Chapter 6
Hate and Revenge
"Ron!" Harry called out, but he was in such a hurry to tell him about what he had just found out that he wasn't even looking where he was going, which only led to him bumping into a small first year, who fell to the floor. Harry offered him a hand up and muttered an apology under his breath, only to look into the face of Mark Evans.
"Y-you?" said the boy. "Y-you're - you're Harry Potter, aren't you?"
"Yeah," said Harry, "and you're Mark Evans. I know you! And, I'm sad to say, I bet you know my idiot cousin, don't you?"
"Yes," said Mark, numbly.
"I'm sorry. But how is it that you're here, at Hogwarts? I never knew you were a wizard!"
"Me neither. Both my parent were Squibs and it came a bit of a shock to all of us when a letter came to me this summer from Hogwarts. Of course, I've never really shown any signs of magical ability until late last year."
"Evans....Evans...," Harry whispered to himself, "why does that name sound so familiar?"
"Do you know my parents?" asked the boy. Harry had just recognized that he had piercing bright green eyes. They weren't ordinary eyes...they were Harry's eyes. His mother's eyes.
"Who are they?" asked Harry, slowly.
"Jasmine and Peter Evans," said the boy. Harry felt a pang of relieve jump over him.
"Did your father have any, er, siblings, by any chance?"
"No," said Mark, "but he did have a cousin. Two actually. He never talked about them, though. One was a real witch and the other was a Squib. I remember him showing me some old photos, but he never did say the name. Don't know why. How come you asked?"
"Because," said Harry, "my mother's maiden name was Evans."
Mark's eyes widened.
"You don't think - ?"
"I dunno," said Harry, "that's why I asked you."
"Hmmm. I'll write to dad. That's really weird, Harry," said the boy.
"Well, I'll see you around," said Harry.
"It was nice meeting you, Harry Potter," said the boy. "I've heard the rumors, you know, about You-Know-Who."
Harry smirked.
"Hey, Evans," - the boy turned around - "do me a favor. Call him Voldemort, will you? And if anyone says otherwise, you tell them you're on Harry Potter's orders, you hear?"
"Yes, sir. I sure will," said Mark and Harry could tell that, from the looks of it, he wasn't lying.
Harry walked over to where Ron and Ginny had still been playing chess and noticed, unmistakably, that Ron was winning. He sat down next to Ginny and, in a matter of seconds, Ron said, "Checkmate," with a bright grin on his face after which his Queen came up and smashed the King.
"No surprise," sighed Ginny. "What's up, Harry?"
"Oh, er, nothing," said Harry absently, who was still thinking if it was possible that Mark had any relation to him. "I mean, yes, there is something. Take a look at this."
Harry turned out his pocket and pulled out the letter from his grandmother.
He watched as Ron read through it and his eyes widened.
"Wicked, Harry! I never knew! Mind you, it's no wonder she left - "
"What d'you mean?" asked Harry.
Ron and Ginny exchanged dark looks and Harry could tell that being deprived of living in the wizarding world for eleven years had, once again, put a stopper on his knowledge.
"Well, it's like this," Ron began. "You know the Maneosioan War that's beginning?"
"Yeah," said Harry, "I've wanting to find out about that. What does it - ?"
"I'm getting to that," said Ron, impatiently. "Well, Maneosioan is an ancient name for Last, or Final. You know, kind of like the Breaking Point. So, when You-Know-Who was truly coming into power last time, there was another War. The First War. The Primorisioan War. But things were chaotic, you can imagine. People didn't know what to do. There was a slim chance of defeating You-Know-Who and many fled the country. Even Europe. That's why I imagine your grandmother left. You see, now there is the slight chance that the War might be won. But before, it was like `Kill of be Killed.' No one had much of a choice, really. Those who wished to stay behind were still frightened that You-Know-Who would show up with an army of whatever. It was quite scary. I'm glad I still wasn't born. I remember Bill telling me he could still remember hearing the screams..."
Ron shuddered, as did Ginny.
"How do you know all this?" asked Harry.
"I tricked Bill into telling me," said Ron. "Well, more like pleaded."
"More like whined," said Ginny.
Ron ignored her.
"So you really think that's why she left?" asked Harry.
"Must be," said Ron.
"But why were so many people freaked out when Dumbledore announced it in the Great Hall?"
"I already told you, Harry. It's not a very good thing. Just because we're a slight bit more prepared for You-Know-Who, doesn't mean that we're going to win. And if we don't win" - Ron gulped - "we lose. Forever."
Harry sighed. Yeah, he though, kill or be killed. That's me. And if I don't win, I lose.
"You okay, Harry?" asked Ginny.
"Oh, yeah. I just need to get to bed. Has Hermione returned yet?"
"No," said Ron. "I wonder where she went off to? Maybe she got lost."
Ginny rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure she can take care of herself," she yawned. "I'm of to bed as well. See you in the morning."
"What's our schedule look like?" asked Ron, taking out the parchment from his robes.
"Bummer," said Harry, "I've got Advanced Potions in the morning and Defense Against the Dark Arts in the afternoon, tomorrow. Snape and Malfoy! How bad does it get?"
"Worse," said Ron, "because that's not what I have."
"What?"
"I have Advanced Transfiguration followed by Potions."
"You mean," Harry gulped, "We won't be....together?"
Harry and Ron looked at each other and then at their schedules, at which they screamed.
Just then, Hermione appeared at the Portrait Hole and walked up to them, her hair wind blown.
"What's the matter? What's wrong? Why are you screaming? Stop!"
Harry and Ron stopped. Ron whimpered and showed her his schedule.
"Oh, honestly," she said, "you two are pathetic. So you're not together for a couple of classes. What's the big deal?"
Harry and Ron looked at her as if she'd just slapped them both.
"What's the big deal, Hermione? We've never been in different classes!" said Harry.
"And where've you been?" asked Ron.
"Don't you mind that, now," said Hermione. "We better get to bed. It's rather late and I have Arithmancy in the morning."
"You mean, you don't have the same classes either?" asked Harry.
"Well, I do have Defense Against the Dark Arts with you in the afternoon, Harry. And Charms with the both of you on Wednesday. So, yeah, I guess so."
"This is the worst," said Ron.
"You don't know the half of it," said Harry, and they climbed the stairs to their dormitory.
Harry laid in bed, but couldn't sleep. He was staring up at the top of his Four-Poster and thinking about what Mark had said. "But he did have a cousin. Two actually. One was a real witch and the other was a Squib."
His mind was swimming. If one was a real witch, then that would have to be his mother, wouldn't it? And if the other was a Squib, then that would have to be -
"Aunt Petunia?" Harry whispered to himself.
"Go to sleep, Harry!" Ron moaned to his left.
Harry turned to his right.
No, it couldn't be. He thought. She couldn't really be a Squib. I mean, why would she be?
Ah, but she knew about the dementors... said another voice in his head.
But my mum could have -
And Mrs. Figg clearly stated that Squibs could see dementors.
Yes, but -
And do you not remember her reaction to Voldermort's rise to power?
Harry sighed. Things were getting so complicated. He just wished that he knew what was going on...
Harry opened his locket once again and found another note inside of it. He held his wand up to it and whispered, "Lumos!" under his covers.
Dear Harry,
You are a sweet boy for understanding. I truly am sorry for what I have and have not done. I did hear of Sirius Black's murder. I heard he was innocent all along. What a nice boy he was, like a son to me. Unfortunately, it will be rather difficult for me to see you any time soon, but I will probably be in London around Christmas Break. I would love to spend some time with you and explain things, not that you don't have anything to say to me, either. I will be asking Dumbledore his permission. It would be wonderful if you could come and live with me in Brazil once you've finished your school year, would it not? Think about it.
With hugs,
Grandma Potter
Brazil? Thought Harry. He didn't want to live in Brazil! But maybe she just meant that he should come over and visit. Yeah, that's it! thought Harry and drifted off into a deep sleep.
When he woke up, Harry put up a notice for Quidditch tryouts and the D. A., now that it was no longer a secret. He had completely forgotten about the Club until late last night and made a mental note to remind the members that they would be meeting Wednesday, along with anyone else that wanted to join. He did feel that it was rather necessary to make an age limit, considering the fact that it would be rather hard to teach first and second years some of the more advanced charms, so he distinctively said that only third years and above would be allowed to join considering the difficulty of the tasks that they would be practiced during the meetings.
To his surprise, so many new people had sighed up for the D. A. that he would soon have to post a new blank list. Of course, he would have to check that all of the names on the list were third years and above, but he didn't care at the moment. The fact that he was going to be teaching over fifty students Defense Against the Dark Arts couldn't help but make him feel like rejoicing.
Hermione and Ginny had also gotten up rather early that morning and came to join Harry at the Gryffindor table for breakfast as he examined the list.
"Wow, Harry!" said Hermione. "That's wonderful! I would have never thought that so many people would want to join!"
"Me neither," said Harry truthfully.
Advanced Potions was one of the most dreadful subjects to fill the earth. Or, at least, it was when Snape taught it. Snape was being especially keen on gliding over Harry's cauldron every five minutes, which made it more hard to concentrate than ever. This time, they had taken to fully memorizing the potions and Snape had reminded them that they would soon be moving on to some of the more challenging potions such as Veritaserum, the Werewolf Extraction, and the Polyjuice Potion. Harry laughed to himself and wondered what Snape would say if he found out that Harry had already taken the potion, illegally, in his second year. Unfortunately, taking it was one thing, but memorizing it was a whole different and absolutely difficult process.
"While some of you will find that Advanced Potions is merely a class," he stared at Harry, his eyes skipped at Malfoy and then back at him, "others, will find that it is one of the most complex methods of conquering even the most terrifying foes and obstacles in life."
Harry looked up at Snape. What was he just saying?
"Once again, I must warn you to not fool around in this class, for you will find its purpose to be quite useful in understanding how to live."
Was Snape saying what Harry thought he was saying? Was he referring to the potion that had brought Voldemort back to life? Harry knew that his thoughts were a bit over the top, but, then again, he'd learned not to take Snape for granted.
Harry met Ron and Hermione for lunch and told them what he had heard in Potions.
"I don't know, Harry," said Ron, looking around to see that they were well out of earshot. "I mean, he is a bit of a git, isn't he? Why would he do something like that?"
"Ron! How many times - Urgh! Snape is on our side, remember?" said Hermione, frustrated with Ron's ignorance.
When they finished eating, Ron said "Goodbye" to Harry and Hermione and went off to Charms while they made their way down the halls to Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"How bad do you think Malfoy will be?" Harry asked her, smiling.
"Harry....honestly. You don't know her that well, do you? I mean, I don't either, but still. Maybe...maybe she won't be that bad. If Dumbledore trusts her..."
"Not helping, are you, Hermione?"
"Just give her a chance..."
"I will if she does," said Harry.
They walked into the classroom and found that the paintings of the fluffy kittens that Umbridge had posted up on the walls were finally removed and, in their place, hung paintings of what seemed like witches and wizards shouting incantations at one another. As they did so, a different effect would cause something to happen to the other witch or wizard and the incantation would be spelled out before the picture.
"Not bad," said Harry.
"Not bad at all," said a woman's voice and Harry found himself facing Narcissa Malfoy, who seemed to have extremely dark circles under her eyes and were clearly visible in the background of her snow-white skin and silvery hair.
"Er," said Harry and muttered, "Professor," acknowledging her presence.
"Sit down, Potter. Take a seat, all of you!" she said in a grand tone.
"Welcome to your sixth year of Defense Against the Dark Arts. You will refer to me as Professor Malfoy and nothing else," she said, looking at the students sited around her classroom with an icy glare. "I have been informed that your previous teacher dishonored the name of Defense and Dark Arts altogether, so I trust that you will forgive me for not accepting any bit of the information that she has presented to you as knowledge to the lamest wit."
Several people laughed rather nervously and then jumped in their seats as she snapped, "There will be no laughter in my class! Defense Against the Dark Arts is a serious subject and, in times as such, I believe that you have no choice but to make it your priority." She looked around at Harry.
"I have been further told that Mr. Potter, here, has organized a very abled Defense Group and I encourage all of you to attend the sessions. I assure all of you that it will be something worth your while..." She smirked and walked around to where Harry was sitting and, to everyone's surprise, place both of her white palms on his desk.
"However," she continued, "be it rest assured that Potter is not a professional, as I am, but rather a student. A rather special student. It has well come to my attention that he has a knack for earning his rightful place in trouble, so I do not advise you to follow in his ways."
She stared at him, meaningfully, and Harry could feel a rush of dislike forming in his chest.
"But we are getting off the subject," she said, removing her hands from his desk and walking back to the front of the room. "So, without further interruptions, may I introduce to you the Eternal Spells. Wands out! Books away! Pay attention!"
The class jumped at each instruction, hustling to obey her orders so not to get on her wrong side. Harry, on the other hand, had already done everything told and was watching her with his utmost curiosity. Narcissa noticed this and smirked at him.
"Now. Does anyone in this room know what the Eternal Spells are?"
The class groaned as Hermione's hand shot up in the air. "Oh, don't be pathetic!" she whispered.
"Yes?" said Professor Malfoy.
"The Eternal Spells are a group of enchantments that are unbreakable. They can be cast upon an object, a place, or even a person. These spells were developed as some of the earliest witchcraft on earth. They are also quite powerful, as they are dangerous. Any witch or wizard that is to cast such a spell must first get a well qualified notice from the Ministry of Magic. Any failing to do so would find their rightful place in Azkaban, am I right?" said Hermione.
Narcissa smirked again. "You are quite right, my dear. Tell me, what is your name? You look...familiar, somehow."
"Granger, Hermione Granger."
Narcissa's eyes widened.
"Ah, Granger is it? Not Helen's daughter by any chance, are you?"
"How do you know - ?"
"Now!" she snapped. "What Miss Granger has said about the spells is quite true. However, not all of the information, altogether, has already been given about the spells. And that is what I am about to explain."
"There are exactly twelve Eternal Spells. No more and no less. The first that I will be conducting with you is called the most powerful and is also an Unforgivable Curse. Avada Kedavra, obviously. Now, I know that you have gone over this curse already with Professor Moody "- her eyes flashed - "but this time, we will be performing the spell."
"Performing it?" several people whispered around Harry.
"But that's illegal, that is!"
"Silence!" said Narcissa. "We will not be doing it on ourselves, clearly, but on animals."
She stepped behind her desk and retrieved a large glass box in which Harry could see tens of mice crawling around.
"Gross!" said Parvati.
"Now," said Narcissa, "these are not regular mice. They are not real. They have been Transfigured from ordinary rocks, so don't be scared. They will, however, bite at you if you annoy them so, as we practice the spell, all you are to do is shout the curse at the mice. Now! Words are not enough! As I'm sure you have been reminded only so often by Mr. Moody. You have to mean it. You have to believe that the mice are your worst enemies! You have to feel hate! Revenge! And with that...with that my young friends...you kill!"
The class gulped, but proceeded in shouting "Avada Kedavra!" as the mice were released. Several times, a student was hit and sent flying against the wall, but all the harm that was caused was a simple trip to the Hospital wing.
"You see!" she said when they finished and all of the rats lay dead around them. "That's what you need to know! You need to know what it's like. It's not easy, but neither does it cause much pleasure. Unless, of course, you are killing for a purpose stronger than simply following direction." She looked at Harry, who shivered.
"Thank you all. On our next lesson, we will move on to the next Eternal Spell - The Transferal Spell, otherwise known as a human form of the Dementor's Kiss."
The class left in shock and rapid whispers. Harry joined Hermione and said, "Teaching us the Dark Arts rather than Defense, isn't she?"
"Harry, relax. I told you she wouldn't be that bad. She really seem to know what's she's doing, doesn't she?"
"Yeah," said Harry.
"But how does she know - ?'"
"What?" asked Harry.
"My mother," Hermione finished, "she said something about my mother. Like she knew her or something. But that's impossible. My mother's a Squib. You know that, Harry. It doesn't seem like someone a Malfoy would be in touch with, does it?"
"No," said Harry, shaking his head. He felt so strange after performing the curse. "You have to feel hate! Revenge!" Narcissa's words came back to him. Yeah, thought Harry, that's exactly what it felt like...
On Wednesday, Harry had begun the first Defense Group meeting and was surprised to see so many members doing a brilliant job. They reviewed Patronuses, disarming charms, and hexes once more and Hermione reminded him to tell them about the galleons on which the dates of the next meeting would be kept as well as how often they would meet.
Classes were tough, but Harry kept to Hermione's schedule, which helped him handle the load of work that he had to do for the semester. Ron and Hermione were still playing the boyfriend and girlfriend game and people seemed to believe it as far as anything. When they could, Harry and Hermione would occasionally slip away to the Room of Requirements during breakfast, lunch, or diner and spend the time by themselves. Unfortunately, they couldn't keep sneaking around too often or people were bound to start spreading rumors. It wasn't much to only be with Hermione for only a couple of hours a week as a person that Harry was in love with, but it was better than having Malfoy find out and spill everything around the school, which would have easily reached a Death Eater's ears and carried its way to Voldemort.
Later that week, Harry had to supervise the trouts for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and told all of the existing team mates to be there. He met the applicants out on the field and watched as they stood up as he approached them and filed themselves in one line. Harry walked passed them as each presented his or her name as well as the position for which they were trying out.
"Ginny Weasley, Chaser," said Ginny.
"Natalie McDonnald, Chaser," said Natelie.
"Euan Abercrombie, Beater," said Euan.
"Matt Thompson, Keeper," said Matt.
"Seamus Finnigan, Beater," said Seamus.
"Dean Thomas, Beater," said Dean.
"Hermione Granger, Chaser," said Hermione.
Harry stopped dead in his tracks as he reached the end of the line and heard Hermione's voice clearly announce her position, clutching a Nimbus Two-Thousand-and-Three.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"I'm trying out for Chaser. What does it look like, Potter?" she teased.
"Oh, come now, Hermione. You know I was only kidding on the train. You can't play!"
"Harry Potter, I can play Quidditch better than you can dance," she leaned over and whispered, "and between you and me, that's saying something."
Harry sighed impatiently. "Fine," he said, "You can try out, but if you get hurt - "
"Make sure you notify an ambulance," said Hermione as she passed him and joined the others at the center of the field. Harry shook his head; this was going to be a disaster.
"Er," he said, facing the players, "okay. As you all know, I'm Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and you all know your positions. Er, Matt, you do know that we already have a Keeper, don't you? Ron Weasley?"
"Yeah, I know," said Matt, "but I also know that he's a dreadful player. I mean, didn't you see how badly he played? The only reason we won the Quidditch Cup last year was because we had a good Seeker, that Ginny Weasley. Too bad her brother isn't as good as her. I mean, really! He only made two saves the entire season!"
"But he's getting better!" said Harry angrily. He could also feel himself blushing, however, because he never did watch the final game and, apart from that, he knew that it was the absolute truth that Ron was not that good at his position.
"Have it your way, then," said Matt, laying his broom on the grass and beginning to walk away. Rapid thoughts flew through Harry's mind and he finally yelled after him, "Wait! Matt, you can try out. I mean, if you're really good - but that doesn't mean that we're replacing Ron. We're just going to...er...see, you know."
Matt smirked, "Yeah...right," and picked up his broom again.
"Now," Harry continued, "Ron is positioned on the left side of the field, guarding the hoops. For now, we'll work with him," he added to Matt. "Later we'll switch."
"Okay, Ginny, you're up first. I need to see you get the quaffle past Ron and into one of those three hoops."
"Got it," said Ginny, taking the scarlet ball and flying towards the left end of the field.
Harry followed.
"Don't go soft on me, bro!" said Ginny.
"I won't!" called Ron.
Remarkably, Ginny made goal after goal; there was no doubt that she wasn't a good Chaser. Ron had, truly, given it his best, but, after that performance, Harry was starting to hope that Matt was as good a Keeper as he bragged about.
"Nice job!" Harry told her. "But before I can make any conclusions, I have to see the rest of them try out."
Ginny nodded.
Natalie McDonnald was next and Harry had to admit that she was nothing special and that Ron did block her once, but that he was sure that they would have to resort to her as the third Gryffindor Chaser.
Seeing as they were still trying out for Chasers, it was Hermione's turn and Harry's heart was beating at the speed of lightning. If something happened to her.... if something went wrong...what was she doing?...Harry had to stop her before she did anything....
"Nice score, Hermione!" called Ginny from the stands. Harry had just shaken his head awake and was now focusing on the action before him.
"Bloody hell, Hermione!" called Ron. "Where d'you learn to do that?"
"Oh, with a little practice along Ginny and some mind reading skills," she laughed.
"Mind reading?" asked Ron.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Ron. There's no way that I could be reading your mind...you'd actually have to have one for that."
"Heh, heh," said Ron. "All right, let's see what else you've got, Granger!"
"No problem," said Hermione.
Harry's eyes widened as he watched Hermione make Ron blunder and miss goal after goal after goal....He felt himself falling in love all over again with every score that Hermione made....
"Wow, Hermione!" Harry finally spoke breathlessly. "What the - how did you - do I even want to know how you - ?"
"No, Harry. You don't want to know. What you want is to tell me if I made the team or not," said Hermione, poking him in his chest with her index finger.
"Of course!" said Harry, dumbfounded. "You were brilliant! Both you and Ginny. Sorry, Natalie. You were great too, but we only need two positions."
"That's quite alright," she said, though sounding a bit disappointed.
"Oh, and Natalie?" said Harry. "If one of these Chasers is unable to make it to a game, or Katie, we'll call you, how about that?"
"Great!" she said, her mouth stretching into a grin.
The Beaters were the ones to try out next and Harry resorted to picking Seamus and Euan for the spots, while telling Dean that he was a bit sorry, but his swings were not quite hard enough.
"So, am I going to try out or what?" asked Matt.
"Er, right."
"Harry, what's up?" asked Ron.
Harry felt the color rising on his face. How was he going to tell Ron that Matt was trying out to be his possible replacement?
"Er, Ron - see, Matt here - er, well - I was thinking that it would be a good idea to have a Keeper second just in case, you know. So, he's going to, er, try - tryout."
"For Keeper? For my position, Harry?" asked Ron, eyeing Harry suspiciously.
"Well, no, Ron," said Harry. "Not your position. Just as a, er, second."
"And what's wrong with the one you've got, eh, Harry?" Ron's tone was now very dark and hurt.
"Nothing...nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's just that Natelie is a second Chaser and Dean is a second Beater, so I though we'd also have a second Keeper. For safety reasons, you know?"
Ron looked at him and then nodded. Harry let out a relieved sigh.
"Alright," said Harry, "Ginny, Katie, and Hermione - you three will be passing the Quaffle around and try to get it past Matt, alright?"
"Right," the three girls said together.
Unquestionably, Matt was superb. Harry's jaw dropped just as it had done when Hermione had made all those goals. Matt didn't let a single Quaffle past him. He was as swift and smooth on his broom as Wood had ever been.
"Amazing!" said Harry when they came down to the ground and finished the tryouts. "That was ace, Matt!"
"Thanks," said Matt, but in a tone that seemed not at all satisfied with acknowledgment that he was getting from Harry.
"So do I get the spot? Am I Keeper for Gryffindor?" he asked Harry.
"Well, yeah!" said Harry absently, before thinking, as a flustered Ron dropped his broom and began walking towards the school.
"Ron!" Harry yelled. He got on his Firebolt and sprinted after him, slowing down as he reached a storming Ron and asked him, "Where are you going, Ron?"
Ron finally rounded at him and said, "I'll tell you where I'm going - where I should have gone a long time ago! I'm going to Professor McGonagall and resigning from the team!"
"What? Why?" asked Harry.
"Oh, don't play dumb with me, Harry. Matt's a much better Keeper than I am and you know it! Face it, will you? I stink! I can't play this game, okay?"
"That's not true!" said Harry.
"LIAR!" Ron yelled and kept walking, but this time, Harry didn't fly after him. Ron was right, he was a lousy player and he knew it, and if there ever was a time that Harry felt helpless, it was when his best friend needed him most.
Harry, Ginny, and Hermione made it back to the common room after Quidditch practice that evening only to find Ron sulking by the fireplace, still in his Quidditch uniform. They walked over to him and noticed that his elbows were resting on his knees and his hands were joined at the center between them, his head was hanging towards the floor.
"She wouldn't let me resign," he said at last.
"Of course not!" said Hermione. "You're really good - "
"Save it!" said Ron. "She wouldn't let me resign because I wouldn't give her a reason and...and because I have to ask the Captain permission before I turn in my broom..."
"And you do not have permission to do so, Ron!" said Harry, defiantly.
"Oh, yeah?" said Ron "So what do I do? Play second while I watch Matt be in the game and save the day?"
"No - no, but - "
"But what, Harry?"
"Ron," said Ginny quietly, "I'm willing to give up my Chaser position."
"Don't be stupid!" said Ron. "The last thing I need is to be saved from grief and humiliation by my little sister. And what makes you think I'll be any better at that, eh?"
"Because Fred, George, Bill, and Charley never gave you much of a choice, did they?"
"Well, no, but - "
"Listen to me, Ron! I earned my place last year as a temporary Seeker. Harry wasn't playing and so wasn't Hermione. And you were always humiliated by that awful song. Plus, I have an extra year at Hogwarts to make it on the team. Just take the position, will you? Consider this as an early birthday present."
"No!" said Ron.
"Don't be so stubborn!" said Ginny.
"This is getting ridiculous!" said Harry. "Ginny, I forbid you to give up your position. Ron, you're staying on the team. End of discussion!"
"And what is it exactly that your planning to do, Harry? I'm dying to know!"
"I - I don't know yet," said Harry, "but I'll figure something out."
"I'm out of it, Harry," came a voice from behind him that belonged to Hermione. "I'm resigning."
"What?!" said Harry. "Hermione, you're the most brilliant Chaser on the team! You can't quit!"
"I have to, Harry," said Hermione, "I have too much to be going on with, anyway. I never really wanted to play Quidditch that much, anyway. You know I don't favor the game. And it is one of the most important things to Ron. Whereas, I have my studies and other things that I must attend to..."
"What other things?" asked Harry.
"Important things," said Hermione. "Thank you for the position, Harry, but I'm giving it to Ron."
Harry sighed. "Are you sure about this?" he asked her.
"Absolutely," she said.
"Ron? What d'you say?"
Ron looked at Harry and then at Hermione who were both standing by his side. He opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione answered, "Save it Ron. I don't want to be on the team. I already said - "
"No, it's not that," said Ron, smirking, "I was just going to say that I better start practicing."
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny beamed at him and, that week, Ginny, Hermione, and Katie had taken Ron out to the Quidditch pitch to work out on his Chaser skills, which turned out to be much better than when he had taken up the position of Keeper.
"So what do the rumors say, Ginny?" Harry asked her as she joined them for lunch one day.
"Not good," she said, shaking her head. Harry looked at her, puzzled. "I mean, not that it's completely terrible, but it's not really what we want it to be. They believe that Ron and Hermione are together, but you got dragged in, Harry."
"How?"
"They think your jealous. They think you like Hermione."
"Damn it!" said Harry. "This is getting stupid! It's like there's nothing I can do about it. Parvati came up to me this morning and told me - "
Hermione just came up to them and sat next to Harry.
"What's up?" she asked.
"I'll tell you what's up Hermione," whispered Harry, "the rumors in this school! Parvati Patil just came up to me this morning and told me that you were staring at me again in Defense Against the Dark Arts!"
Hermione blushed and muttered, "Sorry," under her breath.
"No, Hermione. You're not sorry. Because she said that you did the same thing in Charms! The entire lesson!"
She blushed even harder, "Yeah, well. It's not like you're trying very hard either, Harry! Dean told me you wouldn't shut up about me and how brilliant a Chaser I was in Transfiguration!"
Harry turned pink as well.
"You know what you two need?" said Ginny, grinning. "You two need to be alone. Together. Why don't you go for a walk or something. You're craving each other! If you two don't get together soon, I wouldn't be surprised if you shouted 'I love you' the next time you met and ran into each other's arms."
Harry and Hermione blushed.
"Shut up, Ginny," said Harry.
"Well, it's true!" she said.
Harry and Hermione grinned at each other, and got up to go to the Room of Requirements. Harry requested for another romantic spot where they could peacefully eat lunch and they walked into what seemed to be a sunny room in which the floor consisted of grass and there was a small blanket spread on top of it, bearing a pick-nick basket. Hermione took Harry's hand and they sat down on the quilt.
"I missed you, Harry, I really did," said Hermione.
"Well, it's not like I've gone anywhere," said Harry.
"You know what I mean," she said as she playfully hit him on his arm and leaned over to kiss him. They were so lost in the kiss that they never payed attention to the loud crack that rang throughout the room as Dobby the house elf appeared next to them.
"Harry Potter, sir," said the elf, at which Harry and Hermione both jumped at the sound of his squeaky voice.
"Dobby!" said Harry, pulling away from Hermione. "Dobby, you didn't see anything. Right? Remember that! You did not see a thing!" Harry got up and helped Hermione to her feet.
Dobby snickered and said, "Yes, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby will keep Harry Potter's secret with him to the grave, sir."
"Thanks," breathed Harry and looked at Hermione, who looked just as confused as he did.
"Er, what do you want, Dobby?"
"Dobby was just sent here to find Harry Potter, sir. Professor Dumbledore is needing to see you. It's about" - the elf shivered - "the war, sir."
Harry nodded. "Right," he said and turned to Hermione. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," said Hermione, "There'll be other times."
He grinned and kissed her once more before he left as Dobby disappeared with a crack.
Harry left Hermione to finish her lunch with Ginny and the others as he made his way to the stone gargoyle that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"Er," said Harry. He didn't know the password.
But before Harry could say anything, the gargoyle leapt aside and he found himself face-to-face with the very man that he wanted to see - the Headmaster himself.
"Harry," he nodded and ascended up the stairs.
Harry could tell that whatever had happened, it was nothing good; Dumbledore's tone was sober and sad.
As he entered the office, Dumbledore stepped around his desk and motioned his hand towards a chair in declaration for Harry to have a seat, after which he did so himself.
"Harry," he said a second time, "I'm afraid that worst has come to worst."
Harry looked up at him, seeing that Dumbledore's eyes were shining with what appeared to be tears.
"Voldemort has at last recruited the last of the creatures that he had needed for his army, including banshees, vampires, and other deadly beasts," he continued, "and he has only recently, as his first move, attacked the Ministry of Magic. We fear that his next move is up North and, after that,...only time will tell. It is, as I feared, Harry. The Maneosioan War has, after all, begun. And I must ask you, Harry, to do absolutely nothing about it."
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