Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 7 - Voldemort is on the Move
"Welcome to the Ravenclaw-Slytherin Quidditch match!" shouted Lee Jordan as the players began to fly toward the center of the pitch. The huge crowd cheered in response. In the five weeks since Dumbledore's funeral, life had gone on as usual.
Minerva had mentioned to her nephew and niece that Albus' portrait had awakened and they'd discussed how, in his last few years, he'd come to understand that he had been wrong about several things, and he'd never have realized that if she hadn't actually held him accountable for his actions. It had been so long since he'd had to answer to anyone for his decisions, and he'd been treated with such reverence, that he'd begun to believe himself infallible. She'd shown him that he wasn't, and for that he was genuinely thankful. It had allowed him to be much more useful toward the end of his life.
"This is the first time Harry Potter-McGonagall has played since his true heritage came out, and he's playing on a real Firebolt!" The excitement in the multitude gathered in the stands doubled. It took about thirty seconds for Jordan to continue. "You may recall that the last time these teams played each other, Draco Malfoy was riding a fake Firebolt…"
"Jordan!"
"Sorry, Professor McGonagall, but you've got to admit it was funny." The crowd laughed as Malfoy, astride his Nimbus 2001, took his position as Slytherin Seeker. His face was turning pink. Harry took his position as Ravenclaw's Seeker as each team member was announced. Roger Davies shook hands with the Slytherin captain before the Snitch was released. Once it was out of sight, Madam Hooch announced, "Let the game begin!"
"It seems weird being here in the stands," commented Hermione, who was sitting with Padma and Terry in the Ravenclaw section. She'd opted out of Quidditch this year because of her OWLs.
"I suppose it would," agreed Padma, "but at least now you can watch Harry more closely."
"True," she agreed while admiring her boyfriend as he flew as naturally as a bird.
"Davies has the Quaffle!" announced Lee, bringing their attention back to the action. They watched as Roger Davies swooped up and down, left and right to avoid being robbed. "Crabbe hits a Bludger toward him! He's passed the Quaffle to Bradley just before being hit. Ouch! That's gotta hurt!"
Hermione agreed with the announcer. Roger had been hit in the face and it looked as if his nose was broken. She knew he was too stubborn to get it looked at before the game was over, so she didn't comment on it.
"There's no way I'd keep playing like that," commented Padma.
"That's why you didn't try out for the team," replied Hermione with a grin.
"Bradley approaches the right hoop. Will it go in? It's a fake-out! He gets the Quaffle through the left hoop! Take that, Slytherin!"
"Jordan!"
"Sorry, Headmistress." Hermione noted that Harry's Aunt Minnie didn't really look upset about Lee's comment. The truth is that if she were offended at his particular brand of announcing, there'd have been no way he'd have lasted all these years as commentator.
The game went on and Slytherin managed to get goals in as well, much to Jordan's disgust, which he made known in his own humorous way, before apologizing to Professor McGonagall. The score was 180 to 150, in favor of Slytherin, before Lee shouted, "It looks like Harry Potter has seen the Snitch! Look at him go in that Firebolt! The acceleration is…"
"Jordan, you're not paid to advertise Firebolts."
"Yes, ma'am."
Hermione looked at the situation. She saw her boyfriend staring at the ground in deep concentration as he accelerated. She was truly amazed at how fast that new broom could go. Although she knew Harry had the skill to steer it, she was a bit nervous at seeing him dive that fast. She squinted as she tried to find the Snitch her boyfriend was diving toward, but didn't see it. She looked above him to see Draco struggling to catch up in his Nimbus, and was surprised to note that the gap between the two Seekers was closing.
"That should be impossible," she whispered to herself before she realized what was happening. She looked further up and noticed that about ten feet above where Malfoy had originally been hovering, the Snitch was visible. She started laughing, much to the confusion of her friends as she watched Harry pull up three feet from the ground while Draco crashed. Her boyfriend then zoomed up to where the Snitch was still hovering and grabbed it out of the air before raising his fist in triumph.
"Has he? Yes, I see it! Harry Potter-McGonagall has caught the Snitch! Ravenclaw wins 300 to 180!"
Hermione Granger joined in the loud cheering as Slytherin lost their second match this year. In their first match, Ginny had beaten Malfoy to the Snitch, granting Gryffindor a victory. She didn't have Harry's showmanship, but she was still very good, and the only Seeker Hermione felt was anywhere near her boyfriend's league. She was surprised to see him swoop down in front of her, still astride his broom, and lean in for a kiss, which she gladly granted, while taking her hands in his. The crowd ooo'd and awe'd at that, slightly embarrassing them before Harry flew off to the changing room. As she was watching him leave, Hermione noticed something was moving in her hand. She glanced down to see he'd given her his Snitch. She giggled as she stuffed it in her handbag.
"That was sooooo romantic," commented Padma. "I wish Terry would do things like that for me."
"I'm romantic!" the boy in question protested.
--HPM--
The celebration in Ravenclaw Tower went quite late, so consequently the `Claws' that actually made it to breakfast the next morning, including Harry, Hermione and Padma, were quite tired.
"I still…" YAWN "…don't see why…" YAWN "…we had to get up…" YAWN "…this early," said Harry, who'd protested his girlfriend coming into his dorm room and waking him up in time for breakfast. "It's Sunday. Padma didn't wake Terry."
"We still have to do our exercises. You should be thankful I didn't wake you earlier."
Harry did know she was right. If he was going to beat Voldemort, he couldn't let himself get out of shape and lose his edge. He knew he had the endurance to last a lot longer than any Death Eater or Dark Lord in a fight, and that would be his greatest advantage. He was always learning new curses, but didn't fool himself into thinking that he knew more spells than Voldemort. He just had to make sure he could dodge whatever Riddle sent at him and still be ready to fight back. Despite that, he still felt obligated to reply, "If you had, I'd have thrown my pillow at you."
"Excuse me, guys," interrupted a Gryffindor fifth-year boy they knew well.
"Yes, Neville," Hermione responded.
By his response, it was obvious that the Longbottom heir was nervous. "Er, I was wondering if…well, I know you guys do exercising and training and stuff, and I was wondering if you were, y'know, training to fight Death Eaters?"
"Yes, we are," said Harry, not seeing a reason to deny it. Everyone still would've believed that was the reason anyway. "You can't be prepared enough for an attack."
"Yeah. I was, well, wondering if you could train…me?"
Harry had long ago, in America, learned of the attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom and had expected something like this ever since the Lestranges had escaped Azkaban. "Of course, Nev. But it will be tough."
"I know," he replied, looking even more nervous.
"Then let's get started."
--HPM--
While it was obvious that Neville Longbottom was about to pass out within just a few minutes of starting their jogging around the lake, he didn't complain. He kept going for as long as he could, which turned out to be fifteen minutes, before he sat down panting and gasping for air. His face showed signs of being ready to pass out, but he didn't protest how hard he'd been pushed. He did, however, think this was an excellent opportunity to practice a spell they'd mentioned in study group a few weeks before. He pointed his wand toward his mouth and said, "Aguamenti." Unfortunately, the water spell didn't act like a water fountain. It acted like a hose. Within seconds, his mouth and nose were full of water and he was choking as he dropped his wand. He was grateful his companions were far enough ahead that they didn't notice his blunder.
"Well, what do we have here?" sneered the Seeker who'd been humiliated the day before. He quickly picked up the discarded stick. "What does a squib need with a wand anyway?" The resulting chuckles brought attention to the fact that Malfoy had his two bodyguards with him.
"Give it back," Neville shouted as best he could in between pants as he stood up.
"Or what?" mocked Draco as he held the stolen wand in both hands.
"Or I'll fight you," Neville threatened, putting up his fists.
"Muggle fighting is all you can do, you filthy squib!" he taunted before making to snap the wand.
"No!" shouted Neville, looking concerned about his father's wand.
"Why shouldn't I break it?" he asked before Neville jumped at him, his fists flying at Malfoy's face. As soon as Neville's fist collided with Draco's jaw, he fell and the Gryffindor got on top of him. The pampered prince of Slytherin threatened, "The Dark Lord will get you," while Longbottom pounded on his face until two thugs grabbed him and started to rough him up.
Malfoy, nose bleeding with the beginnings of a black eye, stood up and commanded, "Hold him there, Crabbe and Goyle," before he started punching Neville in the stomach.
It was at that moment three red beams of light shot straight into the three Slytherin backs. Neville looked up to see Harry, Hermione and Padma walking toward him, wands in hand, as the snakes collapsed unconscious.
"What happened?" asked Harry.
"Are you alright?" asked Padma as she approached him, looking for damage.
"I'm not too hurt," he claimed as he blushed from the attention he was receiving. "Luckily, Draco didn't let the two goons hit me much before he started throwing his weak punches at me."
"But how'd it start?" asked Hermione.
"I dropped my wand and Draco grabbed it. Which reminds me…" He then frantically looked around the ground until… "Oh no! My wand got broken! It was my dad's."
"That's awful!" said Harry as he examined the two pieces, before sighing. "Who threw the first punch?"
Looking down, he admitted, "I did."
With a grin, the Boy-Who-Lived replied, "I understand. Draco can get under anyone's skin. I used to fight him all the time. But you've got to remember that if you start the fight, you'll get in trouble. My aunt can't let us get away with everything we do." He looked around. "They didn't see us stun them, and I don't think they'll want to report that they lost against a Gryffindor they had three to one odds against. I say we leave them here."
"I agree," said Padma, and the others didn't protest.
"Let's have lunch at C.A.R.E. headquarters," suggested Hermione.
--HPM--
"This is the place," said the woman in a dark robe. The most feared witch in Britain turned her head to face her two companions, both of whom were wearing full Death-Eater garb.
"I still say we should've attacked his mudblood girlfriend's parents," commented one of them.
"Special wards have been put up at their house, Rabastan. We already discussed this! Help would be at that house before we even got inside. His other friend's parents will have to do."
"It should send the message, anyway," commented Bellatrix Lestrange in a sing-song voice. "This should be fun!" She then wordlessly shot a spell at the door in front of her, blasting it backwards, revealing the common room.
A red spell shot out the door toward Bellatrix, who easily shielded the stunner. "How dare you fire at me? Crucio!" While she tortured Mr. Patil, her husband and brother-in-law entered to find Mrs. Patil.
--HPM--
"Miss Patil, may I have a private word with you?" Padma was a bit surprised that her head of house, Professor Flitwick, had been waiting in the common room when she'd entered it from her dorm, but had thought he'd had a reason that had nothing to do with her. Now, judging by his solemn expression, along with the fact he'd singled her out, she was very worried. This could not be good news.
Apparently, Hermione had picked up on that as well. "May Harry and I accompany her, Professor?"
Sighing, he nodded. "Perhaps that would be best."
"Good morning. What's going on?" asked Harry as he approached the group.
"We're accompanying Padma for a talk with Professor Flitwick."
"Oh?"
"Yes."
"This way, please," said Filius as he led them to his office. When they entered, they found Parvati already inside, along with Lavender Brown and Professor Sinistra, the head of Gryffindor. Once they were seated, he said, "I'm sorry. I don't know any other way to put this." He sighed and looked at the two Patil girls. "Last night, your parents were attacked by Death Eaters."
"No!" shouted both sisters as they instinctively grabbed each other's arm.
"I'm afraid it's true," confirmed Sinistra. "Your mother is hurt badly but will recover."
"What about Dad?" asked Parvati.
"I'm afraid your father was…" Sinistra blinked back tears as she glanced at Flitwick, who nodded.
"I'm afraid I have to inform you that your father was tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange," he said as calmly as he could, under the circumstances. Harry and Hermione immediately put their arms around Padma while Lavender did the same with her best friend. "You may stay here as long as you wish. You're all dismissed from classes his morning. We'll arrange for you two to visit St. Mungo's after lunch." The two professors then quietly left the grieving students.
--HPM--
It wasn't long before Harry realized why the Patil family had been targeted, although he kept his mouth shut until Padma and Parvati had been escorted to the hospital by Harry's aunt, who, unlike the two heads of house, didn't have classes to teach.
"Voldemort was sending a message to me," he claimed while facing his girlfriend. "That's the only explanation."
"I know," she agreed in a whisper.
"You know?" he asked, surprised. "Aren't you going to argue that it wasn't the reason, that it was pure chance?"
"No," his crying girlfriend replied. "I will emphatically state that it wasn't your fault, but I agree that's the reason they were picked."
"I should've insisted that they get wards like your parents have!"
"That would've been great for them, but the Death Eaters would've still attacked someone. That's what those monsters do. All we can do is to prepare as best we can to stop them."
"Sometimes I feel so useless!"
--HPM--
"Mum will be spending the next week in St. Mungo's recovering, and she's planning on us leaving the country during Christmas break. She's looking into having me and Parv transferred."
"Oh no!" replied Harry and Hermione together.
"Maybe she'll change her mind. In the meantime, my house is going under the Fidelius Charm with my mum as secret-keeper."
"That's probably a good idea," said Harry, hesitantly.
"I know why my family was chosen, Harry, and I want you to know I don't blame you. It's them I want to fight." She sighed. "Parvati was hoping you'd let her join our training. She wants some revenge."
"Of course," replied Harry and Hermione together.
The next day, both Patil twins were jogging around the lake with Neville, Harry and Hermione. Neville hesitantly approached the twins, telling them of his parents' condition. They started spending a lot of time together.
--HPM--
About a week later, Neville and Parvati were doing prefect rounds when they heard some shouting echoing down the hall.
"You don't have your brother around to protect you tonight, do you?"
"I don't need Harry to protect me from you! I…"
As the Gryffindor prefects approached, they recognized Brianna, but not the person she was arguing with. He was in an outfit that hid his identity - a dark robe with a white mask. It looked similar to Death Eater garb, but not quite authentic. Neville suspected it was a wanna-be. He was drawing his wand when he saw a spell hit Brianna from behind. From the way she stiffened up and fell backward, he knew it was the full body-bind. He, as well as Parvati, pointed his new wand, one that had chosen him, but before they could do anything, someone else ran from the other direction.
"Reducto! You scum!" The original attacker screamed in agony as his right hand was blasted off.
"Crucio!" shouted the other, putting James Sauder under the torture curse. Seeing that particular spell angered both Neville and Parvati, however, there was a problem. From their angle, it would've been very easy to hit Brianna if they missed. They looked at each other and nodded, each realizing that the other understood. They immediately sent stunners at both attackers, who fell to the floor.
"I'll get Professor McGonagall. You help them," said Parvati before running off.
Neville quickly ran up to the victims. "Finite," he said while pointing his wand at Brianna, who could now move again. He helped her up while James managed to stand on his own.
"That's quite a curse," he commented while still shaking from it.
"Yeah," Neville softly responded while nodding. "Parvati Patil is getting the headmistress. In the meantime, we can bind these creeps. I'm sure she'll want to hear the story from you."
"I just hope we don't lose points for being out after curfew," said Brianna while accidentally stepping on one of the Death Eater wanna-be's. "James and I were supposed to meet here to…" Brianna looked a bit uncomfortable.
"I get the picture," interrupted Neville with a grin.
--HPM--
"Why'd you just stun the bas…"
"Harry, language," corrected Hermione half-heartedly while Neville and Parvati were explaining what had happened the night before to Harry, Hermione and Padma. The Headmistress had been incensed and immediately brought the perpetrators to the Ministry herself. Inwardly, Hermione agreed with her boyfriend.
"You should've blasted their bits off!" he finished. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm thankful you were there to help Brianna and James, but I just wish…"
"I know," interrupted Neville with a grin. "You wanted more violence."
"Exactly. Now they're going to jail and I won't be able to get any revenge."
"Believe me," replied Neville, "We both wanted to hurt them badly. They used the Cruciatus."
"The reason we stunned them is because we could've hit your sister," said Parvati.
"And what would you have yelled at us if we'd accidentally Reducto'd Brianna?" added Neville.
"I suppose that makes sense," commented Harry, "but I still wish they'd been hurt worse. I mean, only one of them lost a hand." He sighed. "I guess I'll have to thank James for that."
--HPM--
Harry did thank James for defending Brianna a bit later when the trio visited them in the hospital wing. Although they were fine, Minerva had insisted that they be checked by Pomfrey, who thought it best to have them spend the night before being released to attend classes. The Headmistress gave a very stern warning to anyone considering repeating the actions of the night before, and Harry had never seen her look more serious and angry. The perpetrators turned out to be two seventh-year Slytherins Harry had never met before named Anthony Dirkwood and Jason Richardson. Both of them were over 17, so they couldn't argue that they were minors to try to get lighter sentences. Richardson, who had cast the Cruciatus, was sentenced to life in prison while Dirkwood got five years.
Before long, it was time to leave Hogwarts for the Christmas break, and for the first time, Harry would be riding the Express during winter break. While normally he'd have waited with his aunt and Apparated with her, he was obligated to perform his Prefect duties, which included patrolling the Hogwarts Express. Brianna decided to ride the train as well, to spend more time with her boyfriend. They were surprised to see Professor Burbage riding a carriage to Hogsmeade with them.
"Well if you must know," she answered with a grin after Harry asked what she was doing after he, Hermione and Padma had gotten aboard her carriage, "I have a date."
"Really?" asked Hermione. "That's wonderful."
"Anyone we know?" asked Padma. They could tell that the Muggle Studies professor wasn't uncomfortable talking about her life with them.
"As a matter of fact, it is. A certain former professor of Hogwarts sent me an invitation."
"Let me guess," joked Harry, "It's Mad-Eye Moody."
The three ladies burst out laughing.
"Not quite. It's Remus Lupin."
"That's terrific," said Hermione, looking genuinely pleased. "He really is a great guy." At that moment, the thestral-drawn carriage stopped. "We'd better go."
"Tell Remus we said hi," requested Harry as he helped his girlfriend off the carriage. They quickly made their way to the scarlet train that looked just like the model he'd been given as a young child. After they boarded and found a compartment, the couple made their way to the Prefects' meeting.
--HPM--
Harry and Hermione quickly volunteered for the first rounds, in order to get it out of the way, so they found themselves walking the length of the Hogwarts Express a little over one hour into the trip. They'd found a few couples getting a bit too familiar and had them cool off. Brianna knew that her brother would try to get the first rounds, so she and James were sitting one foot apart when the Ravenclaw prefects walked by. The couples happily greeted each other. Once they'd gone, Brianna and her boyfriend moved closer and started kissing.
When Harry and Hermione were in the area the Slytherins used, they noticed that Malfoy wasn't there. "Where do you suppose he is?" asked Hermione.
"Probably hexing a first-year," said Harry. "We'd better find him." They hadn't noticed that Draco wasn't the only one missing from the train as they looked around for him.
They were just about to give up their search when they heard a noise in the last car. They noticed the curtain had been drawn closed, so they opened the door to see something they did not expect. Draco Malfoy, with his broom in hand, was climbing out the window.
"Malfoy!" shouted both Ravenclaws as he jumped, but it was too late. They rushed forward to look out the window, to see they'd been over a high bridge. They watched as he managed to mount his Nimbus and start flying before hitting the ground.
They heard him shout, "Enjoy the train ride!" at them before they noticed he wasn't the only wizard outside. There was a crowd of Death Eaters on brooms.
After muttering an expletive, which Hermione didn't bother to correct, Harry grabbed her hand and they both bolted out of the compartment toward the front, intent on speaking to the conductor. When they were nearly there, it happened.
BOOM!!!
The train was hit so hard that it fell on its side and continued sliding for about a minute before crashing into a group of trees. Harry and Hermione were thrown into a wall. He managed to get up while he asked, "Are you alright, Hermione?"
"Yeah, I am. Aside from a few bruises, I'm fine. You?" She got up after he held out his hand for her.
"The same."
"Help me!" called a muffled voice from nearby that Harry would recognize anywhere.
"Brianna?" he asked while looking around for the source. "Where are you?"
"In the loo. I can't move."
He and his girlfriend quickly located the bathroom and opened the door, which was a bit awkward since the train was on its side. Harry was pleased that his sister was clothed, but terrified as he noticed that her left leg was bent in a way that it shouldn't be and her head was bleeding. Before he could say anything to his sister, another familiar voice, this one booming from a Sonorus spell, echoed all over the train.
"Harry Potter, if you don't want the entire train destroyed with all your fellow students, show yourself." It was Voldemort.
Harry's eyes grew cold as he summoned his wand from his holster.
"Harry…" said Hermione.
"Don't tell me not to…"
"I wasn't going to," she answered. "You have no choice. I was going to wish you good luck, and promise to take care of Brianna." She hugged him tightly before giving him a quick peck on the lips. "I believe in you."
He managed to say, "I love you," before making his way toward the nearest exit. Had he not been so focused, he'd have noticed that he wasn't the only student headed in that direction. Once he managed to get out the door, he saw the Dark Lord standing nearby surrounded by several Death Eaters.
His green eyes full of fury, Harry said coldly, "Hello, Vol de moi."
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