played in Hogwarts on Saturday mornings. I have a very good reason for making a change here, a reason that will be revealed in time.
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Chapter Eleven: Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor
"Do ya reckon he could've come up with a worse birthday present for her?" Ron muttered to Harry as they left Defense Against the Dark Arts Friday afternoon an hour earlier than usual. "I mean, letting class out early would be most people's dream... but I bet Hermione's livid."
"She did stay behind to talk to Talisien," Harry replied, not really paying attention. He knew that the 19th was Hermione's birthday... but his mind wasn't really even on that - at least, not completely. He couldn't stop thinking about things he should have done different during the few practices that the Quidditch team had had thus far. The first game was that evening.
That in and of itself was enough to set Harry's nerves on end. McGonagall had refused to say why they were starting the season so early this year, save "For a very good reason, Potter." He saw the two beaters in the corridor ahead of them passing three rocks back and forth at a time, and was heartened a little by the fact that they seem to have improved beyond his wildest dream so quickly.
"So, think we're ready for tonight, Harry?"
"I have no idea," Harry said honestly. "But do you think there's any chance you can get Ginny, Colin, Denis, and Lavender to join Sloper, Kirke, and I in the common room? You too, of course."
"Yes, your majesty," Ron said with a flourishing bow before running down the corridor quickly so Harry couldn't say anything about the title. Harry glared after him anyway, and then turned to find Hermione coming out of the large classroom that the class had moved to.
"Find out what you wanted, `Mione?" Harry asked as she joined him and they started walking down the hall together.
"He showed me the Quintali, Harry!" Hermione said with a large smile. "He even let me hold it... but apparently it had other ideas, as it decided to fly from my grip when I tried..."
"I guess some swords have minds of their own, too, right?"
Hermione nodded, and looked away from him, biting her lip as though trying to come to a decision. "Harry?" she said after a moment.
"Yeah?"
He turned to her, and found himself held in a very tight embrace. "Good luck tonight. I'll be cheering you on, okay?" She released him almost as quickly and then motioned down the hall. "Looks like your beaters are waiting. Take care, and don't do anything too stupid on the field, please?"
"I'll try, `Mione," Harry said with a grin of his own as she kept walking passed them. "So, guys, ready for the game tonight?" he asked.
Sloper flipped the three rocks into the air and Kirke caught all three, flinging one of them to either side of Harry's head, and the third just knicked his left ear. "Hope so," Kirke said. "We're getting a lot better, anyway. Sorry about that..."
Harry shrugged it off. "Do whatever you can out there. We're having a bit of a pregame meeting now, though. In the common room.... the others are probably already there."
Together, the three made their way quickly to the room and found the others waiting for them. They were all standing tall and at attention as though waiting for Harry specifically. When they saluted him as he entered, he looked to Ron angrily, who shrugged.
"Couldn't resist, mate."
"Well, you had better start," Harry muttered under his breath as he took a seat in one of the large chairs by the fire. "Alright, guys, first game's tonight. Ravenclaw has some tough players this year, though most of them are new to the team. Their captain is their seeker, too."
"That's not going to be a problem is it, Harry?" Colin asked. "I mean, you did go out with her, didn't you?"
Denis and Ron both hit Colin in the arm at the same time. "There's nothing there, you moron!" Denis said. "Didn't you hear about the breakup last year?"
"Yeah, but..."
"Colin?" Harry asked.
"Yeah?"
"Don't pry in my life, and I won't pry in yours, got it?" When Colin nodded, Harry went on. "Cho is an opponent, and nothing more. She happens to be an opponent that I intend to drive into the ground tonight, along with the rest of her team. We've got Chasers that can't be caught, Beaters who'll slug anything that comes their way and simply can't be beat, and the king himself is Keeping for us, right?"
"True, Harry, but don't sell yourself short," Ginny said, looking straight into his eyes. "We have you back, now. Gryffindor's never lost a game with you playing through. And whoever's on reserve will be watching to make sure no one tries anything."
"Good thinking... who came up with that one?"
"I did," Lavender admitted. "Something I thought of while in Divination, actually. I just sensed that something could go wrong tonight, and I figured it best to be on the lookout."
Harry wisely decided that it was not the time to discuss the merits of Divination. He then looked back and forth between the four Chasers. "Who's playing tonight?"
"You're not deciding?" Ginny asked in surprise. "I mean, you are the captain..."
"I'm also not stupid," Harry said. "And I know when to admit that I'm not the best... at least when it comes to Quidditch. You four know how you work together... at least, partially. We haven't had much practice time yet, but you should still have an idea."
"I really want to play against Slytherin," Lavender admitted. "But aside from them, I don't have much preference."
"You don't mind sitting this one out?" Colin asked.
"I did have the premonition about Harry, so it makes sense for me to be the one watching, doesn't it?" Lavender pointed out. "Besides, I don't want to split you and your brother up when we haven't had enough practice time to make up for it yet."
"Good, it's decided, then."
"Alright. Before we break to go down to supper - which all of you will eat some of, at least! - Colin, can you go get your camera?" Harry asked, looking to the fifth year.
"I guess... what for?"
"What else? We need a team shot before our first victory," Harry said with a smile.
If he looked at it objectively, then he would have to admit that Colin had a great deal of skill when it came to using that camera. As it was, after almost half an hour of fussing to get the picture, Harry was more irritated than anything else. Once it was finally done, he was the first one out the portrait hole, and Ron was right behind him.
"I'm gonna eat everything at the table!" Ron announced. "I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks."
"We could only wish, Ron," Harry muttered.
"And what's that suppos'ta mean?"
"Aside from you eating like a pig, you mean?"
Harry sat down at the table heavily, still feeling more nervous for this game than any other that he had played - aside from his first, of course. Ron sat next to him and immediately started to help himself to the food. Harry looked away when he heard someone humming the tune to "Weasley is our King," softly, and found Luna standing behind Ron, who turned quickly.
"Sorry, Ronald, but I don't think I can cheer for you in all rights, as my house is playing..." Luna said softly in her dreamy voice. "But I don't want to cheer against you, either, so I just won't cheer at all. I will be there to watch, though." She then leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before returning to the Ravenclaw table.
Ron turned to Harry with a guilty expression on his face, and Harry burst out laughing. "So... you going to explain that today, or should I go fetch Ginny or Hermione to explain it for me? I'm sure if they heard..."
"Sod off, Harry," Ron mumbled, turning around again. "I was gonna tell ya, but I didn't want to, but I did. I mean, I kept thinking... ah, never mind. Doesn't matter anyway. You know now, right?"
"What, that you and Luna are dating?" Ron nodded feebly, and Harry hit him in the arm. "And just why didn't you want to tell me, anyway? Afraid I might owl your mum and tell her? Or any of your brothers?"
"No, Harry!" Ron said quickly. "No, I didn't think you'd do that, and so help me if you do, I'll probably end up hexing you into... into... into Grawp's waiting hands!"
"I hear he's much better behaved now, actually," Harry said, still smiling broadly.
"Yeah, well... I thought you might be upset. I mean, I sort of felt like I was breaking up our little trio after all, just by being with Luna like this."
"And why would that break up our trio?" Harry asked.
He stopped when Hermione sat down beside him. "What's going on?" she asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.
"Well, Ron's been hiding something from us, `Mione," Harry said, his smile broadening. "Something he really didn't want us to find out about until much later, I guess. Care to take a guess at what that might be?"
"Oh, is he finally going out with Luna?" Hermione asked, looking to Ron.
Both boys just stared at her, slack jawed, until Ron started spluttering. "What... how... but... I mean... wha..." He then stopped and looked to Harry. "Can you explain that?"
"Why would I be able to explain it?"
"Oh honestly!" Hermione said with an exasperated sigh. "She took some OWLs last year so she could be in a few classes with you, and you and her have been studying together all term so far - even though we've barely started - and she keeps looking over to you whenever she thinks no one is looking. It was obviously going to happen at some stage..."
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, and both shook their heads. "This woman's intuition thing is unreal," Ron muttered, going back to his food.
"And Ron should know enough that he shouldn't have been worried about breaking up our little trio. I mean, Luna was with us last year, remember?"
"So, Ron, can I assume this is a part of your `changing dreams?'"
"I thought I told you to sod off."
No one said anything in response, and so Hermione and Ron both started eating. On the other hand, Harry just stirred what little food he had taken around on his plate for a few minutes, taking the occasional glance over to Hermione, who seemed to be in her own little world. He could still feel the weight of the golden bracelet in his pocket. He had thought a lot about it over the past week and a half, and his mind kept coming back to Talisien's words.
`What does she desire?'
Finally, he pushed his plate aside and looked to Hermione. "'Mione?" he called softly. She looked over to him almost instantly. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Sure," she said.
"No, I mean... away from all this?"
Hermione looked back to her plate for a moment, bit her lower lip as though considering something, and then nodded and got up. Harry got up right afterwards and followed her out of the Great Hall. She turned into the first available classroom and Harry shut the door behind him.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione whispered, closing the distance between them so she was only a step away from him. "Is something bothering you again?"
"No," Harry said instantly, but after looking into her chocolate brown eyes for a split second, he shook his head again. "I mean, yes. But no. Just everything."
"Harry?"
"'Mione... what do you want?"
Hermione frowned at him. "What do you mean, Harry?"
Harry sighed. "Well, `Mione... it's like this. I spoke with Talisien a few days ago, and he got me thinking about things... more than I thought he would have, too. I didn't ask him or anything, but somehow it came up. Anyway, he asked me if I was trying to push you away for your own protection, or because I didn't care. Or something like that, anyway."
Hermione held her breath for a moment until it became obvious that he was waiting for her reaction. "And?" she prodded.
"Well, once I told him, he then asked me what you wanted. He pointed out that sometimes it isn't up to individuals to decide to protect others - sometimes people won't let us protect them."
"Harry, you aren't making much sense here."
"I know," Harry sighed, sitting down hard at a desk. "I know, I'm not very good at this, `Mione." He looked up to her again, and forced himself to smile. "I even tried to do what I can imagine you doing... planning it all out beforehand... but that's all gone now. None of it makes any sense now that I'm sitting here actually talking to you..."
"Harry?" He stopped and looked to her again. "How long have we known each other, Harry?"
"More than five years," Harry admitted.
"So don't you think you can just talk to me about anything? I told you that I'm always here for you, no matter what, right?"
Harry didn't say anything. Instead, he reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out the golden bracelet carefully. He then stood up and stood very close to Hermione, and reached up with his free hand to run it through her bushy brown hair. "'Mione..."
That was all he said before pulling away and showing her the bracelet in his hands. He held it out to her for a moment, and their eyes met. He was startled for a moment to see tears in her eyes, but before he could react to them, she took the bracelet gently from his grasp and did it up on her own left wrist. She then held out her arms and the two embraced.
It was not a passionate embrace, nor was it a simple embrace between good friends. It was more than that, somehow... much more. Some hugs cannot be explained until they are experienced, and they both knew that that was what this was. Harry breathed in deeply, taking in her smell, and sighed into her. "Happy birthday, `Mione," he whispered into her ear.
"Thanks, Harry," she replied, holding him a little tighter. "I had almost thought that you had forgotten, and now... This is more than I could have ever expected. When did you find the time to get this?"
Harry pulled away just a bit so he could look into her eyes when he answered. "It once belonged to the elves," he explained. "It has protections on it to keep you safe from some things, but I don't know what exactly. Besides that, though... you know the elven tradition, right? I mean, it's not like I'm asking for your protection or anything... just... I just wanted to..."
"I understand, Harry," she breathed, looking at her bracelet with an odd expression on her face. "Thank you so much..."
"Anything for you, `Mione."
Just as Harry was about to lean in to give her a gentle kiss, Hermione's wand started to vibrate. She looked down to it in surprise, and then back to Harry. "Harry! Your game's about to start! Get down there! Good luck!"
"What?" He didn't stop to wait for an answer as she pushed him towards the door. Once in the corridor, he took off in a dead run down to the Quidditch pitch. As he ran, he held up a hand instinctively. "Accio Firebolt!" Without bothering to consider the fact that he had just summoned his broom wandless, he caught it as it whizzed passed, and mounted quickly to shoot towards the field.
He skidded to a halt in the changing rooms, and found the rest of the team already there, pacing back and forth. He didn't say anything to them as he pulled off his robes and pulled on his Quidditch uniform. He then paused and looked around.
"I've said all I can to you. I don't know about the rest of you, but I intend to win this game," he said, looking to each in turn. His eyes stopped on Lavender, who was changed, had her broom with her, and had her wand in her other hand. "Thanks. Don't forget to cheer us on."
"We're going to win, Harry," Ginny said fiercely, a sentiment that everyone else in the room echoed almost at once. "The cup is ours this year."
Harry nodded as he walked out of the changing rooms and onto the pitch. The sun was just starting to set, but there were magical lights set up around the field to provide sight. The stadium was filled with students, and a great cheer went up from half the crowd as he walked out. Over the din he could hear Dean Thomas - the new student in charge of commentating - calling out the names of the players. He toned it all out as he walked to the centre to meet Cho and Madame Hooch.
"Right then, I want a good clean game, understand?" Madame Hooch asked, looking to both captains meaningfully. When they nodded, she smiled. "Shake hands, then."
"Good luck, Harry," Cho said warmly. Harry nodded and they released hands and took a step back each.
"Mount your brooms!"
The wind had never felt so good in Harry's ears before as he shot into the air on the whistle. He could hear Dean's enthusiastic shouting into the magical microphone, but trusted his own instincts to look around. Ron was in position already, which was just as well, and he saw his three Chasers starting down the field to steal the Quaffle from the opposing team. What he didn't see was either bludger... until he had to dodge both in a row.
"Carmichael and Thompson seem to have it in for Gryffindor's Seeker, and who can blame them? Riding his incredible Firebolt, our own Harry Potter is nigh unstoppable in his quest for the golden snitch! And it's Weasley with the Quaffle... stolen by Bradley..." There was a great cheer from about half the crowd, and Dean screamed into the microphone before saying what happened. "And a bloody brilliant beating job by Sloper nearly knocks Bradley off his broom. Creevy in possession of the Quaffle... now the other Creevy... now Weasley... and what's this? She's thrown it to no one! They wouldn't be attempting the legendary Filitanos Beat, would they?"
Harry stopped looking for the snitch to look down in time to see Kirke smashing the Quaffle with his beater stick. Ginny was right next to a hoop, and snapped it in with the end of her broomstick to deafening applause. He put his mind back on the snitch as soon as the goal was scored, well aware that Cho was simply sitting behind him in the air. He was tagged.
Tuning out the enthusiastic announcing from Dean, he started looking around the field quickly. Knowing that Cho couldn't keep up with him, he shot forward and spun around the Ravenclaw hoops before zooming in the opposite direction towards their own goal posts.
The sun had completely set by the time Harry caught his first glimpse of the snitch, but as he had to dodge a rogue bludger, he lost sight of it again almost immediately. He heard the crunch behind him which said Cho hadn't been so fortunate, and allowed himself a brief reprieve as he pulled up higher to look around.
Once he was high in the air and almost impossible for the crowd to even spot, he stopped and started looking around very carefully. The gold wouldn't stay out of sight forever, he knew that much. He was vaguely aware of the fact that they were leading by almost one hundred points by this stage, even though Ron had let a couple through.
All thoughts went out the window when he spotted it, though. The fleck of gold was hovering near the Ravenclaw goal posts. Leaning into his broom, he shot down again at dizzying speeds. He blew past all three Ravenclaw Chasers, who turned to watch him despite themselves. He rolled aside of two bludger attacks before he felt Cho's presence behind him, trying in vain to catch him.
The snitch was almost in reach. It was just darting a little further away... just a little further... and then Harry lurched to a stop. He was thrown forward hard, but somehow managed to hold onto his broom. The snitch was just a few hand's lengths away, but he couldn't reach it if his broom wasn't going to move. He leaned forward hard to try and convince it, but it was stuck, just hovering in the air where it was.
He looked behind him and saw that Cho had almost caught up. She would catch the snitch, and there was nothing he could do about it. Looking back, he threw caution to the wind and leapt from his broom, grabbing the snitch in an instant. He heard the cheers first, and then several horrified screams before he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, and he was falling fast.
There was a flash of dark green suddenly almost fifty feet in the air, and he felt the strong grip of Talisien wrap around him. Before he could register how this was even possible, the two crashed hard into the ground, the elf taking the brunt of the fall. Harry shook himself a little, and found that he was almost completely uninjured.
He rolled off Talisien slowly, still more than a little shaken by the fall, and heard the elf groan. He looked back and saw Talisien pulling himself to his feet. It looked like he was in tremendous pain. Harry heard shouting and screaming all around him, but it all seemed to be coming from another world as he watched his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher take several staggered steps towards the Forbidden Forest before balking to one knee, and then falling forward flat on his face.
The next thing he registered was Hermione throwing her arms around him, and he held her in return as the noise around him started leaking through whatever barrier he had set up. He then heard Hermione's sobs, and he held her tighter. "It's alright, `Mione, don't worry," he whispered to her.
"Alright?" she asked in a rough voice. "You could have been killed! You fell almost fifty feet! If not more! Talisien could have died from that impact! How could you do something so stupid?" Through her tirade, she simply held him tighter and tighter, until he was starting to wonder just how much longer he would be able to breathe.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't think about it... I just didn't want to lose to Cho..."
"Welcome to the club," Hermione whispered in return, smiling sadly to him through her tears. She then looked beyond him to the fallen elf. "Is he okay?" she asked as she released him and the rest of the team came up to congratulate Harry and check on the Wanderer.
Neither Harry nor Hermione could explain exactly how Kailyn appeared next to her grandfather barely a breath later, but she was there, kneeling next to him. "He'll be okay," she said, looking up to the crowd that had gathered there. "He'll just need a while to recover."
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"So he really flew to save Harry?" Ron asked in surprise, looking away from the Gryffindor fireplace to Hermione. "I didn't think elves could fly."
"Oh Ron, they can't!" Hermione said, throwing her hands up in defeat. "And I never said he did. He's just such a skilled waywatcher that he can find footholds even on the dust in the air around us!"
"It still sounds like flying to me," Ron muttered.
"And Legilimency still sounds like mind reading to me," Harry said, plopping down in the third chair by the fire. When they both looked to him, he shrugged. "He'll be okay, I guess. Madame Pomfrey's tending to his wounds - I guess he broke a few bones in the landing - and she said he'd be out for almost a month. But then he'll be as good as new again. Until then... I'm not sure who's going to be teaching us Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"I've never seen anything keep him down that long," Kailyn said as she sat in front of the fire on the floor. "Mark my words, he'll be back before a week."
"Kailyn, I'm really sorry," Harry said softly to her.
"For what?"
"Well, for making him get hurt like that," Harry explained.
She turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "You can control the Wanderer? You made him save you like that? I'm impressed... I thought Fey was the only one who could control him even a little..." She then rolled her eyes and looked back to the fire.
"Fine, I get your point," Harry muttered, standing slowly from the chair. "Look, I'm beat, and I can't take much more today. I think I'm going to bed."
"What about your broom, mate?"
"I left Lavender with it, and she's with Flitwick right now examining it. She was watching carefully, Ron, and didn't see any curses, jinxes, or counter-curses being cast. Which means it must have been tampered with beforehand." He then turned to the rest of the common room, and found the rest of the team sitting in amongst everyone else. "Good game today, guys. Two hundred seventy to forty. Even I couldn't have asked for better. Hell, even Wood couldn't have asked for more."
Hermione caught his arm before he stepped onto the stairs leading up to his dorm, and he turned back to her, only to be enveloped in a hug. "Sleep well tonight, Harry," she whispered.
He leaned into the hug a bit so he could whisper back into her ear. "I'll be dreaming of you with any luck, so I should. Do you want to do something special tomorrow? We can consider it a birthday thing... just the two of us?"
"I'd love to," she whispered back, feeling a shiver running down her spine at his breath on her ear. "When?"
"We'll figure it out. Night, `Mione." He squeezed her a little bit more and then released her and turned to climb the stairs, ignoring the looks the two of them were getting from everyone else in the common room. Without a word to anyone else, Hermione turned and went up the other way, leaving her books, bag, and quills on her table.
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Until the sun sets upon a broken world…
The Shadows
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