Harry's eyes nervously flittered between Hermione and Neville as he watched the pair pour over their Transfiguration notes. Occasionally, one or the other would glance up at him and give a venomous glare of some sort. Hermione's glare usually consisted of a tight squinting of the eyes and the visible gritting of her teeth. Neville's glare on the other hand contained a tinge of sympathy. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione cut him off with an impressively vicious glare and an accompanying nose scrunch.
"What Harry?" Neville asked, acknowledging the look of disbelief on Hermione's face.
"I was just wondering if you knew the essential wand movement needed to turn inanimate objects into quasi-elements," Harry said in what could only be a scared whisper.
"It's a half-circle followed by a hard swish and a point. Maybe if you took better notes, paid attention, and didn't eavesdrop on random conversations, you would have known!" Hermione slammed her textbook shut, gathered her belongings, and stomped her way up the girl's staircase.
"Got it," whispered Harry as he looked after her.
"She'll get over it eventually. At the very least she'll stop trying to kill just by staring at you," Neville gave Harry a half smile as he tried to make light of the situation.
"It's useless, I let you all down anyways," Harry grumbled.
"If you let us down, you would have turned in Padfoot by now. Seeing as how you haven't, you've got most of my trust back at least," Neville said with no sense of sarcasm or lightheartedness.
"Thanks for that. I couldn't have turned him in, at least not after what you have told me anyways."
When Harry found out that it was indeed Sirius Black holding him captive, he began to thank his mother and father for ushering him into this world as he was convinced that Black was going to eviscerate him. Fortunately for Harry, that was not to the case. In between Hermione yelling at him, Ron berating him, and Neville repeatedly shaking his head, Black managed to convince Harry that it was the other fellow, Peter Pettigrew, who betrayed his parents and subsequently the Longbottoms. After a lengthy discussion as for the reasons of Black's discreteness, they untied Harry and let him free.
"How mad is Ron still?" Harry asked, grimacing at the probable response.
"Well, you know, famous Weasley temper and all," Neville tried to dismiss it with a hand wave, but his expression belied a different answer.
"I'll make sure to stay away from him for now."
Fate would not be too kind to Harry Potter. As if on cue, the second to last Weasley ambled through the portrait and fixed Harry with a patently petulant glare. Making his way over to the set of couches near the fireplace, Ron purposely stared down Harry as he weaved through the maze of random students.
"Neville, want to watch me get some Keeper practice in?"
"Not particularly, you usually bewitch the Quaffles to go slower so you can block more of them."
"Well I'll make sure to put them on hyper speed this time."
"Why don't you just let Harry have a go at them?"
"Harry's a Seeker, wouldn't know a thing or two about trying to score."
"I can do it!" Harry exclaimed, eager to be in Ron's good graces.
"Thanks, but I don't particularly trust your skills," Ron said with a look of disdain.
"Ron…" Neville started to protest, but Ron cut him off with a simple look. Shrugging to Harry, Neville set off with Ron, presumably to the Quidditch pitch. Sighing, Harry tossed his quill up in the air and blew a few strands of his hair out of his eyes.
Just brilliant.
---------------------------------
Later that day, Harry stood in a position not so unlike the one he had taken up not a few nights previous. To put it more frankly, Harry was stalking Hermione as she moved to and fro within the library. Knowing that Ron would never be the first one to forgive him, Harry set out to somehow apologize to Hermione for his colossal mistake.
While he spied on Hermione, Harry realized that he had no particular plan on how to apologize to Hermione. While he knew that following a girl after a date was no way to charm her, Harry couldn't help his curiosity. Even as he child, he had an instinctive need to know. So with that little guilty admission, Harry rounded the corner and approached Hermione tentatively. To her credit, she did not immediately bolt as soon as she spotted Harry out of the corner of her eye. Instead, she stonily ignored his presence until he was almost standing on her foot.
"Hermione, can I talk to you?" Harry squirmed. She refused to acknowledge him and continued to simultaneously place and replace books on the shelves.
"Look, you don't even have to listen. I know it's very creepy of me to follow you guys all the way to the Whomping Willow. Although you do have to admit that if you saw someone disappear into a tree trunk, you'd have to be quite suspicious as well."
Hermione turned to him and raised an eyebrow at this suggestion. Wincing Harry backpedaled to apologize again.
"What I meant was that I'm naturally a curious person and while I know it's just incredibly odd of me to follow you and Ron to a private meeting that I wasn't invited to, I hope you can at least understand why I followed you into the Whomping Willow. I know that's a terrible apology but I'm very sorry," Harry pleaded in what seemed to be one breathe.
"What are you sorry for?" Hermione snapped. Harry blinked, completely off guard by the question.
"Um, for…for… following you?" Harry said in a relatively unsure tone.
Snapping the last book in her hand shut, Hermione launched into a tirade that had Harry wincing every few seconds, "Harry! You followed Ron and I from Hogsmeade all the way to the Whomping Willow. You then decided to sneak in after us and spy on us while we were talking about very important things!"
"That's not fair! You were talking to what I thought at the time was a convicted murderer. What am I supposed to do? Announce myself out loud before getting myself killed?" Harry rebutted in a bout of indignation.
"Except you know now that Padfoot is completely innocent," Hermione started to burn red in the face as their conversation became auspiciously loud.
"But I didn't know that at the time," Harry stressed.
"I don't care! Besides, this isn't exactly the first time you've done this to us, to me, Harry!" Hermione said pointedly. At this point, Harry visibly flinched and lowered his eyes to the ground, fully dressed down from Hermione's verbal barb. After a moment, he felt Hermione's hand on his shoulder, signaling she wanted to speak to him.
"Thank you for not telling anyone about Padfoot, Harry, but following me from Hogsmeade was just creepy. If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were a stalker. I also know that you had been standing there with Draco for a while during that night. I didn't mention it to Neville and Ron because one of the two would have gone ballistic. Thanks for keeping the secret Harry, but please just leave me alone for a while?" Hermione asked him solemnly.
Nodding, Harry shuffled a couple of more times, his eyes completely glued to his shoes. The startling revelation that Hermione knew he was spying on them that night with Draco grounded him more than he thought it would. Forget trying to gain her admiration, Harry was struggling to cope with how he was going to repair their rather tenuous friendship at the moment.
"I'll see you around," Hermione said after a rather awkward pause. Readjusting the strap of her bag, Hermione quickly scurried away from the desolate teen.
--------------------------
The dull roar of the crowd could be heard within the entrance tunnel to the Quidditch Pitch. As the Gryffindor team shuffled their feet in an attempt to gain position to their flying entrance, Harry found himself occasionally bumping into Ron as he brought up the rear of the group. Ron had quickly won the Keeper position after Oliver vacated the position.
At the moment though, Harry wished that someone else would have been Keeper since he did not quite trust Ron not to whack him with his Cleansweep. To Ron's credit, he kept to his space and did not go out of his way to insult Harry, at least not this time. Much to Harry's surprise though, Ron did turn around to address him just before the starting sides were announced via Lee Jordan.
"Harry, I know that you seem to be a right git, but please catch the damn Snitch. I know you can't possibly mess up everything in sight," Ron said in a clipped tone.
Harry knew that Ron had insulted him but took the communication as a good sign. Gripping his Firebolt tightly, Harry mounted it as he heard the names of the Chasers being announced through Lee's amplified voice.
"…the Keeper, Ron WEASLEY!" Ron flew out to a thunderous roar as the mostly pro-Gryffindor crowd roared their approval.
"Last but definitely not least comes the star Gryffindor Seeker, Harry POTTER!" Lee drew out Harry's last name as he zoomed and zipped out of the tunnel to the wild cheering of his classmates. Executing a few barrel rolls on his way to the contingent of Gryffindor supporters, Harry could not help the smile that broke out on his face. No matter his problems, everything was wiped away when it came to Quidditch. He spotted Neville and Ginny giving him a thumbs up as Harry zoomed by on his broom.
"And here come the pride of the Slytherin House, introducing their Captain, Graham MONTAGUE!"
One by one, the Slytherin players rocketed out onto the pitch to a spatter of boos and a raucous cheering from the crowd of Slytherin housemates. Harry could spot the pompous ponce known as Draco Malfoy as last out of the tunnel. Malfoy made a lap around the pitch and as he flew by the Gryffindor team, his trademark smirk graced his face as he mockingly winked at Harry.
"If I didn't know any better Harry, I'd think Malfoy's taken a fancy towards you," George quipped.
"He wishes," Harry grumbled much to the amusement of the rest of the team. After a quick meeting with Madam Hooch, the captains set off to their respective teams.
"I don't have to tell you all that this match might get ugly. Harry, catch the Snitch as quickly as you can please? We already have the lead in points and I kind of want to make it out of this game without anyone in the Hospital Wing," Angelina commanded. Harry nodded, his face rather grim.
Madam Hooch tossed the Quaffle in the air and Harry watched as Alicia immediately latched onto the ball and sped her way to the opposing goals. Rising high above the crowd, Harry took some time to survey the situation. Malfoy was not too far behind, keeping a wary eye on his Gryffindor counter part.
"It's Spinnet. Back to Bell. Back to Spinnet, great move by the nimble Chaser! Pucey is closing on her. She finds Johnson who's got a clear look! GOAL to Gryffindor! 10-0!"
Harry listened to Lee's commentating in the back of his head, his eyes flittering about the pitch as he tried to locate the tiny, golden speck. Deciding to have a little fun with Malfoy, Harry immediately descended into a dive, making sure to disrupt the Slytherin Chasers along the way.
"Potter's diving! Might he have found the Snitch already? Malfoy's not too far behind but Potter has the lead. Potter swirls right through the Slytherin Chasers! Dangerous move by the Gryffindor Seeker…oh…but he's pulled out of the dive."
Harry pulled up and glanced over his shoulder to see Malfoy's broom wobbling as he barely kept himself from smashing into the ground. Smiling grimly, Harry once again took to the air to perch himself above the game.
"Pucey muscles his way through the crowd and he's alone versus the Keeper. Shows left but goes right, completely fooling Weasley! 10-10!"
The game continued to progress in Slytherin's favor as they gained the foothold on the match, the score currently at 60 to 10. Harry decided to have another marauding dive to disrupt the overpowering Slytherin Chasers.
"Potter's having another dive into the crowd but Malfoy's not having any of it this time. Wait a moment, Malfoy has pulled off in the other direction!"
Panicking, Harry immediately about faced and pelted after Malfoy as quickly as he the broom could fly. If Malfoy had indeed spotted the Snitch, Harry felt like he was acres behind him. As Malfoy tore into a series of barrel rolls through the Chasers, he suddenly pulled up in front of the Slytherin crowd and flipped off Harry while Madam Hooch was distracted. The Slytherin crowd roared their approval as Harry rolled his eyes while he flew away.
"Looks like Malfoy's having a bit of a laugh, that git. Meanwhile, Pucey continues his hot streak as he scores another goal. 70-10, Slytherin."
Ron was clearly distressed as he continued to be outwitted by the Slytherin Chasers. Fred and George did their best to disrupt their flow but Slytherin were almost brushing off the Bludgers with their form. Harry knew that he needed to find the Snitch quickly before the game devolved any further.
"Spinnet's gone on a rather adventurous flight path here. She feints left, avoids a close Bludger, dodges another Slytherin. Great one-two with Johnson and she should score here and she does! 20-70 Slytherin. Oh but Spinnet looks to have pulled up with an injury here! I wonder if that Bludger wasn't as far as away as we thought."
Alicia grimaced as she waved to Madam Hooch with her functioning arm. Alicia pointed to her arm from where Harry could see her. Madam Hooch gave it a quick inspection before immediately sending her off the pitch to the Hospital Wing.
"Looks like Gryffindor are going to have to play a man or woman down for the time being. Let's see what steel Gryffindor are made of here."
Unfortunately for the Gryffindor House, they seemed to be made of somewhat malleable material as Slytherin poured it on with their man advantage. The quick but petite Chasers of Gryffindor were overmatched by the hunkering Slytherins. Fred and George did their best to beat away the challenges but could only hold off the onslaught. It was already 120 to 30 in Slytherin's favor by the time Alicia came back onto the pitch. Harry knew time was quickly running out.
As he drifted between the Slytherin goal posts, Harry could make out a somewhat golden speck on the completely other side of the pitch. Malfoy was currently stationed somewhere near the midfield and clearly had the advantage if Harry took off immediately. Capturing this Snitch would require a bit of guile and deceit on Harry's part.
Pulling the Firebolt upwards, Harry climbed until he was quite a ways above Malfoy, who had momentarily took his eyes off of the Gryffindor Seeker. Making sure that he could still see the Snitch hovering near the bottom of the Gryffindor goal posts, Harry took a deep breath before tilting his broom down in what would later be described as "The Potter Death Dive."
"Crunching hit by one of the Weasley twins, I don't know which one as Pucey loses the Quaffle…oh…Potter's gone into a bit of a dive here, what's the boy wonder up to now? Malfoy hasn't spotted him and, wait, Potter's headed directly to Malfoy! This doesn't seem to be a gimmick! Potter's going to shave this one close!"
Harry veered at the last moment and felt the bubble of air rush around Malfoy. The blond haired boy spun around in place before giving chase to his nemesis. Harry ducked as a stray Bludger attempted to take his head off his shoulders. Giving a quick glance over his shoulders, Harry could see that Malfoy recovered from Harry's close brush and was quickly gaining on him. Harry urged his Firebolt forwards as he focused solely on the Snitch. The pair were barely a meter off the ground as the wind whistled in Harry's ears, his eyes glued to the Snitch which circled around the center Gryffindor goal post.
Harry knew that this capture was going to be a tight affair. The Snitch was circling the center goal post while he and Malfoy were approaching it from a side angle. Capturing it would require weaving through the goal posts while avoiding collision with each other. Harry gave a quick glance over his shoulder to see Malfoy had taken up a drafting position. Guessing that Malfoy was aiming to overtake him as soon as they reached the goal posts, Harry decided ahead of time to weave right and duck under Malfoy's attempt. He raised his height to about two meters off the ground and saw Malfoy follow suit. The slight elevation gave him about one and a half meters of wiggle room as they flew at the broom's highest speeds.
"They're closing in on the Snitch! Malfoy's slightly trailing behind Potter. Potter weaves and ducks! Oh, but the Snitch has darted upwards! Potter and Malfoy are snaking up the goal posts. They've reached the top! POTTER'S JUMPING! He's got it, but he's in free fall! AND WEASLEY GRABS HIM! GRYFFINDOR WIN! GRYFFINDOR WIN! 180 - 120! Potter leaps off his broom to grab the Snitch and Weasley catches him mid flight, GRYFFINDOR WIN!" Lee Jordan exclaimed as he jumped and down, his dreadlocks flying wildly about as he celebrated.
Harry held on to the Snitch in a bit of a daze as he awkwardly maneuvered his body so he was not laying on Ron. As soon as they hit the ground, Harry hopped off with shaky legs, his hands on his knees as he heaved air into his lungs. He winced as Ron clapped him in the back repeatedly but enjoyed the rain of compliments being thrown upon him.
"Harry, that was amazing mate! Bloody gave me a scare when you were falling, almost didn't catch you. I saw you diving from across the pitch, but I figured it was another of your runs until I saw you start pelting after me. I didn't even think of moving when you two were coming up the goal posts, I could have sworn Malfoy tried to take you out then…" Ron continued to ramble the play by play, smiling from ear to ear as he repeatedly gave Harry congratulatory slaps on the back. Ron, at least for now, had seemed to have forgiven Harry's past transgressions.
They were soon mobbed by the rest of the Gryffindor supporters. Exhilarated, Harry welcomed to the support and admiration of his housemates for something had finally gone his way that week.
Singing Aye, Aye Harry, Harry Potter!
Singing Aye, Aye Harry, Harry Potter!
Singing Aye, Aye Harry, Aye, Aye Harry, Aye, Aye Harry, Harry Potter!
Singing Aye, Aye Harry, Harry Potter!
Is it Draco Malfoy? No he's shite!
Although he looks like a lemon! Someone better tell 'em!
Harry Potter's fucking dynamite!
The Gryffindor common room sang the song to the tune of 'Coming 'Round the Mountain' at the top of their lungs as the post-match celebration continued well into the night. Ron dared anyone to name a better play than the miracle Harry just pulled off and Harry was just glad that Ron did not hate him anymore.
"Not bad," Ginny said as she sidled up next to Harry, clinking her glass against his.
"Really? Even I can say that was bloody marvelous."
"Well you seem to have attracted a couple admirers," Ginny nudged her head towards a group of assorted females. Harry caught their stares and gave them a wave to which they heartily responded.
"It was a pretty good catch," Harry, most usually modest, allowed himself that moment of indulgence. Scanning the crowd, Harry spotted Hermione laughing with Neville and Ron near a corner of the room. Ginny followed his gaze and wrinkled her nose.
"What happened to you two? I didn't realize you were that bad at taking a girl out on date."
"I'm not!" Harry protested, "I should just…probably leave her alone for a little bit."
Ginny raised her eyebrows, but Harry offered nothing more for he could not reveal anymore. Ginny sighed and took Harry by the crook of his elbow.
"Let's go Harry, I want to introduce you to some of my friends!"
"But Ginny!"
"Yes means yes, Harry!"
-----------------------------------------
Lily Potter waved her wand about her as she set to cleaning the dishes. The majority of the Order had left and she was simply tidying up her residence before she went to sleep. Unfortunately, one person had remained behind.
A dark haired man with glasses leaned against the frame of the door as he watched Lily rearrange the chairs around the table. He picked up his wand to help, but Lily waved him off with her free hand.
"I don't need any help, you know the way out." Lily said succinctly, offering no room for conversation.
"Lily please," James took a step into the kitchen.
"What do you want?" Lily snapped at him. James stuck his hands in his pockets and blew a stray bang of hair from his eyes.
"You hear Harry won the game for Gryffindor today?" James inquired.
"Of course."
"He's a great Seeker."
"You would know that wouldn't you?" Lily said with a bite in her voice.
"I would hope so," James weakly joked.
"Listen, James," Lily drew his name out sarcastically, "What do you need? I thought we discussed everything that was needed at the meeting with the Order."
"There's something else…" James trailed off. Lily turned to him, her hands on her hips.
"Well?" she said impatiently.
"Voldemort's found something. He's found the tower," James said, no longer joking. Lily softly gasped and clutched her hand to her chest.
"How could he possibly -"
"He doesn't know he's found it. Not yet at least. He suspects that he's found something of importance, but I don't think he knows what the tower is," James explained.
"What does he want with it?" Lily said, clearly distressed.
"I have a couple of guesses, most involving Harry," James said frankly.
Lily nodded, already knowing that was to be expected. She raised her almost teary eyes to his and exhaled loudly. He looked so much like James it pained her.
"Take it off," she snapped at him. James opened his mouth to argue but thought better of it. Waving his wand in front of his face, he cleared the Glamour charm and Lily watched as his hazel eyes morphed back into his original green eyes.
"Thank you," Lily softly whispered, "It's just hard to look at you when you're exactly like him."
"I know."
Lifting her eyes to meet his once again Lily paused a moment before saying, "How long are you going to keep this up Harry? How long are we going to keep this façade going?"
"Not until Harry's ready. He's still discovering himself, I'll know when he's ready for this. Trust me on that," Potter assured.
"I almost can't stand to see what will happen when Harry finds out that his supposed father is actually a time traveling future of himself," Lily cynically replied.
"Well I can tell you he'll probably try to hex me."
"Brilliant."
There was a pregnant pause as they mulled over their respective thoughts. Sensing that Lily had shut down for the night, the elder Potter gathered his coat and signaled he was leaving. Lily nodded in response but remained seated in her chair. Making sure to quietly close the kitchen door leading to her yard, an elder Harry James Potter took a quick look at his surroundings before leaving the Lily Potter residence with a soft pop.