Unofficial Portkey Archive

Harry Potter and the Gilded Portrait - Part 3

Standard Disclaimers Apply…

Chapter 40 - Cho's Revenge

The next day it seemed the whole school was in a buzz - Harry Potter had returned to Hogwarts…and the word spread like Fiendfyre.

…And, as it happened it would be Gryffindor against Ravenclaw on the Quidditch pitch that afternoon.

The Gryffindor team was excited Harry would be there to watch. Ginny was nervous but Ron strutted like a rooster the whole morning proclaiming victory to whoever was within earshot.

He had tried to talk Harry into playing but Headmistress McGonagall made it clear while she wouldn't exactly forbid it she felt it would be a bit unsportsmanlike and would be quite unfair to the Ravenclaws. The Head Girl agreed vehemently with the Headmistress. Ron just called her a shameless suck-up again.

The weather had taken a turn. The temperature dropped and snow was falling but at least it wasn't blizzard-like. For Quidditch, the weather was quite temperate if one looked back on the conditions of some of their past matches.

As the entire school made their way toward the pitch, Harry, Hermione and Ron walked together as they had so many times before but this time it was only Ron dressed in his gear with his Clean Sweep thrown over his shoulder.

Part of Harry was a little sad he would be nothing more than a spectator this time and his eyebrows pinched at the thought. He wasn't sure how he would manage it.

Hermione, in her usual I-know-what-you're-thinking-you-can't-fool-me way patted Harry's hand she was holding giving him a wry grin. She leaned close and kissed his cheek softly, then whispered…

"Don't even think about it Potter."

Harry chuckled, shaking his head. He wasn't going to make a fuss. Even though he longed to be out on the pitch mixing it up with the others, he felt part of him had grown passed that. It was that realization more than anything that saddened him.

But Hermione knew, if Harry had pressed the issue and asked to play she would have let him with only mild complaint because after all, there was a time when Quidditch and flying was what Harry had lived for. He was damned good at it and she had to admit, seeing him in all his gear and looking so…so…Oh My!

She had to get her mind off that quickly otherwise she would be petitioning for him to play!

As they watched excited younger students flash by them in an attempt to get the best seats Harry heard a rather familiar voice coming from near the dressing area where the teams gathered before and after each match.

"Well now," Oliver Wood said beaming, "Isn't this a pleasant surprise."

"Oliver!" Harry said beaming with surprise and rushing forward to clasp hands with his old team Captain, "What are you doing here?"

After Oliver told him he was now Flying Instructor and Quidditch Ref. Harry shot Ron and Hermione a questioning look.

"Sorry mate," Ron said shrugging his shoulder, "forgot to mention it."

They chatted Oliver up for a bit getting caught up on what he had been up to. They discovered he decided to leave professional Quidditch after suffering what he said were `too many bloody concussions and way too many broken bones.'

After Oliver went on toward the pitch they saw Ginny making her way toward them with the rest of the team in tow. Harry could see Dean Thomas, Cormac McLaggen, Michael Corner and a couple 6^th year Gryffindores he never really knew all that well.

"Bet it feels strange not suiting up to play doesn't it Harry?" Ginny said looking just a bit sad.

"Yah," Harry replied a bit glumly but he brightened instantly, "Congratulations on making Captain, by the way. That's brilliant, but I can't say I'm surprised!"

Hermione couldn't help but glare at Ginny slightly feeling a bit territorial for some reason. It was very much unlike her.

Ginny wasn't going to be intimidated by the Head Girl one bit. She beamed at Harry.

"Thanks," she said leaning forward to kiss Harry on the cheek and patted him on the shoulder. She gave Hermione a look that seemed to say, `Go ahead! Say something snarky - I dare you!' but Hermione held her tongue and kept her expression as even as possible.

Ginny looked at the others over the shoulder, "Well, come on you lot. We've got strategy to discuss before the match starts, chop chop!"

Ron mouthed the words, `She's a bloody tyrant!' as he fell in behind his sister.

Harry and Hermione turned to make their way to the stands when they came face to face with Cho Chang and the Ravenclaw team. Harry had to admit it was a rather rag-tag looking bunch but couldn't help notice Cho was not only a bit taller than he remembered but she was now drop dead gorgeous! He felt Hermione's grip on his fingers tighten slightly at the sight of the Ravenclaw team Captain.

Hermione's Possessive Head Girl Bitch seemed to shift into overdrive! It was all very disconcerting and completely unnecessary.

"Hello Harry," she said in her sweet voice smiling, "It's good to see you again." She seemed to be completely ignoring the fact that Hermione was standing right next to him, hands locked together. Hermione was desperately trying to keep her expression completely neutral but wasn't sure she was successful.

Oh…For Merlin's sake Granger - You and Harry were shagging like fuzzy little bunnies in your room last night! What's with all the pointless insecurity?

The truth was, all one had to do was look at Cho to answer that question. Empty-headed though the bimbo may be - the bee-yotch was H- O -T!

But Harry being Harry just returned her smile and nodded politely.

"It's good to see you too Cho. Good luck out there today."

And that was that. Hermione seemed to let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding as they made their way in to find seats.

They ran into Neville and Luna, with Luna sporting her silly but lovable Lion's head hat. It roared loudly at them when they approached. They chatted for a bit when a thought struck Harry completely out of the blue.

"Luna," he asked, "I'm just curious. Seeing as you're in Ravenclaw, I've always wondered why you cheer for Gryffindor. I mean, don't get me wrong, we appreciate it but I've just always wondered, that's all."

Luna gave Harry a rather queer look then answered, "It's because all my friends are Gryffindors silly." Neville just shrugged looking clueless. With that they moved on to find seats.

Harry stood blinking at her response but as her words sunk in he realized she was right. He remembered the ceiling in her bedroom at her father's house. He smiled shaking his head as he shared a knowing glance with Hermione. She was remembering as well.

After finding seats sitting with Hagrid while his giant half-brother Grawp looked on over their shoulders they settled in to watch the match.

The Ravenclaws were first to take the pitch, the packed crowd cheering wildly as they flew their parade lap before taking up their positions. When the Gryffindors took to the air the arena went crazy. It seemed everyone was there.

Many began chanting "Weasley is our king!" as they made their way around the pitch.

Harry couldn't help but laugh and join in.

Some things never change…

They watched as Oliver Wood walked in to the center of the ring to some rather loud (and mostly female) cheers and cat calls of his own. He put the old and battered looking trunk on the sand and flipped open the lid. After going over the rules he released the bludgers. They shot almost straight up then began circling around the perimeter of the pitch.

He then released the golden snitch and much to everyone's shock and surprise the snitch zipped right at Harry Potter's nose stopping just short of smacking him in the face. It hovered there for just a brief moment as Harry starred at it with eyes almost crossed looking totally bewildered at the little golden winged orb's odd behavior. Then, in a blink it zipped off out over the pitch.

Harry looked at Hermione like he was confunded but she just smiled and chuckled at him.

"Harry, no-one has caught that snitch more than you have over the past few years. It's probably wondering why you're sitting in the stands!"

He gave his amazing girl a beaming, blushing grin. He marveled at her cleaver little mind.

With that, Oliver tossed the quaffel into the air and the match began…

Ravenclaw struck first with the chasers using an effective razzle-dazzle maneuver that had Ron tied up in knots on the lower ring.

After Ron managed to stop two more attempts at the Gryffindor goals Dean Thomas finally scored after a brilliant pre-planned play that had the Chaser, Jack Sloper screaming up the right side of the pitch. About to get pinched between the two Ravenclaw Chasers and one of the bludgers Jack flipped the quaffel straight up into the hands of a diving Ginny Weasley who seemed to come out of nowhere.

Ginny dove to the very bottom of the pitch in front of Ravenclaw's goals. As Dean came screaming up the middle of the pitch Ginny simply tossed the quaffel up into the waiting hands of Dean who then tossed it through the middle ring as Jack headed straight for the Ravenclaw Keeper as if he was going to collide with him but stopped just as the quaffel sailed through.

It was a great play and Harry found himself completely lost in the match. On and on the game went, both sides very evenly matched. Ron was doing a great job of stopping shot after shot but the young Ravenclaw Keeper was just as determined. It was a low scoring game.

In a great move by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters, she faked a charging Cormac McLaggen with a daring side roll and he slammed right into the pole that held the top ring on the Ravenclaw side with a sickening crunch. The entire crowd seemed to say "Ooh," all at the same time. The lummox fell to the floor of the arena in a pile of arms and legs.

A few older students rushed out to roll him onto a stretcher and carted him off while he protested he was ok but his right arm seemed to be hanging a bit limply.

It began to snow even harder and the wind seemed to pick up slightly. Hermione found herself moving closer to Harry to keep warm.

Now with Gryffindor a Beater short, the Ravenclaws picked up the pace at the shouted commands from Cho. It was at that moment Harry caught Ginny out of the corner of his eye on the far side of the pitch. Although he couldn't see it he knew instantly she had caught sight of the snitch. The heavy snow made it difficult to see much of anything beyond the center of the arena.

She was off like a shot and in the next second Cho Chang was right in her slip stream.

Harry couldn't help but marvel at the speeds and how they looked from where they were sitting.

Merlin, no wonder why Hermione never really liked us playing!"

But he also remembered she had showed up for every game even though…The memory made him smile and lean over to give her a kiss on her forehead.

She just beamed up at Harry smiling. She knew him well enough to know he was reminiscing about old times.

It was all he could do to keep up with the two Seakers as they screamed across the pitch. The snitch seemed to dive and twist as the two girls stayed right behind it. With an impossibly tight turn the snitch headed straight for the stands near the announcer and just before it hit shot to the left.

Neither Cho nor Ginny even tried to stop or turn. Both girls just covered their heads with their arms and blasted right through the lower part of the stands as wood splintered everywhere in their wake.

The whole place went crazy as the girls came out the other side whipping the house banners out of the way as they continued their relentless pursuit of the snitch.

The snitch arched back around behind the Gryffindor goals and zipped across the middle of the pitch right at eye level of the spectators. As Ginny and Cho came around in its wake Ginny turned on the speed. By the time the two girls made the middle of the pitch they both looked like blurs with Ginny just a few feet in front of Cho.

Hermione was now on her feet. She was watching Ginny streaking across the pitch.

"Go Ginny Go," she hollered as she turned and tugged on Harry's sleeve pulling to his feet beside her. As Ginny got closer to the snitch Hermione began jumping up and down screaming at the top of her lungs…

"GO GINNY…DON'T LET HER GET THE SNITCH…GO - GO GRYFFINDOR!

Harry could only laugh and cheer right along with her.

As Ginny began to reach out Cho Chang did something completely unexpected.

In a burst of acceleration Cho pulled up just above Ginny as if she was going to try and fly right over the top of the Gryffindor Seaker's head.

Ginny, falling for the feint, climbed to try and block but in the last second, Cho rolled over to her left and flying completely upside-down just under Ginny shot forward with an impressive display of speed and control. She was on the snitch before Ginny could adjust.

Just before she was about to slam into the post of the upper-most ring of the Ravenclaw goal Cho folded herself into a ball and plowed right into it. Her broom slammed the metal pole exploding into a thousand splintered pieces.

Everyone in the arena was now on their feet. The whole place went as silent as a tomb.

Cho, along with the remains of her shattered broom fell to the pitch floor in a pile. For a moment everyone seemed to hold their breath as they watched the Ravenclaw Seaker lying there unmoving for a few heartbeats.

Oliver Wood, along with her team-mates and many of the Gryffindor players, shot toward where Cho lay as they saw Madam Pomfrey making her way quickly from the stands toward the pitch floor.

Suddenly, with what appeared to be monumental effort, Cho got unsteadily to her feet just as Oliver reached her. In a grinning display of pride that Harry remembered all too well, Cho raised a battered hand to the sky and in it was the glittering golden metal ball of the snitch pinched between two fingers and her thumb.

"Ravenclaw wins!" Oliver shouted and his voice echoed around the mostly silent arena.

The entire arena went absolutely insane. Even Hermione was clapping at the amazing feat of the Ravenclaw Seaker.

"Bloody impressive," Hermione laughed, "I've got to admit!"

Harry couldn't help but agree completely.

In a show of good sportsmanship all the players flew down to congratulate Cho on her amazing catch.

She wobbled a bit, quite unsteady on her feet so a few of her teammates carried her off the pitch after the Hogwarts Healer gave them a nod. They made their way back toward Hogwarts.

Ginny, even though she had reluctantly congratulated Cho along with the rest, did not look happy. She mounted her broom and streaked off toward the changing rooms without a backward glance.

Harry knew the fiery red head was probably angry at herself for falling for Cho's tactic but he also knew there would be no consoling her. When Ginny got it in her mind to be angry you didn't try to comfort her…you just left her alone.

"Well," Hagrid said as he got to his feet, "I've got ter' admit tha' were one o' the bes' games I've seen in a while," then he glanced at Harry, "err, no' takin' anythin' away from wha' you did `erry but ya' gotter admit…"

"I agree a hundred per-cent Hagrid," Harry smiled, "That was incredible!"

"A bit different when you see things from this point of view," Hermione grinned taking his arm, "isn't it Harry?"

"Yah," he laughed, then remembered something Fred and George had said just before his first ever Quidditch match, "Rough game Quidditch!"

Later that evening sitting at dinner in the Great Hall the entire student body was in a buzz over the exciting match earlier that day. Everyone seemed to be talking about it.

To Harry, he was thankful the match was so thrilling because it seemed to take the attention off him for now.

He and Hermione sat with Ron, Ginny, Dean, Neville, Seamus, and a few other Gryffindors as they replayed the match over in minute detail. Harry could tell both Ginny and Ron had already heard enough about it and seemed to be intent on changing the subject to just about anything else when Michael Corner, nose buried in the latest edition of the Prophet looked up with eyes wide.

"Say!" He said excitedly, interrupting the casual conversations around him, "The Ministry's just issued a hundred thousand galleon reward to whoever finds the missing wizard bonds! The Prophet says the Undersecretary held a press conference today to announce the details!"

"Let me see that," Ron immediately snatched the wizard paper from the younger boy's grasp, his protest falling on deaf ears. He started to peruse the article but Hermione glared at him dangerously.

"How rude!" she spit.

She reached across the table and snatched the paper right back from Ron, handing it back to a sneering Michael.

"Hey!" Ron growled but the look on Hermione's face was enough to make him blush slightly and drop his complaint.

Michael proceeded to read the entire article and the topic then shifted to where the bonds might be hidden, each suggestion more unlikely than the previous.

Hermione was still a bit distracted by her knowledge of the new Prophecy. Her conscience was at war with her common sense and neither was budging an inch.

She glanced at Harry who sat quietly eating his food not really partaking in the conversation but seemed content to just listen and take it all in.

After she had reluctantly told Ron about it he had done nothing more than gape at her stupidly before rolling his eyes saying, "Merlin's bullocks…not again! He had mumbling something about `stupid nutter, sherry-sodden, Divinations Professors,' as he was making his way to the boy's dorms that evening after she had spilled the beans.

She had to admit that pretty much summed up her attitude toward Sybill Trelawney at the moment quite nicely…

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