A/N: More Sirius angst - I grieve through Harry.
Chapter 18: Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin
“So what did Dumbledore say? Is he going to tell Malfoy to pack his bags and leave Hogwarts?”
Ron was having much difficulty hiding his excitement.
“No “ he’s not going to do anything.”
“What?”
“He said ‘it’s not in his habit to punish students for crimes that there is no evidence of them committing.’ Innocent until proven guilty.”
“You’re not telling us he doesn’t believe you?”
“He believes me, and he said that it probably was a trap, but we don’t know for sure. He only said that I should watch my back where Malfoy’s concerned.”
“What good is that?! You already watch your back where he’s concerned “”
“Ron, calm down,” Hermione interjected. “It’s probably better off that Dumbledore doesn’t say anything to Malfoy.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Well then Lucius would know Dumbledore was onto him... this way, we have the upper hand.”
Ron scowled; he hated it when Hermione was right.
“Look, can we not talk about this anymore,” Harry said tiredly.
“What’s wrong?” asked Hermione, concerned.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night. Seeing Bellatrix again “ I just didn’t sleep well.”
The bell rang signaling the end of class; Harry gathered his things and left, not waiting for the other two. He didn’t have the patience to deal with them at that particular moment. As he was walking back in through the Entrance Hall, he heard someone calling him from the marble staircase.
“Harry!”
He looked up; it was Katie.
“Hey...”
“How did things go with Professor Dumbledore last night?”
“Fine.”
“You seem really tired. How late were you in his office.”
“Not long “ but I didn’t sleep well. I had nightmares.”
They turned to enter the Great Hall for lunch.
“About You-Know-Who?”
“No. About Bellatrix and Sirius.”
“Sirius Black?”
“Yeah “ he was my godfather.”
“I know “ I read...”
Katie, like the rest of the wizarding world, had grown up believing Sirius had been Voldemort’s right hand man and a dangerous murderer, and only learned of his innocence after his death, when the Daily Prophet had published a front page story clearing his name.
“Bellatrix killed him. I saw it “ and last night seeing her... it just brought back old memories.”
“Were you really close with him?”
“Yeah. He was the closest thing to a dad I ever had. He bought me my Firebolt.”
Harry was quiet. He was picking at his food distractedly. He remembered how he had felt that Christmas morning when he had unwrapped his Firebolt, how he felt when he had flown on it for the first time. It was his most prized possession, but he would give it up in an instant if it meant he could have Sirius back.
“Okay, Harry?” Katie asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just thinking...” he said quietly. “I’ll see you later at Quidditch practice.”
Harry got up and left. He just wanted to be alone.
That evening at Quidditch practice, Harry spent most of the time flying around absent-mindedly not really looking for the Snitch at all.
“Harry!” Ron called from the ground. “Come here.”
Harry turned his Firebolt and flew down to meet Ron.
“What are you doing out there Harry? You’re not even trying... how we are supposed to win against Slytherin if you won’t even look for the Snitch.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not in a good mood “ I’m distracted.”
“Well then get in a good mood, then.”
“Look, Ron “ I’m trying...”
“Not hard enough.”
“Excuse me?”
“I just think you’re being selfish. Start thinking about the team “ the team needs you.”
“I’m being selfish? Look at you “ all you care about is winning. I’m sorry If I’m having trouble concentrating “ but I saw my godfather murdered four months ago and now I have nightmares about it...And it doesn’t help that his killer walking around the Hogwarts grounds without any kind of remorse, whatsoever.”
The entire team had stopped playing and was now watching Harry and Ron.
“I’m sorry, mate. I didn’t realize “”
“You didn’t realize what? That I might actually have something on my mind besides Quidditch? Talk to me later when you see someone you love die, alright?”
With that Harry stormed off the field. Ron looked at the other players.
“I think we’ll call it a night. We’ve been working hard anyway, I s’pose you deserve a break.”
The team changed and left, quietly. Ron walked up to Katie and Ginny.
“Did either of you notice anything wrong with him before practice?”
Ginny shook her head.
“This is the first I’ve seen him all day.”
Katie, on the other hand, nodded.
“I talked to him at lunch “ he’s been pretty upset since last night after seeing Bellatrix and Lucius. He’s been kind of withdrawn.”
Ginny looked at Katie in surprise.
“Lucius and Bellatrix? When did he see them?”
“Last night on the grounds.”
“What?”
“We’ll tell on our way back up to the school, we probably shouldn’t be out her so late with so few of us anyway,” Ron said, and he and the two girls turned and made their way back up to the school.
“Hermione, where’s Harry?” Ron asked when they got back to the common room.
“He went to bed.”
“It’s seven.”
“He seemed tired, I asked him what was wrong, but he said he was fine and then went upstairs “ what happened?”
“We kind of got into it at practice... he was distracted and I got on is case, said he should be more focused because the team needed him. Then he blew up at me about how he was upset over Sirius and how I’m selfish because all I care about is Quidditch.”
Hermione said nothing, she just looked at Ron, remaining silent.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s just “ well, you can be a bit insensitive sometimes...”
“How was I supposed to know he was upset?”
“You said he was distracted... why else would Harry be distracted from Quidditch, unless he was really upset?” Hermione stated as though she thought Ron an idiot for not noticing.
Ron opened his mouth to retaliate, but realized, once again, that she was right. He then sat down, folded his arms and resorted to scowling at Hermione, like usual.
“Just give him some time “ he won’t let you down. There’s no way he’ll let Malfoy get the Snitch before him.”
“If that’s what you think I’m worried about...” Ron started, but a look from Hermione quieted him.
A week and a half later, it was the Saturday morning of the Quidditch match against Slytherin. Harry still wasn’t talking much “ especially to Ron “ but he had been focusing while at Quidditch practice; Hermione had been right, there was no way Harry would let Malfoy catch the Snitch. As the team walked out onto the pitch to meet the Slytherin team, Ron approached Harry.
“All right there, mate?” he asked nervously. Harry didn’t answer, he merely shrugged his shoulders. The only thing Harry had said to Ron since their argument was “Your sleeve is on fire” when they had been practicing Flame Charms in Flitwick’s class, and even then he hadn’t sounded very concerned.
Ron shook hands with the Slytherin captain, and both teams mounted their broomsticks. Madam Hooch blew the whistle, and they kicked off.
“And their off, Gryffindor Chaser Ginny Weasley in possession of the Quaffle ” Seamus Finnigan had taken over Lee Jordan’s job as commentator.
“Weasley passes to second year Euan Abercrombie, Abercrombie passes to Katie Bell, Bell drops it down to Weasley “ who scores! It’s ten-nil Gryffindor “ I think you’ll agree these Chasers are brilliant together. I’ve only seen teamwork like this at an international level.”
Seamus was right; Ron had trained Euan, Ginny, and Katie so hard they were practically flawless as a team. They reminded Harry strongly of the Irish Chasers at the World Cup.
“Slytherin Beater Crabbe hits a bludger at Bell, but Gryffindor Beater Kirke gets in their just in time to block it...”
Even Kirke and Sloper were playing superbly. Ten minutes into the game, Gryffindor was up eighty to nothing. Slytherin had only gotten two shots at the goal, and Ron had knocked the Quaffle away like it was nothing. Harry looked over at Malfoy, who was skimming over the top of the stadium, scanning frantically for the Snitch. Harry wanted to make him pay for trying to help hand him over to Voldemort “
“Potter is diving “ it seems he has spotted the Snitch. Slytherin Seeker Malfoy is speeding after him, but there’s clearly no way he’s going to beat out Potter...”
Then suddenly, Harry pulled out of his dive; Malfoy hadn’t been able to stop himself on time, and crashed into the ground.
“Potter was just Feinting “ too bad for Malfoy, who seems to be injured badly. Nice one, Harry!”
Malfoy crawled back onto his broom, glaring at Harry “ his cheeks had a pink tinge and he was bleeding through his robes.
The Gryffindor Chasers scored another 3 goals, and Ron saved another three shots at his own goal.
“Gryffindor is unbeatable “ Slytherin are still shut out, while Gryffindor race ahead in the lead.” Just then, Harry saw the Snitch “ it was glittering down near the ground. He dove towards it as fast as his Firebolt could fly (“I’m not falling for that one again, Potter” laughed Malfoy maliciously), then closed his hand around the tiny ball, pulling out of his dive “ the stadium erupted into cheers.
“GRYFFINDOR WINS! A hundred and ten to nothing; the Slytherin Seeker didn’t even attempt to get the Snitch before Potter!”
Malfoy, realizing that Harry hadn’t been feinting, landed with a thud on the ground and stormed off the field, enraged at his own idiocy. Harry was quite pleased that he had made a complete fool of Malfoy. Just then Ron came over to Harry.
“That was brilliant, mate!”
“Well I fulfilled my purpose “ I caught the Snitch before Malfoy. That’s all you care about, right?” He said coldly.
“Harry, wait-”
“I don’t want to hear it Ron.” And with that he walked away before the crowds could come to carry him off the field with the rest of the team. He didn’t feel much like celebrating. He looked at the Firebolt in his hand, thinking of Sirius.
I wish he were still here to see me play, he thought as he left for the castle alone.